As a species, walking is what we do best. In fact, it’s probably how your ancestors got from Africa to where they eventually settled.¹ The standardized movement guidelines of thirty minutes per day are based on the dramatic benefits that walking can have on your health, yet nobody seems to do it.¹⁸ For the average time-poor person, the fundamental movement pattern of walking is frequently shunned in favor of more intense forms of exercise. However, the beneficial effects of walking on health are multiple and far-reaching.

This is the second of my articles detailing why The Great Upside-Down Movement Pyramid can be your one-stop framework for lifelong health. In this piece, I’ll cover why now that you’re sitting less, you should start walking more.

Calming the Fires

Modern-day living doesn’t seem to be geared towards providing optimal health. The combination of the daily grind, the food we eat, and our need to stay in one place to work all day have all been linked to increased inflammation, and through that, the rising rates of cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.^5–8 Sadly, we can’t all change our jobs and live off the land. Instead of resorting to pills and antioxidant concoctions that may undo some of your good work, starting to move more by increasing walking is the best step towards reversing some of those issues.^9,10

“Aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, also increases your ability to handle oxidative damage.This makes movement both an anti-inflammatory, and an antioxidant.”

When we move our muscles, signaling molecules (often referred to as myokines) are released. Though many of these myokines can also be associated with an inflammatory response, when stimulated by exercise, they actually decrease inflammation.¹¹ This is one of the main reasons why regular walking can dramatically reduce the risk of metabolic diseases, as well as certain cancers, and even erectile dysfunction.^13–17 Aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, also increases your ability to handle oxidative damage.¹² This makes movement both an anti-inflammatory, and an antioxidant. And all without a single pill in sight.

Losers Walk

Though many people still rely on counting calories as their guide to fat loss, there isn’t as much evidence to support this idea as we’re led to believe. Not all calories are created equal, and simply inducing a calorie deficit by increasing exercise alone does not induce long-term weight loss.^2,3 Fear not, though. The upside of this complex equation is that some activities that don’t “burn” many calories can still help with weight management (if you’re into that kind of thing). Instead of worrying about starving yourself thin, you can produce significant fat loss by spending less time sitting and more time walking.⁴ No gym membership or Weight Watchers* required.

*Other starvation programs with minimal scientific backing are also available.

Every Little Helps

As I’ve previously mentioned, killing yourself on the treadmill isn’t enough to compensate for the negative effects that a sedentary lifestyle can have on your life expectancy. This means that movement needs to be built into your day, and the best way to do this is to walk more. For most of us, this can begin with walking to work.¹⁹ Use public transport? Get off a stop or two earlier. Drive to work? Use a park and ride, and walk the last ten to twenty minutes. Worried about being late for work? Perfect – a brisk pace is associated with even greater benefits.²⁰

To build on this, there are a number of other ways to add walking into your day:

• Break it up: Walk while you take a phone call at work, or pop out for few minutes between meetings. Accumulating walking time in segments of just two or three minutes is enough to improve metabolism.^21,22
• Lunch with friends: Even the shortest lunch break is enough time to get some walking done. And why not drag your co-workers with you, for a more relaxed and more productive workplace?^24,25
• Move around meals: Evening meal times are another great opportunity to walk. Do a quick lap while dinner finishes in the oven. Even better, take a stroll after you’ve finished eating.^22,26 Your online dating profile says you like long romantic walks in the sunset, but when was the last time you actually took one?

Most importantly, all this walking adds up. Multiple ten-minute walks may even be better than one long one.^23,29 This means that ten minutes to/from work, ten minutes at lunch, and ten minutes after dinner is a fantastic start.

Pro Tips

If you’re the kind of person whoneeds a firm plan before going walking, you might have two questions left – where should I walk, and how fast should I walk?

• Take it outside: Most of the studies examining the effects of walking on health use a treadmill in a sports science laboratory, or give people pedometers to track their steps without specifically examining where they’re doing the walking. This suggests that you can walk pretty much anywhere to see most of the health improvements. However, studies have found greater psychological benefits of walking outdoors in green areas compared to walking indoors or in the city.³⁰ Most importantly, finding the environment that you enjoy the most, be it the beach, a river, forest, or park, is likely to give you the greatest benefit of all.³¹
• Outpace death: I know what you’ve been wondering all along. How fast do you have to move to beat the grim reaper? Luckily, science has the answer, and it appears to be three miles per hour.²⁷ Other studies suggest that eighty percent of your maximal walking speed is the most efficient and sustainable pace.²⁸ If you want to estimate these speeds, try one of the following:

• Use a map or online pedometer to measure a nearby half-mile loop. Aim to complete it in ten minutes (three miles per hour).
• Find a short stretch where you can walk as quickly as possible for twenty seconds. For a speed that is eighty percent of maximum, cover the same distance in 25 seconds.

Bear in mind that the key is to get moving and build habits rather than hit a specific speed. Take the time to walk, and enjoy it. As we all know, faster isn’t always better.

Summary

Skipped to the end? Here’s what you need to know:

• After sitting less, start walking more
• Accumulate at least thirty minutes per day
• Aim for eighty percent of your maximum walking speed, or at least three miles per hour. Alternatively, just walk as if you’re late for work.
• For maximal benefits, find your favorite local outdoor spot, and take some friends with you.

More Like This:

• A Simple System for Staying Healthy and Active to the Very End
• Move Slowly if You Must, but Move
• Walking: The Most Underrated Movement of the 21st Century
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

References:

1. Klein. “Out of Africa and the evolution of human behavior.” Evol. Anthropol. 2008 17: 267–281.

2. Feinman and Fine. “Nonequilibrium thermodynamics and energy efficiency in weight loss diets.” Theor Biol Med Model. 2007 Jul 30;4:27.

3. Franz et al. “Weight-loss outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of weight-loss clinical trials with a minimum 1-year follow-up. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007 Oct;107(10):1755-67.

4.Healy et al. “Replacing sitting time with standing or stepping: associations with cardio-metabolic risk biomarkers.” Eur Heart J. 2015 Jul 30. [Epub ahead of print]

5.Emeny et al. “Job strain-associated inflammatory burden and long-term risk of coronary events: findings from the MONICA/KORA Augsburg case-cohort study.” Psychosom Med. 2013 Apr;75(3):317-25.

6. Bosma-den Boer et al.. “Chronic inflammatory diseases are stimulated by current lifestyle: how diet, stress levels and medication prevent our body from recovering.” Nutr Metab (Lond). 2012 Apr 17;9(1):32.

7. Mathews et al.. “How do high glycemic load diets influence coronary heart disease?” Nutr Metab (Lond). 2015 Mar 8;12:6.

8. Tommy Wood, Move It Or Lose It: How to Sit Less, Move More, and Feel Better, Breaking Muscle UK, 2015.

9. Ristow et al.. “Antioxidants prevent health-promoting effects of physical exercise in humans.” Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 May 26;106(21):8665-70.

10. Craig Marker, Do Antioxidants Impede the Benefits of Exercise? Breaking Muscle, 2015.

11. Pedersen. “The anti-inflammatory effect of exercise: its role in diabetes and cardiovascular disease control.” Essays Biochem. 2006;42:105-17.

12. Gomez-Cabrera et al.. “Moderate exercise is an antioxidant: upregulation of antioxidant genes by training.” Free Radic Biol Med. 2008 Jan 15;44(2):126-31.

13.Roussel et al.. Influence of a walking program on the metabolic risk profile of obese postmenopausal women. Menopause. 2009 May-Jun;16(3):566-75.

14. Buman et al.. Reallocating time to sleep, sedentary behaviors, or active behaviors: associations with cardiovascular disease risk biomarkers, NHANES 2005-2006. Am J Epidemiol. 2014 Feb 1;179(3):323-34.

15. Wolin et al.. Physical activity and colon cancer prevention: a meta-analysis. Br J Cancer. 2009 Feb 24;100(4):611-6.

16. Hildebrand et al.. “Recreational physical activity and leisure-time sitting in relation to postmenopausal breast cancer risk.” Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2013 Oct;22(10):1906-12.

17. Bacon et al.. “Sexual function in men older than 50 years of age: results from the health professionals follow-up study.” Ann Intern Med. 2003 Aug 5;139(3):161-8.

18. Boone-Heinonen et al.. “Walking for prevention of cardiovascular disease in men and women: a systematic review of observational studies.” Obes Rev. 2009 Mar;10(2):204-17.

19. Laverty et al.. “Active travel to work and cardiovascular risk factors in the United Kingdom.” Am J Prev Med. 2013 Sep;45(3):282-8.

20. Hu et al.. “Walking compared with vigorous physical activity and risk of type 2 diabetes in women: a prospective study.” JAMA. 1999 Oct 20;282(15):1433-9.

21. Latouche et al.. “Effects of breaking up prolonged sitting on skeletal muscle gene expression.” J Appl Physiol (1985). 2013 Feb 15;114(4):453-60.

22. Miyashita et al.. “Accumulating short bouts of brisk walking reduces postprandial plasma triacylglycerol concentrations and resting blood pressure in healthy young men.” Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Nov;88(5):1225-31.

23. Park et al.. “Accumulation of physical activity leads to a greater blood pressure reduction than a single continuous session, in prehypertension.” J Hypertens. 2006 Sep;24(9):1761-70.

24. Puig-Ribera et al.. “Self-reported sitting time and physical activity: interactive associations with mental well-being and productivity in office employees.” BMC Public Health. 2015 Jan 31;15:72.

25. Thøgersen-Ntoumani et al.. “Changes in work affect in response to lunchtime walking in previously physically inactive employees: A randomized trial.” Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2015 Jan 6. [Epub ahead of print]

26. Manohar et al.. The effect of walking on postprandial glycemic excursion in patients with type 1 diabetes and healthy people. Diabetes Care. 2012 Dec;35(12):2493-9.

27. Stanaway et al.. “How fast does the Grim Reaper walk? Receiver operating characteristics curve analysis in healthy men aged 70 and over.” BMJ. 2011 Dec 15;343:d7679.

28. Schwarz et al.. “Cardiocirculatory and metabolic responses at different walking intensities.” Br J Sports Med. 2006 Jan;40(1):64-7.

29. Holmstrup et al.. “Multiple short bouts of exercise over 12-h period reduce glucose excursions more than an energy-matched single bout of exercise.” Metabolism. 2014 Apr;63(4):510-9.

30. Marselle et al.. “Walking for well-being: are group walks in certain types of natural environments better for well-being than group walks in urban environments?” Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2013 Oct 29;10(11):5603-28.

31. Marselle et al.. “Moving beyond green: exploring the relationship of environment type and indicators of perceived environmental quality on emotional well-being following group walks.” Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2014 Dec 23;12(1):106-30.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Walking: The Simple Path to Feeling Sexier and Living Longer appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

These questions become increasingly important as we get older and there are greater demands on our time. However, it is always worth remembering that the long-term benefits of prioritizing health and movement are huge. Yes, leaving work thirty minutes earlier to walk home might make you feel guilty because of the emails you didn’t respond to; however, people who are more active have greater well-being, are more productive at work, and have healthier children.^{1, 2, 3}

A Simple Solution

With that and a myriad of other health benefits in mind, I concocted the great upside-down movement pyramid as a way to help you prioritize your approach to better movement.

The great upside-down movement pyramid.

Over the next few weeks I will present a progressive plan detailing why you should sit less, walk more, move stuff, move really quickly, and move for a long period of time, in that order of importance. Each level of the plan will build on the first to add layers of additional movement to your week, but give you time to put each level into practice. As before – if you’re not managing to do the level above, don’t do the level below. After all, you’ve got to stand before you can walk.

Sit Less

In case you hadn’t heard, sitting is the new smoking.⁴ This may sound melodramatic (after all, we all have to sit), but in terms of the effects on our overall health, there is truth to it. For example, a recent meta-analysis found a 5% increase in the risk of dying (overall mortality) for every additional hour spent sitting per day – after taking physical activity into account.⁵ If we turn this around, people who spend more time standing also appear to have a reduced overall mortality.⁶ 

“Prolonged periods of sitting can negatively affect the way the arterial wall functions, which is directly associated with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.”

However, out in the real world, we often need to sit to work. Although standing desks have become increasingly popular, it’s important to note this may not be much better. Standing at a desk doesn’t prevent you from being hunched over a screen, and prolonged periods of standing in one place can also cause things like varicose veins and back pain.^17,18

So What Should We Do?

As you’re probably reading this to procrastinate whilst at work, let’s do the advice bit first, and those who are interested can stick around for the science at the end.

During your commute: If you use public transport, don’t take that seat. You don’t need it. You can even take it up a notch by minimizing the use of support rails. Yes, you’ll look silly surfing the bus, but it’s surprisingly fun!

At work:

• Stand (or walk) while you take phone calls or if you need to think.
• Go and find that colleague rather than sending him or her an email. You’re much more likely to get a positive response, and you may even make a friend.
• Relocate for lunch. Better yet – take it outside.
• When sitting, move position frequently, or (quietly) tap your feet to get your blood moving.
• Get up regularly, or at least once an hour. Do a lap of the office, pop outside, or take the stairs. Need reminding? Plenty of free apps and programs are available to nudge you out of your chair.
• Got like-minded colleagues? Stick a pull-up bar on your office door and do a couple of reps as you go in and out.

Instead of staying in the office, head outside for a walk to catch up on calls and texts.

