Incidental Exercise

In today’s day and age with people leading very busy lives and having all of the modern conveniences, it is hard to fit exercise into the daily schedule. Incidental exercise is the perfect way to add a little extra calorie burning into your day to day life, and the best part? You don’t realise that you are already doing it! Incidental exercise is any activity which requires movement and burns calories, which you do during your day to day duties. Taking the stairs, walking the dog, walking around the house whilst cleaning up, these are all examples of typical things which most people are already doing.[dt_gap height=”20″ /]It is well known that physical activity and exercise are major factors in reducing the risk of many health conditions. Setting aside an hour for a workout can be very difficult for people to find this time, this is where incidental exercise is perfect. It can be accumulated in small amounts throughout the day instead of having to find an hour at a time to exercise. Incidental exercise is also great for people who currently aren’t exercising at all, as they can start out with small things. For instance stopping one floor lower in the elevator at work and walking the last floor, parking one row further away in the car park each time, slowly working up to more and more incidental exercise.

By simply replacing some modern conveniences with the traditional counterparts, incidental exercise quickly becomes part of the routine and before you know it you are exercising throughout the day without noticing. Remember exercise can be as simple as anything which increases your heart rate and breathing rate and each time you do this, small adaptations are made for the better.

Another key thing to keep in mind is that the heavier a person is the more energy it takes to move their body. This is an added benefit for heavier people as everyday tasks will burn more calories than their lighter counterparts, increasing the energy consumption and potential fat losses.

There are many ways to include incidental exercise into your life and below are a few examples of how to go about it:

• Take the stairs instead of the lift
• Park further away at work and shopping centres
• Use a mobile phone or cordless phone and walk around whilst on calls
• If walking a dog is part of your routine, add in an extra block or steep hill to the walk
• Mowing the lawn and gardening
• Stop off one station before your destination when taking public transport and walk the rest of the way
• Get a pedometer to keep track of steps, remember to aim for 10,000 steps each day
• Think of cleaning as a good opportunity for incidental exercise instead of a chore

When it comes to incidental exercise, try to add a little more each day or week and you will soon see the weight coming off. Always remember the National Physical Activity Guidelines which want you to think of movement as an opportunity, not an inconvenience, be active every day in as many ways as you can, put together at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on most, preferably everyday and if you can, also enjoy some regular vigorous exercise for extra health and fitness. With incidental exercise you can easily meet most of these guidelines and before you know it be leading a healthier lifestyle.

Cheers,

Rob Gardener – E-tutor & Trainer and Assessor – Onfit Training College

References:

http://www.health.qld.gov.au/nutrition/resources/pa_incidental.pdf

http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/H07-130#.VQjQbI6Ud8E

http://www.healthnews.com/en/news/Healthy-HabitsIncidental-Exercise/3Y2tOxE$97nQkwRlLuOxaT/