Physical Funness for the Motion Starved

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Tag Archives: green


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Make our Mother proud!

Earth Day

We all know that every day is Earth Day, correct? However, this week brings the official “day,” which is tomorrow, Friday, April 22. With Earth Day comes, plenty of special events and ways to celebrate and encourage cleaner, greener and more sustainable lives.

If you don’t know what, or why Earth Day is, you’ll simply need to move planets. I hear Virgin Airways is working on offering flights to Mars, I goad you to check that out.

While the official day to celebrate Earth Day is Friday, special events will be going on all weekend long. I urge you to participate, or at the very least make an effort to show our Mother Earth a little extra love on her special day.

Here are my top three suggestions for how to spend your Earth Weekend.

Clean out your closets and recycle the clothes you never wear — Crossroads Trading Company the buy-sell-trade retailer is running a special Earth Day promotion: they’ll give you a 20th anniversary tote bag when you sell $100 or more in clothing between Friday and Sunday. They’ll also donate five cents to the Environmental Defense Fund every time a customer says “no” to using a plastic bag with his or her purchase.

Plant a garden  — You can plant lettuce in a pot and put it in the window if you don’t have a space outside. Herbs in the kitchen window make you look like you know your shit around the stove and don’t forget the nutritional gains from using herbs in your cooking.  How about a potted dwarf lemon tree on the front stoop?  Nothing says I’m well-heeled like citrus right at the front door.

Get outside — In every city there a hordes of planned activities to help you celebrate. My preference is the Earth Stroll along Crissy Field in San Francisco but there are many other options. In The Bay Area visit earthdaysf.com for a list of events. Where ever you live get out and get green!

Happy Earth Day. Make our Mother proud!


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I love green

I'm exercising!

In case it’s not clear, I am attempting to encourage you to exercise in ways that are fun and interesting so that you don’t even notice that you’re exercising. The key to becoming and staying fit is to become naturally active.

Ever hear of the Green Hour or Green Exercise?  Green Exercise is a term used to refer to exercise obtained while outside in nature.  The Green Hour refers to being in nature for one hour. If you haven’t guessed I am a massive fan of Green Exercise, lots of Green Hours and pretty much everything green.

When I first started working on my fitness I spent a lot of time in the gym as well as outside, working out. Eventually I gave up on the gym because it stank and I didn’t like weird guys watching me in the mirror and trying to chat me up.  I didn’t go to the gym to make friends I went to chill out and get my sweat on. This experience brought me to where I am today.

Did you know that abundant scientific evidence shows that activity in natural areas decreases the risk of mental illness and improves your sense of well-being? With just 5 minutes of Greenness (that’s my word) you’ll receive both positive short-term mental health and long-term physical benefits.

It’s really easy, all you gotta do is make sure you get outside during your lunch break, walk to work or to the bar if that’s what it takes.  All natural environments are beneficial including parks in urban settings. Apparently, green areas with water add something extra and a blue and green environment seems even better for health. That’s pretty darn cool don’t you think? Plus you get fresh air and furry critter sightings. What more could you want?

Fyi – Approximate calories burned per half hour if you’re a 150 lb person.

  • Badminton 133
  • Gardening 114
  • Golf 133
  • Hiking 191
  • Home repair 76
  • Horse back riding 114
  • Kayaking 152
  • Kick ball 229
  • Lawn mowing 171
  • Sex 170
  • Walking 88