Transcript: Your Chores Count: The Science of Everyday Movement with Physiotherapy Researcher Sunaina Chopra
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Host Famous Ashley Grant introduces the episode and hands it over to a voice note from Sunaina Chopra, a physiotherapy and PhD student at UBC.
If you're trying to work out, as long as you're
moving, that's all that matters. What's up, you
guys? Famous Asha Grant here. Welcome to More
Movement, Please, the podcast where I hope to
inspire you to move your body more. Today, I
have another voice note for y 'all, and this
one comes to us from Sunana Chopra, and this
is what she had to say. Hello there. My name
Sunaina challenges the idea that exercise only counts if it's structured — like gym sessions or treadmill runs — and introduces the concept of non-conventional physical activity like gardening, household chores, and playing with kids or pets, citing research from The Lancet and a 12-week housework study.
is Sunana Chopra, and I'm a dual physiotherapy
and PhD student at the University of British
Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Let me start with
a question. Have you ever felt like if you can't
make it to the gym, your physical activity for
the day just doesn't count? If that sounds familiar,
you're definitely not alone. We've been taught
to think of exercise as something structured,
like lifting weights for a certain amount of
reps, running on a treadmill for a certain amount
of time, or playing sports. And while those are
really great ways to be active, they're not the
only ways to be active. In fact, a lot of the
movement we do in our everyday life, what we
might call non -conventional physical activity,
can be just as beneficial for our health and
well -being. So let's talk about what that actually
looks like. Thinking about gardening, it might
not feel like a workout, but you're squatting,
lifting, digging, reaching. It's a full body
movement. And research backs this up a lot. A
study published in The Lancet followed people
involved in a community garden over about two
and a half years. What they found was pretty
powerful, which is likely why it ended up in
such a prestigious journal. Not only did people
become more physically active, but their stress
and anxiety levels also went down. So gardening
not only supports us physically, but can also
make us feel better mentally. Now let's move
Sunaina wraps up by encouraging listeners to ask 'how did I move today?' instead of 'did I work out?' and affirms that dog walks, gardening, and cleaning all contribute to health.
indoors for a second. Household chores. I know
it's not the most fun activity to do, but we
all still have to do it. Things like vacuuming,
mopping, doing laundry, even tidying up. These
all involve movement. One study compared traditional
exercise to household activity over 12 weeks
and found that housework was just as effective
for maintaining, if not improving, fitness. And
that's a really big deal, especially for people
who feel like they don't have enough time to
carve out a separate workout in their day. And
then there's something a lot of us already do
without even thinking of it as exercise. Playing
with kids or pets. Whether it's walking your
dog or tossing a ball around the living room
because, let's be honest, some dogs like mine
are just committed to staying cozy indoors. All
of that adds up. And not just for you, but for
your kids as well. Research shows that children
and youth who walk their dogs or play with their
pets are significantly more likely to meet physical
activity recommendations. And so the next time
your kids ask for a puppy, you might want to
mute this part if they are listening, but technically
they'd have a pretty solid evidence -based argument
for it in terms of physical activity and fitness.
So what's the takeaway here? Movement doesn't
have to be perfect. structured, or time -consuming
to be meaningful. It doesn't have to happen in
a gym, and it definitely doesn't have to look
the same for everyone. What matters most is that
it fits into your life. If you're someone who
loves the gym, amazing, keep going. But if you
are feeling overwhelmed, short on time or funds,
or not just motivated to be outside with all
of your busy life, this is your sign to think
differently. Your walk with your dog counts.
Your time spent gardening counts. Cleaning your
space counts. It all contributes to your overall
health and well -being. So next time you catch
yourself thinking, I didn't work out today, maybe
pause and ask, how did I move today? Because
chances are you did more than you think, and
that's something to be really proud of. How good
Ashley reflects on Sunaina's message, shares her own experience moving at home during Snowmageddon, and suggests small ways to add movement to everyday tasks — like extra squats while gardening or a jumping jack challenge with kids.
is that, y 'all? Like, you do not have to actually
physically go to a gym to work out. I've talked
about this before, especially the week that I
was dealing with Snowmageddon and I could not
get to the gym at all. I still was working out
from home. But she talks about how it's not just...
exercise that counts as movement. It's the gardening.
It's the doing the chores. It's the running around
with your puppy dog. It's the playing around
with your kids. You don't have to actually subscribe
to a specific method of movement for it to count
as movement. what she said and look at your own
life. How much movement are you actually doing?
And if you feel like whenever you do like a personal
audit of yourself that you're not moving enough,
let that be your sign that it's time to get up
and move some more. Something as simple as just
getting up and jumping up and down or going onto
YouTube and finding your favorite song and just
dancing right there at your desk or, you know,
even in the car, you can be moving more than
you are. You would be surprised just how much
movement you could get in if you start. consciously
thinking about moving your body. And so that's
the whole point of this of this entire podcast,
right, is to find more movement, please find
all the ways that you can move your body more.
And don't think about the fact that you have
to do it a specific way. If you get too hung
up in the specifics and you and you force yourself
to like only do certain things to consider it
counting, then you might not move your body at
all. And that's the whole point is I want you
to move your body, just move your body. So if
you have to garden today. maybe do some extra
squats. Or if you have to walk the dog, maybe
take an extra lap around the block. Or if you're
going to be playing around your kids, maybe do
a little challenge with your kids to see who
can do the most jumping jacks or do the most
pushups or do anything that gets your body moving
more. So I hope this helps you guys. I hope this
was beneficial. If you too would like to leave
a voice note for me and want me to react to it,
or if you're on your own fitness journey and
you want to share it, I would love to hear from
you guys. Go to famousashleygrant .com backslash
fit. I love hearing from y 'all. It just makes
my day. So if this was helpful for you, please
share this episode. And I cannot wait to hear
more from y 'all because I just, like I said,
I get such a kick out of it when you guys send
me voice notes. It's one of my favorite things
in the whole world. So thank you for tuning in.
Hope this was helpful. Onwards and upwards, my
friends. Have you worked out today?