At home:

• It’s okay to relax after a long day, but try not to immediately slip into a coma on the sofa, only to reappear just before bed time.
• Keep getting up, or at least move position regularly.
• Do a few push ups during TV ad breaks. No matter how many times they recommended this in fitness magazines, I’m still not sure anybody does it.
• Do your ironing and other chores while you’re catching up on Britain’s Got Talent and Biggest Loser. That will give you more time to enjoy your weekends.
• The minutes just before and after dinner are a great time to get up, or get out of the house for a quick walk.

The real moral of the story is to focus on minimizing the amount of time you spend in one position, rather than to demonise sitting specifically.

What’s the Deal With Sitting?

If we want to dig into why sitting is so bad for our health, three different (and almost certainly connected) mechanisms are important – inflammation, insulin resistance, and blood flow.

“When we’re talking about cardiovascular disease (such as heart attacks and strokes), the big problem stems from atherosclerosis – calcified ‘plaques’ that build up in the walls of our arteries.”

While everybody was worried about cholesterol, the role of inflammation and insulin resistance in the development of heart disease, obesity, type-2 diabetes, and many cancers flew under the radar for decades. However, we’re now seeing that markers of inflammation predict the risk of heart disease better than cholesterol, and if your insulin levels are low (indicating a high insulin sensitivity), then your cholesterol levels become pretty much irrelevant.^7,8,9,10

Why the random trip down biochemistry lane? Because inflammation, insulin, and insulin resistance all increase with time spent sitting.¹¹ Uh oh.

Are You Sitting Comfortably?

In reality, we don’t have any proof that sitting directly causes insulin resistance. Perhaps people who are insulin resistant suddenly have a desire to sit more. It’s unlikely, but possible. Therefore we need to look at other pieces in the puzzle, such as the way in which our blood flow changes when we sit.

When we’re talking about cardiovascular disease (such as heart attacks and strokes), the big problem stems from atherosclerosis – calcified “plaques” that build up in the walls of our arteries. These can rupture, causing a blockage. Alongside things like inflammation, the way in which blood flows through our arteries affects the development of atherosclerosis. When the flow is disturbed or redirected, it puts extra stress on the arterial wall. This is why we see atherosclerosis build up in places like carotid arteries in the neck, because the artery splits into two early on, with increased turbulence at the split point (also known as the bifurcation).¹² However, your arteries need some stress in order to work properly, and reducing flow can have a negative effect on arterial function.

When we sit, we bend at the hip and the knee, which reduces flow in the femoral and popliteal arteries, respectively.^13,14

Left: Femoral arteries; Right: Popliteal arteries

Prolonged periods of sitting can negatively affect the way the arterial wall functions, which is directly associated with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.¹⁵ That change in flow caused by prolonged sitting is potentially why those arteries in the legs are a common place for atherosclerotic plaques to occur. We even see these patterns of atherosclerosis in 4,000 year-old Egyptian mummies!¹⁶ If you were important enough to have your body preserved, you probably got to spend a lot more time sitting compared to everybody else.

Start With Your Daily Routine

Conjecture about mummies aside, there’s good evidence for minimizing your sitting time as much as possible. Try to work as many of the ideas above into your daily routine. That will line you up perfectly up for your next step(s) to better health – walking more.

More Like This:

• Walking: The Simple Path to Feeling Sexier and Living Longer
• A Simple System for Staying Healthy and Active to the Very End
• Move Slowly If You Must, But Move
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

References:

1. Puig-Ribera et al.. Self-reported sitting time and physical activity: interactive associations with mental well-being and productivity in office employees. BMC Public Health. 2015 Jan 31;15:72.

2. Sears et al.. Overall well-being as a predictor of health care, productivity, and retention outcomes in a large employer. Popul Health Manag. 2013 Dec;16(6):397-405.

3. Robinson et al.. A narrative literature review of the development of obesity in infancy and childhood. J Child Health Care. 2012 Dec;16(4):339-54.

4. Is sitting the new smoking? New science, old habit. Mayo Clin Health Lett. 2014 Oct;32(10):4-5.

5. Chau et al.. Daily sitting time and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2013 Nov 13;8(11):e80000.

6. van der Ploeg et al.. Standing time and all-cause mortality in a large cohort of Australian adults. Prev Med. 2014 Dec;69:187-91.

7. Ridker et al.. Relation of baseline high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level to cardiovascular outcomes with rosuvastatin in the Justification for Use of statins in Prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin (JUPITER). Am J Cardiol. 2010 Jul 15;106(2):204-9.

8. Yanase et al.. Insulin resistance and fasting hyperinsulinemia are risk factors for new cardiovascular events in patients with prior coronary artery disease and normal glucose tolerance. Circ J. 2004 Jan;68(1):47-52.

9. Després et al.. Hyperinsulinemia as an independent risk factor for ischemic heart disease. N Engl J Med. 1996 Apr 11;334(15):952-7.

10. Bartnik et al.. Abnormal glucose tolerance–a common risk factor in patients with acute myocardial infarction in comparison with population-based controls. J Intern Med. 2004 Oct;256(4):288-97.

11. León-Latre et al.. Sedentary lifestyle and its relation to cardiovascular risk factors, insulin resistance and inflammatory profile. Rev Esp Cardiol (Engl Ed). 2014 Jun;67(6):449-55.

12. Chiu and Chien. Effects of disturbed flow on vascular endothelium: pathophysiological basis and clinical perspectives. Physiol Rev. 2011 Jan;91(1):327-87.

13. Schlager et al.. Wall shear stress in the superficial femoral artery of healthy adults and its response to postural changes and exercise. Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg. 2011 Jun;41(6):821-7.

14. Restaino et al.. Impact of prolonged sitting on lower and upper limb micro- and macrovascular dilator function. Exp Physiol. 2015 Jul 1;100(7):829-38.

15. Bruno et al.. Intima media thickness, pulse wave velocity, and flow mediated dilation. Cardiovasc Ultrasound. 2014 Aug 23;12:34.

16. Thompson et al.. Atherosclerosis across 4000 years of human history: the Horus study of four ancient populations. Lancet. 2013 Apr 6;381(9873):1211-22.

17. Pfisterer et al.. Pathogenesis of varicose veins – lessons from biomechanics. Vasa. 2014 Mar;43(2):88-99.

18. McCulloch et al.. Health risks associated with prolonged standing. Work. 2002;19(2):201-5.

Photo 1 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photo 2 by Häggström, Mikael. “Medical gallery of Mikael Häggström 2014”. Wikiversity Journal of Medicine 1 (2). DOI:10.15347/wjm/2014.008. ISSN 20018762. (Image:Gray548.png) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo 3 by  Bakerstmd (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

The post Sit Less and Prioritize Movement for Long-Term Fitness appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

But what if I told you that most of us could get enough information for free and with no needles? All you need to do is answer the following question:

Are you hard enough?

For fitness enthusiasts, there’s always a new gadget to help us measure performance or monitor rest and recovery. Increasingly, many people are using something like heart rate variability (HRV) monitoring or even taking monthly blood tests to look at markers of stress and inflammation.

But what if I told you that most of us could get enough information for free and with no needles? All you need to do is answer the following question:

Are you hard enough?

The human male likes to think he’s ready for anything. And that includes sex. To be more specific, there are certain areas at the front of his brain, such as the nucleus accumbens, which drive him to seek out the pleasure of sexual interaction.¹

For that pleasure to be achieved, the brain obviously requires other parts of the anatomy to cooperate, which can only happen when physiology and biochemistry are within the normal range. This is also what we need when we’re looking for better performance.

So what’s the easiest way to assess optimal physiology in the hard-charging male? A soldier standing resolutely at attention. A sail raised with a sturdy mast. More specifically, a well-pitched tent first thing in the morning. You get the picture.

If you exercise regularly and your mornings aren’t particularly glorious, you might need to rethink your training.

Morning Glory

As well as being a source of endless sexual euphemism, morning glory does actually have a scientific name – sleep-related erection (SRE).² SRE is also known as nocturnal penile tumescence, but that’s difficult to say with a straight face.

Technically, SREs also include the erections you have while you’re asleep, but unless you frequently poke your partner in the eye throughout the night, you’re generally less aware of those.

Sleep-related erections occur during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. SREs start as we enter the REM phase of our sleep cycle and last until the next cycle of non-REM sleep.³

“Importantly, it turns out that morning glory could be a surprisingly good way to monitor both hormone levels and health in adult males.”

In the adult male, SREs are linked to levels of testosterone, with testosterone production also peaking during REM sleep.⁴

As testosterone levels drop, frequency of SREs declines.⁵ The same phenomenon is seen in most male mammals, and monitoring of SREs has even been used to look at REM sleep in babies while still in the uterus.⁶ But try not to think about that last point too much.

Importantly, it turns out that morning glory could be a surprisingly good way to monitor both hormone levels and health in adult males.

For instance, if you find yourself wrestling to aim at the toilet every morning, you’re probably nicely situated at the top of this bell curve:

I know, it looks suspiciously like the Yerkes-Dodson “arousal” curve. Coincidence?

However, if you exercise regularly and your mornings haven’t been particularly glorious recently, it’s likely you’re not finding the balance between training and recovery.

At the other end of the scale (not enough exercise), there’s also a drop off as health deteriorates, which could be reversed with closer attention to activity and lifestyle.

Running the Lead Out of Your Pencil

The negative effects of pushing yourself too hard in training are well understood, but something we often ignore. It’s easy to think you’re not achieving your health and body composition goals because you’re not working hard enough.

But this feeling you are not putting in the work is often not a situation that can be fixed by more training or more dieting.

Few of us have the luxury of multiple training sessions per day or, in fact, the time to train every day, but this does not mean we aren’t at risk of overtraining.

“[T]here’s a reason they say training for an Ironman is an excellent form of contraception. And it’s not just because your wife doesn’t like the look of you in Lycra.”

In this context, overtraining is simply having the stress of training overwhelm all the other stuff going on in your life, like sleep, nutrition, and stresses at home or at work.⁷

Think about this: just four weeks of 1,000-calorie-per-day energy deficit (despite eating 3,000-4,000 calories per day) accompanied by only four hours of sleep per night is enough to make available testosterone levels drop by ninety percent, with total testosterone well below the level at which frequency of morning glory would drop off (around 200ng/dl or 7nmol/l).^4,5

This drop-off may sound extreme, but for the hard-working man with a couple of kids and a stressful job who is also trying to regain the six-pack of his youth, this is much more common than you’d think.

The oxidative stress and hormonal imbalances due to high-volume endurance training in particular are associated with lower sperm quality and may increase the risk of male infertility.⁸

After all, there’s a reason they say training for an Ironman is an excellent form of contraception. And it’s not just because your wife doesn’t like the look of you in Lycra.

Oxidative stress and hormonal imbalances due to high-volume endurance training in particular are associated with lower sperm quality and may increase the risk of male infertility.

Not Enough of a Good Thing

As well as a good dose of testosterone, there’s something else you need if you want to head for your morning shower with your very own towel rail. Flow.

“If you find yourself feeling soft during periods of intense training, consider either reducing your training volume or making sure you’re eating and sleeping enough to recover adequately.”

Like every organ in the body, your manhood requires good blood flow. Because the blood vessels “down there” are very sensitive, SREs (morning glory) can be a surprisingly easy way to monitor health.

For instance, erectile function is a good predictor of current cardiovascular problems you might not be aware of , as well as future risk of heart attacks and strokes.^3,9,10

In men who aren’t active, increasing physical activity also results in improved erectile function.¹¹

Approaching exercise in a step-wise fashion beginning with just brisk walking will increase testosterone levels and reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.¹² It doesn’t take much to be a hard man.

Caveats

As SREs occur during REM sleep, they won’t necessarily be around if you wake up regularly from deep (non-REM) sleep using an alarm clock. An easy way to check would be to treat yourself to sleeping in once in a while. You deserve it.

“A quick look down in the morning can give you a good idea of how your body is adapting to an increased training load or other changes and stresses in your life.”

Both testosterone and frequency of SREs decrease as we age, but this tends to happen in line with other chronic diseases.³ Therefore, if you’re smart about training and nutrition, you can expect many decades of glorious mornings to come.

An easy way to check your SRE status would be to treat yourself to sleeping in once in a while. You deserve it.

Peak Performance

A quick look down in the morning can give you a good idea of how your body is adapting to an increased training load or other changes and stresses in your life.

More exercise will benefit those who fall to the left-hand side of the bell curve, but you can have too much of a good thing. If you find yourself feeling soft during periods of intense training, consider either reducing your training volume or making sure you’re eating and sleeping enough to recover adequately.^8,13,14,15

Remember, for optimal performance, you want to place yourself firmly in the middle of the graph – at the top of the bell. In other words, you want make sure you’re always right on the bell-end. This will make sure you perform better on the streets, as well as between the sheets.

You’ll Also Enjoy:

• How to Improve Your Sex Life Through Exercise
• Cyclist’s Syndrome: What You Don’t Know Might Hurt You
• Fuel for Your Bedroom Fire: Natural Ways to Increase Libido
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

References:

1. Blum et al. Sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll: hypothesizing common mesolimbic activation as a function of reward gene polymorphisms. J Psychoactive Drugs. 2012 Jan-Mar;44(1):38-55.

2. van Driel. “Sleep-related erections throughout the ages.” J Sex Med. 2014 Jul;11(7):1867-75.

3. Hirshkowitz and Schmidt. “Sleep-related erections: clinical perspectives and neural mechanisms.” Sleep Med Rev. 2005 Aug;9(4):311-29.

