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8 Hour a Day Office Job, 30 Minutes of Exercise a Day Not Enough
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the time spent cleaning is Gothchics hour of activity.4
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Packerjohn wrote: »BodyzLanguage wrote: »I know you can add another 30 mins to your workout. An hour a day is hardly any sacrifice.
Hardly any sacrifice FOR YOU. For many people, time is in shorter supply even than money, and you can't get more hours out of the day.
As mentioned earlier, the average American spends 5 leisure hours a day in front of a tube. This would indicate to me that most would have time to get an hour of movement a day if that was their choice.
For those people, perhaps, an hour would not be a sacrifice, but I'm not really talking about those people. The poster I quoted did not specify "average" Americans spending 5 hours a day in front of the TV (there's also the fact that you can watch TV while doing a multitude of other things, which is what I do). He just made the unqualified statement that an hour a day is hardly a sacrifice. See Gothchiq's reference above about working two jobs and still has to come home and clean - if a person spends 12 hours working, 2 hours commuting, and 2 hours cleaning/cooking/caring for and interacting with spouse and/or children, that leaves exactly 8 hours to sleep before they have to get up and do it all again. Should they take an hour out of their sleep, or be late to work and maybe lose their job, or quit one job and not be able to pay the bills, or let the house go to hell, or ignore their spouse/kids, or what? Everyone does not have the same life. I'm so fortunate to be in a position where I have the free time to do yoga and take lots of walks but I wasn't always in that position, and I think everyone who has that free time maybe ought to just be thankful for it instead of dogging other people who don't.
Wasn't referring to you or any other poster in this thread. Studies show people in general arespending a lot of time in front of a tube but claim not to have time for exercise1 -
I guess 30 minutes a day is better than nothing, but my honest opinion.. I don't think it's enough to make much of a difference2
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Sometimes one needs to make time.2
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Christine_72 wrote: »I guess 30 minutes a day is better than nothing, but my honest opinion.. I don't think it's enough to make much of a difference
The study is saying 60 minutes if you sit 8 hours a day.0 -
Packerjohn wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »BodyzLanguage wrote: »I know you can add another 30 mins to your workout. An hour a day is hardly any sacrifice.
Hardly any sacrifice FOR YOU. For many people, time is in shorter supply even than money, and you can't get more hours out of the day.
As mentioned earlier, the average American spends 5 leisure hours a day in front of a tube. This would indicate to me that most would have time to get an hour of movement a day if that was their choice.
For those people, perhaps, an hour would not be a sacrifice, but I'm not really talking about those people. The poster I quoted did not specify "average" Americans spending 5 hours a day in front of the TV (there's also the fact that you can watch TV while doing a multitude of other things, which is what I do). He just made the unqualified statement that an hour a day is hardly a sacrifice. See Gothchiq's reference above about working two jobs and still has to come home and clean - if a person spends 12 hours working, 2 hours commuting, and 2 hours cleaning/cooking/caring for and interacting with spouse and/or children, that leaves exactly 8 hours to sleep before they have to get up and do it all again. Should they take an hour out of their sleep, or be late to work and maybe lose their job, or quit one job and not be able to pay the bills, or let the house go to hell, or ignore their spouse/kids, or what? Everyone does not have the same life. I'm so fortunate to be in a position where I have the free time to do yoga and take lots of walks but I wasn't always in that position, and I think everyone who has that free time maybe ought to just be thankful for it instead of dogging other people who don't.
Wasn't referring to you or any other poster in this thread. Studies show people in general arespending a lot of time in front of a tube but claim not to have time for exercise
Nope, not about me or anyone else. Guess I wasn't very good at making it generic.
I just feel like a lot of people get accused of making excuses when they're going flat out like a lizard already and really can't do more. 4 -
Packerjohn wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »BodyzLanguage wrote: »I know you can add another 30 mins to your workout. An hour a day is hardly any sacrifice.
Hardly any sacrifice FOR YOU. For many people, time is in shorter supply even than money, and you can't get more hours out of the day.
As mentioned earlier, the average American spends 5 leisure hours a day in front of a tube. This would indicate to me that most would have time to get an hour of movement a day if that was their choice.
