Fun ideas to help you keep healthy

There’s lots of ways to be more active and have a good time doing it — no matter where you’re starting from. Here are some fun ideas to help you get moving.

Stair climbing

Strengthen your leg muscles by taking the stairs. Stair Climbing Australia president Maria Pia Piemontese says you can start off small at home and gradually work up to larger challenges like races in building stairwells.

Skipping

It might sound like child’s play, but 10 minutes of skipping is equivalent to 30 minutes of running, according to skipping world champion Luke Boon. You can build up to some pretty fancy footwork, but the simply jumping rope is enough to get the heart pumping.

Gardening

Get out into the garden to boost your mood with incidental exercise. Sustainable gardening instructor Angelo Eliades says gardening is all about functional movement and it often ends up being a full body workout. Digging works out the shoulders, carrying things like bags of manure or watering cans are load bearing exercises and pruning up a ladder is a core workout.

Trampolining

A bit of bouncing can be a ripper cardiovascular workout. “There’s a whole heap of physical benefits from that you get from jumping and that really relates to the fact that you are using your whole body,” trampolining coach Bianca South says. The Olympic sport is great for developing strength in your arms, legs and core.

Roller skating

Roller skating is trendy again, and really enjoyable. It’s also good for you. “You use every muscle in your body for roller skating. You burn calories, a lot of cardio,” instructor Brian Inglis says. It could also lead you into something figure skating, speed skating or roller hockey.

Plogging

It involves picking up rubbish while you’re jogging. Some organised community groups weigh your haul and give prizes for weird things found. The workout involves running, a lot of bending and carrying the extra weight of the trash found.

Dog agility

We might just have saved the best for last. This is all about embracing incidental exercise — with a canine companion. Dog agility involves you directing your pooch to manoeuvre through the obstacles, while you run the course yourself.