Is this the missing piece of your fitness puzzle?

Incidental exercise: it sounds like you tripped, fell, and landed in a 25-minute Pilates workout with Sylvia. But in fact, incidental exercise is the stuff you do without even thinking about it as ‘exercising’ – walking up stairs, running around after your kids in the park, riding your bike to work.

Even before being locked indoors during the pandemic, our lifestyles were becoming increasingly sedentary.

If you measure your incidental exercise levels by the steps on your fitness tracker, we have good news for you. Recently published research has shown that taking 8000 steps per day lowers mortality risk by 51% compared to taking only 4000 steps. Up those steps to 12,000 and the risk is lowered by 65% compared to 4000 steps.

Another advantage of increased steps and other forms of incidental exercise is that, quite simply, you’ll spend less time sitting around. And the less time you spend sedentary, the lower your risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and several types of cancers (it is estimated that 20% of all cancers in the US are linked to physical inactivity and being overweight.)

As a Centr member, you’re already making an effort to move more. But what could an increase in incidental exercise mean for your fitness journey? And how can you sneak more of it into your day?

It’s part of a bigger picture

This isn’t a ‘one or the other’ scenario – an incidental exercise vs workouts showdown! Think of it this way: if you are working to reach a specific fitness goal, a combination of moderate-intensity incidental exercise and vigorous high-intensity exercise can take you further than if you just engage in one.

The WHO defines moderate-intensity exercise as movement which requires “a moderate amount of effort and noticeably accelerates the heart rate”. Think dancing, brisk walking, carrying or moving heavy loads and active involvement in sports, or playing with your kids.

Both the US Department of Health & Human Services and Australian Department of Health recommend adults do at least 2 ½ to 5 hours per week of this moderate-intensity physical activity in order to see “substantial health benefits”. And “additional health benefits” can be gained by engaging in moderate physical activity beyond 5 hours’ duration.

So consider 2 ½ hours your baseline minimum for incidental exercise per week (that’s about 20 minutes per day), and your Centr workouts as that secret sauce that will take your fitness and well-being to the next level.

It’s good for your mental health, too!

We’ve all had those moments at work where we just have to get up and go outside for 5 minutes – doing a few laps of the area to cool off, clear our head and come back to a task fresh. This is just one small example of how incidental exercise can benefit us in ways that planning 30 minutes for a daily workout may not.