IS ONE HOUR OF EXERCISE A DAY ENOUGH? THE BENEFITS OF STAYING ACTIVE

Is one hour of exercise a day enough?

You might be working out multiple times a week and think you are active enough, but are you?

Is 1 hour of workout a day enough for your health?

The short answer is no. It is not enough to combat what you do during the rest of your day, especially when you have a sedentary job.

I have been working out for 17 years, in the beginning, I used to think I was fit and active. I used to think my one hour of gym time and lifting weights is plenty to keep me active.

Man, I was wrong considering what I did during the day. Your lifestyle will play a more significant role in your health than just the time you spend in the gym.

Don’t get me wrong, time spent in the gym is great and very beneficial for your health compared to doing nothing at all. But, if I am being honest with you, it’s not enough.

In today’s world with technology and the increase of jobs at a desk, it is more important than ever to become aware of your movement lifestyle.

In a recent study looking at steps per day and health, the results were eye-opening. What the study found was alarming and highlighted the need for more movement. 

• 16,000 steps/day were associated with a 66% reduction in all-cause mortality. 
• All-cause mortality rates were 12% lower for every added 1,000 steps/day.
• 2,700 steps/day was associated with a 200% higher rate of mortality than 16,000 steps/day. 

In the U.S., the average person accumulates between 5,100-6,500 steps/per day. A step count of 6,000/day is associated with a 126% higher risk than taking 16,000 steps per day.

We know that correlation doesn’t mean causation, so another study (Hanson 2015) investigated whether the simple act of walking improved health. This study was a meta-analysis of 42 studies and 1,843 individuals.

The interventions varied in volume and intensity with a wide range from 168 to 8,580 min of walking over a 3-week to a year period. The intensity of the walks ranged from low to brisk walking with a little high-intensity walking.

 Here is what they found: 

• Significant decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, 
• Lower resting heart rate, and 
• Lower body fat percentage, 
• Lower body mass index 
• Lower total cholesterol, and 
• Lower depression scores. 

As you can see, the steps you take matter and will be a big influence on your health. 

So, to answer your question, is one hour of exercise a day enough? The answer is no but let’s keep going and dive deeper into the benefits and how you can get more movement in your day.

YOUR ONE HOUR OF EXERCISE A DAY IS NOT ENOUGH FOR YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH

Why should you do more than one hour of exercise a day? Well, go back above to look at the benefits for your health.

Not just for your heart health though, your movement health will also benefit depending on the movement you incorporate in your day.

Here is what I mean.

If you incorporated more walking and mobility during your day, you could see big improvements in how your body feels.

Joints will feel better.

Joints will move better.

You will feel more energized.

More energy and physical feeling good means you will move more. It will create this snowball effect of movement.

Movement builds momentum, so let’s use it.

Moving more during the day with walking, mobility, and workouts, you will have better sleep quality.

Better sleep quality will improve hormone functions, and behavior around nutrition, and give you more energy to move.

Nice little roundabout on why more movement during the day can be beneficial.

The last point is if your goal is fat loss, obviously more movement during the day will help. Not just with the burning of calories, but also with your behavior around nutrition, and it goes back to sleep quality.

Poor sleep habits are associated with overeating, especially processed carbs because the body is stressed due to the lack of sleep. Fix your cravings, not all but will help, with better sleep.

Get better sleep with more movement during your day. So, you see, one hour of exercise a day is not enough movement to elicit these changes in your movement and health.

YOUR ONE HOUR OF EXERCISE A DAY IS NOT ENOUGH FOR YOUR EMOTIONAL HEALTH

Before I talk about how one hour of exercise a day can help your emotional health, let me define what emotional health is.

Emotional health is when you can manage and express your emotions in a healthy and constructive way. You are also able to manage and cope with stress in a positive or healthy way.

You might be asking how emotional health can influence your overall health. I will go more into that later, for now just know that it is all connected.

Here is what you can expect if you do more movement outside of your one hour of exercise a day for your emotional health:

1. Reduce stress and anxiety
2. Boost in mood
3. Self-esteem
4. Increase in cognitive function
5. Better sleep quality

Moving more during the day whether it’s from walking, biking, mobility, etc., you can expect to have less stress and anxiety in your day.

Your one hour of exercise a day is not enough movement to help increase the endorphins and lower the tension in the body. It is not enough to improve your mood and reduce symptoms of depression.

A recent study came out showing exercise and physical activity are 1.5x more effective than drugs and counseling when dealing with anxiety and depression. This needs to be talked about more when dealing with mental health.

Obviously, use all the resources you can, but know that physical activity should be at the top of the list.

Go for a walk outside, move around your house, and get moving in addition to your one hour of exercise a day to have better mental and emotional health.

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH

Many times, you hear others speak about emotional or mental health and physical health separately.

The problem is that you cannot have one without the other. You have one body, and they are both connected. When you have poor emotional/mental health, you’ll have poor physical health.

When one declines the other follows with it. You cannot talk about having good mental health without improving physical health.

How are they directly connected?

Here is how:

1. Stress
2. Lifestyle factors
3. Chronic conditions
4. Self-esteem

Stress does many things to the body and mind, and how you react to that stress can come across both emotionally and physically. Feeling stressed is psychological that can manifest into headaches, muscle tension, fatigue, chronic pain, upset stomach, and more. Emotionally it can look like anxiety, irritation, and depression.

Lack of exercise or only doing one hour of exercise a day may not be enough to combat poor health. You can exercise and do nothing the rest of the day and eat poorly and experience negative health outcomes.

Feeling tight in the muscles and joints, always drinking caffeine because you are tired, these lifestyle factors play a big role in your overall health.

When you need to work on your health, don’t focus on one aspect, think globally, and take care of your body and mind to have a happier and more fulfilling life.

WHY ONE HOUR OF EXERCISE A DAY IS NOT ENOUGH

Obesity is at an all-time high in the US with 43% of Americans being obese, a big increase in the last few decades.

This is a major public health concern having a huge economic impact. It is more expensive to our society being obese with medical costs at 147 billion, yes billion dollars per year.

That is insane!

Now more than ever, you need to take health into your own hands. This means doing more than the bare minimum of going to the gym.

You need to be proactive with movement during your whole day. Right now, the average step count for Americans is 5,100-6,500 steps/per day. That is enough movement for your health.

So how can you add more movement to your day?

Here are some simple strategies to help you:

1. Walk 10 min after each meal
2. Park farther away at work/store/etc.
3. Walk to the farthest bathroom at work
4. Take the stairs, skip the elevators
5. Walk around the house while on the phone (texting, social media, etc.)
6. Set a timer every hour to walk around and stretch
7. Wake up and do 5 minutes of mobility
8. Before bed do 5-10 minutes of mobility to wind down for bed
9. Keep bands with you around the desk and do a few exercises that feel good

There are other options to add, these are suggestions for you to try and play with.

The point is that you need more movement than your one hour of exercise. Today’s society is more sedentary than it has ever been. Jobs are more sedentary than 30 years ago, and technology keeps you planted on your butt.

You must be proactive with more movement in your day. Your health and quality of life depend on it.

Your one hour of exercise is not enough. Highly recommend you get the book, Built to Move, it goes deeper into how you are meant to move during the day. They give practical tests and exercises that you can do for movement longevity.