Get Outdoors: 5 Fun Calorie-Burning Activities

There comes a time in almost every person's life when they start to feel their age. Creaky knees, paler skin, a slower metabolism - they're all signs of getting older. Fortunately, research has shown that the key to feeling youthful can be as easy as staying active.

But UN-fortunately, staying active isn't always as easy as we would like it to be. Time, lack of motivation, boredom, money... all these things and more can get in the way of - or become excuses for the absence of - a workout routine.

Thankfully, you don't have to sign up for a long-winded aerobics class to get the exercise you need. Here's a list of fun activities my family loves to do when we're feeling the need to burn a few calories:

To burn 100 calories...

Go for a half-hour walk in the park. The time will fly by if you follow a trail and use the opportunity to look around, relax, and feel connected to nature for a while. In addition to burning those calories, you'll come away from your walk with a lot less stress.

To burn 180 calories...

Play a game of hopscotch with your kids or grand-kids. Really! I'm not joking here, this is actually a great way to exercise. Hopping burns a lot of calories, so a ten-minute game a day can have you looking fit as a fiddle in no time. As an added bonus, getting your kids out of the house to play hopscotch with you will pull them away from the TV. (And you'll be setting a good example for them to stay active as adults.)

To burn 240 calories...

Work in the garden for an hour. Gardening can be a lot of fun and is something that the whole family can enjoy. From picking beans to planting colorful flowers, there is a lot of satisfaction to be had when you get your hands a little dirty and play in the earth.

To burn 400 calories...

Try finding a geocache. If you don't know what geocaching is, imagine a treasure hunt that the whole family can enjoy. You grab coordinates and head out on a hike to discover where the geocache is located and then log your progress on a sheet when you find it. Geocaching is typically overseen by administrators working for each county and the caches are kept in safe places. This activity is enjoyable, free, and provides a 'purpose' to walking or hiking.

To burn over 1,500 calories...

Go camping for a day. The average person burns around 150 calories per hour while participating in camping activities; that'll add up pretty quickly if you stay moving! Camping is also a fun & thrifty family activity that can end up bringing all of you closer together. Plus, the list of things you can do while camping is nearly-endless! It's a great way to shake things up and get a cheap mini-vacation in the process.

What activities do you do to keep trim & healthy?

Chat with me in the comments below, I love hearing from my readers!

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Disclosure: I received no compensation for this post and, as always, my opinions are purely my own.