Integrating Physical Activity to your Daily Commute

---

Integrating physical activity into your daily commute is an accessible way to stay active within a busy schedule.

Perceived Barriers to Exercise and the Solution

There are always reasons to not exercise. Time constraints is ranked among the major perceived barriers to exercise. Other barriers are unsuitable weather, lack of interest, work-related factors, and health problems. Active commuting can consists of short bouts of physical activity. You hop on your bike to go to work, then you go to the grocery shop, then you go to get the kids and bike home. If every destination is 10 minutes apart, it makes for 4 times 10 minutes of physical activity. There is promising evidence that the accumulation of short bouts of exercise makes for meaningful amounts of daily physical activity. This signifies that you have reached the daily recommended amount of physical activity without “losing” any time in your day. Time constraint can no longer be a perceived barrier.

Preparing Yourself to Become an Active Commuter

Many us have observed a co-worker arriving to work on a bike or by foot drenched due to the rain or sweat. You probably were pretty glad not to be in that person’s shoes at that moment. Or, you might have been that person drenched in sweat wondering how in the world you were going to stop sweating before too many people see you. Indeed, being that person who integrates physical activity to their commute to work or school is sometimes a little bit complicated. You do have to pack extra clothing, you do have to plan a lit bit of extra time to cool off, however, a little bit of planning might change the entire feeling of your day.

Here are a few key tips:

1. Pack your bag the night before and make sure you have clothing for work and extra clothing for the commute home.
2. Map out your route to work or school to make sure you do not get lost.
3. Give yourself enough time to get to work/school and shower
4. Find a place in which you can shower/wash up comfortably

Summer Months

Depending on the region in which you live, the urban planning may or may not be built to optimize active commuting. Cities such as Copenhagen, Denmark, Amsterdam, and the Netherlands are examples of bicycle-friendly cities. Research has found that people who find convenient bike routes are more likely to bike to their destination. The benefits of active commuting in the summer is that there will be much less clothing required and the bike paths are often more accessible.

Winter Months

As mentioned above, weather is one of the perceived barriers to exercise. Looking at the weather (if you live in a cold country) might not motivate you to walk or bike to work.

• If you are courageous, you may decide to bike. For snowy cities in which weather goes below -10 celsius, here is some gear that will make biking safer and more convenient for the rest of your day:

1. Ski helmet
2. Goggles
3. Boot covers
4. Fat tires
5. Big mittens
6. Pants you can get dirty
7. Coat you can get dirty
8. Water-proof bag you can get dirty and put all your things for the day
9. Lights for your bike

• Walking or running is also a great alternative if you do not want to invest in that winter biking equipment. Research has found that people who find pleasant routes to walk to work are more likely to walk. Therefore, you may decide to find a little bit of a longer route to get a nicer view during your walk. Here is a list of equipment that may be useful for winter walking or running to work:

1. Ice & snow grip winter walking/running shoes
2. Crampons
3. Breathable coat
4. Neck and ear gaiters
5. Reflectors

Benefits of Being an Active Commuter

Car use is the most prominent mode of transportation to work in high-income cities. Car-dependent cities can have serious negative health effects on commuters. Shifting to more active modes of transport could bring environment, health and social benefits to the population.

1) Improved overall well-being

Research has consistently found an association between physical activity and physical and mental well-being. Numerous studies have shown that physical exercise improves our cognitive functioning, mood and well-being. However, these studies often examine recreational physical activity.

Indeed, active commuting is not considered a recreational physical activity. But, the good news is that one study looked into the matter and found that active commuting was positively associated with physical well-being, independent of recreational physical activity. Another study found that commuter bicycling can reduce all-cause mortality due to physical inactivity.

The largest benefit was associated with participating in at least 45 minutes of active commuting per day.

Ogilvie et al., 2016

Finally, car commuting in traffic has also been associated with stress. If prepared for your active commute, this stress will be avoided.

2) Meeting Physical Activity Guidelines

Research has found an association between time spent commuting in an active way and total physical activity. Incorporating even a little bit of walking, running or biking can help you meet physical activity guidelines. Canada’s physical activity guidelines for adults and seniors is 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per weeks, in bouts of 10 minutes or more. In fact, 10 minutes can be achieved by getting out of the metro 2 stops before your destination and walking.

