Centuries ago, our ancestors did not have a choice on whether they wanted to move their bodies. Their livelihood depended on moving. Our ancestors had to search and hunt for food and water to survive. In today’s world, movement has become an option. There is no need for us to be hunters or gatherers to survive. Instead, we have the luxury of getting into our cars, parking in the closest parking spot and walking a mere 100 steps into the grocery store. With the enhancement of technology, we live an easier life than those before us. However, these enhancements have made for a more sedentary lifestyle. People can now order food, clothes, and watch movies online without moving anything other than their fingers. Given the choice, we choose the elevator over the stairs and would hesitate to go on a walk. These behaviors, paired with poor eating habits, have led us to being the unhealthiest we’ve ever been. We now suffer from metabolic diseases, anxiety, and depression more in this current age compared to those in the past. This comes as no surprise, as physical inactivity has been identified as the 4^th leading risk factor for death globally (Khol 3rd, et al., 2012). Choosing to be sedentary is killing us, as it has led many to obesity, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and diabetes (Guthold, Stevens, Riley, & Bull, 2018).

Thankfully, the negative effects of physical inactivity can be reversed or lessened to a greater degree, if we chose to sit less and move more. In my college years, I was fortunate to work with a few older individuals that suffered from cardiovascular diseases in the past. For many of them, implementing exercise and being more active throughout their day, resulted in: being prescribed less medications, and improved their ability to better manage stress and weight. Increased physical activity has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure and type 2 diabetes (Reiner, Niermann, Jekauc, & Woll, 2013). It also decreases yearly weight gain and aids in weight management (Reiner, Niermann, Jekauc, & Woll, 2013).

So now that we understand, why we should be moving more. The question is, how much exercise is enough to reap the benefits? The global recommendation of aerobic exercise is 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week (Guthold R. , Stevens, Riley, & Bull, 2018). Examples of this would be: going on a hike with friends, brisk walking, or playing your favorite sport activity for 20 – 60-minutes about 3-5 times per week. If anyone is short on time, exercise bouts of 10 minutes, 3 times a day has been shown to have the same positive effect as continuous exercise (Murphy, Lahart, Carlin, & Murtagh, 2019). A minimum requirement of resistance training 2 times per week is recommended to build muscle and stronger bones (Fiataraone Singh, Hackett, Schoenfeld, Vincent, & Wescott, 2019). This can be done by finding 4-6 movements to perform per session using bodyweight, resistance bands, free weights, or machines at the gym.

Getting into the groove of being more active can be intimidating and we often question how to start. I recommend that you start simple, by doing an activity that feels effortless to do on a regular basis, before progressing to movement that is challenging and heavily taxes the body. Do not be fooled into thinking that you must push to your absolute limit to reap the rewards. Starting simple, for many of society looks like taking the stairs instead of the elevator or driving further away from your destination and walking the rest. What would help you to find the most success, is finding what moves you. Whatever activity inspires you to keep going, and the one you can see yourself doing most days of the week is the activity you should be doing. As more of us embark on our health and fitness journey, I hope we can all find what moves us, as our bodies are designed to move.

Works Cited

Khol 3rd, H. W., Craig, C. L., Lambert, E. V., Inoue, S., Alkandri, J. R., Leetongin, G., . . . Lancet Physical Activity Series Working Group. (2012). The Lancet. The pandemic of physical inactivity: global action for public health, 294-305.

Guthold, R., Stevens, A. G., Riley, M. L., & Bull, C. F. (2018, September 4). Worldwide trends in insufficient physical activity from 2001 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 358 population-based surveys with 1·9 million participants. The Lancet, 1-10. Retrieved from thelancet.com: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S2214-109X(18)30357-7

Reiner, M., Niermann, C., Jekauc, D., & Woll, A. (2013). Long-term health benefits of physical activity – a systematic review of longitudinal studies. BMC Public Health , 1471-2458.

Guthold, R., Stevens, G. A., Riley, L. M., & Bull, F. C. (2018). Worldwide trends in insufficient physical activity from 2001 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 358 population-based surveys with 1·9 million participants. The Lancet, 1077-1086.

Murphy, M. H., Lahart, I., Carlin, A., & Murtagh, E. (2019). The Effects of Continuous Compared to Accumulated Exercise on Health: A Meta-Analytic Review . Sports Medicine, 1585-1607.

Fiataraone Singh, M., Hackett, D., Schoenfeld, B., Vincent, H. K., & Wescott, W. (2019, July 31). ACSM Guidelines for Strength Training. Retrieved from ACSM.org: https://www.acsm.org/blog-detail/acsm-certified-blog/2019/07/31/acsm-guidelines-for-strength-training-featured-download