Newly updated fitness guidelines from the federal government underscore this core message for Americans: Get moving!
In November 2018, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the first rewrite of its fitness guidelines since 2008. The biggest change: a shift in what qualifies as physical activity. Previously, the guidelines insisted one stretch of physical activity had to last at least 10 minutes in order to count. Now, all physical activity — no matter how short or long — goes toward meeting the fitness goals.
Federal recommendations call for American adults to engage in at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity that gets the heart pumping, 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity or a combination of the two, the American Heart Association says. Only about one-fourth of men and one-fifth of women adhere to those guidelines.
For a healthy adult, moderate-intensity aerobic activity includes walking briskly (4 mph), mowing the lawn or doing heavy-duty housecleaning, while vigorous aerobic activity includes jogging (6 mph), hiking or cycling (14 to 16 mph), according to Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Keep in mind that guidelines vary depending on your age and condition.
“When we move more, we have better cardiovascular health, we are stronger and less susceptible to disease, and we feel better,” says Dr. Brett Giroir, assistant secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
So, what are some ways you can fit more physical activity into your daily life, even for just a few minutes, without committing to a five-mile run in the neighborhood park or a one-hour cardio workout at the gym? Nick Rizzo, training and fitness director at RunRepeat.com, a website for sports-shoe enthusiasts, runs through the following five suggestions.
How to exercise (even if you think you don’t have time)
1. Take workplace breaks.
This doesn’t mean chowing down on the gluten-free doughnuts that one of your coworkers brought to the office. It means getting out of your chair and moving.
Rizzo recommends grabbing a five-minute fitness break for every 25 minutes of work, a 10-minute break for every 50 minutes or a 20-minute break for every 100 minutes. Whichever time allotment you choose, you’ll be that many steps closer to meeting the fitness guidelines. During your breaks, you might stroll around your office building or simply go up and down the stairs in a building stairwell.
“Before someone says they are too busy for breaks, please realize mounds of science show that this will actually increase your productivity,” Rizzo points out.
Aside from boosting productivity, workday breaks can enhance focus, creativity, problem-solving skills and mood, and can fight fatigue, he says.
2. Park and walk.
When you’re driving into a lot or garage at work, at a shopping center or anywhere else, park as far away from the entrance as you can. This forces you to get in some walking — and you might not even work up a sweat.
3. Skip the elevator or escalator.
Taking the stairs instead of an elevator or escalator in any building will put in the position of having to walk.
4. Head out for a post-dinner walk.
Building an after-dinner walk into your daily routine is “simple, easy and effective,” Rizzo says.
He suggests putting off washing the dinner dishes or delaying whatever post-dinner activities that you normally do until after you’ve clocked a 10- to 15-minute walk.
“Studies have shown that walking after meals is much more beneficial for things like blood sugar, metabolism, digestion, mood, energy and weight management than walking at any other time,” Rizzo says.
To enjoy your post-dinner walk even more, leave your smartphone at home. Those calls and text messages can wait.
5. Earn your Netflix time.
Many of us love to binge-watch shows on Netflix and on the plethora of other streaming services available these days. However, that can turn us into couch potatoes.
To combat the Netflix syndrome, Rizzo offers a solution: Instead of mindlessly switching from one episode of “Stranger Things” to the next, incorporate an exercise “trigger” into your viewing habits.
For example, you might place a yoga mat somewhere between you and the TV remote. In order to reward yourself with Netflix watching, you must commit to, say, 10 minutes of yoga for each episode you’ll be viewing. Then, and only then, can you catch the latest installment of “Stranger Things.”
So, let’s say you consume two hours of Netflix programming each day. Your two-hour Netflix routine then would include 20 minutes of yoga, and you’d manage to rack up 140 minutes of physical activity for the entire week.
Whether it’s earmarking time for Netflix-inspired yoga or carving out time for workday walks, Stacey Garcia, nutrition director at Arena Fitness Training Center in Southern California, recommends jotting down your short-term fitness goals, and making sure they’re realistic and specific.
“Make exercise part of your daily schedule just like anything else you do. Stick to it by finding a friend to join you,” Garcia says. “Find a class you love, or get outside and run on your lunch break if you prefer to be outdoors. Whatever you choose to do, plan it out, surround yourself with like-minded people and have fun.”