One of my clients hates to workout.

She doesn’t like sweating.
She feels uncomfortable when she starts breathing heavily.
And she hates post-workout soreness.

But as a coach, my role is to help her find an activity that she is able to do, and that she enjoys doing or else she won’t continue. I am sure you know the feeling, sunshine.

Well, lo and behold, Lisa* (name changed for anonymity), a midwest gal, has
invented–or at least coined the term–shoppercising.

While she hates exercising, she loves shopping, so we made it a fitness activity! 

Lisa logs nearly 8K steps (around 4 miles!) meandering through Target 3 days a week!

And here’s what’s crazy–within 6 weeks she hit her goal, which was planned for spring 2018! (Note: it took more than 3 trips to Target/week.) 🙂

So while I was home in PA this holiday season, I decided to give shoppercising a try, as I was not prepared to brave the frigid temps with an outdoor exercise routine.

I went to the local big box store (there’s no Target in my small town) and zig-zagged my way through the aisles. It was quite incredible that from one entrance to the other, wandering through every aisle, I hoofed more than 2,500 steps! To double my count, I simply reversed my trail.

But for this lap, I had an idea.

In the spirit of the holidays (I began shoppercising at Thanksgiving) I decided that Lap #2 would be on assignment.

While pushing my empty cart, I searched for someone to bless.

On this particular trip, I ended up finding a sweet middle-aged woman near the checkout who was buying gifts for her grandchildren who were visiting from out of state. I simply approached her and told her I’d like to buy the items in her cart as a gesture of kindness. We exchanged stories, names, and hugs and parted ways, both beaming from ear to ear.

As a result, I decided to institute shoppercising for the biggest shopping season of the year–funny how it coincides with some of the coldest weather, too!

Each week of Advent, I shoppercised on a mission.

I was no longer avoiding colder temps with an indoor activity in an effort to accumulate more steps, rather I was seeking the opportunity to share random acts of kindness with others.

I experienced such joy through these spontaneous love offerings that I’ve decided to implement this fun “exercise routine” each week in 2018.

Today I shoppercised at Target and listened to a sermon on lap #1 while using their free Wifi–ah, the joy of multi-tasking!

So what about you, sunshine?

Are you up for trying a little shoppercising of your own in 2018?

Or perhaps you have a way of loving up on others and getting your fitness on, too!?

I’d love to hear YOUR way.

With love for a year of abundance of good health and blessings,

“This is my last gift to you, this example of a way of life:
a life of hard work, a life of helping the weak,
a life that echoes every day those words of Jesus our King, who said,
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Acts 20:35
The Message

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