Why a gym three times a week won't make you healthy

What We Really Need Exercise For

Advances in technology have solved the problem of grueling manual labor, but at the same time created a new one. As a result, each new generation becomes even less active than the previous one.

The researchers concluded Bone Density Drop in Modern Humans Linked to Less Physical Activity that our distant ancestors had a normal level of physical activity many times higher than ours. The amount of work required for existence in ancient times was enormous: it was necessary to find food and water, hunt, build shelters, make tools and escape from predators. Therefore, prehistoric people were even stronger and healthier than Olympic athletes today.

Going to the Gym: Activity of Ancient People

Life became much easier 100 years ago. Still, you still had to go shopping on foot, and you had to wash the floors, chop wood and wash clothes yourself, with your hands.

Today's life in the city does not imply such loads. The car became the main means of transportation, but faded into the background. We move less than before for reasons of convenience, safety and self-will.

In the 20th century, in order to clean a carpet, it was necessary to take it out into the street and knock it out by hand for about half an hour. Today there are robotic vacuum cleaners that do everything for us. And if earlier about 200 calories were spent on cleaning carpets, it only takes about 0, 2 to activate the robot vacuum cleaner.

We buy things and food online, we have dishwashers and washing machines, self-cleaning ovens, self-defrosting refrigerators and capsule coffee makers. The work that we no longer need to do today, we take for the saved effort. But few people wonder what they need to spend now.

New types of work also save enormous amounts of energy. At the end of the 19th century, the labor market began to change radically and the number of office workers increased dramatically. A recent study in the US showed the Ergotron JustStand Survey & Index Report that today 86% of employees are already in sedentary work.

As a result, an inactive lifestyle led to the fact that our bones became thinner and weaker muscles than those of our ancestors several centuries ago.

It would seem like a small problem. But the same passivity is the main cause of heart and vascular diseases, from which 17 million people die annually The Atlas of Heart Disease and Stroke.

And the only way out is regular exercise, which can make us healthier. They help reduce the risk of strokes, certain cancers, depression, heart disease and dementia by at least 30% in Exercise - the Miracle Cure. The likelihood of developing bowel cancer is reduced by 45%, and osteoarthritis, hypertension and type 2 diabetes by as much as 50%.

It turns out that sports are not a fad, not a way to get a beautiful body, and not just an additional item on your to-do list. This is the way to keep us alive.

But unlike the sedentary work that we have to go to every day, physical activity is separate from our real activities. Therefore, we must embed it in our daily life, and not just leave it in the gym.

We already have activity trackers that are designed to help us start moving more in everyday life. But still, this is not enough. For exercise to be beneficial to us, we must change the way we approach it.

Why periodic going to the gym won't help

Doctors are actively promoting the idea of regular exercise among their patients. But the problem is that modernity pushes us in everything to strive at the same time to simplify and maximize efficiency. Therefore, health authorities try to motivate the population with the promise that a minimum of physical activity is sufficient for good health.

For example, we are advised to devote at least 150 minutes a week to moderate aerobic activity: cycling or. Plus, at least twice a week, you need to do strength exercises that involve all major muscles: legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms.

150 minutes is half an hour of classes five times a week.

For some, this is a lot. But there is another suggestion. England's Department of Health's Active10 campaign suggests that daily 10 minutes of brisk walking is considered exercise. It "can reduce the risk of serious diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia, and some cancers."

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) takes even less time. This technique includes 20 or more seconds of extreme intensity work, followed by a period of rest or quieter activity Enough Enhanced Protein Translation Underlies Improved Metabolic and Physical Adaptations to Different Exercise Training Modes in Young and Old Humans several minutes HIIT 2-3 times a week to improve insulin sensitivity and oxygen circulation, and help gain muscle mass.

All of these approaches to exercise are effective in their own way, and they all have supporters. But none of them is able to make the body as healthy and strong as it should be. And the problem is not in the exercises themselves, but in what we usually do in between these bursts of activity.

To keep our bodies healthy, we must actively burn calories throughout the day, not just during short periods.

Of course, sparse exercise is better than no exercise at all. But if regular physical activity prolongs life, it would be logical to think that professional athletes should live a very long time. Actually this is not true.

According to the Everyone could enjoy the “survival advantage” of elite athletes study, Olympic athletes live on average 2.8 years longer. Considering the constant demands for nutrition and a healthy lifestyle, as well as tens of thousands of hours of training, 2 years and 8 months is not much.

In addition, excessive high-intensity exercise can increase the production of free radicals and thereby accelerate the aging process. Exhaustive physical exercise causes oxidation of glutathione status in blood: prevention by antioxidant administration.

It turns out that the strongest and healthiest people on the planet don't go to gyms. They live in the so-called blue zones of longevity - these are Sardinia, Okinawa, Ikaria, Lomo Linda and Nicoya.

Demographers Gianni Pes and Michel Poulain have studied The Blue Zones: areas of exceptional longevity around the world and the way people live in these regions. This is facilitated by a number of customs and habits: from fostering a sense of belonging to society to quitting smoking and eating predominantly plant foods. Sports were not on this list.

The secret of the inhabitants of the "blue zones" lies in constant physical activity, albeit at a low level. This is not the kind of intense workout we are used to. This is a way of life when energy is constantly consumed during the day.

In addition, these people spend very little time sitting. Gianni Pes wondered why women who worked for a long time sitting at sewing machines still lived a lot. It turned out that the cars were foot-operated - that is, the workers regularly burned enough calories.

This is why, even if you go to the gym every Saturday, low physical activity the rest of the time will still not make you healthier.

What to do to become healthier

We should aim for a little activity, but for extended periods. Exercise should be a daily part of life.

Someone refuses a computer chair, preferring to stand at work. But doing it just as badly Is sitting worse than static standing? How a gender analysis can move us toward understanding determinants and effects of occupational standing and walking. like sitting. Someone is trying to combine the workplace with a treadmill - but this is impractical and creates additional strain on the eyes.

Even the usual uncomfortable chair is better than these options. Simply because it is impossible to sit on it in one position and you have to constantly move.

Researchers agree that long periods of little activity are beneficial. For health, we need Physical Activity 2016: Progress and Challenges 1-1, 5 hours of moderate physical activity every day. To do this, it is enough to take 10,000-15,000 steps daily.

You can give up the car and try to walk more. Plan your time to be outdoors more often. But the best thing is to determine what are the simplest and most common movements that modernity has taken away from us and to try to bring them back into our lives.