5 Movement Hacks to Shed Pounds From a Sports Medicine Specialist
Once upon a time, most of us believed that in order to lose weight, we needed to spend hours running on a treadmill and even more time at the gym doing high-intensity workouts. However, if there is one thing we have learned in the past few years, is that you don't need to devote hours a day to rigorous exercise in order to stay in shape. Cathy Speed, a Consultant in Rheumatology, Sport and Exercise Medicine and Senior Clinical Specialist at Google Health, recently spoke to Body Network, revealing some of her top weight-loss movement hacks.
Mix Up Movement
You shouldn't do the same time of exercise daily. "It's great to have a mixture of kinds of movements to use more muscles – even light activation of muscles triggers beneficial metabolic responses, and it's also helpful to protect against muscle wasting and reduce musculoskeletal pain," says Speed. "This is why Google created the new Cardio Load feature, which reflects the benefits of even light levels of exercise on our health."
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Exercise Snacks Are Effective
Instead of long workouts, try exercise snacks. "I encourage people to try to break up bouts of sitting with these regular activity breaks – micro-bursts of exercise can help with overall productivity and well-being because it all adds up! So, add more steps when you can. You can walk around the office, take the stairs instead of the elevator, or take 2-3 minute 'activity breaks,' like trying different types of squats or jumping jacks," she says.
Do Cardio and Strength Training
"That said, a mix of cardio and strength training for a mixture of moderate to vigorous exercise is very important, too," she continued. "After all, minute-for-minute, higher intensities confer more benefit than light exercise. This is where the Readiness Score from Fitbit comes in: on a given day, it can help you determine whether your body is up for an intense workout or if you need to instead prioritize rest."
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Try and Exercise Earlier
She also recommends exercising earlier rather than later. "Generally, exercising too late in the day will disrupt your sleep, though we all have different preferences. Because our circadian cycles influence our exercise capacity, your Fitbit or Pixel Watch device can help you understand how when you exercise may impact your sleep quality and your overall wellbeing," she says.
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Get Enough Sleep
Finally, don't sleep on sleep! "It all starts with sleeping well. Sleep tools in the Fitbit app, like Sleep Score and Sleep Stages, can help you understand how you slept, so that over time, you can make adjustments to your bedtime routine to sleep better," she concludes. And if you enjoyed this article, don't miss 12-3-30 Walking Method: 20 Proven Tips to Lose Weight Faster.
