At first sight, Tai Chi may not appear as the most taxing of workouts, yet the flowing

succession of slow and graceful movements can be a great calorie burner. Tai Chi is as low impact an exercise as you will find, yet a half hour session can burn on average 140 calories.

When done correctly, Tai-chi raises the heart rate significantly (to approximately 60 per cent of maximum) - enough to be classed as moderate exercise. In addition to the calorie burn, there are other benefits including improved strength, flexibility, concentration, and balance. And best thing of all is that Tai Chi can be done almost anywhere, anytime.

Image: Flickr/unodipassaggio