Gym Rats Repent!

[haha]

PLOS ONE: Minimal Intensity Physical Activity (Standing and Walking) of Longer Duration Improves Insulin Action and Plasma Lipids More than Shorter Periods of Moderate to Vigorous Exercise (Cycling) in Sedentary Subjects When Energy Expenditure Is Co

Study says for insulin and plasma lipids, what counts is lack of time spent sitting, not intense activity per se.

These things well never be proven, because everyone has his own agenda, and it is more or less impossible to control everything.

Still, this is interesting to me at least. Maybe it's better after all to plod along after a mule all day and leave the intervals to someone else. I have always distrusted paleo gurus who are explain how primitive people sprint like mad, kill the mastodon, then go home and lie down. I observed people with painted faces and g-strings walking 20 miles through the forest along a river to get something they wanted from a station offering health care and presents, and then they had to turn around and walk 20 miles back.

I think I am going back to my standing desk, which I abandoned after New Years when I got a killer cold. But man.walking 4 hours a day is going to take some doing. Today I did three, in a heavy wind, and it was not the most fun thing I have ever done.

Ha

 

[brewer12345]

Ha, I can tell you that I get lots of exercise when doing the hunter gatherer thing and I never have an aerobic exercise type heart rate increase (aside from the adrenalin rush when I close in on my prey). When we are camping a lot (a week or more) I tend to lose weight like crazy and my exercise is all walking/hiking. I'd believe it.

 

[W2R]

Ha, I think it is terrific that you walked 3 hours. I am inspired by this article and plan to work harder on not sitting. I have a program that will tell me to get up and move around after a designated period of time at the computer, so that is a start. The weather is getting better and perhaps I will begin taking a daily walk. Not a 4 hour walk, though.

I would really like to improve my usual blood test results before my next routine doctor appointment, in June.

 

[Katsmeow]

The problem with all this sitting research we've been reading about lately and how bad it is to sit, etc. is that for most people whose jobs don't require sitting or standing, it is going to be hard to regularly spend 4 hours a day walking and 2 hours standing.

I have a device that measures my activity (I got this through WW) and I find that I sit a lot on days that I am at home. I have a one story house that isn't all that large. Yes, I walk to the kitchen or the bathroom or to my office. I even make an effort to get up from my desk periodically even when I don't need to just so I move around. If I need to go to the store, OK, I do that. But I don't need to do 4 hours of shopping every day (I don't usually do that much shopping every week). I have my rower and some weights so there is that ...but that is more like the group that sat 13 hours and exercised for an hour.

I mean there is no way for me to suddenly walk 4 hours a day or stand 2 hours a day unless I just artificially do so. I don't have enough tasks to do around my house to require standing for that amount of time.

I guess I could go shopping just to walk around or just aimlessly walk around my neighborhood for 4 hours (now that is exciting....) So really I just find these kinds of studies interesting but not helpful to me since as I practical matter I don't see a way to change my lifestyle to stand or walk that much without making a major unpleasant change in how I live my daily life.

W2R - What is the program you are using?

 

[W2R]

Katsmeow, it is a freebie called Eyeleo. It is nothing special, though. A timer would be as good or better. I just like being reminded.

I can really relate to what you are saying. I was thinking of going for short walks, or doing a little housecleaning, or riding my exercycle, but that is not going to fill up the whole day.

 

[steelyman]

This is one area I think men have an inherent advantage over women. I have no problems taking long walks in my town, but I probably would if I were a woman. Similarly, when I was working I always got in at least a half hour walk at a local park. There were goons that would show up, but I learned how to growl at them and make them get lost.

 

[donheff]

I wish I could walk long distances but I have foot problems and need to hold it down around 3 miles. Fortunately, DW and I like cycling and typically put in 20-30 miles at a moderate pace That should get us some of the same benefits as walking. I still like occasional short sprints. They are pretty easy to work into a routine and certainly won't hurt.

