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The 5: Be a green superhero

Categories: Womens Health, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Alternative & Green Health, Men's Health

Have an hour to spare each day? Looking to drop a few pounds? And help the environment? If you said yes to all three of these questions, you're the calorie-burning, eco-friendly person that a recent Men's Health article was obviously written for.

Slim down and tone up your muscles while doing your part to save the world; here are five ways to make yourself a green superhero.

1. Running (1 hr at a 9-min.-mile pace)
  • 902 calories burned on a treadmill
  • 943 calories burned running outdoors with hill sections
  • Energy Saved: Running for 30 minutes on a treadmill a day uses about 2,000 watts a year and costs around $50
  • Go the Extra Mile: Add stairs to your run. You'll burn an extra 308 calories in just 15 minutes
2. Trimming Trees and Hedges (1 hour)
  • 287 calories burned using an electric trimmer
  • 369 calories burned using a hand trimmer
  • Energy Saved: Besides the electricity used to run the power trimmer, you can go a step further to help the environment by using watering cans instead of a sprinkler -- which loses most of its water to runoff or evaporation. You'll also burn an extra 123 calories in the process.
3. Commuting (1 hour)
  • 164 calories burned while driving to work
  • 656 calories burned while cycling to work
  • Carbon Saved: The average round-trip commute (totaling 1 hour) releases 21.3 pounds of carbon-dioxide into the atmosphere
  • Go the Extra Mile: Take the stairs instead of the elevator at work. As little as 10 minutes of slow climbing burns 112 calories
4. Mowing (1 hour)
  • 205 calories burned using a riding mower
  • 492 calories burned using a push mower
  • Carbon Saved: 148 pounds of carbon-dioxide annually -- enough to offset your home's natural gas use for five days
  • Go the Extra Mile: Rake your lawn by hand to burn an additional 353 calories an hour
5. Gaming (1 hour)
  • 123 calories burned playing Madden NFL '08
  • 656 calories burned playing an actual game of touch football
  • Energy Saved: An Xbox 360 uses about 200 kilowatt-hours a year, or $33 of your power bill
You can find these environmentally sound tips and others in the issue of Men's Health on stands now. There's a bunch of great pieces on ways you can better your body and the earth itself. Before long, the Hulk may want to consider a new color, because he won't be the only green superhero in town.

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