
Human bodies aren’t meant to sit all day. They are meant to walk, run, lift, carry, even swim.
These days most of us are not moving enough, and I pretty sure you are aware of the difference being locked down has made.
And even if there was no lockdown there are those of you who don’t like going to the gym, lifting weights or doing other group classes. But I would not put movement and exercise in the same category. Moving around is a very low key activity which we can and should be keep doing throughout the day whereas cardio or strength training should be reserved for short period of time (30-60 minutes) where we train from 60-100% of our VO2max
Movement is life and you directly feel the difference right away. When you sit, your muscles relax and your blood doesn’t pump as efficiently. That means less blood to your heart, higher blood pressure, and less efficient elimination of fat and waste products. Prolonged sitting has been linked to insulin resistance; a higher risk of cancers, including colon and breast cancer; muscle atrophy; circulation problems; neck and back strain.
And of-course you burn 30 percent more calories standing than sitting, so if you sit less, you will probably drop some weight, even without changing anything else.
So what can you do?
Take every opprortunity to wake-up early and connect with nature, breathe freash air and move. I had the luck to be able to work at my garden every day for a few weeks in November and December and it was a life changing experience.
January on the other hand was not such a good month. The lockdown, the weather, work and the daily cycle all contirbuted to having 5.6K steps on avg/day. And I really felt i was sitting all day.
So I get you and all the tips below will be in my daily routine already from today!
When we wake-up we are always stiff. How about bringing some length to our entire body with only one posture?
One of the essential life postures which humans especially in Western cultures seem to have forgotten is the deep squat. It has so many benefits, you should read about it.
Try starting your day by sitting in a deep squat for 10 minutes. Every joint in our body has synovial fluid in it. This is the oil in our body that provides nutrition to the cartilage. Two things are required to produce that fluid: movement and compression. If a joint doesn’t go through its full range—if the hips and knees never go past 90 degrees—the body says ‘I’m not being used’ and starts to degenerate and stops the production of synovial fluid.
A very good example of moving while working from the @naturallifestyleist. Keep it simple and at your level of comfort.