USA Weekend: Next Friday is Leap Day—Take a leap!
Filed under: Pets 911 - February 24, 2008
By Natalie Ermann Russell
- Walk to work. Currently, only 2.5 percent of Americans rely on foot power. Kudos to Boston, which has the highest rate of work-walkers in a major city, at 13 percent. If work is too far away, walk to lunch.
- Soar up, up and away in a hot air balloon. See your city and the surrounding countryside from a whole new vantage point.
- Try rock climbing. It’s a good workout, and you might spot wildlife on their home turf.
- Hire a yoga instructor to come to the office to show you and your co-workers a few simple relaxation moves.
- Drink a glass of red wine. It’s abundant in antioxidants that help relax the arteries and prevent blood clots and cholesterol buildup.
- Sign up for scuba-diving classes, and book a summer diving trip to Florida or the Caribbean. Really adventure-hungry? Plan to dive the Red Sea.
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Real stairs burn more calories than the StairMaster. But proceed with caution if you’re prone to knee problems—stair-climbing can be taxing.
- Reel in a new hobby with Robert J. Sousa’s book, Learn to Fly Fish in 24 Hours. Then, be ready when the season begins in spring.
- Turn off your cellphone, BlackBerry or other hand-held device for the whole day.
- Make firm plans for every vacation day you will earn this year. Last year, Americans let more than 438 million vacation days go unused, according to a survey by Expedia.com. That’s about three days per person down the drain.
- Buy a plane ticket to a place you’ve never visited. Begin by exploring SmarterTravel.com, LastMinuteTravel.com and 11thHourVacations.com for low-cost, last-minute fares.
- Register to vote and help make the November 2008 turnout better than in 2004, when only 64 percent of eligible Americans went to the polls.
- Take a new route to work. It may add five minutes to your commute, but you’ll actually start noticing again what’s outside the car window.
- Read a heart-pounding adventure book. The Worst Journey in the World, by Apsley Cherry-Garrard, details his 1910-13 journey to the Antarctic with famed explorer Robert Falcon Scott.
- Plan your workouts for the entire month of March. There are plenty of 30-day programs, and then you get a whole day (March has 31 of ‘em, remember?) to check out the results in the mirror.
- Buy a harmonica. Playing an instrument increases left-brain activity, and the harmonica is easy to learn—you can be playing Swanee River by sundown!
- Read the book that inspired an action-adventure movie you’ve already seen. You may be surprised to learn which scenes didn’t make it into the film, or that the book was actually good even if the movie was lousy.
- Hit the gym before work. There’s no physiological reason that a morning workout will be more effective, but you may sleep better later, according to one study.
- Look every service person you deal with directly in the eye. That McD’s coffee guy is a person, too; recognizing it makes you a better one.
- Learn how to shoot a bow. The sport of archery is rich in history, and you have to use your own strength to hit the target.
- Make a difference. Help others—that’s the idea behind Make A Difference Day, begun on Leap Day 1992. Turn the page for more.
- Ratchet up your water consumption. Every time you say a common word—such as “and”—take a drink. You’ll reach the recommended six to eight glasses a day in no time.
- Go sky-diving. Or, for an even bigger thrill, plan a jump from a helicopter instead of an airplane.
- Sign up for karate lessons. It will be hard to forget the first time you chop a board in half with your bare hand.
- Reach for a piece of dark chocolate when you need a midafternoon jolt of caffeine. It’s rich in free radical-destroying antioxidants, which may prevent heart disease and other illnesses.
- Learn how to play a new card game. Card Games for Dummies is a good place to start. Playing cards keeps the mind alert and helps give your memory a boost; learningsomething new increases stimulation and keeps boredom at bay.
- Try a food you’ve never eaten, like rabbit or kumquats. You may never eat it again, but at least you can say you tried it.
- Volunteer at your local animal shelter to walk dogs that are waiting to be adopted. (Go to the website pets911.com to find the shelter nearest to you.)