In a few days, it will be May Day International Labor Day, referred to as May Day. It is a common holiday for working people all over the world, and the origin of Labor Day actually originated from the workers' strike in Chicago, USA. On May 1886, 5, more than 1,20 workers in Chicago went on strike for an eight-hour workday, and after a bloody struggle, they finally won. To commemorate this workers' movement, on July 1889, 7, the Congress of Socialists, convened by Marxists from all over the world, was solemnly opened in Paris, France. The delegates unanimously agreed to make May 14 a common holiday for the international proletariat. On the occasion of such a special holiday, the author also wants to talk to you about the relationship between labor and sports.
First, non-manual workers need to increase their daily physical activities
With the change of lifestyle, there are fewer and fewer people who work manually. According to research data, in 1970, 20% of Americans needed only light physical activity similar to desk work, and about 30% required higher physical expenses such as moving bricks and farming. By 2003, nearly 60 percent of adults were working on computers. At home, watching TV and mobile phones from the comfort of the sofa is the most common way of leisure today. In addition to lifestyle changes, our surroundings also make us passively reduce the amount of time we spend physically active. For example, our workplaces, schools, homes, and some public spaces are becoming more compact and accessible, and transportation is becoming easier, which is minimizing our activity time. These changes have a double effect on our behavior: moving less and sitting more.
From an evolutionary point of view, human beings are supposed to be constantly moving—including all kinds of movement, and engaging in various forms of physical labor every day, which are necessary for the survival of our species. From the perspective of pathogenesis, sedentary and inactive behavior is closely related to the increase of waist circumference and BMI, and sedentary inactivity can increase the incidence of metabolic syndrome by 73%, which can lead to about 6% of coronary heart disease, 7% of type 2 diabetes, 9% of premature death, 10% of breast cancer and 10% of colon cancer. Therefore, as a non-manual worker and no exercise habits, you may need to consciously increase your daily physical activity. For example, on the way to and from work, you can leave the last part of the day to the long-lost and most familiar exercise method - walking; At work, choose to go to the office of colleagues to communicate with colleagues face-to-face instead of online conversations; On the lower floors, choose to climb stairs instead of taking the elevator; When going to the lounge or bathroom, you can choose a longer path to extend the walking distance; When answering the phone, you can stand or talk while pacing, and so on. All in all, for non-manual workers, whether physical or other forms of physical activity, it is better to be active than sedentary.
Second, can manual work replace exercise?
Participation in physical work is also a form of increased physical activity, but can physical labor really replace exercise?
1. Physical labor consumes calories but does not necessarily help lose weight
Physical work can indeed help burn body calories, if different housework is converted into the number of walking steps at a speed of 3 km / h, doing 15 minutes of wiping and dusting is equivalent to walking 937 steps, 15 minutes of hand washing clothes is equivalent to walking 1400 steps, 15 minutes of mopping is equivalent to walking 1600 steps, and 15 minutes of car washing is equivalent to walking 2370 steps. Doing housework does consume calories, so is it possible to lose weight while doing housework? Researchers have tracked the weight of people who use housework as a form of exercise and those who exercise in traditional ways. It was found that the more time they spent doing housework as physical activity, the more weight they weighed. Comparing the weight of the two groups, it was also found that those who used housework as a way to lose weight were heavier. So why aren't people who seem to do a lot of housework as thin as expected? Researchers analyzed that those who use housework as a way of exercise often overestimate the intensity and duration of housework, and also overestimate the calories consumed by housework, and because they psychologically feel that they should naturally eat more because they work so much, it will also cause uncontrolled intake. In fact, the calorie consumption of housework is not so large, such as manual sweeping for 20 minutes, burning about 130 calories, while 30 minutes of high-intensity exercise on a stationary bicycle can consume about 400 calories. The efficiency of the two is very different, so it seems that it takes a long time to work, but it actually contributes little to the calories burned, and it is difficult to lose weight just by doing housework.
2. Physical labor may bring more strain
Due to the characteristics of the occupation, the movements of physical labor are relatively single, and the burden on the muscles of all parts of the body is uneven; However, various sports can purposefully allow the whole body muscles to be active, especially to strengthen the exercise of the less active parts of the work, which can accelerate the recovery of tired muscles. Most of the physical work belongs to anaerobic exercise, which has a certain effect on improving muscle strength and endurance, and the exercise of cardiopulmonary function is insufficient; There are also some physical work is aerobic physical activity, compared with sedentary, it also has certain benefits for improving cardiopulmonary function, but most of them are not as good as long-term, systematic running, swimming, mountaineering, skipping rope and other aerobic exercises. Physical labor often does not consider the law of human joints and muscle movement in action, and the result of long-term labor is not only beneficial to the body, but harmful. In fact, manual labor belongs to the concentration of a certain body part, which is easy to cause damage to a certain part of the body, so it is also called occupational disease, which requires people to make up for it through appropriate sports. In fact, people who do some relaxing sports after physical exertion recover from physical fatigue better than sitting or lying still. In terms of short-term effects, physical activity helps to reduce fatigue; In terms of long-term effects, sports can improve physical fitness, increase labor efficiency, and reduce fatigue in labor activities for a long time. Therefore, for people who have been engaged in manual labor for a long time, they should often participate in some sports according to local conditions.
For example, in the process of labor, do a few production exercises, work exercises, stretch the legs, bend over, or consciously do a few activities that are opposite to their own labor posture or change their position, such as continuously bowing and bending, you can do some backward stretching movements; After loading, loading and unloading heavy objects, you can do some activities to relax the limbs, etc., to ease the tension of the body and make the body get the necessary relaxation and rest. After physical labor, moderate physical activity is necessary, and it should be noted that methods and methods should be paid attention to. After the intense physical work, it is not suitable to carry out strenuous sports, because in the heavy physical labor the body has consumed a lot of energy substances, the body is already very tired, at this time if you continue to carry out large-load sports, it will aggravate fatigue, slow down the recovery speed, and affect the next day's work. After heavy physical work, some less intense sports can be carried out, such as stretching, walking, jogging, swimming, ballroom dancing and other activities, so that the excitement of the nerve center is transferred, the elimination of metabolites is accelerated, the muscles involved in labor activities are fully relaxed and rested, accelerate the elimination of fatigue, and promote the recovery of the body.
So, in general, physical labor is not a substitute for physical activity. Physical labor is mostly exercise with large local load, and most of them are monotonous physical activities repeated many times. Physical exercise is a targeted, purposeful and systematic physical activity according to the physical characteristics of each person, which can act on the whole body and the part. Although proper physical work is helpful to enhance physical fitness, it cannot achieve comprehensive and healthy development of the body. Many physical labor has a fixed posture, often strenuous muscles are developed, less exerted muscles can not be exercised, and long-term continuation of an action, will make individual muscle groups overtense and spasmodic soreness, such as bending over and bending the back, will lead to lumbar muscle strain, back pain and so on. If you want to live a healthier life, even manual workers should do some less intense physical activity after physical work. Finally, I hope that readers and friends will accompany the sports and spend this happy May Day holiday!