The Checkup: 5 Ways to Be Active Today So You Can Skip the Gym Tonight

Looks like science finally found a reason for you to skip the gym tonight. (Say it with me: Hooray!) New research shows that short bouts of non-vigorous physical activity may have the same health benefits as sweating it out at the gym. Using 6,000 American adults as study subjects, researchers at Oregon State University found that 43 percent of people who employed the “active lifestyle approach” (as opposed to the “structured exercise approach”) actually met the government’s recommendation for 30 minutes of physical activity a day.

What’s more, they found that the active lifestyle model resulted in health benefits on par with structured exercise, “providing health benefits such as preventing high blood pressure, high cholesterol and the group of risk factors known as metabolic syndrome that increases the risk for coronary artery disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes,” reports HealthDay.

So what are some things you can do to get on the active-lifestyle train?

1. Take the stairs.

2.Walk around your office or cubicle while you’re on the phone.

3. Take your dog for a walk.

4. Vacuum the house.

5. Play tag with your kids.

See where I’m going with this?