Be Active Your Way!

Staying active is a key way to stay healthy and energized. But what if going to the gym isn’t your thing? Sitting too long is said to be as bad for you as smoking. What if your job requires you to sit? The good news is you can be active your way and still be healthy.

Move a little, more often
Do you have some flexibility in what you do during the day? A good approach to moving more could be to add a little activity throughout your day. Take short walks a few times each day. Get up and do some quick exercises every hour. The key is to avoid sitting for long periods of time. If you need a reminder, consider setting an alarm or a pop up on your computer.

Move a lot, less often
Sitting is bad, but your job doesn’t allow enough flexibility to avoid it – what do you do? A recent review suggests that you can reverse the down side of all that sitting with an hour or more of moderate exercise each day. Moderate means it will be an actual workout with sweat. Think of a jog instead of a leisurely walk. The only exception is for TV watching. If you spend a lot of time sitting in front of a TV (more than 5 hours a day), exercise won’t help enough to see health benefits.

Bottom Line
Don’t worry if the latest recommendation around exercise doesn’t work for you. The key is to move more. If the gym works for you, great! If a treadmill desk is your thing, go for it. Not sure if you are moving enough? Consider tracking it with an app, wearable or both.

RESOURCE:1. Ek elund, Ulf et al. Does physical activity attenuate, or even eliminate, the detrimental association of sitting time with mortality? A harmonised meta-analysis of data from more than 1 million men and women. The Lancet , Volume 388 , Issue 10051 , 1302 – 1310 

Written by Jennifer M. Roberts, MS, RD.
January 2017

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6 Ways To Stay Active in College

College life can be extremely busy between classes, work, co-op, friends, and family. Although you may be very busy, you should still find time to include exercise into your daily routine. While you are in college you tend to spend a great deal of time sitting - during class, studying, and researching and typing papers. Whenever possible, you should get up and move! Take a study break and take a 10-15 minute brisk walk. This is also a better idea than reaching for a high calorie snack.

During the winter months, it can be especially difficult to stay motivated to continue to exercise. If you are looking for ways to stay active on-campus, be sure to check out the Northeastern University Campus Recreation website. This website includes information on group fitness classes, intramural leagues, and club sports. There are many barriers as to why people are not physically active. Below are some suggestions from the Mayo Clinic as to how to avoid continuing to let these barriers get in your way of regular exercise!

BARRIER #1: NO TIME TO EXERCISE
It is not always easy, but it is important to set aside time to exercise most days during the week in order to gain the benefits of exercise. Including exercise into your day just might mean changing your daily routine.

• Fit in a short brisk walk during the day. Even if you don't have time for a full workout try to fit shorter spurts of exercise. Even ten minutes of walking spaced throughout the day can offer benefits. Many of you walk across campus throughout the day – just pick up the pace to get your heart rate up!
• Get up a little earlier. While this may sound a bit unreasonable, if your days are packed and the evening hours are just as hectic, try getting up even thirty minutes earlier a few days each week to exercise. Once you've adjusted to early morning workouts, add another day or two to the routine.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Every little bit of movement counts!

BARRIER #2: EXERCISE IS BORING
It is common to become bored with repetitive workouts day after day, especially when you workout alone but exercise doesn’t have to be boring.

• Choose activities you enjoy. You'll be more likely to stay interested if you like what you are doing. Try joining a club or intramural sport on campus!
• Change up your routine. Choose several different activities, such as Pilates, yoga, walking, swimming, jogging, and cycling, over the course of a month to keep some variety while using different muscle groups.
• Exercise with friends. You might enjoy the company while working out as well as the encouragement of others.

Why should you exercise? Being physically active is as important as watching what you eat when it comes to weight loss or weight maintenance. Plus, getting regular physical activity is one of the best things you can do for your overall health. Even a small amount of exercise is better than not exercising at all!

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Fitting in Fitness During the Winter

With assistance from Northeastern graduate student Melissa Pryputniewicz

Winter is probably one of the least popular times of year. The days are shorter, the weather is gloomy and can be brutal – sometimes it feels as though winter will never end! For many reasons, people are less active during the winter months. Some people develop mild depression during the winter while others don't want to travel in the snow or cold to go to work let alone go to the gym. Even though it would be nice to curl up and hibernate, it is important to be physically active during these chilly winter months.

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Three Easy Steps to Keeping Your Heart Healthy

With assistance from Northeastern graduate student Melissa Pryputniewicz

The heart's main function is to pump blood throughout your body. Blood brings oxygen and nutrients to your organs and carries waste products like carbon dioxide to be excreted from the body. When you think about it, the heart is a pretty important organ - and it is one that many young people take for granted.

It is very easy to think that you don’t have to start worrying about your heart health until your 40s, but the truth is that many behaviors you are engaging in now have an impact on your heart health later in life.

So, what puts you at risk for developing heart disease?

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