Let’s talk about movement. For some, the idea of increasing activity can be daunting. Injuries, joint pain, chronic illnesses – these can all be difficult challenges to overcome. No matter where your starting point is or what your barriers are, there are ways to increase your movement on a daily basis.
If you are blessed to be able to walk without significant pain or difficulty, then walk! Find activities during your day where you normally would be sitting or not moving and add movement to these. This could be walking while on the phone, or choosing to carry one item at a time from the car rather than loading up and carrying everything in at once. If you are out running errands, park farther away and increase your number of steps for the day. If you are cooking dinner, turn on some music and get dancing! This is great not only for your body but also for your mood. In my house, there is silly dancing going on all the time!
If you find walking difficult, start with arm mobility exercises. Use a small hand weight (or a can of soup!) and get those arms moving. You can also sit in a chair or lay in bed and raise one leg at a time. Do this for 5 minutes at a time 3-5 times per day. Slowly increase the length of these workouts.
The goal is simply to increase the amount that your body moves each day. Consistency is very important to long term success. Make sure that the activities you choose are something that you can keep doing. This is easiest when we start small, connect it to other tasks that we already do on a daily basis, and are patient with ourselves and our bodies. In this way, you will be moving in the right direction!