Over the past couple months I’ve been posting teasers for my book, coming out this winter. Today I thought I’d share a portion of my book focusing on exercise and physical activity. Enjoy!
The terms exercise and physical activity are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference. Physical activity is any body movement that expends energy, such as walking in the park, using a walking pad during meetings, walking to the store from your car, hitting the pickleball in your backyard, going for a leisurely swim, playing ball with your kids, or even fidgeting. Exercise is physical activity that is more intentional, planned, structured, sustained for longer periods, and raises your heart rate. Both exercise and physical activity are important for health and well-being . As adults, we need about 30-45 minutes of exercise, 4-5 days a week, or 75-minutes of high intensity exercise, 2 days a week. It is also recommended that we get two days of resistance training, such as yoga, barre, or weightlifting. Some types of exercise count as both, such as high intensity interval training (HIIT), which generally includes cardio and resistance training.
When you think of exercise or physical activity, and why they are important, what comes to mind? Chances are “weight loss” is one of the first things you think of. We’ve been brainwashed into thinking exercise and physical activity are only a means to a specific body size and shape. Do you ever notice that people of all shapes and sizes workout? It’s not that “they aren’t working hard enough”, but instead, it’s that exercise alone does not help us lose weight. Exercise and physical activity can help us get stronger and more “toned”, yes, but as a means of manipulating and controlling the size and shape of our body? Well, that’s just not the purpose. Studies of exercise and weight loss indicate that weight loss only happens from extremely high levels of exercise (32) (33). The fact that we have been so convinced that exercise is the key to weight loss and “spot reducing” could be the link to why so many of us give up so easily (we start to workout regularly, we don’t lose weight, so we quit). One small study of larger women showed that the majority lost motivation to continue working out when they didn’t get the weight loss results they were hoping for (34)
Being fit, regardless of body size, is health promoting. Research suggests physical activity and fitness-based interventions are more important than weight-loss driven approaches, to reduce mortality risk (35). There are many benefits of exercise and physical activity that overshadow any potential weight loss benefit, when it comes to our health. Listed below are just some of the benefits of physical activity and exercise:
- Increased stamina
- Increased strength
- Muscle retention as we age
- Cardiovascular health
- Brain health
- Endorphins, mental health boost
- Increased flexibility and stability, especially as we age
- Blood sugar control
- Immunity boost
With all these benefits, it’s wild to consider that only about twenty three percent of US adults meet the recommended guidelines for aerobic and muscle strengthening exercise, per the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Why are we not being active, despite all these benefits?
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