To think that moving more every day is just as beneficial as going mad at the gym?

[Sunrise6875]

Is it better to just make sure you are moving briskly every day, I.e as many steps as possible, than flogging yourself at the gym a few times a week?

I’ve gone through phases where I’ve been at the gym a few times a week, absolutely exhausting myself and then feeling achey for the next day or so, and repeat.

For the last month I’ve shaken up my routine and made sure that I am going on at least an hour of brisk walking every single day, even when it was awful weather this weekend.

I have to say, that routine, coupled with cutting out snacks but eating proper meals (no calorie counting) has done, I think, wonders for my mental and physical health.

AIBU to think that actually, it’s more important to do something active every single day, even if it’s not enough to get you really sweaty (but still raise heart rate)? Have we been conditioned to think that the only way to keep fit is to ill ourselves at the gym?

How much do you move in an average day?

YANBU. The most important thing for health is that you do some kind of exercise that increases your heart rate for about 15-45 minutes a day. And the most important thing is to find something that you like that you will continue to do.

Don't know OP but I think it's easier to make a habit of moving more during your day then going to the gym which is something many people don't like.

I managed to save money and losing weight by using a bike instead of my car to go to work and using it too when I did some light shopping or meeting friends nearby.

For me, thats mostly irrelevant. How sad that people actually think that "keeping fit" should mean going to a gym and exercising indoors, at all.

I run and cycle, always outdoors. Yesterday I went for a particularly beautiful run in a forest. Yes, I do get sweaty but there's nothing wrong with that.

Exercise classes indoors and "moving briskly" but not getting aerobic exercise are my idea of hell.

Maybe this is it, the routine more than the activity itself. It’s so easy to make excuses not to go to the gym!

Yes, to an extent, although it’s good to mix it up a bit. So maybe add to your routine a run once or twice a week and you could get some small weights to use at home - weight bearing exercises are particularly important.

The best form of exercise is the one which you’ll do. In theory you’d get a carefully planned mix between aerobic exercise, stamina building, frequent activity so you’re regularly getting off your arse and something to build muscle.

But none of this works unless you actually do it, so if you enjoy CardioMegaZoomBlast classes and the scheduled and paid-for appointment gets you out of the door then hooray. If you’d rather hide your bus pass, walk briskly to the supermarket and carry your shopping back and scrub the kitchen floor on your hands and knees then that’s also great.

YANBU

And I think a lot of people have found the mental health benefits of exercise outdoors this year.

In terms of burning calories moving for a few hours every day will be better than going to the gym but it won't do much to build your aerobic fitness. Ideally you'd do both. That said most of us lead non ideal lives and it's better to have an exercise habit that you're likely to persist with than grand aspirations that fall by the way side 3 weeks later.

It depends what you are doing in that gym imo. There is no need to "absolutely exhaust yourself" during a workout for it to be good workout.
In my recent experience, moves throughout the day coupled with good (but not absolutely exhausting) weights workout is the best.

It depends what you want and where you are physically. If you're overweight and unfit you'll get faster results in a gym because you can vary your workout, mix weights and cardio and be motivated by the numbers on the machine. If you want muscle then you need weights and its safer and you have more varied equipment at the gym.
If you're already a keen runner and usually run on the treadmill, you'll get more out of running at the woods and stuff because its harder, but if you've never run before you'll struggle to manage it and motivate yourself.
I've always found it easier to motivate myself to go go the gym but I also prefer weights.

I think it's not either or.

The importance of NEAT is usually overlooked.

If you have a long commute in the car, a sedentary job and a cleaner and gardener to do your household chores and you internet shop you'll expend a lot less energy than someone who is on their feet at work, walks to work/ school and does their own manual labour at home. Our whole lives these days are designed not to burn any calories and a couple of gym sessions or runs can't counteract that on their own.

It's repeatedly been shown in studies that people who are 'naturally slim' move about more in general.

