LIVE WELLGet moving regularly each day, or
heighten your risk of an earlier death.
Yikes! It might not sound like music to
gymphobics’ ears, but this inding from
a 2017 study from Columbia University
Medical Centre, published in Annals of
Internal Medicine, showed that regular
movement and light exercise taken
throughout the day, rather than periods of
intense exercise, is key to overcoming the
risks of sitting in long bouts. This news
might come as a welcome surprise to
those of us wanting to dodge the gym;
whether that’s because of cost, the
prospect of meeting those know-it-alls
at the weight machines, or simply the
time constraints. So, if we’re
not going to the gym,
how can we achieve
the aim of
getting the lift, take the stairs. Obviously,
these swaps aren’t always practical; you
might have heavy shopping bags, or it
could be raining cats and dogs outside,
but little changes each day could amount
to burning an extra 100 calories or so,
which can be the diference between
losing weight or gaining it. If you can’t
switch up your routine, then integrate
a revitalising stroll during your lunch
breaks, or make the efort to get out and
about on the weekends.”
So, what about some weekend ideas?
We’re lucky enough to live in a beautiful,
well-connected country, so why not
explore it? “Whether you take a hike
through the Lake District, stroll along
a Cornish beach, amble across the
South Downs or wander along the urban
South Bank, you’ll be getting out, moving
around and seeing a bit more of our
wonderful landscapes,” says Harry. We
couldn’t agree more, but why not go one
step further and incorporate some
volunteering into the equation? How
about joining in with a beach clean, or
getting involved with your local wildlife
organisations? It seems that us Brits have
deinitely caught the volunteering bug,
with a new YouGov survey inding that
nearly four in 10 Britons volunteer! The
research conducted for the National
Council for Voluntary Organisations
surveyed over 10,000 people aged over
18, and found that 77% of respondents felt
that volunteering beneitted their mentalgetting up and moving more each day?
We chatted to Harry Aitken, master
trainer at Auster Fitness, who gave us
some top tips for slotting exercise into
everyday tasks: “It’s very easy to improve
your itness and get in good shape without
investing in a costly gym membership.
Firstly, I’d start by walking fast, and as far
as possible. Think about times when you
hop in the car to go somewhere within a
mile radius – get walking instead! Not
only will it do your itness some good, but
it’s better for the planet, too. You can also
try making another easy swap: instead ofThe headlines screaming ‘sitting
is the new smoking’ have faded in
the sands of time, but the message
remains ingrained – read on to
discover easy steps to take in your
daily life for more movement!