This Grandma has an exercise routine. I actually started it when our eldest daughter announced her pregnancy. I had not exercised much before. Now I had impetus to increase stamina and strength and be as healthy as I could be—to watch a grandchild grow up. I was very proud of myself that I could lift that grandson, now almost eleven, until he was nearly five years old. Of course, I intentionally learned in yoga how to center his weight so I did not hurt my back.
Over the years, the routine has remained for this obsessive, compulsive adult. I heard once that a habit remains if you maintain it over a period of months. Researching the issue, I found variations depending on how hard the habit is, 66-84 days seems to be the average for a habit of average difficulty, such as an exercise habit.
But, this Grandma talks about five minutes in the title of this post. Yes, a new large-scale study of exercise and mortality study shows running for as little as five minutes a day could significantly lower an adult ‘s risk of dying prematurely. The article, “Running 5 Minutes a Day Has Long-Lasting Benefits, by Gretchen Reynolds, was published in the New York Times on July 30, 2014.
She reports on findings that suggest “that the benefits of even small amounts of vigorous exercise may be much greater than experts had assumed.”
It seems previous recommendations for about 30 minutes of moderate exercise on most days of the week or about 15 minutes a day of vigorous exercise, had little to support those recommendations. Now we have information for men and women based on a large-scale study:
So for the new study, published Monday in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers from Iowa State University, the University of South Carolina, the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La., and other institutions turned to a huge database maintained at the Cooper Clinic and Cooper Institute in Dallas. . . . the researchers chose the records of 55,137 healthy men and women ages 18 to 100 who had visited the clinic at least 15 years before the start of the study. Of this group, 24 percent identified themselves as runners, although their typical mileage and pace varied widely.
The researchers then checked death records for these adults. In the intervening 15 or so years, almost 3,500 had died, many from heart disease.
Runners did better in mortality, gaining about three extra years of life compared to adults who never run:
But the runners were much less susceptible than the nonrunners. The runners’ risk of dying from any cause was 30 percent lower than that for the nonrunners, and their risk of dying from heart disease was 45 percent lower than for nonrunners, even when the researchers adjusted for being overweight or for smoking (although not many of the runners smoked). And even overweight smokers who ran were less likely to die prematurely than people who did not run, whatever their weight or smoking habits.
Remarkably, these benefits were about the same no matter how much or little people ran. Those who hit the paths for 150 minutes or more a week, or who were particularly speedy, clipping off six-minute miles or better, lived longer than those who didn’t run. But they didn’t live significantly longer those who ran the least, including people running as little as five or 10 minutes a day at a leisurely pace of 10 minutes a mile or slower.
“We think this is really encouraging news,” said Timothy Church, a professor at the Pennington Institute who holds the John S. McIlHenny Endowed Chair in Health Wisdom and co-authored the study. “We’re not talking about training for a marathon,” he said, or even for a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) race. “Most people can fit in five minutes a day of running,” he said, “no matter how busy they are, and the benefits in terms of mortality are remarkable.”
Five minutes of strenuous activity. Hmmm. I can do that. Now I just have to make it a habit:
But “there’s not necessarily something magical about running, per se,” Dr. Church said. Instead, it’s likely that exercise intensity is the key to improving longevity, he said, adding,
“Running just happens to be the most convenient way for most people to exercise intensely.”
Anyone who has never run in the past or has health issues should, of course, consult a doctor before starting a running program, Dr. Church said. And if, after trying for a solid five minutes, you’re just not enjoying running, switch activities, he added. Jump rope. Vigorously pedal a stationary bike. Or choose any other strenuous activity. Five minutes of taxing effort might add years to your life.
This Grandma goes to Canyon Ranch Health Spa in Lenox, Massachusetts, on an annual basis for a tune-up and education on newest and best health advice and exercise ideas. For years, interval classes have been part of their weekly fitness schedule. My favorite interval class had the strenuous part “sneakily” part of the routine. We prepare to do one minute on each of six exercise machines, set up and ready for a relay. We then warm up on a treadmill and then for 60-90 seconds speed to a run, stop the treadmill, do a dozen repetitions on the first machine, and go back to the treadmill to the speed we left for another 60-90 seconds. Then, go to the next machine, up to six to nine machines, depending on how much of a workout you want. In about 30 minutes, we completed an exercise routine that sped by as we sped through it. Watching seconds on a clock makes the time go so fast. What I did not realize was how important that speed was in the intervals on the treadmill. You can do most anything for a minute at a time. Now I will aim for five minutes of strenuous activity in one minute intervals. I love this interval exercise program and do this periodically at home, not enough, but now I have impetus to make this a habit.
There is a great variation of just staying on a treadmill and just speeding up for 60 seconds every three to five minutes, or doing the same outside, running for a minute at a time.
This year, at Canyon Ranch, I went to a lecture on NEAT. NEAT stands for non-exercise activity thermogenesis. That is the calories we expend in being alive. We expend calories sleeping and sitting, not a lot, of course. But, we expend greater calories doing housework, walking up stairs, living life. The speaker said that an exercise program is imperative, but that we should, in addition, increase the number of steps we take during the day. We all need to move more. Since that speech, I have added to my life some simple tips she recommended, like parking far from the entrance to the mall or store to add steps, and walking up a few flights of stairs rather than taking the elevator. She said an effective weight maintenance program requires one to be NEAT. I listened carefully to that statement.
So, this Grandma realizes I must spend the next 66-84 days being NEAT and running five minutes a day. I think it really means being mindful that movement, and the ability to move, is what our bodies naturally crave. It is our minds that we have to train, with good motivation, or good reasons. My motivation is being around to watch our now four grandchildren grow and being able to be present and actively participate in their life passage events with good health and
Joy,
Mema
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