Movement
/Hello! This is the forth and final installment of The Four Pillars of Health. Today’s topic is on movement!
If you haven’t seen the three other articles in this series on Nutrition, Sleep, and Stress Management I suggest taking a peak at those posts to get a complete understanding what make the healthiest you! Remember one pillar in not more important than the other, you need all four to hold the roof over your house.
EXERCISE!!!!! You don’t have to tell most people that exercise is an important part of health. That is why every January when people make their New Year’s resolutions to be healthy they buy a gym membership.
But did you know that exercise and movement aren’t the same thing? Exercise is planned physical activity like the gym and movement is the activity you perform in daily life including walking the dog, playing with your kids, gardening, vacuuming, and even swaying when standing in place.
Research has shown us that we CAN NOT make up for the negative health consequences of a sedentary lifestyle (sitting most of the day) with planned daily exercise like the gym.
Research from the Harvard Medical School shows that people who sit more than half of a day are at greater risk for heart disease, diabetes, and premature death. Being sedentary is also linked to some types of cancers, anxiety, depression, bladder problems, back pain, joint pain, weight gain, etc.
Movement is so important because our bodies are designed with movement in mind! One of the largest cleaning systems is our body called the lymphatic system is dependent on physical activity. Below is a diagram of the lymphatic system and coresponding organs.
Notice the lymphatic system runs the same routes as almost all of our blood vessels, veins, and arteries. Its job is to remove all the toxins, waste, and unwanted materials from tissues and fluids. When a person is sedentary is can reduce the lymphatic system's efficiency by 94%. This means that the toxins sitting in the stagnant fluid of our bodies begin to build up causing a host of diseases! It's just like in nature, stagnant water breads disease.
For a body to be healthy exercise isn’t enough, you NEED to have movement throughout your day. This has become more complicated than even with the majority of people sitting at desks all day.
Minimum Guidelines Physical Activity Guidelines:
Walk 10,000 steps a day
Aerobic Activity per Week:
150 min (2 hrs and 30 min) a week of moderate intensity
75 min (1 hrs and 15 min) a week of vigorous activity
Strength Training per Week:
Moderate to High intensity 2 or more days
Do you meet the standard guidelines for physical activity and movement provided by Health.Gov ???? Do you sit for more then half of your day???? If you answered yes to either of these questions lets see what we can be doing differently.
Strategies to get you moving more when stuck at a desk!
Get a Standing Desk - There are cheap versions online that allow you to adjust the height to meet your needs. Sitting is the number one reason for chronic back pain. By getting a standing desk you reduce your risk of back pain and allow yourself to sway and adjust throughout the day. Not to mention people who sit over 6 hours a day are more likely to be incontinent when they are elderly.
*Bonus- you burn up to 30% more calories standing than sitting.
Get up Every 30 or 60 Minutes - Just stop with the excuses and get up and walk around the office, to the bathroom, outside, or even just move in place every 30-60 minutes!
Walk Before or After Work - If your job is in it’s busy season and you are swamped make a point to walk either before or after work.
Use the Farther Bathroom - start looking for ways to get those steps in! Don't be afraid to be creative like walking a to the farther option for the bathroom.
Mini Workouts - If you have a private office space do a set of push-ups, squats, or jumping jacks every 30 min. This is quality nutritious movement for your joints and gets your heart rate elevated! Studies have even shown that workouts spread throughout the day in as small as 3-5 minutes chunks have the same health benefits as those exercise perform all in on sitting.
Tips To Make Movement Daily Routines:
Park Farther From Any Entrance - believe it or not this could add up to 500-1,000 extra steps just in one trip
Start Make Your Own Meals - This involves standing and movement without having to think about it
Add a Morning or Evening Walk - listen to a podcast, book on tape, or music to make the time more interesting
Walk Your Dog - a 10-15 min walk at a decent pace can add 2,000-3,500 steps depending on the individual's stride and pace
Walk While You Talk - Whenever you get on the phone with someone walk around or pace while talking. In 10 minutes you could rack up 1,000-2,000 steps depending on the space
Play With Kids or Grand Kids - During quality family time that aids in reducing stress you could also be getting in quality moveement
Stretch or Do a Light Workout While Watching TV - Compared to just sitting on your bum this could burn calories, increase mobility, and reduce joint pain
Use a Push Mower - Start doing outside activities that require you to move and still have a visible impact like mowing or gardening
New Hobby - Find something that makes you happy, that you are thinking about all day that involves movement
The most important thing to remember when trying to make a lifestyle change is to do something you know you will enjoy. If you like doing it you won’t have to find the motivation to do it! For those of you who are goal oriented and need hard numbers using a pedometer or fitbit to see if you can reach 10,000 steps a day could be the simple motivation you needs
Just remember you were designed to move and a life without movement is not a complete one!
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