Your kitchen is a great place to incorporate light exercise

Brian Ernst/Sun-Times

If you’re short on time but find yourself stuck in the kitchen making daily meals, you can burn off a few calories while you’re cooking or prepping food or just waiting for that roast to come out of the oven.

So instead of just standing around waiting for your dinner to be ready or perusing those refrigerator shelves for a snack (that you really shouldn’t have anyway), try some of these exercises to help pass the time (and you’ll get some good stretches, too).

The “Smoothie” Push-Up

Stephanie Mansour uses a kitchen counter to begin what she calls a “Smoothie Push-Up.”

Put all of your smoothie ingredients into the blender as usual, and turn it on. While waiting for your beverage to take shape, place your hands on the countertop a little bit wider than your shoulders. Step your feet back a couple of feet away from the counter. Bend the elbows out to the sides and then press up into a push-up. Repeat this 10 times. By the time your smoothie is ready, your push-ups are done, too.

No more just standing around waiting: A kitchen island counter is used to perform a variation on a push-up. You can do a series of these push-ups while waiting for a smoothie to finish blending, or your microwave timer signal your food is ready.

Oven Open & Squat

Anytime you put something into the oven, instead of just bending down, squat down to open and close the oven door.

For a more dedicated exercise — when the oven is not in use — you can do a brief workout using the oven door as a starting point. Remember to keep the feet in proper position — feet apart as wide as the shoulders. Keep the heels pressing into the ground as you sit back into the squat, and then come back up to standing. Be sure to rest your hands gently on the oven handle; don’t use it to pull yourself up. You’re simply resting your fingers and hands on the oven handle — not using it for balance! Repeat this motion 10 times.

Don’t just bend down to place items in the oven. Try this squat exercise instead when opening and closing the oven door. Remember to gently place your fingers on the door; never use it to pull yourself up.

These easy exercises will definitely change the way you spend time in the kitchen!

Stephanie Mansour wants you to ‘“step up” your fitness regimen. Mansour coaches private clients in weight loss, provides fitness/health/lifestyles advice on national TV shows, and offers her free 21 Day Challenge online. Check out her fitness tips every Thursday in the Well section of the Chicago Sun-Times. And visit her website at stepitupwithsteph.com.