How little exercise can you get away with? / 7 Random Things About Me meme
We all want to know – how much exercise do we really need each week? How little can we get away with?
There was an interesting (although VERY confusing) article on the Well blog covering this topic yesterday. The article stemmed from a study done in Scotland that concluded you only need 20 minutes of exercise a week to increase your contentment. Okay, but how much do you need to be healthy?
That’s more difficult to define. The article went into a discussion about “MET” minutes, which are “Metabolic Equivalent of Task” minutes. Huh? Apparently you need 500 of those as week, and they vary based on what you are doing for exercise and how intense it is. For example, running at 6 mph is a 10-MET activity. So if you run for 60 minutes, that is 600 MET minutes. So, you’re done for the week then? Confusing…
Has anyone heard of this MET mumbo-jumbo before? How do you decide how much to exercise a week? Do you have any exercise goals for 2010?
I aim for at least 30 minutes a day, but usually go by how I feel. If I am in the groove, I will keep going! If I feel like crap, I won’t work out at all.
A few other interesting points from the article (repetitive, but interesting):
According to the Physical Activity Guidelines report, “It has been estimated that people who are physically active for approximately seven hours a week have a 40 percent lower risk of dying early than those who are active for less than 30 minutes a week.”
Interestingly, they did not find that exercise beyond a certain point conferred significant additional health benefits. Instead, the “dose response” for exercise, the committee found, is “curvilinear.” In other words, people who are the least active to start with get the most health benefit from starting to exercise. People who already are fit don’t necessarily get a big additional health benefit from adding more workout time to their regimens.
You do not necessarily have to divide your exercise time into daily allotments, either. Existing “scientific evidence does not allow researchers to say, for example, whether the health benefits of 30 minutes on five days a week are any different from the health benefits of 50 minutes on three days a week,” according to the activity guidelines. Do what suits your schedule.
Meme time! Leah, Gelareh and Holly have all tagged me for the “7 Random Things About Me” meme. Thanks, ladies! Click “more” to read on…
And of course, Happy New Years Eve! Enjoy your evening and be safe!
It was hard to come up with 7 random facts that I felt people wouldn’t know/weren’t a repeat of my “100 Things.” Anyway, I tried! I am sure as soon as I hit publish I will come up with 7 better things. (And yeah, should I have actually posted 21 things since I was tagged three times?)
- Instead of dropping my maiden name when I got married, I changed my middle name to my maiden name – from “Marie” to “Ilax.” Changing my name was not something I wanted to do and I waited for over a year to do it.
- I lived in Rome from January – August of 2006. You can read all about it in my old archives. I was in school until the end of April, then worked for the architect Massimiliano Fuksas (for free!) until August. I worked in “Sala Plastici” – that’s Italian for the Model Shop!
- My first three cars were Oldsmobiles (a 1979 Delta 88, a 1985 98 Regency, and a 1988 88 Brougham). The first one was totaled when a semi failed to stop at the end of an off ramp and squished my car in half (thank heavens he hit the END of my car and not the front!). The company that owned the semi gave us the second car. It didn’t run as well as the first. So my dad bought me the third one from his Aunt. And I held on to it until last April. My sister drives it now.
- I’ve been a vegetarian for 9 years tomorrow. YES, I am lame and became a vegetarian on January 1st, 2001. My fourth post on my blog was about why I became vegetarian (scroll down to 7/25/05).
- I had an embarrassing rebellious phase when I was a sophomore in high school. Think staying out WAY past curfew, cutting class, dying my hair strange colors… and much more. Yeah. It was embarrassing. I pretty much cut it out when my older friends went to college the following fall. And I still graduated class valedictorian. I got rid of all of my journals from that time in my life, but there are some stories and opinions I would love to share someday.
- I don’t follow television or sports. I do watch movies though!
- I work for the federal government and I love my job. Bet you didn’t see that one coming!
Me + Random Gatto at Colosseum
Bye bye last Oldsmobile
I am not going to tag anyone (supposed to tag 7) but please do the meme if you’d like!
One more thing: Check out Brie’s RoadID Giveaway! I actually asked for a RoadID for Christmas, but didn’t get one, so I should probably buy one. I’ve just been using a dog tag!
Themocracy
I love reading these random fact lists! Living in Rome must have been amazing…it’s on my list of places I want to visit.
I am playing catchup after being away last week…. I completely relate to the last post you wrote. I think we were raised in a generation where women were/are taught that that can have it all. I believe that, but think it’s important to remember that, while we can have it all, we may not be able to have it all, all at the same time. I think that applies to life, but also to the day-to-day. I have to remember that anyway.
.-= Author’s last blog post… An Interlude between Christmas’ =-.
ADDED!!! I was planning on updating this weekend when I get a break from work haha – I want to stay on top of my fantastic readers and THEIR great blogs – I’m always reading though girl 🙂 Your pic is super pretty too by the way.
Great post too – well written ! I’m going to come back and read those random things later too – they’re always so interesting . Happy NYE!! 🙂
.-= Author’s last blog post… “Zero” =-.
