We all know that exercise is good for you, physically and mentally. At a minimum, we should be getting at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week, or half that amount (75 minutes) per week of vigorous exercise. But most Americans do much less: One in five adults age 19 and older gets less than 30 minutes of physical activity a week.
I think a lot of us feel guilty about not being more active, but not guilty enough to do anything about it. Instead, we create excuses to get out of trouble. For example:
“I’m too tired after working all day.” Probably yes, but ironically, the best way to cheer yourself up is to get some exercise. Lying on the couch makes you feel more tired.
“Exercise is boring.” It sure is if you choose a boring form of exercise. But there are plenty of options if you just look for them. How about watching TV or listening to your favorite upbeat music while exercising on a treadmill or stationary bike?
“Exercise is uncomfortable.” If you’re not in good shape, moving your body will be uncomfortable at first. But as you progress, it will get better.
And of course, the last excuse: “I’m too busy.”
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Sure, Americans are busy people and we’re proud of it. We are the most productive society in the world, and the hardest working. We rarely take vacations, and when we do, most of us stay connected to work through our phones and computers. Should we be praised for our work ethic? Maybe, but the cost is high. At a minimum, it prevents us from following healthy lifestyle practices, such as regular exercise, the core component of aging well.
So how can we improve this situation? Here are some tips:
How to add an exercise regimen to your daily routine?
The answer to a healthier lifestyle is to incorporate exercise little by little throughout the day. The key is the cumulative effects, especially when it comes to weight management.
A great example is climbing stairs. Climbing stairs offers many benefits, such as burning lots of calories and strengthening your legs. To determine the caloric cost per flight, multiply the number of steps by 0.3. For example, every time you upload Y Going down a flight of 15 steps (typical in an average home), you burn about 4.5 calories (twice as much going up than going down: 3.0 kcal going up vs. 1.5 going down).
While that doesn’t sound like much, in the course of a day, it wouldn’t be hard to do 20 flights. At home, go up and down the stairs during TV commercials. At work, find excuses to leave your desk. Or you can do multiple flights during your lunch hour. For those who work in a high-rise building, you can go up multiple floors at once and can knock them out on your way to and from work.
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The research data supporting the benefits of stair climbing is abundant. In one study, sedentary people gradually increased their daily use of stairs in a public building by adding an extra flight each week and working up to a total climbing time of 13.5 minutes per day. Despite the limited time required, the participants significantly increased their cardiovascular fitness and raised their HDL, the good type of cholesterol that protects the heart. That’s a big hit for little money.
Why you should exercise now to prevent the difficulties of aging
Doing your best to climb stairs can also help you avoid the downward spiral that so often accompanies aging in the US.
As we age, the things we used to do and take for granted become more physically challenging, and climbing stairs is the perfect example. As climbing stairs becomes more difficult, it is human nature to do less and avoid it if possible. As he does less, he becomes weaker, making the task more difficult, causing him to climb even fewer stairs. Eventually, he discovers that he is too weak to climb even one flight of stairs.
Since climbing stairs gets harder with age, let me encourage you to do more, not less. Resign yourself to looking for more opportunities to climb stairs and eventually you will find that it gets easier and easier. Plus, the increased strength and fitness from climbing stairs will stretch out and make other things you do throughout the day less physically challenging.
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Tips for exercising if you have bad knees
What if you have a bad knee? Push with your good leg and pull with your bad leg to go up the step. If both knees are bad, climbing stairs isn’t for you, but assuming you can still walk, even if you need a walker or cane, look for more opportunities to walk. Again, even if it’s in parts, you can rack up a considerable amount of calories expended throughout the day, in addition to maintaining at least a minimal level of strength and fitness.
By walking a full mile at a comfortable pace in parts, women will burn about 60 kcal and men 80 kcal (men burn more calories because they are bigger). This doesn’t sound like much, but consider the long term. In a year, assuming you don’t eat anymore, walking one mile per day at 80 kcals per mile would accumulate (80 x 365 days) 29,200 calories expended, enough to burn over 8 pounds of body fat (3,500 kcals per mile). pound of fat). If you don’t do this, the alternative is what normally happens and you gain at least a pound of body fat per year, while probably losing some muscle mass. This exchange of fat for muscle maintains your weight, making you mistakenly believe that you are not gaining fat year after year.
Why cumulative exercise is better in the long run for weight loss
The key to partial exercise, whether it’s stair climbing or walking, is the cumulative effect. All you need is a reminder to get moving. Set a timer and every time it goes off, go for a short walk or take the stairs. It will cheer you up more than a cup of coffee, and over time you will lose body fat and improve your health.
Contact Bryant Stamford, professor of kinesiology and integrative physiology at Hanover College, at [email protected].
