Image: Nat out on a morning walk
320 steps.
I blinked and looked at my Fitbit’s screen again, but it didn’t change. The truth was there, right on the screen of my fitness tracker.
It was 3pm on an average Tuesday and I had only taken 320 steps in the eight or so hours that I’d been awake.
That’s pretty abysmal when you consider that we’re all encouraged to get to at least 10,000 steps per day.
Here’s the thing: physical inactivity is killing us. And I’m not being melodramatic – it really is one of the biggest killers currently facing the western world.
The World Health Organisation has reported that about 3.2 million deaths PER YEAR can be attitubuted to “insufficient physical activity”. This has put physical inactivity in the fourth spot in terms of the top risk factors for global mortality. It’s killing more people per year than obesity.
The WHO suggests that we each do about 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. That works out to be about 21 minutes per day, which doesn’t seem like a lot – and yet we’re still not doing it. We’re not using our gym memberships. We’re not playing organised sport. We’re not walking, or running, or swimming, or walking the dog.
Even when we are being active, we’re not being active enough. I thought I was always pretty good with keeping active until I got a Fitbit and it told me that I only really do an average of 5000 steps per day. That was a slap in the face.
So I've been making an effort to move more, every single day. And in order to do this, I consulted a personal trainer - Vix Erber (also known as Bondi Vixen), who's an expert in all things to do with getting your body moving. Also, she lives and works in Bondi, which is essentially the fitness capital of Australia - so she knows her stuff.
Here are Vix's top tips for staying active...
1. Walk to work on nice weather days. If you work too far away, then at least walk to the train station. If you drive, park a suburb away and walk from there.
2. Use your lunch time to get down and HIIT a Tabata workout. It's only 4 minutes long and the most effective body weight circuit you can do - and there's no equipment needed. You can check out the Bikini Body Tabata Series here.
3. ALWAYS use the stairs when faced with the option of the escalator and stairs.
4. If desk bound at work, make it a habit to get up every hour to move (whether it be to go to the bathroom or to grab a green tea) - set yourself an alarm to go off every hour and remind you to do it.
5.When watching TV at night, lie on the floor or grab a foam roller (available from a sports store) and do some stretching.
6. Prioritise your weekends to fit in as much activity and exercise as you can. Join a fitness group and do a Saturday morning class to really kick start your weekend off on the right foot!
And here are some bonus suggestions that have really been working for me...
1. Invest in a fitness tracker which essentially bribes you into being active by turning it into a game. My FitBit awards me with virtual trophies when I'm kicking my goals, and many other brands have developed a similar kind of system. I find myself doing ridiculous things to get to 10,000 steps some days - pacing up and down at the bus stop, running on the spot at the traffic lights, etc. Also, if your partner or friend gets a fitness tracker as well, you can compete against each other to see who gets more steps per day. (I compete against my mum. She always beats me.)
2. Every time you make a phone call, make a conscious effort to walk while you talk. Pace through the house or the office - and even if you look slightly odd doing it, at least you're getting some blood pumping through your body.
3. Walk everywhere when possible. Seriously, it doesn't take as long as you think it does. I used to walk home from school every day and I generally beat the bus home. Also, it's a fabulous low-impact workout that still burns fat.
4. When you go to the shops, specifically park as far away from the entrance as possible. Carry a basket instead of pushing a trolley - it works more muscles.
5. Learn a few basic exercise movements and do them wherever possible. Do wall-sits in your bathroom while you're brushing your teeth. Do squats while you're flossing. Do little leg-lifts while you're cooking dinner. Try planking while you're waiting for The Bachelor to start on TV.
6. Purposely put your TV remote on the other side of the room when you're watching TV so that you have to get up and walk over to it when you want to change the channel or change the volume.
How do you make sure that you're being active every day?
We think you'll also like:
Can't afford to renew your gym membership? Try this instead
The fitness accessories you need - and the ones you really don't