{"id":46222,"date":"2015-12-17T11:15:26","date_gmt":"2015-12-17T16:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=46222"},"modified":"2016-07-14T16:03:11","modified_gmt":"2016-07-14T20:03:11","slug":"out-of-shape-fitter-than-you-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/out-of-shape-fitter-than-you-think\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Reasons You’re Fitter Than You Think You Are"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s easy for fitness to take a backseat to ugly sweater parties<\/a>, eggnog<\/a>, long travel days<\/a> and a few too many sweets<\/a> this time of year. But instead of kicking yourself for sleeping through morning yoga again<\/em>, try focusing on what you\u2019re doing right. That 10-minute jog, or quickie strength training session<\/a> you squeezed in this week might have way bigger benefits than you\u2019d expect. Here are 10 science-backed signs your temporary holiday backslide isn\u2019t so bad.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> My Food Diary: What This Super-Fit Trainer Eats in a Day<\/a><\/p>\n

10 Science-Backed Reasons Your Fitness Slump Isn\u2019t So Bad <\/strong><\/h3>\n

1. Weekend workouts go a long way.
\n<\/strong>Social calendar packed every day after work? Don\u2019t sweat it. Even if you only make it to the gym on the weekends, you can still hit your fitness goals, according to a 2006 German study<\/a>. Just make those sessions a little longer. Researchers found that people who fit in intense 75-minute workouts both days of the weekend had the same endurance gains as those who worked out at the same intensity for 30 minutes, five days a week. Phew. <\/em><\/p>\n

2. Twenty minutes on the yoga mat still counts.
\n<\/strong>You can still reap the health benefits of yoga<\/a> even if you can\u2019t manage to power through an hour of chaturangas. Consider this: Just 20 minutes of Hatha yoga<\/a> could help your brain function better, according to a 2013 study<\/a> in the Journal of Physical Activity & Health<\/em>. After 20 minutes of yoga, the study\u2019s undergrad students had quicker reaction times and increased accuracy in a cognitive test<\/a> than they did after 20 minutes of walking or jogging on a treadmill.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> The 11 Best Yoga Apps to Get Fit on the Cheap<\/a><\/p>\n

“Two minutes of light-intensity movement every hour is enough to see a benefit.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

3. One day of weight training isn\u2019t <\/em>a waste.
\n<\/strong>Worried your hard-earned muscles are wasting away? (You\u2019re not alone<\/a>.) While we\u2019re big believers in strength training regularly, it\u2019s not the end of the world if you can only fit in one lift this week. According to one study<\/a> of people over 60, strength training once a week can be just as effective as twice a week. Participants who performed a set of strength exercises once a week saw equal increases in their leg press, leg extension, leg curl, chest fly, arm curl and seated dip one-rep maxes compared to those who performed the same set of exercises twice a week.<\/p>\n

4. Party duties can replace your power walk.
\n<\/strong>Decking the halls with boughs of holly might burn more calories<\/a> than you\u2019d expect. Stocking up to host a holiday party? Thirty minutes of grocery shopping with a cart can burn 105 calories or more. Cooking for that party? That\u2019s at least another 75 calories. And if you spend an hour vacuuming or mopping<\/a> before or after company arrives, you\u2019re going to burn about 150 calories.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> This Is How Many Calories You\u2019re Burning in an Hour<\/a><\/p>\n

5. Three hardcore minutes of sweat might be all you need.
\n<\/strong>While you should aim for 30 minutes of exercise a day<\/a> \u2014\u00a0even as little as 30 minutes a week can lead to improved endurance and fitness, according to one very encouraging recent study<\/a>. The best part? Only three<\/em> minutes <\/em>of that needs to be all-out work. Study participants rode stationary bikes for 10 minutes, three times a week. They did a two-minute warm-up; three, 20-second all-out sprints followed by two minutes of slow recovery; and a three-minute cool down. After six weeks, their endurance capacity increased by an average of 12 percent, and they also saw improvements in blood pressure levels and overall fitness.<\/p>\n

6. You\u2019re making the most of the mistletoe.
\n<\/strong>Pucker up: A recent study<\/a> of young, healthy couples found that sexual activity can sometimes qualify as exercise. In the name of science, couples wore portable fitness trackers while getting it on so researchers could understand how much energy they expended. The results? People burned approximately 85 calories and their energy expenditure was clocked as \u2018moderate intensity.\u2019 And hey, it\u2019s more fun than the elliptical.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> Trainers Tell All: Their Best Active Dates<\/a><\/p>\n

7. You\u2019re standing two minutes every hour.
\n<\/strong>Getting off your butt, even if it\u2019s just for a short walk to the other side of the office, could give you significant protection against \u201csitting disease<\/a>,\u201d a recent study<\/a> finds. Two minutes of light-intensity movement every hour is enough to see a benefit, according to the research findings.<\/p>\n

8. You take the bus to work<\/strong>.
\n<\/span>The Earth will thank you \u2014 and so will your body. People who take public transit are three times more likely than those who drive to meet the suggested daily minimum of physical activity, according to researchers at the University of British Columbia<\/a>. Unless there happens to be a bus stop right outside your door, most people have to walk to their pick-up point, which in many cases can add up to 30 minutes on either end of a daily commute. Bonus points if you get off at an earlier stop to get in some extra leg work!<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> The Easiest 5K and 10K Training Plan Ever (Walking Allowed)<\/a><\/p>\n

9. You jogged a mile (or less!).
\n<\/strong>When time is precious, it\u2019s probably nice to hear that just five to 10 minutes of jogging at less than a 10-minute per mile pace is still good for your heart, according to a recent large study<\/a> of middle-aged men and women. Joggers had a 30 percent lower risk of dying of any cause during the study\u2019s 15 years of follow up, compared to non-joggers. They also had a 45 percent lower risk of dying from a heart-related problem and gained three years of life expectancy. Plus, another study<\/a> found that jogging may be even more beneficial than faster running when it comes to upping your life expectancy.<\/p>\n

10. You\u2019re getting your daily recommended dose of exercise amidst the cookies.
\n<\/strong>Even if you\u2019re used to clocking longer workouts, you\u2019re still way ahead of the pack<\/a> if your schedule finds you squeezing in just 30 minutes of moderate intensity<\/a> exercise five days a week. That\u2019s what the American Heart Association<\/a> recommends for heart health, and a 2011 study<\/a> found that that much physical activity per week can lower the risk of heart disease by 14 percent. Remember: The influx of Christmas cookies in your life is temporary \u2014 but a habit like this one has much longer lasting benefits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you feel like you\u2019ve fallen off the fitness wagon this holiday season, fear not. Even the little things you\u2019re doing are helping your body more than you\u2019d imagine. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,6],"tags":[288,289,103,281,341,370],"class_list":["post-46222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exercise","category-fitness","tag-cardio","tag-exercise","tag-motivation","tag-strength-training","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2healthy-aging"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46222\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}