A few generations back, everyday life involved a lot of physical activity. Being fit has become a new status symbol in today's sedentary world. Learn how to bring exercise into your everyday life and become fit with minimum time and effort.
Exercise is so good, but so many people skip it.
According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “regular physical activity is one of the most important things you can do for your health.”
Regular exercise improves mood and brain health, strengthens bones, and strengthens the immune system. Exercise is often viewed as a medicine and prescribed by some doctors.
When exercise is so good for us, why do so many live sedentary lifestyles? According to the WHO, only 3 out of four adults meet the recommended minimum of physical activity per week. In some countries, like the US, the number drops to just one in four adults meeting the recommended minimum. The minimum requirements are 150 moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise. Unfortunately, our current sedentary and hyper-busy life doesn't have as much room for exercise as it used to have.
Exercise: Lifestyle or Luxury?
Just a few centuries ago, constant exercise was essential to everyday life. Most people walked a lot and did a lot of physical activity in their gardens, farms and around their houses. To prepare dinner a few generations ago, people had to chop wood, get water from the well, and operate heavy kitchen gear.
Not to the same extent, but the lifestyle of people in some communities around the world, called “blue zones,” still involves a lot of low-impact physical activities. People in “blue zones” live longer and healthier than the rest of the world and don’t go to the gym. Instead, they are engaged in hours of walking, cooking, working around the house and gardening daily, as their ancestors did.
Today, fitness is a luxury to many, primarily due to time constraints. People with 9 to 5 jobs and family responsibilities find it challenging to carve out a few hours needed to go to the gym. The more economic advantage people have, the more opportunities they have to access personal training, gyms at their homes, expensive equipment and, most importantly, time to exercise when it works best for them. Research studies found a positive correlation between wealth and fitness. In today’s world, being a fit person has become a status symbol, which is unattainable by the majority.
Exercise: Back to the Future
Exercise, like access to clean water and nutritious food, is fundamental to our well-being. Like in the old good days, it should not require extra time, cost, skills or equipment. An average person should be able to move throughout the day and stay fit with a minimum investment of dedicated time and resources. No extra sweating, showers, commuting to the gym, or carving out hours from a super busy schedule should be required.
How is it possible if every innovation seems to reduce our need for physical activity further and further? Thankfully, not every. Standing desks are becoming a new standard in offices. Companies actively encourage 45-minute meetings instead of one-hour ones to allow employees to stretch out between meetings. Wireless headsets let us walk when we talk over the phone. Weighted backpacks and vests are designed to add strength training to our walks and other cardio programs. Bikes and scooters for rent programs are gaining popularity. Many playgrounds are equipped with exercise machines for parents. Let’s explore how we can take advantage of these new possibilities.
Here are several tips that will help you gain the benefits of fitness, an active lifestyle, and regular exercise while spending minimum time and resources.
Rucking. Rucking is walking with a weighted vest or backpack. It is an easy and cost-effective way to add resistance training to everyday life. Rucking improves heart health, makes strong bones, and strengthens muscles. Rucking can burn three times more calories than walking. A weighted backpack improves posture, strengthens the spine, and prevents back pain. Racking can be enjoyed at home while doing chores like cooking, cleaning or folding laundry. Rucking can also increase the efficiency of outdoor walks. The most optimal approach is to start with a low weight and slowly increase it over time.
Invisible Exercise. A 34-year-old woman, Leah Hope, from Arizona, lost 180 pounds over a year by walking or light marching on the spot inside her house. Leah splits her daily walking into five-minute chanks and targets 8000 daily steps. She does it when watching TV or doing household chores. On average, it takes about 12 five-minute marching practices to reach 8000 steps. Leah is a photographer who works primarily from home. Even if you work in the office, you can still find opportunities to walk, stretch or do “exercise snacks“ for five minutes every hour.
Exercise Snacks. If your work environment allows you to step outside your desk, you can move your body for five minutes every hour at much greater complexity and effectiveness than walking or marching. Options for five-minute exercises at home, or “exercise snacks, “ include wall sitting, planks, sit-ups, crunches, push-ups, lunches, and even TRX workouts. Exercise snacks are usually low-intensity, which eliminates excessive sweating and post-workout showers. Along with benefits for the body, exercise snacks are an excellent boost to mental power.
Standing Desk. Both prolonged sitting and standing are detrimental to our health. Sitting is linked to a risk of back pain, bad posture, tight hips and stiff neck. Standing is linked to leg, foot, knee and ankle pain. Both standing and sitting are linked to a compressed spine and varicose veins. Standing burns slightly more calories than sitting. Standing desks allow us to switch the pressure periodically from the back to the legs and feet. Sometimes, we can add extra movements to our standing position, such as torso twisting using rotation disks or leg strength training using ankle weights and resistance bands.
Active Recreation. People with sedentary jobs should take every opportunity outside their working hours to be active. Here are some suggestions.
Take your friend for a walk instead of meeting for coffee.
Extend your circle of friends around your favourite sports. Examples are cycling or running clubs.
Give preference to activate forms of vacation, such as hiking or mountain walks.
Walk around a playground when your child plays there.
Take your children to playgrounds with exercise equipment for parents or trampoline parks where adults can jump.
Run behind your young children when they go on a bike ride.
A few additional tips. If you choose to go to the gym, choose the closest one. Ideally, your gym should be as close as your fridge. It means in your house, apartment, or apartment building. Every extra minute of driving to the gym decreased the chances of going there regularly.