3) Efficient Time Use

If you weren’t commuting actively, wouldn’t you be spending time in the car, bus or subway? The average commuter spent 27 minutes traveling to work in the United States of America in 2017. Most of them are taking the train, metro or their cars. What if we transformed these 27 minutes into maybe 45 minutes or an hour of physical activity? Some people may even find their bike ride to work shorter than sitting in traffic. Also, rather than feeling overwhelmed trying find a time slot to go to the gym or run in the middle of your day, you will be combining your physical activity with a time slot that will need to be filled no matter what: Going to work or school.

4) Environmentally Friendly

Car commuting in cities tend to be short and habitual trips in traffic. In consequence, car commuting is associated with transport green house gas emissions, air pollution and noise. Obviously, active commuting does not pollute. Therefore, regional air pollution mortality and morbidity would be less of an issue.

Bicycle-Friendly Infrastructure

One study did a simulation of the costs and benefits of making a city bicycle-friendly. There findings suggest that if cities have the proper infrastructure, there could be a significant growth in bicycle commuting and the associated benefits. Here is what the most effective infrastructure would look like:

Physical segregation on arterial roads (with intersection treatments) and low speed, bicycle-friendly local streets.

Ogilvie et al., 2016

Here are the outcomes:

We estimate that these changes would bring large benefits to public health over the coming decades, in the tens of dollars for every dollar spent on infrastructure.

Ogilvie et al., 2016

Activity Type and Intensity

Low intensity activity – Walking

If you live 20 minutes away from your daily destination by metro, consider getting off the metro two or three stations earlier than usual and walking the remainder of the distance.

• Of course, it will take you longer to get to work, but the effects on your well- being will be positive.

Moderate intensity activity – Biking

If you live an hour by train or subway from your daily destination, consider taking your bike on the train or subway with you. Take the train or subway one way and bike home at the end of the day. Biking is probably the most common choice when it comes to active commuting. Adapting to riding a bike on a bike path may be difficult at the beginning, but you quickly learn. Don’t forget to learn the correct hand signals.

Vigorous intensity activity – Running, biking, and cross-country skiing

Running is definitely not the most convenient mode of transportation for most. If you have access to a shower, a locker and a refrigerator, an option is to bring two or three pre-made lunches and spare clothing for the week. An alternative could be to run in the morning and take the train after work.  Here, we are mentioning biking again because you can ride your bike at varying intensities. Finally, cross-country skiing is also an option for the snowy days! Not only is it convenient, but it is also fun.

Long-Term Benefits Outweigh Small Inconveniences

Choosing to be physically active when commuting may demand some sacrifices (waking up earlier, preparing spare clothing, preparing a lunch ahead of time), but in the long run the benefits will be greater than the sacrifices. Also, along with that comes the peace of mind of being an active contributor to fight climate change by reducing the amount of cars on the road as well as less packed public transportation.

---

References

1. Tappe, M. K., Duda, J. L., & Ehrnwald, P. M. (1989). Perceived barriers to exercise among adolescents. The Journal of School Health, 59(4), 153–5. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1561.1989.tb04689.x

2. Korkiakangas, E. E., Alahuhta, M. A., Husman, P. M., Keinänen-Kiukaanniemi S, Taanila, A. M., & Laitinen, J. H. (2011). Motivators and barriers to exercise among adults with a high risk of type 2 diabetes–a qualitative study. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 25(1), 62–9. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6712.2010.00791.x

3. Ogilvie, D., Panter, J., Guell, C., Jones, A., Mackett, R., & Griffin, S.(2016). Health impacts of the cambridgeshire guided busway: a natural experimental study. Public Health Research, 4. https://doi.org/10.3310/phr04010

3. Hamer, M., & Chida, Y. (2008). Active commuting and cardiovascular risk: a meta-analytic review. Preventive Medicine, 46(1), 9–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2007.03.006

4. Macmillan, A., Connor, J., Witten, K., Kearns, R., Rees, D., & Woodward, A. (2014). The societal costs and benefits of commuter bicycling: simulating the effects of specific policies using system dynamics modeling. Environmental Health Perspectives, 122(4), 335–44. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1307250

5. Mandolesi, L., Polverino, A., Montuori, S., Foti, F., Ferraioli, G., Sorrentino, P., & Sorrentino, G. (2018). Effects of physical exercise on cognitive functioning and wellbeing: biological and psychological benefits. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 509–509. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00509

6. Unite States Census Bureau. (2017). Average one way commuting time by metropolitan areas [Infographic]. census.gov. https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/travel-time.html