The FastDay Forum

write-up in the NY Times: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/2 ... cise/?_r=0

link to the pubmed abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24167223

Beside the point, but I was thinking I know some people who poke fun and make jokes about people who exercise.
My husband is known to ride 90 k a day to work and when he is getting ready to leave after shift, some of the larger unhealthy guys will pipe up and say, Oh, I think I will go for a ride, in mocked tone. Hubby knows they are having a crack.

Then there are those that put up jokes against exercise on Facebook.

I dont get it.

I live to exercise and enjoy a hard slog 4 times a week. It gives me optimism, energy and that lovely chemical which I cannot think of its name just now.

That'd be an: endorphin

How fascinating. Makes me think that we focus too much on diet rather than exercise. Also useful to know during the holiday season that so long as we get off our butts and move, then we don't need to feel too guilty about a little over indulgence.

Interesting, though this (very short) study was with a small group of young men who were fit to start off with and were able to run for 45 mins. None of which matches me. Nevertheless, having lost weight, I now do want to improve fitness and know that spending Christmas at my parents will mean sitting about for hours so I will have to make myself get wrapped up and go for a walk. I can't run, but I guess that any movement would be better than none? I spend hours pottering in the garden, but rarely do 'exercise'. I know I should.

There was a post in the NEAT thread about how good walking is for you, as well as NEAT things obviously (I'm sure gardening counts!)

Thanks @MaryAnn I think I am improving at NEAT, but I'm guessing that it's the increased heart-rate/circulation/faster breathing etc that caused the apparent benefits in the study - ie the type of exercise that I don't do. Yet.

I love that "Yet!"

Thanks for this research, Mary Ann.

My husband is known to ride 90 k a day to work and when he is getting ready to leave after shift, some of the larger unhealthy guys will pipe up and say, Oh, I think I will go for a ride, in mocked tone. Hubby knows they are having a crack.

I used to ride 30k a day to work, and absolutely loved it. I'd arrive at work full of energy for a night shift, say, and the other guys would get out of their cars, still half asleep from the nap they'd taken earlier - while I was buzzing. I could do shifts standing on my head, principally because I exercised hard!

I do about 20 minutes of fairly intensive exercise a day, and I've recently started doing these 5 simple exercises dotted about the day - press-ups and the like - and already I can see the difference:

http://www.fashionbeans.com/2013/top-5-home-based-exercises/

Cheers, B&W