How Does Exercise Work with Your Life?
By Sandy Schroeder
Most of us try to exercise daily, which may or may not fit with the rest of our day.
The New York Times looked at research that tells us how we balance one activity against another and how some of our activities tend to push others aside.
If I get my 30 minutes of exercise in during the day, sometimes I am tempted to sit a little more later, surfing the internet, or watching a favorite mystery as if I deserved a little more down time. Ideally, we need to keep an overall active tempo going all day every day.
In addition to walking or jogging, we could do some household chores, walk the dog, or do a little gardening. One activity may influence another. If we shop for groceries, we may not have time to watch a favorite program. Or if we make it to the gym, we may be inspired to also clean house.
Experts say watching the overall flow of time is important to avoid becoming less active on the days that we exercise.
How This Works Out
The National Cancer Institute studied 1,000 middle-aged and older individuals to see how exercise influenced the rest of their day. Most of the men and women sat for 9 or 10 hours a day, but about two-thirds of the group exercised sometimes. They exercised for about an hour doing moderate activities such as brisk walking. On the days that they exercised they spent less time doing shopping, household chores or more walking.
Their exercise time seemed to be subtracted from other physical activities, instead of leisure hours watching TV or playing videogames.
How Does This Work for You?
As a test, you might do a weekly log of your exercise and regular activities. Note the exercise periods and other periods of time devoted to leisure or more active pursuits. Do they vary with the days that you exercise?
See if you sit a little more on the days that you exercise, or not. If you do, you might want to make a conscious effort to stay active on exercise days to get the full benefit of your efforts.
The more conscious we are of the need to stay active, the healthier we may be. Shoot for 30 minutes of walking, jogging or workouts every day, and be aware of how the rest of the day shapes up, too.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Tampa, Fla.