Join the Earth Gym

March 17, 2008

I found this as a thread in Peyups and thought it’d be interesting if I give it a try. Today’s brisk walking to town might be a good start.

Earth Gym Workout (Your life is Your Workout)

When I first heard the term “Earth Gym,” I was captivated and wanted to learn more. Randi Hacker coined the term in her book How to Live Green, Cheap, & Happy . . . Save money! Save the Planet! published in 1994. And what a great concept it is.

Consider your day-to-day activities as your workout. Instead of avoiding physical work like mopping the floors, taking the stairs, and working in the garden, shift your thinking and consider these things as your physical fitness program. This mental shift can really work and make you look forward to using your body to perform your daily tasks. Stop asking your significant other to carry the groceries in. Why should they be fit and you not?

Ways to Increase Your Daily Activity with the Earth Gym

• walk up hills, take the stairs
• chop wood, carry water
• dig, hoe, haul
• do chin ups on tree branch
• weed and water (carry a bucket)
• do a chest stretch and “pushup” in the doorway - increase the angle by stepping away from the doorway
• in-the-elevator exercises – squats, back of the body stretch (bend over)
• bike to work
• walk or bike to do errands
• do housework
• get on the floor at least once a day (to be sure you can still do it)

Benefits of Earth Workouts

• They have a minimum, negative impact on the Earth. They use natural energy (your energy) and don’t require special purchases that deplete the Earth’s resources (exercise equipment, gym facilities and utilities, Lycra).
• They use available equipment like hills, stairs, grocery bags, mops, shovels and hoes
• They are part of your life – all daily activities can be part of your workout so you get a full body workout (bend, twist, squat, pull, push, reach, grab).
• They get you outside which is a good thing. On average, we spent only 2 percent of our time outside.
• They train your body for useful, daily, practical activities – no need to bench press your weight in real life, day-to-day activities.
• They help you be strong and self-reliant. When someone else does your physical work for you, they get strong and you get weak. To maintain your strength throughout life, carry your own groceries, clean your own house, weed your own garden and turn off your own TV (remote humor).

Your Next Steps

1. Walk around your neighborhood (or ride your bike) and look for Earth Gym potential – play grounds and monkey bars, hills and valleys, tree limbs for chin ups, community gardens that need weeding and watering. Be creative and open. Choose a summer vacation that is active and requires natural energy - swimming, canoeing, hiking, biking. At home, spiff up your garden by weeding, trimming, and composting.

2. Make the mental shift to use your daily activities as your Earth Gym workout and be glad of opportunities that require physical activity like carrying groceries. If they have plastic handles, you can add to your workout and curl them to strengthen your biceps. Now and then just for fun (and good exercise) get on your hands and knees to scrub the floor – lots of strengthening and stretching potential there. You’ll get in good shape and save a lot of money when you do your daily chores yourself. Encourage your children to be active throughout the day too. It’s a good thing. No more moaning when we need to move our bodies. Our bodies will love us for moving.

3. Draw up your Earth Gym plan. This concept may sound good, but unless you make a commitment and write down your plan, you may lapse back into the American way of convenience. Save money, get fit, spare the environment, use the Earth Gym.