"A long dog walk is the best remedy for all my writing issues!"
Steven Hayward, The Healthy Writer survey
The UK, USA and Australia all make similar recommendations on the minimum amount of exercise a person should take for good health. All the guidelines are presented in several different ways, so there is a lot of flexibility if you are into different sports such as swimming, or tennis, or cycling.
In the UK the recommendation for adults aged 19-64 is 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week. That might break down into five walks (if that’s your thing) of about 30 minutes each in a week. The USA also recommends 150 minutes of physical activity spread throughout the week.
There is some evidence that ‘weekend warriors’ who do the bulk of their exercise in a binge at the weekend get the same benefits, so it doesn’t always have to be split across the week. In addition, the guidelines also recommend strength exercises on two or more days that work the major muscles in the body.
All the guidelines emphasize that doing more than the minimum will give additional health gains.
These recommendations do get tweaked from time to time. Try searching “physical activity guidelines <your country>” and Dr Google will steer you in the right direction. If you are older than 64 or younger than 19 then all the countries have age-specific advice that you should check out.
So, if you fall into the completely inactive category, then aim for 150 minutes, or two and a half hours, of moderate exercise every week. That could be 30 mins x 5 sessions a week.
Start small and build up
If you have been completely inactive then there is no need to rush in with unrealistic goals. And rather than jumping straight to over two hours of exercise, it may be something to work toward incrementally.
Remember that exercise is based on your own ability. You are not expected to walk, run, cycle or swim at a set pace. It is all about raising your own heart rate to a certain level (really quite a modest one). The aim should be to build your activity.
At the start, it may be enough to simply get up and do a few steps every hour. Wearable fitness trackers like a Fitbit will buzz if you don’t do any steps for a user-defined period of time.
What is moderate aerobic activity?
A brisk walk fits the bill here. It should be the kind of exercise that makes you feel pretty darn warm, and if not outright sweating you should certainly be glowing. You can do something similar on a bicycle.
Notice how no one is suggesting a speed. This is all about you. You should be able to hold a conversation, and that does suggest you should be able to dictate, so you don’t necessarily have to lose writing time.
However, there is also an argument for enjoying the activity itself, being mindful and relaxing into it, rather than furiously multi-tasking. Either works.
“Whenever I'm feeling off, I step away from my computer and take my dog for a walk. It calms me and energizes my thought process.”
Janine, The Healthy Writer survey
Measure what activity you are doing
If you take up walking or some other kind of physical exercise, then make a note of what you have been doing. This could be as simple as recording the time you spend walking, cycling, or doing any activity that counts as moderate exercise. There are dozens of apps that will do it for you as well. They can track you using GPS data and give you a breakdown of every detail. If that’s your thing then go ahead, but don’t let these become a barrier to exercise. Going for a walk doesn’t involve any tech beyond a pair of shoes and some layers of clothing, but technology can offer some help to measure your activity levels.
Get a fitness tracker
One of the simplest ways to measure your levels of activity is to get some wearable technology. It used to be that a simple pedometer was the only method for measuring steps, but nowadays there is a smorgasbord of wearable technology that will do the job. You can buy a simple watch fitness tracker for just $30.
You will need a smartphone to connect it and, of course, you can spend a lot more but the cheap ones will often do the job and get you started. It is also possible to use your phone in your pocket as most of them have built-in accelerometers. It’s a good way to start but be aware that some research suggests the accuracy of phone-based step counters can leave much to be desired.
Measure your steps
Measuring steps is a brilliantly simple and effective way to start the process of getting yourself more active.
There’s good evidence that using a pedometer will increase your physical activity, reduce blood pressure, and help weight loss. A typical number of steps to aim for is around 10,000 a day. It sounds a lot but it can be done in with a modest amount of walking each day.
There is no ‘right’ number of steps but research has also suggested that having a step goal like this gives better results.
I (Euan) find that it works well for me. If I am out running, then I blast through the steps easily. I’m not worried about those days. It's the days where I am stuck at my desk and I have no plans for a run, cycle or swim that cause a problem. That can be three days a week and I’ve noticed that I can often get stuck at around a dismal 5000-6000 steps. Getting out for a brief walk at lunchtime is usually enough to raise my steps and I feel much better for it.
There is evidence that pedometers can be an effective method to get people more active and promote weight loss.
One trial gave pedometers to women who were overweight. The women who had the pedometers lost an average of 8.7kg over the three-month study and the control group without pedometers lost just 1.4kg. The women with the pedometers increased their daily average steps by nearly 1000 steps over the course of the study. What gets measured gets managed.
There is also good evidence that pedometers can help people with chronic musculoskeletal disorders and people with type 2 diabetes. They help increase levels of physical activity and a couple of the studies in the diabetes review suggested improvements in blood glucose as well.
"I wear a Fitbit health tracker to remind me to get up and move at least once an hour. It has been very beneficial."
Rhonda, The Healthy Writer survey