Vanessa M. Kercher, Ph.D., SSC, M.Ed., BESS |
Oct.
21, 2019
How do you stay physically active when you’ve got a full-time job, family and a never-ending to-do list? In the September/October 2019 issue of ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal® Lisa Ferguson-Stegall, Ph.D., FACSM and Jennifer Dysterheft Robb, Ph.D., describe strategies to increase activity at home and work.
Find creative options on how to incorporate activity breaks into sitting time at work and at home.
The other day a student who started her master’s degree (focused in Public Health) expressed excitement about all the courses she was enrolled in despite the overwhelming loads of information she processes daily while trying to balance time to study, work, sleep and remain sane!
We are all faced with daily challenges that keep us from engaging in consistent physical activity whether you’re a student or a director of an organization. Rather than focusing on how to make more time, think about how you can encourage clients/patients you work with to change their approach to activity.
For starters, throw out the idea that to be active you have to go to the gym for an hour or more or that you need a weight room to strength train. In other words, encourage your clients/patients to change their perception of what it means to be active and to stop believing that if they aren’t active for longer than an hour at a gym, it doesn’t count.
Instead, think creatively with your clients about how to find opportunities to move (OTM) at work and at home. Identify times throughout the day to accumulate short bursts of movement to start and if they’re successful add in some more specific goals related to time and intensity. The behavior is what we’re aiming to improve when we’re unintentionally encouraged to be sedentary daily.
Learn more by reading the full article “Effective Strategies to Increase Physical Activity in the Working Years" in the September/October 2019 issue of ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal®.
Article based on: Ferguson-Stegall L, Robb JD. Effective strategies to increase physical activity in the working years ACSMs Health Fit J. 2019; 23 (5):26-33
Author:
Vanessa M. Kercher, Ph.D., SSC, M.Ed., BESS, is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Kinesiology Department for the School of Public Health at Indiana University. Dr. Kercher's research passion focuses on helping individuals optimize their physical activity experiences to promote sustainable, positive health behaviors. She serves as the digital editor of
ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal®.
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