As we know it today, exercise seems to be a fairly modern invention. We see new styles of movement being discovered and new ways to use our muscles in order to tone and strengthen them. Physical activity actually has a longer history than most of us realise – it was practiced centuries ago, even without all of the modern equipment we have access to today. Its benefits aren’t just on ‘looking healthy’ either!
In primal times, humans needed to be quick on their feet and be able to, quite literally, ‘run for their lives’ to survive predatory attacks. To survive an environment filled with natural obstacles, early humans needed to learn how to run, jump, crawl, climb, lift, carry things, throw and catch things and fight. The strength and mobility of primal humans wasn’t developed through structured exercise plans combined with a strict diet, rather it was instinctual, for survival. Then came about the crop culture where humans transitioned from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to farming. The numerous demands of growing and harvesting food, raising cattle and other chores meant (and still means) a lot of daily labour. Ancient Romans and Greeks celebrated the beauty and strength of the human body and physical training, they regarded movement as an essential part of a complete education and developed the idea that a ‘sound mind’ results from a ‘sound body.’
We now know that exercise offers an array of health benefits, from supporting a healthy nervous system to increasing physical fitness, maintaining muscle and bone strength, releasing feel-good endorphins and more. It is a form of goal setting and allows us to celebrate achievements when we are able to healthily push our bodies in order to make them stronger or more flexible.
What many of us don’t realise is the role that incidental exercise plays toward our overall health and wellbeing. Keep reading for more information on incidental exercise and some tips on how you can move your body every day.
What is incidental exercise?
Incidental exercise refers to any small form of movement that accumulates throughout the day, resulting in an increased level of physical activity. Rather than happening at the gym or while you go for your daily morning walk, incidental exercise relies on our day-to-day choices. We all engage in incidental exercise in many situations in our day-to-day lives, for example:
- Walking a couple of extra metres when we couldn’t find a car spot right next to the shopping centre entrance
- Playing outdoors with the children
- Carrying heavy groceries from the shopping centre to the car, and then from the car into the house
- Taking the stairs because the elevators are full or taking too long
- Gardening – mowing lawns, pulling out weeds etc.
- Doing housework like vacuuming, sweeping and mopping
The 2018 US Physical Guidelines for Americans states that physical activity can be accumulated throughout each day in random and sporadic bursts. The length of each type of incidental exercise we participate in can vary from a quick few seconds walking up or down a flight of stairs, to several minutes or hours of housework, gardening or shopping.
The US guidelines have disregarded the idea that exercise needs to be performed in certain lengths of time (such as going for a walk, 4 times a week for 30 mins) – any type of physical movement contributes to overall health and wellbeing, even if it is just for a few seconds or minutes.
To put it simply, physical movement of any length, even if it’s only the few minutes it takes to wheel the bins out or carry the shopping bags from the boot of the car to the kitchen, contributes to good health. All kinds of physical activity can be beneficial for our physical and mental health, whether we plan to move our bodies or not. We aren’t built to sit all day long so using our muscles, sweating and increasing our flexibility are all beneficial ways to promote longevity.
How can I become more active?
We have mentioned a few examples already throughout the blog, like parking the car further away from the shop entrance and taking the stairs instead of the elevator. There are often a few small pockets of ‘spare time’ in our day that we can squeeze in some incidental exercise too, like when we are waiting for the kettle to boil, watching the ad breaks between our current TV series and while we brush our teeth.
During these pockets of ‘spare time’ consider doing some lunges, squats, push-ups and/or crunches. You can also try doing star jumps, jogging on the spot/high knees or some stretching. Perhaps you have an exercise machine at home like a treadmill or stationary bicycle – these are great to use while watching TV or when waiting for dinner to cook.
With social distancing restrictions loosening, perhaps you can start doing your own shopping again instead of getting your groceries delivered to your door. From pushing a heavy trolley, loading groceries onto the counter and carrying the grocery bags into the kitchen from the car, you’re bound to get your heart rate up and activate many muscle groups.
All in all…
Staying physically and mentally healthy doesn’t always rely on an expensive gym membership – it comes down to movement you can participate in, whenever and wherever suits you. Moving our bodies is beneficial for many aspects of our overall wellbeing, including bone strength, muscle maintenance and nervous system support, even if our exercise for the day is sporadic bursts of movement.
Please seek advice from your medical professional before engaging in new types of physical activity. If you are pregnant or have pre-existing injuries, please get clearance from your medical professional before participating in exercise.
References
Art of Manliness (2014), The History of Physical Fitness, cited on 5.6.2020, accessed from <https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/the-history-of-physical-fitness/>
Stamatakis, E. et al. (2019), Short and sporadic bouts in the 2018 US phsycial activity guidelines: is high-intensity incidental physical activity the new HIIT? British Journal of Sports Medicine, 53: 1137-1139