4. Evans et al. “Concentrations of plasma testosterone in normal men during sleep.” Nature. 1971 Jan 22;229(5282):261-2.

5. Granata et al. “Relationship between sleep-related erections and testosterone levels in men.” J Androl. 1997 Sep-Oct;18(5):522-7.

6. Koyanagi et al. “REM sleep determined using in utero penile tumescence in the human fetus at term.” Biol Neonate. 1991;60 Suppl 1:30-5.

7. Brooks and Carter. “Overtraining, Exercise, and Adrenal Insufficiency.” J Nov Physiother. 2013 Feb 16;3(125).

8. du Plessis et al. “Is There a Link between Exercise and Male Factor Infertility?” Open Repro Sci J 2011, 3, 105-113 105.

9. Karacan et al. “Erectile dysfunction in hypertensive men: sleep-related erections, penile blood flow and musculovascular events.” J Urol. 1989 Jul;142(1):56-61.

10. Rastrelli et al. “Impaired masturbation-induced erections: a new cardiovascular risk factor for male subjects with sexual dysfunction.” J Sex Med. 2013 Apr;10(4):1100-13.

11. Simon et al. “The Association of Exercise with Both Erectile and Sexual Function in Black and White Men.” J Sex Med. 2015 Mar 20.

12. Tommy Wood, The Great Upside-Down Movement Pyramid, Breaking Muscle

13. Veldhuis et al. “Amplitude suppression of the pulsatile mode of immunoradiometric luteinizing hormone release in fasting-induced hypoandrogenemia in normal men.” J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1993 Mar;76(3):587-93.

14. Leproult and Van Cauter. “Effect of 1 week of sleep restriction on testosterone levels in young healthy men.” JAMA. 2011 Jun 1;305(21):2173-4.

15. Spiegel et al. Impact of sleep debt on metabolic and endocrine function. Lancet. 1999 Oct 23;354(9188):1435-9.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Morning Glory: What Sleep-Related Erections Say About Your Health appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

This means that deep down our DNA is constantly telling us to save our energy for the day there are no more pizza delivery guys, and we need to go hunt a pizza down ourselves. But barring a zombie apocalypse, this probably isn’t going to happen.

“We just want to keep moving for decades to come, not get type 2 diabetes, and then not die of pneumonia after falling and breaking a hip at 85.”

We know that movement can have a huge, positive impact on health. Despite this, the current guidelines that tell people to “move more” have made no difference to our chronic disease rates.¹ So what should we do instead?

As ever, I look to science. I love science. Admittedly, there’s a huge amount of rubbish out there in the world of research. However, I think some core overall principles are emerging that suggest how we can kick ass for as long as possible.

It’s About Quality and Longevity of Life

If you’re more of a “prepare for the zombie apocalypse” kind of person, this probably won’t be quite your speed. Equally, if you love the feeling of testing the limits of your body and mind under a barbell, over an obstacle course, or along hundreds of miles of endurance racing, please don’t let me stop you.

For the rest of us, the number of marathons we haven’t run or the size of our snatch doesn’t really matter that much. We just want to keep moving for decades to come, not get type 2 diabetes, and then not die of pneumonia after falling and breaking a hip at 85. This quality of life is easier than you think.

As everybody loves a pyramid, let me introduce you to mine.

The Great Upside-Down Movement Pyramid

Maybe the name needs some work. But it definitely works better upside down.

The Base: Sit Less

The reason this forms the base is because no matter how much you exercise, most of the benefit is lost if you spend the rest of the day sitting. There’s some interesting research behind why this is the case (inflammation, insulin resistance, etc.), but the key point is that this finding has been replicated a number of times.²

“As the amount of time spent sitting every day goes above seven to eight hours, your risk of death increases, regardless of how much exercise you do.”

Just look at this graph from a recent meta-analysis (study of many studies).³ The different lines are from different studies, so focus on the average – the thick black line. As the amount of time spent sitting every day goes above seven to eight hours, your risk of death increases, regardless of how much exercise you do. Bugger.

Graph shows hazard ratio (HR) for death from any cause, adjusted for activity level. Baseline HR is 1, so an HR of 1.5 (i.e. 12 hours of sitting per day) indicates a fifty percent increase in overall risk in death.³

Summary: How to Use the Pyramid

1. Make movement a habit rather than a chore.
2. If you’re not managing to do the level above, don’t do the level below.
3. As you use more levels of the pyramid, it becomes increasingly unstable. This means you need more time to recover – eat, sleep, rest.
4. If you can’t recover better, don’t add more.
5. Don’t obsess over the details. Do what comes naturally and what you enjoy.

Combinations: Though they haven’t often been studied in a systematic way, things like fight training (boxing, martial arts, etc.) and CrossFit will often cover everything, from strength and interval training to endurance. However, if the coach at your CrossFit box has you doing soul-crushing thirty-minute metcons (metabolic conditioning workouts) every day, consider introducing him or her to the pyramid.

Disclaimer: If you have some kind of chronic disease, you should discuss various exercise regimens with your doctor. Movement can be better than medications and medical treatments, with fewer potential side effects. Some of the references here are a good place to start, including.²¹

Take a look at these related articles:

• In 2015: Move Better Than You Ever Have Before
• Walking: The Most Underrated Movement of the 21st Century
• Use Play to Become Fitter and Stronger for Longer
• What’s New on Breaking Muscle Today

References:

1. Haskell WL et al., “Physical activity and public health: updated recommendation for adults from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association“. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007 Aug;39(8):1423-34.

2. Biswas A et al., “Sedentary Time and Its Association With Risk for Disease Incidence, Mortality, and Hospitalization in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.” Ann Intern Med. 2015 Jan 20;162(2):123-32.

3. Chau JY et al., “Daily sitting time and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis.” PLoS One. 2013 Nov 13;8(11):e80000.

4. Hamer M and Chida Y. “Walking and primary prevention: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.” Br J Sports Med. 2008 Apr;42(4):238-43.

5. Richardson CR et al., “A meta-analysis of pedometer-based walking interventions and weight loss.” Ann Fam Med. 2008 Jan-Feb;6(1):69-77.

6. Newton RU and Galvão DA. “Exercise in prevention and management of cancer.” Curr Treat Options Oncol. 2008 Jun;9(2-3):135-46.

7. Mekary RA et al., “Weight training, aerobic physical activities, and long-term waist circumference change in men.” Obesity (Silver Spring). 2015 Feb;23(2):461-7.

8. Ruiz JR et al., “Muscular strength and adiposity as predictors of adulthood cancer mortality in men.” Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 May;18(5):1468-76.

9. Lee JJ et al., “Global muscle strength but not grip strength predicts mortality and length of stay in a general population in a surgical intensive care unit.” Phys Ther. 2012 Dec;92(12):1546-55.

10. Metcalfe RS et al., “Towards the minimal amount of exercise for improving metabolic health: beneficial effects of reduced-exertion high-intensity interval training.” Eur J Appl Physiol. 2012 Jul;112(7):2767-75.

11. Helgerud J et al., “Aerobic high-intensity intervals improve VO2 max more than moderate training.” Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007 Apr;39(4):665-71.

12. Moholdt T et al., “The higher the better? Interval training intensity in coronary heart disease.” J Sci Med Sport. 2014 Sep;17(5):506-10.

13. Tabata I et al., “Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2 max.” Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1996 Oct;28(10):1327-30.

14. Weston KS et al., “High-intensity interval training in patients with lifestyle-induced cardiometabolic disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Br J Sports Med. 2014 Aug;48(16):1227-34.

15. Matthews CE et al., “Moderate to vigorous physical activity and risk of upper-respiratory tract infection.” Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2002 Aug;34(8):1242-8.

16. Nieman DC et al., “Upper respiratory tract infection is reduced in physically fit and active adults.” Br J Sports Med. 2011 Sep;45(12):987-92.

17. O’Keefe JH et al. “Potential adverse cardiovascular effects from excessive endurance exercise“. Mayo Clin Proc. 2012 Jun;87(6):587-95.

18. Haluza D et al., “Green perspectives for public health: a narrative review on the physiological effects of experiencing outdoor nature.” Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2014 May 19;11(5):5445-61.

19. Cohen EE et al., “Rowers’ high: behavioural synchrony is correlated with elevated pain thresholds.” Biol Lett. 2010 Feb 23;6(1):106-8.

20. Thøgersen-Ntoumani C et al., “Changes in work affect in response to lunchtime walking in previously physically inactive employees: A randomized trial.” Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2015 Jan 6.

21. Walther C et al., “Regular exercise training compared with percutaneous intervention leads to a reduction of inflammatory markers and cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease.” Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil. 2008 Feb;15(1):107-12.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post A Simple System for Staying Healthy and Active to the Very End appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Around this time of year, the health and fitness media is full of articles about how to “survive” the holidays with your abs and self-respect intact. I do agree that this time is not a two-week-long reason to completely ruin all your hard work and long-term goals. However, it is also not the time to add more stress to your life by calculating how much jogging you’ll need to do in order to work off a portion of delicious, buttery mashed potatoes. Life is just too short.

I mean, c’mon. This isn’t a war. It’s a holiday!

Just Eat

The next couple of weeks will be full of opportunities to overindulge at various work parties and family gatherings. Now, I am not suggesting you go and gorge yourself endlessly on beer, chocolate, and deep-fried treats, but it is a great time to enjoy getting a good amount of calories on board without worrying about it. You’ve earned it!

If you normally follow a well-structured exercise program and eat a good-quality diet, a couple of days off will not slow your progress. It may even help you recover and come back reinvigorated and stronger in the new year.

All the upcoming parties will be furnished with turkey, ham, trimmings, and various nibbles. If you read around, you’ll find plenty of ideas on how to minimize the effect on your waistline, including:

• Eat at home first.
• Start with the crudités and fill up on carrots and celery.
• Follow the vegetables with plenty of protein, and you’ll be less tempted to eat the sugary desserts.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Before the party, do a workout including some heavy compound lifts or a full-body metcon to prime your muscles to absorb all the upcoming calories.

All of these are perfectly valid ways to control calorie intake, but I beg you not to take them too seriously. If there are two things the recovering body really loves, they are carbs and protein. Between them, insulin and leucine (a branched-chain amino acid found particularly in darker meats) coordinate the initiation of muscle-protein synthesis after exercise.^1,2

A nice big slab of turkey with all the trimmings followed by a bit of dessert is exactly what your body needs after a year of hard training. Studies have shown that high-calorie re-feeds boost thyroid hormone (T3), testosterone and metabolic rate, particularly in very active people who err on the side of calorie restriction (which is a lot of us).^3,4

A few days of higher calorie and carbohydrate intake will therefore help your long-term strength and fat loss goals, as well as recovery.

So, you might even say that a little festive indulgence is important for everyone that exercises frequently, regardless of his or her sport.

Just Sleep

Do you know what your body really wants after your protein and carbs? Sleep. Sleep is essential for full recovery and adaptation after exercise. Sleep deprivation (even just five hours of sleep per night) has been shown to increase cortisol, reduce testosterone, and change the way the body releases growth hormone.^5,6,7

All of these things will affect your ability to recover and build muscle.⁸ However, most of this hormonal dysregulation is restored with recovery sleep, so think about the holiday period as a time to make it up to yourself. Those who sleep better also have better fat loss.⁹

When you’re on holiday, there will always be the temptation to get up early before the rest of the family and go for a run or do a metcon in the garden. But why not just use the time to sleep properly? Don’t set an alarm. Let yourself wake up naturally and get the real benefits from your time off.

Just Rest and Relax

Be honest with me, when was that last time you took a real recovery or deload week? We all know it isn’t training that makes us stronger. Real progress comes down to taking the time to recover properly. However, for most of us, the time pressures of life mean that we’ll happily beat ourselves up in the gym many times per week, but often do so at the expense of time taken to look after our bodies the other 22 hours of the day.

Though you will often feel ready to workout again within a few hours of a session, it can take up to ten days for your nervous system to properly recover from particularly taxing training.¹⁰

A recent study showed that participants who followed a three-week detraining cycle after a six-week program saw much larger responses to exercise once they restarted, as opposed to those who trained continuously. Over a six-month period, there was a trend towards better adaptation and strength increases in those using the long detraining phases.¹¹

While it’s probably worth doing some exercise a couple of times during your week off, why not make that training about keeping your body moving rather than forcing yourself into soul-crushing workouts? The rest of the week will be full of opportunities to stay active – carrying Christmas trees, cleaning up after relatives, and running around in the snow. Save the interval sprints for January.

And if you decide to just sit around, that’s okay, too. You won’t lose your gains if you give yourself a few days off.¹²

You’ll probably also clock up a few hours digesting large dinners in front of the TV, so why not spend this time doing a little foam rolling? You’ll come back more explosive, powerful, and mentally ready to crush everything.

Real-Life “Survival” Tips

If there is ever a time to relax about your lifestyle and have fun with friends and family, this is it. During your holiday, you’ll probably be subjected to the stress of traveling, buying presents, and having to deal with difficult family members. Worrying about the slice of cake you had is just not worth it. Please just enjoy it instead.

So, how can you come out of the holiday season fitter, stronger, happier and ready to continue towards your goal of optimal health and performance?

• Decide you’re going to enjoy a certain party or evening, and then don’t think about it.
• Have a lie-in. Have many lie-ins.
• Take a real week off training, and enjoy a good number of calories to fuel recovery.
• Leave your trainers at home and give the kids a piggyback instead.

