Physical Activity

I've been thinking, so abandon this post now if you don't want to hear me waffling on! This post follows on from my recent post about the diabetes prevention course on 'moving more'. I've already set myself a target of completing 10,000 steps every day and have been tasked with deciding on another target to do with increasing the daily amount of physical activity.

The types of movement and the frequency of each type was presented as a pyramid, which I don't have so you'll need to use your imagination for this part - imagine an isosceles triangle divided using horizontal lines to create five separate spaces, each space decreasing in area with the largest at the bottom and the smallest at the top. The focus is on the need to move more, not necessarily to exercise more.

• Level 1 (the largest space at the bottom of the pyramid). This level accounts for the bulk of your time and of your daily movement. 

represents: lifestyle activities

examples: housework, gardening, cooking, general movement around the house, shopping

frequency: daily

 

• Level 2 (the second largest space). This level should be the bulk of your 'exercise' rather than just 'movement'.

represents: aerobic activities

examples: walking, exercise bike, step aerobics, dancing

frequency: 5 x 30 minutes every week. It's important to have rest days.

 

• Level 3 (the middle space). 

represents: flexibility and stretching activities

examples:  warm up and warm down routines

frequency: before and after every aerobic session

• Level 4 

represents: balancing and strengthening activities

examples:  carrying shopping, flex band exercises, 

frequency: 2 x 30 sessions a week

• Level 5 (the smallest space) 

represents: sedentary activities

examples:  watching TV, playing computer games, reading

frequency: the aim is the reduce the amount of time spent on sedentary activities every day.

For now I think I do enough to satisfy the requirements of level 2. I am working towards completing 10,000 steps every day (currently achieving 7,000) and the bulk of the steps are done in 3 x 10 - 15 minute bouts throughout the day. The time needed for this will obviously increase as I get nearer my target. Looking at the other levels it's easy to see where I need to make improvements so I've been searching online for ideas on how I can address the gaps. 

I have three options for addressing levels 3 and 4. Option 1 is by taking part in the online classes I've already tried out. There are two classes each week, one is 60 minutes and one is 30 minutes and they both focus on improving strength, flexibility, and balance. I already spend about 15 minutes on knee strengthening exercises every day but they are to meet a specific health requirement so I'm not including that time in the total. Option 2 is to take up yoga or pilates, and option 3 is to incorporate a selection of repetitions of the following activities into my day:

• balancing on one leg  
• toe to shin taps 
• balance on tip toes 
• seated to standing 
• neck and shoulder movements
• arm curls with weights 
• wall push ups

These are all simple exercises which can easily be fitted into my day without feeling that I am 'exercising'  and I'm not worried about it being for shorter periods, rather than 30 minute periods, as many qualified fitness experts agree that there are benefits to be gained through the accumulated efforts of these types of mini activity routines. For example, balancing on one leg while waiting for the kettle to boil and using the work surface to steady myself, or seated to standing while waiting for a meal to finish cooking. It will be very easy to do a number of repetitions without feeling that I need to put time aside to do them - I speak from experience as I've done this type of exercising when recovering from operations in the past. I'm undecided about the way forward and it may end up being a combination of options 1 and 3.

I think I will see the biggest benefits by focusing on levels 1 and 5, so increasing daily movement and reducing sedentary periods. I do sometimes go out for walks but essentially, my days are predominantly sedentary. With the exception of the action of actually taking photographs all of my interests/hobbies involve being seated, often using screens and very little nothing that could be classed as movement ... or so I thought. Imagine my delight to realise that playing an instrument and singing when good technique is observed, i.e. standing/sitting correctly, deep breathing and the supporting of sound production, all counts as physical activity. The same applies to taking photos as it involves standing/bending/moving to frame each photo and also walking around to find things to photograph. Guess who'll be playing more music and taking more photos in the future?

I need to look at other ways of increasing movement to be comfortably part of my daily life. I prefer to get all the housework done in one or two sessions but maybe it'd be better to spread it out and do some of it every day - anyone who suggests actually increasing the total amount of housework gets a red card and is sent off! I may be able to take on some of the gardening, assuming the eye pain doesn't reappear, so would be thinking in terms of increasing the number of containers and looking after those myself while leaving the rest of the gardening to M, and of course the warmer weather brings watering duties which all adds to the daily movement total. One of my friends addresses her need for more movement by being deliberately inefficient so, for example, instead of carrying the clean washing upstairs in one go she will make two or three trips to complete the task, so that approach is also worth considering.

I want to monitor the next week to have an accurate breakdown on the split between active and sedentary time. I won't make any changes to how I have been occupying my time until after I have completed this monitoring and can decide on sensible tweaks and changes once I have a clearer picture of the situation. I'll then be able to define the SMART target.

I hope this all made sense and, if you're reading this, well done on reaching the end! If you have any suggestions on ways to increase movement in daily life I'll be very grateful.