No More Excuses Not to Exercise

No More Excuses Not to Exercise

Many people say they don’t have the time to work out. But most of us spend hours each day viewing(ˈvyo͞oiNG) screens.

By Gretchen Reynolds

If, like many of us, your New Year’s resolution(ˌrezəˈlo͞oSHən) is to find more time to exercise, you may be in luck. According to a recent study of how Americans typically spend their waking hours, almost all of us have far more leisure(ˈleZHər,ˈlēZHər) time available than we think we do.

But the study shows that few of us use even a portion(ˈpôrSHən) of that free time for physical activity, raising(rāz) thought-provoking(prəˈvōkiNG) questions about what really keeps us from exercising and how we might better shape(SHāp) our days to get ourselves moving.

At the moment, about two-thirds of Americans do not meet the standard exercise guidelines of about 30 minutes a day of moderate(ˈmäd(ə)rət) exercise, such as walking. In past studies of exercise behavior(bəˈhāvyər), when researchers have asked people why they rarely(ˈre(ə)rlē) work out, the almost-invariable(inˈve(ə)rēəbəl) response has been that time is too tight(tīt). Work, family, school, travel and other obligations(ˌäbləˈɡāSH(ə)n) seem to gobble(ˈgäbəl) up the hours, they said, leaving them feeling unable(ˌənˈābəl) to sneak(snēk) in a daily walk or a workout.

But whether we are actually too busy has not been clear. Other research has teased(tēz) the idea that we may underestimate(ˌəndərˈestəˌmāt) how many hours we spend each day seated(sēt) in a chair or how much time we devote to watching television.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/01/well/move/exercise-physical-activity-workout-time.html