Focus on the fact that these are scientifically-proven ways to improve health and wellbeing. And, more importantly, have a great holiday!

References:

1. Børsheim E, Cree MG, Tipton KD, Elliott TA, Aarsland A, Wolfe RR., “Effect of carbohydrate intake on net muscle protein synthesis during recovery from resistance exercise,” J Appl Physiol (1985). 2004 Feb;96(2):674-8.

2. Norton LE, Layman DK., “Leucine regulates translation initiation of protein synthesis in skeletal muscle after exercise,” J Nutr. 2006 Feb;136(2):533S-537S.

3. Friedl KE, Moore RJ, Hoyt RW, Marchitelli LJ, Martinez-Lopez LE, Askew EW., “Endocrine markers of semistarvation in healthy lean men in a multistressor environment,” J Appl Physiol (1985). 2000 May;88(5):1820-30.

4. Dirlewanger M, di Vetta V, Guenat E, Battilana P, Seematter G, Schneiter P, Jéquier E, Tappy L., “Effects of short-term carbohydrate or fat overfeeding on energy expenditure and plasma leptin concentrations in healthy female subjects,” Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2000 Nov;24(11):1413-8.

5. Leproult R, Copinschi G, Buxton O, Van Cauter E., “Sleep loss results in an elevation of cortisol levels the next evening,” Sleep. 1997 Oct;20(10):865-70.

6. Leproult R, Van Cauter E., “Effect of 1 week of sleep restriction on testosterone levels in young healthy men,” JAMA. 2011 Jun 1;305(21):2173-4.

7. Spiegel K, Leproult R, Van Cauter E. “Impact of sleep debt on metabolic and endocrine function,” Lancet. 1999 Oct 23;354(9188):1435-9.

8. Dattilo M, Antunes HK, Medeiros A, Mônico Neto M, Souza HS, Tufik S, de Mello MT., “Sleep and muscle recovery: endocrinological and molecular basis for a new and promising hypothesis,” Med Hypotheses. 2011 Aug;77(2):220-2.

9. Chaput JP, Tremblay A., “Sleeping habits predict the magnitude of fat loss in adults exposed to moderate caloric restriction,” Obes Facts. 2012;5(4):561-6.

10. Saxton JM, Clarkson PM, James R, Miles M, Westerfer M, Clark S, Donnelly AE., “Neuromuscular dysfunction following eccentric exercise,” Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1995 Aug;27(8):1185-93.

11. Ogasawara R, Yasuda T, Ishii N, Abe T., “Comparison of muscle hypertrophy following 6-month of continuous and periodic strength training,” Eur J Appl Physiol. 2013 Apr;113(4):975-85.

12. LaForgia J, Withers RT, Williams AD, Murch BJ, Chatterton BE, Schultz CG, Leaney F., “Effect of 3 weeks of detraining on the resting metabolic rate and body composition of trained males,” Eur J Clin Nutr. 1999 Feb;53(2):126-33.

The post Why You Should Eat More And Train Less This Christmas appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

“Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general.” The infamous words of Mark Rippetoe are often used to drive the avid gym-goer to squat more, deadlift more, and bench press more.

Photo by Bev Childress

“Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general.” The infamous words of Mark Rippetoe are often used to drive the avid gym-goer to squat more, deadlift more, and bench press more.

But when your goal is health and longevity, the quote takes on an even broader meaning. Using The Great Upside-Down Movement Pyramid, we’ve ticked off a number of health risk factors by sitting less and walking more.

But if you want to be independent, disease-free, and alive for as long as possible, it’s time to start moving stuff.

Critical Mass

While health professionals and the media regularly talk about the threat of cancer, type-2 diabetes, and heart disease, not many people talk about the risk of low muscle mass.

As we age, even if our weight stays the same, we start losing muscle mass and gaining extra “padding” to compensate.¹ The best way to prevent that? Lifting stuff.²

Muscle does more than just help you fill out a t-shirt and make it harder to buy a pair of jeans that fits. We now know muscles make up the largest organ in the body.³

In response to movement, muscles secrete a number of factors that reduce inflammation, improve bone health, and help protect against heart disease and multiple forms of cancer.³

Adding muscle through resistance training is also one of the most reliable ways to improve insulin sensitivity and metabolic health.^3,4

Making sure you get some of that muscle back is going to be crucial for future health. This doesn’t mean you need to take up bodybuilding. You just need to make sure you’re above average.”

Focusing on muscle mass is particularly important for those who have engaged in active weight loss, as both higher body fat and a calorie deficit can lead to a loss in muscle.^5,6

In the general population, people with more muscle mass live longer, so making sure you get some of that muscle back is going to be crucial for future health.

This doesn’t mean you need to take up bodybuilding. You just need to make sure you’re above average.⁷ But unless you have a debilitating disease, I’m afraid there isn’t a pill for that.⁸

In summary: Better start those bicep curls now…

Everybody Get Up

Maybe even more important than muscle mass is muscle strength. As we age, we lose strength even faster than we lose the muscles themselves, and muscle strength is directly related to our ability to remain mobile and independent as we get older.^9,11

So if you want to make sure you’re around to spend as much of your children’s inheritance as possible, and it’s been a while since you thought about your strength and balance, then now is the time to start working on it again. Try this:

1. Sit down on the floor and then get back up. Easy.
2. Now try it without using your arms or hands for support, or resting your knees on the ground at any point. Not so easy.
3. Now imagine that you start the whole movement with ten points. Subtract a point every time you need to support yourself with your arms, touch your knee to the ground, or become unbalanced. The lower your final score is, the greater your risk of mortality (death).^12,13

In one move, this simple test examines leg strength and balance, which have repeatedly been shown to predict risk of death by any cause.⁷ Stronger people really are harder to kill.

In summary: Want to improve strength and balance and live longer? Lift stuff.^14–17

Burpees Will Save Your Life

While the thought of getting stronger is all well and good, let’s face it: in the modern world, strength is optional. As humans, we’ve crafted our environment to make life easy. While that’s helped us get where we are today, it comes at a potential price.

What happens when there’s nobody there to help you?

Every year in the UK, 65,000 people fracture a hip, usually after a fall.^18,19 In the US, the number is nearly 300,000 per year.^20,21

After fracturing a hip, almost a third of people will die within a year, and less than half of the survivors will regain complete independence.²²

“If you’re strong enough to do a burpee, not only will you will be less likely to fall, you’re also more likely to get yourself up if you do fall.”

Sound a bit dramatic? Then consider the fact that 30-40% of people over the age of 65 will have at least one fall per year, and more than 20% of women and 10% of men are predicted to fracture a hip in their lifetime.²³

Even if you don’t break anything, up to 50% of people that fall are unable to get up unassisted, and will often need hospitalization by the time help eventually arrives.¹⁴

Want to make sure you avoid that? All you would need to do is be able to push yourself up off the floor and lunge/squat yourself upright. If you can do those movements (a push up and a squat), you can do a burpee.

And if you’re strong enough to do a burpee, not only will you will be less likely to fall, you’re also more likely to get yourself up if you do fall.

In summary: Strength is optional, until it isn’t any more. And burpees will save your life.

Find Failure

When it comes to lifting for strength and muscle mass, everyone has their favorite method and training structure.

However, whether you prefer free weights, machines, or bodyweight exercises, the evidence to pick one over the other isn’t that compelling.²⁴

The upshot of this is that you can pretty much do whatever you enjoy and are most comfortable with. However, for general increases in strength and health, a few guidelines will help you get the most out of lifting things:

Intensity

To get the best metabolic, muscle, and strength-building effects, you need to activate as many of your muscle fibers as possible, and this requires maximum intensity.^25,26

The simplest way to do this is to make sure you reach failure (i.e., are unable to do another rep with good form) at the end of the set.²⁴

In fact, a single set to muscular failure is probably all you need in order to get significant strength and muscle gains, and even improve cardiovascular fitness.^24,27,28

Photo by Bev Childress

How much?

The best balance of benefits will come from sets where failure is reached in 6-12 reps.^24,26

This will remain the same whether you can only do bodyweight squats, or can squat 250kg for 10 reps.

After an adequate warm-up, work with weights above 80% of your one-rep max (1RM), because this will put you in the right range for high intensity over 6-12 reps, but also give other benefits, like making your bones stronger.²⁹

What movements?

While burpees will get you pretty far, the best results will come from improving strength in every direction. Dan John* would boil this down to five main movement patterns:

• Push (bench press, shoulder press, push ups, dips etc)
• Pull (pull-ups and rows)
• Hinge (picking stuff up)
• Squat (squatting)
• Carries (carrying stuff, like farmer’s walks or shopping bags)

How often?

For the movement-averse, doing a single set to failure in each of those movement categories once a week is enough to see significant benefits.^24,26–28

However, what we really want is to make movement a habit that’s built into our day. A better aim would be to hit 50-100 repetitions of each movement pattern at the desired intensity per week. The more frequently you lift, the less total volume you can use to see more total benefit.³⁰

In summary

For optimal gains – fail a little bit, and often.

*Don’t know who Dan John is? Open a new browser tab right away. Read some of his stuff, and then come back. I’ll wait…

Be Harder to Kill

Skipped to the end? Here’s what you need to know:

Optimal health and longevity hinge on your ability to pull your socks up, and push yourself to get stronger, with benefits that will carry over to multiple other areas of your life. And you should squat more.

Check out these related articles:

• Sit Less and Prioritize Movement for Long-Term Fitness
• Walking: The Simple Path to Feeling Sexier and Living Longer
• A Simple System for Staying and Active to the Very End

References

1. Zamboni et al. Health consequences of obesity in the elderly: a review of four unresolved questions. Int J Obes (Lond). 2005 Sep;29(9):1011-29.

2. Mekary et al. Weight training, aerobic physical activities, and long-term waist circumference change in men. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2015 Feb;23(2):461-7.

3. Pedersen and Febbraio. Muscles, exercise and obesity: skeletal muscle as a secretory organ. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2012 Apr 3;8(8):457-65.

4. Miller et al. Effect of strength training on glucose tolerance and post-glucose insulin response. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1984 Dec;16(6):539-43.

5. Wannamethee and Atkins. Muscle loss and obesity: the health implications of sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity. Proc Nutr Soc. 2015 Apr 27:1-8.

6. Heymsfield et al. Weight loss composition is one-fourth fat-free mass: a critical review and critique of this widely cited rule. Obes Rev. 2014 Apr;15(4):310-21.

7. Srikanthan and Karlamangla. Muscle mass index as a predictor of longevity in older adults. Am J Med. 2014 Jun;127(6):547-53.

8. Sepulveda et al. Pharmacology of manipulating lean body mass. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 2015 Jan;42(1):1-13.

9. Clark and Manini. What is dynapenia? Nutrition. 2012 May;28(5):495-503.

10. Visser et al. Muscle mass, muscle strength, and muscle fat infiltration as predictors of incident mobility limitations in well-functioning older persons. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2005 Mar;60(3):324-33.

11. Hasselgren et al. Is leg muscle strength correlated with functional balance and mobility among inpatients in geriatric rehabilitation? Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2011 May-Jun;52(3):e220-5.

12. Brito et al. Ability to sit and rise from the floor as a predictor of all-cause mortality. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2014 Jul;21(7):892-8.

13. Instructional video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCQ2WA2T2oA]

14. Tinetti et al. Predictors and prognosis of inability to get up after falls among elderly persons. JAMA. 1993 Jan 6;269(1):65-70.

15. Hasselgren et al. Is leg muscle strength correlated with functional balance and mobility among inpatients in geriatric rehabilitation? Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2011 May-Jun;52(3):e220-5.

16. Lee et al. Global muscle strength but not grip strength predicts mortality and length of stay in a general population in a surgical intensive care unit. Phys Ther. 2012 Dec;92(12):1546-55.

17. Newman et al. Strength, but not muscle mass, is associated with mortality in the health, aging and body composition study cohort. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2006 Jan;61(1):72-7.

18. National Hip Fracture Database Annual Report, 2015.

19. Ambrose et al. Falls and Fractures: A systematic approach to screening and prevention. Maturitas. 2015 Sep;82(1):85-93.

20. Brauer et al. Incidence and mortality of hip fractures in the United States. JAMA. 2009 Oct 14;302(14):1573-9.

21. Stevens and Anne Rudd. Declining hip fracture rates in the United States. Age Ageing. 2010 Jul;39(4):500-3.

22. Morrison et al. The medical consultant’s role in caring for patients with hip fracture. Ann Intern Med. 1998 Jun 15;128(12 Pt 1):1010-20.

23. Oden et al. Lifetime risk of hip fractures is underestimated. Osteoporos Int. 1998;8(6):599-603.

24. Fisher et al. Evidence-based resistance training recommendations. Med Sport 15 (3): 147-162, 2011

25. Carpinelli. The size principle and a critical analysis of the un- substantiated heavier-is-better recommendation for resistance training. J Exerc Sci Fit. 2008; 6:67Y82.

26. Schoenfeld. The Mechanisms of Muscle Hypertrophy and their application to resistance training. J Strength Cond Res, 2010; 24(10): 2857-2872

27. Phillips and Winett. Uncomplicated resistance training and health-related outcomes: evidence for a public health mandate. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2010 Jul-Aug;9(4):208-13.

