Top 5 Tips to Burn Off Easter Eggs

So we're all guilty of enjoying a few too many Easter eggs, but Virgin Active Health Club's Christian Mason shows us how to get rid of the evidence!

1. Implement an effective workout program
Regularly eating chocolate without implementing a solid exercise regimen can result in weight gain and decreased fitness levels. Easter chocolates high in saturated fat can increase cholesterol levels, leading to heart problems, while too many sugary treats may result in diabetes. Exercising 2-3 times a week for 30-60 minutes will be a good start depending on your goals, age, exercise experience and current fitness level.

2. Mix up your exercise routine to avoid monotony with different forms of cardio and group classes
Boxing, circuit-style training, interval training, skipping and swimming are all great calorie burners that keep you active and engaged. Combine these with compound movements such as push-ups, squats, lunges, burpees, squat presses, weighted step-ups and other movements that involve the whole body to ensure a well-rounded work out. If solo work outs don’t appeal to you, group classes at Virgin Active such as Body Pump, Spin, Body Attack and Body Step are also great high intensity classes that will keep you motivated as well as ensuring you burn off those unwanted calories over Easter.

3. Know the nutritional content of treats and what that means for your exercise routine
A 100 gram Easter egg roughly contains 765 calories, 26 grams of fat and 62 grams of carbohydrates. To burn this off you will need to run on a treadmill at 11kmph for 45 minutes. A 500 gram Easter egg roughly contains 2550 calories, 130 grams of fat and 310 grams of carbohydrates. The average person would need to spend over two hours of running at 12kmph on a treadmill to burn this off. Keep these figures in mind when enjoying leftover Easter treats!

4. Look for chocolate with a high cocoa content
Like anything, chocolate is better for you when closest to its original form. The higher the cocoa content, the less room there is for cocoa butter, sugar, lecithin, vanilla, milk, nuts and other ingredients that makes chocolate less of a vegetable and more of a high sugar, high GI snack. Small amounts of dark chocolate can aid the circulatory system and fight free radicals in your body. Dark chocolate has also been proven to oxidate LDL cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart disease. Look for organic dark chocolate or try a dark chocolate drink in order to skip the extra sugars and fats.

5. It’s all about moderation!
Chocolate can have both positive and negative effects on your body. Small amounts of chocolate are fine from time to time as long as you are staying active and have a well-balanced diet.

Visit Virgin Active for more information.