If heading to the gym fills you with dread—and any number of “not
today” excuses—you don’t necessarily have to suck it up and just do it.
That’s because a new study shows that everyday activities can be just as
beneficial as hitting the treadmill or doing your circuit training
routine—minus the cash, sweat and annoying machine hoggers.
Researchers from Oregon State University evaluated a federal survey
of more than 6,000 American adults and their physical activity levels.
All participants wore accelerometers to track their movement throughout
the day. Part of the group took part in structured gym workouts, while
the others simply stayed active throughout the day by doing simple
chores around the house and running errands. After four consecutive days
of wearing the device for at least 10 hours a day, the results were
surprising: Small bouts of activity—even just one- and two-minute
increments totaling 30 minutes per day—were deemed just as beneficial as
longer bouts of exercise at the gym or elsewhere.
Cardinal and his co-author, Paul Loprinzi, Ph.D., assistant professor
at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY, also found that 43 percent
of those who participated in the "short bouts" of exercise met the
30-minute-a-day physical activity guideline. Meanwhile, less than 10
percent of traditional exercisers did (too many excuses for blowing off
that workout, perhaps?).
"The thing that surprised me was that current guidelines state
exercise needs to be 10 minutes or longer at a time, but we found that
bouts as short as one to two minutes were equally as good-as long as
they added up to 30 minutes throughout the day."
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“Making physical activity a way of life is more cost-effective than
an expensive gym membership. You may be more likely to stick with it,
and over the long term, you’ll be healthier, more mobile and just feel
better all around.”
Full Press release:
Newswise — New research at Oregon State University suggests the
health benefits of small amounts of activity – even as small as one- and
two-minute increments that add up to 30 minutes per day – can be just
as beneficial as longer bouts of physical exercise achieved by a trip to
the gym.
The nationally representative study of more than 6,000
American adults shows that
an active lifestyle approach, as opposed to
structured exercise, may be just as beneficial in improving health
outcomes, including preventing metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure,
and high cholesterol.
“Our results suggest that engaging in an
active lifestyle approach, compared to a structured exercise approach,
may be just as beneficial in improving various health outcomes,” said
Paul Loprinzi,
lead author of the study. “We encourage people to seek out
opportunities to be active when the choice is available. For example,
rather than sitting while talking on the phone, use this opportunity to
get in some activity by pacing around while talking.”
Perhaps just
as importantly, the researchers found that 43 percent of those who
participated in the “short bouts” of exercise met physical activity
guidelines of 30 minutes day. In comparison, less than 10 percent of
those in the longer exercise bouts met those federal guidelines for
exercise.
Loprinzi, who is an assistant professor at Bellarmine
University, conducted the research as a doctoral student working in the
lab of
Brad Cardinal at Oregon State University. Cardinal, a professor of
exercise and sport science, is co-author of the study, which is in the current issue of the
American Journal of Health Promotion.
“You
hear that less than 10 percent of Americans exercise and it gives the
perception that people are lazy,” Cardinal said. “Our research shows
that more than 40 percent of adults achieved the exercise guidelines, by
making movement a way of life.”
Cardinal, who has studied the
“lifestyle exercise” model for more than 20 years, said one of the most
common barriers people cite to getting enough exercise is lack of time.
He said the results of this study are promising, and show that simply
building movement into everyday activities can have meaningful health
benefits.
“This is a more natural way to exercise, just to walk
more and move around a bit more,” Cardinal said. “We are designed by
nature as beings who are supposed to move. People get it in their minds,
if I don’t get that 30 minutes, I might as well not exercise at all.
Our results really challenge that perception and give people meaningful,
realistic options for meeting the physical activity guidelines.”
For
example, Cardinal said instead of driving half a mile, try biking or
walking the same distance; instead of using a riding lawn mower, use a
push lawn mower. Instead of sitting through TV commercials, try doing
some sit-ups, push-ups, or jumping jacks during the commercial breaks;
and instead of sitting and being a spectator at a child's sporting
event, try walking around during the halftime break.
The
researchers said the participants in this study wore accelerometers,
which is an objective tool to measure physical activity. Those who
participated in the short bouts of activity could be moving as few as
one or two minutes at a time. The people in the “short bouts” group had
positive results in areas such as blood pressure, cholesterol, metabolic
syndrome, and waist circumference.
For instance, the study showed
those in the shorter exercise group who met physical activity
guidelines had an 89 percent chance of not having metabolic syndrome,
compared to 87 percent for those meeting guidelines using the structured
exercise approach.
Loprinzi said the one area where small bursts
of activity did not seem to equal the benefits of longer, sustained
exercise was in Body Mass Index, or BMI. However, the researchers
cautioned that these findings do not necessarily mean that short bouts
of activity do not help with weight loss, especially since they did find
a benefit on weight circumference.
“There are inherent
limitations in BMI as a surrogate measure of fat and health in general,”
Cardinal said. “People can still be ‘fit’ and ‘fat.’”
The researchers emphasized that for health benefits, people should seek out opportunities to be physically active.
“In
our society, you will always be presented with things that entice you
to sit or be less active because of technology, like using a leaf blower
instead of a rake,” Cardinal said.
“Making physical activity a way of
life is more cost-effective than an expensive gym membership. You may be
more likely to stick with it, and over the long term, you’ll be
healthier, more mobile and just feel better all around.”
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