运动总比不运动好。对于平时工作太忙没时间锻炼，达不到每日推荐锻炼水平的人来说，这或许是个好消息，只要起身走两步，就是朝着正确的方向迈进了一大步。

关键词：科普；运动；健康；译文；

'Feeling better isn't just this selfish, hedonic thing - it actually is fuel. I consider energy from taking care of yourself as essential fuel for the things that matter most in our lives,' says Michelle Segar, a psychologist at the University of Michigan who studies how we sustain healthy behaviors like exercise.

“感觉更好不仅仅是私人的、享乐的事情- 它实际上是一种燃料。我认为自己运动中获得的能量是我们生活中最重要事情的必要燃料，”密歇根大学的心理学家Michelle Segar说，她研究如何保持健康的行为，比如锻炼就是其中之一。

I have become the type of person that used to mystify me. I ... am a fitness fanatic.

我变成了那种曾经让我自己感到困惑的人。我…是个健身狂。

That was certainly not the case a year and a half ago. Back then, like a lot of Americans, I was mostly sedentary (unless you count walking to meetings). Which is ironic, because, as a senior editor for NPR's science, food and health team, it is literally my job to know better. But, with two small kids, a full-time job and recurring insomnia, I didn't have the time or energy to work out. And I'm not going tell you how much I used to weigh, but it wasn't healthy.

一年半前的情况肯定不是这样。那时候，和很多美国人一样，我基本上久坐不动（除非你算上走路去参加会议）。具有讽刺意味的是，作为国家国共电台科学、食品和健康团队的高级编辑，我的工作就是更好地以身作则。但是我有两个小孩、一份全职工作和经常性失眠，几乎没有时间或精力去锻炼。而且我也不会告诉你自己曾经有多重，但数字比较不健康。

So what changed? For starters, I reframed what I thought of as exercise. 'The research does now show that basically all movement counts, and anything is better than nothing,' says Michelle Segar, a psychologist and director of the University of Michigan Sport, Health and Activity Research and Policy Center. She studies how we sustain healthy behaviors, and she says one big stumbling block for people is that they fail to take advantage of the exercise opportunities they can build into their daily lives, like taking the stairs or walking to work.

那么后来发生了什么?首先，我重新定义了我所认知的锻炼方式。密歇根大学体育、健康和活动研究与政策中心的心理学家兼主任米希尔 希尔格（Michelle Segar）说：'现在的研究表明，基本上所有的运动都很重要，稍微动一动都比不动好。'她研究了我们如何维持健康的行为：对人们来说，一个非常大的障碍是大家不能利用可以融入日常生活的锻炼机会，比如爬楼梯或步行上班。

'I've been astounded that even up until today, very educated people don't know - don't believe - that walking actually 'counts' as valid exercise,' she says. That was a big hang-up for me. I used to think if I wasn't sweaty or huffing away on the treadmill for at least a half-hour straight, why bother?

她说:'我很惊讶的是，直到今天受过良好教育的人还不知道，而且也不相信散步实际上是一种有效的锻炼。'走路对我来说曾经是个大麻烦。我想过，如果我

出汗或不能在跑步机上连续跑上至少半个小时，一般运动又有什么意义呢?

But so much more counts as moderate exercise, science now tells us. There's actually a pretty geeky but cool scientific resource called the Compendium of Physical Activities. It's used by researchers to compare apples and oranges when it comes to exercise. And it uses a value called a MET, or metabolic equivalent.

但是现在科学研究告诉我们，适度运动更重要。实际上有一种很怪、但很酷的科学资源叫做体育活动纲要（见文章末尾）。研究人员用它来比较不同运动方面形式的差异，主要通过使用一个叫做MET的值，也叫做'代谢当量'。

'Just sitting, doing nothing, is a MET value of 1 - you're working at your resting metabolic rate,' explains Loretta DiPietro, an exercise research scientist at George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health. 'An activity that, say, is 2 METs makes you work at twice your resting metabolic rate. So getting up and walking across the room is about 2 METS.' DiPietro says the Compendium lists the MET values for all kinds of activities - everything from mopping (that's about 3.5 METS) to line dancing. (That can be almost 8 METS!)

