Introduction

Welcome to the sixth Forever Young Club article called “Introduction To Physical Activity”. There is a link to a short video above which covers the same content, so you have a choice of reading the article or watching the video, or both.

The evidence supporting the many health benefits of physical activity is very clear. So much so, that it’s often called the secret sauce or as close to a miracle cure for improving your health as there exists in the modern world.

Despite this evidence, the vast majority of people are not nearly as active as they really should be. There are many reasons for this ranging from our fast developing culture of convenience to confusion about physical activity and/or a lack of knowledge about it.

Unfortunately, this inactivity plays its part in the many health problems we face including heart disease, stroke, cancer, obesity, diabetes and coming down the track very quickly, dementia/Alzheimers which is expected to triple in numbers within 30 years.

Planned v Unplanned Exercise

We’ve chosen the term “Physical Activity” as one of our 5 core topics because it’s such a broad topic which includes all forms of exercise, both planned and unplanned. Planned exercise is going for a walk, a run, a swim, a cycle or to the gym, three or four times a week. Unplanned exercise is everything else; all the activity or moving you do throughout the day, excluding planned exercise.

Unfortunately, this unplanned physical activity has been decimated during our lifetime. You’ve probably heard the term “sitting is the new smoking” and while this may be an exaggeration to make the point, there is no doubt that many of us have developed what is actually a relatively sedentary lifestyle.

Moving Throughout The Day

Physical activity is such a broad topic that there is plenty of material for future articles. So if there is one relatively simple message I would like to make today, which will have a significant impact on your health, it’s to start moving throughout the day.

Back in Article 2, Pat said that you’ll hear us talk a lot about the importance of developing a “moving mindset” to overcome our tendency towards an ever-increasing sedentary lifestyle. Here are 3 simple things you can do immediately which will make a big difference:

• Take the stairs whenever and wherever you can.
• Stand up and walk around your office/home, when on your phone/mobile.
• Hold as many outdoor, walking meetings as you can.

Your Comments/Questions

We’d love to hear what you think of this article on Physical Activity. Please leave your comments below and let us know if you have any questions. If you prefer, please feel free to email me at pat@patfalvey.com.