​Seniors Matter(s): Daily exercise versus scheduled activities!

While it makes sense, I have struggled for years about daily exercise as opposed to planned exercise events.

I have embraced Pickleball (another article!) and find the experience fulfilling by safely expanding my aerobic needs. I come home pleasantly tired but not exhausted as I did with tennis. I started writing off my hours of needed weekly exercise in terms of the invigorating hours spent on the court.

I have researched reports that quote researchers saying older adults who are active throughout the day may be healthier than people who do regularly scheduled exercise. One reason is that many people who do structured exercise don’t get enough other movement the rest of the day. That started to resonate with me as I started to reflect upon the fact that on the days of Pickleball, I was, and felt done for the rest of the day. I was feeling fulfilled yet spent.

Some days after an intense series of games, I was actually tentative and mildly sore, which felt okay but actually spoke against my desire to stay physically active. I began to realize that my non-Pickleball days were filled with yoga/and stretches, that actually enhanced my mobility and activity.

What then is the answer? Again, I am no expert and seek only to learn and enhance my life, realizing that experts say it’s okay to start with a small amount of daily activities and then build up the routine as you get used to it.

For example, there are many ways to increase movement during the day, including bringing in groceries one bag at a time and using a second-story bathroom instead of one on a ground level to increase minimum yet support cardiovascular exercise. I have all day to unload the groceries and when I make it into an exercise instead of an expedient two-trip effort, I can gain valuable flexibility.

Apparently, people who do choose a regular gym activity as their only workout may be less fit than people who are on the move during the day.

When people do a regular gym activity, such as a class or a workout, they may then compensate in a negative direction, feeling they’ve already succeeded in their daily workout and weight-management goals, and food consumption/snacks may, in fact, become subliminal rewards for the expended effort.

However, a short period of daily vigorous activity like walking the dog and other activities can lead to better health.
So where do I go from here?

I am rethinking what exercise means and adapting my day to include regular daily exercise in addition to my physical intense times.

My goal is to make it a daily fun event with my iPod included.

Even brief bouts of activity, such as climbing a few flights of stairs, can lead to health benefits. The concept of short bouts of physical activity can be thought of in terms of activity snacking. Just like food snacks eaten throughout the day, activity snacks are small bouts of physical activity that take place throughout the day where people work to increase their usual level of physical activity to a new level of activity.

Since I work hard on my snacking and food intake, I am embracing my constant monitoring of my physical activities, since the winter seems to embrace long times of couch-driven inactivity.

For example, in spite of my vigorous daily demands (?), I am spending my early mornings in stretching to get out of bed as an excellent way to start, my day.

My goal is to establish enjoyable, sustainable daily habits, such as:
 

• Make sure I move every one to two hours each day
• Carry in my groceries one bag at a time
• Walk or ride my bike to visit a neighbour
• If I’m downstairs, I will use the upstairs restroom to avoid expediency
• I am going to practise my golf swing for 10 minutes a day; I have found that I am much better at my practice swings than the real ones, so I am working hard on a transition for next summer
• Clearly gyms are not the enemy, nor are they the answer; I have learned that to be constantly active is far better to keep me flexible than periods of intense activity; I am working hard to find a balance of both
• Any older adult using a gym needs to recognize that it does not replace the need for more movement through the day

“I can hardly wait for tomorrow!” -- DW

‘Till next time!