Dear Dr. Toshi,
I haven't been exercising very much because of the COVID pandemic and it's been getting cold outside. What can I do?
Early in the spring, when we had the first COVID-19 lockdown, I read an article about a young marathon runner who had to stay at home and couldn't exercise because of the lockdown. However, he really wanted to continue training for a marathon, so this is what he did. He measured out a circle in his backyard, set up a couple of hydration stations with water and Gatorade, and then actually ran the equivalent distance of a full marathon in the circle! He ran for a little over five hours and even had some neighbors watch his "marathon" over the fence while cheering for him, and he completed his full marathon!
When our environment and lifestyle become restrictive for any reason, like bad weather or COVID-19, we need to follow his example and think creatively and get rid of our preconceptions. Let's forget about what we used to do. We might be holding ourselves back with thoughts like, "I used to run five miles every day so that's what I need to do," "I used to be able to take a walk for at least 30 minutes a day, but now my knees are bothering me so much I can't do anything," or "I don't have any exercise equipment at home, so I can't exercise." Doing exercise while sitting, stretching, using household items such as filled-up water bottles as barbels are just a few examples of things that you may be able to do even if you don't want to run a marathon in your backyard!
The department of Health and Human Services recommends that healthy adults include at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activities or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activities per week. It is also recommended that people stretch all major muscle groups at least twice a week.You may find a personal trainer if you really want to get into it, or you can go a website like one from Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness if you want more details.
But what if you're not able to do such exercises? Here is another tip for an active lifestyle: it is to consider exercise in broader terms. In 2007, a study was published in Psychological Science by Drs. Alia Crum and Ellen Langer at Harvard University to see if a person's mental attitude mattered in exercise. They divided up 84 women who worked and cleaned hotel rooms in seven different hotels into two groups: the "Informed Group" and the "Control Group." The Informed Group received a very detailed explanation stating that their work was indeed good exercise and that it satisfied the Surgeon General's recommendations for an active lifestyle. The Control Group was not given this information. Even though both groups did exactly the same work, after four weeks, the women in the Informed Group had reductions in weight, blood pressure, body fat, waist size, and body mass index!
How can this help you? By realizing that gardening counts as exercise. Walking inside your house counts. Housework like vacuuming counts. And you can increase the quality of these activities by taking extra little steps, such as parking your car a block away from work or the doctor's office or the grocery store so you can walk a little bit more. Sometimes take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk your dog a little bit faster than usual. And you can slowly increase these activities as you get more used to them.
At a medical conference I went to at Mayo Clinic last year, a sports medicine doctor said in his lecture that studies have shown that wearing a pedometer or any other fitness trackers like Fitbit or Apple Watch actually resulted in people becoming more active. If you haven't decided what you'd like for a gift for this coming holiday season, you might want to think about asking for one of those exercise monitoring devices!
Dr. Toshiko (Toshi) Luckow, MD a Family Medicine physician at the West River Health Services hospital and clinics.