ARE YOU AS ACTIVE AS YOU THINK YOU ARE?

Taken from an article by Rashelle Brown, Twin Cities Public TV:  Do you consider yourself active and productive most days of the week?  Do you meet the recommended minimum of 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week?

A Gallup poll asked individuals, In the last seven days, on how many days did you exercise for 30 or more minutes?  If a respondent did so on 3 or more days of the past seven, he or she is a considered a frequent exerciser.

Most of us lead what we consider to be busy lives and use adjectives like "running around" or running errands."  But if we pay closer attention, we find we're not as active as we thought.

Too much sedentary time is correlated with higher rates of cancer, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, independent of exercise.  This means even if you log 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity every week and if the rest of  your waking minutes are spent sitting, you are still at risk.

Want an answer, can't give you all but have a few suggestions from Ms. Brown.  The 1 for 1 Rule requires you to stand, walk or exercise one minute for every minute you spend sitting.  Of course, this requires you to actually pay attention to how long you sit and it may also require you to make modifications to your home or work environment.  Put your TV in a place you can watch while standing or even better walking on a treadmill or pedaling a stationary cycle is one way to slash sedentary minutes.  Working at a stand-up desk or holding walking meetings are a couple of others.

You can also use an inactivity timer.  You can set a wearable activity tracker  to alert you when you've been inactive for too long. Or set the timer on your phone or computer to vibrate or ding every hour or more often.

These are some suggestions to get you moving in the right direction or do I say become more active than you think you are!!