Movement Matters

Movement has become one of the most overcomplicated parts of health. Somewhere along the line, we started believing that exercise only “counts” if:

It’s intense

It breaks a sweat

It leaves us in pain

It’s done in a gym

It’s tracked on a smartwatch…

And if we won’t be able to do it “properly”, we often end up not doing it at all.

But our bodies don’t view movement the same way social media does.

Your body doesn’t care if you’re dressed in branded activewear, whether you’ve hit a personal best or whether your workout was hard enough to post about online. Your body simply responds to movement itself. Reframing movement helps reduce overwhelm and makes activity feel more achievable (and enjoyable).

Walking counts.

Stretching counts.

Gardening counts.

Cleaning counts.

Carrying groceries counts.

Taking the stairs counts.

Playing with your children counts.

Standing up during a work day counts.

20 minutes counts.

10 minutes counts.

Your body benefits from movement far more often and at much lower intensities than most people realise.

Someone once said to me “if we were designed to sit, we’d have rough skin on our bums”. But we don’t. The tough skin is on our feet, because our bodies were designed to move regularly.

When we move, multiple systems in the body respond immediately:

• Blood circulation improves

• Muscles contract

• Joints lubricate

• Stress hormones regulate

• Insulin sensitivity improves

• Lymphatic fluid circulates

• Blood flow to the brain increases

• And mood-stabilising chemicals are released.

  
  

One of the reasons people feel sluggish, stiff or foggy after long periods of sitting is because the body essentially becomes less physiologically “active.”

Movement is literally a signal to your body that says “you’re okay”.

Ironically, one of the biggest reasons people avoid movement is because they feel tired, but regular movement is one of the most effective ways to improve energy levels, and a 10 minute walk will do much more for you than a 2 hour nap.

When you move, your heart pumps blood more efficiently so oxygen delivery improves, your mitochondria (the energy factories in your cells) become better at their job, and therefore your body becomes better at producing and using energy.

But what about structured exercise?

Even though gardening every Saturday or walking the mall for some retail therapy counts, it doesn’t replace the need for a bit of intentional exercise. Strength training improves muscle mass, bone density, metabolism, balance, mobility and insulin-sensitivity. Cardiovascular exercise improves heart health, circulation, lung capacity, endurance and recovery capacity. But intentional exercise is only one piece of the movement puzzle - you cannot out train 12 hours of sitting. Someone who trains for 1 hour every day but sits for 12 hours a day is still considered sedentary.

How much is actually enough?

For general health, 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week is sufficient.

Let’s break that down into real life.

Moderate intensity is when your breathing increases slightly, your heart rate goes up, but you can still hold a conversation.

i.e. brisk walking, casual cycling, swimming, hiking.

And that boils down to just 20 - 30 minutes a day.

It's very doable when you think of it like this.

Do we really need 10 000 steps a day?

This question gets asked a lot and there is a lot of pressure to ‘perform’ when it comes to step counts.

The answer is - not necessarily.

The 10 000-step target actually originated from a Japanese marketing campaign for a pedometer in the 1960s. It was never meant to be a perfect scientific threshold. That doesn’t mean walking is unimportant. Walking is incredibly beneficial. But health is not determined by whether you hit exactly 10 000 steps or not.

Research now shows that health benefits increase progressively as movement increases.

In other words:

2000 steps is better than 500.

5000 is better than 2,000.

7000 - 8000 steps provides substantial health benefits for many people.

The question should rather be “how can I move more than I currently do”. If you're currently doing 1500 steps a day, try increase this to 2000 steps a day, and you'll notice a benefit.

Movement should fit your life.

One of the healthiest mindset shifts you can make is to stop viewing movement as punishment.

Exercise is not something you need to “earn” food.

Movement is not only valuable if it changes your body.

And fitness does not need to look extreme to improve your health.

The best form of movement is the one you can continue doing consistently.

For one person, that may be:

walking after dinner,

stretching before bed,

or standing more during the workday.

For someone else, it may be:

strength training,

hiking,

running,

dancing,

cycling,

or swimming.

All movement exists on a spectrum, and all movement has value.

But what about the extremely busy, working people?

If you currently feel unfit, exhausted, stressed, overwhelmed, menopausal, burnt out or like there’s no extra time in your day, the idea of starting exercise can feel enormous. But you don’t have to overhaul your life overnight.

Start small.

A 10 minute walk at the same time each day.

A stretch before bed.

Two minutes of movement between meetings.

Standing up and pacing during a call.

Often, the people with the healthiest long-term habits are not the people doing the most intense workouts - they are the people who simply keep moving regularly in ways that fit their lives.

Because movement is not supposed to take over your life.

It’s supposed to support it.

Health is not an all or nothing game.