Maybe you can't get to the gym every day, or the cold weather has limited your ability to walk or get the kids to the park. No worries, moms. All those other things you do--you know, lugging groceries, lifting furniture to clean, climbing stairs, and hauling all your kids' stuff--that counts for something.
Turns out that high-intensity incidental physical activity (HIIPA) is keeping you fit. It's just a matter of getting enough of it into your schedule.
According to Emmanuel Stamatakis, a professor from the University of Sydney, regular incidental activity that gets you huffing and puffing even for a few seconds has some promise for your health--especially if you're not doing much physical activity at all.
In an editorial published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, Stamatakis and colleagues say that many everyday tasks that get us winded can be classified as "high-intensity" physical activity. (Similar to all that high-intensity interval training [HIIT] that gym rats enjoy.)
In fact, incorporating more HIIPA activities into your day can produce significant health benefits for many adults--especially during times when you can't get outside or find time to make yoga class.
"There is a lot of research telling us that any type of HIIT, irrespective of the duration and number of repetitions is one of the most effective ways to rapidly improve fitness and cardiovascular health and HIIPA works on the same idea," Stamatakis said. They say doing three to five brief HIIPA sessions--in as little as five to 10 minutes a day, most days of the week--can have health perks.
Fitness experts typically say it's best to start small, so HIIPA could be a good way to get you moving. You can also build on to it, increasing moves or incorporating exercises moves attached to a daily task (fold laundry and do squats instead of folding while sitting, for example). That may help you work up to regular workouts, or increased intensity.
"The beauty of HIIPA and the idea of using activities we are already doing as part of everyday life is that it is much more realistic and achievable for most people," Stamatakis said.
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