We’ve always championed realistic New Year Resolution’s goals, but this year we want to make it even easier! As you explore setting exercise goals in the New Year, we challenge you to eliminate barriers by thinking of exercise like potato chips. In a recent article in Thrive Global, Excy founder and CEO Michele Mehl captured an easier way to introduce snack-sized daily portions of exercise into our schedules to battle stress and burnout and to improve overall health.
For decades, we’ve been sold memberships and classes with the idea that we need 45-60 minute workouts or it just wasn’t worth the effort. We’ve also convinced ourselves that a short run or bike ride just wasn’t worth the time. In this “all or nothing” mindset, the choice to exercise can feel hard and it’s too easy to say ‘not today’, especially if someone is super busy or struggles with limited mobility due to an injury, disability, or chronic health condition. The great news is that research shows that peppering mini-workouts, especially burst of vigorous exercise, not only counts, but it can play a significant role in reducing the risk of, or preventing, chronic disease.
As the article points out, for the first time in 10 years, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released new Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, once again calling out just how short many of us fall in maintaining a physically active lifestyle (80 percent failure rate to meet the minimum requirement to fight preventable disease). Previous guidelines suggested that physical activity had to occur in bouts of at least 10 minutes. However, the new guidelines demonstrate that even a brief episode of physical activity, like climbing up a few flights of stairs, counts towards counts towards your total volume of physical activity for the day. The new guidelines call for 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity each week, along with at least two days a week of muscle strengthening exercises. Adults with chronic conditions and disabilities, who are able, are encouraged to follow the same guidelines and to avoid inactivity if they can’t meet the guidelines.\
From cardio and strength training to range of motion and isometric exercises, Excy makes it easy to safely cycle your whole self strong anywhere, anytime. Snacking on exercise where you live, work, and play has never been easier on your schedule or your joints. We have an extensive library of on-demand and live recumbent exercise bike, upper body ergometer, unicycle, upright bike, bed exercises and more. Videos on proper mechanics from physical therapists help get you started and a mobile coaching application is available 24 hours per day for your whole household. Whether you’re an athlete, just starting your fitness journey, or living with limited mobility due to illness or an injury, Excy has workouts for all fitness levels and goals.
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