Lockdown Survival #3 – Exercise
Nick Siddle
Owner at Vitalitas Healthcare Ltd ? Wellbeing & HealthSpan coach ? Medically qualified expert in midlife health issues with coach training and expertise
Get up and Dance!
Lockdown is a great threat – the temptation is to sit and flop.
We are built as mammals to move all the time. That means standing, walking, running and occasionally squatting or sitting, whilst maintaining good posture ie sitting upright still using core muscles.
Moving keeps us physically strong and cardiovascularly healthy. It improves our State of Mind, supports our immune system and helps us sleep well.
Discipline
It’s a matter of discipline – I will go out every day even if its grey or drizzly. Moreover – I will do some exercise indoors, too. I will stand up as much as possible, do an online class [yoga, pilates or Joe Wickes etc] and just dance!
How many steps?
The common talk is of 10,000 per day. Recent research has clarified the position from the perspective of the older members of the community. OK, this is an average so if you miss a day then you need more another day. If you don’t have a pedometer or a phone that counts your steps what do you do?
The good news is that you may not to be quite so extreme a brisk 10k is around 90 minutes walking. If you are up and active at home then you may easily get to that total with a 45 minute’s walk outside.
BUT the same health benefit comes from around 8K steps if it is consistent every day. The other factor is that if you are not walking very briskly then you can get the benefit by walking for longer – and there is nothing that says you cannot stop halfway, get your puff back and enjoy the view. No need to be power walking. In summary then around 40 minutes brisk walk or up to an hour if moving more genteelly [30 minutes 2x daily is just fine].
Running
Long hours steady state running are very time consuming and readily plateau in effect. Better to be doing 20 minutes of say sprint, walk or run up a hill walk down and repeat ie HIIT [if it’s appropriate for you then you know hwat this means]forms of exercise. The benefit apart from greater fitness impact is less time taken.
Strength
An online exercise class or body weight things at home are important. Press ups, air squats, step-ups on the bottom step of the staircase or walking lunges are to some extent within the reach of everyone. Have a routine of 10 minutes 2 x a day if you can
And you can always dance….
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