I couldn’t help myself. The stroller is green. And when I take my cat, Chancey, on walks in it, I’m being green, right? You gotta see us in action over here! But besides walking your pet in a stroller, here are 5 other ways to be lean and green.

1. Move it outdoors – This may sound like a no-brainer, but think of all the things you can do outside that only use YOUR energy. Get creative – besides walking, jogging, or biking, you can also skip, do jumping jacks, or run up and down stairs. You can even throw in some strength training along the way – do a few lunges, squats, pushups, or situps.

We did a lot of exercises that used just our body weight in my Boot Camp class.

2. Take a dip – Go for a swim or get some water exercise canoeing, kayaking, or doing water aerobics.

3. Re-think your drink – Bring your own reusable water bottle for your H2O when you workout instead of using paper cups or buying bottled water.

4. Get your green on – Wear workout clothes made of organic cotton, bamboo, or other natural fibers. And try yoga mats or yoga bags made of recycled materials.

5. Give your old threads and treads a second life – For example, send your worn-out workout clothes to Patagonia and they will recycle them and turn them into new ones. Or drop off your battered sneakers at a Nike Reuse-A-Shoe collection center and they will use them to make basketball courts, running tracks, and playgrounds.

I’m fortunate enough to live in an area where I’m within a mile or two of my bank, gym, and grocery store, so I walk my errands as much as possible. How about you? Got any green exercise tips to share?

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Walking or biking to work – even if you just do it part of the way – is linked with fitness. But when a new study looked at more than 2,000 middle-aged people who live in the city, it found very few Americans do either. Researchers say only about 17-percent of workers walked or biked any part of their commute. Experts note crumbling sidewalks, lack of bike paths and the distance to work all keep American commuters in their cars.

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When your walks get boring, you just gotta spice ‘em up… maybe even ruff ‘em up a little, like they do over at Does This Blog Make Us Look Fat?

Or ummm… try this!

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If you like to walk to get your exercise, you may need to pick up the pace. New research shows you should take 100 steps per minute to get a moderate-intensity workout. A pedometer can of course keep track of how many steps you take but it doesn’t monitor how hard you exercise. Researchers suggest you first try to reach 1,000 steps in 10 minutes then build up to 3,000 steps in 30 minutes and do this five times a week.

I may have to try this mainly because I’m curious now! Anybody out there ever counted your steps when you walk?

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I can definitely relate to this one. A new report finds women step up their walking when it’s warm outside. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh say many women are fair-weather exercisers, walking an average of 2,000 more steps a day in the summer than in the winter – about one mile more a day. And the groundhog seeing his shadow this week isn’t helping things…

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Not to be negative, but I wasn’t really surprised when I saw a new report about how so many Americans are missing their exercise goals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says about a third of adults are not meeting the minimum levels of physical activity from the newly released 2008 Guidelines.

Those guidelines recommend two and a half hours a week of moderate activity, like brisk walking, or 75 minutes a week of vigorous activity, like running. Doesn’t seem like that much, does it?

Other guidelines – from the government’s Healthy People 2010 – say we need at least 30 minutes of moderate activity five days a week, or 20 minutes of vigorous activity three days a week. Only half of those surveyed in the CDC’s report meet those goals.

And even stronger guidelines come from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) – that groups says we should exercise at least an hour a day to maintain our health and weight.

Why so many guidelines? Which ones – if any – do you follow?

Me – I’ve been slacking a little because of the evil winter season (we don’t get along), but my exercise levels are usually more along the guidelines of the IOM.

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We  hear a lot about the health benefits of walking. Now a new study from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center confirms how it can be so good for you. Researchers say something as simple as brisk walking can boost weight loss while trimming dangerous belly fat and overall body fat.

And if you want to get even more out of it, here’s how you can give your abs a workout when you go on a walk.

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Where you live may have something to do with your weight. A new study from the University of Utah finds the year your neighborhood was built may be just as important as diet and exercise for shedding pounds. If you live in a neighborhood built before 1950, you’re more likely to walk more and be trimmer than if you live in a more modern community.

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After all the holiday feasting, now is a good time to walk off some of those calories. But before you head out, clip a pedometer onto your waistband to count your steps – new research shows it’ll boost your workout.

A report from Stanford University School of Medicine finds pedometers can help you exercise more, lose weight, and lower your blood pressure.

Researchers analyzed 26 studies that looked at using pedometers to motivate people to exercise. 2,767 people took part in the studies – most were female, overweight, and relatively inactive before they started their walking program.

Results show those who used pedometers increased their physical activity by just over 2,000 steps – the equivalent of about a mile of walking a day.

Researchers say setting a goal of a certain number of steps was key to increasing physical activity. Even if participants didn’t actually reach their goal, it seemed to help them stay motivated.

The study authors note their research had some limitations – only 15-percent of participants were male and the mean study duration was only 18 weeks – so more research is definitely needed. But they still hope the findings will encourage physicians to recommend pedometers to their sedentary patients… and get them moving.

The study is published in the November 21 issue of JAMA.

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Give your abdominal muscles a workout when you go for a walk – Stand tall and really concentrate on pulling those abs in toward your spine.

We asked Angela Parsons – someone who walks on a regular basis – to step up her routine to help tone her tummy. She said the hardest thing about it was the mental factor.

“I get into the routine of walking and I’m just focused on where I’m going and keeping my heart rate up but I don’t think as much about my abs,” she explains. “If you just really focus on doing it continually, after awhile you can really feel it.”

Here’s how to get started: Hold your abs in tight for just five to ten seconds at a time, then work on holding them in for as long as you can.

Tightening your abs also takes the strain off your back so you don’t hurt yourself. And here’s another bonus – it helps you walk faster, which means you can burn more calories.

See the video here

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