One of the things we talk about with our clients is that they need to include 15-30+ minutes of low-intensity, low impact daily movement in their day. This can look anything like stretching/yoga, walking the dogs, a bike ride around the neighborhood, you name it. Something low-intensity and not stress-producing.
We do this for many reasons.
We sit too much.
As human beings with desk jobs, we sit way too much throughout the day. And what’s the first thing you do when you get home? Sit on the couch and watch TV all night. So you go from sitting, to more sitting.
Once upon a time, the new saying was, “Sitting is the new smoking.” And I wholeheartedly agree.
We’re weak on our backsides, overly tight on our front sides, and then we spend all day hunched over looking at our computers or our phone screens. It’s awful. No wonder we’re such a messed up society.
Getting out and getting some low-intensity activity for 15-30 minutes will be rejuvenating for your body in so many different ways. This is just one of them.
Metabolically, it will help you lose weight.
Many of us run stressful lives. As a decompressing mechanism, some low-intensity activity in your day can be a very powerful tool to manage your stress. By lowering your cortisol throughout the day, and over time, you will see better results when it comes to your weight loss goals.
Many times we think we need that high-intensity, soul crushing, sweat everywhere type of workout to be our stress outlet. While high intensity workouts have their merits, if your body is in a chaotic state as it is, adding more gasoline to the fire is only going to exacerbate the issue. Your best tool to fight this is a walk on your lunch break, or at the end of the day when you get home. Some of my clients do it first thing in the morning to get their brains going and ready for the day.
NEAT – Burn more energy at rest.
One of the main reasons we get our clients to do this, is because it’s going to make your body learn to burn more calories at rest. Along with other strategies like increasing lean muscle mass, burning more calories at rest will also help you move towards your weight loss goals more successfully.
And to reiterate on point #1, if all we do all day is sit – you are basically resting. So let’s make that time the most efficient we can, and get our bodies to burn more calories in this state.
It seems like a silly thing to say to our clients because it’s basic and easy – “Go for a 20 minute walk everyday.” But how many of you do this consistently, already? This is actually something hard to stick with, because the merit in it is not seen right away. But if you can stick with it, you’re moving that needle forward in a more positive direction when it comes to weight loss, stress management, and overall health and well-being.
For some people alone, incorporating this 20 minute walk everyday can be life changing for them. I once had a client who all we did was work on his nutrition habits and walk 3-4x a day, and the end result was getting him off his insulin medication.
Don’t overestimate how powerful that daily movement can be.
So let me know – how many of you incorporate some daily movement of some type into your day already? What is it? Are you consistent with it?
What reasons do you do this for, or do you even know?
And if you haven’t done this or haven’t found a way to be successful with this, share with me why. I can provide you with some strategies to help you get started and help you stick with it.
Alright, share with me!
