Add More Movement into Your Day

Add More Movement into Your Day

With so many time and effort-saving devices and services available these days, our lives have become quite sedentary. We drive rather than walk, hire laborers to clean our homes and manicure our yards—there are even services that will do our food shopping for us. No wonder we keep gaining weight!

Study after study shows that if we are to maintain healthy bodies and sharp minds, you and I need to be moving on purpose. Purposeful movement (which includes traditional exercise) has been proven to ward off disease, disability, depression, and dementia. In order to gain these health benefits researchers suggest we include 30 minutes of activity into our day, 3-5 times per week.

I am purposefully using the term “movement” rather than “exercise” because I want you to think outside the box of conventional “exercise” in order to rack up minutes in your “health account”. Every day activity, done at a quickened, slightly breathless pace is just as effective!

Here are some non-traditional movement suggestions to get you moving on purpose this week:

• Park farther away in parking lots, and then walk briskly to, and through, the store.
• Pretend your food shopping trip is being timed…and then get a move on!
• Perform your house cleaning in half hour, non-stop bouts.
• Do your own yard work…or at least some of it. Rake some leaves, dig some dirt, prune some bushes, or sweep some sand.
• Avoid the elevator altogether, or get out a few floors below your final destination and walk up the remaining flights. Start with one flight and then increase the number of stairs climbed each month.
• Plan physical activity into your family outings—rather than movie or board game night.
• Turn on some music and have a personal dance party (or worship-fest) for half an hour.

Whatever way you chose to move, know this—your body will thank you for years to come!