Too busy to exercise? Here are some ways to burn calories on a busy schedule.

Contrary to what one might think, exercise is very very important. It will supplement our daily activities, assist in weight loss and good health overall. People who exercise several times each week are less prone to develop certain ailments such as obesity, heart disease, circulation problems, strokes and even some types of cancers in some cases. Keeping our bodies active can be fun and should never be seen as a chore or taken for granted. At a closer glance, exercise is significantly beneficial to our body. It affects the level of oxygen in our blood, the health of the lungs, strengthens the muscles of our hearts, and much more. With better oxygenated blood flowing throughout the body there will be great benefits to the brain and other organs as well.

There are ways to burn calories on a busy schedule. You don't have to join a gym or purchase expensive equipment to do exercises. Simply making some time and finding some space is all that is required. One should never try to consolidate or bundle exercise with daily activities. Some people have ingenious methods of claiming to workout when the actually bundle work and other general activities in one and swear on a workout. Work is not exercise, not matter how strenuous your job is. Your body regards work as your regular activity so it will not expend additional calories on something it is accustomed to doing as a daily routine. To make exercise work for you, your workout activities will have to be a bit different from your regular activities.

1) As you wake up

Try to wake-up with a burst of energy, trust me, its all in the mind so make it happen. Have a cup of tea or coffee first if you prefer, but make sure that you are ready for exercise within the first 10 minutes of waking up. Start by walking around the house, both inside and out for 5 minutes then in one room, do 2 to 3 sets of 5 squats, 5 jumping jacks, 5 sit-ups and 5 high knee lifts. this should not take more than 20 minutes to complete. If you wake up earlier you will have more time to exercise.

While you wait for your food to get done, why not turn the idle standing around into doing little exercise that will help you get fit. You can do the squats or jog on the spot while you wait on your food to cook. For example, meats can take quite a while to get done; the period of waiting is enough to carry out about 50 counts of squats. Another exercise that can be done while waiting for your food to be done is standing push up with the help of kitchen counter for pushing down and pushing up. This exercise helps in toning arms and shoulders. Do squats while loading the dishwasher and work out those muscles with cans of beans. There are tons of ways to exercise while preparing food in the kitchen.

Doing workouts at work can sometimes be tricky but it is a great way to get in some exercise on a busy schedule. If you work in an office, try getting up from the desk more often. Find things to do like tidying up your cubicle when you are not tending to clients. There are several exercises that you can do to burn calories while sitting down. Here are some of those exercises:

• Sit down in the center of your chair, straighten your legs, keeping them together and lift them as high under your desk as possible then bring them down close to the floor without toughing the floor. Repeat this exercise as many times as you wish. This exercise will tone your abs and legs.
• Sit in the center of your chair and place both hands at the end of the chair firmly beside you. Sit normally with your legs bent and placed close together. Now using the strength of your upper body, lift both legs as high as you possibly can and bring them back down to the ground. Do this exercise as many times as you can. This is a great way of burning calories and toning abs while at work.
• Keep a pair of weights in your desk. Lift weights alternating hands for several minutes.
• Use an exercise ball as your chair. Not only will this aid your posture, but you will automatically burn more calories by sitting up on the ball than by resting back on a chair. Not to mention, there is a world of good the ball can do for your back and spine.
• Invest in a deskcycle. This is one easy and effective way to burn extra calories at work.

If you work from home, try to implement at least 20 minutes of exercise in your busy schedule. Get up from the desk from time to time to take a walk, have some water and even do short 10 minute workouts at intervals. Small workouts can add up to make a big difference in your weight, fitness and health overtime, so never take it for granted.

Park far away from the entrance of the grocery store. You will burn a good sum of calories walking from where you parked to the store. Take advantage of stairs. Yes, you will burn a lot more calories walking up and down the stairs than by taking an elevator. While out and about very busy at grocery store, you can decide to go to your car all by yourself with what you bought. If its not too much to handle, don't only walk the distance back to your car, but also carry a few grocery bags in your hand. Carrying those boxes or bags is good exercise for the body and practicing to carry weight is great for toning muscles and building strength.

Being at the park might mean being out for fun or a relaxing stroll. In the middle of having fun, try something cool by doing different exercises to keep fit. There are so many things that can be utilized for exercise. Make use of the park benches for your dips and pushups. Track along the path as far as you can venture and back. Having someone there to talk to will be a good motivator. You can do situps, pushups or even join a park yoga or aerobics group.

While going about in the house doing various house chores, there are little exercises that can sum up together to turn to a weight losing and fit keeping exercising. Consider taking a short step jog and collect your newspaper for the day as well as your mail. Continue by walking or still jogging to the end of the street and come back to your house. You can burn a considerable amount of calories by doing house chores such as cleaning the floor, kitchen or bathroom. Work out by dusting furniture, walking the dog or simply playing with the kids. Squats can be done while doing laundry. Simply squat with every piece of laundry you pick up and put into the washer. Do lunges while mopping or using the vacuum cleaner. Working out while doing house chores is one of the most effective ways to burn calories on a busy schedule.

There are many more ways to burn calories on a busy schedule. In fact, you will burn calories doing just about anything- even while sleeping. What is important is that while calories are burnt, there are also other benefits to the body. This is where doing exercise is important. No matter how busy you think you might be on a daily basis, there is always someone busier than you who find the time to workout sometime during the day or night. 10 to 20 minutes of exercise everyday is a good start. Keep up with it and you will find that it not only gets easier, but you can squeeze in a little more time everyday. In the long run, the benefits will far outweigh the 'inconvenience' and the pain.