The reasons are plentiful, mostly involving motivation and time. And herein lies the beauty of dance.Estimates suggest that people can burn about 200 calories in 30 minutes from a quick-paced dance routine. And growing research suggests that dancing not only helps people stay in physical shape but also improves brain and mental health.

The trouble with exercise is that it’s easy to avoid

The reason dance is the ideal exercise is that it’s a total-body workout. It’s a great way to access all movement planes and access some muscles that get ignored in typical day-to-day activities.Depending on the type of dance, it can offer cardiovascular benefits by increasing your heart rate, it can help strengthen the lower and upper extremities through repeated muscle contractions, and it can challenge coordination and balance, especially when following a choreographed dance at different tempos.Once you get into it, dance also feels good.

Dance: The ideal exercise

Dancing appears to affect the brain in ways that extend beyond mental health conditions. One of the benefits of physical activity is that it enhances executive function and attention, processing speed, and memory. Dancing involves both a mental effort and social interaction. <ul><li>Regular dancing can help prevent cognitive decline as we age and is associated with a reduced risk of dementia.”</li><li>It can offer cardiovascular benefits by increasing your heart rate, it can help strengthen the lower and upper extremities through repeated muscle contractions, and it can challenge coordination and balance.</li></ul>

Dancing and brain health

<ul><li>Dancing on your own is a great option for those who are not able to attend a class or feel uncomfortable dancing around others.</li><li>To get the most out of a solo dance experience, consider scheduling it into your calendar once a week, experiment with different music, and try it out when feeling different moods. </li><li>Dance just for yourself, allowing any movements to flow that feel good — or pretend that someone is watching to enhance your personal dancing experience.</li></ul>

Dancing is accessible

How to make home workouts fun and accessible

remotework

Remote Work

sports

Sports

health

Health

exerciseandfitness

Exercise & Fitness

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

How to Start Working Out at Home

The trouble with exercise is that it’s easy to avoid. Only 23% of American adults meet the federal recommendations for two hours and 30 minutes of weekly aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercises…

Dancing May Be the Best Form of Exercise

<ul><li>Work out as a family. Exercising together will not only enable you to motivate each other but will reduce the chance of distraction from having to tend to the needs of little ones. </li><li>Schedule time to exercise. Try to make this the same time each day and ensure that the whole family knows that this is ‘exercise time.’ </li><li>Collate a ripper playlist. Great music makes all the difference! </li><li>Dress for the occasion. Changing into comfortable workout clothes and shoes will help put you in the right headspace for exercise.</li><li>Track your progress.</li><li>Reward yourself. Set yourself a simple, achievable goal and cho<warningtag>ose a (non-food related) reward.</warningtag></li></ul>

Tips for keeping motivated to move

You need: 2 dice, a mat or towel , and a timerRoll a dice to establish how many sets of each exercise you will do. Roll it again to establish how many repetitions you will do in each set. Then you complete the 8 exercises one after the other. Do the first round at low intensity to warm up. When you have finished have a breather/drink break and roll the dice again. Continue for a half hour.<ul><li>Squats with punches at the top</li><li>Star jumps</li><li>Tricep dips</li><li>Crunches</li><li>Lunges (alternating legs)</li><li>Sprints across the yard</li><li>Bicep curls </li><li>Reverse crunches.</li></ul>

Roll the Dice workout

You need: A deck of cards, mat or towel (for crunches and plank/hover holds), a timerTurn over one card at a time and do the exercise associated with the suit. The number on the card is the number of repetitions you will do. Ace = 1. Jack, Queen and King = 10. Jokers = 10 burpees. Work out at low intensity for the first five minutes to warm up. Do 15 minutes of each round with a breather/drink break in between.<ul><li>First round</li><li>Hearts: Calf raises</li><li>Spades: Front kicks</li><li>Diamonds: Push ups (knees or toes)</li><li>Clubs: Supermans</li></ul>Second round<ul><li>Hearts: Sumo (wide-legged) squats</li><li>Spades: Star jumps or step touches</li><li><warningtag>Diamonds: Bicep curls </warningtag></li><li><warningtag>Clubs: Reverse crunches.</warningtag></li></ul>

