ROSIE - The Sloth Effect

This is something that is so often highlighted in the media and which I read with interest because it has applied to me massively in the past.

When I was personal training full time (before the days of mother-hood!), I was often working 50 hour weeks. Not unusual, many people work hard, but these 50 hours often comprised of 10 hours training with my clients per week (running, spinning, plyometrics etc) and I had a regular 13 classes per week which I taught. Needless to say.... I was KNACKERED! My energy levels were sapped, I really struggled consume the calories to maintain my body weight and generally I felt shot to bits. If I had an hour off, I would sleep. In the evenings, I would be asleep on the sofa before I had even had dinner. So, you could say I had an extreme lifestyle. My husband jokes that I'm either in 5th gear or asleep!

However, I was reading an interesting article a couple of months ago on this theme that many elite athletes and personal trainers do the same. Such is their "job" (and for professional athletes of course this is a job) that the rest of the time they tend to slob around. So, they may train for 4 hours per day, some more, some less, but the remainder of the day is their "recovery" - i.e doing nothing. The article stated that whilst of course they got the recommended exercise level per week, the fact that they had a similar 5th gear to neutral mentality was not good for their bodies.

So, we're encouraged to be as active as possible; many of us aren't and come nowhere near the recommended activity level. Where does the sloth mentality come in? In both scenarios. The "athlete" group and the group who don't do as much exercise. What am I trying to say? We ALL need to be as active as possible. Exercise and activity are two different things; activity is just that - keeping active.

So. Put down that remote, walk to the pub, clear out the garden shed. Do some mowing. Climb the stairs. My goodness, I won't bore you but you get the gist. Get active AS WELL as doing your exercise and you're doing your body a favour!