美国国家公共电台 NPR From Couch Potato To Fitness Buff: How I Learned To Love Exercise

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Get in shape. I bet that was a New Year's resolution for many of you. Well, to help get you motivated, we have two stories now from NPR's Life Kit¹. It's a new collection of audio guides to help you get it together in all sorts of ways. We start with NPR's Maria Godoy.

MARIA GODOY, BYLINE²: I used to really hate exercise. A year and a half ago, I was almost completely sedentary. I would get, like, winded just going up the stairs. And I'm not going to tell you how much I used to weigh, but it wasn't healthy. But these days, I love working out. I actually crave³ it. The hard part was just getting started, but then I came across this bit of research.

MICHELLE SEGAR: Basically, all movement counts, and anything is better than nothing.

GODOY: That's Michelle Segar. She's a sport and health psychologist at the University of Michigan. She studies how we sustain healthy behaviors. And she says if you want to start an exercise habit, reframe what you think of as exercise.

SEGAR: I've been astounded⁴ that even up until today, very educated people don't know, don't believe that walking actually counts as valid⁵ exercise.

GODOY: That was a big hang-up for me. I had all these preconceived notions about what kind of exercise was worth doing. If I didn't get sweaty and do it for at least a half-hour why bother? But science tells us so much counts as moderate exercise. There's actually a very geeky but cool resource called the Compendium⁶ 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 metabolic⁷ equivalent.

LORETTA DIPIETRO: Just sitting doing nothing is a MET value of 1, right? You're working at your resting metabolic rate.

GODOY: That's Loretta DiPietro. She's an exercise research scientist at George Washington University.

DIPIETRO: An activity that is 2 METs means it makes you work at twice your resting metabolic rate. So getting up and walking across the room is about 2 METs.

GODOY: DiPietro says the compendium lists the MET values for all kinds of activities - everything from mopping - that's about 3 1/2 METs - all the way to line dancing, which can be almost 8 METs.

DIPIETRO: Having sex - that's in there.

GODOY: It is?

DIPIETRO: Oh, yes.

GODOY: Really?

DIPIETRO: Yes. You've not looked thoroughly⁸ through the compendium.

(LAUGHTER)

GODOY: But the magic number, what qualifies as moderate activity - that's at least 3 METs. Lots of regular activities do that. Climb the stairs slowly, and it'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 be just sitting. Even vacuuming counts if you do it with gusto. And researchers now know these little movements add up.

DIPIETRO: Think of it like putting pennies in a piggy bank. And, you know, if you just put three pennies in, you may think, oh, this doesn't add up to much. But at the end of the month, it does indeed.

GODOY: So if you've been sedentary, adding movements throughout your day is a good place to start an exercise habit. I started off with short walks and taking the stairs. As that got easier, I added harder workouts. These days, I even take spin class. But the point is, you've got to start somewhere. Maria Godoy, NPR News.

1 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 crave   

vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求

参考例句：

• Many young children crave attention.许多小孩子渴望得到关心。
• You may be craving for some fresh air.你可能很想呼吸呼吸新鲜空气。

4 astounded   

v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶

参考例句：

• His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。
• How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话？我感到大为震惊。

5 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

6 compendium   

n.简要，概略

参考例句：

• The Compendium of Materia Medica has been held in high esteem since it was first published.“本草纲目”问世之后，深受人们的推重。
• The book is a compendium of their poetry,religion and philosophy.这本书是他们诗歌、宗教和哲学的概略。

7 metabolic   

adj.新陈代谢的

参考例句：

• Impressive metabolic alternations have been undergone during embryogenesis.在胚胎发生期间经历了深刻的代谢变化。
• A number of intoxicants are associated with metabolic acidosis.许多毒性物质可引起代谢性酸中毒。

8 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。