Just a Few Extra Steps Make All the Difference

One woman walked laps around the soccer field instead of sitting on the sidelines during her child’s practice. A man began walking to colleagues’ offices instead of always phoning them. Another man stopped driving to restaurants for lunch and started walking to lunch instead.

These were some of the small changes that added up to major health benefits for participants in Project Active, a two-year study comparing the effects of “lifestyle” activity with those of traditional gym workouts. Researchers at the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas randomly assigned 235 sedentary men and women into one of two groups:

* A “lifestyle” group that learned behavioral skills to help them gradually fit more physical activity into their daily routines.

* A “structured” group that used a fitness center to do traditional forms of vigorous exercise such as aerobics, swimming, stair climbing and walking.

The results, published in January in the Journal of the American Medical Assn., suggest that lifestyle activity is as effective as a structured exercise program in improving health. For example, both groups decreased body fat by “about one clothing size . . . 2.4% for the lifestyle group and 1.9% for the structured group,” notes the study’s lead author, exercise psychologist Andrea Dunn.

Systolic blood pressure dropped 3.6% in the lifestyle group and 3.3% in the structured group; diastolic blood pressure dropped 5.4% in the lifestyle group and 5.1% in the structured group.

“This is good news for people whose barriers to exercise may include lack of time, lack of access to facilities or dislike of vigorous exercise,” says Dunn.

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Adopting a positive habit like exercise can be as tough as breaking a bad one like smoking, notes Dunn, who says one of the most powerful tools used by the lifestyle group was a small, clip-on step counter that helped people keep track of how many steps they had taken each day. “We recommended a goal of 10,000 steps per day,” she says. “Many people would check their step counter at noon, see how many steps they’d taken, and plan the rest of their day accordingly.”

Another helpful strategy was having people record the amount of time they spent sitting each day and the amount of time they were active, then brainstorming ways to sit less and move more. Setting goals also motivated many people.

To add more movement to your life, here’s a starter list of strategies:

* Don’t use the nearest bathroom. Use one that requires you to walk a bit, preferably up or down some stairs.

* Balance on one foot while brushing your teeth. Balance on the other foot while combing your hair.

* Park in the farthest space.

* Play actively with your kids. Strap on a pair of in-line skates; join in their karate class; get off your bench, and swing, climb, hang, slide.

* Hide your TV remote.

* Never take an elevator fewer than three flights--take the stairs.

* Get rid of your electric can opener.

* Turn your coffee break into a walk break. Walk to a distant vending machine, cafeteria or coffee shop for a healthy snack.

* Stretch or walk while you’re talking on a cordless phone.

* Set an “activity timer” or program your computer to remind you to take periodic walking and / or stretching breaks.

* Wait actively. If you’re forced to wait for an airplane, hairdresser, dentist, doctor, restaurant table etc., take a walk.

* Don’t automatically drive. If the cleaners is across the parking lot from the bank, walk there. (Wear decent walking shoes or keep a good pair in your car.)

* Take a minute to stretch your arms, legs, back, shoulders and neck whenever you get up from sitting or lying down.

* Sweep your patio and / or front walk every day.

* During TV commercials, get up and walk or get down and stretch.

* Socialize actively. Instead of sitting and talking, go for a walk with family or friends. Or go bowling, play pingpong, basketball or bocce ball, or line dance.

* Keep your favorite mug on a very low shelf, so you’ll have to squat to get it out and put it back.

* Take your dog for a walk every day. If you don’t have a dog, borrow your neighbor’s, or just walk your “inner dog.”

* Practice “aerobic shopping” by taking a lap around the mall or supermarket before you go into a store or put an item in your cart.

* Practice good posture when you’re forced to wait in line. Stand firmly on both feet and try to raise the top of your head to touch an imaginary hand held a quarter-inch above you.

* Install a chin-up bar in a convenient doorway, then use it often to chin-up, pull-up or simply hang.