- By Caila Ball-Dionne

The sun has set on sandy beach endurance runs and wetsuit-free open water swimming for the season, but there are plenty of uniquely autumn activities to take that summer exercise’s place. It’s a good thing, too: according to numerous studies, people consume approximately 200 more calories every day in the autumn than they do in the summer! 

While a healthy fall harvest can help curb that extra calorie consumption, taking on these new activities will help regulate the pumpkin spice latte calorie intake.

Enjoy the Leaves From Outside the Car

Turn a leaf-peeping drive into the country into a fall exercise sesh, and get an even better view of the foliage. Hiking to a point above the tree line will not only give you a postcard perspective, but will burn approximately 350-400 calories in an hour.

Apple Picking

Apples are one of our favorite fall power foods, and picking apples can pack an extra punch in the form of 200 calories per hour workout! Aim for the fruit at the highest points of the trees furthest away from where you have parked to maximize the stretching and cardio potential.

Football: Not Just For Watching

Have a penchant for parking it in front of the flat screen for eight hours of football viewing every Saturday and/or Sunday of fall? Make it (slightly) less sedentary by adding some intense touch football into the day during long commercial breaks. Every 15-minute halftime spent playing touch football burns approximately 125 by mindlessly munching through halftime commentary.

Be Inspired by Back to School Season

You don’t need to ride a school bus to enjoy some back to school gym class exercise! Surprisingly, the same exercises that many of us once dreaded in junior high are actually pretty fun as an adult. Join an adult dodgeball league to burn approximately 180 calories/hour, or work on your mile time, and burn approximately 100 calories with each mile you run. It’s all the fun, minus that haunting locker room odor!

Miss Summer? Turn up the Heat!

Sweater weather not your jam? Go to the one place left where sweltering temperatures of summer are a year-round occurrence. An hour-long session of hot yoga will burn 400-500 calories, and will probably have you rethinking how much you “miss” the heat.

Seek Out a Halloween Costume

Ordering a Halloween costume online? Way too easy! Instead, go on a scavenger hunt cleaning mission to piece together Halloween costumes out of items you already own. The resulting thorough cleaning, which burns up to 150 calories/hour, may result in a questionable costume, but will at least have organizational benefits.

Reap the Benefits of Yard Work

Not every fall activity is going to be a blast, but that fall yard work needs to get done. Instead of breaking out a leaf blower, clear your yard of leaves the old fashioned way: with a rake. Not only will you be saving the air from the leaf blower’s gas-run pollution – not to mention neighbors within a five-house radius of yours from some serious noise pollution - you’ll also be burning an estimated 150-200 calories/hour. 

How are you going to keep the calorie burn going this season?