MOVE MORE, SIT LESS: RESOLVE NOW

Approaching Times Square New York City in a tour bus, like we are now approaching New Year's Eve.

MAKE AND ACCOMPLISH EARLY RESOLUTIONS BEFORE JANUARY 1, 2017
Do you excitedly anticipate BUT also dread the coming of 2017? Does the feeling come from acknowledging there are areas in your life that need to change in order to improve health?  “Your 14-Day Plan to Walk More Steps” by Eric Taylor for MyFitnessPlan.com gives a wonderful way to incrementally boost your physical activity in 3 plans at low to intermediate levels that each extend over 2 weeks.
 
1) Off-the-Couch Beginner: starts with 3000 steps, increases 500 steps/day
2) Beginner/Intermediate: starts with 5000 steps, increases 750 steps/day
3) Intermediate: starts with 7000 steps, increases 1000 steps/day
 
Taylor has a suggestion for those who graduate from the highest (intermediate) level plan at the end of his article; I won’t give it away here.
 
PRE-NEW YEAR RESOLUTION: EASIER ‘DO-IT-YOURSELF’ PLAN to live a healthier more active life before January 1, 2017. It might AMAZE you how much ‘stepping’ can occur OUTSIDE OF PLANNED EXERCISE! This reinforces experts cautions that to lead a healthy life, non-sitting physical activity must extend throughout the day and NOT BE CONFINED to a 20-45minute planned walk, run, or cycle.
 
Another MyFitnessPal.com article, “Is Sitting truly the New Smoking?” written by Aleisha Fetters, earlier this fall, discusses research which indicates that health risks associated with sitting can be decreased and possibly eliminated by increasing activity throughout the day.

The specific Lancet research paper is a re-analysis of a number of other studies and did not generate new scientific data, but it encourages us NOT TO DESPAIR if we cannot quit our desk jobs. We try can move more even if we cannot completely leave behind lifestyles that threaten to jeopardize our health.
 
Resolve between now and January 1, 2017 to INCREASE the steps you take outside of your planned exercise running or walking (unscientifically speaking, taking more steps may indicate that you are sitting less).
 
Step counts come from a combination of those taken while walking/running in formal exercise and those taken as a course of normal life activities. Determine the average number you cover on most days of the week for 3 weeks. Each week, like Olympic judges do when evaluating swimming dives or skating routines, disregard the lowest and highest count days. That leaves 5 days to average; add each day’s steps and divide by 5 to get the average count/day in each week. Then add the average steps/day for each of the 3 weeks and divide by 3.
 
If you have been fairly consistent in using a step counter you can calculate with that existing information. If you have not used such a monitor, get a counter (there are free phone apps) and plan to take the next 3 weeks to record them. Then calculate as the EXAMPLE shows below.
 
After you have identified the average number of steps taken each day, as Taylor suggests, on December 1 you can start the first 2-week period aiming to increase step count at a low level.
 
FOR ME, 500 steps/day would be the equivalent of one quarter mile (one standard track lap). In the first 4 days I would be increasing steps by the equivalent of 1 mile/day; after 8 days by 2 miles/day, and after 12 days by 3 miles/day. After a full 2 weeks, my steps would have increased the distance covered by 3.5 miles/day.  
 
The commitment to increase steps 500/day may be too much to add to an already busy day, without including miles you cover during planned exercise. To insure perseverance, you might start with adding 100/day or 250/day. If you achieve this goal count you can progress as you wish or maintain the newly increased level. 
 
November 9-30: Use this time to determine your average step count if you don’t have that info.
December 1-14: Add 100, 250, 500, or 750 steps each day
December 15-29: Maintain the higher level or add 250, 500, 750, or 1000 steps/day if able
December 30-31: Maintain and ENJOY the accomplishment, and the lead-up to New Year’s Eve!
 
Example of calculating steps/day over 3 weeks
Week 1:           Week 2            Week 3
Monday           4000*              5000*              4000*
Tuesday           3000                2000                2000
Wednesday     2000                1000                1000
Thursday         5000*              7000*              6000*
Friday              1000                1000                1000
Saturday+        10,000X*         11,000X*         12,000X* (high value, not’ counted
Sunday            1000X              1000X              1000X (low value, not counted)
TOTAL 7 day    26,000             28,000             27,000
Total 5 day      15,000             16,000             14,000
Divided by 5 = 3,000              3,200               2,800
 
*If these are your run/walk exercise days, keep these runs/walks in your schedule, they will be additional steps.
 
Add weekly average of each week: 3,000 + 3,200 + 2,800 = 9,000
Divided by 3 weeks = 3000 steps/day over 3 weeks
Average steps/day = 3000 steps/day
 
Example of adding 100 steps/day over 2 weeks; at base 3000;
Week 1:                       Week 2           
Monday           3100+Run                    3800+ Run      
Tuesday           3200                            3900               
Wednesday     3300                            4000               
Thursday         3400 +Run                   4100+ Run                  
Friday              3500                            4200               
Saturday          3600+Run                    4300+Run
Sunday            3700                            4400
Total 7 Day      23,800 + 3 runs           28,700+ 3 runs
 
Example of adding 250 steps/day over 2 weeks; at base 3000;
Week 1:                       Week 2           
Monday           3250+Run                    5000+Run       
Tuesday           3500                            5250               
Wednesday     3750                            5500               
Thursday         4000+Run                    5750+Run                   
Friday              4250                            6000               
Saturday          4500+Run                    6250+Run
Sunday            4750                            6500
Total 7 Day      28,000 + 3 runs           40,250 + 3 runs
 
The Taylor article has the charts constructed for adding 500, 750, and 1000 steps per day. He provides a quote near the end of the piece that I particularly like without an attribution:
”If it is important to you ,you will find a way. If not, you will find an excuse”.
 
 RUN HAPPY!
 
http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/14-day-plan-walk-steps/?user_id=194774093802557
 
http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/sitting-truly-new-smoking/
 
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)30370-1/fulltext