Here’s the truth about being healthy: it isn’t hard. You don’t need to take supplements, eat super foods or go on restrictive diets to be healthy. You simply need to move more. Just like our bodies need food and water to survive, they also need movement in order to function properly. In fact, movement is one of the best ways to reduce inflammation in your joints and muscles, improve cardiovascular health as well as manage pain if you have any issues with either one of those things! So let’s get started on how movement can help keep you moving towards better health!
Movement Is The Best and Most Important Medicine
Movement is the most important medicine for your body. It helps you feel better, reduce pain, sleep better, and reduces your risk of disease.
Movement makes you happier! Research shows that exercise can help increase your energy levels and make you feel good about life in general. Movement also can help relieve depression or anxiety which are two of the most common mental health conditions in America today.
You might not be aware but every time you sit down all day at work or school sitting increases your risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer just to name a few risks associated with too much sitting. This is why it’s so important to move more throughout the day even if it’s only walking instead of driving places like going to work or school instead of taking public transportation etc.. Even small increases in daily activity can have a big impact on your health as well as reducing pain symptoms such as back pain from sitting all day long at work/school etc…
Our Body Is Made To Move
When you think about it, the human body is a miracle of engineering. It allows us to move with grace and agility, despite the fact that our bones are not connected by joints.
Imagine what would happen if your bones were stuck together! You’d be unable to bend your arms or legs. You wouldn’t be able to twist or turn. Your body would be stiff and inflexible—not at all conducive to walking around and having fun!
In order for us humans to move like we do, our bodies have developed something called “articulations,” which allow us flexibility in our limbs. These include the shoulder joint (between your arm bone and shoulder blade), hip joint (between your thigh bone and pelvis), knee joint (between two leg bones) and ankle/foot joint where five metatarsal bones connect with three phalanges.
Increase Cardiovascular Health With Movement
Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in the US. It’s a big problem, to say the least. But you can do something about it: exercise! No matter what your fitness level, regular physical activity will help you maintain cardiovascular health and reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Exercise helps you maintain a healthy weight, which in turn reduces your risk of diabetes and other conditions that are associated with obesity. It also reduces your stress levels and anxiety, known contributors to cardiovascular disease. It as well improves sleep quality, which can lead to improved mood and motivation levels as well as lower blood pressure (which decreases stress on blood vessels).
The Link Between Inflammation And Movement
Inflammation is a natural response to injury or illness. It helps your body heal, but it can also be a bad thing if it becomes chronic. If you are constantly in pain, you are likely experiencing inflammation.
In order to help with inflammation and its effects on your body, it’s important that you move around as much as possible each day. This will help improve circulation and decrease stiffness in the joints and muscles that have been affected by the problem. Movement helps improve the flow of blood throughout your whole body; this helps transport nutrients into cells while removing waste products from those same cells. Movement also reduces stress levels which increases energy levels so you can enjoy more of what life has to offer!
Get Moving! 7 Ways To Move More Today!
Small Movement Changes
Get up and walk around every hour. Each time you need to get up, do so slowly, and make sure to take your time getting back down. Do not sit or stand in one place for more than 20 minutes at a time.
- Take the stairs whenever possible (and try using them even when they’re not). If you have an office job, try taking the elevator only once per building per day—the less we sit on elevators, the better!
- Walk to work or do errands instead of driving (or take public transportation if available). You can also park further away from your destination so that you’ll be walking more when going from car to building/store/etcetera; just remember that this means being aware of traffic conditions so as not to put yourself in danger! A little bit of extra effort will go a long way toward increasing activity levels!
Stand More Often
The most important thing you can do to keep your body feeling good and healthy is to stand more often. Movement is the best medicine for a healthy life. If you stand up and move around every hour, you will feel better than if you sit all day.
Here are some ways to make sure that happens:
- Stand up and stretch at least once an hour. This can be as simple as sitting on the edge of your chair with hands behind your head or stretching out one leg while standing. Just get up and move around!
- Stand up several times an hour and walk around for a few minutes each time. Sometimes this might mean just leaning against something other than your chair (a wall, desk etc) or walking over to another office cubicle or room in the building where no one else is working right now so that they don’t come look at what’s going on 😉 If people do see what’s happening though, don’t worry: they’re probably doing it too!
Move Your Body At Your Desk
If you have a desk job, then this is good news: movement can help you feel better and live longer. If you’re looking for ways to move your body while at work, here are some ideas:
- Use a standing desk. Standing desks allow you to stand instead of sitting all day. They’re great if you already have one and don’t want to spend money on something else (or if there are no other options). Try testing out how long it takes before your legs get tired from standing—and then increase the amount of time gradually until they’re comfortable!
- If you don’t have a standing desk, try using a foot stool or step to elevate your legs. This can help keep blood flowing to them during the day and prevent swelling or cramping. Alternatively, take breaks throughout the day by walking around for five minutes—or even just sitting in a chair that’s slightly lower than your normal one!
Engage In Some Friendly Competition
When it comes to getting more physically active, competition is a great motivator. It can also be a lot of fun! There are many ways you can compete with others, such as playing sports or games at the gym or in your neighborhood. Or you could challenge yourself by setting goals and tracking your progress over time to see how much more active you’ve become since starting out. If you’re not interested in competing against others and prefer to set personal goals for yourself, try signing up for an event like a 5K run—or even just walking around the block!
Workout With Friends, Family Or A Trainer
Exercise With Friends Or Family: You’ll always be more likely to show up for your workout if you have a friend or family member waiting for you. Whether it’s an early morning run with your spouse, a session at the gym with your best friend, or even just making sure that someone is expecting you to do something positive so it doesn’t fall off the agenda.
Find A Trainer: If you don’t have any friends who exercise, finding a trainer can help keep you accountable and push yourself harder than if doing the workout alone. If cost is an issue there are plenty of free resources like YouTube available both for beginner exercisers as well as those looking for more advanced workouts that include equipment such as kettlebells and TRX straps (a popular suspension training system).
Take A Hike, Literally.
Hiking is the perfect way to get active. Whether you’re looking for a leisurely stroll or an intense workout, hiking is an activity that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities.
You can hike just about anywhere, even in your own neighborhood. Most parks and trails offer safe opportunities for walking, jogging or running at various speeds and distances. If you are new to hiking I recommend starting with short walks on easy terrain until your body gets used to moving again!
Create A Walking Space In Your Home
This one applies for those of you that have it a really hard time moving around. It is all about optimizing your home. Set small movement goals so that you can move on to the bigger ones later.
- Create a walking space in your home.
Walking is a great way to get moving, but you can also do it anywhere! Focus on using your body more as you move around the house. Instead of taking the stairs two at a time, try taking one step at a time and resting with each step. This will help increase blood flow and prevent any strain on your joints.*
- Walk to the bathroom and kitchen for 30 minutes daily:
Whether it’s getting water from the fridge or going to the bathroom, walk there whenever possible instead of driving or sitting down all day long. Create small goals that are achievable so that it feels like you’re actually doing something instead of just wasting time while holding onto something heavy like groceries.*
Conclusion
I hope you’ve discovered some interesting information about movement, and how important it is to your health. If you’re not moving enough, we encourage you to try some of these tips and see how they work for you. Remember that it can take time to develop new habits so don’t give up hope right away! The key takeaway here is that if we want our bodies to stay healthy and pain-free, then we need look no further than the one thing they crave most: movement!