Walking the dog is as good as the gym!
— Dr. John Whitcomb, Aurora Sinai Wellness Institute
This is a treasure of a study. Repeated moderate exercise is as good
as doing it all at once. This research study explains a lot and it gives
us all lots of hope.
We all have an image in our minds that exercise means going to the
gym. In addition to paying a monthly fee, you have to find some sort of
Spandex you can squeeze yourself into. And then, you have to actually
go. We know that walking 20 minutes every day will keep your brain
healthy. The question remains, do I have to squirm into Spandex and go
to the gym? Do I have to do it all at once? We all have excuses – the
inconvenience of going somewhere to exercise is a high barrier.
Well, no more. Dr. Miyashita did a very interesting
experiment. He recruited healthy young men with no illnesses and divided
them into teams. The teams had a variety of exercise regimens. One was
to do nothing at all, except read and watch TV. (That’s us). The second
was to walk on a flat treadmill for 30 minutes once a day. The final was
to walk three (3) minutes, 10 times a day. The participants were not
allowed to have any extra activity; they all ate a precisely similar
breakfast and dinner. Dr. Miyashita carefully measured blood pressure
the NEXT day, as well as the effect of the standard breakfast and dinner
on body fats all day long the next day.
What he found is eye opening. It turns out that exercise in 10 bouts
of three (3) minutes each was JUST AS GOOD as the 30-minute bout.
Dr. Miyashita was precise. Participants’ blood pressures were
measured all day – on average, they were 7 points lower for both
exercise groups (i.e., dropping from 117 mm Hg to 110). Amazingly, both
groups dropped just as much. He also measured the blood fats response to
the standard breakfast and dinner and found no difference in the two
exercise groups. Both groups were 16% lower than the couch potatoes.
That means, the effect of exercise is to lower your blood pressure up to
24 hours afterwards.
This study was designed to be doable for anyone. It wasn’t getting
sweaty. It wasn’t running until you’re out of breath. It was just brisk
walking, with the participants defining just what “brisk” was. That part
was self-directed.
Did you get that? Three (3) minutes at a time, 10 times a day is just
as good as going to the gym for controlling blood fats and blood
pressure. Now, remember, that level isn’t cardiovascular training. You
can measure even more good stuff happening to you if you exercise to the
point of being sweaty. But Dr. Miyashita’s study builds on the NEAT
(Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) reporting. We know that NEAT
activities (i.e., housekeeping, standing while talking on the phone
instead of sitting, weeding the garden, standing to put away laundry
versus sitting) will burn half the calories of rigorous gym activity.
WWW: What will work for me? Well, well. I’m good at working on a list
of easy stuff. I can do three (3) minutes at a time. I can tuck it into
a day’s activity. No sweat. Then, all I have to do is build up three (3)
minutes at a time until I’m at 30. It doesn’t have to be one block all
at once. It’s good for my brain; it’s good for my waist, and for my
heart. Honey, I’ll walk the dog….
Reference: Am J Clin Nut Nov 2008 Miyashita et al p 1225
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