Move Over Exercise
Daily Activity Adds Up!
By Cathy Moxley, M.A.
Author of The Busy Mom’s Ultimate Fitness Guide
www.BusyMomSolutions.com
We all know that it is good to be more active
rather than less active. Our bodies thrive on movement, yet
many of us spend just a few too many hours in front of the T.V.
or computer. When we do think about activity, most of us think
automatically about “exercise” – the kind that is on purpose,
while wearing exercise clothing…that we don’t have time for.
Let’s think again - this time about the little things that make
up an active lifestyle and make a difference! You know those
tips such as “park farther away” or “take the stairs instead of
the elevator”? If you’re like most people, you may agree that
it sounds good, but are secretly thinking, “That stuff can’t
possibly make a difference.” (Am I right?) Guess again! “That
stuff” does make a difference. And here’s why:
Our bodies are calorie-burning machines 24 hours a day. Even if
you exercised one full hour per day (which is a lot), there are
still 23 hours of metabolic activity to be accounted for. If
you don’t give a second thought to your activity level
throughout the day, you are missing a great opportunity to have
a huge impact on your health and your weight. What is your body
doing the other 23 hours per day?
All In A Day’s Work…or Lack-There-Of
The average person may burn approximately one calorie per
minute, sitting at rest. (Check out the sidebar if you are
interested in the factors that determine whether you burn
slightly more or less than the one calorie per minute
estimate.) The same person, while standing, will burn 1.5
calories per minute. You may be thinking “an extra half
calorie...big deal”. Now, while it may be small potatoes for
one minute, or even one hour, 50% more calories to stand vs. sit
is a pretty big deal when you spend a good part of your day
sitting vs. standing!
Walking at a leisurely pace burns approximately two calories per
minute – double that of sitting! Aerobic exercise, such as
brisk walking, jogging, etc. can burn up to 8-12 calories per
minute. That’s why aerobic exercise is a great way to burn a
nice extra chunk of calories per day and can help with weight
loss. But, since aerobic exercise isn’t realistically going to
account for a very big part of your day, it’s a good idea to
give some thought to the daily activities that make up the
“other 23 hours of the day”. They truly add up!
While I was in graduate school, we had to do an experiment that
highlighted how inactive many of us are without even realizing
it. The task involved keeping a log of our activity level in
15-minute intervals for an entire 24-hour period. (24 hours
multiplied by 4 entries per hour = 96 entries into the log!) We
assigned a code to each 15-minute interval according to the
following: 1= lying down or sleeping, 2= sitting, 3= standing,
4=walking, 5=higher level of exercise. Once we had the numeric
codes for each 15-minute interval, we could calculate an
estimate of how many calories we burned in that day. Of course,
as exercise physiology students, we were all pretty confident
that we would fare well in the experiment. As it turned out,
none of us were as active as we thought. It was an eye-opening
(not to mention humbling) experience to see a page full of 1s
and 2s! Many of us gave more thought to our daily activity
after that.
And the Days Turn Into Weeks
Let’s take it one step further to give some thought to your
metabolic activity in an entire week. There are 168 hours in a
week. Using our example of someone who exercises for a full
hour each day, there are still another 161 hours (or 96%) of the
week to consider! Can you think of any other area in your life
in which you’d like to make an improvement and chose
to ignore 96% of the time available to you?
Unfortunately, our labor and time saving culture robs us of
opportunities to use our bodies. Think drive-thru fast food,
circling for the closest spot (even if it takes longer), remote
controls for everything, waiting and waiting for the elevator
instead of taking the stairs, ride-on lawn mowers and
self-propelled vacuum cleaners, and emailing someone sitting in
the cube down the hall. I’m sure you can think of more
examples. Physical labor used to be part of the average
American’s day, but it is no more. You can turn that
around!Choose the more active option rather than the less active
option. Seek out ways to use your body rather than ways to save
energy.
Taking Action
- Armed with the reasons why, let’s take another look at the
tried-and-true suggestions below:
- Stand rather than sit when you can.
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
- Park at the far end of the parking lot.
- Get off the metro one stop early and walk the rest of the
distance.
- Stand up while talking on the phone.
- Walk down the hall at the office to deliver a message in
person.
- When straightening up the house, go up and down the stairs as
you go rather than making a big pile at the bottom of the stairs
to bring up in one trip later.
- Buy a pedometer. Try to work up to walking 10,000 steps
during the course of your day.
Get creative! How can you be more active? You’ll be glad you
did!
Cathy Moxley, M.A., CSCS is a fitness trainer and wellness coach
who specializes in helping busy people, especially moms, figure
out how they can fit fitness into their lives. For more great
tips and help figuring out an exercise plan that is right for
you, check out her new book, “The Busy Mom’s Ultimate Fitness
Guide: Get Motivated and Find the Solution that Works for
You!”, available at
www.busymomsolutions.com. You can also visit her at
www.fitness-insight.com.
Excerpted from The Busy Mom’s Ultimate Fitness Guide. ©
Copyright Fitness InSight, 2006. Reprinted with permission.
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