For most people, it’s hard to stay physically active.
And with jobs, family obligations, and other responsibilities dominating most schedules, it’s easy to see why people have a hard time fitting exercise in.
Now there may be an easy way to kick start the habit, say researchers.
According to a new study in Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, office workers who made a written commitment to stay physically active actually kept their promise–by increasing their physical activity by an average of 21 minutes a day. In turn, just writing down their goals on paper motivated them to stick to the habit, whereas others who didn’t had a harder time adopting their new routine.
For researchers, the study reveals a new way to keep people motivated.
“We used detailed EMG [electromyography] recordings to study the short-term effectiveness of simple sedentary time-targeted tailored counseling on the total physical activity spectrum,” say researchers. “Interventions targeting sedentary time are needed. A simple tailored counseling was able to reduce muscle inactivity time by 33 min, which was reallocated to 21 min of light muscle activity. During work time, average EMG [electromyography] amplitude increased by 13%, reaching an average of 1.8% of EMGMVC [electromyography force].”
The Study
When it comes to exercise, it’s clear not enough of us are doing it–but now there may be an easy fix for that.
Researchers initially began exploring how in 2011, when they recruited 48 office workers to undergo a series of tests to find ways to increase their physical activity.
At first, researchers kept tabs on their regular workday schedule, observing how often they spent physically active–which, admittedly, wasn’t high.
Afterward, researchers lectured half of the group about the dangers of staying inactive and had them sign a contract promising they would increase their physical activity. Then, for the next two weeks, researchers looked at how much their physical activity–and it increased in a big way.
For those who did not sign a contract, obviously, their exercise habits did not change. But for those who did, they decreased their inactivity time by 33 minutes and increased their light physical activity by 21 minutes on average.
The biggest changes occurred during leisure time at home.
“The study found workers who set contractual goals decreased muscle inactivity time by 33 minutes a day and increased light muscle activity by 21 minutes a day,” says Ann Lukits, a contributor to the Wall Street Journal. “The biggest differences were seen during family leisure time.”
In conclusion, researchers say these strategies could have serious benefits–especially if maintained in the future.
What You Should Do
Getting in the habit of exercise is no easy task, but now there’s an easy solution for that, say researchers–just write it down. Doing so, according to their research, increased a person’s physical activity by over 20 minutes.
Readers: How do you motivate yourself to exercise?
Sources:
To Exercise More, Sign a Contract – WSJ.com
Muscle Inactivity and Activity Patterns After Sedentary Time-Targeted Randomized Controlled Trial – NLM.NIH.gov
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