Many adults are probably suffering from a lack of exercise due to continued working from home as a measure to prevent infections with the new coronavirus. As a sports reporter, I've met many athletes and I've been seeing and hearing about their struggles to keep in shape during this situation. As using gyms and other sports facilities is strongly discouraged or limited, I decided to test myself whether I, while working from home, could achieve "8,000 steps a day" as recommended by the Japan Sports Agency.
I live with my husband, who goes to work almost every day, and our 1-year-old daughter. I work while taking care of my daughter and doing household chores at the same time, so it is difficult to get out of the house. Based on the "My Sports Program" for women posted on the agency's website, I woke up at 6:30 a.m. and started the challenge.
First, I did 30 sit-ups as planned. While my daughter was dancing to a children's TV program that started at 8 a.m., I danced along with her with all my might. The activity tracker I just bought showed an increase of 250 steps.
Then, I checked news and athletes' social media on the computer and joined an online press conference at 8:30 a.m. While keeping my daughter from touching the computer, I listened to Keisuke Honda, a former Japan national soccer team member, who was in Brazil. While writing articles, I took a break and did some exercises, such as squats and raising and lowering my heels. In the afternoon, I added 1,300 steps by taking a walk with my daughter, the only time I left the house.
In the evening, I again exercised with my daughter to a TV program. I also exercised to a 1-minute dance created by the Japan Sports Agency. As of 4:45 p.m., my steps totaled 4,226. I intended to make up the shortfall by moving my body after my daughter was off to bed, but as I was dealing with work that needed to get done, it was soon past midnight, the date had changed, and my one-day total ended up being 5,778 steps.
As the amount of steps did not reach the goal even though I was very conscious of it, I asked an official at the Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital for a solution. This was the advice: "The ideal of the ideal is 8,000 steps. First, let's aim for 4,000 steps and five minutes of moderate-to-intense exercise."
Moderate-to-intense exercise means moving with an intensity that makes it impossible to sing but possible to converse, and the movement can be anything from walking briskly, cleaning the bathroom to wiping the floor, the combined total of which, even intermittently, takes at least five minutes, according to the official.
I can't imitate athletes, but I can probably manage some exercises, each of which takes a few minutes or tens of seconds.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
