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Some people in those countries have adopted modern life: factory foods and drinks and more sedentary lifestyles and diets. Chronic disease is increasing among them.
Americans are advised to go to gyms or otherwise "workout" because of their lifestyles and diets. They are more sedentary and consume factory foods and drinks. They overeat and are more stressed. And chronically sicker.
As I said, the healthiest people in the world move continuously throughout the day, e.g., they take the stairs, they walk or bike almost everywhere, have low to moderate impact activities like gardening, for example. They don't use gyms or workout sessions. They eat a nutrient-rich diet and prepare their own meals from scratch.
You're conflating many different factors. Americans are not unhealthy because they're told to go to the gym. They're unhealthy because they don't exercise and eat highly caloric foods. Going to the gym (or running) will only improve health outcomes for the vast majority of Americans if they actually do it.
People in Sardinia and various Aegean Greek Islands and Japan go to the gym too. I think you're imagining something in your head of them all living like primitive mountain shepherds, traveling with their sheep huge distances and only eating food they grow or kill.
Of course, in Europe and many places, people walk more to accomplish their day in and day out activities. And then there is the diet in those areas - olive oil, fish, lamb, greek yogurt (high protein), etc. Of course they eat junk too. In Japan there are 711s on every corner. But they do so in more moderation.
Walking IS cardio exercise, and there is very little disagreement about this. Do a google search.
The video I posted said about 10,000 steps is optimal for health, and more will not add benefit. And they DO NOT say the steps have to be running.
10,000 steps a day is an arbitrary recommendation by the CDC. It amounts to 5miles a day, the average American only gets 3,000 steps a day.
There is no magic number of steps a day that is optimal. It depends on you, your genetics, lifestyle factors, and diet. If you have a habit of eating at cheesecake factory every day, you will need more than 10,000 steps a day to control your weight.
And like I said, walking is not considered as exercise by the vast majority of people who aren't ancient, or morbidly obese or couch potatoes. This is not something you can argue, this is actually a subjective distinction to what is and what is not exercise. My rule of thumb it needs to be substantially harder than what you normally do.
There is nothing wrong with going to the gym, but it takes time and costs money and you probably have to drive there. A busy stressed out person without a lot of money probably won't bother. But they COULD EASILY go out and take a walk. With about the same benefit as the gym.
How would walking confer the same benefits as strength training? Are you going to build muscles in your chest, back, arms, shoulders walking? Hell, most people won't build muscle in their legs just walking.
How do you expect to increase your aerobic fitness by walking when you will never challenge your fitness capacity - unless you're horribly out of shape? If you can have a leisurely conversation doing an activity, you're not pushing the boundaries of your V02 max, therefore there is no incentive for it to get better.
Maybe your goals are not to build more muscle or to increase your cardiovascular fitness, but for others it is and that is why they do more than just walking.
Last edited by WaikikiWaves; 12-21-2023 at 10:42 AM..
There is plenty of evidence that "cardio only" is inadvisable.
I know plenty of people who honestly believe they are getting a good workout without resistance exercise. But I think those people are misinformed.
We need all of it - diet, cardio, and resistance. Then as we grow older (that's me) we should add balance and flexibility exercise to our routines.
10,000 steps a day is an arbitrary recommendation by the CDC. It amounts to 5miles a day, the average American only gets 3,000 steps a day.
There is no magic number of steps a day that is optimal. It depends on you, your genetics, lifestyle factors, and diet. If you have a habit of eating at cheesecake factory every day, you will need more than 10,000 steps a day to control your weight.
And like I said, walking is not considered as exercise by the vast majority of people who aren't ancient, or morbidly obese or couch potatoes. This is not something you can argue, this is actually a subjective distinction to what is and what is not exercise. My rule of thumb it needs to be substantially harder than what you normally do.
The video I linked explains that 10,000 steps was chosen arbitrarily, but afterwards was verified by research.
And if the vast majority of people do not consider walking as exercise that is their mistake! They are wrong. As I said before, they have been misled by the medical industry.
Walking IS EXERCISE, and exercise experts will verify this.
I do not care what the vast majority think about walking. It would be GREAT if that misconception could be corrected. Walking prevents obesity and metabolic syndrome and the most common diseases.
And 10,000 steps, or 5 miles, seems to be optimal. And the professor in that video studied primitive tribes (who live how we evolved to live) and they did around 10 to 18 thousand steps a day.
Increasing the amount of exercise does not seem to increase benefit after some point.
How would walking confer the same benefits as strength training? Are you going to build muscles in your chest, back, arms, shoulders walking? Hell, most people won't build muscle in their legs just walking.
How do you expect to increase your aerobic fitness by walking when you will never challenge your fitness capacity - unless you're horribly out of shape? If you can have a leisurely conversation doing an activity, you're not pushing the boundaries of your V02 max, therefore there is no incentive for it to get better.
Maybe your goals are not to build more muscle or to increase your cardiovascular fitness, but for others it is and that is why they do more than just walking.
You are wrong. Do some online research.
For upper body strength you need to do some weights. Or carry stuff around in your everyday life. I walk to the store every day and carry the groceries back. And I also do some weights and stretching.
Walking is definitely enough. You can walk fast and greatly increase heart rate and breathing.
You are wrong. Ask the exercise experts. Watch the video I linked. Do something other than keep on repeating the medical industry misinformation.
There is plenty of evidence that "cardio only" is inadvisable.
I know plenty of people who honestly believe they are getting a good workout without resistance exercise. But I think those people are misinformed.
We need all of it - diet, cardio, and resistance. Then as we grow older (that's me) we should add balance and flexibility exercise to our routines.
Sure, all that is good. But there is limited time in the day. I would make basic cardio the first priority for every day, to prevent metabolic syndrome. Then do all the rest when you get the time.
You're conflating many different factors. Americans are not unhealthy because they're told to go to the gym.
Huh? I never said they were. How ridiculous.
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They're unhealthy because they don't exercise and eat highly caloric foods.
That is what I said. Modern American lifestyles are more sedentary and they either overeat or eat low-nutrient diets by replacing high-nutrient foods with junk foods (low-nutrient foods), or both.
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Going to the gym (or running) will only improve health outcomes for the vast majority of Americans if they actually do it.
It's not the only way as evidenced by healthier groups in the world that don't do it. The point and the topic of this thread is that humans don't have to do that to experience much less chronic disease than Americans do.
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People in Sardinia and various Aegean Greek Islands and Japan go to the gym too. I think you're imagining something in your head of them all living like primitive mountain shepherds, traveling with their sheep huge distances and only eating food they grow or kill.
No, not something I imagined. The healthiest and longest-living groups in Blue Zones ARE living relatively primitive lifestyles if primitive means they are walking everywhere, AND raising their own food or acquiring it from local sources. None are traveling great distances on foot.
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Of course, in Europe and many places, people walk more to accomplish their day in and day out activities. And then there is the diet in those areas - olive oil, fish, lamb, greek yogurt (high protein), etc. Of course they eat junk too.
No kidding. That is what I have been saying. The healthiest groups---those with much less chronic disease incidences---have lifestyles that require them to continuously move throughout the day. No running unless they have to, and no gyms. People with no chronic disease, or much less than Americans, are not routinely eating junk foods.
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In Japan there are 711s on every corner. But they do so in more moderation.
The Japanese are now seeing rising obesity and chronic illness...because some people are abandoning their traditonal lifestyles and traditional diets in favor of low-nutrient Western junk and fast foods. It has been happening in many countries.
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