Sometimes it can feel like a heavy burden to find the time to stay fit and be active.
But did you know that it only takes two-and-a-half hours per week to maintain a healthy fitness level?
There's a new fitness trend called exercise snacking, which consists of simply breaking up your day with short bursts of exercise.
Studies have found that even just two minutes of walking every 20 minutes reduces blood sugar!
Great news, right?
They also found that the average Canadian only accumulates 25-minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week!
We can do better!
Dr. Todd Duhamel, the Heart & Stroke researcher and principal investigator at the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, has spent part of his career studying behavioural changes, focusing primarily on what keeps us from getting the physical activity we need to reduce our risk of heart disease, stroke, and other diseases as we age.
“One of the most common mistakes people make, when they’re first getting active, is thinking of exercise in rigid terms. It has to happen in a gym. A treadmill might be involved. You should break a sweat,” says Dr. Duhamel, “But it’s that rigidity that can set us up for disappointment.”
Studies have found that even just climbing three flights of stairs, three times a day, three days a week for six weeks was enough!
Once you start analyzing your day-to-day routine, you may notice that you're meeting that 20-minute per day goal already by doing what you like! And, if not? Finding ways to squeeze in a few more minutes here and there will get easier for you as you make this your new focus.
In Dr. Duhamel’s study geared towards discovering strategies that would help encourage employees to simply sit less and move more throughout their work days, nearly every participant found a drastic improvement in their physical activity, overall, once they got moving, and 54% of the ENCOURAGE project participants were meeting the 150 minute mark, per week! That’s six times the national average!
I find, for me, the most important thing to remember is that it doesn't have to be a chore to stay active. We can all fit a movement activity into our busy schedules by counting what we're already doing in our day-to-day life. <link to article 001 - How to maintain your fitness level as you age>
Going grocery shopping? That counts! Mowing the lawn? Shovelling your walk? Playing with the grandkids? It all counts, and it all adds up.
You're never too busy to stay active, you just need to see where you're already doing it and then aim to make it to 20 to 30 minutes per day.
A great way to help you do this is to log your progress. <link to article 008 - logging your progress - Twyla to write>
You don't need to strive for intense, strenuous, non-stop activities either.
You'll be amazed by how much more energy you have and how much better you feel by finding ways to incorporate strength training, stretching and cardio into your day-to-day life throughout the week.
Arlene Semeco, MS, RD, says: "exercise is defined as any movement that makes your muscles work and requires your body to burn calories."
Additionally, getting enough exercise has been shown to increase energy levels for both healthy folks and people experiencing serious health troubles such as cancer, while greatly improving their chances of recovery. Check out my article that goes over some of the main benefits that even just a short, 10 minute daily workout, can provide.
This study found that just 6-weeks of regular exercise reduced overall feelings of fatigue for the 36 people involved, that had reported persistent fatigue, prior.
Remember, begin by aiming for what you find manageable at first, such as 2 to 5-minutes of brisk walking, to reach your daily total of 20 to 30 minutes per day, and 2-and-a-half hours per week. For more information, check out my article on exercise snacking and how you can sprinkle in tidbits of physical activity throughout your day!
When you feel ready, and you will! You can aim for longer intervals of 10, 15 and even 20-minutes at a time. Check out my article on how to improve your cardio stamina by alternating walking with jogging here. <Link to Article F007>
Try my simple 15-minute core exercise video to get a better idea of the different parts of the body that you can focus on, and pay attention to how you feel, while activating them as you go. Remember, you don't need to do it in all one go, you can break it up into 2 or 3 parts. Just be sure you have fun, and listen to your body's cues.
You'll be surprised by how, once you get going, you won't want to stop. It's scientifically guaranteed!
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