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A sedentary lifestyle is one that doesn\u2019t involve regular amounts of physical activity. Health experts generally agree that the minimum recommendation for physical activity is 150 minutes\/week of moderate exercise, or 75 minutes\/week of more rigorous exercise. If you get less than this, you may be considered to have a sedentary lifestyle that poses health risks.<\/p>\n
According to the World Health Organization, 60 to 85 percent of the world\u2019s population doesn’t get enough physical activity. Let\u2019s explore why this is a problem and what you can do to increase your active time.<\/p>\n
Exercise is important to physical, mental and emotional health. At all ages, it is important to be active as much as possible.<\/p>\n
A sedentary lifestyle doesn\u2019t just put you at risk for weight gain. It can also worsen your health by affecting your bones, muscles, energy levels, heart health and more. While low energy or certain health conditions may be barriers that prevent you from exercising, physical activity can likely improve these health conditions and benefit your wellbeing in additional ways.<\/p>\n
If you are trying to minimize a sedentary lifestyle and you don\u2019t already get a lot of physical activity, knowing where to start can be difficult.<\/p>\n
First, set reasonable expectations. You aren\u2019t expected to hop on a treadmill and be ready to run a marathon in four weeks. Your journey with fitness will depend on your schedule, physical abilities and limitations, preferences and more. The most important thing you can do is to just start somewhere, because any physical activity is better than none at all.<\/p>\n
Start with Warm-ups<\/strong><\/p>\n Some people\u2019s warm-up routine might be where you start with exercise. Try stretching key muscles in your thighs, calves, arms and shoulder areas. Search for 10-minute beginner\u2019s yoga routines or simply go for a 10-minute walk at the start and end of your day. Light physical activity can help you adjust to exercise.<\/p>\n Do Activities You Love<\/strong><\/p>\n When you love the workout you\u2019re doing, it shouldn\u2019t feel like a chore. If you don\u2019t love the treadmill or the bench press, think outside the box. Try a fun beginner\u2019s fitness class like kick-boxing, spin, Zumba, POUND or Pilates. If you love being in nature, do more hiking or swimming. You can even rent a kayak or canoe for a great arm workout on the water.<\/p>\n Make Exercise a Social Activity<\/strong><\/p>\n Work out with company! Grab your friends for power walks on weeknights or hit the hiking trails on the weekends. If you want to go to the gym but you find it intimidating, buddy-up with someone who has a gym pass and can show you the ropes. Exercising with others is not only fun, but helpful for staying accountable.<\/p>\n Replace 30 Minutes of No Activity with Physical Activity\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Slowly add more physical activity to your day by using it to replace a less productive activity like watching TV or playing video games. If you spend two hours a night watching your favorite shows, for example, sacrifice just 30 minutes to do something else instead. Go for a short bike ride or do body weight exercises in the comfort of your living room.<\/p>\n Set Motivating Challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n If you are motivated by rewards, use them to help you meet your activity goals. However, don’t use food as the prize. This could create an unhealthy relationship with food. Instead, buy a new accessory or go for a night on the town. Switch up your schedule to do something more interesting. Buy yourself a new book or a gift you’ve been wanting. When you start seeing progress, try a fun fitness-themed challenge to keep up the momentum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A sedentary lifestyle is one that doesn\u2019t involve regular amounts of physical activity. Health experts generally agree that the minimum recommendation for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1403,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[21],"tags":[8,22],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1404"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1404"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3108,"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1404\/revisions\/3108"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athletics-fashion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}