The secret to health and longevity – is it in sports?
Is it necessary to go to the gym every day or buy a “treadmill”, a bike and a step trainer if we want to be healthy?
We are obviously well informed. We have read about many centenarians. We have noticed that there are areas of the planet with very long life spans.
Surely these areas are full of gyms and sports equipment stores?
Well, probably not.
What do people do there to stay so healthy and live so long?
If we think about it, we will highlight two main things.
They eat right and move a lot.
They use their cars only when necessary. They often work in their garden. They are constantly on the move, without even thinking that this is so, and hardly any of them count their steps. For centenarians, movement is a way of life.
Routine natural movements are one of the most effective ways to increase our life.
Of course, in modern conditions, this seems unrealistic to us. Most people are already tied to a desk, computer screen, or constant travel (let’s separate travel from movement – constant travel is also a sedentary lifestyle).
According to statistics, 100 years ago, only 10% of people had work sitting down, and now this figure is about 90%.
There are dozens of ways to move. We don’t because we’re just lazy. Or not, let it be more diplomatic – because we use the technologies that make our lives easier.
Yes, but it’s not the best choice.
Let everyone think about how their day is going and whether they can do something actively moving from point A to point B.
Why don’t we walk the kids to school? In this way, we will also have additional invaluable time to communicate with them – something that will pay off many times in the future.
We may not always be able to walk to the store or workplace. And can’t we do it by bicycle?
The information system for public transport in some cities shows us how much time is left until “our” bus. If it’s 10-15 minutes or more, won’t we have time to walk to the next stop? Everyone can judge according to the terrain and possibilities and do so.
Do we need to take an elevator up and down to our apartment every time? No, at home we all do this only if we have unbearably heavy luggage.
It may seem strange to you, but when our club was 4-5 km from home, during peak hours I would get there on foot, by car and by public transport in almost the same time.
Some will say they can’t spend that much time walking.
But it doesn’t have to happen all at once. We can go several times a day. For example, five minutes every hour. Or during the breaks – surely you have breaks that, instead of cigarettes, can be filled with a short walk near the workplace. You may also notice interesting places that you didn’t know about before. We already did it.
Why don’t we have lunch in that more distant place where they cook so deliciously? Hem, we will “tread” the food on the way back.
Come up with a change of working postures. If you can work straight sometimes, do it! Or vice versa. If you can move, do it! Print to the farthest printer. Don’t try to reach everything with a simple reach.
Remember that our body is made to move.
That doesn’t mean it’s essential for our health to go to the gym or torture ourselves with high-intensity, heavy-cardio workouts.
The simple, natural movements that centenarians constantly perform will bring us much more benefit – health and longevity.
Scientific research has been done that proves a significant reduction in mortality from cardiovascular, respiratory diseases and cancer among the elderly population even with just two hours more walking per week.
Walking is also good for the brain. According to Swedish doctor Anders Hansen, author of The Real Happy Pill, daily walking reduces the risk of dementia by 40%.
Proper nutrition and hydration before, during and after walking is a must! In our challenges you will learn what this means and how easy it is to do.
Expect the peculiarities of Nordic walking, subscribe to the articles on the site, there will be many more interesting things!
