If you dread your workout, chances are you're not going to do it. Slogging away on a treadmill for hours may be good for your body but it's not great for your mind. We've put together 5 awesome ways to get fit and burn calories without even realising it!

1. Gardening

Gardening is a great functional fitness workout as it will have you squatting down, stretching high, lifting your arms, and carrying heavy loads, all of which will challenge every muscle group in your body. A 140lb (10st) woman can expect to burn up to 300 calories from 1 hour of gardening!

This is a great way to keep fit as it is free, you don't have to leave the comfort of your home, and in the summer you will be exposed to revitalising vitamin D from the sunlight. Not only this, it's a great skill to develop and you will have a beautiful garden to show for your efforts!

2. Playing a musical instrument

It may not feel like it, but playing a musical instrument can be a very energetic activity. Especially instruments like the drums where you use your whole body to play, you can expect to burn between 100-300 calories in an hour!

Learning to play an instrument is an excellent skill to develop as it'll focus you mentally and this should help you in day-to-day life. Not only this, it can be very social as you can then join a band or orchestra to share your passion with others.

3. Playing with your children

It can sometimes feel difficult to exercise when you have kids as finding time can be almost impossible. Playing with your children by chasing after them in a park or playing football or another sport with them is an awesome way of getting fit yourself while also allowing your kids to expend all their pent up energy. Forget lifting weights, lifting your kids will give you a great workout without having to hit the gym!

Playing with your children gives you an opportunity to bond and you won't even notice how many calories you're burning. Another benefit is that you'll be helping your kids to get active from a young age which will really help them in the long run.

4. Walking the dog

If you have a furry friend or two, you can expect to burn up to 200 calories an hour by walking them. Depending on how energetic your dog is, you could even go jogging with them to help them exercise better. 

By having the company of your dog, you won't feel as self-conscious while out and about and knowing that you have to walk them will be all the motivation you need. 

5. Cleaning

Finally, spending time cleaning your house can be a great way of burning calories, toning up, and you'll have a beautiful sparkly house at the end of it! Just like with gardening, cleaning will act as a full body workout as you'll be squatting down to scrub low surfaces, reaching high, bending and twisting in all directions in order to clean. This will mean that all of your muscles are worked – even ones you may never have worked before!

The energy and excitement of making new year's resolutions and getting fit is well and truly burnt out and the gym is starting to empty out again. How can you stay motivated when all you want to do is melt into the sofa and eat? We're here to help. Follow these tips to boost your motivation when it feels like there's no hope.

1. Partner up

If you have someone to let down, you'll be less likely to flake. Having accountability means you have more of a reason to get to the gym and it will be more hassle to have to text your friend or personal trainer to say you're not going and then get an earful from then than to just go. Plus, you'll know that once you're there you'll have a great time because training with a buddy makes training more bearable. 

2. Get changed

How many times have you been sat on the sofa watching TV after work telling yourself "I'll go in a minute" or "I'll go when this show is finished" and then it never happens? By getting changed into your activewear you're getting the ball rolling and getting into the right frame of mind to work out. Once you're changed into your sportswear you're already halfway there and will be much more ready to get out there and go train. 

3. Take your gym gear to work

If you go to the gym straight from work, you won't have a chance to talk yourself out of it. If you pair this with point number 1 of partnering up and telling your friend you'll join them at the gym, you'll be well on your way to success. Get changed at work and go straight to the gym instead of going home first. It's much harder to gee yourself back up once you're home from work than if you continue the momentum from your day at the office. 

4. Have a workout to look forward to

There's nothing worse than finishing a monotonous day at work and thinking about now having to go and run on a treadmill for half an hour while staring at a wall. By planning out a fun and exciting workout, you'll actually want to go to the gym and do it. Try circuit training or functional training to mix things up and talk to a personal trainer if you'd like to try something new like Olympic weightlifting or CrossFit. If you're dreading the workout, getting motivated can be impossible. Whereas if you're actually looking forward to it, exercising can be a joy instead of a chore. If you enjoy something like Zumba, sign up for a class! Group exercise can be a great way to stay motivated too.

5. Use the 10 second rule

If you find yourself making terrible excuses like "it's raining" or "I'm too tired" then use the 10 second rule. It's very simple: count to 10 and then go anyway! This will eliminate your mind telling you that you can't do it and 9 times out of 10 you'll find that you actually enjoy the workout and will be pleased that you went.

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The Benefits of Joining A Running Club

How To Exercise When You Have Kids

7 Ways To Make Winter Training More Bearable

If you're trying to lose weight or are training for a race or fitness event next year, Christmas can feel like a daunting time. Lots of indulgent food around the house, meals and drinks out with family and friends, and less time to train can all add up. We're here with our 5 top tips to help you stay on track and avoid over-indulging this festive season.

1. Tell your family and friends about your goals

One of the things that makes it so difficult to stick to being healthy at this time of year is pressure from family, friends, and social occasions. If everyone is eating, drinking and being merry, you don't want to be the party-pooper with your salad in a Tupperware container. 