For those people, perhaps, an hour would not be a sacrifice, but I'm not really talking about those people. The poster I quoted did not specify "average" Americans spending 5 hours a day in front of the TV (there's also the fact that you can watch TV while doing a multitude of other things, which is what I do). He just made the unqualified statement that an hour a day is hardly a sacrifice. See Gothchiq's reference above about working two jobs and still has to come home and clean - if a person spends 12 hours working, 2 hours commuting, and 2 hours cleaning/cooking/caring for and interacting with spouse and/or children, that leaves exactly 8 hours to sleep before they have to get up and do it all again. Should they take an hour out of their sleep, or be late to work and maybe lose their job, or quit one job and not be able to pay the bills, or let the house go to hell, or ignore their spouse/kids, or what? Everyone does not have the same life. I'm so fortunate to be in a position where I have the free time to do yoga and take lots of walks but I wasn't always in that position, and I think everyone who has that free time maybe ought to just be thankful for it instead of dogging other people who don't.
Wasn't referring to you or any other poster in this thread. Studies show people in general arespending a lot of time in front of a tube but claim not to have time for exercise
While I would agree that many people can free up time for more exercise, spending time in front of the TV doesn't necessarily mean doing nothing except watching TV. I watch TV while I get ready for work in the morning, while I prepare and eat dinner, while I fold laundry, etc. I doubt I'm the only one who does this and these are things that need doing.5 -
BodyzLanguage wrote: »I know you can add another 30 mins to your workout. An hour a day is hardly any sacrifice.
Hardly any sacrifice FOR YOU. For many people, time is in shorter supply even than money, and you can't get more hours out of the day.
Alright easy, why do sound like you wanna bite my head off? Lol, geez. To elaborate on my point, if one is engaged in higher ranked actives throughout the other 23 hours 30 mins of the day then yeah, 1 hour is too much - which highly unlikely. But priories are priorities. Just make peace with exercising not being a priority. Don't delude yourself.3 -
CipherZero wrote: »I get an hour train ride into the city and walk to work from there - about a half-hour with traffic and crosswalks. I use Varidesk's timer to remind me to get out of my chair, and walk sometimes at lunch as well then eat at my desk.
So far, I've logged 563 miles this year.
"Can't do more" is a matter of prioritization. My observation has been people who "don't have time" to work out spend inordinate amounts of time doing utterly sedentary activities.
This is a big part of the problem, and is often bandied about as an excuse for why people eat like *kitten* as well. I should know; I used to use it all of the time. And yeah, it was nothing more than an excuse then too, even working 14 hours per day.0 -
There has been a lot of interest in this in recent years. However, many studies say that no amount of additional exercise can offset the damaging impact of sitting for extended periods because this isn't a matter of just trying to outrun sedentary habits. There is obviously a calories in vs. calories out argument to sitting too much, but there is also an argument that sitting for prolonged periods is bad for you in other ways. It's a bit like saying somebody in solitary confinement for a year, will be totally OK after a 2-day chat with a friend. The idea is (and I am no scientist, so am not arguing for or against) is that sitting down for long periods of times is damaging IN ITSELF and has poor impact on the way the body metabolises energy as well as forces the body to unnaturally hold unnatural positions. It's like subjecting yourself to stress positions as done in torture and interrogations, wreaking havoc on muscles! In this respect, many offices are now encouraging standing desks (where you can heighten your desk and stand at it for the majority of the day rather than sit). Other options are to stand up every time you're taking a telephone call (it makes you sound more assertive too BTW) or maybe everytime you need to read something in hard copy. Depending on your job - try to find habitual things that are easy to do while standing and then become ONLY things you do standing. Point is that being less sedentary is one thing and can be offset by more exercise later. However, regardless of the amount of exercise you do later, it doesn't offset the OTHER damaging effects of sitting for long periods without a break.
On that note - I am going to get up from my desk and make myself a cup of tea. A brief "stretch of my legs" will do me the world of good!!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/24/sitting-too-long-death_n_884152.html
PS and by the way - just because people sit for long periods of time - doesn't mean they are "lazy". I used to work 14-15 hour days in a high pressure job where I was literally GLUED to my computer screen for the entire day and barely even stopped for lunch, if at all. Ironically I was at my skinniest then, as I didn't eat and was so stressed, the weight fell off. I wasn't healthy though!!
