Daily movement is part of being healthy. It isn’t just about exercise but moving more generally throughout the day and when you are exercising doing the right kind. So many of us spend hours sitting in a car, at a desk or on the sofa not moving. The risks of prolonged sitting have now been assessed as similar to the risks to health from smoking.
We don’t necessarily need to go to the gym to exercise or even wear special clothes, it can be done at home, work or outdoors.
Regular exercise/movement benefits our immune system, improves mitochondrial function (mitochondria are the parts of our cells that produce energy) and can change the composition of our gut bacteria for the better. It has been found that just regular walking can reduce your risk of developing Alzheimers disease.
1. It is important to tailor your exercise/movement depending on your health. It isn’t a one size fits all and if you are significantly affected by fatigue it would be wrong to go all out trying to exercise to the same level as someone with optimal health as you may end up exacerbating your fatigue.
2. Whatever your current level of activity aim to move more, more often. Try exercise snacking - so anytime you have a spare minute or so do a few exercises like squats or star jumps. This could be whilst you are waiting for the kettle to boil or when brushing your teeth (maybe not the star jumps!). Try doing some exercises before a meal or going for a short walk - this has been shown to increase your metabolism so that you are less likely to gain weight.
3. Aim for 10,000 steps daily, maybe starting the day with a 15 minute walk outside which also helps with your sleep due to morning exposure to daylight. Try and get up from your chair every hour to get a drink and/or go to the toilet, go in person to speak to someone in the office rather than sending a message. When you think about it there are so many ways to incorporate more movement into your day.
4. Get stronger. Strength training has many health benefits including reduced stress and anxiety, better hormonal control including a reduced risk of diabetes, reduced risk of osteoporosis, reduced raging, better cognitive function. Why not try yoga or pilates, indoor climbing, kettle bells or simply some body weight exercises such as squats, press ups, triceps dips, lunges. A qualified personal trainer would be able to advise you on a suitable programme of exercises.
5. Regular high intensity interval (HIT) training. This has shown much more benefit than prolonged lower level cardio exercise. It involves exercising very intensively for short bursts with rest or less intense activity in between. It helps to reduce dangerous visceral (belly) fat. It needs to be an exercise that raises your heart rate and has you out of breath. Choose something that works for you be it brisk walking, cycling, skipping or star jumps.
Choose exercise/movement that you enjoy and don’t see as a chore. Enlist a friend or colleague to do it with you to make it more fun, write it in your diary so you are more likely to do it or use a habit tracker.
How will you incorporate more movement into your day?
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