Inactivity saps the strength of the body; movement restores it.

Plato - 427 BCE to 347 BCE.

We’ve made progress in medicine. In technology. In convenience.

But in the name of advancement, we’ve regressed in one crucial area; we stopped moving.

Movement, the original medicine, the primal healer, now has to be scheduled.
And yet, when we do move, with purpose, with rhythm, with resistance, our entire system thanks us.

Increased energy. Better sleep. More clarity.
It’s not motivation we’re lacking. It’s momentum.

Where across the course of your day today, could you consider where it might be that more movement would move you more?

Life rewards action.

Long before commercial gyms and mirror selfies, the Ancient Greeks trained under the open sky. Their gymnasiums were as much about mental discipline as they were about physical strength.

In 1811, Friedrich Ludwig Jahn opened the first outdoor "Turnplatz" in Berlin, more a movement revolution than a gym.

By 1826, Boston had welcomed the first commercial fitness facility.
Two hundred years later, there are over 230,000 gyms worldwide, including more than 4,500 in Australia, half of which are open 24 hours a day.

And yet the most powerful workout still requires no membership. Just space. Intention. And 30 minutes. Walking.

Where across the course of your day today, could you consider where it might be that you schedule a non-negotiable 30 minutes of movement across the next 7 days and the next 7 days after that, until movement simply becomes part of who you are, for the rest of your days?

I have met so many people over the years who have told me that they used to be fit. They present as very unfit when they offer this information. I always asked them why they decided to not be fit anymore and they will mention an injury.

Armed with this information, I have ensured that I have moved in some way every day for 30 minutes and maintained my protein requirement of 2.2 grams per kilogram of my body weight, while waiting for the all-clear from the neurosurgeon to resume weightlifting.

I started my day with a 1-hour walk.

I had a very humbling experience later today, after getting the all-clear from the Doctor, of lifting 4-kilo weights for half an hour.

Here is the workout I did, which can be scaled to any weight you can handle, and for which I plan to increase the weight on my comeback trail gradually.

1 min Pushups

1 min Squats

1 min Bicep Curls (or any weighted object)

1 min Alternating Lunges

1 min Shoulder Press

1 min Deadlifts (or toe touches with arms raised)

1 min Bent-over Rows

1 min Plank or Sit-ups

Repeat 4x. Done in 32 minutes.

Now, if you schedule this 3x a week and add a 30-minute walk on four other days.
That’s your 150 minutes World Health Organisation-approved movement target achieved.

As much as aesthetically I could be more pleasing to myself than I feel right now, muscle isn’t just for show. It’s for life.

They call it the “longevity organ” for a reason. Substantial muscle mass protects your joints, boosts metabolism, and helps keep your independence well into later life.

Where across the course of your day today could you consider where it might be that you block out 30 minutes to give the above workout a crack at your pace and your comfort level?

No excuses. Just schedule it.

Schedule rhymes with “said you will”

Do what you said you will do.

While you’re thinking about that, think about this and have a Gr8 day!

Be well.

DL

“Nothing happens until something moves."
Albert Einstein - 1879 - 1955