I overheard this marvelous news last night while lounging on the sofa eating popcorn and bemoaning the fact that I’ve gotten zero exercise (except sauntering from the back door to the car) this entire year.
But the year is young and I almost walked out and howled at the full moon when I heard these latest findings on exercise. No need to sweat and grit your teeth for hours in a gym or jog across town every morning at sun rise. This is the best discovery since potato chips and salsa.
Participants in the study vigorously climbed up and down one flight of stairs for periods of 60 seconds, an experiment which could be easily adapted for the home. The protocol involved a total time commitment of 30 minutes a week which increased cardio and respiratory fitness, an important health marker that is linked to longevity.
“Interval training offers a convenient way to fit exercise into your life, rather than having to structure your life around exercise,” said the researcher who has studied high-intensity interval training for more than a decade and recently wrote a book on its efficacy entitled, “The One Minute Workout.” I’m liking this guy.
I’m going to drive over to the First Presbyterian Church and walk up the front stairs which were designed 100 years ago to get you to heaven I believe. (I wonder if I can just go down the steps, ride the elevator back up and go down again.)
The findings were published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
Come on over to our house, Emily, and be non-fit with Kathy and I. We moved into a single story home so that we did not have to climb stairs. We have automobiles so that we don’t have to walk. We have a cat, so that we don’t…………well, you know. I subscribe to the theory that God gave each of us only so many heartbeats. Why would anyone in their right mind want to increase their heart rate. Just my humble opinion you understand…..
Did you get your Christmas/valentine present Ken – it’s a wardrobe for your wine collection. It’s in the garage along with the book on orchids I borrowed about 16 years ago! You’ve probably been looking all over for it.