Written by Marissa Hoen | January 20 2021
In this past year of shifting to life with less travel, more restrictions, and facility closures, many of us have gotten out of our regular movement habits and are required to do a lot less physical activity than we are used to! I’ve noticed more and more complaints of pain in the body that seems to arise from inactivity in my own practice as a massage therapist this year. While we are lucky to live in a time with great technology to support us through a pandemic, we need to be aware of the amount of time we spend sitting. It is well known that decreasing sedentary time is key in helping to keep our bodies healthy and that positive metabolic changes can occur by breaking up your sitting time (Loh et al., 2020).
To help break up your Netflix binge and social media scroll (or honest online work!), here are some practical steps you can take to increase your daily movement:
If you spend a lot of time watching T.V. or Netflix, make it a rule or habit to get up/move your body after every show or during commercials.
More frequent breaks from sitting, even if they are short breaks, may result in greater health effects such as reduced waist circumference (Owen et al., 2010)
For those who have just shifted to working from home, try the the Pomodoro method:
Set your timer for study block intervals (I like 50 minutes study/work, 10 minute break; but you find what timing works best for your focus)
During the break times, get up from your chair or move your body as much as possible in your chair
If you want a music timer, check out one of many Pomodoro videos on YouTube!
Find movement you actually enjoy doing!
Don’t be afraid to be a beginner and try new movement styles, such as yoga or dance.
You are so much more likely to do the movement if you really enjoy it!
If you find yourself saying things like “I really hate working out” or “I just don’t like the gym”, try moving in your home or outdoors. There are endless ways to move your body, so get out there and find yours!
Moving more in your daily activities
Breaking up sedentary activity doesn’t mean you have to get to the gym and do push-ups! Daily activities such as sweeping, wiping windows, and scrubbing the tiles can get your heart pumping just as well- depending on your intensity of course!
For example, when I am mopping or sweeping, I like to put on music and lunge a bit more into the movements. Or when I am scrubbing the sink, I try to engage my core and use a bit more of my shoulder muscles.
This tip just takes a little more mindfulness: it simply means taking our habitual movements and adding a bit more effort.
Stack movement onto an already established habit
In his book, Atomic Habits, James Clear describes a concept he calls habit stacking. Habit stacking is just what it sounds like: adding a new goal habit to a pre-existing habit.
For example, you could get into the habit of stretching your hamstrings more often (goal habit) by taking a moment to breathe and stretch each time you put on/take off your shoes (pre-existing habit).
Plan it in!
When I first set out to make daily exercise a habit, this is what got me to the gym every morning. Setting a time that fit with my schedule, writing it down, and having a plan as to the movements I wanted to do helped to keep me in action even when I felt really low motivation.
If you have a really busy lifestyle, then you know that things don’t get done unless they are part of the plan! Talk to friends and family and help delegate tasks that you feel are keeping you from getting your exercise. In my experience, time for yourself is crucial to prevent burnout- so make some time and move that body!
References
Clear, J. (2018). Atomic habits: An easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones. Penguin Publishing Group.
Loh, R., Stamatakis, E., Folkerts, D. et al. (2020). Effects of interrupting prolonged sitting with physical activity breaks on blood glucose, insulin and triacylglycerol measures: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med, 50, 295–330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-019-01183-w
Owen, N., Healy, G. N., Matthews, C. E., & Dunstan, D. W. (2010). Too much sitting: the population health science of sedentary behavior. Exercise and sport sciences reviews, 38(3), 105–113. https://doi.org/10.1097/JES.0b013e3181e373a2
Image credit can be found here: https://blog.flvs.net/brain-breaks-for-online-elementary-students/