Make sure you tell your family and friends about your intentions and your goals so that they can support you. They'll be more understanding and hopefully won't try to pressure you into eating more unhealthy food if you're open with them about what you're trying to achieve.

2. Make sure there's healthy food in the house

It can be all too tempting to eat cake for breakfast and graze on biscuits and sweets throughout the day if they are littering the house and there aren't any healthy options. 

Make sure you've still got normal, healthy food in your house so that you can eat proper meals and then enjoy the occasional treat as well. Trying to stick to a normal eating routine will be key to success and not falling into a food coma after lunch. 

3. Plan your meals ahead of time

Another reason why it's very tempting to eat the unhealthy food in the house is because it's quick and easily accessible. If you're stuck deciding what to have for dinner, chances are your family's suggestion of getting a takeaway will sound very appealing.

Make sure you plan your meals for the week ahead of time so that you know exactly what you're going to have and can make sure you have all the ingredients you need. There are plenty of healthy recipes that can be made quickly such as stir fry, grilled chicken, or wraps.

4. Stick to a training plan

Find a professionally-written training plan that fits around your schedule and try to stick to it as much as possible. Instead of making it up as you go and training ad-hoc, sticking to a proper training plan will make sure your training makes sense and that you don't over- or under-train. 

However, it's also important to make sure your plans are flexible. If a friend invites you out but you have a long run planned for that day, try to compromise and arrange with your friend for another day. Referring back to point number 1, if you've already told your family and friends about your goals, they should understand and support you. 

5. Don't be overly restrictive

It's almost impossible to sit at a table with a salad while everyone else eats delicious festive food. Allow yourself to have fun and enjoy yourself as that is the spirit of the season. If you've eaten a wholesome breakfast and healthy lunch, eating something a little less nutritious but a whole lot more tasty at dinner time shouldn't be too much of a problem. It's only when you're eating unhealthy snacks all day long as well as huge carb-rich meals that things go wrong this time of year.

Having little ones at home can leave you feeling like you don't have a spare second in the day. Between rushing to and from school and picking the little ones up from activities and trying to squeeze in daily errands too, it's no wonder that the average mother only gets 17 minutes of 'me time' each day. So how can you fit in exercise when you have no time? We give you all the tips you need along with with a working mom workout routine for you to try.

How can I find time to workout with kids?

Finding time to exercise as a working parent can feel almost impossible, but it doesn't have to be! Try some of our ideas and see if you can fit exercise into your busy day.

1. Get a training buddy

One of the best ways to stay motivated is to partner up. Whether it's a work colleague, your husband/wife, a friend, or a family member, working out together can make things more fun and interesting. Not only this, but if you have someone to be accountable to and someone who you will let down if you skip your session, you'll be more motivated to get that training session done!

2. Utilise playtime

When it's your child's playtime, get involved and burn some calories! If you have an energetic toddler, run around with them by playing adrenaline-fuelled games that involve running or chasing. If your children are a little older, find games where you can both get active, especially in the garden if it's summer time as there are lots of benefits to training outdoors.

3. Try dancing

Dancing is something that burns a lot of calories, will get you up and active, and can be very fun! If your children are very energetic, put on some music and dance away. This will not only help them burn off that extra energy and get you moving, it can be a great bonding experience. 

4. Swap your car for walking or cycling

By combining your errands with exercise, you can make the time to get active without compromising any of your daily activities. Try walking or cycling to the shops instead of driving, or walking your children to school. It may be easier than you think to get around without your car!

5. Exercise before you start your day

By getting up 30 minutes earlier than usual, you could fit in an entire workout and start your day right. There are lots of workouts you can do in under 30 minutes, like this 5-minute punchbag workout, 10-minute tabata workout, or this 20-minute home workout. Even a short workout is better than no workout at all, and it'll energise you for a productive day. If you don't want to get up earlier than you already do, try this lunchtime HIIT workout instead.

How can a stay at home mum lose weight?

There are lots of tips and tricks to losing weight if you are a stay-at-home parent. Follow these dos and don'ts to make sure you're staying healthy while at home with the little ones.

1. Don't eat anything you wouldn't feed to your kids

There are lots of things you wouldn't feed to your children because the salt or sugar content it too high, so why feed them to yourself? A good rule of thumb to follow is that if you wouldn't give it to your child because of the ingredients, you should avoid it yourself too. Stick to whole foods and try to avoid anything overly processed or pre-packaged.

2. Don't snack mindlessly

If you find yourself in a rare moment of calm when your child is playing happily alone or watching a television show, it can be tempting to mindlessly eat food that you don't really need. Avoid temptation by not having snacks in the house, and stick to eating at set times.

3. Do make mealtime an occasion

If mealtime is an occasion to look froward to when you eat together with your kids, you'll be less likely to have an unstructured day. Try to have at least one meal a day together as a family where you sit at a table and focus on what you're eating, rather than grabbing whatever is nearby because you're so rushed off your feet. This might mean deliberately making time for it in your day, but it will be worth it ultimately. 