乔治华盛顿大学米尔肯公共卫生学院的运动研究科学家Loretta DiPietro解释说：'如果只是坐着，什么都不做，MET值为1，也就是你的静息代谢率。' '比如说，两个代谢当量的运动，会让你以两倍于静息代谢率的速度代谢。所以站起来穿过房间时的值大约是两个 METS。' DiPietro说，汇编列出了各种活动的MET值：从拖地（约3.5 METS）到舞蹈（几乎是8 METS！）。

But to count as moderately intense exercise, the magic number you want to hit is between 3 and 6 METS. (Alas, even the most vigorous sexual activity falls just short of that, according to the Compendium - though DiPietro suggests with a laugh that more research may be needed.)

但作为中等强度的运动，你应该试图达到的有效数字是3到6 METS。（遗憾的是，根据汇编，即使是最激烈的性爱活动也达不到这一标准，尽管DiPietro笑着建议可能需要更多的研究来证实。）

Turns out, lots of regular activities meet the magic mark. Climb the stairs slowly and that's 4 METs. Climb them quickly and it's nearly 9 METS, which means you're burning nearly nine times as many calories as you would just sitting. Even vacuuming counts, if you do it with gusto.

事实证明，很多常规活动都达到了3-6METS的神奇的效果。慢慢爬楼梯是4 METs；快速爬楼梯， 能够接近9 METS，这意味着你燃烧的热量几乎是你坐着时的9倍。即使是给房间吸尘对健康也很重要，如果你移动速度稍微快一点。

And researchers now know that the health benefits of these little movements add up. Just taking short breaks to get out of your chair and walk throughout the day can help regulate blood sugar and blood pressure, helping to ward off diseases like Type 2 diabetes and hypertension. And while it won't make you an athlete, moving throughout the day, even in short but repeated spurts, has been linked to a lower risk of dying prematurely. When you think of it as something that can be broken down throughout the day, the idea of getting at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week - as federal guidelines recommend -- becomes less daunting. 'Think about it like putting pennies in a piggy bank,' says DiPietro. 'You think, 'Oh, I'm putting in three pennies here,' and you're thinking, 'Oh, this doesn't add up to much.' But at the end of the month, it does indeed.'

研究人员现在发现，这些看似微不足道的运动形式对健康的益处具有逐渐累积的效应。工作的时候只要稍微休息一下，从椅子上站起来走来走去，就可以帮助调节血糖和血压，帮助预防2型糖尿病和高血压等疾病。虽然这种缓和的运动不会让你成为一名运动员，但一整天即使是短暂但反复的移动，都能降低过早死亡的风险。当你把运动想成是可以在一天中分解成很多细微环节的东西时，每周至少进行150分钟的适度锻炼（国民运动指导方针）就不会那么令人畏惧了。 '这就像把便士放在存钱罐里一样，'DiPietro说。'你会想，'我在这里放了三分钱'，然后你会想，'哦，这不算什么。'到了月底，却可能收获颇丰。'

Knowing this really changed the way I think about exercise. Instead of seeing exercise as all or nothing, I started to think about it like climbing a ladder. It's OK to start at the bottom rung and work your way up. So I started with small bursts of movement throughout my day. Instead of sending an email to a co-worker, I'd walk over and talk to them. I'd skip the elevator and take the stairs. I'd do squats at my desk and take short walks around the office whenever I could fit it in. I'd do one-on-one meetings with co-workers while walking and talking.

知道这一点确实改变了我对运动的看法：我不再把锻炼视为要么全身心投入要么就别做的事情，而是把它看成是爬梯子，要从最底部梯级开始、并按照自己的方式一步步往上爬。所以我从每天小小的运动开始。意识到这一点，工作上我不再向同事发电子邮件，而是走过去与他们交谈；我开始不用电梯而是爬楼梯；只要有时间，我都会在我的办公桌旁做深蹲并在办公室里散步；我会边走边和同事交谈，与他们进行一对一的会面。

The more I did, the stronger I felt - and the more I wanted to do. I started using the elliptical that was gathering dust in my basement. I made a rule: I'm only allowed to watch Netflix while working out or moving in some other way (like washing dishes or folding laundry). Then a curious thing happened: The more I exercised, the more my body craved it. These days, I even take spin class and do high-intensity interval training. And while I did lose weight during this process (which was pretty nice - I am now at a healthy weight), that's not what's kept me going.

