Exercise Provides Health Benefits
We all know that 30 minutes per day of strenuous exercise provides health benefits. And studies show that higher levels of physical activity are linked to a remarkable number of health benefits. Recent Federal guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services1 have even made this official.1
Exercise also improves cognitive functioning, mental health, and memory; plus, it hinders the development of certain neurological conditions.2
The real question for most of us is how to find the time to exercise regularly and consistently. All we have is 24 hours each day to get done all the things we need to get done. Exercising often takes a back seat to work, shopping, cooking, cleaning, getting the kids ready for school, and ready for bed. And all of the other million-and-one little details that demand our attention every day.
Most of us have the motivation to exercise. We know exercise provides health benefits. Therefore, we want to do it and understand it’s good for us. But when can we fit it in? A few hardy souls bite the bullet and get up at 5:00 AM – making more time in the day by getting less sleep. Others exercise at the end of a long day. But sometimes that’s stressful and counterproductive. However they do it, many people make real efforts to exercise a few times each week.
Most likely, over time, our good intentions get stymied by our daily concerns. Moreover, deadlines and scheduling take precedence. And the most easy-to-jettison item on our to-do list, exercise, gets lost in the process. And, sooner rather than later, we’re back to not exercising at all. Public health experts and policymakers have been struggling, too, with this apparent no-win situation.
The outcome is brand-new recommendations relating to short bursts of activity during the day. These three- to five-minute bursts have been studied and shown to provide real health benefits to real people under real-world circumstances.3
Instead of taking coffee breaks at work, people are beginning to take activity breaks. And three to five minutes of climbing office building stairs or brisk walking outside the building or a quick series of calisthenics are all it takes. Six to ten such breaks fulfills the daily requirement of 30 minutes of exercise. Above all, no separately scheduled exercise time is necessary.
You’re already at work, you’re already taking breaks. So, the breaks become exercise breaks. And you get your exercise done. And you feel great for the entire day, due to bursts of endorphins occurring throughout the day.
These bursts of activity are also ideal for people working at home. Plus, they work for school children too. Studies in schools are showing increased attention spans and increased learning as a result of short bursts of intense physical activity.
Everyone can do this. And everyone can have a workable system for getting the exercise they need.
We often hear that building “lean muscle mass” is one of the key benefits of strenuous exercise. The human body adapts to environmental stresses. And building lean muscle mass is an important adaptation. Moreover, lean muscle mass is a metabolic furnace. Muscle cells are high-energy cells that actually burn calories when your body is at rest.
Your internal thermostat is turned up owing to your increased amount of lean muscle mass. And so you burn fat to fulfill these increased energy needs.
Lean muscle mass is not only energy-efficient, but it is also much more shapely than the pounds of fat it replaces. Lean muscle mass creates long lines, outlines, and bulk along your arms, torso, and legs. The result is a supple, shapely body, filled with energy and purpose.
1Pate, Russell R., James F. Sallis, and Keshia M. Pollack Porter. “Surveillance of Physical Activity: Actions Needed to Support New Federal Guidelines.” (2020).
2Much, How, and How Often is it Recommended. “10 Neurological Benefits of Exercise.” Image 10 (2020): 08-01.
3Stamatakis, Emmanuel, et al. “Untapping the Health Enhancing Potential of Vigorous Intermittent Lifestyle Physical Activity (VILPA): Rationale, Scoping Review, and a 4-Pillar Research Framework.” Sports Medicine (2020): 1-10.
3Vallance JK, et al: Maintenance of physical activity in breast cancer survivors after a randomized trial. Med Sci Sports Exerc 40(1):173-180, 2008.
4Heckman GE, McKelvie RS: Cardiovascular aging and exercise in healthy older adults. Clin J Sport Med 18(6):479-485, 2008
