Get Up and Get Moving
Get Up and Get Moving
D. S. Mitchell
Getting Fatter
We hear it every day, our society is becoming more sedentary and with that comes obesity. Many of us spend hours behind a desk at our jobs. We drive our cars to the fast food drive thru, then the bank drive thru, and the pharmacy drive thru, we never even have to get out of our cars. We use our computers to shop, (I love Amazon), without ever leaving the house. With decreased activity people are increasingly complaining of multiple issues including aches and pains, bad knees, obesity, depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.
Too Much
Just like we enjoy eating and drinking too much, we enjoy sitting too much. We are surrounded by cars, snacks, elevators, sugary drinks and fast foods. The problem has become serious enough that the World Health Organization has a new agenda focused on encouraging physical activity. Things are serious when WHO recognizes the problem as a world wide health issue.
Improving Mental Health
A “Black Dog Institute” of Australia study found that 1-2 hours of exercise per week can prevent depression. In addition to improved mental health multiple world-wide studies have shown that vigorous movement can stave off heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, fatigue, diabetes, and even cancer. That should be a hell of a motivator, but sadly it doesn’t seem to be. There could be many reasons for that; but to combat the sitting disease it is necessary to drop all the excuses, find your tennis shoes and go for a walk, sign up for Pickleball at the local park, take a water aerobics class. This exercise thing can be a fun thing.
Sitting Addiction
Our country, and most of the industrialized economies are suffering from a “sitting addiction” which leads in turn to “sitting disease”. Physical inactivity is one of the top 10 causes of disease and disability according to a recent UK government study. That study attributed 1 in 6 deaths to “sitting” which is equal to smoking in that country.
Designed to Move
We emerged from prehistory as an active moving creature, designed to be hunter gatherers, moving all day, every day. While our minds are in the 21st century our bodies are still in Neolithic mode. We were not built to sit in front of a TV or a computer, or a steering wheel. The decline in physical activity since the 1960’s is putting increased pressure on our strained health and social systems and the quality of life for individuals and families.
Recommendations
Most experts recommend 30 minutes of exercise, five days a week. Walking, swimming, pool walking, or cycling are all good choices. The exercise should be enough to raise the heart rate, increase respirations, and cause a sense of warming.
Load Bearing Exercise
For ageing women, experts recommend load bearing exercise. These load bearing exercises should be done 2 days or more a week. It is extremely important for senior women to protect against muscle weakness and bone thinning which lead to fractures. Whatever you can think of to use your muscles, do it. Carrying weight, such as grocery sacks, digging in the garden, bicep curls. Most experts today recommend that folks get out of the gym, it will be more enjoyable. We were not made to be inside.
How About a Little of Each?
Whatever our age, we need both strengthening and aerobic exercise. I’ve heard that ‘variety is the spice of life’; applying that principle to exercise, we should be doing different types of physical activity to keep us engaged. Boredom is the death knell for any exercise program.
Change the Vernacular
I heard someone recently suggest that we stop calling it “exercise” and start calling it “living”. What a great philosophy. Living includes dancing, walking, gardening, biking, hiking, swimming, yoga, roller skating, hopping, skipping, jumping, and loving. Do something physical. Get hot and sweaty for at least 10 minutes daily, keeping 150 minutes a week as your goal. It could mean the difference between being house bound or wheelchair bound, and walking that marathon on your 100th birthday. It is about how long, and how well you live.
A Short Walk
According to physical fitness experts, happiness and health is just a short walk around the neighborhood. Let’s try it. I know that I’m spending way too much time in front of the computer. How about you? I keep telling myself the first mile is the hardest, and I think I’m right, so time to dust off the sneakers and knock out that first mile on a journey of movement and wellbeing.
