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Read this if: you want to get fit but you don’t like standard forms of exercise

Save: up to $800 a year in gym membership fees, plus not having to work out in public!

Gain: a fun way to get fit, in the comfort of your own home

Cost: from $140 – $440 (assuming you don’t already own one of the consoles)

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We all know we should be getting regular exercise – but how much is enough, and what should we be doing?  According to experts at the Mayo Clinic, adults should aim for 150 minutes of “moderate aerobic activity” every week as a minimum.  You should spread this out – so ideally you’re aiming for 30 minutes, 5 days a week.

Sound a lot?  Well the good news is “moderate aerobic activity” can include all sorts of things – basically anything that gets your heart rate going.  Here’s a simple list of some examples from New Fitness:

• Take a short walk around the block
• Rake leaves
• Play actively with the kids
• Walk up the stairs instead of taking the elevator
• Mow the lawn

Of course, if you’re looking to get fit you’ll want to do more vigorous exercise than this.  The amount of exercise you need to do will vary massively according to your starting weight and fitness levels, but there are all sorts of activities you could try, including running, swimming or signing up to a gym.

But what if you’re looking for something a bit different?  So you’re keen to get your heart rate up a bit more than walking round the block, but you’re not keen on joining a running club or gym?  After all, if you pay the average gym membership of $50 per month, with your sign on fee you could be paying as much as $800 a year – quite a substantial investment.

Mums with couch potato kids: Listen up! New advances in the gaming industry could offer a great alternative.  It all started with the Nintendo Wii – a games console that tracks your actual movements via the controller (rather than you just tapping some buttons), so you’re required to get out of our seat and actually move about.  Recently the other two heavyweights of the gaming world have also joined the party with their own offerings, with the introduction of the Xbox Kinect and PlayStation Move – so you’ve now got three options to choose from. You can read our reviews of these consoles here.

Get off the sofa and away from your online bingo and actually get moving about to play the games, and you’ll definitely be able to get your heart rate going – and some of the games available even track things like your weight and how many calories you burn during each exercise.  Sounds like a great at-home alternative to standard forms of exercise to me!

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Buy a games console on Amazon:

Nintendo Wii

Xbox 360 4GB Console with Kinect

PlayStation 3 320GB System with PlayStation Move Bundle