Incidental exercise is the exercise you get when exercising isn't your primary motivation. Activities like walking to the store, riding your bike to work or working in your garden are examples of incidental exercise. A study published in the September 2003 issue of "The American Journal of Public Health" shows that people living in sprawling suburban neighborhoods that required a car for even local transportation were on average 6 lbs. heavier than people living in smaller, traditional neighborhoods with sidewalks and stores nearby. Incidental exercise is effective, so if you can't make it to the gym, find a way to work exercise into your daily routine.
Walk or Ride Your Bike to the Store
Don't be so quick to hop in the car. Think about the distance to your destination. If your destination is only a mile away, walk. If it's less than three, you'll be surprised to find that riding your bicycle will often take less time than driving your car. Get some panniers or baskets to carry groceries.
Take the Stairs
Decide on a number of flights you can walk without getting too sweaty, and never take an elevator for fewer flights. Increase the number of flights as you get more fit.
Park Farther Away
Parking at the back of the lot not only gets you a little exercise, it reduces the chances of getting door-dinged. You'll also find that the time spent walking a few extra yards is usually less than the time spent fighting for a close parking spot.
Forget the Email and Phone
If you need to talk to someone in your office, go find them. You'll get a bit of exercise, and you'll find that people are more willing to help you out once they can put a face with a name. You might even make some friends.
Stand When You Can
Make a standing desk for working at home. Drive your family crazy by hovering about while you watch TV in the evening. Standing burns more calories than sitting, but more than that, sitting decreases your metabolism, sending your body into hibernation mode. Make a rule that you must pace while talking on the phone.
Walk for Fun
When planning your Saturday out with the family, forget going to the movies. Go on a walk or a bike ride through the park or on the local path. Go on a hike. You'll get exercise while connecting with your family.
Start a Garden
Get exercise, time outdoors and delicious, healthy food all at once by starting a garden. Your waist will get smaller while your wallet gets fatter with all the money you'll save on expensive produce.
Don't Diet to Exhaustion
If you're trying to lose weight, a reduced-calorie diet will help, but not if you're so drained that you become a couch potato. Associate Professor Nuala Byrne, a researcher at the Queensland University of Technology on the connection between diet and incidental exercise, acknowledges that some of the cause for plateaus in weight loss from a reduced-calorie diet are from a slowed metabolism, but says that, "we think metabolism could be only half the reason because changes in behavior such as a drop in incidental exercise levels are also well-documented during dieting."
References
- "American Journal of Public Health"; Relationship Between Urban Sprawl and Physical Activity, Obesity, and Morbidity; Reid Ewing Ph.D.; September 1993
- Insciences Organisation: Why Do Lost Kilos Come Back? New Study Gets to Bottom of It
Member Comments