I can’t say that I have heard of MET. I don’t think 30 min a week is enough… that’s 5 minutes a day (excluding sunday)… maybe for a european lifestyle where they walk everywhere that would be enough but here in the States we all love our cars and always look for the closest parking spot in front of the gym (what’s up with that?).
For me, personally the perfect balance is M-Th and Sat with Fri and Sun Off. I like an hour at the gym… if I am not feeling good I settle for 30 – 45 min and if I wake up and feel like crap than I just go back to bed… The point of excercise for me is to make me feel good so I am not going to force myself if I am not in the mood. I listen to my body and its signals…
I changed my last name the Friday after we got back from our honeymoon and made my maiden name my middle name, well I didn’t have a middle name so it worked out fine :).
.-= Author’s last blog post… Last One, Best One! =-.
My head started spinning re: those MET minutes — to me, that has the same problem as exchanges. Namely, it involves too many numbers and calculations for a mathematical dummy like me!!
I try for at least half an hour of strength training at the gym; I prefer to get my aerobic workouts through actually DOING something, as opposed to running nowhere on a treadmill. I need to be active in some way every day, or I go out of my mind. (Now you know why I’m so crazy… ;))
Happy New Years!
<3 <3
.-= Author's last blog post… I’m Not A Vampire =-.
I’ve heard of MET but had no idea what exactly it meant.
My fitness goals are fairly loosey goosey: I just wanna finish whatever races I dared put on my schedule in an upright fashion in 2010. How’s that for no pressure?
And I’ll do whatever training I deem necessary to do that without too much agony.
Happy New Year!
.-= Author’s last blog post… Disconnected =-.
I definitely go by how I feel as well. Twenty minutes of exercise a week would leave me a stressed out wreck. I don’t exercise to burn calories or even stay “healthy,” I exercise because it keeps me sane!!!
Have a GREAT 2010, Kim! So grateful to have discovered your blog this year!
.-= Author’s last blog post… Dinner Partay + Scene It = Good Time =-.
Hello there!!! I have been out of the blogging world for SO long…I’m having fun getting caught up on all my favorite bloggers. 🙂 I particularly love the pictures of you typing THROUGH your kitty’s limbs…absolutely hilarious. Reminds me of something my Wrigley boy would do.
Thanks for pointing out that there was no way to leave comments on my new blog!! I’m still figuring it all out. There IS a way now…I hope. It was kind of confusing to add so I hope it works right.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Jeremy and I have recently gotten into what I would call… =-.
I had that rebellious phase for a couple of months when I was 17. I wasn’t bad — just stayed out after curfew a few times and argued with my mom.
.-= Author’s last blog post… Accident =-.
Happy Vegiversary! I don’t think it’s lame that you went veg on Jan 1st, I did the same thing when I went vegan. For me, it was one of my New Year’s resolutions that I have actually been able to stick to! Happy New Year!
Kim,
Just wanted to wish you a Happy New Year and prosperous 2010. I hope to run into you at one of the local races this year (2010).
.-= Author’s last blog post… Knee Jerk Reaction =-.
What made you finally go and change your name? 🙂 I didn’t change mine when I got married, I love my name too much and it’s allll mine. LOL
Happy New Year Kim! I got your reply and will write you shortly. 🙂
.-= Author’s last blog post… 2009 Feet on the Street Wrapup =-.
We “discussed” the name change thing for a whole year. Basically, I finally gave in and changed it, when we needed to book a flight somewhere. Ugh. I have gotten more used to it, but I don’t feel like it is “my” last name yet. I feel like an imposter.
I generally don’t follow that MET-type stuff. In general, I think any exercise is good exercise, and I don’t think people should be striving for the minimum (20 minutes a week? Uh, that won’t burn off all the tater tots I ate yesterday!) When I read those study results, I always get the sense that they’re kind of gimmicky, sort of like crash diets. (Like, exercise only four minutes a day and your heart health will sky rocket!)
That said, I guess the idea of getting an hour of exercise a day is pretty daunting (and I definitely don’t get that), so maybe just advertising the bare minimum is the best for people who currently lead sedentary lifestyles but want to get healthier.
In conclusion, I write novels in your comment section and need to stop being so judgmental!
.-= Author’s last blog post… Christmas observations =-.
Wow you lived in Rome? I’m so jealous.
I’m making some excercise goals for 2010. I’ve been told you need a minimum of 30 min. of cardio a day (or a few times a week) to make a difference. So I always try to get in 30 min. of cardio when I work out. Or I just do The Shred. It’s only 20 min., but boy does it kick my butt!
I go by how I feel with working out too. Except this week I’ve been “feeling” the need to do 20 minutes of yoga and then watching internet TV. Next week it’s back on!
I loved your facts! Rome sounds amazing! That’s so cool you’ve been a veggie for 9 years. One of my goals is to do more veggie research and switch up my meals for the upcoming year so I don’t get bored!
.-= Author’s last blog post… 17 Things. =-.
i’m so on-again-off-again about exercising.. i don’t think that approach works well no matter how many MET whodinginuts i’m burning 🙂
happy new year!!
.-= Author’s last blog post… auld lang syne =-.
I’ve never heard of that before! happy new year!