28. Steele et al. Resistance Training to Momentary Muscular Failure Improves Cardiovascular Fitness in Humans: A Review of Acute Physiological responses and Chronic Adaptations. J Exerc Phys, 2012; 15: 53-80

29. Vincent and Braith. Resistance exercise and the bone turnover in elderly men and women. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2002; 34: 17-23.

30. Hoffman et al. The effect of self-selection for frequency of training in a winter conditioning program for football. J Strength Cond Res 1990; 3: 76-82.

The post Lift Stuff: Add Mass to Your Body and Years to Your Life appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

And I have spent over a decade watching various “real food” movements gather momentum. Their overriding message is that we should stop relying on processed foods and re-learn how to prepare and cook our own meals from basic ingredients. Despite this message, each movement still seems to come with its own set of “wholesome” snack or protein bars that, in reality, are anything but wholesome.

Many people see dramatic health benefits by eliminating gluten or reducing carbohydrate intake, and many of these bars are ostensibly designed to support that. But if you’re an advocate of real food – the exact market that these bars are targeted at – your first response should be caution.

Approach products like this with caution.

These bars aren’t exactly the worst things to feed yourself or your kids, but at best they’re a stop-gap approach that provide some macronutrients with no real nourishment. I think there are cheaper, easier, and healthier alternatives regardless of your time or budget.

Where I Draw The Line

The protein bar sales pitch usually goes:

“For optimal health we need to eat whole, unprocessed, real food. Buying my wholesome bar made from various powders and oils will help you do that.”

Even if you R on a Quest to Adapt to a paleo or low carbohydrate diet in order to make yourself Bulletproof: does that reasoning make sense? Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against finding convenient foods that support your health and goals. Supplementing your diet with processed protein sources can be a part of that, especially if you have a high training load or are maintaining a caloric deficit.

But some companies, with support from prominent names and healthcare professionals, are now making low carb protein bars aimed at children. This is where I draw the line. Once we’re pushing this stuff on kids, we’re completely undermining the food relationship we are trying to better. We want to teach our children that modern processed food is the reason we have a chronic health burden in the Western world. We are not trying to teach them that any food is fine as long as it is gluten free and low in carbs.

We got to where we are today because we have become completely disconnected from the food that we eat, and this is what we should be trying to overcome. The most sustainably-sourced organic protein bar isn’t going to fix that. As a good friend of mine said about these types of bars :”This is what selling out looks like. A slightly different version of the same shit that got you into trouble in the first place.”

Practical Alternatives to Processed Protein Bars

I can’t really complain about the makers of these bars. They are filling a huge gap in the market. But I wonder why these gaps in the real food market exist. Aside from the occasional post-gym emergency when there is no food in sight for the next few hours, there are few situations that justify reaching for a paleo or low-carb protein bar. For the ones that do, let’s look at the better alternatives.

Situation #1: I Need A Snack

One of the simplest ways to improve blood sugar control and metabolic health is to decrease meal frequency and reduce snacking. The better alternative here is just to think twice. Do you really need to eat, or is something else other than hunger (like boredom) making you reach for that snack?

Situation #2: No Seriously, I Need A Snack

Then let me introduce you to the ultimate protein-packed, low-carb treat: tinned fish. The smaller the fish the better. Don’t go for that skinless and boneless stuff, get the whole fish. Tinned sardines and mackerel are pressure cooked, which makes the skin and bones almost impossible to notice. No need to eat protein bars with added collagen powder. This is a brilliant way to get some portable nutrition. Don’t like fish? At least promise you’ll try it. Below is a table to show how tinned mackerel stacks up against popular snack bars in the low carb and paleo worlds.

How the mighty mackerel measures up.

Need some additional carbs after a workout? Get the mackerel in tomato sauce (my favourite), and have a banana. Want more fat? Add an avocado. Worried about the endocrine-disrupting chemicals from the lining of tin cans? Don’t think that your protein bar is going to be any better after it has sat melting inside of its plastic wrapper at the bottom of your bag all day. I’d take the fish any time. Beef jerky and nuts are another good option, but can get expensive very quickly, though you can easily make your own jerky. I’m also a big fan of boiled eggs.

Situation #3: I Want a Low-Sugar Way to Treat the Kids

Great! Why not make your own? Better yet, get the kids in the kitchen and show them how easy and fun it can be to cook. The internet is full of various recipes for treats, snacks, and protein bars that fit your health needs. Most require minimal preparation, and can be made in under 15 minutes. My fellow Breaking Muscle coaches Matt and Keris from Fitter Food have put together just such a recipe below.

Recipe: Chocolate Orange Protein Bars

Serves: 4

Prep: 15 minutes

Per serving: 228 calories, 5g carbs (3g sugar), 19g fat, 19g protein

Ingredients:

• 50g natural whey protein (unflavoured or you can use vanilla)
• 90g ground almonds
• 25g coconut flour
• 1 tbsp orange extract
• 80-100ml almond milk (unsweetened)
• 50g dark chocolate, 85% cocoa, melted

• Optional: stevia drops, xylitol or honey to taste.
• Feel free to add a little more orange essence to the melted chocolate too.
• You can use any other preferred protein powder if avoiding dairy.

Method:

1. Place the whey, almonds and coconut flour in a large bowl and mix together.
2. Add the orange extract and SLOWLY add the almond milk little by little. You want to avoid the mixture becoming to soggy so start by adding half the amount and mix with your hands, then add a little more until the mixture forms a doughy paste that you can shape into bars without it sticking to your hands. If it gets too soggy add some more ground almonds, if the mixture isn’t sticking together add a little more almond milk.
3. Once combined shape into 4 bars before placing on some greaseproof paper or a plate and popping into the freezer to firm up a little.
4. Break the chocolate up into a heatproof bowl and melt in the microwave or over a pan of simmering water. If using a microwave, be sure to check it regularly to ensure the chocolate does not burn.
5. Dip each bar into the melted chocolate and coat thoroughly, as the bars are now cold the chocolate should set pretty quickly.
6. Once covered place in the fridge ready for later.

The Joy of Real Food

My intention here isn’t to call anybody out or make you feel bad if you regularly resort to protein bars – I know most of us are just trying to do our best with the time and money we have. But hopefully, these tips have helped you on your path for better, more practical alternatives. Regardless of whether you’re just looking for a quick bite to eat or working hard to overhaul your diet, it’s better to choose an option that truly focuses on real food along with the joy of eating and cooking.

More Like This:

• Energy Bars Are Not Snacks
• What Processed Food Is Doing To Kids and How We Can Change It
• Why Fitness Professionals Shouldn’t Eat (or Sell) Energy Bars
• New on Breaking Muscle UK Today

Photo 1 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photo 2 courtesy of Fitter Food.

The post Practical Alternatives to Processed Protein Bars appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

“I wish I looked less like a sprinter.” – Nobody, ever

Most of us will never be graced with the physiques of Usain Bolt or Jessica Ennis, but we can all benefit from a little sprinting. In fact, moving really quickly for short periods of time is one of the easiest and fastest ways to improve health.

As we continue to work our way down the Great Upside-Down Movement Pyramid, we’re now approaching the pointy end. If you’ve made it this far, you should be sitting less, walking more, and lifting stuff.

As we’re constructing a sustainable movement plan for long-term health, this is also a good time to recap the “rules” of the pyramid:

1. Make movement a habit rather than a chore.
2. If you’re not managing to do the level above, don’t move to the level below.
3. As you use more levels of the pyramid, it becomes increasingly unstable. This means you need more time to recover – eat, sleep, rest.
4. If you can’t recover better, don’t add more.
5. Don’t obsess over the details. Do what comes naturally and what you enjoy.

Tired and stressed? Just hang out exactly where you are on the pyramid. Do some high-quality recovery (like putting delicious food in your mouth and getting enough sleep), and enjoy the fact that you’re making movement part of your daily routine.

On the other hand, if you’re feeling pumped from lifting things and all that walking, and you’re ready to up the ante a little, it’s time to move…really quickly.

Maximum Bang for Minimum Buck

Strength and cardiovascular fitness are simple and reliable indicators of longevity and quality of life.³ More importantly, improving these areas does not require superhuman effort. It’s never too late to improve your fitness for increased quality of life, not to mention a longer lifetime.⁴

In order to improve cardiovascular fitness, we often focus on obvious cardio, such as jogging. This has started to change in the last ten years, and you’ve probably heard talk about interval training. It might be referred to as HIIT (high-intensity interval training), SIT (sprint interval training), HIIE (high-intensity intermittent exercise), or HIET (high-intensity exercise training).^6-9 As there’s no real consistency in the terminology, and everything in science needs a good acronym, I’ll use my own – MRQ (moving really quickly).*

“MRQ (moving really quickly) has been shown to be better than cardio, particularly for people who already have some kind of health problem, such as heart disease or obesity.”

Almost every study comparing MRQ to cardio has shown that, for less or the same total effort, and much less total time, MRQ gives as much, and often a greater, improvement in cardiovascular fitness.^10,11 MRQ has been shown to be better than cardio, particularly for people who already have some kind of health problem, such as heart disease or obesity.^6,12,13

If that’s not enough to get you excited about sprinting, MRQ has also been shown to:

• Reduce body fat, particularly visceral fat (that fat around the midsection that’s associated with heart disease and type 2 diabetes).^6,7,14,15
• Improve metabolic health.^6**
• Increase muscle mass.^14,15

**I wanted to use MRQWANRBS (moving really quickly with a nice rest between sets), but it’s a bit of a mouthful.

**By activating the AMPK -> PGC-1α -> NRF-1 signaling pathway, which increases production of mitochondria. This is probably the main reason why MRQ efficiently boosts cardiovascular fitness.^12,22–24

Pick Your Poison

A number of different MRQ protocols are proven to improve cardiovascular fitness, but not many of these have been directly compared. This leaves you, dear reader, with a number of options. If sprinting is completely new to you, try this:

1. Start with a 5-10 minute warm-up on your chosen exercise
2. Sprint for 10-60 seconds
3. Rest for 2-4 times as long as you sprinted
4. Repeat for 10-15 total minutes
5. Warm down, and head home

Do this 2-3 times per week, and you’re likely to be faster and fitter within a month.^6,10,12 If you like to do exactly what’s been done in scientific studies, pick a protocol from the table below:

Many suggest the best way to improve cardiovascular fitness is with longer intervals, such as 4 or 5 sets of 4-minute sprints with 3-4 minutes rest in between each. Though it sounds daunting, this protocol has also been used in overweight subjects and in patients after cardiac surgery.^10,11 You just need to pick a pace that you can repeat in 4-minute bursts. Doing 5 sets of 4 minute sprints just once every two weeks is enough to maintain your fitness over a period of detraining.¹⁶ Remember, shorter intervals allow for greater intensity, which is what we need to maximise cardiovascular fitness.¹⁷

Each protocol has a slightly different biochemical effect, but there’s little evidence that one is better than any other in terms of longevity. Consistency is most important. Many studies have found varied MRQ to be more enjoyable than traditional cardio, so pick a protocol you can do regularly. Have fun, and think about rotating every few weeks.^18,19

Exercise selection is also pretty simple. MRQ doesn’t have to be about running. Pick an exercise where the legs predominate and the body works as a whole. Most studies use either a treadmill or a stationary bike, but outdoor (hill) sprints or a rowing machine also work well, as does swinging a kettlebell.⁹ One study even used burpees.²⁰

In Summary

1. Pick a whole-body movement you enjoy or have easy access to
2. Move really quickly
3. The harder you go, the earlier you can finish***
4. Rest
5. Repeat a few times
6. Walk home
7. Be (more) awesome

***Not necessarily the best approach in other situations.

More From Coach Tommy’s Fitness Pyramid:

• A Simple System for Staying Healthy and Active to the Very End
• Sit Less and Prioritize Movement for Long Term Fitness
• Lift Stuff: Add Mass to Your Body and Years to Your Life
• New on Breaking Muscle

References

1. Brill et al.. Muscular strength and physical function. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2000 Feb;32(2):412-6.

2. Tommy Wood, “Lifting Stuff, Being Harder to Kill, and Why Burpees Save Lives.”

3. Kodama et al.. Cardiorespiratory fitness as a quantitative predictor of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events in healthy men and women: a meta-analysis. JAMA. 2009 May 20;301(19):2024-35.

4. Blair et al.. Changes in physical fitness and all-cause mortality. A prospective study of healthy and unhealthy men. JAMA. 1995 Apr 12;273(14):1093-8.

5. Trost et al.. Correlates of adults’ participation in physical activity: review and update. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2002 Dec;34(12):1996-2001.

6. Kessler et al.. The potential for high-intensity interval training to reduce cardiometabolic disease risk. Sports Med. 2012 Jun 1;42(6):489-509.

7. Heydari et al.. The effect of high-intensity intermittent exercise on body composition of overweight young males. J Obes. 2012;2012:480467.

8. Irving et al.. Effect of exercise training intensity on abdominal visceral fat and body composition. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008 Nov;40(11):1863-72.

9. Williams and Kraemer. Comparison of cardiorespiratory and metabolic responses in kettlebell high-intensity interval training versus sprint interval cycling. J Strength Cond Res. 2015 Sep 8. [Epub ahead of print]

10. Gist et al.. Sprint interval training effects on aerobic capacity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2014 Feb;44(2):269-79.

11. Helgerud et al.. Aerobic high-intensity intervals improve VO2max more than moderate training. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007 Apr;39(4):665-71.

12 Weston et al.. High-intensity interval training in patients with lifestyle-induced cardiometabolic disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2014 Aug;48(16):1227-34.

