Posted on: Friday, October 22, 2004

It's not that hard to get moving

By George McLaren
Gannett News Service

To burn more calories — and let's face it, we need to burn more calories — we could train for a marathon or work out in the gym five times a week. But it doesn't have to be that hard.

"Just move," says Heather Hedrick, assistant director of educational services at the National Institute for Fitness and Sport.

"Just get up and walk down the hallway, or go up and down the stairs, or walk farther."

It's not that health experts advise getting up right now and going out for a marathon.

"You don't have to exercise vigorously to achieve health benefits," says Patty Freedson, exercise professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Of course, going to the gym is a positive step; building muscle will help burn calories.

But Freedson suggests starting out easier — say, taking a 30-minute walk several times a week.

Additional activity, even a few minutes at a time, adds up to health benefits in the long run, advised Hedrick.

"It doesn't have to be intense, where they are breathing hard and their heart's beating out of their chest," she says. "They need to dedicate themselves to being more physically active."

How to add in more physical activity? Experts offer the following suggestions.

At home

• Turn TV time into a workout. This could include skipping a rerun and throwing in an exercise tape or DVD instead. But it also could mean doing a few sit-ups, pushups or other exercises while watching the tube. Viewers who recline on an exercise ball engage several muscles and burn calories.
• Skip the ads. Instead of staring at commercials, viewers can go walk around the house, with a few stair climbs thrown in.
• Triple the trips. On laundry day, break a large clothes pile into smaller ones, and then make multiple trips back and forth to carry them.
• Break the routine. Kids gone outside to play? Go with them and walk along while they bike, toss a football or a Frisbee.
• Turn chores into a workout. Every job around the house means more calories are being burned. Motivate yourself to attack a household necessity with a reminder that it's also exercise.
• Do it with gusto. Put your whole body into whatever you are doing, whether it's mopping floors or washing windows. Work faster for an added boost.
• Chip away at calories. Golfers who leave the cart at the clubhouse and pull their clubs instead burn about 25 percent more calories.

• Skip e-mail. Don't send an electronic message to a co-worker down the hall. Get up, go down there, and deliver the news in person.
• Aim higher. When taking a restroom break, target the facilities on another floor, adding a brief walk and stair climb.
• Take a hike. Bring lunch and eat it at your desk while you work. Use your lunch break for a 30-minute walk.
• Join the resistance. Keep an exercise band at your desk, and pull it out several times a day for a brief workout while performing job duties.