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Big5BigChange wrote: »There has been a lot of interest in this in recent years. However, many studies say that no amount of additional exercise can offset the damaging impact of sitting for extended periods because this isn't a matter of just trying to outrun sedentary habits. There is obviously a calories in vs. calories out argument to sitting too much, but there is also an argument that sitting for prolonged periods is bad for you in other ways. It's a bit like saying somebody in solitary confinement for a year, will be totally OK after a 2-day chat with a friend. The idea is (and I am no scientist, so am not arguing for or against) is that sitting down for long periods of times is damaging IN ITSELF and has poor impact on the way the body metabolises energy as well as forces the body to unnaturally hold unnatural positions. It's like subjecting yourself to stress positions as done in torture and interrogations, wreaking havoc on muscles! In this respect, many offices are now encouraging standing desks (where you can heighten your desk and stand at it for the majority of the day rather than sit). Other options are to stand up every time you're taking a telephone call (it makes you sound more assertive too BTW) or maybe everytime you need to read something in hard copy. Depending on your job - try to find habitual things that are easy to do while standing and then become ONLY things you do standing. Point is that being less sedentary is one thing and can be offset by more exercise later. However, regardless of the amount of exercise you do later, it doesn't offset the OTHER damaging effects of sitting for long periods without a break.
On that note - I am going to get up from my desk and make myself a cup of tea. A brief "stretch of my legs" will do me the world of good!!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/24/sitting-too-long-death_n_884152.html
PS and by the way - just because people sit for long periods of time - doesn't mean they are "lazy". I used to work 14-15 hour days in a high pressure job where I was literally GLUED to my computer screen for the entire day and barely even stopped for lunch, if at all. Ironically I was at my skinniest then, as I didn't eat and was so stressed, the weight fell off. I wasn't healthy though!!
I can certainly agree with the last part. My 14 hour days often consist of being in a commercial vehicle. Not much opportunity for exercise when a little distraction can kill a whole bunch of people. 2 -
Packerjohn wrote: »Individual results may vary, but on average people can do more but choose not to.
^This...
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60 minutes a day is not hard to do. Break it up throughout the day. Six 10 minute bouts of activity. Dynamic warmup, stretching, walking, tai chi, jump rope etc. Does not have to be vigorous. Just get up and move...1
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Packerjohn wrote: »BodyzLanguage wrote: »I know you can add another 30 mins to your workout. An hour a day is hardly any sacrifice.
Hardly any sacrifice FOR YOU. For many people, time is in shorter supply even than money, and you can't get more hours out of the day.
As mentioned earlier, the average American spends 5 leisure hours a day in front of a tube. This would indicate to me that most would have time to get an hour of movement a day if that was their choice.
For those people, perhaps, an hour would not be a sacrifice, but I'm not really talking about those people. The poster I quoted did not specify "average" Americans spending 5 hours a day in front of the TV (there's also the fact that you can watch TV while doing a multitude of other things, which is what I do). He just made the unqualified statement that an hour a day is hardly a sacrifice. See Gothchiq's reference above about working two jobs and still has to come home and clean - if a person spends 12 hours working, 2 hours commuting, and 2 hours cleaning/cooking/caring for and interacting with spouse and/or children, that leaves exactly 8 hours to sleep before they have to get up and do it all again. Should they take an hour out of their sleep, or be late to work and maybe lose their job, or quit one job and not be able to pay the bills, or let the house go to hell, or ignore their spouse/kids, or what? Everyone does not have the same life. I'm so fortunate to be in a position where I have the free time to do yoga and take lots of walks but I wasn't always in that position, and I think everyone who has that free time maybe ought to just be thankful for it instead of dogging other people who don't.
Yes, I work a FT job and am a grad student. Occasionally I watch TV while doing homework... It is a rare occasion if I watch TV while not doing something else.0 -
BodyzLanguage wrote: »I know you can add another 30 mins to your workout. An hour a day is hardly any sacrifice.
Let's see...
Wake 0530 - shower, dress, breakfast
Leave house 0615
arrive work 0830 - drive to the station, train, then a fifteen minute walk
finish work 1830
arrive home c2100
dinner, housework and a bodyweight session will take up to midnight
bed at about 0030
merely an example of where vacuous statements around adding time to a workout really don't add to the debate.6 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »BodyzLanguage wrote: »I know you can add another 30 mins to your workout. An hour a day is hardly any sacrifice.
