I just got back from a walk around a gorgeous park with a large variety of wildlife of all varieties. We saw ducks, eagles, seals, squirrels, and many fancy birds. It is grey and a little cold out, it even rained a bit off and on, but if you are looking to turn your mood around, nothing beats a stroll in nature.
A recent study concluded that nature can make positive contributions to our health, and it can also help us recover from pre-existing stresses or problems. The coolest part, in my opinion, is that exposure to nature can have an “immunizing effect” that will then protect us from future stresses, and can help us concentrate and think more clearly.
So do yourself a favour and find an area with some grass, maybe some trees, and go for a walk. It will do wonders for you.
My guest, Abel James, is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Musician, and Online Creator. Although he’s the host of the award-winning Fat-Burning Man show, we dig into his past as a brain scientist to talk about how it affected his views on wellness.
I love my standing workstation. It would take something major to make me go back to sitting all day at a desk.
But, as a wise biomechanist (Katy Bowman) once said in her book Don’t Just Sit There: “swapping one static position (sitting) for another static position (standing) isn’t our goal.” The goal is to keep your body moving – or said another way, dynamic!
In this video, I show you the many ways I keep my workday dynamic by using different heights of surfaces, different sitting positions, and different seats. Even if you don’t have a desk that adjusts its height, you can use the ideas in this video to make sure you change your geometry during the day.
Because, as we know, our bodies adjust to what we do most not what we do in the 30-90 minutes we allocate for our exercise time.
Most wellness and fitness experts agree that our human meat sack bodies are not really suited for all the sitting we do in our modern, convenience-laden lifestyles. There are a ton of studies that have linked the steep increase in sedentary time to the steep increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease. But evolutionarily speaking, how does this really stack up? Are we really that much more sedentary than we were a few hundred or thousands of years ago? Let’s look at what the science says.
In my last newsletter, I mentioned that I had joined the team at Nutritious Movement. And two weeks later, I am still loving it!
I am loving it for many reasons but among those reasons is that they often do their in-person (and virtual) meetings on the go. This is a photo I took during our yearly planning meeting.
The truth is that you don’t have to work for a company with the word “movement” in its name to adopt this type of behavior – anyone can do it! And you don’t have to worry about sacrificing productivity or focus either. In fact, studies have shown that our meat-sacks brains are actually more productive, creative, and focussed when we are walking than when we are sitting…under fluorescent lights… in a dull board room.
Jus’ sayin’.
If any of the following topics happen to tickle your fancy, click the underlined text to read or listen.
Podcasts:
Second Wind Fitness – Movement Snacks – if you like the benefits BUT don’t like to exercise Maybe you aren’t interested in “getting buff” and have no interest in running a 10k never mind a marathon. Well, there are still plenty of reasons for you to move your body more often. And in this episode, we’ll look at not only why you might want to do that but we’ll also look at the how – by introducing a (not so) new idea called Movement Snacks!
Second Wind Fitness – Drop the Ego and Train Smarter with Craig “Crowie” Alexander (SansEgo) In this episode, Craig Alexander (the oldest athlete ever to win the IM World Championship title) joins me to talk about how important it is to really enjoy your fitness routine – whether you’re a world champion or a mere mortal (like the rest of us).
Change Academy – 50K Tuneup: Engine In Part 3 of our 50,000 Mile Tuneup Series, we turn our attention to our bodies: the engine that powers our physical movement through space.
Most people think core workouts are all about crunches and sit-ups but we can work the core very effectively with movements (mostly) made by the legs.
In this video, I demonstrate:
Double Legs Raise
Donkey Kicks
Flutter Kick
Plank Toe Taps
Feet Circles
Mountain Climber
If you do these together, it makes a heck of a core workout. And, as you can see, you can do it anywhere you have room – and you don’t have to even change your clothes!
In this episode, Craig Alexander (the oldest athlete ever to win the IM World Championship title) joins me to talk about how important it is to really enjoy your fitness routine – whether you’re a world champion or a mere mortal (like the rest of us).
Maybe you aren’t interested in “getting buff” and have no interest in running a 10k never mind a marathon. Well, there are still plenty of reasons for you to move your body more often. And in this episode, we’ll look at not only why you might want to do that but we’ll also look at the how – by introducing a (not so) new idea called Movement Snacks!
I have some exciting personal news – I have officialy joined the team at Nutritious Movement!
If you don’t know that name, you may know the name Katy Bowman (I reference her biomechanic work a LOT). After years of doing things like editing her podcast, preparing her audio books, and nerding out with her at the beach, I have officially joined her team as a (what I am calling) Movement Evagelist!
My guest, Abi Carver, is the founder of and head instructor at Yoga 15, a two-time 200-Hour Yoga Alliance Certified Yoga Teacher, and a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer. So yeah, she knows a thing or two about how the body moves. Which makes her the perfect person to explain how we can use yoga to support our fitness endeavours.
