Get Up. MOVE!

Current Society. Domestication. What does it look like for us today? How does it compare to 125 years ago? What does this have to do with moving your body?

80% of Americans today work a sedentary job. And 43% of Americans work a highly sedentary job. That’s 8 hours a day sitting, 7-9 hours laying (sleeping), leaving 7-9 hours for movement, leisure, and errands; If you chose to incorporate those things.

How do you spend your 7-9 hours?

Are you relaxing? Walking? Exercising?

Majority will spend 7-9 hours standing, sitting and lounging. How does that benefit the body, muscles, joints, metabolism?

In simple terms, it doesn’t.

125 years ago research says that humans got 5X the amount of exercise and movement than today.This was just in the course of daily living.

Our bodies are designed to move, walk, run, squat, jump, reach, pull, push, etc. Those movements help our heart rates rise, our blood pumps faster, it initiates the release of those feel good hormones (endorphins). Moving helps our digestion move more efficiently, moving helps our hormones regulate, and SO MUCH MORE!

Oftentimes we view movement and exercising as a way to lose weight, or a method of maintaining a desired weight. That is just a small part of the many benefits of movement.

The purpose of movement is to preserve and maintain our bodies, joints, and muscle strength.

Movement can improve memory, reduce anxiety or depression. Regular physical activity can also reduce your risk of cognitive decline, including dementia. It improves brain health, helps manage weight, reduces the risk of disease, strengthens bones and muscles, and improves your ability to do everyday activities.

Don’t reach the geriatric stage wishing you had done more. Change the behaviors now!

You’re doing yourself a disservice by not moving. Our minds often want the easiest routine, which makes a sedentary approach the default. It’s okay to fight that in our modern world, for the sake of our physical, mental and emotional longevity!

My routine and everyday life was drastically changed when I started to view it through a different lens. I started prioritizing movement, more challenges for my body, and more importantly, having fun with it.

Beach Volleyball, Pickleball, Sleds, Weightlifting; those are my go-to’s.

During my sedentary job - I get up, stretch on a mat, do some squats, do some hip hinges, and thankfully, part of my job involves teaching fitness classes. That’s not to say you can’t join classes as an equivalent.

You don’t have to start at 100% change. Start at a 1% change. “If you get 1% better each day for the year, you’ll end up 37X batter by the time the year is up.” (James Clear, Atomic Habits)