It’s cool to not exercise right?
You can find a tonne of people who love to make fun of their physical inactivity.
Who doesn’t love to sit at home and watch TV as a distraction from the day to day stresses of life.
Why spend your time at the gym? That’s for meat heads who are more concerned with how they look than having a good time.
Now that’s cool.
It’s funny that only when our health is under threat, do we start to consider the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
Physical Activity
Physical activity is a pretty general term and you can make sure you stay physically active by doing pretty routine things each day.
You don’t even have to step foot into a gym to be classified as physically active (phew, that spares all that ridicule from your mates).
This can be things such as cleaning the house, doing general chores, DIY, having a physically active job, playing sports, cycling, walking, swimming etc.
Most of it is routine stuff if you ask me, we’re pretty impressive creatures and it can’t be that hard to move around a bit each day?
What The Stats Say
Physical inactivity is estimated to cost the UK £7.4 Billion annually
Yep, that’s right. Being physically inactive is terrible for your health.
Who would’ve thought it.
The Guidelines
- 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week or at least 75 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic activity
- A combination of the above
- For additional benefits adults should double the numbers above to 300 minutes of moderate intensity or at least 150 minutes of vigorous intensity activity
- Muscle strengthening exercise should be done at least 2 times per week, targeting the major muscle groups
- Bouts of activity should be a minimum of 10 minutes each
But what is moderate intensity activity?
Moderate activity (3-6 MET’s)
- Very brisk walking
- Heavy cleaning (Washing windows, vacuuming, mopping)
- Light Cycling
- Tennis
- Building tasks
Vigorous activity ( 6+ MET’s)
- Running
- Fast Cycling
- Swimming (Fast)
- Competitive Sports
- Carrying/moving heavy loads (i.e. resistance training)
- Aerobics
The Point
This infographic really just shows the tip of the iceberg.
If you could take all the health benefits of exercise and make a handy little pill, it would be prescribed for the majority of all health issues.
Even better news, you can prescribe it for yourself.
Start taking your physical activity more seriously and give yourself the best chance of living a happier, fuller and longer life.