Many Americans Are “Immune” to Exercise: Are You One of Them?

I’m gonna share something with you that I hope doesn’t piss you off too much.

Just remember – I’m only the messenger! (Don’t worry, I’ve got some really good tips at the end to help you out.)

I’m sure you've heard the phrase “You can’t out-exercise a bad diet.”

If you eat too much or too much of the wrong stuff, exercise isn’t going to be a whole lot of help to you. It’s like trying to clean up an oil spill in the ocean with a dish towel.

Well, according to a small 2019 study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, you can’t out-exercise a sedentary lifestyle…

The Test

Researchers took a small group of healthy adults and had them do two versions of an experiment. For 4 days, the participants spent 13.5 hours/day sitting and logged less than 4K steps/day. On day 5, they had their post-meal blood levels of fat, glucose, and insulin checked.

• Version 1: They did no workout.
• Version 2: They did a 1-hour moderate-high intensity treadmill workout on the evening of the 4th day.

The Expectation

Normally, exercise improves how your body handles food shortly thereafter. We typically see better blood sugar control, lower insulin spikes, and better handling of fats in the bloodstream. When we talk about exercise leading to “improved metabolism,” these are some of the things we’re referring to.

The Result

In the setting of extreme inactivity (although is that even extreme these days? Think: car → desk → car → dinner table → couch → bed… that sounds like it could be 13.5 hours, right?), these markers were not statistically different between the 2 groups.

The authors state, “This observation is remarkable given the fact that the acute exercise was prolonged and strenuous, which typically improves these measures of cardiometabolic health, at least in people who are not sitting for prolonged periods… This resistance or lack of improvement in the normal metabolic effects of acute exercise can be considered exercise resistance.”

Exercise resistance!!

Even though they exercised, their bodies processed sugar and fat no better than when they didn’t exercise at all. Talk about not fair.

Ok, so what does this mean for YOU?

Squeezing in a workout here and there is certainly better than nothing, but we need to really dial in how we use our bodies the other 15 waking hours (or in some of our cases, the other 18 waking hours).

This doesn’t mean shooting for 25K steps/day and then getting plantar fasciitis (guilty), but it does mean being intentional about moving more throughout the day.

No matter how much you believe your routine doesn’t allow for more movement, I guarantee you that you can find ways. Here’s a handful that can keep you from developing “exercise resistance.”

And you’re not allowed to call them cliché unless you're already doing them!

• Stand up, stretch, or take a short walk every 60 minutes.
• Park farther than usual from the store / your building / your kids school.
• 5-10 min walk after every meal (walking pad counts! I’m on mine right now – yes, even with my plantar fasciitis, don't tell my podiatrist)
• Take phone calls standing, pacing, or walking
• Carry groceries into the house in more trips than is really necessary
• Stand or walk around at your kids’ soccer/gymnastics/track game/meet/whatever
• Take the g-d stairs!
• Take your dog on an extra walk
• Walk in place or stretch while watching tv

My goal with these articles is to help you find easy, practical, and effective ways to get healthier. Injecting more movement into your daily routine is hands-down one of the best.

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