Reenergise - Exercise
Get moving again
by Rosemary Marchese
Are you struggling to find the time to exercise? You are not alone! But a routine that involves regular exercise is part of the solution to reenergising your body so it is vital to find some time in your day to make it happen. The National Physical Activity Guidelines for Australians recommend that you ‘put together at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days’. Although more vigorous exercise is needed for physical fitness improvements, it is now known that following these guidelines can improve blood pressure, blood cholesterol and body weight! The other good news is that this does not have to be 30 continuous minutes to produce significant health benefits. Nor does it have to be all at the same intensity. Recent research is showing that interval training (interspersing lower intensity exercise with short bouts of higher intensity exercise) can also have some great benefits!
For many of you it may be that fitting in exercise means just another thing to add to your day. You need to change your mindset and think of physical activity as an opportunity rather than a chore. So, here are some physical activity tips to help those of you who are super busy.
1. Find bursts of 10-15 minute intervals to exercise. Be creative – run up and down your stairs at home (even the fittest of you will struggle as you get closer to the 10th flight!).
2. Don’t use your car as much! We are all complaining about the rising cost of fuel so limit your car use as much as possible. For mums with bubs that may mean making more use of the pram, for example do more frequent and smaller grocery shops by walking to the store and using the pram basket to carry a small load of groceries. For those of you at work get out at lunch time. “What lunch?” I hear you say. If you are not getting out at least once in your work day then chances are you are not being productive anyway. Work smarter, not longer hours. Catching public transport? Get off at an earlier stop – a ten minute walk suddenly becomes 100 extra minutes of extra physical activity per week if you do this on your way to and from work every day!
3. If you can find the time to fit in a 30 minute exercise session, make it productive. After a five minute warm-up walk pick up the pace a little for four and a half minutes, and then run for 30 seconds. Repeat this four times and then cool down with a slower walk for five minutes at the end.
4. Intersperse your cardiovascular exercise (such as walking, swimming, running, and cycling) with some resistance exercises to help increase your lean body mass. More lean body mass means that you will have a higher resting metabolic rate – burning up more energy when you sleep compared to when you have a lower resting metabolic rate. Find a local park to stop at during your lunch time walk or run and include exercises such as push ups and lunges. Of course if you are new at all this you will need to seek the advice of a fitness instructor first for some tips on correct technique.
5. Find active leisure activities – meet a friend for a walk rather than a coffee, join a tennis club, and take your kids to the zoo rather than a playhouse where you sit and watch the kids exercise!
6. Get up more at work and home! Get out of the car to open the garage, use the stairs not the lifts at work (or even the shops), get up to change the TV channel and use the clothes line, not the dryer.
Overall it is crucial that you find the time to exercise if you want to live longer. Exercise can add years to your life, whereas a sedentary lifestyle can reduce your life expectancy! These are all simple ways to help reenergise your exercise routine and your life!
Rosemary is a registered physiotherapist who has combined her expertise in health with fitness. She has over 15 years of experience teaching and consulting in the fitness industry. She is the co-author of the best-selling text book ‘The Essential Guide to Fitness: For the Fitness Instructor’, which was specifically written for those people wanting to start a career in the fitness industry. She is also Editor for Ultra Fit Magazine, which presents the fitness industry (experts and participants) up-to-the minute fitness industry research and workouts. For more information on Ultra Fit Magazine or Rosemary’s book, visit www.ultrafit.com.au.