Move throughout the day - the first step to an active lifestyle

The first step to an active lifestyle is to move throughout the day.

Exercise protects against chronic disease and premature death.  

Conversely being sedentary, increases the risk against these same diseases and is itself associated with premature death.

It has been estimated that prolonged sitting is responsible for 3.8% of deaths and that every hour of sitting is as harmful as the benefit from twenty minutes of exercise.

A recent meta-study of over 1 million people demonstrated that it takes large volumes (60-75 minutes per day) of moderate to vigorous exercise to offset the risk of prolonged sitting.  Even at this level of activity, some risk remains.

The highest risk group is people who spend more than eight waking hours sitting and do not exercise.

The lowest risk group spend less than 4 hours being sedentary and exercise 150 minutes or more per week.

Prolonged sitting carries increased risk for both men and women across 

• All age groups
• BMI categories
• Physical activity levels
• Healthy participants

Simply put, prolonged sitting is very damaging to your health and cannot be offset by exercising alone.

Unfortunately, sedentary behaviour is an epidemic in modern life.  

In Canada, a review across all occupations showed that all workers spent a high proportion (65% to 73%) of their day being sedentary.

How is all this sitting damaging our health?

There are at least three mechanisms that drive the health risk of being sedentary:

1. What we are not doing - every hour of being sedentary is an hour we are not active.  Doing “non-exercise” activities for 5 hours per day is equivalent to running for an hour!
2. Being sedentary is associated with higher blood sugars and increased levels of harmful fatty acids in our bloodstream.
3. Prolonged sitting leads to chronic inflammation - an inappropriate activation of our immune system to attack our bodies.  Chronic inflammation is at the root of many chronic diseases.

(from Lieberman, Daniel. Exercised (p. 70). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)

A striking demonstration of how quickly this happens was a Danish study where healthy young men were instructed to limit their daily steps to less than 1500 per day.  After just two weeks, they developed:

• Metabolic changes suggestive of  insulin resistance (higher levels of insulin, glucose and triglycerides)
• Loss of muscle
• Increased abdominal fat

Combatting this sedentary behaviour through regular intervals of physical activity can significantly reduce these risks and provide health benefits.

A multi-year analysis of 4757 people demonstrated that breaking up sitting with short breaks decreased waist circumference, reduced inflammation marker and improved blood glucose.
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Sitting is not the only sedentary behaviour!

While we have focused on sitting, remember that lying and reclining are also sedentary behaviours.  

Even standing is better - studies show that it uses about 8-10% more energy than sitting.

Moving every hour for a few minutes is optimal to gain the health benefits from exercise. Make sure to develop a few strategies that you can implement to increase your physical activity throughout the day.

What are some ways that I can incorporate movement into my busy life?

At work: 

• Make a meeting mobile -take a walk while you meet.
• Use your lunch break to take a walk, exercise, or stretch. 
• Do sit to stands/squats from your chair.
• Jumping jacks or skipping for 2 minutes.
• March on the spot or pacing -try this while you are taking a phone call. 
• Take a break and try planking. 
• Drop and do some push-ups from your floor, desk, or wall.
• Walk up and down the stairs or hallway.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Do 20 squats before you make a phone call or after you send an email.
• Use the bathroom on a different floor.
• Fill up your water bottle more frequently by taking a trip to the fountain.

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Doing errands: 

• Take the stairs.
• Park down the street.
• Park at the far end of the parking lot (you won’t compete for a spot).
• Do an extra 'lap' around the grocery store.
• Take an extra load when doing the groceries.
• Take breaks during long drives by getting out of the car and walking for a few minutes.

Around the home: 

• March on the spot when brushing your teeth.
• Walk for 5 minutes right after a meal to help with digestion and glucose uptake into the muscles.
• Do squats, jumping jacks, push-ups, or anything else while you wait for the microwave.
• When catching up with family/friends, make it active by doing a walk or bike ride.
• Use a step tracker and challenge yourself each day.
• Close the rings on your smartwatch.

Start by choosing one or two behaviours that resonate with you, or perhaps create your own. Aim to increase your heart rate/breathing and muscle activity for 2-5 minutes every hour.

Making the Change

It takes effort to implement a new behaviour, and it will not happen unless you plan for it. Take a moment and consider where, when, and how you will implement this physical activity into your day. Consider the barriers to these behaviours and how you will accommodate or overcome them.

Sample Scenario
You are planning to walk around your floor three times every hour at work.

Barrier 1: Getting busy with work and being “in the zone,” forgetting about it
Solution 1: Setting an alarm or timer for every hour and putting the break in your schedule

Barrier 2: Getting caught in a long, sedentary meeting
Solution 2: Walking during potential breaks, pacing around the room or standing if possible, making sure to move before and after the meeting

Planning for success is an essential step in changing your behaviours, and setting SMART goals is critical. 

Sometimes I just don’t have time.

The reality is, you will have time to be healthy if you make time to be healthy.

At moments (especially at work), tasks can be overwhelming, and time can feel restricted. Often the last thing you want to do when this happens is get up and move because you just want to finish up what you’re doing. 

Taking a 2-minute break from 58 minutes of steady work is not a huge time commitment. This short break is almost certainly going to improve your performance of the task, as physical activity is an excellent avenue for mental clarity.

If you have found that breaks and distractions have impeded your productivity in the past, perhaps physical activity breaks will have a different effect. If not right away, then give it some time. Your body will get used to it and will thank you in the long run.

Moving throughout the day is the vital first step of living a healthy and active lifestyle. If you need help changing your behaviours, Wellness Garage is here for you.
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Need help applying this to your busy life?

Get a personalized fitness plan to help you get started, progress or improve your enjoyment of physical activity
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The  TARGET Fitness Plan  gives you expert advice to transform your exercise habits - whether you are getting started or want to improve your current program.  Our exercise  physiologist will assess what you are currently doing and provide you with a personalized fitness plan based on the LEVEL Up Your Fitness Strategy.
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