Exercise vs Movement

Somewhere along the way as we became grown-ups, we came to believe that in order to be ‘fit’ and ‘healthy’ we must exercise and the harder the better. Exercise must be intense, it must equal pain and pain is good.

Kids love jumping, running, skipping and rolling around on the floor and at one stage that was us, you and me, too. As we got older and more responsible, we’ve forgotten how moving around in a less structured way was fun, and how it should be just a part of life. Instead, our lives are divided into working (usually that’s sitting), and relaxing ( oftentimes that too is sitting – sitting and chatting with friends, sitting and eating, sitting and drinking, sitting and watching TV) and we’ve created pockets of time in our days and weeks that we devote to ‘exercise’ in order to become, or stay, ‘fit’ and ‘healthy’. Although we’re exercising, we may not be moving enough.

The bad news is that research[1] is showing even if you devote say, 3 to 5 hours of week to structured exercise, if you spend the rest of your week sitting at work, in the car, on the couch or in front of the tv, you may not be in a better position healthwise than the person who does no structured exercise but instead walks to work, gardens, walks the dog and plays with the kids each day.

All exercise is movement, but not all movement is necessarily exercise. Just because we’re exercising doesn’t mean we are getting all the movement our bodies need each day. That’s not to say we shouldn’t bother exercising, but more that we should also consider how much other non-exercise movement we’re getting in our life.

According to Katy Bowman, bio-mechanist,[2] “People have not exercised throughout history. Exercise is the modern man’s equivalent to nutritional supplements. In the same way supplements should not be bulk of your diet, exercise should not be the bulk of your movement profile.”

Our bodies were made to move and moving in different directions, through different ranges and at different speeds feeds our joints, muscles and brain. So the focus is not necessarily to do more structured exercise but instead to focus on getting more non-exercise movement in our day.

How this might look:

• Standing at work instead of sitting
• Walking as you talk – walking meetings or talking on the phone
• Parking your car further than you need to
• Walking or cycling instead of driving when you can
• Sitting on the floor to eat
• Playing with your kids, not just watching them play

Here at Kula Wellness, it’s not just about exercise, it’s also about making movement a part of your lifestyle and a part of your day everyday.

[1] http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/index.php/free-content/free-content/volume-1-issue-17-sitting-too-much-may-be-hazardous-to-your-health/sitting-too-much-may-be-hazardous-to-your-health/

[2] https://breakingmuscle.com/mobility-recovery/this-year-exercise-less