EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS
Health and fitness professionals have been urging Canadians to get moving for decades, establishing exercise guidelines and crafting call-to-action messages in the hopes of making an active lifestyle more palatable to the average Joe and Jill. Recommendations about how much time to invest and sweat to expend have been a common theme, as are reminders about the many benefits exercise has to offer.
Yet despite all the guidelines, research studies and headlines reminding us of the improved longevity, vitality, health and mood that result from working up a sweat, the latest report card on the exercise habits of Canadians state that only 16 per cent of us meet the most basic of physical activity recommendations; a number that’s stayed pretty stagnant over the last decade.
One of the problems with exercise guidelines is that not everyone relates to their measures of success. The boom in fitness wearables (activity trackers) has more and more people counting steps than minutes. And then there’s the revolving discussion around intensity — light, moderate or vigorous — which remains a very personal preference regardless of what experts recommend. But perhaps the biggest question about exercise guidelines and their message is whether they reach the audience they need to reach — the sedentary and unfit.
To help address this issue, the latest dispatch from health and fitness experts appeals to anyone who spends most of their day sitting. Increasing the amount of incidental physical activity is the newest lifestyle push. Defined as the movements of everyday life, climbing stairs, housework, outdoor chores and walking the dog are all examples of physical activity that isn’t performed as part of a structured exercise routine. In fact, incidental physical activity doesn’t require a specific time commitment. Rather its cumulative power is what makes it such a welcome addition to the realm of quantifiable exercise. Think of the saying every little bit counts and you get the idea of the value of incidental physical activity.
Anything counts, from short quick bouts of climbing stairs to using a bike share to travel a few blocks. Breaking away from quantifying exercise bouts in terms of time and intensity is liberating to anyone who has little success at achieving the minimum exercise requirements as laid out by most exercise guidelines. Not to mention the liberating aspect of not having to change into athletic wear for a “workout” to count.
But beyond the possibility of changing the lifestyle choices of the chronically sedentary, it also opens up new opportunities for otherwise active individuals to find new ways to move outside the gym. With the inclusion of incidental physical activity as a legitimate form of exercise, the idea that workouts need to be sustained for at least 10 minutes has all but been abandoned. Last year the 10-minute rule was dropped from the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, making room for more exercise options and creativity, even among those who hit the gym regularly. It also jives with the latest research on the benefits of short bursts of high intensity exercise and the health risks of too many uninterrupted hours spent sitting.
You’ve probably seen the headlines touting the benefits of workouts lasting under 10 minutes. Not all the claims are based in science, but what has been proven in labs across the globe is that short high-intensity workouts are a fast track to gaining the same health and fitness benefits associated with bouts of sustained exercise in excess of 30 minutes. Coincidentally, these short exercise bursts also fit into the definition of incidental physical activity, which makes them a viable option when it comes to fitting in a workout on a busy day.
What isn’t as well publicized however is that the intensity needed to reap the benefits of short sweat-inducing workouts is relative to your current level of fitness. So while a fit individual’s abbreviated workout may involve several quick sprints up a flight of stairs, a less fit individual can get just as intense a workout by walking briskly up the same set of stairs. The goal is to push yourself toward the top end of your maximum effort in bursts as short as 20 seconds, followed by longer rest periods. Repeat the whole thing several times a day and you’ve found a way to conquer the effects of too little exercise and/or too much sitting.
Keep in mind however that any short bursts of activity, if done often enough, can contribute toward better health and longevity, even if they don’t push the limits of your maximum effort. So while incidental physical activity isn’t meant to replace more traditional workouts, it’s good to be reminded that not all exercise sessions need to be long, and not all workouts need to be tough.
What is important when it comes to exercise is consistency. So whether your workouts make you huff and puff or are designed to get you out of your chair, push away from your desk or screen more often and find ways to add incidental physical activity into your everyday life.