Move Your Body: Short Periods of Exercise Count

Scenes from the New York Dance Parade, 5/16/09

Every artist was first an amateur.~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I was walking up Broadway with my friend Ham this weekend, and we ran into the New York Dance Parade. Over 20 dance groups were dancing their way through the streets, and most of them were amateurs having a blast. People jumped in and joined them. You know why? Because moving your body is fun! That's why you used to spin around in circles as a kid, feeling your body hurtling through air. Moving won't kill you; it's good for you. You can be sedentary or a pro athlete - moving a few minutes at a time, several times a day, helps your fitness. And it's way more fun than sitting in a chair. 

 

We all know fatties that try to get their movements down to zero (ok, maybe it's us - the former us). They circle the parking lot waiting for the space closest to the entrance, and they never met an escalator they didn't like. Walk a couple flights or squeeze into a packed elevator? Smush in, people.

Stop the madness! Grab the opportunity to add more movement to your life. Your body is built to move - use it or lose it. A study in Preventive Medicine in 2006 found that multiple workout sessions as short as 6 minutes apiece could help sedentary adults reach fitness goals similar to those achieved by working out for 30 minutes at a time.

What to do - Move Your Body

There are a myriad of opportunities to move every day. Be mindful of how much you move, and grab your opportunities. It'll become a habit. Here are a few:

• Park further away from the entrance and walk. It won't kill you, and you'll get some air.
• Take the stairs.  
• Walk over to your friend's house instead of driving.
• Help the older person carry their bags.
• Give your seat to the handicapped, elderly or pregnant. Or someone you think is attractive.
• Make multiple trips carrying stuff from the car.
• Bike or rollerblade to work.
• Race your kids. 
• Do some leg squats while carrying your kid, or airplane her around. 
• Pull a judo move on your partner and see if you can knock him down.
• Do your house chores superfast. 
• Walk the golf course instead of carting it. 

Do 5 of these a day. These are just a few to get you thinking. Have fun finding more!

What I ate: 2 cups coffee, 1/4 bagel + cream cheese, 1 cucumber slice and 1 grape tomato + cream cheese, cheddar cheese, halibut + spinach, 6 squares dark chocolate, 1 banana, 1 apple, 1 hard boiled egg, 1 scoop Mindful Mix, macadamia nuts, whole wheat spaghetti + sauteed broccoli + asparagus + shiitake mushrooms + green pepper, 1 hot chocolate, 1 cup milk, 55 ounces water, 6 oz. coconut water

Exercise: 3 mile jog, 5 800's