This research examined the effects of very brief, but frequent, amounts of physical activity on coronary heart disease risk. And, guess what? It’s worth it, even if you think it isn’t.
The research was a meta-analysis, an aggregate study of other research studies. The researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health examined 33 studies and found that compared to people who don’t do any exercise at all, those who did up to 150 minutes exercise a week had a 14% lower risk of heart disease.
Note that that is up to 150 minutes a week. Study leader Jacob Sattlemair concludes “ The biggest health benefits we saw were for those who went from doing nothing to those doing something small” and ”even a little bit of activity makes a significant difference”. The good news is that “a little bit” can be just 10 or 15 minutes a day. And it doesn’t have to be 15 minutes of continuous activity. So, drop and give me two pushups. And then another one or two before lunch, followed by a sit-up or two and a brisk five minute walk back to the office, and you’re halfway there!
This could work for you if you’re someone who has used excuses like, “the gym/pool is too far away” or one of my favourites, “I’m too busy/don’t have enough time”. Excuses are endless, but today is a good day to start doing something.
Oh, and can I suggest you follow your micro-exercise sessions with some micro-meditation?
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