Watch TV & Get Fit

I spend more and more time in front of my computer nowdays and it seems as though the time spent in front of this screen will increase as the years go on.

Apart from sitting at my PC at work, I also watch most of my films and series on my computer in my room, so I started thinking to myself, there must be a way to work out while I watch stuff.

Sure enough, there was. I went out and bought myself a cheap set of dumbells and now I pop in a DVD and watch while I do some simple bicep, tricep, and shoulder exercises. The great thing about working out in front of a screen, whether it be a computer or a TV set, is that you don’t even realise you are doing it.

One of my main problems with doing exercise regularly is motivating myself, but this way I feel like I’m watching my favourite show, not working out. I like to use about 6 kilos, which only allows me to do 20 reps each time (I know, pathetic right?), but with less weight, you can keep going for quite some time before you start to feel any strain. Then take a break, work out the other arm and switch exercises.

However, some important notes: To start off with, you do need someone to show you how to do the exercises properly so you don’t injure yourself. You’ll also need to practice the exercises a few times without whatever you like to watch on, so you can get into the habit of doing the exercises correctly, without even thinking about it. Then you are all set to go with very simple dumbell exercises.

One final point you need to take into account when doing this is what chair you are sitting on. You have to make sure you are on a steady surface so that you do not injure your back from sitting in an awkward position and placing too much stress on the wrong muscles. I don’t know if a beanbag will do the trick.

I know this is not an ideal exercise regime for everyone, but it’s worked for me. My flatmate thinks I am insane to watch Scrubs or Lost and at the same time build up my triceps, but I love watching good series and films and I don’t want my arms to go all flabby. So instead of making time to do both separately, I’ve combined the two.

You can probably also get some sort of electric abdominal exercise machine, but I hear people have had burns from those, so not for me. Although it would be really funny to walk in on someone on the floor watching Friends reruns with 1-second intervals, while they crunch up and down. Mind you, we’ve all seen the episodes enough times to know what’s going on without watching the whole thing.

Happy viewing!

               

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