 

[NotMyFault]

I rigged up a stand to put my laptop on the treadmill. After a little practice I can do everything on my laptop while walking at a 2 to 3 mph pace. Takes a while to get used to but once you start you can walk for hours without even realizing it.

 

[braumeister]

I've used a standing desk for years, and love it.
Another advantage is that after about an hour or so, I'm motivated to go do something else.

I just raised my computer monitor by placing it on something, and have my keyboard pedestal in front of it, raised to a comfortable height.

This is the one I'v used for over ten years:
Ergonomic Adjustable Keyboard Podium - Computer Keyboard Stand and Laptop Stand

 

[Alan]

Thanks for the article Ha, I assume you were sitting down when you found it. Thanks for taking one for the team

Seriously, it is good to get affirmation that you can get tremendous health benefits simply my keeping moving, and intensity is a lot less important than duration.

 

[jollystomper]

I do go to the gym but still try to do a lot of walking. I have "walking lunches" with others where we eat (relatively healthy stuff, of course) and walk for 30-40 minutes. Instead of the 15 minute "coffee" or "smoke" break I'll walk around. And when running errands I park away from the stores.

When the weather is nice, in the evening DW and I will go walking or riding for a hour or so. It sounds like a lot of time but it is just time that would otherwise be spent sitting around watching TV.

Even when we go to the gym the biggest part of my workout is a brisk walk for 30-60 minutes on the treadmill.

I am looking into the standing desk and the home treadmill. One of our kids kept his at our house when we was overseas for a couple of months, And we made good use of it. Now that he has taken it back we may get one ourselves... I watched entire movies while walking on it.

As has been said, moving is the key - all of the healthy "older" folks I know are big into just keeping moving for long periods of time.

 

[eytonxav]

Good article, I for one never under estimate what can be accomplished heathwise by simply walking every day.

 

[Ronstar]

Great article. It makes a lot of sense. i alway weigh less and am in better shape in summer when I'm more active doing yard work, walking more. after reading the article, I walked to breakfast this morning. I'm walking to the gym this afternoon. Probably get a couple of hours of walking in today.

 

[Lsbcal]

This study would have been more interesting if it was not just taking 21 year old females into account. I did not read it in depth, but it does seem agree with my biases so I won't reject the conclusions.

Guess I'll continue to try to get in walks between run days. Also a good argument for getting out in that garden and also mowing the lawn, etc. Also a good argument for doing that grocery shopping and library trip. On a recent vacation we walked over 6 miles per day for 2 weeks. Dropped a little weight even though we are in good shape.

 

[ERhoosier]

Agree with Lsbcal that this 21yo study population is not directly related to most ER members. But there are other studies in older age groups also suggesting that duration of exercise (e.g. 30-60min) vs short high intensity exercise has the most favorable effects on blood lipid profile (cholesterol, triglycerides).

OTOH- This famous 80+yr old triathlete advocates "go anerobic every day":
Aging Athlete
But take that in context. To win his Age Group many times in both ITU and Ironman World Championships he has to do a lot of long duration exercise.

 

[Nobulife]

Don't worry about us womenfolk. We have the inherent advantage of doing most of the cooking, cleaning, shopping, running after the grandkids etc. so we naturally spend more time off our butts and on our feet than most men!!!!

 

[steelyman]

Don't worry about us womenfolk. We have the inherent advantage of doing most of the cooking, cleaning, shopping, running after the grandkids etc. so we naturally spend more time off our butts and on our feet than most men!!!!

What can I say? When you're right, you're right. That's probably why you girls live longer than us junkyard dogs.

 

[mickeyd]

I was thinking about the phrase "gym rat" recently and recall that when I first heard it about 20 years ago I equated it with a guy (college student perhaps) who goes to the gym during any break and lifts weights or plays hoops during those sessions.

I gym-it-up m-f nowadays and may be referred to a gym-rat (senior edition) or something like that.