How you move today affects your future lifestyle
What do you want in the future? We all think about it, yet do we ensure our actions now help move us forward to our long-term goals. Those goals include professional accomplishments and job titles. Personal wants include homes, cars, money, vacation, and relationships.
But what about your movement goals? Where did those fit in your long-term planning?
The reality is that your movement today affects your movement potential in the future. Right now is as mobile as you will ever be unless you start taking actions and steps to make a change.
Our culture values productivity no matter the cost it has on the individual. Sitting at a desk for hours. Standing up on your feet in a warehouse picking deliveries. Hunched on the floor laying tile. And the list goes on and on regarding the impact your daily life has on your body.
The impact repetitive movements and positions have on your body accumulate and compound. Having good movement habits can help you counteract the negative impact your job, hobbies, environment, and lifestyle have on your body.
So what kind of long-term movement goals should you have?
It depends on the life you want to have. Most of us want a high quality of life which entails self-dependency in general mobility. That means you can live on your own without assistance in your daily life. Cooking, cleaning, and going to the bathroom by yourself are taken for granted until you're unable to do it. For many this happens in their 70s, 80s, or 90s. This loss of personal independence could also happen due to a serious injury or after a surgery.
Others set movement goals related to specific activities they want to participate in safely in the immediate future or over the next 10 to 20 years. The movement goals for these people are very different from the goals of those focused on daily living.
Figure out your movement goals. Then think about what you can do today to help you move toward them. Maybe it's a workout, standing up every 30 minutes, doing five push-ups every hour.
Maybe what you do today is get off the fence and sign up for a fitness class. Or you schedule a time to talk to Dr. Samantha about the pain or discomfort preventing you from starting your movement journey.
Weekly Challenge
Set a movement goal you want to accomplish at the end of 3 months. Examples include:
- Workout 3x per week.
- Walk/run a charity race
- Reduce lower back pain
Now do something in the next 60 minutes that moves you toward your goal. Examples include:
- Do 5 push ups
- Walk down your driveway
- Sit cross legged on the ground for 2 minutes.
Do something every day that moves you toward your 3 month movement goal.
It doesn't matter what you choose as long as it helps you achieve your movement goals. Just get moving!!
