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By: LaRue Novick

SO YOU HAVE a goal to lose a certain amount of weight in a certain amount of time. You’ve got your workout schedule at the gym all planned, but why not reach your goal a little faster by adding some extra activities to your day?

The benefit of doing extra activities every day is all that calorie and fat burning adds up with the end result being a leaner, fitter you in no time. Besides, taking breaks from sitting for too long (which studies show is unhealthy for you) to do something fun and active lifts your spirits, boosts your brain power and speeds up your metabolism. Following are four tips from fitness expert and trainer Sara Haley.

BE CREATIVE: Put on your favorite music for a dance jam session by yourself or with your kids. Or try ice skating, Rollerblading, tennis, racquetball – anything different from your normal routine. These are all fun and surprisingly fast ways to burn some additional calories.

GET BACK TO BASICS: “Planks, pushups and squats are calorie-torching moves and can be done anywhere,” says Haley. Try pushups in the morning when you wake up, squats while you’re on a work break and never go to bed without doing a plank. Basic exercises such as these are the gold standards of fitness. They will strengthen you from head to toe. Next, challenge yourself to do more each time. Can you do 10 more push-ups? Hold a plank for 1 minute, 2 minutes?

GIVE YOUR HOME A FACE-LIFT: Rake some leaves (or shovel snow, depending on where you live in the United States), paint your living room, rearrange the furniture, chop wood for a lovely fire, do some heavy duty cleaning. These extra activities not only sizzle calories but make your home that much more homey.

USE YOUR DOWN-TIME: Watching your favorite TV show? Use each commercial (that means no fast forwarding if you’re watching on DVR) to work a different body part. One commercial is pushups for the chest, the next commercial is squats for the legs, the next is dips for the triceps, the last is sit-ups for the abs. Now, you can watch your favorite TV show while working toward your weight loss goals at the same time!