I have trained myself and my family to never ever use a lift or escalator if there are stairs but this seems quite a counter cultural choice. Often it's quite hard to even find the stairs in shops etc. I tell myself stairs are free exercise and told my kids that lifts are supposed to be for disabled people (which I think they originally were)

You certainly don't need to go to the gym, especially if you just want a reasonable level of fitness. On the other hand some people do love the gym they call it the iron paradise and their goal is to get swole, so good for them.

I gained a little weight once my youngest went to secondary school. I’d spent years doing passive exercise by walking to/from school. I think walking in general is really unappreciated as a form of exercise as is carrying heavy bags of shopping back from the supermarket which is a like a full body weight exercise.

Agree with PPs that doing something you enjoy is key. I dislike running and any kind of classes that involve leaping about but I love weights and the rowing machine.

I’m no exercise guru but lifting weights is what has made the biggest difference in the shortest time for me. I can’t believe how strong I’ve become so quickly and it’s a benefit I see everyday as it’s all about functional exercise.

To an extent. I walk a lot more than most normal people do in a day, plus do a LOT of heavy lifting and pushing. I have to add an extra cardio or stretching Youtube workout 4 times a week to feel healthier and fitter.

I much prefer weights and strength work to running.

I don’t think you can really make one size fits all sweeping statements about how to keep fit. Different strokes for different folks and all that.

I don’t think we’re conditioned to think that the only way is the gym. If you hate the gym then...don’t go?

I agree, if I think of my grandparents who walked everywhere, did a lot of manual housework, or tended to vegetable patches...that kept them all in good health until their late 80s (apart from the 1 smoker).

When DS1 was a baby I was very skinny - I lived in a first floor flat with no lift and I don't drive (and there's only 2 pushchair places on London buses)

Brisk walking (which I love) keeps the body from going creaky but to be fit you need to get the heart pumping. Plenty of out of shape postmen/women.

It’s important to have an active lifestyle. Anyone will benefit from actual exercise rather than just walking (which is also important).

Ideally, you’d be generally active but also do real exercise 3x week to keep yourself in great condition for decades (and obvs eat properly too).

Horses for courses.
When I had the time and money, I enjoyed going to the (Crossfit) gym for the community aspect but now that I have little kids and am time poor (and just poor) it’s easier to do walks and stuff that I can include in my day. I can still get a pretty good workout if I put one of them in the backpack and climb a hill (everywhere is a hill around here!)

I'm pretty phobic of lifts so generally get the stairs if available. Even heavily pregnant (the lift at the local maternity unit was not reassuring and only up 1 flight of stairs). I particularly struggle to use lifts alone.

I think the only time I don't use the stairs is out of hours in hospitals (trust issues about getting stuck and there's no call button on the stairs!)

I find living somewhere that it's realistic to do everything except a weekly shop on foot is much healthier because I don't have to justify "me time" for exercise as exercise just happens as part of my routine chores rather than being something I need to schedule.

I do think you’re right; I was much more healthy before I had a car and walked everywhere and had a job where I was on my feet more. Fast forward a few years and I have a job where I sit down a lot of the day and live somewhere where I have to drive everywhere and going out for walks is not necessarily an option so the gym helps with that.
I’ve also used the gym more for strength training; it’s easy to do cardio type exercise in daily life but if you want to work on particular muscles then it’s not so easy.

I gained weight when I moved house (a stone in a year!) and couldn't really understand why until I realised I had changed my commute from walking to the station, train, walking to work... To driving to work. It meant I was walking on average an hour less a day! It's been hard to lose the weight doing anything that feels like exercise because I'm lazy. Just need to move around more generally.

I agree to a certain extent. Its good to be walking more and raising your heart beat.
But the gym is much more than cardio. I use it for resistance training ( weights) and flexibility ( body balance yoga) and core ( pilates)
All are important.

Definitely depends what you're wanting to achieve. If you want to improve cardio fitness and also increase muscle mass or bone density then moving around more won't be as effective as going to the gym and doing cardio and weights.

If you're just wanting to keep active, burn some calories then probably. You said you cut out snacks and I'd suspect that made more of a difference than moving around. 80% diet, 20% exercise as far as weight loss/management is concerned.