… and why should you consider adding it to your life?
In 2020 the World Health Organization’s global Guidelines on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour acknowledged that “all activity counts” and removed the stipulation that activity should be accumulated in 10-minute bouts.
VILPA, short for vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity, describes a way of thinking about movement that can be used to promote daily activity in those who don’t exercise routinely.
Taking the stairs instead of the elevator, carrying groceries, vacuuming and washing floors, or playing with the kids are just some of the activities that could be considered VILPA. Just put a little more oomph into your activity to raise your heart rate for a minute or so and those chores turn into VILPA gold.
It’s a viable alternative for those who are short on time or making their way back from being more sedentary to more active.
“VILPA can work for most adults, and it’s especially useful for those who are sedentary and for people who don’t have a structured exercise routine,” says Jamie Hardy, a functional movement specialist.
Movement as catalyst for better health
If you happen to be stuck in a sedentary pattern, VILPA can help, and “you can add yet another beneficial layer to it,” says Hardy, “by adding a type of functional weight-bearing exercise when possible, such as squatting and carrying groceries up the stairs.”
Long-term benefits
Up to five minutes of VILPA daily (three bouts of one or two minutes peppered throughout the day) can reduce the risk of certain cancers (especially breast, endometrial, and colon cancer) by up to 40 percent. Also, the risk of cardiovascular disease following consistent VILPA is reduced by half.
Short bouts of exercise that do not require extra time set aside might just be one solution, as long as they’re done regularly. “VILPA can help improve cardiovascular fitness over a few weeks of doing it consistently, and the advantage is that it’s accessible to most people and it can be done anywhere,” says Hardy.
VILPA versus general movement recommendations
It may sound like a few minutes of vigorous physical activity can replace the general weekly recommendations (at least 150 minutes of moderate to intense aerobic activity and at least two sessions of strength training) but that’s not the case.
“VILPA … is less beneficial for achieving fitness goals that are usually linked to a consistent strength routine, for example,” says Hardy.
However, considering that six weeks of short bursts of intermittent stair climbing led to an improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness levels of sedentary women in a recent scientific study, there is but one question to ask: why not?