.-= Author’s last blog post… Guest Post – Gelareh @ Orange Truffle! =-.
wow 20 minutes is all they suggest? that seems so low to me for some reason. Oh well, I say do what works for you and how much you like 🙂
.-= Author’s last blog post… All Over the Place =-.
I think I may have heard of the MET thinger but it didn’t really stick with me. Going by how I feel usually determines how much exercise I do for the day/week. Although.. I have been slacking a bit and would like to get my lazy butt moving more!
Love the random facts. 🙂 My brother’s first car was a burgandy Oldsmobile and if he hadn’t torn the inside apart, it probably would have been my first car too. I did sort of mentally thank him for doing that though as I wasn’t overly keen on driving it. Still, it would have been nice to get a free car.
PS. Happy New Year!
.-= Author’s last blog post… Nom Naam Nom and Shopping =-.
I love the stat from the article that compares 7 HOURS a week to 30 minutes a week. Um, duh. Couldn’t they have studied like 2 hours vs 4 hours or something more reasonable?
Great random facts too – I think the smashed first car is an interesting story, but only because it was the safe half to have hit.
Oh, and I’m with you on the name change. The fiance and I have discussed it several times. I love my last name, he hates his, I think it’s too much work to change, his trust fund may not payout if he changes his name or if I keep mine, we could pick a random third party name… just too much to make the decision an easy one.
ps. Have a great New Year!!
.-= Author’s last blog post… Three Things Thursday =-.
Ack! I definitely need more than 20-minutes per WEEK! But it varies every week. I just listen to my body and fit in workin’ out in-between posing as a human jungle gym for the spawns that I birthed. Ugh.
.-= Author’s last blog post… I’m Gonna Have a Foodgasm! episode 4 =-.
I love your 7 random things!
As for the exercise, I try to do 30 mins a day too. Some days I may only do 20, but the next I`ll do 40, so it averages out.
.-= Author’s last blog post… The Best of 2009 =-.
I’m a sucker for those memes. I feel like they say just a little bit more about who you are 🙂 I haven’t changed my name yet…not sure if I will. I like your idea of the middle name thing…
Anyway, as for exercise… I tend to get way too attached to the “rules” about how much to exercise. I’ve found that it really varies from person to person. I am not a cardio person. Maybe one day…but right now, I don’t need to burn calories like crazy, and I have terrible knees. Some people wouldn’t consider what I do (light yoga, walking) a “work out,” but it seems to work just fine for me 🙂
.-= Author’s last blog post… Recipe of the week: Oatmeal cookies 🙂 =-.
I loved reading all the thoughts on exercise! 😀 To be honest, I guess I never really gave it much thought or ever really broke it down according to minutes, etc. Usually I’ll just go out running because I know it’s healthy to be active and I feel good when I am being active. But it’s nice to see the numbers. 😀 And I can’t help but feel that breaking up the amounts of exercise over a period of days would be more beneficial then clumping it all together into one day, but that’s just a theory of mine. 😉
.-= Author’s last blog post… S-U-S-H-I =-.
Hi Kim,
As always: a fun read today! 🙂 Nope, didn’t see the Fed reveal coming at all… Rome, though, does NOT surprise me at all. And I love the pic w/ Random Gatto…so sweet (love kitties!!!).
Just finishing up my 100 Things post – feels so, well, narcissistic, but going with it, since it seems to be blogosphere tradition… yes, I really wondered what else you could add, but loved what you came up with.
Re: the whole exercise thing – it’s no wonder people say “I’m not doing it!” So darn confusing..sheesh! Excuses, though… love your comment, “If I feel like crap, I won’t work out at all.” Now THERE’S a great training tip! HA HA
No Road ID?? What happened there, Santa??? You might like to know then, that the Turtles blog giveaway has some ‘options’ to it, and one of those includes a gift certificate for Road ID, so if you STILL don’t get one from Brie’s giveaway, just know that all hope is NOT lost. 🙂
Oh, and yes, I have some goals for 2010, which includes running 500+ miles (up for the Pay it Forward 500 Mile Club challenge?… details are now posted). Other goals are still in progress….I’m always a work in progress. LOL
Hugs from Orlando! And Happy New Year to you guys!
.-= Author’s last blog post… Pay It Forward 500 Mile Club – Ready to Join? =-.
Wow. Awesome post. Where do I start?
Exercise goals for 2010 for me: to actually get back to the gym and start exercising again. My fitness program in 2009 was an epic fail. And each and every day, I’ve felt the pains of not doing something about it. I will have a blog post about this very soon.
#5 on your list above… I know that well, since I did a similar rebellious phase both my freshman and sophomore year of high school. Mostly drug related. I’m sure I will blog about it in great detail about that someday (i did allude to it in this post)
Wii Fit Plus (yes, I know) explains it as a calculation of exertion in doing an aerobic exercise. So sitting still is a one. (I’m not sure if typing is a two.) That times something else is enough to give you amount of calories burned.
This year, recommit to what is really important and what I need for me. I need to stop letting others define me. Much more time with family and friends… and doing really fun things.
.-= Author’s last blog post… I hear music? =-.