What is the difference between exercise and physical activity?
I’ve been wanting to write this post for a while now. This is because on more than one occasion I have come across similar comments from some people who come across this blog and from some of my patients in clinic.
When I suggest incorporating regular exercise into a weekly routine I often get comments that sound something like this…
- ‘Do I need to start strength training? I already lift enough heavy pots in the garden’
- ‘I already get enough exercise because I’m on my feet all day, doing the cleaning, gardening, shopping, etc.’
- ‘Looking after the grandchildren for a day or two a week is all the exercise I need’
- ‘I walk the dog twice a day, I don’t need to go to the gym’.
Is being physically active enough?
Not according to the guidelines set out by both the World Health Organisation and the UK Chief Medical Officer. They both agree that you should all be doing 2 sessions of muscle strengthening exercises per week. You should be doing this alongside physical activity.
Definitions of Exercise and Physical Activity?
The following definitions are taken from ‘Strong, Steady and Straight – An expert consensus statement on physical activity and exercises for osteoporosis’. (Their report also concludes that muscle strengthening exercises should be done 2-3 times per week alongside being physically active).
Physical activity:
‘Refers to any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that result in energy expenditure. This can be anything from walking to the shops, taking part in activities of daily living such as gardening, or taking part in occasional leisure or sporting activities’.
Exercise:
‘Defined as physical activity that is planned, structured, repetitive and purposive in the sense that improvement or maintenance of one or more components of physical fitness is an objective. This could include regular gym or exercise classes or regular and repetitive sporting activities’.
The exercise definition mentions ‘components of physical fitness’. This can refer to any of the following:
- Cardiorespiratory Fitness
- Muscular Strength
- Muscular Endurance
- Flexibility
- Body Composition
Given the title of this blog, it will be no surprise that my bias leans towards muscle strength as the focus of where your exercise time should lie. Remember, the multiple guidelines mentioned above refer specifically to muscle strengthening exercises as something we should be doing 2x per week.
What is a muscle strengthening exercise?
Simply put, a muscle strengthening exercise is one where the outcome of doing said exercise is increased muscle strength. In other words the result is that the muscle can now generate more force than it previously could.
If we go back to the definition of exercise it mentions that exercise should be:
- Planned
- Structure
- Repetitive
- Purposive
How do I make exercise result in increased muscle strength?
To achieve strength as an outcome of an exercise, you need to work a muscle group to the point you reach failure between 1-6 repetitions. (If you tried to do your next repetition, you should not be able to as your muscles do not have the energy left to complete that repetition).
With that in mind, you can see that lifting a few heavy plant pots and then digging doesn’t work the muscle in the same way. The number of repetitions you lift these pots is unlikely to be repeated sufficiently and unlikely to take you to that point of failure. These activities might be planned or structured with regards to what you need to be done to the garden. However, they’re not being planned or structured specifically to increase your muscle strength.
Sarcopenia
If you do not build strength through specific exercise it, unfortunately, means that you will be losing strength despite being physically active. This is because beyond the age of 30, but especially after 50, we are all slowly losing muscle strength. You can reverse the effects of Sarcopenia through strength training but not necessarily through physical activity alone. Please read my post on Sarcopenia – Muscle Loss with Age for more information.
I apologise if that sounds like scaremongering, that is not my intention. I only mean to give you enough information for you to think about whether you are doing enough to give you the best chance to have the active and healthy retirement you desire.
Physical Activity
This post is also not putting down physical activity. I’m not trying to say that being physically active is any less important than strength training.
Remember the all the guidelines say we need both exercise and physical activity.
Let’s look back to what the guidelines say about physical activity. Physical activity is broken down into:
- Moderate activity – 150 minutes.
- Vigorous activity – 75 minutes.
Moderate Activity
Moderate activity should result in increased breathing, but you should still have the ability to talk with ease.
Vigorous Activity
Vigorous activity should result in you finding it difficult to talk.
How much physical activity are you doing?
Next time you do anything that you consider to be physical activity, just take note of how your breathing feels and how long you do the activity for. Be honest with yourself, did you feel your breathing was increased? If not you may not be pushing yourself enough for it to count as moderate activity.
Is there any way you could challenge yourself more doing the same activities? If your spending the time to be active, you may as well be spending the same time clocking up the minutes to count towards improving your health.
Tracking your Physical Activity
There are multiple devices out there that can help you track your activity. I use the Garmin VivoActive 4. As well as counting the number of steps you take, it also determines your activity level based on your heart rate. At the end of each day, you can see how long you spent in different heart rate zones. These can be related back to moderate and vigorous activity levels. This makes it easy to add up and see if you meet the recommended guidelines.
It’s a fantastic tool to keep you motivated to continue being active.
You're Never Too Old to Lift
The last thing to remember from the infographic above is the following statement…
‘Make a start today. It’s never too late’.
You’re never too for starting or increasing your level of exercise and physical activity!
If you’re nervous about getting started or worried about the effect that doing so might have on an injury, then click below to find your free resources to help you get started.
6 Responses
Strength training is so important as we age! I am always getting on my parents to keep up their activity level
I think this is great info, and a great comparison between being active and actually exercising (building one’s strength for the long term). We had a wellness challenge at my place of work, where people got “credit” for all activity (which is a good thing), but the people in charge had all “activity” minutes on an equal measure with minutes of “physical exercise.” People were logging their minutes for everything…packing suitcases, unloading dishwasher, organizing closets, etc. I had mixed feelings on that LOL
Thanks! That’s where activity trackers that use heart rate are really useful. It stops those smaller activites like the dishwasher or folding clothes from being counted. I love an activity challenge at work though, uses peoples competitiveness in a positive way.
Love this post and all the great information. I think that sometimes it’s easy to think that exercise and physical activity are one in the same.
I love how informative this was! I totally think you need strength training along with a bit of everything else. A well rounded routine is going to incorporate some strength, cardio, and flexibility!
Thank you. Yes, theres no harm working on all elements of physical fitness to stay healthy.