Pillars of Health: Movement
Exercise, Ambulation & Play
"Are you moving poorly because you're in pain? Or are you in pain because you're moving poorly?"
The human body was designed for daily movement. The old adage "Use it or lose it" doesn't apply to many things, but it certainly does apply when dealing with the health of the human brain and body.
From birth, we move as much as possible until our constant failures result in rolling over, crawling, standing, walking and so on. This is when the potential for independent life truly begins. Much of health from this point on stems from the daily quality and quantity of movement we get. At Move Daily, we look closely at 3 groups of movement:
- Exercise (weight lifting & structured cardio)
- Ambulation (walking)
- Play (sports, games and general silliness)
It is well known that humans in recent history lived with ambulation, play, and hard labour as their main forms of daily movement. Most people now focus on incorporating exercise as a replacement for all three. In today's society we have outsourced much of our daily movement, turning walking into driving, hard labour into sitting, and active play into seated play (screens).
Is your movement dose limited to the time spent exercising in a gym?
While most people are acutely aware of the benefits of exercise, strenuous exercise is inaccurately pitched as a cure-all for health and weight-loss. Strength training is certainly important, but most people can experience greater improvements in health simply by getting outside and having some fun built into their day.
When was the last time you went out and played, walked for the sake of walking, or moved without a structured plan?
At Move Daily we focus not only on prescribing the appropriate gym-based movements and strategies for each client but also put great emphasis on movement quality & quantity outside of the gym environment. Daily choices regarding movement, rather than simply 2-3 exercise sessions a week, create the frame work for longterm health and freedom of movement.
How To Increase Movement In Your Life
The easiest way to add more movement to your daily life is to plan it into activities that you already do to avoid feeling as though there has been another big task added to an already busy list. Here are 3 simple suggestions:
- Schedule time to walk. This can be time to walk to the store, walk to see a friend, walk while on a call-based meeting, or simply to walk and enjoy the fresh air.
- Move while watching your favourite show. Do a few push-ups & bodyweight squats every few minutes, hop on a stationary bike if you have one, or sit on the ground and stretch/do soft tissue work. Turn your mindless time into productive time.
- Get off one stop early. For those who take public transit of any kind, give yourself an extra 10 minutes and get off a stop early to boost your daily step count.
Movement doesn't have to be complicated to be powerful; there are no doubt ample opportunities in your day to add a little more in with some thought towards building it in around your current habits. Your joint-health, cardiovascular fitness, heart health, and more depends on getting an accurate daily dose with variety being king. Plan in a few ways to move more often and your body will feel better every day.