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The difference between physical activity and exercise
- Physical activity is just moving, such as sweeping the floor or making dinner.
- Exercise is an intentional physical activity that’s done for the sake of health and fitness.
We can survive by sitting in chairs and pushing buttons and never having to break a sweat. But our ancestors had to be physically active to survive. They also struggled to get enough calories to get through the day, so they were careful not to do physical activity when it wasn’t necessary.
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Struggling to exercise isn't a personal failing
There's nothing strange or wrong about sitting. However, you'll run into trouble if sitting is all you do.
Only about 20 percent of Americans get the minimum level of exercise, which is 150 minutes a week of moderate to vigorous physical activity.
But the fact that people struggle to exercise isn't' a personal failing. We are doing what we evolved to do, which is to avoid physical activity when it's' neither necessary nor rewarding.
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Exercise is not for losing weight
Most people exercise because they hope to lose weight. In truth, our bodies have not evolved to burn more calories the more physically active we are.
Research shows that people who are more physically active don’t burn more calories necessarily than people who are more sedentary. The body keeps energy expenditure within a narrow range so that we can meet our demands every day.
If you spend a lot of energy on exercise, your body will respond by spending less energy on other things. However, you still need to exercise. This is not a free pass.
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Diet and exercise are separate tools
Diet and exercise are two separate tools with two separate jobs. You can’t trade them back and forth.
If you don’t exercise today, you can’t just watch your diet, or if you don’t want to diet, you can’t just exercise more. You need to diet to watch your weight. You need to exercise for everything else.
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Benefits of exercise
Exercise not only has a big impact on your muscles and heart but affects every part of your body. Exercise is affecting how those other systems spend their energy and how active they are.
For example, people who exercise more have less inflammation.
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How to inspire people to become more active
Ensure that exercise is not only necessary but also fun and social.
You don’t have to run a marathon or climb Mount Everest. Just climb the stairs in your building or walk to work instead of driving or walking your dog. These things have huge benefits.
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Staying active as you get older
Hunter-gatherers typically live about seven decades. They become grandparents but don’t retire; they stay very active.
Staying active helps turn on all kinds of repair and maintenance mechanisms of the body that keep us healthy as we age.
Recent studies show that our metabolism slows down much later than previously thought. Your metabolism is stable from about 20 to 60 years old, unlike previously believed. Still, it is up to us to choose to live long and healthy lives.
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IDEAS CURATED BY
Martirms Grey's ideas are part of this journey:
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