13. Elliott et al.. Interval training versus continuous exercise in patients with coronary artery disease: a meta-analysis. Heart Lung Circ. 2015 Feb;24(2):149-57.

14. Irving et al.. Effect of exercise training intensity on abdominal visceral fat and body composition. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008 Nov;40(11):1863-72.

15. Hazell et al.. Running sprint interval training induces fat loss in women. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2014 Aug;39(8):944-50.

16. Slettaløkken and Rønnestad. High-intensity interval training every second week maintains VO2max in soccer players during off-season. J Strength Cond Res. 2014 Jul;28(7):1946-51.

17. Moholdt et al.. The higher the better? Interval training intensity in coronary heart disease. J Sci Med Sport. 2014 Sep;17(5):506-10.

18. Bartlett et al.. High-intensity interval running is perceived to be more enjoyable than moderate-intensity continuous exercise: implications for exercise adherence. J Sports Sci. 2011 Mar;29(6):547-53.

19. Tjønna et al.. Aerobic interval training versus continuous moderate exercise as a treatment for the metabolic syndrome: a pilot study. Circulation. 2008 Jul 22;118(4):346-54.

20. Gist et al.. Comparison of responses to two high-intensity intermittent exercise protocols. J Strength Cond Res. 2014 Nov;28(11):3033-40.

21. Tabata et al.. Metabolic profile of high intensity intermittent exercises. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1997 Mar;29(3):390-5.

22. Hood. Contractile activity-induced mitochondrial biogenesis in skeletal muscle. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2001 Mar;90(3):1137-57.

23. Aschenbach et al.. 5′ adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, metabolism and exercise. Sports Med. 2004;34(2):91-103.

24. Burgomaster et al.. Similar metabolic adaptations during exercise after low volume sprint interval and traditional endurance training in humans. J Physiol. 2008 Jan 1;586(1):151-60.

Photo courtesy of Jorge Huerta Photography.

The post The Fast Way to Long Health: Move Really Quickly appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

“Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general.” The infamous words of Mark Rippetoe are often used to drive the avid gym-goer to squat more, deadlift more, and bench press more.

Photo by Bev Childress

“Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general.” The infamous words of Mark Rippetoe are often used to drive the avid gym-goer to squat more, deadlift more, and bench press more.

But when your goal is health and longevity, the quote takes on an even broader meaning. Using The Great Upside-Down Movement Pyramid, we’ve ticked off a number of health risk factors by sitting less and walking more.

But if you want to be independent, disease-free, and alive for as long as possible, it’s time to start moving stuff.

Critical Mass

While health professionals and the media regularly talk about the threat of cancer, type-2 diabetes, and heart disease, not many people talk about the risk of low muscle mass.

As we age, even if our weight stays the same, we start losing muscle mass and gaining extra “padding” to compensate.¹ The best way to prevent that? Lifting stuff.²

Muscle does more than just help you fill out a t-shirt and make it harder to buy a pair of jeans that fits. We now know muscles make up the largest organ in the body.³

In response to movement, muscles secrete a number of factors that reduce inflammation, improve bone health, and help protect against heart disease and multiple forms of cancer.³

Adding muscle through resistance training is also one of the most reliable ways to improve insulin sensitivity and metabolic health.^3,4

Making sure you get some of that muscle back is going to be crucial for future health. This doesn’t mean you need to take up bodybuilding. You just need to make sure you’re above average.”

Focusing on muscle mass is particularly important for those who have engaged in active weight loss, as both higher body fat and a calorie deficit can lead to a loss in muscle.^5,6

In the general population, people with more muscle mass live longer, so making sure you get some of that muscle back is going to be crucial for future health.

This doesn’t mean you need to take up bodybuilding. You just need to make sure you’re above average.⁷ But unless you have a debilitating disease, I’m afraid there isn’t a pill for that.⁸

In summary: Better start those bicep curls now…

Everybody Get Up

Maybe even more important than muscle mass is muscle strength. As we age, we lose strength even faster than we lose the muscles themselves, and muscle strength is directly related to our ability to remain mobile and independent as we get older.^9,11

So if you want to make sure you’re around to spend as much of your children’s inheritance as possible, and it’s been a while since you thought about your strength and balance, then now is the time to start working on it again. Try this:

1. Sit down on the floor and then get back up. Easy.
2. Now try it without using your arms or hands for support, or resting your knees on the ground at any point. Not so easy.
3. Now imagine that you start the whole movement with ten points. Subtract a point every time you need to support yourself with your arms, touch your knee to the ground, or become unbalanced. The lower your final score is, the greater your risk of mortality (death).^12,13

In one move, this simple test examines leg strength and balance, which have repeatedly been shown to predict risk of death by any cause.⁷ Stronger people really are harder to kill.

In summary: Want to improve strength and balance and live longer? Lift stuff.^14–17

Burpees Will Save Your Life

While the thought of getting stronger is all well and good, let’s face it: in the modern world, strength is optional. As humans, we’ve crafted our environment to make life easy. While that’s helped us get where we are today, it comes at a potential price.

What happens when there’s nobody there to help you?

Every year in the UK, 65,000 people fracture a hip, usually after a fall.^18,19 In the US, the number is nearly 300,000 per year.^20,21

After fracturing a hip, almost a third of people will die within a year, and less than half of the survivors will regain complete independence.²²

“If you’re strong enough to do a burpee, not only will you will be less likely to fall, you’re also more likely to get yourself up if you do fall.”

Sound a bit dramatic? Then consider the fact that 30-40% of people over the age of 65 will have at least one fall per year, and more than 20% of women and 10% of men are predicted to fracture a hip in their lifetime.²³

Even if you don’t break anything, up to 50% of people that fall are unable to get up unassisted, and will often need hospitalization by the time help eventually arrives.¹⁴

Want to make sure you avoid that? All you would need to do is be able to push yourself up off the floor and lunge/squat yourself upright. If you can do those movements (a push up and a squat), you can do a burpee.

And if you’re strong enough to do a burpee, not only will you will be less likely to fall, you’re also more likely to get yourself up if you do fall.

In summary: Strength is optional, until it isn’t any more. And burpees will save your life.

Find Failure

When it comes to lifting for strength and muscle mass, everyone has their favorite method and training structure.

However, whether you prefer free weights, machines, or bodyweight exercises, the evidence to pick one over the other isn’t that compelling.²⁴

The upshot of this is that you can pretty much do whatever you enjoy and are most comfortable with. However, for general increases in strength and health, a few guidelines will help you get the most out of lifting things:

Intensity

To get the best metabolic, muscle, and strength-building effects, you need to activate as many of your muscle fibers as possible, and this requires maximum intensity.^25,26

The simplest way to do this is to make sure you reach failure (i.e., are unable to do another rep with good form) at the end of the set.²⁴

In fact, a single set to muscular failure is probably all you need in order to get significant strength and muscle gains, and even improve cardiovascular fitness.^24,27,28

Photo by Bev Childress

How much?

The best balance of benefits will come from sets where failure is reached in 6-12 reps.^24,26

This will remain the same whether you can only do bodyweight squats, or can squat 250kg for 10 reps.

After an adequate warm-up, work with weights above 80% of your one-rep max (1RM), because this will put you in the right range for high intensity over 6-12 reps, but also give other benefits, like making your bones stronger.²⁹

What movements?

While burpees will get you pretty far, the best results will come from improving strength in every direction. Dan John* would boil this down to five main movement patterns:

• Push (bench press, shoulder press, push ups, dips etc)
• Pull (pull-ups and rows)
• Hinge (picking stuff up)
• Squat (squatting)
• Carries (carrying stuff, like farmer’s walks or shopping bags)

How often?

For the movement-averse, doing a single set to failure in each of those movement categories once a week is enough to see significant benefits.^24,26–28

However, what we really want is to make movement a habit that’s built into our day. A better aim would be to hit 50-100 repetitions of each movement pattern at the desired intensity per week. The more frequently you lift, the less total volume you can use to see more total benefit.³⁰

In summary

For optimal gains – fail a little bit, and often.

*Don’t know who Dan John is? Open a new browser tab right away. Read some of his stuff, and then come back. I’ll wait…

Be Harder to Kill

Skipped to the end? Here’s what you need to know:

Optimal health and longevity hinge on your ability to pull your socks up, and push yourself to get stronger, with benefits that will carry over to multiple other areas of your life. And you should squat more.

Check out these related articles:

• Sit Less and Prioritize Movement for Long-Term Fitness
• Walking: The Simple Path to Feeling Sexier and Living Longer
• A Simple System for Staying and Active to the Very End

References

1. Zamboni et al. Health consequences of obesity in the elderly: a review of four unresolved questions. Int J Obes (Lond). 2005 Sep;29(9):1011-29.

2. Mekary et al. Weight training, aerobic physical activities, and long-term waist circumference change in men. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2015 Feb;23(2):461-7.

3. Pedersen and Febbraio. Muscles, exercise and obesity: skeletal muscle as a secretory organ. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2012 Apr 3;8(8):457-65.

4. Miller et al. Effect of strength training on glucose tolerance and post-glucose insulin response. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1984 Dec;16(6):539-43.

5. Wannamethee and Atkins. Muscle loss and obesity: the health implications of sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity. Proc Nutr Soc. 2015 Apr 27:1-8.

6. Heymsfield et al. Weight loss composition is one-fourth fat-free mass: a critical review and critique of this widely cited rule. Obes Rev. 2014 Apr;15(4):310-21.

7. Srikanthan and Karlamangla. Muscle mass index as a predictor of longevity in older adults. Am J Med. 2014 Jun;127(6):547-53.

8. Sepulveda et al. Pharmacology of manipulating lean body mass. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 2015 Jan;42(1):1-13.

9. Clark and Manini. What is dynapenia? Nutrition. 2012 May;28(5):495-503.

10. Visser et al. Muscle mass, muscle strength, and muscle fat infiltration as predictors of incident mobility limitations in well-functioning older persons. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2005 Mar;60(3):324-33.

11. Hasselgren et al. Is leg muscle strength correlated with functional balance and mobility among inpatients in geriatric rehabilitation? Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2011 May-Jun;52(3):e220-5.

12. Brito et al. Ability to sit and rise from the floor as a predictor of all-cause mortality. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2014 Jul;21(7):892-8.

13. Instructional video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCQ2WA2T2oA]

14. Tinetti et al. Predictors and prognosis of inability to get up after falls among elderly persons. JAMA. 1993 Jan 6;269(1):65-70.

15. Hasselgren et al. Is leg muscle strength correlated with functional balance and mobility among inpatients in geriatric rehabilitation? Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2011 May-Jun;52(3):e220-5.

16. Lee et al. Global muscle strength but not grip strength predicts mortality and length of stay in a general population in a surgical intensive care unit. Phys Ther. 2012 Dec;92(12):1546-55.

17. Newman et al. Strength, but not muscle mass, is associated with mortality in the health, aging and body composition study cohort. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2006 Jan;61(1):72-7.

18. National Hip Fracture Database Annual Report, 2015.

19. Ambrose et al. Falls and Fractures: A systematic approach to screening and prevention. Maturitas. 2015 Sep;82(1):85-93.

20. Brauer et al. Incidence and mortality of hip fractures in the United States. JAMA. 2009 Oct 14;302(14):1573-9.

21. Stevens and Anne Rudd. Declining hip fracture rates in the United States. Age Ageing. 2010 Jul;39(4):500-3.

22. Morrison et al. The medical consultant’s role in caring for patients with hip fracture. Ann Intern Med. 1998 Jun 15;128(12 Pt 1):1010-20.

23. Oden et al. Lifetime risk of hip fractures is underestimated. Osteoporos Int. 1998;8(6):599-603.

24. Fisher et al. Evidence-based resistance training recommendations. Med Sport 15 (3): 147-162, 2011

25. Carpinelli. The size principle and a critical analysis of the un- substantiated heavier-is-better recommendation for resistance training. J Exerc Sci Fit. 2008; 6:67Y82.

26. Schoenfeld. The Mechanisms of Muscle Hypertrophy and their application to resistance training. J Strength Cond Res, 2010; 24(10): 2857-2872

27. Phillips and Winett. Uncomplicated resistance training and health-related outcomes: evidence for a public health mandate. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2010 Jul-Aug;9(4):208-13.

28. Steele et al. Resistance Training to Momentary Muscular Failure Improves Cardiovascular Fitness in Humans: A Review of Acute Physiological responses and Chronic Adaptations. J Exerc Phys, 2012; 15: 53-80

29. Vincent and Braith. Resistance exercise and the bone turnover in elderly men and women. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2002; 34: 17-23.

30. Hoffman et al. The effect of self-selection for frequency of training in a winter conditioning program for football. J Strength Cond Res 1990; 3: 76-82.

The post Lifting Stuff, Being Harder to Kill, and Why Burpees Save Lives appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Want to feel better, look sexier, and live longer? Walk more. As health advice goes, it’s not exactly earth shattering. But it’s often ignored.

As a species, walking is what we do best. In fact, it’s probably how your ancestors got from Africa to where they eventually settled.¹ The standardised movement guidelines of thirty minutes per day are based on the dramatic benefits that walking can have on your health, yet nobody seems to do it.¹⁸ For the average time-poor person, the fundamental movement pattern of walking is frequently shunned in favour of more intense forms of exercise. However, the beneficial effects of walking on health are multiple and far-reaching.

