So Why is Daily Movement Important?

A lot of people dread exercise because they connect working out with weight loss and
body image and feel like it’s something they are “supposed to do” and not necessarily
enjoy. They go to the gym and use cardio machines and do dozens of crunches and
then feel miserable because they don’t have a fitness model body. So, they stop going.

Moving your body every day is about more than just exercise and looking better.
Healthy movement improves your thinking, relationships and purpose in life. As a
bonus, it will also improve your health, body composition and function. Plus, healthy
movement is about doing activities you actually enjoy.

As you age, if you’re not intentional about keeping your muscles active, you’ll see a
gradual decline in your muscle tissue starting in your 30s. You can lose as much as 3%
to 5% of your muscle mass each decade!

Staying active will not only make you stronger and help you look better, but by having
more lean muscle mass on your body, you’ll burn more fat during the day. Plus, weight-
bearing activities are a great way to prevent bone loss as you get older.

Think about how you feel after you’ve been sitting around for hours, versus how you feel
when you’re up moving around. You feel better when you’re active, right?

Movement gives you energy and has also been shown to be great for reducing stress,
anxiety and depression, as well as keeping you looking and feeling younger.

However, our lives are structured in a way that makes it hard to get regular movement –
we sit in cars or on public transportation on the way to and from work. We sit at desks
for much of our work day. We come home and sit down and watch TV.

You were born to move!

No matter what your current activity level, the more you move, the better your body will
function. This means you’ll be able to move well and climb stairs or hills; step over
obstacles; carry groceries; stand up from sitting down or get up from the floor; grasp
and hold objects, pull or drag things, walk an energetic dog etc.

Once you start moving more, you become more functional which inspires more
confidence. The confidence makes you want to move even more, which leads to
improved fitness and body composition and even more function and confidence.

What I want you to learn through this 5-day challenge is that you don’t need “workouts”
to move. Our ancestors didn’t go to an exercise class. They were walking, climbing,
running, crawling, swimming, digging, squatting, throwing and carrying things. They
danced. They played.
Working out is simply a way to get your body to move more – but it’s not necessary if
you program regular movement into your day.

How much do you sit in a day?

On average, North American sit for almost 10 hours each day. This includes sitting time
at meals, at work, commuting, and at home.

In recent years, research has shown that sitting for more than four hours each day can
lead to:

o Heart disease
o Diabetes
o Obesity
o Cancer
o Back ache
o Dementia
o Depression
o Muscle degeneration

Estimate the time you spend sitting on an average working day so that you can go
through this 5-day challenge and participate to the full extent.