There are a lot of things getting in the way of women and girls exercising regularly. Things like body insecurities, not knowing where to start, fear of failure, feeling intimidated in a gym environment, a lack of confidence, not feeling ‘sporty’, having a stressful job and/or caring responsibilities meaning they are time poor and don’t dismiss just not wanting to!
Why is it hard to get up off the sofa and out of the door to exercise?
99% of our human evolutionary history has been as hunter/gatherers using physical activity to survive. Our genes are designed to store fat in times of abundant food and to efficiently use energy to balance the workload with food availability. i.e. using inactivity to survive when food is scarce. We no longer have scarcity but we are still evolved to be inactive to conserve energy. So don’t feel too bad if it’s a struggle sometimes.
The good news is, women get a stronger mortality rate reduction from exercise compared to men, with a lower risk of a major cardiac events. So we don’t need to be doing loads to get the benefit.
Increasing fitness now not only avoids disease but adds years to your life AND allows you to enjoy those years to the fullest.
As I said earlier there is no need to make massive changes to benefit.
Just going from 2.5MPH to 3.5MPH on a treadmill (or a jog outside) can:
reduce mortality rate by 12-20%
Reduce cancer mortatlity risk by 7%
17% reduction in risk for hospitalisation. This rises to 20% if you are over 65.
4-8% reduction in colon cancer deaths
4% reduction in lung cancer deaths
Along with a general reduction in various markers like cholesterol, blood pressure, lipids (fats) in the blood etc
Also, between 4% and 19% reduction in prostate cancer deaths for men. Make sure you tell the men in your life about this too.
So a very small improvement in fitness levels can significantly improve long term health. Of course the aim would be to continually make improvements but it’s clear that you can do this just one small step at a time. No major beasting needed!
Blue Zones
There are some places in the world that scientists have been studying called Blue Zones. These are areas or towns where the people tend to live longer and fitter lives so they are being studied to find out how. And they all have the same things in common. They have a strong community, everyone knows and helps each other. The workplace isn’t overly stressful. They have good social connections. They eat a LOT of fibre and almost no processed food. And they are very active in their daily lives. From living on a hill and walking to the shops every day to working in manual labour jobs, they are moving frequently during the day. So food and exercise play a big part in their longevity.
Exercise is Medicine
Have you heard of this? It’s something that we PT’s like to say. And it’s true. But what if this is too hard for you at the moment? This is where Movement is Wellbeing steps in. This focuses on empowerment and choice to find the opportunities for movement during the day.
There are 8 Key Choice Points as follows:
You Choose the physical activity that provides you with the most enjoyment and purpose at the time. This may be gardening, dancing etc
You Choose the intensity that you are comfortable with at the time. You progress at your own pace.
You Choose the duration according to your time restraints. Lots of short bursts or longer spells at a lower intensity depending on your daily schedule.
You Choose the venue. You are not confined to a gym. Incorporate movement during the day, use the stairs instead of the lift etc.
You Choose the people you are happy to move with.
You Choose any physical activity to break up prolonged sitting every hour for 2- 5 minutes. Sitting is detrimental to health, use reminders to promt you to stand up and stretch or walk etc.
You Choose any physical activity completed intermittently at any intensity and duration for an initial 15-30 moving minutes per day. Slowly increase this as you feel confident and ready.
You Choose any vigorous activity, completed intermittently, for any duration for a total of 4-5 minutes a day.
Exercise is hard and takes commitment, it can feel unachievable to many women. Motherhood, work pressures, primary carer for the household all get in the way.
It would be great if all women joined classes, did parkrun, join a gym etc BUT we need to start a lot further back in the process. This is where Movement is Wellbeing comes in. Start small and grow bigger in the amount of movement which will then lead into Exercise is Medicine and a regular habit of exercise. Have a go at Movement first and then move on to Exercise.
Wear what you want. Talk about what you want. Think of intervals, not as HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), but as intervals of movement between sitting/sedentary work.
When you are ready to do a bit more, join a group or find an exercise buddy. This will make the exercise in whatever form more appealing as you will be seeing people and connecting with them.
By the way, we have a lovely little community at bootcamp, both in person and online and it truly makes my day spending the first couple of hours with them.
Whatever it is you do. YOU CHOOSE. Make it something that you enjoy and make it yours. And think of all the good work you are doing to look after your Old Lady Body.
Right I need to get up and move now after writing this blog……