Dr.'s Blog

Regardless of where you’re at, how many times you’ve started – and then stopped… whatever the case may be, it’s NEVER too late to get healthy, and stay healthy.

Exercise is one such factor that just can’t be ignored.

Yes, most of us are aware of the importance of exercise. But it’s easy to lose sight, especially when life gets in the way. What the research shows, is that it’s critical to make sure we’re getting our body moving most days (ideally, ALL days, to some degree). Incorporating strength training, cardio, and high intensity training to some degree is the best way to be fit from every angle. But at the end of the day, just getting something in, is far better than nothing.

Check out this study:

After a European study was done with 14,599 people, with over 171,277 ‘person years’, it turns out your chances of living longer and dying from chronic disease is much less.

Crazy right?!

Sure, it makes sense. But sometimes we lose sight of how powerful exercise is for our overall health.

Just by increasing daily exercise from zero (sedentary) to 20 minutes reduced the risk of heart attacks, coronary heart disease, and heart failure by 52% in men and 8% in women.

“At the population level, meeting and maintaining at least the minimum physical activity recommendations would potentially prevent 46% of deaths associated with physical inactivity.”

( World Health Organization minimum physical activity guidelines of 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity physical activity)

It’s time to get MOVING!

• Move your body, often.
• Lift weights or heavy-ish objects.
• Every few days, SPRINT. Move your body FAST. Get your heart rate up, and the lungs breathing hard!
• Work on mobility and good ergonomics

How to get your cardio in:

Just start!

• Walk (briskly)
• Run
• Swim
• Bike
• Row

Just get your heart rate and respiratory rate up to a manageable rate, and enjoy the benefits!

Start with 10 minutes, and add on from there. No need to exceed 45-60 minutes. And you can vary your intensity!

Ways to make it even MORE enjoyable:

• Grab a friend
• Listen to a podcast/audiobook
• Get out into nature
• Track your progress

References

BMJ

. 2019 Jun 26;365:l2323.
doi: 10.1136/bmj.l2323.

Physical activity trajectories and mortality: population based cohort study

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31243014

Epub 2010 Jun 23.

Television viewing time independently predicts all-cause and cardiovascular mortality: the EPIC Norfolk study

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20576628

“Each 1-h/day increase in TV time was associated with increased hazard of all-cause (HR = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.01-1.09; 1270 deaths) and cardiovascular (HR = 1.07, 95% CI = 1.01-1.15; 373 deaths), but not cancer mortality (HR = 1.04, 95% CI = 0.98-1.10; 570 deaths). This was independent of gender, age, education, smoking, alcohol, medication, diabetes history, family history of cardiovascular disease and cancer, body mass index (BMI) and PAEE. “

JAMA Netw Open

. 2019 Mar 1;2(3):e190355.
doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.0355.

Association of Leisure-Time Physical Activity Across the Adult Life Course With All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30848809