Is light exercise just a waste of time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brisk walking up and down hills is good for your cardiovascular system. I think it also helps your core muscles, as well as leg muscles not to mention FRESH AIR. I walk 3 1/2 miles 5-6 days each week and am 65 years old. I will walk until I can’t.

It really is great, especially as a person gets older- people don't think about it but walking doesn't just help your cardiovascular fitness it also helps a ton with maintaining your balance, it's weight-bearing so it's helpful for bone mass retention (although light weight lifting/bodyweight exercises are thought to help even more), and mobility is important for maintaining independent functioning. It's shocking how debilitated even younger people can be if they aren't physically active, and impressive to see how fit much older folks can be if they maintain their activity levels.

[Anonymous]

I'm on a personal crusade to uncouple the benefits of exercise with weight loss.

Any amount of reduces and can even eliminate anxiety and depression, helps stabilize blood glucose levels, it increases heart health, it gives a nice change of pace to life, etc etc.

OP I don't think you should be comparing yourself to what is a good workout for others. Just find a way to be active in a way that feels good for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm very obese, to the point where I can't exercise for very long (to be fair, I can walk for miles on end, but that takes time I don't have right now). If I do, for example, two minutes of jump rope (or rowing machine, or whatever), is that better than nothing? Or will I just be getting my heart rate up and making myself sweaty for nothing?

I've always wondered this.

Yes, OP. This is how you start! Add 30 seconds each time or each week. This is how you increase endurance. And in the meantime, it’s also helping your cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

An old coach of mine used to say “the beginning is a great place to start”. When I started running, I couldn’t do a mile without walking breaks. Eventually I did a marathon without stopping. I’m not special- it’s how the body works. Keep it up!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm on a personal crusade to uncouple the benefits of exercise with weight loss.

Any amount of reduces and can even eliminate anxiety and depression, helps stabilize blood glucose levels, it increases heart health, it gives a nice change of pace to life, etc etc.

OP I don't think you should be comparing yourself to what is a good workout for others. Just find a way to be active in a way that feels good for you.

Exactly this!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm on a personal crusade to uncouple the benefits of exercise with weight loss.

Any amount of reduces and can even eliminate anxiety and depression, helps stabilize blood glucose levels, it increases heart health, it gives a nice change of pace to life, etc etc.

OP I don't think you should be comparing yourself to what is a good workout for others. Just find a way to be active in a way that feels good for you.

This. I do light exercise almost all day, walks and light runs. And it helps me so much with anxiety and just the stresses of getting older, watching friends and loved ones die, watching others get cancer scares and unexpected doctors visits and just the chaos that we call work. I walk for my sanity, not to lose weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you enjoy it? Then not a waste of time.

Even a little exercise is better than no exercise. Yes, do intermittent exercise! on the hour stand up and do 10 jumping jacks or 2 minutes on the rowing machine! Next hour do some push ups or squats. If you are at work, if you do 2 minutes of exercise every hour -- that will add up to 16 minutes of exercise!! That's the minutes I do of body weight exercies in the morning. It's all good, it all adds up!!

Even if OP doesn't enjoy it, it is not a waste of time.

Sounds like it is, actually.

- OP

Not be sound rude, but why are you asking if you feel and think and are convinced even after 3 pages of responses, that it's a waste of time. Perhaps you need ot consider therapy.

Huh? Consensus was that it won't help you lose weight.

Actually, consensus was that it won't help you lose weight, but it will make you feel better and help with your overall health.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exercise is not for weight loss. Exercise is for a healthy heart, self-esteem, and get-up-and-go energy, which you probably don't have.

Put the fork down. Zero junk food in the house. That's how you lose weight.

I had a very obese client (I'm a personal trainer.) I told her to lose 50 pounds before starting serious exercise. She was in danger of injuring her knees and back.

So condescending. I can't imagine you have good bedside manner as a PT. Everyone has to eat.

Personal trainers are the worst. "I get paid to work out, so you have no excuse."

