Movement

Did you know that the average American adult spends 8 waking hours a day in a sedentary position? That means they are either sitting down, reclining, or lying down about half of the time they are awake. Most of that time is spent during screen time at an average of, wait for it.......10 hours 39 minutes a day!!!!! that's not a typo. The majority of our waking hours is in front of a screen.

Research analysis by Exercise and Sports Sciences Reviews shows that excess sitting is harmful even if you workout regularly. One study showed that men who spent time more than 23 hours per week sitting in cars & watching TV had a 64% greater risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than those who did the same thing for less than 11 hours per week.

Another study found that even when people who exercised more than 150 minutes a week who still had a sedentary lifestyle had the negative effects of too much sitting.

Yes, it's true, excess sitting is worse than too little exercise!

Here's how you can get more active in your life.

Ways to get moving!

• Pick up an active hobby such as pickle ball or a dancing video game.

• Dance around while doing chores.

• Incorporate active breaks and set time aside for quick stretches or mini workouts to break up long periods of sitting.

• Park far away in the parking lot

• Play a game and get 10,000 steps a day

• Get a standing desk at work

• Walk on a treadmill while watching T.V.

• Do some strength training during commercial breaks

• 10 minute yoga before bed

• Playing with your dog

• Playing a few rounds of golf

Move your body

We're just trying to get you to move. Remember, your body expends more calories moving that it does exercising. Moving makes up 15% of your total daily expenditure(TEE), while exercising takes up about 5%.

Steps

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you only need 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise to decrease your risk of chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. 10,000 steps a week will get you to that mark.

Both running and walking contribute equally to maintaining good health. At least that what the smart people at The American Heart Association say.

A great way to increase your daily steps is to be mindful and track your steps. If you give someone a pedometer, they increase their activity levels more than 25% Per American Medical Association.

Work you way into it, the more gradual the process, the more sustainable it will be. Start with a goal of 2,000 steps a day and increase by 300 ever day.

Move throughout the day

You're exercise and activities don't have to be lumped all together. You can break up 45 minutes of movement throughout the day. You don't have to work out consecutive minutes to gain the benefits. Per the Journal of the American Heart Association, even just small bursts of activity under 10 minutes is helpful.

This is especially true if you live a mostly sedentary lifestyle and improve to an average amount of daily movement.

10:2 Rule

The 10:2 rule is a quick and easy way to not have to constantly think about moving during the day. It's simple, you move for 10 minutes every 2 hours. It doesn't have to be this rule, you can move 2 1/2 minutes every half hour or 5 minutes every hour. You do the math and find what works best for you.

What we've found is that patients will know what to do, but it's hard for them to do it. Either they get caught up in their busy lives and forget, or just flat out lose motivation. Follow these steps to help make the 10:2 rule a habit.

Steps to make 10:2 rule a habit

Plan

Map out your day or have an idea of what movements you will be doing. If you're work has stairs you can plan using them during your 10 minute movement session, or stretches in your chair.

Set an alarm

Action

Reward

More ways to get moving