Get Up, Stand Up
I am asked all of the time how I have so much energy. Well, I spend many hours a day moving my body vigorously and that stokes my fire for the rest of my day. It is like breathing into the flames to bring more heat. Regardless of the weather, of your sleep habits, or your energy level, MOVE your body. You will feel so much better for it. Whether it is a jog, tennis, basketball, volleyball, cross fit, indoor cycling, rowing, doing BodyRock TV, or 8 minutes of jumping jacks. Give your body the opportunity to flush out energy that is sitting and needs to flow. Give your body the opportunity to sweat out toxins that it cannot without a little push. Give your body the opportunity to stretch and reach and show some of the potential for movement it has.
We are not supposed to sit all day. In Australia there was a study of more than 200,000 people that concluded that those who sit most die soonest. Exercise does not take away this effect, though it does reduce it greatly. People who sat more than 11 hours a day had a 40% higher risk of dying in the next 3 years than people who sat less than four hours a day. (This was concluded after adjusting for age, weight, physical activity and general health status).
Yes, I mean to scare you. If that will get you up out of your chair and into a gym, or outside, or in your living room to begin a daily exercise routine, then so be it. So many of us worry about working out too much. Worrying that our bodies need to 'rest' and that we need to let the soreness retreat before we move our bodies intensely again. Hogwash!! Worry about the effects of being physically still. Say you workout for 45 minutes or 3x/week and sleep 8 hours a day. You still have almost 15.5 hours left in your day. Do you spend most of it sitting?
"We're finding that people who sit more have less desirable levels of cholesterol, blood sugar, triglycerides and even waist size, which increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and a number of health problems." ~Steven Blair, Epidemiologist
So, how can you tweak your daily routine to take the sitting out of it, just a little bit? Give your body a break by moving it most of the day. You will not be sorry.
xo
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