Let's see...
Wake 0530 - shower, dress, breakfast
Leave house 0615
arrive work 0830 - drive to the station, train, then a fifteen minute walk
finish work 1830
arrive home c2100
dinner, housework and a bodyweight session will take up to midnight
bed at about 0030
merely an example of where vacuous statements around adding time to a workout really don't add to the debate.
I would hardly call the statement vacuous. Look, if you really wanted to add 30 minutes a day of activity you would find a way. Stop making excuses and just get it done, or don't. But either way, own it.4 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »BodyzLanguage wrote: »I know you can add another 30 mins to your workout. An hour a day is hardly any sacrifice.
Let's see...
Wake 0530 - shower, dress, breakfast
Leave house 0615
arrive work 0830 - drive to the station, train, then a fifteen minute walk
finish work 1830
arrive home c2100
dinner, housework and a bodyweight session will take up to midnight
bed at about 0030
merely an example of where vacuous statements around adding time to a workout really don't add to the debate.
I would hardly call the statement vacuous. Look, if you really wanted to add 30 minutes a day of activity you would find a way. Stop making excuses and just get it done, or don't. But either way, own it.
And as anticipated, another vacuous comment.
So what solution would you suggest? New job that doesn't involve that amount of travel? Not having a disabled partner? Less than 5 hours sleep? Excuses perhaps, but finding alternative approaches mean disruptive, rather than incremental, lifestyle change. Finding half an hour isn't quite as simple as the original, and indeed your response, would suggest.
I'll acknowledge that the description of the day was slightly disingenuous, I'll fit in two 1.5-2hour sessions midweek, then a 2-3 hour and a 3-4 hour session at weekends. Achieving that involves considerable financial impact, as facilitating the midweek sessions costs c£200 each, to my business.2 -
I'd tackle the issue of a job where you take 2 hours of travel each way while working 10 hours. That can't be healthy psychologically.5
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stevencloser wrote: »I'd tackle the issue of a job where you take 2 hours of travel each way while working 10 hours. That can't be healthy psychologically.
Some of us work FT jobs with less commute (and average more like 9-9.5 hrs. / day) and are also full time grad students. Or work more than 1 job.1 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »BodyzLanguage wrote: »I know you can add another 30 mins to your workout. An hour a day is hardly any sacrifice.
Let's see...
Wake 0530 - shower, dress, breakfast
Leave house 0615
arrive work 0830 - drive to the station, train, then a fifteen minute walk
finish work 1830
arrive home c2100
dinner, housework and a bodyweight session will take up to midnight
bed at about 0030
merely an example of where vacuous statements around adding time to a workout really don't add to the debate.
Me:
Wake 4:30-5:30 depending.
Either run 5:30-6:30 and then shower, eat, and leave for work at 7:30 or else bike or run to work around 7:00 (having eaten before).
If not running or biking to work, walk 10 minutes to L stop. If low exercise day is planned, perhaps walk to an L stop that's about a mile further.
Get to work around 8.
During work use lunch to walk or go to gym.
Finish work between 7 and 9, depending -- can go to gym then or run or bike home (I don't bike when I expect to work past dark, but I will run home in the dark -- I have a backpack for my stuff).
Key here in improving my exercise time from when I thought I had no time was getting a gym close to work and using my commuting time as much as possible.
Agree with steven that the 2 hour each way commuting time seems intolerable to me, but that is not the US norm, so is not the reason people aren't exercising. Average US travel time to work is actually 25 minutes (https://project.wnyc.org/commute-times-us/embed.html#5.00/42.000/-89.500). I remember this since I was annoyed that my own travel time (45-50 minutes if I walk straight to the L and take it and there are no delays which there sometimes are) is significantly higher despite the fact that I live only 6.5 miles from work. That's when I decided to try to combine commuting and activity as much as possible: biking (I take a scenic route that's about 13 miles, normally), running (anywhere from the straight route to a more scenic 8-9 mile route), or simply walking about half of it on the way home, sometimes. I know not everyone can do this, but it has made things easier for me.1
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