Escalators: Rides or Opportunities?

http://nyti.ms/wlTYfi

The above article on interval training caught my eye last week.  It discusses the benefits of performing high-intensity exercise interspersed with light or moderate intensity periods.  One of the primary benefits of interval training is that it takes much less time than your typical gym workout.  With interval training, people have a harder time relying on the excuse, "I just don't have the time."

A few years ago the American Medical Association (AMA) changed it's guidelines for the amount of exercise recommended for good health.  Rather than 3-5 times a week of 30 minutes of moderate activity, they said people required 7 days a week of 1 hour of moderate to intense exercise.  I hated reading that and thought it was the wrong message to send.  I thought that by setting the bar so high, more people would be inclined to throw in the towel on regular exercise all together.  I felt that people would say, "It's so far out of reach that I'm not going to bother doing anything at all."

Another study demonstrated why interval training works.  In a test with two individuals, one ran on a treadmill for 60 minutes at a steady moderate pace.  The other ran for 20 minutes doing bouts of intense running (one minute at a time), interspersed with periods of light jogging for 3 minutes.  At the end of the exercise period, the person running for a longer period had burned more calories than the interval trainer.  However, as the post-exercise hours wore on, the interval trainer burned significantly more calories than the steady-eddie runner.  In essence, the interval trained individual kept their internal furnace stoked much longer than the steady pacer.  Hence the benefits of interval training; more calories burned with less time spend exercising.  What's not to like?

My feeling as that ANY exercise, no matter how small, will have cumulative health benefits.  Every day I have to take a long escalator on 53rd and Lexington.  Most people choose to stand to the right, missing a great opportunity to get 30 seconds of FREE exercise!  Why not walk up escalators, or walk on people movers at the airport rather than just stand there?  You will not only get to your destination faster, but you will get there healthier.  There are free stair masters every where you go (and in most homes).  Stairs are one of the best ways to get in a quick "interval" training session.  Another opportunity for "free" exercise can be found in parking lots.  Rather than waste time looking for the closest spot, why not just park a little further and fast-walk to your destination.  These are not ground-breaking ideas, but they're simple examples of how to make yourselves healthier throughout the course of your ordinary work day.  No gym fees required.