Deck of Cards workout

You need: A mat or towel (for crunches and plank/hover holds), a timerWorkout at low intensity for the first five minutes to warm up. When you get to the end have a breather/drink break and repeat 1-2 more times.<ul><li>30 sec of squats</li><li>30 sec of tricep dips</li><li>60 sec of supermans</li><li>30 sec of lunges </li><li>30 sec of bicep curls </li><li>60 sec  of crunches</li><li>30 sec of sumo (wide-legged) squats (as 10 full squats, 5 pulses)</li><li>30 sec of sprints across the yard</li><li>30 sec of pushups</li><li>60 sec plank/hover hold</li><li>30 sec calf raises</li><li>30 sec punching up high</li><li>60 sec star jumps or step touches</li><li>30 sec power knees</li><li>30 sec arm circles</li><li>60 sec side planks.</li></ul>

30/30/60 Workout

You need: A mat or towel (for crunches and plank/hover holds), a timer You complete 6 exercises for 45 seconds each with a 15-second rest in between each, but you get to choose from either List A (Heads) or List B (Tails). If you prefer, you can flip a coin to determine which exercise you’ll do. When you get to the end, have a breather/drink break and then repeat 4-5 times. Perform the first round at low intensity to warm up.List A (Heads)<ul><li>Skipping</li><li>Tricep dips</li><li>Crunches</li><li>Kicks to the front</li><li>Squats</li><li>Wall sit</li></ul>List B (Tails)<ul><li>Running across the yard</li><li>Pushups </li><li>Plank / hover hold</li><li>Running on the spot (heel<warningtag>s to butt)</warningtag></li><li><warningtag>Lunges</warningtag></li><li><warningtag>Calf raises.</warningtag></li></ul>

Would You Rather? 

You can exercise at home. Here are our favourite fun workouts. All can be done at home with kids and require little to no equipment.

parenting

Parenting

Fun Ways to Exercise At Home with Kids

<ul><li>Lay down on the floor and cycle your legs in the air for fifteen to thirty minutes as if you were riding a bicycle.</li><li> It might not be as much fun as taking a ride in the fresh air, but on the bright side, you can do it in front of your TV while enjoying your favorite show. </li><li>You can also try a few crunches, scissor kicks, leg lifts, or other floor exercises you might think of while you’re down there.</li></ul>

Bicycle

If you have stairs in your home, or even one stair, just get stepping. You will want to step up and down one stair for a considerable time, again probably anywhere from fifteen minutes to half an hour, so think about turning on some music to help you stay motivated.

Stairs

Dancing is a great way to exercise indoors. Since you are in the privacy of your own home, you do not have to worry about anyone else judging your moves. Find a clear space, crank up the tunes, and let loose. Dancing is a great way to have fun and burn calories at the same time.

Dance

If you haven’t used a jump rope since you were a kid, you might be surprised at what a great workout it is – both in terms of cardio and for your lower body. If you do not happen to have a jump rope lying around when the next rain storm hits, you can always settle for doing a few jumping jacks – also guaranteed to get your heart pumping.

Jumping

<ul><li>Find the longest hall in your house and start at one end. </li><li>Do a forward lunge, but then instead of stepping back, step forward. </li><li>Then lunge forward with your opposite leg and step forward again. </li><li>Continue until you reach the end of the hall. Then turn around and come back.</li></ul>

Hallway Lunges

<ul><li>If you are in need of a little healthy relaxation on your rainy afternoon, consider doing some yoga.</li><li> Instructional videos are fairly easy to find online if you don’t already have one on-hand.</li><li> Yoga is a great way to stretch those muscles and relieve the stress of being stuck indoors.</li></ul>

Yoga

When the rain keeps you inside, it doesn't mean you can't get in your workout. Keep moving with these rainy day, indoor workouts you can easily do at home!

Indoor Workouts for Rainy Days

A great way to get arms burning while dusting is to wear some ankle weights around your wrists.Since dusting requires a lot of arm movement, even if you add just two to three pounds of extra resistance, you can get those arms burning with every swipe.

