Mini Workouts
Aug. 12th, 2021 08:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithIt turns out that mini workouts -- short sessions of activity ranging five to ten minutes -- have many benefits. The key is that you need to work hard enough to raise your heart and breath rate, so you feel tired when you stop. This means the fitter you are, the more effort you have to exert; but conversely, if you have limited mobility and 50 steps will tire you, that counts.
Why does this work? My bet is evolution. If you need to escape a threat or defend against an attack, that almost always requires a short burst of moderate to high exertion, after which you would typically be either safe or dead. Much the same is true of hunting methods that require physical effort. So the body is designed not only to provide for that and cope with it, but also to respond favorably in terms of fitness so you can do it as needed.
Another insight from evolution is walking. Until recently, most people walked to get places most of the time. They spent much of the day in modest but fairly continuous activity. Humans are designed for lots of walking. This correlates with the fact that walking has many health benefits. But again, you don't necessarily have to do it for hours at a time. A 5-minute or 10-minute walk is still good for you, and much easier to fit into a busy day than a 60-minute walk. These are basically stretch-break walks. They keep your ass from welding itself to the chair. Get up and fetch something, take a drink hit the bathroom, etc. Walk out to get the mail or around the block.
This matches how I do yardwork. My body is rather hostile to long periods of exertion. It tends to congeal and refuse to work, instead of working better. But I can do shorter spans. In spring it may be just 5-10 minutes at a time, 1-2 times a day. After a while, I get to where I can do 3-5 sessions a day, and if it's not too hot, I may go for 20-30 minutes in some of those. In winter, it's carrying firewood, or that time I just about killed myself with 5 minutes shoveling the snow off the porch to get the door open. Whether the activity is casual like going out to feed the birds, or brisk like digging holes to plant things, it gets my ass out of my chair and my body moving, which is good.
Know your body. Do what works for you. And don't let anyone tell you that what you're doing doesn't "count." If you're out of breath, you're exercising. If you aren't, at least you're moving.
Why does this work? My bet is evolution. If you need to escape a threat or defend against an attack, that almost always requires a short burst of moderate to high exertion, after which you would typically be either safe or dead. Much the same is true of hunting methods that require physical effort. So the body is designed not only to provide for that and cope with it, but also to respond favorably in terms of fitness so you can do it as needed.
Another insight from evolution is walking. Until recently, most people walked to get places most of the time. They spent much of the day in modest but fairly continuous activity. Humans are designed for lots of walking. This correlates with the fact that walking has many health benefits. But again, you don't necessarily have to do it for hours at a time. A 5-minute or 10-minute walk is still good for you, and much easier to fit into a busy day than a 60-minute walk. These are basically stretch-break walks. They keep your ass from welding itself to the chair. Get up and fetch something, take a drink hit the bathroom, etc. Walk out to get the mail or around the block.
This matches how I do yardwork. My body is rather hostile to long periods of exertion. It tends to congeal and refuse to work, instead of working better. But I can do shorter spans. In spring it may be just 5-10 minutes at a time, 1-2 times a day. After a while, I get to where I can do 3-5 sessions a day, and if it's not too hot, I may go for 20-30 minutes in some of those. In winter, it's carrying firewood, or that time I just about killed myself with 5 minutes shoveling the snow off the porch to get the door open. Whether the activity is casual like going out to feed the birds, or brisk like digging holes to plant things, it gets my ass out of my chair and my body moving, which is good.
Know your body. Do what works for you. And don't let anyone tell you that what you're doing doesn't "count." If you're out of breath, you're exercising. If you aren't, at least you're moving.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-08-13 05:25 am (UTC)Yay!
Date: 2021-08-13 05:43 am (UTC)Re: Yay!
Date: 2021-08-13 07:18 am (UTC)When people say that anything less "doesn't count", it then becomes a "why bother at all" situation.
So I definitely appreciate exercise advice that doesn't assume I'm able bodied or a paralympian.
Thank you.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2021-08-13 08:46 am (UTC)That's why I like the suggestion to base the level of exertion on whether it raises your metabolic rate.
>>So I definitely appreciate exercise advice that doesn't assume I'm able bodied or a paralympian.<<
*bow, flourish* Happy to be of service. I thought this might be helpful to my audience.
Another thing that annoys me about exercise advice, and is a leading reason for the high failure rate: almost all of it requires setting aside time just for that. In other words, wasting time, not to mention energy. I don't have it to waste. There is a literally unending amount of yardwork and housework to do that require lifting, bending, stretching, and other effort ranging from light to quite heavy. I will never, ever get all of it done. I will never even get close to all of it done. Why in the ever-loving fuck would I waste scarce resources to accomplish nothing? Let the cityfolk go to a gym. I'll be out back trying to pry weeds out of the ground without falling on my ass.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2021-08-13 10:16 pm (UTC)The one I got has a neck lanyard and is really small. Stick a finger in and press the button and after a few seconds it gives your pulse and O2 saturation in real time.
Makes it really easy to check how your body is dealing with the exercise. Also is good for checking out *why* you are tired if you have breathing issues.
I tend to use it after a grocery run to the store next door. I park the little-old-lady cart and the foot of the stairs and haul a bag or two upstairs to my apartment. Then I sit down and wait for my heart rate to drop to 120 or so before going back for the next set of bags.
Rinse and repeat until everything is upstairs.
Given I've been in the high 140s after that first trip, this works well.
I really should remember to take it with me so I can check things *before* I get homed.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2021-08-13 10:30 pm (UTC)Re: Yay!
Date: 2021-08-14 05:51 am (UTC)This. Vary, very much this.
It's similar to how I feel about gardening. If I'm going to put in the effort to plant something, it had better produce FOOD. Sure, flowers are good for pollinators, yada yada. But the only flowers I grow myself are roses, because they make rose hips, otherwise, I only plant food.
I despise the concept of exercise for exercise' sake. It is a waste of my time, effort, and energy, IMO. I'll spend 30 to 60 minutes pushing a cart around a grocery store. I won't spend the same amount just walking around the neighborhood. If there was a decent store close enough, I might walk there, but my top walking distance is about five short city blocks *total*. It actually takes more effort to walk with a cane and a limp.
Our ancient ancestors didn't "exercise", they moved to live, or trained with weapons, or farmed, etc. Before the stroke I could ride a bike, and I would ride for the sake of going somewhere, not just to "exercise". As a concept, exercise seems synonymous with "Idiot exerting themself for no purpose except vanity or obedience to medical people's crazy demands".
I know my view is not common, and seen as lazy, etc. But I've felt that way for years. If I have no real purpose for it, then I can't just do it.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2021-08-14 10:20 am (UTC)The rule in permaculture is "obtain a yield." That's often food, but it can be craft materials, or wildlife, or whatever else you like. I grow all kinds of stuff, including but not limited to food.
>>Our ancient ancestors didn't "exercise", they moved to live, or trained with weapons, or farmed, etc. <<
Exactly. They had an environment that required, or at least encouraged, a lot of natural activity. Today's society does the opposite, then blames individuals for the resulting mess. >_<
>> I know my view is not common, and seen as lazy, etc. <<
You're not alone, and you're not lazy, you're just efficient. In a society full of waste, of course you don't fit in.
>> But I've felt that way for years. If I have no real purpose for it, then I can't just do it. <<
Most people can't do it. They try and fail and blame themselves, instead of questioning their environment or their approach to activities.