There is a great television commercial about the sea “calling” (by phone). Always makes me smile and the sea was definitely calling us this weekend. Taking a walk on the beach yesterday (before we even sat down, so we wouldn’t have a chance to skip it) Mitch and I discussed the differences between walking on the streets and walking on the sand. Walking on soft sand can burn between 20% to 50% more calories than walking on a hard surface (the softer the sand, the harder you’ll work). It was easy to breathe love and gratitude, finding the quiet “spaces” in between inhale and exhale, while surrounded with sun, sand and the beautiful sea.
The great outdoors beckons us in the month of May and you don’t have to have a nearby ocean to get in some outdoor peace and fitness. Mountains, parks and backyards are great places to get off the treadmill and get out of the old routine. Tossing a Frisbee can help you burn well over 100 calories in 30 minutes, depending on how much running around you do. Rocking a Hula-hoop burns a little over 200 calories in 30 minutes and like any good cardio lowers blood sugar and LDL (bad) cholesterol.
And indoors or out, nothing beats good old dancing. Dancing not only burns lots of calories but it is said to lower the risk of dementia by as much as 76%! Thinking it’s a good time to pull out some old Donna Summers and Robin Gibb and get our disco back on! We can do our bodies and minds a world of good while honoring musical legends of that crazy era we called disco.
