Wish there was an easy way to extend your life? Don’t waste your downtime.
According to a study from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a part of the National Institutes of Health, staying active and getting a workout in your leisure time is associated with a longer life expectancy.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend that adults ages 18 to 64 perform 2.5 hours of moderate aerobic physical activity per week and 1.25 hours of vigorous intensity activity per week. Of the more than 650,000 adults that took part in a series of studies, those who reported twice the recommended levels of leisure-time physical activity lived an average of 4.2 years longer.
Researchers even saw an advantage to relatively low levels of activity as well. For example, participants who reported half of the recommended amount of physical activity still added 1.8 years to their life.
Generally speaking, physical activity stimulates muscles, improves aerobic capacity, boosts your metabolism, burns fat, and preserves a healthy cardiovascular system, says Jade Teta, CSCS, co-author of The Metabolic Effect Diet. All of these factors can help you ward off disease and keep your systems working stronger for longer.
And incorporating more activity into your existing schedule might be easier than you think. “As little as a minute of exercise can create significantly advantage to daily living,” Teta says. The important factor to remember is the intensity of your exercise—a long jog isn’t always better than a few burpees scattered throughout the day, he says.
And yes, the small action of parking your car further away from the store is a nice healthy habit to practice, but the best metabolic effect comes from short, intense bouts of cardiovascular exercise, says Teta. For example, doing pushups for one minute every one to two hours can boost your heart rate and stimulate your muscles without getting you hot and sweaty, says Teta. And even just that few minutes of resistance training during your day can have a significant impact. “It’s like dropping a stone in a pond and watching the ripples,” he says. “You’ll get a disturbance in your metabolism for several hours long after the activity—like a little mini after-burn for your body,” he says.
Can’t do pushups in your office attire? Leave them for the weekend and look for other ways to incorporate short intense movements throughout the week, says Teta. Even running up the escalator, carrying your heavy groceries through the store, or raking your leaves can count—as long as you are pushing yourself hard enough. Teta says an activity counts as “intense” if it incorporates his “Bs and Hs,” meaning your activity should leave you breathless, cause muscles to burn, make the body feel heavy, or provide heat.
Perform a wall sit during the commercials the next time you watch your favorite sitcom and you’ll know exactly what he means.
Image: Comstock/Thinkstock
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15 Ways to Find More Time to Workout
The Fastest Way to Lose 10 Pounds
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