我做得越多，我就感觉越强烈，我也越想做运动。我开始重新使用在地下室里积满灰尘的运动器械。并且制定了一个规则：我只允许在锻炼或以其他方式移动时观看视频（如洗碗或折叠衣物）。没想到一件神奇的事情发生了：我锻炼的越多，我的身体就越渴望锻炼。这些天，我甚至去上动感单车课，做高强度的间歇训练。虽然我在这个过程中确实减轻了体重（我现在的体重很健康），但这并不是让我继续前进的动力。

For me, exercise has become a bodily need. I just don't feel right without it. And while I used to think I didn't have time to work out, nowadays I don't see how I could get through my busy days without the energy I get from exercise. (And my insomnia is pretty much gone.)

对我来说，锻炼已成为一种身体需要。没有它，我就感觉不舒服。虽然我曾经认为我没有时间去锻炼，但现在我不知道如果没有从锻炼中获得的能量，我怎么能度过每天忙碌的日子。(我的失眠症也基本消失了。)

As psychologist Michelle Seger notes, there are tons of documented mental benefits to exercise.'We know that it helps people generate energy. We know that it boosts mood,' she says. 'We know that it improves executive functioning and all the tasks associated with that - focus, creativity. There are so many positives that happen when you move.'

正如心理学家Michelle Seger所指出的那样，有大量文献证明锻炼对心理有好处。 '我们知道运动可以帮助人们产生能量，并且我们知道运动可以改善情绪，'她说。'我们发现运动可以提高执行能力以及与此相关的所有任务：专注力，创造力等等。当你走动时，会有很多积极的事情发生。'

In fact, even though lots of people start exercising this time of year to lose weight, Seger says for many people, weight loss isn't actually a good motivator over the long haul, because it can take way too long to see any results, and our brains are not wired to strive for long-term payoff. Weight is much more a factor of what we eat - and eating a 600-calorie muffin takes no time at all. Working it off, on the other hand, takes a good long time. Given that reality, Seger says focusing on the immediate rewards from exercise can be more effective at keeping you motivated.

事实上，尽管每年的这个时候很多人开始开始锻炼减肥，对很多人来说，从长远来看减肥并不是一个好的动力，因为这可能需要很长时间才能看到结果，而我们的大脑并不追求长期回报。减肥更多的是取决于我们吃了什么，例如，吃600卡路里的松饼根本不需要时间，但是，消耗这些热量却需要很长时间。鉴于这一现实，西格尔说，专注于锻炼带来的即时回报能更有效地让你保持动力。

'When you have more energy and you're a happier person, you bring that much more enthusiasm and energy and performance to your role in your work, your patience as a parent, [and] as a partner to someone,' she says. 'Feeling better isn't just this selfish, hedonic thing - it actually is fuel. I consider energy from taking care of yourself as essential fuel for the things that matter most in our lives.'

 “当你精力更充沛、更快乐时，你就会把更多的热情、精力和业绩带到工作中去，带到你作为父母和伴侣的耐心中去”她说。 “感觉更好不仅仅是私人的、享乐的事情 - 它实际上是一种燃料。我认为自己运动中获得的能量是我们生活中最重要事情的必要燃料。”

If you've been sedentary, adding more movement into your day is a good place to start an exercise habit. Just grab that bottom rung. Remember, you have to start somewhere.

如果你久坐不动，那么在你的日常生活中加入更多的运动是养成锻炼习惯的好方法，今天就开始抓住那个梯子的底部往上爬吧！记住，千里之行，始于足下。

（版权说明，转载自;科学猫科普）