Not all. I had a great pt who was working on some kind of advanced degree who did more for me than any physical therapist. He was not afraid to have me work out and he did more for me than any doctor, physical therapist etc had ever done. Like every good personal trainer I;ve ever had, he moved away to a more affordable location.

[Anonymous]

The bulk of a human being’s calorie burn doesn’t come from exercise but regular movement throughout the day. Yes, all movement is good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you enjoy it? Then not a waste of time.

Even a little exercise is better than no exercise. Yes, do intermittent exercise! on the hour stand up and do 10 jumping jacks or 2 minutes on the rowing machine! Next hour do some push ups or squats. If you are at work, if you do 2 minutes of exercise every hour -- that will add up to 16 minutes of exercise!! That's the minutes I do of body weight exercies in the morning. It's all good, it all adds up!!

Even if OP doesn't enjoy it, it is not a waste of time.

Sounds like it is, actually.

- OP

It's fantastic that you can walk for miles. Kudos on that.

The intermittent exercise the PP describes is good for health and weight loss. You just need to watch calorie intake so you don't eat more to compensate for the exercise though--that's why people say it's useless is that if you're not watching your calorie intake it's super easy to estimate that exercise burned more calories than it did and then eat that much more to make up for it (that's the main claim of the nytimes article).

Also, light exercise when you are very obese is different than light exercise when you are mildly overweight. Just walking carrying all that extra weight is a lot like walking with weights--so it's plenty. So if you do as much as a walk as you have time for--even if it's 15-20 min combined with 2 min of more intense exercise and some calorie reduction you'll lose some weight.

[Anonymous]

Every bit helps!


https://twitter.com/LoriShemek/status/1561295797462962181

Recent research found exercising for as little as 20 seconds (such as squats, stairs, etc) a few times throughout the day, is enough to improve cardiovascular fitness & overall health. If you find it hard to find time to exercise try incorporating “Exercise Snacks” into your day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brisk walking up and down hills is good for your cardiovascular system. I think it also helps your core muscles, as well as leg muscles not to mention FRESH AIR. I walk 3 1/2 miles 5-6 days each week and am 65 years old. I will walk until I can’t.

Do you have a job? Young children?

Yeah, didn't think so.

NP. I have both and I walk about this much daily. I have a dog, live on a hill, and out we go. I’m not in perfect shape (at all) but I like to walk and
and make time for it .

[Anonymous]

It's not just about weight, it does amazing things for my mind/stress/anxiety/motivation to be healthy in other ways like how I eat. My body physically doesn't feel good when I don't exercise and then I also eat worse.

I play mind tricks with myself to keep on exercising. If I feel like I'm just too tired and unmotivated, I'll find just a quick 15 min low impact workout. Fitness Blender is great for this as you can search for exactly what works for you in the moment using the filters for length of video, impact level, etc. Just doing little things like that when I'm not in the mood means I'll be more likely to do a longer workout at some point because it doesn't seem like such a daunting task.

[Anonymous]

Good for you! Keep on jumping. You may be the first person that I hear who labelled themselves obese and Jump Rope! Wow. Most people don't want to jump rope at all cause they are too heavy or just their mid section makes it impossible to jump more than one time.

Add a bit of walking and start there. Then, increase your pace.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brisk walking up and down hills is good for your cardiovascular system. I think it also helps your core muscles, as well as leg muscles not to mention FRESH AIR. I walk 3 1/2 miles 5-6 days each week and am 65 years old. I will walk until I can’t.

Do you have a job? Young children?

Yeah, didn't think so.

I walk the same amount daily and I work full time and have a toddler. Kid's daycare is 1 mile away and I end up walking a little on top of that for errands, transportation, etc. It's not that hard. Being almost late for daycare pickup makes it brisker pace

[Anonymous]

No exercise is a waste of time. Even if you're over 60 and you start to exercise, it will do you good, keep you healthier and may even make you live longer.