Body & Mind

20 SIMPLE TRICKS TO STAY SLIM (OR TO BECOME SLIM)

‘Simoon, I really don't have time to exercise.’ Sure, girlfriend, but you have time to convince yourself of this kind of info? Whatever you want, but time is really not your problem. After all, we all have the same amount of time and I manage it too. You just don't feel like exercising and that's a whole different story. Setting priorities. I would also love to binge-watch 13 Reasons Why tonight, but that won't give me the tight butt I want to parade over the pearly white beach of Bali this summer. For all the people who don't want to exercise but still want a fit body: the twenty tips to get more physical activity in a simple way.

‘But I don't have time to exercise!’

  1. Get up half an hour earlier to do a short workout next to your bed.
  2. Do about ten squats while your coffee maker is warming up, because yes, if you have to wait anyway...
  3. Borrow the neighbor's dog and take a walk before you go to work.
  4. Turn up the music and dance for a quarter of an hour.
  5. Do twenty push-ups every morning before you step into the shower. Just wait and see how quickly you get toned arms.
  6. Walk to the supermarket instead of taking the bike.
  7. Got a tram or metro subscription? Get off one stop earlier and walk the last part.
  8. Take the stairs instead of the escalator, all for the booty.
  9. Stuck in traffic? Then alternate squeezing your butt for a few seconds. No one will see it.
  10. Lunch break? Make it a walking lunch instead of sitting at the table.
  11. Schedule workouts in your agenda at the beginning of the week, so you actually make time for them.
  12. Crown yourself the coffee lady at the office, all those walks to the canteen are good for your Fitbit.
  13. Go for a brisk walk after eating to let your meal settle and keep your body working a bit longer.
  14. Buy a pedometer or smartwatch and set goals. Trust me: it helps you move more, just read this.
  15. Do you have an office job and sit behind your laptop all day? Then lift your feet off the ground alternately and hold them for a few seconds. Put them back on the ground and switch legs.
  16. Watching a series? You can also do that in plank position, girlfriend. And in the side plank (x 2).
  17. Waiting for the metro? Find a spot against the wall, squat down and hold your legs at ninety degrees. Hold that for a minute and feel your legs burn.
  18. Still waiting for the metro? Then take the stairs and run up and down a few times. Burn baby burn.
  19. Hanging over the toilet counts as a squat position too, you know...
  20. Brush your teeth and sit on a chair, lift your legs off the ground and engage your abdominal muscles. Want it a bit harder? Extend your legs out and pull them in and repeat this until your teeth are clean.

Bikini body, here we come...