Hot Off The Press #17 - Fitness Issue
Fitness Habits and Fads, Workplace Fitness, Belly Fat and Happiness
Hello StrongHealth Readers
In this Friday's “Hot Off The Press” edition, I focus on fitness news. Fitness is more than just a physical state; it's a lifestyle choice that ripples through every aspect of our life. From improved mental health and cognitive function to increased energy levels and a stronger immune system, the benefits are far-reaching and undeniable. It's not about whether you want to do it, but about the critical need of exercise to the proper function of your body.
In This Issue:
The Workplace Fitness Challenge
How To Make Exercise a Habit
Exercise May Result in Healthier Types of Belly Fat
Seniors Who Exercise Are Happier
Why People Fall For Fitness Fads
1. The Workplace Fitness Challenge
A workplace fitness challenge can be a game-changer for employee morale, productivity, and overall well-being. In today's fast-paced work environment, it's easy for employees to neglect their health. A fitness challenge can provide a fun and motivating way to encourage physical activity and foster a sense of community within the workplace. By participating in a challenge—even just 15 minutes daily—employees generally report improvements in fitness (14%), energy (12%), overall health (8%), sleep quality (8%), and mood (7.1%). Additionally, a healthier workforce can lead to lower healthcare costs and increased productivity for the company.
Things don’t have to get complicated either, as there are many different types to choose from, such as step challenges, workout challenges, or healthy eating challenges. The key is to select an option that’s accessible to all employees and that aligns with the company's goals.
For more information on how to implement a workplace fitness challenge, check out this helpful resource: Wellsteps.com
2. How To Make Exercise a Habit
Conventional wisdom often suggests that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. This notion, although popular, lacks solid research. Recent studies on habit formation used machine learning to track thousands of participants and uncover how quickly a behavior change might turn into a habit.
This shouldn’t be surprising, but it takes about six months or more before people develop a habit of regular gym attendance. That’s because this particular habit requires effort and patience in seeing results. People have to set realistic expectations with regular exercise and realize that consistency is paramount to meet goals. If you expect to become a committed exerciser in less time, you might be setting yourself up for disappointment. Instead, focus on the long-term process of habit formation.
Read study here: USNews.com
3. Exercise May Result in Healthier Types of Belly Fat
Overweight or obese people who exercise regularly over a long period of time may have healthier belly fat, compared to people who don’t exercise.
That’s according to the results of a new study published in the journal Nature Metabolism. The researchers defined regular, long-term exercise as at least four times per week for at least 2 years.
“Our findings indicate that in addition to being a means to expend calories, exercising regularly for several months to years seems to modify your fat tissue in ways that allows you to store it more healthfully if or when you do experience some weight gain – as nearly everyone does as we get older,” researcher Jeffrey Horowitz, PhD said in a statement.
Read more here: MedicaNewsToday
4. Seniors Who Exercise Are Happier
Older adults who consistently get up early and remain active throughout the day are happier and perform better on cognitive tests than those with irregular activity patterns, according to a new study led by University of Pittsburgh researchers.
The analysis showed that 37.6% of participants rose early in the morning, stayed active throughout the day and had consistent daily routines. Those same adults were happier, less depressed and had better cognitive function than other participants.
Read more here: Science Daily
5. Why People Fall For Fitness Fads
Think back on some of the crazy things people used to call fitness. There is this constant cycle of exercise trends mostly because there’s the need to keep creating new products and flashy experiences for people to give up significant portions of their time, energy, and maybe a little bit of dignity, before moving on to the next thing.
There’s always something that’s in vogue (like Peloton a few years ago, and SoulCycle a little before that, and CrossFit a little before that). But that’s the thing about fitness trends: They constantly ebb and flow, often by design. It’s a crowded marketplace that constantly sells a different experience or different packaging to attract interest. These aren’t always the best products, but marketers know people look for gimmicks and industry is more than happy to oblige.
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