| Every year, I climb to the top of Everest. It's no big deal. I take it one step at a time, 80,000 steps per year. By the time Dec. 31 arrives, I calculated, I have ascended at least seven vertical miles, carrying loads roughly equal to the weight of three pickup trucks, mostly composed of laundry, groceries and small children. You see, I live on the top floor of a duplex. Public health messaging has convinced us that the only way to work out is "exercising." Yet for most of human history, of course, living was exercise. Humans got most — if not all — of the physical activity needed to stay healthy through natural movement in their daily lives. After a half-century asking us to exercise more, doctors and physiologists say we have been thinking about it wrong. U.S. and World Health Organization guidelines no longer specify a minimum duration of moderate or vigorous aerobic activity. Movement tracking studies show even tiny, regular bursts of effort — as short as 30 seconds — can capture many of the health benefits of the gym. Climbing two to three flights of stairs a few times per day could change your life. Experts call it VILPA, or vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity. "The message now is that all activity counts," said Martin Gibala, a professor and chair of the kinesiology department at McMaster University in Canada. And perhaps nothing's better than stairs. Read this week's Climate Coach column on how to take your first step toward living to 100. How high do you go? Write me at climatecoach@washpost.com. I read all your emails. | 
No comments:
Post a Comment