A Few Steps Add UP

If you’ve been reading my blog for any time at all, you’ve probably gotten a dose of my idea that steps add up and taking only a few steps when you can is OK. Remember when I advised folks to walk only during TV commercials if they were just starting out? Turns out that was really good advice!

According to a recently published, long-term study by the CDC, walk ‘spurts’ as short as two minutes taken several times a day can add up to the amount of total movement time one needs each day to remain healthy. This is not the same as endurance that requires longer bouts of exercise, beginning with probably 20-30 minutes of movement. Endurance and overall health are not the same thing as defined in this study.

These shorter bursts of movement make really good sense if you’re just starting out on an exercise regime, if you’re returning to exercise (as I was after a recent bout on the sofa for almost a month), when you’re swamped with work, and when inclement weather makes venturing outside hazardous.

Whatever your reason, stash this bit of useful trivia in your long-term memory banks and use it when you need to. It all adds up to make a healthier you.