This is the second of my articles detailing why The Great Upside-Down Movement Pyramid can be your one-stop framework for lifelong health. In this piece, I’ll cover why now that you’re sitting less, you should start walking more.

Calming the Fires

Modern-day living doesn’t seem to be geared towards providing optimal health. The combination of the daily grind, the food we eat, and our need to stay in one place to work all day have all been linked to increased inflammation, and through that, the rising rates of cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.^5–8 Sadly, we can’t all change our jobs and live off the land. Instead of resorting to pills and antioxidant concoctions that may undo some of your good work, starting to move more by increasing walking is the best step towards reversing some of those issues.^9,10

“Aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, also increases your ability to handle oxidative damage.This makes movement both an anti-inflammatory, and an antioxidant.”

When we move our muscles, signalling molecules (often referred to as myokines) are released. Though many of these myokines can also be associated with an inflammatory response, when stimulated by exercise, they actually decrease inflammation.¹¹ This is one of the main reasons why regular walking can dramatically reduce the risk of metabolic diseases, as well as certain cancers, and even erectile dysfunction.^13–17 Aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, also increases your ability to handle oxidative damage.¹² This makes movement both an anti-inflammatory, and an antioxidant. And all without a single pill in sight.

Losers Walk

Though many people still rely on counting calories as their guide to fat loss, there isn’t as much evidence to support this idea as we’re lead to believe. Not all calories are created equal, and simply inducing a calorie deficit by increasing exercise alone does not induce long-term weight loss.^2,3 Fear not, though. The upside of this complex equation is that some activities that don’t “burn” many calories can still help with weight management (if you’re into that kind of thing). Instead of worrying about starving yourself thin, you can produce significant fat loss by spending less time sitting and more time walking.⁴ No gym membership or Weight Watchers* required.

*Other starvation programs with minimal scientific backing are also available.

Every Little Helps

As I’ve previously mentioned, killing yourself on the treadmill isn’t enough to compensate for the negative effects that a sedentary lifestyle can have on your life expectancy. This means that movement needs to be built into your day, and the best way to do this is to walk more. For most of us, this can begin with walking to work.¹⁹ Use public transport? Get off a stop or two earlier. Drive to work? Use a park and ride, and walk the last ten to twenty minutes. Worried about being late for work? Perfect – a brisk pace is associated with even greater benefits.²⁰

To build on this, there are a number of other ways to add walking into your day:

• Break it up: Walk while you take a phone call at work, or pop out for few minutes between meetings. Accumulating walking time in segments of just two or three minutes is enough to improve metabolism.^21,22
• Lunch with friends: Even the shortest lunch break is enough time to get some walking done. And why not drag your co-workers with you, for a more relaxed and more productive workplace?^24,25
• Move around meals: Evening meal times are another great opportunity to walk. Do quick lap while dinner finishes in the oven. Even better, take a stroll after you’ve finished eating.^22,26 Your online dating profile says you like long romantic walks in the sunset, but when was the last time you actually took one?

Most importantly, all this walking adds up. Multiple ten minute walks may even be better than one long one.^23,29 This means that ten minutes to/from work, ten minutes at lunch, and ten minutes after dinner is a fantastic start.

Pro Tips

If you’re the kind of person that needs a firm plan before going walking, you might have two questions left – where should I walk, and how fast should I walk?

• Take it outside: Most of the studies examining the effects of walking on health use a treadmill in a sports science laboratory, or give people pedometers to track their steps without specifically examining where they’re doing the walking. This suggests that you can walk pretty much anywhere to see most of the health improvements. However, studies have found greater psychological benefits of walking outdoors in green areas compared to walking indoors or in the city.³⁰ Most importantly, finding the environment that you enjoy the most, be it the beach, a river, forest, or park, is likely to give you the greatest benefit of all.³¹
• Outpace death: I know what you’ve wondering all along. How fast do you have to move to beat the grim reaper? Luckily, science has the answer, and it appears to be three miles per hour.²⁷ Other studies suggest that eighty percent of your maximal walking speed is the most efficient and sustainable pace.²⁸ If you want to estimate these speeds, try one of the following:

• Use a map or online pedometer to measure a nearby half-mile loop. Aim to complete it in ten minutes (three miles per hour).
• Find a short stretch where you can walk as quickly as possible for twenty seconds. For a speed that is eighty percent of maximum, cover the same distance in 25 seconds.

Bear in mind that the key is to get moving and build habits rather than hit a specific speed. Take the time to walk, and enjoy it. As we all know, faster isn’t always better.

Summary

Skipped to the end? Here’s what you need to know:

• After sitting less, start walking more
• Accumulate at least thirty minutes per day
• Aim for eighty percent of your maximum walking speed, or at least three miles per hour. Alternatively, just walk as if you’re late for work.
• For maximal benefits, find your favourite local outdoor spot, and take some friends with you.

More Like This:

• The Great Upside-Down Movement Pyramid
• Move It or Lose It: How to Sit Less, Move More, and Feel Better
• Walking: The Most Underrated Movement of the 21st Century
• New on Breaking Muscle UK Today

References:

1. Klein. “Out of Africa and the evolution of human behavior.” Evol. Anthropol. 2008 17:267–281.

2. Feinman and Fine. “Nonequilibrium thermodynamics and energy efficiency in weight loss diets.” Theor Biol Med Model. 2007 Jul 30;4:27.

3. Franz et al. “Weight-loss outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of weight-loss clinical trials with a minimum 1-year follow-up. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007 Oct;107(10):1755-67.

4.Healy et al. “Replacing sitting time with standing or stepping: associations with cardio-metabolic risk biomarkers.” Eur Heart J. 2015 Jul 30. [Epub ahead of print]

5.Emeny et al. “Job strain-associated inflammatory burden and long-term risk of coronary events: findings from the MONICA/KORA Augsburg case-cohort study.” Psychosom Med. 2013 Apr;75(3):317-25.

6. Bosma-den Boer et al.. “Chronic inflammatory diseases are stimulated by current lifestyle: how diet, stress levels and medication prevent our body from recovering.” Nutr Metab (Lond). 2012 Apr 17;9(1):32.

7. Mathews et al.. “How do high glycemic load diets influence coronary heart disease?” Nutr Metab (Lond). 2015 Mar 8;12:6.

8. Tommy Wood, Move It Or Lose It: How to Sit Less, Move More, and Feel Better, Breaking Muscle UK, 2015.

9. Ristow et al.. “Antioxidants prevent health-promoting effects of physical exercise in humans.” Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 May 26;106(21):8665-70.

10. Craig Marker, Do Antioxidants Impede the Benefits of Exercise? Breaking Muscle, 2015.

11. Pedersen. “The anti-inflammatory effect of exercise: its role in diabetes and cardiovascular disease control.” Essays Biochem. 2006;42:105-17.

12. Gomez-Cabrera et al.. “Moderate exercise is an antioxidant: upregulation of antioxidant genes by training.” Free Radic Biol Med. 2008 Jan 15;44(2):126-31.

13.Roussel et al.. Influence of a walking program on the metabolic risk profile of obese postmenopausal women. Menopause. 2009 May-Jun;16(3):566-75.

14. Buman et al.. Reallocating time to sleep, sedentary behaviors, or active behaviors: associations with cardiovascular disease risk biomarkers, NHANES 2005-2006. Am J Epidemiol. 2014 Feb 1;179(3):323-34.

15. Wolin et al.. Physical activity and colon cancer prevention: a meta-analysis. Br J Cancer. 2009 Feb 24;100(4):611-6.

16. Hildebrand et al.. “Recreational physical activity and leisure-time sitting in relation to postmenopausal breast cancer risk.” Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2013 Oct;22(10):1906-12.

17. Bacon et al.. “Sexual function in men older than 50 years of age: results from the health professionals follow-up study.” Ann Intern Med. 2003 Aug 5;139(3):161-8.

18. Boone-Heinonen et al.. “Walking for prevention of cardiovascular disease in men and women: a systematic review of observational studies.” Obes Rev. 2009 Mar;10(2):204-17.

19. Laverty et al.. “Active travel to work and cardiovascular risk factors in the United Kingdom.” Am J Prev Med. 2013 Sep;45(3):282-8.

20. Hu et al.. “Walking compared with vigorous physical activity and risk of type 2 diabetes in women: a prospective study.” JAMA. 1999 Oct 20;282(15):1433-9.

21. Latouche et al.. “Effects of breaking up prolonged sitting on skeletal muscle gene expression.” J Appl Physiol (1985). 2013 Feb 15;114(4):453-60.

22. Miyashita et al.. “Accumulating short bouts of brisk walking reduces postprandial plasma triacylglycerol concentrations and resting blood pressure in healthy young men.” Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Nov;88(5):1225-31.

23. Park et al.. “Accumulation of physical activity leads to a greater blood pressure reduction than a single continuous session, in prehypertension.” J Hypertens. 2006 Sep;24(9):1761-70.

24. Puig-Ribera et al.. “Self-reported sitting time and physical activity: interactive associations with mental well-being and productivity in office employees.” BMC Public Health. 2015 Jan 31;15:72.

25. Thøgersen-Ntoumani et al.. “Changes in work affect in response to lunchtime walking in previously physically inactive employees: A randomized trial.” Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2015 Jan 6. [Epub ahead of print]

26. Manohar et al.. The effect of walking on postprandial glycemic excursion in patients with type 1 diabetes and healthy people. Diabetes Care. 2012 Dec;35(12):2493-9.

27. Stanaway et al.. “How fast does the Grim Reaper walk? Receiver operating characteristics curve analysis in healthy men aged 70 and over.” BMJ. 2011 Dec 15;343:d7679.

28. Schwarz et al.. “Cardiocirculatory and metabolic responses at different walking intensities.” Br J Sports Med. 2006 Jan;40(1):64-7.

29. Holmstrup et al.. “Multiple short bouts of exercise over 12-h period reduce glucose excursions more than an energy-matched single bout of exercise.” Metabolism. 2014 Apr;63(4):510-9.

30. Marselle et al.. “Walking for well-being: are group walks in certain types of natural environments better for well-being than group walks in urban environments?” Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2013 Oct 29;10(11):5603-28.

31. Marselle et al.. “Moving beyond green: exploring the relationship of environment type and indicators of perceived environmental quality on emotional well-being following group walks.” Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2014 Dec 23;12(1):106-30.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Feel Better, Look Sexier, and Live Longer: Walk More appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Creating a long-term plan for movement and health can be a bit daunting. There’s so much information available today that many people just don’t know where to start. What should you prioritise? Should you be going running or lifting weights? And how many times a week should you train?

These questions become increasingly important as we get older and there are greater demands on our time. However, it is always worth remembering that the long-term benefits of prioritising health and movement are huge. Yes, leaving work thirty minutes earlier to walk home might make you feel guilty because of the emails you didn’t respond to; however, people who are more active have greater wellbeing, are more productive at work, and have healthier children.^{1, 2, 3}

A Simple Solution

With that and a myriad of other health benefits in mind, I concocted the great upside-down movement pyramid as a way to help you prioritise your approach to better movement.

The great upside-down movement pyramid.

Over the next few weeks I will present a progressive plan detailing why you should sit less, walk more, move stuff, move really quickly, and move for a long period of time, in that order of importance. Each level of the plan will build on the first to add layers of additional movement to your week, but give you time to put each level into practice. As before – if you’re not managing to do the level above, don’t do the level below. After all, you’ve got to stand before you can walk.

Sit Less

In case you hadn’t heard, sitting is the new smoking.⁴ This may sound melodramatic (after all, we all have to sit), but in terms of the effects on our overall health, there is truth to it. For example, a recent meta-analysis found a 5% increase in the risk of dying (overall mortality) for every additional hour spent sitting per day – after taking physical activity into account.⁵ If we turn this around, people who spend more time standing also appear to have a reduced overall mortality.⁶

“Prolonged periods of sitting can negatively affect the way the arterial wall functions, which is directly associated with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.”

However, out in the real world, we often need to sit to work. Although standing desks have become increasingly popular, it’s important to note this may not be much better. Standing at a desk doesn’t prevent you from being hunched over a screen, and prolonged periods of standing in one place can also cause things like varicose veins and back pain.^17,18

So What Should We Do?

As you’re probably reading this to procrastinate whilst at work, let’s do the advice bit first, and those who are interested can stick around for the science at the end.

During your commute: If you use public transport, don’t take that seat. You don’t need it. You can even take it up a notch by minimising the use of support rails. Yes, you’ll look silly surfing the bus, but it’s surprisingly fun!

At work:

• Stand (or walk) while you take phone calls or if you need to think.
• Go and find that colleague rather than sending him or her an email. You’re much more likely to get a positive response, and you may even make a friend.
• Relocate for lunch. Better yet – take it outside.
• When sitting, move position frequently, or (quietly) tap your feet to get your blood moving.
• Get up regularly, or at least once an hour. Do a lap of the office, pop outside, or take the stairs. Need reminding? Plenty of free apps and programs are available to nudge you out of your chair.
• Got like-minded colleagues? Stick a pull-up bar on your office door and do a couple of reps as you go in and out.

Instead of staying in the office, head outside for a walk to catch up on calls and texts.

At home:

• It’s okay to relax after a long day, but try not to immediately slip into a coma on the sofa, only to reappear just before bed time.
• Keep getting up, or at least move position regularly.
• Do a few push ups during TV ad breaks. No matter how many times they recommended this in fitness magazines, I’m still not sure anybody does it.
• Do your ironing and other chores while you’re catching up on Britain’s Got Talent and Biggest Loser. That will give you more time to enjoy your weekends.
• The minutes just before and after dinner are a great time to get up, or get out of the house for a quick walk.

