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10 Ways to Move More This Year from 2017

By Jenny Steadman January 13, 2017

Nutrition is a huge part of your health, but you must pair it with movement. Lucky for all of us, that movement doesn't need to involve training for a marathon. It just involves moving often. Here are some tips to up your movement this year:

1. Walk wherever you can. How far do you live from the grocery store? The library? Your kids' school? Work? Walk, or bike, whenever you can. 

2. Set a timer. Move every hour. Whether you go to the bathroom, get a drink of water, walk around the block or stretch for a few minutes, you need to move every 60 minutes. Sitting is the new smoking.  

3. Join a gym. After you join the gym, use the membership. It's a revolutionary idea! Some gyms offer free personal training sessions to get you started. 

4. Get a buddy. Nothing works like accountability. Enlist a co-worker to meet you at the drinking fountain every hour. Get a gym buddy and go to the same classes. Team up with your significant other for workout routines. When you are accountable to someone, you get things done. 

5. Streeettccchhhhh. Our bodies are so tight. We can't touch our toes anymore! You can fix this. Stretch a bit every day. Some people prefer to do it in the morning when they wake up. I like to stretch at night while I'm watching TV. It's a great way to wind down from the day and I go to sleep with very happy muscles. 

6. Park farther away. I know you are in a hurry, but parking at the far end of the parking lot doesn't add that much time to your errand, plus you'll get extra steps in the day!

7. Take the stairs. Doing stairs is an amazing workout. Watch out glutes, here we come!

8. Walk the dog! While you're moving more, make a commitment to Fido to go around the block every day. It may not be an invigorating walk but the fresh air and movement do wonders for the soul. 

9. Bike with your kids. When my kids bike around the block, I tend to lazily follow behind them. When I bike with them, we can go farther, faster, and we all have more fun!

10. Use the Our Family Moves calendar! Do you know that Macaroni Kid Family Fitness has a calendar each month with a specific workout challenge? It is geared towards the whole family and is so much fun! Check this month's out HERE.