Healthy Movement to Keep Fit, Flexible, and Alert
Physical activity is great for your general health and well-being, but too much or too little won’t give you the results you want. You should strive to be active as much as possible, lessening the amount of time you spend seated and inactive. But what movement is best to do when you want to be active?
Is Some Exercise Better than None?
Some exercise is better than none because even a small amount of physical activity can have positive effects on your health and well-being. According to the mayo clinic, some benefits of exercise include improved mood, weight control, disease prevention, better sleep, and more energy.
However, it is also important to follow the guidelines for physical activity from the world health organization, which recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity per week, as well as muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days per week.
What Movement is Best for Exercise?
There is no best movement, but there is a movement that you can do anytime and a movement that you enjoy. Walking is a great example. You can walk at any time of day and it is a very healthy way to stay active and exercise with a very low impact on the joints.
When we think of cardio we usually think of running or biking, but walking is another great form of cardio that nearly anyone can do. Walking for as little as 10 minutes a day on top of your daily walking can manage the negative effects of sitting.
This is important if you sit most of your day and have low mobility or flexibility because of it.
If you enjoy something else like running, a sport like soccer or basketball, or martial arts, you can do those instead or alongside walking. We walk every day, all the time, but if you like something as a cardio hobby you can do that instead.
Doing what you enjoy as cardio is a great way to stay motivated as you exercise because you will not be discouraged or bored of doing what you want. If you do not have a hobby that can keep you fit, you can find something that you like doing that can also get your heart rate up and get you active.
There is something for everyone, whether it is a sport or a simple pastime.
How Do I Stay Flexible?
Staying flexible just means being consistent with your physical activity. You can increase your flexibility with stretches and exercises that strengthen the parts of your body you want increased flexibility in. Exercise in general will keep you flexible and able to get into flexible positions.
It also depends on the exercise, if you only walk you will not keep a tremendous amount of flexibility because of how limited walking is, but if you have a complete workout routine that you do consistently, you can keep a significant amount of flexibility and even increase your flexibility.
You do not need a strenuous routine to stay flexible either, just stay moving with a simple routine that consists of resistance training, a solid warm-up and cool-down, and a cardio exercise you do a few times a week. At that point, your flexibility should increase and you will be healthy.
How Much Exercise Do I Need?
To stay fit and flexible you do not need to exercise every day or for many hours a day. All you need is to work out three times per week and do cardio for 150 minutes at a moderate intensity. More exercise than this will not yield more results unless your goal is to build a lot of muscle.
Even then you can workout three times a week and still build a lot of muscle. It is not about how much you workout, it is how you workout. You can work out at a high intensity most days if you prioritize rest and recovery and take rest days. You can also work out at a moderate or low intensity daily without risk of injury because of how low the intensity of the workout is. The more often and the harder you work out or push yourself physically, the higher the risk of injury or overexertion that leads to sickness.
It is important to exercise with balance and moderation in mind. If you want to be flexible the same thing applies. When stretching in any way, do not push past your limits or do too much stretching. Doing too much stretching or stretching past your limits can very easily create the environment for an injury and very long-lasting injuries as well.
The body also needs rest when stretched, so take rest days from stretching along your workout. Stretching should be light and beneficial as a warm-up and cool-down, but entire stretching sessions are just like workouts. Stretching is used to lengthen and strengthen a muscle to increase flexibility. Stretching goes hand in hand with muscle growth.
How Do I Increase My Flexibility?
Just like anything you want to get good at, you must do it consistently and challenge yourself. To become more flexible you need to put yourself into flexible positions more often and strengthen the muscles you want more flexibility in.
For example, if you want to have more flexible legs, specifically to get into the splits position, you will do a few things.
First, you will as often as possible, this should be 5-6 times a week, multiple times a day if you choose. Then you will try to push yourself most minimally into deeper stretched positions.
If you can barely get your upper legs onto the floor while trying a split position, you can very slowly open your legs more so that the stretch is even deeper. In this position breathe deeply and hold the stretch for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Your body will begin to increase flexibility to reach the new limits you have gone to. On top of this, doing regular strength training in relation to the positions you want to get in will also help tremendously.
Final Thought on Is Some Exercise Better than None
To have healthy movement and stay active in a healthy way, you must have moderation and proper rest.
If you want to stay flexible as you stay physically active, have a consistent resistance training and stretching routine as you warm up and cool down. From here focus on deep breathing during stretching exercises and do exercises you enjoy!
If you don’t enjoy it, you will not stay consistent and you are less likely to stay physically active.