The real moral of the story is to focus on minimising the amount of time you spend in one position, rather than to demonise sitting specifically.

What’s the Deal With Sitting?

If we want to dig into why sitting is so bad for our health, three different (and almost certainly connected) mechanisms are important – inflammation, insulin resistance, and blood flow.

“When we’re talking about cardiovascular disease (such as heart attacks and strokes), the big problem stems from atherosclerosis – calcified ‘plaques’ that build up in the walls of our arteries.”

While everybody was worried about cholesterol, the role of inflammation and insulin resistance in the development of heart disease, obesity, type-2 diabetes, and many cancers flew under the radar for decades. However, we’re now seeing that markers of inflammation predict the risk of heart disease better than cholesterol, and if your insulin levels are low (indicating a high insulin sensitivity), then your cholesterol levels become pretty much irrelevant.^7,8,9,10

Why the random trip down biochemistry lane? Because inflammation, insulin, and insulin resistance all increase with time spent sitting.¹¹ Uh oh.

Are You Sitting Comfortably?

In reality, we don’t have any proof that sitting directly causes insulin resistance. Perhaps people who are insulin resistant suddenly have a desire to sit more. It’s unlikely, but possible. Therefore we need to look at other pieces in the puzzle, such as the way in which our blood flow changes when we sit.

When we’re talking about cardiovascular disease (such as heart attacks and strokes), the big problem stems from atherosclerosis – calcified “plaques” that build up in the walls of our arteries. These can rupture, causing a blockage. Alongside things like inflammation, the way in which blood flows through our arteries affects the development of atherosclerosis. When the flow is disturbed or redirected, it puts extra stress on the arterial wall. This is why we see atherosclerosis build up in places like carotid arteries in the neck, because the artery splits into two early on, with increased turbulence at the split point (also known as the bifurcation).¹² However, your arteries need some stress in order to work properly, and reducing flow can have a negative effect on arterial function.

When we sit, we bend at the hip and the knee, which reduces flow in the femoral and popliteal arteries, respectively.^13,14

Left: Femoral arteries; Right: Popliteal arteries

Prolonged periods of sitting can negatively affect the way the arterial wall functions, which is directly associated with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.¹⁵ That change in flow caused by prolonged sitting is potentially why those arteries in the legs are a common place for atherosclerotic plaques to occur. We even see these patterns of atherosclerosis in 4,000 year-old Egyptian mummies!¹⁶ If you were important enough to have your body preserved, you probably got to spend a lot more time sitting compared to everybody else.

Start With Your Daily Routine

Conjecture about mummies aside, there’s good evidence for minimising your sitting time as much as possible. Try to work as many of the ideas above into your daily routine. That will line you up perfectly up for your next step(s) to better health – walking more.

More Like This:

• Walking: The Most Underrated Movement of the 21st Century
• 4 Office Exercises No One Will Know You Are Doing
• Having It All – Strength Gains in the Office
• New on Breaking Muscle UK Today

References:

1. Puig-Ribera et al.. Self-reported sitting time and physical activity: interactive associations with mental well-being and productivity in office employees. BMC Public Health. 2015 Jan 31;15:72.

2. Sears et al.. Overall well-being as a predictor of health care, productivity, and retention outcomes in a large employer. Popul Health Manag. 2013 Dec;16(6):397-405.

3. Robinson et al.. A narrative literature review of the development of obesity in infancy and childhood. J Child Health Care. 2012 Dec;16(4):339-54.

4. Is sitting the new smoking? New science, old habit. Mayo Clin Health Lett. 2014 Oct;32(10):4-5.

5. Chau et al.. Daily sitting time and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2013 Nov 13;8(11):e80000.

6. van der Ploeg et al.. Standing time and all-cause mortality in a large cohort of Australian adults. Prev Med. 2014 Dec;69:187-91.

7. Ridker et al.. Relation of baseline high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level to cardiovascular outcomes with rosuvastatin in the Justification for Use of statins in Prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin (JUPITER). Am J Cardiol. 2010 Jul 15;106(2):204-9.

8. Yanase et al.. Insulin resistance and fasting hyperinsulinemia are risk factors for new cardiovascular events in patients with prior coronary artery disease and normal glucose tolerance. Circ J. 2004 Jan;68(1):47-52.

9. Després et al.. Hyperinsulinemia as an independent risk factor for ischemic heart disease. N Engl J Med. 1996 Apr 11;334(15):952-7.

10. Bartnik et al.. Abnormal glucose tolerance–a common risk factor in patients with acute myocardial infarction in comparison with population-based controls. J Intern Med. 2004 Oct;256(4):288-97.

11. León-Latre et al.. Sedentary lifestyle and its relation to cardiovascular risk factors, insulin resistance and inflammatory profile. Rev Esp Cardiol (Engl Ed). 2014 Jun;67(6):449-55.

12. Chiu and Chien. Effects of disturbed flow on vascular endothelium: pathophysiological basis and clinical perspectives. Physiol Rev. 2011 Jan;91(1):327-87.

13. Schlager et al.. Wall shear stress in the superficial femoral artery of healthy adults and its response to postural changes and exercise. Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg. 2011 Jun;41(6):821-7.

14. Restaino et al.. Impact of prolonged sitting on lower and upper limb micro- and macrovascular dilator function. Exp Physiol. 2015 Jul 1;100(7):829-38.

15. Bruno et al.. Intima media thickness, pulse wave velocity, and flow mediated dilation. Cardiovasc Ultrasound. 2014 Aug 23;12:34.

16. Thompson et al.. Atherosclerosis across 4000 years of human history: the Horus study of four ancient populations. Lancet. 2013 Apr 6;381(9873):1211-22.

17. Pfisterer et al.. Pathogenesis of varicose veins – lessons from biomechanics. Vasa. 2014 Mar;43(2):88-99.

18. McCulloch et al.. Health risks associated with prolonged standing. Work. 2002;19(2):201-5.

Photo 1courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photo 2 byHäggström, Mikael. “Medical gallery of Mikael Häggström 2014”. Wikiversity Journal of Medicine 1 (2). DOI:10.15347/wjm/2014.008. ISSN 20018762. (Image:Gray548.png) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo 3 by Bakerstmd (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

The post Move It or Lose It: How to Sit Less, Move More, and Feel Better appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

This means that deep down our DNA is constantly telling us to save our energy for the day there are no more pizza delivery guys, and we need to go hunt a pizza down ourselves. But barring a zombie apocalypse, this probably isn’t going to happen.

Movement doesn’t come naturally to some people. The modern environment has selected against it. Our genes were forged out of suffering and expect hardship.

This means that deep down our DNA is constantly telling us to save our energy for the day there are no more pizza delivery guys, and we need to go hunt a pizza down ourselves. But barring a zombie apocalypse, this probably isn’t going to happen.

“We just want to keep moving for decades to come, not get type 2 diabetes, and then not die of pneumonia after falling and breaking a hip at 85.”

We know that movement can have a huge, positive impact on health. Despite this, the current guidelines that tell people to “move more” have made no difference to our chronic disease rates.¹So what should we do instead?

As ever, I look to science. I love science. Admittedly, there’s a huge amount of rubbish out there in the world of research. However, I think some core overall principles are emerging that suggest how we can kick ass for as long as possible.

It’s About Quality and Longevity of Life

If you’re more of a “prepare for the zombie apocalypse” kind of person, this probably won’t be quite your speed. Equally, if you love the feeling of testing the limits of your body and mind under a barbell, over an obstacle course, or along hundreds of miles of endurance racing, please don’t let me stop you.

For the rest of us, the number of marathons we haven’t run or the size of our snatch doesn’t really matter that much. We just want to keep moving for decades to come, not get type 2 diabetes, and then not die of pneumonia after falling and breaking a hip at 85. This quality of life is easier than you think.

As everybody loves a pyramid, let me introduce you to mine.

The Great Upside-Down Movement Pyramid

Maybe the name needs some work. But it definitely works better upside down.

The Base: Sit Less

The reason this forms the base is because no matter how much you exercise, most of the benefit is lost if you spend the rest of the day sitting. There’s some interesting research behind why this is the case (inflammation, insulin resistance, etc.), but the key point is that this finding has been replicated a number of times.²

“As the amount of time spent sitting every day goes above seven to eight hours, your risk of death increases, regardless of how much exercise you do.”

Just look at this graph from a recent meta-analysis (study of many studies).³The different lines are from different studies, so focus on the average – the thick black line. As the amount of time spent sitting every day goes above seven to eight hours, your risk of death increases, regardless of how much exercise you do. Bugger.

Graph shows hazard ratio (HR) for death from any cause, adjusted for activity level. Baseline HR is 1, so an HR of 1.5 (i.e. 12 hours of sitting per day) indicates a fifty percent increase in overall risk in death.³

Summary: How to Use the Pyramid

1. Make movement a habit rather than a chore.
2. If you’re not managing to do the level above, don’t do the level below.
3. As you use more levels of the pyramid, it becomes increasingly unstable. This means you need more time to recover – eat, sleep, rest.
4. If you can’t recover better, don’t add more.
5. Don’t obsess over the details. Do what comes naturally and what you enjoy.

Combinations: Though they haven’t often been studied in a systematic way, things like fight training (boxing, martial arts, etc.) and CrossFit will often cover everything, from strength and interval training to endurance. However, if the coach at your CrossFit box has you doing soul-crushing thirty-minute metcons (metabolic conditioning workouts) every day, consider introducing him or her to the pyramid.

Disclaimer: If you have some kind of chronic disease, you should discuss various exercise regimens with your doctor. Movement can be better than medications and medical treatments, with fewer potential side effects. Some of the references here are a good place to start, including.²¹

Take a look at these related articles:

• In 2015: Move Better Than You Ever Have Before
• Walking: The Most Underrated Movement of the 21st Century
• Use Play to Become Fitter and Stronger for Longer
• What’s New on Breaking Muscle UK Today

References:

1. Haskell WL et al., “Physical activity and public health: updated recommendation for adults from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association“. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007 Aug;39(8):1423-34.

2. Biswas A et al., “Sedentary Time and Its Association With Risk for Disease Incidence, Mortality, and Hospitalization in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.” Ann Intern Med. 2015 Jan 20;162(2):123-32.

3. Chau JY et al., “Daily sitting time and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis.” PLoS One. 2013 Nov 13;8(11):e80000.

4. Hamer M and Chida Y. “Walking and primary prevention: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.” Br J Sports Med. 2008 Apr;42(4):238-43.

5. Richardson CR et al., “A meta-analysis of pedometer-based walking interventions and weight loss.” Ann Fam Med. 2008 Jan-Feb;6(1):69-77.

6. Newton RU and Galvão DA. “Exercise in prevention and management of cancer.” Curr Treat Options Oncol. 2008 Jun;9(2-3):135-46.

7. Mekary RA et al., “Weight training, aerobic physical activities, and long-term waist circumference change in men.” Obesity (Silver Spring). 2015 Feb;23(2):461-7.

8. Ruiz JR et al., “Muscular strength and adiposity as predictors of adulthood cancer mortality in men.” Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 May;18(5):1468-76.

9. Lee JJ et al., “Global muscle strength but not grip strength predicts mortality and length of stay in a general population in a surgical intensive care unit.” Phys Ther. 2012 Dec;92(12):1546-55.

10. Metcalfe RS et al., “Towards the minimal amount of exercise for improving metabolic health: beneficial effects of reduced-exertion high-intensity interval training.” Eur J Appl Physiol. 2012 Jul;112(7):2767-75.

11. Helgerud J et al., “Aerobic high-intensity intervals improve VO2 max more than moderate training.” Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007 Apr;39(4):665-71.

12. Moholdt T et al., “The higher the better? Interval training intensity in coronary heart disease.” J Sci Med Sport. 2014 Sep;17(5):506-10.

13. Tabata I et al., “Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2 max.” Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1996 Oct;28(10):1327-30.

14. Weston KS et al., “High-intensity interval training in patients with lifestyle-induced cardiometabolic disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Br J Sports Med. 2014 Aug;48(16):1227-34.

15. Matthews CE et al., “Moderate to vigorous physical activity and risk of upper-respiratory tract infection.” Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2002 Aug;34(8):1242-8.

16. Nieman DC et al., “Upper respiratory tract infection is reduced in physically fit and active adults.” Br J Sports Med. 2011 Sep;45(12):987-92.

17. O’Keefe JH et al. “Potential adverse cardiovascular effects from excessive endurance exercise“. Mayo Clin Proc. 2012 Jun;87(6):587-95.

18. Haluza D et al., “Green perspectives for public health: a narrative review on the physiological effects of experiencing outdoor nature.” Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2014 May 19;11(5):5445-61.

19. Cohen EE et al., “Rowers’ high: behavioural synchrony is correlated with elevated pain thresholds.” Biol Lett. 2010 Feb 23;6(1):106-8.

20. Thøgersen-Ntoumani C et al., “Changes in work affect in response to lunchtime walking in previously physically inactive employees: A randomized trial.” Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2015 Jan 6.

21. Walther C et al., “Regular exercise training compared with percutaneous intervention leads to a reduction of inflammatory markers and cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease.” Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil. 2008 Feb;15(1):107-12.

Photos courtesy ofShutterstock.

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