A Little is Officially Better than Nothing
While we all say “doing a little bit of exercise is better than nothing” once in a while, do we really believe it enough to actually do it? Speaking for myself, there have been many times that I’ve said these words and then turned around and made an excuse to do something else that was “more important”.
Well, now it’s official: A little bit of exercise is indeed A LOT BETTER than nothing. And sometimes, a little bit leads to a little bit more, which leads to a little bit more…
For the first time in history, the U.S. Federal government recently issued a comprehensive guideline for Americans’ physical activity. The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans report was published in October by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and covers fitness recommendations for children and adolescents (6+ years), adults, older adults and adults with special conditions such as pregnancy, disabilities or chronic illnesses. There are actually four different documents:
http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/
So the first thing I thought was “I’ve seen this all before… I know, we’re all supposed to exercise in order to be healthy…” But when I started reading a little further, I soon realized that what set this report apart from reports that came before it was the scientific proof of all the diseases that exercise helps to prevent.
The report states that “Research clearly demonstrates the importance of avoiding inactivity. Even low amounts of physical activity reduce the risk of dying prematurely. The most dramatic difference in risk is seen between those who are inactive (30 minutes of physical activity per week) and those with low levels of activity (90 minutes or 1 hour and 30 minutes of physical activity per week). The relative risk of dying prematurely continues to be lower with higher levels of reported moderate or vigorous intensity leisure-time physical activity.”
The report goes on to state that “Most health benefits occur with at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity physical activity, such as brisk walking. Additional benefits occur with more physical activity.”
Pay special attention to the words “moderate-intensity”… you don’t have to kill yourself to get the benefits of exercise. Taking a brisk walk on your treadmill (while enjoying some good online entertainment with your SurfShelf) or walking around your neighborhood to get some fresh air will do you wonders.
And there is “Strong Evidence” that this level of physical will result in:
§ Lower risk of early death
§ Lower risk of coronary heart disease
§ Lower risk of stroke
§ Lower risk of high blood pressure
§ Lower risk of adverse blood lipid profile
§ Lower risk of type 2 diabetes
§ Lower risk of metabolic syndrome
§ Lower risk of colon cancer
§ Lower risk of breast cancer
§ Prevention of weight gain
§ Improved cardio respiratory and muscular fitness
§ Prevention of falls
§ Reduced depression
§ Better cognitive function (for older adults)
For myself, I know that regular exercise also relieves my stress, which in turn helps keep the anxiety away and allows me to more easily relax and smell the roses.
If you’re not yet exercising as regularly as this report recommends, I think the key is to take the pressure off yourself and not make big huge fitness plans – those can be quite daunting and overwhelming. Just start with a little bit and you’ll probably start feeling the positive effects and want to do more. Baby steps are key. Feeling good about your accomplishments (physically and emotionally) can go a very long way.
Here’s a quote that appeared today in one of the email newsletters that I subscribe to:
“It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little; do what you can.” — Sydney Smith
How coincidental is that? While this quote is meant to be applied to our everyday lives, it can also be applied almost perfectly to our daily exercise plans. Start today with just a little bit and see what happens!
Have a great day!
Randy
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