Moving
in the right direction
A little physical activity adds up to a lot. Learn about the benefits of exercise done in baby steps.
T
here’s no escaping it. Exercise is something we all need to do. Study after study shows the benefits of physical activity for our bodies; it improves heart, joint and bone health, helps as a weight management tool, and reduces our risk of chronic disease. Moving is also great for our minds, with not just improved mood and mental health, but better memory and brain power, which become even more important as we age. 14 VOLUME 2 2021
Yet the pandemic has had an impact on many people’s physical activity. A CSIRO study of 4000 people showed 66% of people felt their exercise had worsened during COVID. However, for those of us who shudder at the thought of pulling on the runners, working up a sweat to the latest exercise app, or huffing and puffing at the gym, there’s good news: a little exercise adds up to a lot. And the littlest exercise of all is incidental exercise.
What is incidental exercise? Incidental exercise is the physical activity we do as part of our day-to-day lives. The walk from the carpark to the shops, or from the bus stop to the local café. Walking the kids to school. The little pop-ins at work to other people’s desks. A lesson many of us learned, thanks to the recent phenomenon of ‘COVID kilos’, is that incidental exercise can make a world of difference,
