Blog

Oct 31

Movement is a powerful health elixir. This is not new news. In one way or another, it's a song we have been singing for a very long time. Thankfully, it is also a message that many of the people we interface with understand, agree with, and, if our most recent client survey is accurate, are leveraging. We were excited to see that approximately 45% of respondents were in the low risk category for this ELEMENT, which is nearly double the average for American adults, where only 24% meet the full standard. However, we also know there is still work to be done as 35% of our respondents remained at high risk...they just haven't been able to turn the knowledge into action, which, of course, drives the results. Thankfully, we have a growing pile of research that provides strategies to bridge the gap.

One of the most critical bits to understand is that dosing matters. How often we move (Frequency), how hard we go about it (Intensity), how long (Time), and the mode we choose (Type) will all have an impact on our results...and therefore how close to achieving our goals we get. Exercise every day (F) at maximum effort (I) for hours (T) doing the exact same thing (T), like wind sprints, 7 days per week, and the combination is likely to produce such an overload that we could easily become injured. On the other extreme, sitting in a chair barely moving our thumbs enough to scroll, even for hours every day, is probably not enough to stimulate a healthy response. The good news is, just about everything in between, whether it be short bursts at higher intensities (aka "fitness snacks") or long slow walks, can be beneficial. The even better news, as new findings from a global research team showed this week, the greatest benefit, when dosing is dialed in, can be gained by those who are having a hard time getting the ball rolling.

More than "I" Alone

While so many studies have focused on intensity and there is fantastic research showing many great benefits of trading intensity for time (the stairwell is our friend!), this time, researchers wanted to understand if, at the lower end of the intensity spectrum, the tradeoff would still produce a benefit. They started by mapping the physical activity patterns of more than 30,000 generally healthy adults, but either had low levels of daily activity (5000-8000 steps per day) or were considered sedentary (defined as < 5000 steps per day). They then monitored health trajectories for the next several years to understand the connection between each pattern and the likelihood of developing heart disease or, worse yet, dying during follow-up. After nearly 8 years, the results were in, and the trade-off, in this case for slightly longer duration (Time), even at reasonably low effort (Intensity), worked.
 

Even though all movement patterns produced some benefit, individuals who got most of their steps in longer blocks (at least 10 minutes of continuous movement) were far less likely to die (about 1/5th as likely) as those who got their movement in bouts lasting less than 5 minutes, with the best result noted when activity bouts lasted longer than 15 minutes. The same basic trend was true for the development of heart disease. The group who got their steps in 15-minute blocks (or more) were more than 67% less likely to develop the disease as compared to those who achieved their movement in 5-minute blocks or less.

The takeaway on this one is simple enough: All movement matters and just about any "dose" can provide health benefits. While short bouts at higher intensities can do great things, even for individuals not quite ready for HIIT, carving out 15 minutes might just "FITT".

Let us know if we can help.

Happy Halloween - Have a great weekend,
Mike E.