Sep 12, 2022 - Chris BillinghamPlenty of our current lifestyles lend themselves to sitting down all day. So whether you work an office job where you're sat down at a desk for the majority of the day, or Netflix has just dropped a new season of your favourite show, and you've had a lazy day on the sofa, there are plenty of ways to fall into the cycle of sitting down too much in your everyday life.
If you've found that you're putting on some extra pounds from your sitting lifestyle, there is a way you can combat this! You can increase your overall health and activity by increasing your "NEAT". NEAT, or 'Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis', is an acronym which refers to any energy we use up in the day that isn't consumed through sleeping, eating, or sports-like training and activities. Things like playing with your children, gardening, popping to the local corner shop or anything in-between fit into this category.
Those with lower NEAT levels are at higher risk of obesity and other long-term health conditions like diabetes, heart disease and more, especially if there is no exercise in the mix too! However, even people who regularly go to the gym require some NEAT exercise to balance out their lifestyle in a healthy way.
Increasing NEAT Through Walking
One exceedingly common way to increase your NEAT is simply through walking! With the current trend of smartwatches and activity trackers built into your phones, it's easier than ever to track your daily steps and set yourself goals. To increase your NEAT with the power of your smartphone, simply look at the daily steps you are currently achieving and set yourself realistic, incremental improvements to your daily step count to get you in shape. You could even get into friendly competition with your co-workers, family, and friends to see who can do the most steps!
The excellent thing about walking is that it requires no skill and it's low impact. That means anyone from kids to pensioners can use the power of walking and activity tracking to improve their health. It's also a great option for both exercise beginners and those who are already fitness aficionados.
We of course understand that everyone doesn't have the time or resources to get in a long walk every day. For instance, you may spend most of the day at work and commute home, so there's no opportunity to walk and increase your steps. Or maybe you only have free time in the evening and are not comfortable with walking at night. It could even be that you simply don't want to walk in the freezing cold winter weather!
The Power of the Treadmill
If you find that going for walks isn’t compatible with your lifestyle, then a treadmill could be the perfect way to increase your exercise while avoiding the common limitations of NEAT movements like walking. In addition, by using a treadmill, you can make up for the losses you’ve made with your NEAT at home with ease.
Treadmills are an ideal way to get into NEAT exercises, as well as a great gateway into enjoying working out. They boast the same benefit as walking in that a treadmill requires no level of expertise and can be utilised by pretty much anyone to improve their health. This makes them an extremely attractive choice for people looking for a non-intensive way to improve their health which suits their busy lifestyles.
Setting up a treadmill in your home gym will allow you to get your steps up within the comfort of your own home. We've aimed to make our treadmills the perfect choice for anyone looking for an easy way to get more exercise at home.
Our P100 and P200 treadmills are designed specifically to facilitate your ongoing fitness and health journey. The first major benefit of them is that they’re extremely portable! Both models fold and come with wheels, allowing them to be manoeuvred around the house with ease. If you're tight on space, the P100 model can even fold flat to slide under your sofa or bed, giving you some extra room in the house for when you’re not using your treadmill. (And yes, getting your treadmill out and setting it up does fall under the bracket of a NEAT exercise!)
Our treadmills have also been set up to facilitate making your exercise more comfortable and fun. We've implemented bottle holders and a phone or tablet resting place so that you can have on your favourite show or listen to music while you walk or run. You’ll also have easy access to your water!
Treadmills also provide you with great opportunities to improve your fitness as you get more comfortable. For example, if you find that you've improved your steps after going for regular walks on your treadmill, you can start to pick up the speed and do non-NEAT exercises such as light jogging or running!
To make everything that little bit more entertaining, our treadmills also come with built-in Bluetooth connectivity so that you can connect to apps such as Kinomaps & Zwift. These apps will allow you to simulate a hiking trail through a visualiser, which will transport you across the globe from the comfort of your home, all while tracking your steps in the process!
Summary
NEAT exercises are essential to any healthy lifestyle, and walking is probably the most popular way to get some in with ease. However, plenty of people don’t have the time or resources to go for long walks every day to improve their NEAT, and this is where the treadmill will truly shine!
Treadmills aren't just for going on intensive runs or jogs. You can also use them for simple walks to improve your NEAT from the comfort of your own home. With portability and Bluetooth capabilities, our P100 and P200 treadmills are an excellent alternative to walking outside. Who knows, you may even become so obsessed with walking that you decide to graduate to running on your treadmill too!
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