4. Don't eat through stress

Being at home on your own with the kids all day can get pretty stressful. If tempers raise and tantrums ensue, make sure you're not reaching for food as comfort. Comfort eating is something that many of us do without realising and can be an almost impossible habit to break. As above, not having any temptation in the house will help with this and always count slowly to 10 before you eat a snack so that you're not eating it out of a stressed panic.

5. Do make food fun and creative by getting the children involved

Getting your kids to help in the kitchen is a fantastic way to bond and to help them develop vital skills for later in life. Let them get creative by coming up with new recipes and help them with the cooking. If you really want sweet treats, bake cookies or cupcakes together so that you really feel you've earned them and can have fun in the process. 

Working mom workout routine

If you have kids at home or are pregnant, try this working mom home workout routine by Sundried ambassador Carly Newson.

Fitness trackers and smartwatches are enjoying huge success at the moment. With 1 in 3 people set to own one within a few years, it's important you know how to make the most of yours! More companies than ever are hopping onto the bandwagon, with giants like Apple, Garmin and even Epson getting involved, it seems everyone wants a slice of the action. If you have a tracker wrapped around your wrist, here are some top tips and tricks on how to get the most out of your device.

1. Wear the watch on your less dominant arm

Whilst a lot of fitness watches have apps where you can enter which hand you're wearing the watch on, there are multiple advantages to wearing your watch on the less dominant hand. Fitness trackers can be an expensive investment, so placing it on your less dominant hand means it is less likely to get bashed and bumped while you move. Your less dominant arm moves less, which means you are less likely to get incorrect data from your tracker thinking you're taking steps when you're not, for example. Finally, wearing your fitness tracker on your less dominant hand can provide more accurate sleep data.

2. Make sure you can connect your wearable via Bluetooth

If you find that your fitness tracker is struggling to connect to your phone via Bluetooth, make sure your phone is not also connected to lots of other apps via Bluetooth (ie car speakers or wireless headphones.) 

3. Don’t be fooled by inaccurate data readings

It's important to take your fitness readings with a pinch of salt. Particularly if your tracker has a built-in heart rate monitor, it will never be as accurate as a chest strap. Your step count may be slightly out and your calories too, so just make sure you are relaxed about your readings and don't let them affect the rest of your training and your nutrition.

4. Keep it charged

Never start the day with low battery because you know by the time you make it to the gym, your battery is going to have died. Many wearables will have settings in the app which can optimise your battery usage, such as switching off all-day sync or swapping to battery saving mode, but really it's a matter of scheduling an appropriate time to add into your routine for wearable charging. If your watch isn’t waterproof, why not charge your watch when you're in the shower? It will help you to remember to take it off before showering and prevent breaking it as well as getting you into the routine of charging it regularly.

5. Utilise and sync with other apps

Leading fitness apps such as Myfitnesspal, Strava and Map my Run work with most fitness wearables to give you a more rounded picture of your health and can enhance your tracker’s data to help you reach your full potential. If you really want to get the most out of your tracker, sync with other apps to enhance your experience. 

6. Create an accurate user profile

With most wearables apps, you're asked to set up your user account before using the device. Data such as your age, weight, height and gender are entered before you can get started so that your tracker can analyse your profile and give you accurate readings. Make sure that you keep your measurements as accurate as possible so that you can get the most from your tracker - if you're not sure of your weight, go and weigh yourself, if you're not sure of your height, ask someone to measure you. It'll be worth it!

7. Be consistent

The more data you give to your tracker, the more accurate the analysis will be. If you have an all-day activity tracker with built-in heart rate monitor, step counter, sleep tracker etc then make sure you do wear it all day and make the most of the features. The more you run, bike, and walk, the more your tracker will be able to analyse your habits and give you a clearer picture of your health and fitness stats. For example, Garmin trackers that offer VO2 Max readings will need you to run consistently to get an accurate reading and they can offer race predictions after a few consistent training runs. 

8. Add friends

Sharing your progress with friends can inspire you to work harder, and can incentivise them to get involved too! Most fitness apps allow you to add friends so that you can view each other's progress, but not only that, you can get competitive and race against each other. Start competitions or challenges and go head to head with friends or running club buddies to encourage you to stay consistent with your training and push yourself harder than if you were training alone. 

9. Update your progress

As you gain or lose weight, your training stats will change. For example, if your starting weight is 140lbs but you drop to 120lbs, you will be burning fewer calories by doing the same things. Make sure you let your tracker/app know when you have lost or gained weight, had a birthday, anything that may affect your training stats.

10. Remember to wear it

As mentioned above, consistency is key. It'd be a shame to get a good streak going and then forget to wear your watch. Try to wear it every day (and every night if it tracks sleep) so that you can make the most of the data. However, remember that the stats are just a guide and try not to get too bogged down! It's all for fun and is supposed to help you lead a healthier life, not get stressed because you're constantly checking your heart rate or sleep pattern. 

Related: Are You Addicted To Your Fitness Tracker?

Looking for a new smartwatch or fitness tracker? Check out our ‘Wearables Review’ section to get the latest info on which watch is right for you!