While you’re dusting, strap on weights

<ul><li>Place your basket of clean clothes on the floor, and instead of bending over to pick up the items to fold, squat down instead.</li><li>Stand with feet hip-width apart and bend the knees until your butt is level with them (but don’t let your knees go past your toes; stay slightly higher if you don’t have the range of motion to go low while maintaining your form). </li><li>And be sure to engage your core as you come back up to stand. </li></ul>

While you’re folding laundry, do squats

<ul><li>Stand between two tables such that you can take a bill from the right and then twist to the left to pay it.</li><li>If the table is high, you will also work your shoulders.</li><li> Keep your hips forward and backside tucked under to protect your back, and engage your abs on every twist (pretend someone is about to punch you in the stomach). </li></ul>

While you’re paying bills, do abdominal twists

<ul><li>When you’re carrying those heavy bags from the house to the cans, curl your arms 15 times per trip.</li><li> Hold the bags and keep your elbows close to your ribcage, advises Glor. </li><li>Lift and lower by extending the arms all the way down toward your hips and then bringing them up toward your shoulders.</li></ul>

While taking out the trash, do bicep curls

<ul><li>Do at least 20 calf raises, where you stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and raise up onto the balls of your feet, then lower back down to the floor. </li><li>After 20, take the towel and start drying while you squat—pretend you’re sitting in an imaginary chair, or put a real one behind you and touch your butt to it; then stand back up. </li><li>After 20 reps, go back to washing with calf raises until the dishes are done.</li></ul>Your leg muscles—calves, glutes, and quads—will start to tone after about a week.

While doing dishes, do calf raises

Got laundry to fold? Dishes to wash? Floors to vacuum? Good news: You've got some free, quality workouts coming your way.

Turn Household Chores into Legit Workouts

We’ve often thought about muscle as a thing that exists separately from intellect—and perhaps that is even oppositional to it, one taking resources from the other. The truth is, our brains and muscles are in constant conversation with each other, sending electrochemical signals back and forth. In a very tangible way, our lifelong brain health depends on keeping our muscles moving.

Brain And Muscles: Two Constant Conversationalists

Skeletal muscle is the type of muscle that allows us to move our body around; it is one of the biggest organs in the human body. It is also an endocrine tissue, which means it releases signaling molecules that travel to other parts of your body to tell them to do things. The protein molecules that transmit messages from the skeletal muscle to other tissues—including the brain—are called myokines.

The Skeletal Muscle’s Messengers: Myokines

Myokines are released into the bloodstream when our muscles contract, create new cells, or perform other metabolic activities. When they arrive at the brain, they regulate physiological and metabolic responses there, too. As a result, myokines have the ability to affect cognition, mood, and emotional behavior. Exercise further stimulates what scientists call muscle-brain “cross talk,” and these myokine messengers help determine specific beneficial responses in the brain. These can include the formation of new neurons and increased synaptic plasticity, both of which boost learning and memory.

The Muscle-Brain Cross-Talk

In young muscle, a small amount of exercise triggers molecular processes that tell the muscle to grow. Muscle fibers sustain damage through strain and stress, and then repair themselves by fusing together and increasing in size and mass. Muscles get stronger by surviving each series of little breakdowns, allowing for regeneration, rejuvenation, regrowth. As we age, the signal sent by exercise becomes much weaker. Though it’s more difficult for older people to gain and maintain muscle mass, it’s still possible to do so, and that maintenance is critical to supporting the brain.

Muscles: Survivors Themselves And Supporters Of Others

Even moderate exercise can increase metabolism in brain regions important for learning and memory in older adults. And the brain itself has been found to respond to exercise in strikingly physical ways. The hippocampus, a brain structure that plays a major role in learning and memory, shrinks in late adulthood; this can result in an increased risk for dementia. Exercise training has been shown to increase the size of the hippocampus, even late in life, protecting against age-related loss and improving spatial memory.

Muscles, Learning And Memory

Further, there is substantial evidence that certain myokines have sex-differentiated neuroprotective properties. For example, the myokine irisin is influenced by estrogen levels, and postmenopausal women are more susceptible to neurological diseases, which suggests that irisin may also have an important role in protecting neurons against age-related decline.

Muscles, Neuropathy And Neuroprotection

Studies have shown that even in people with existing brain disease or damage, increased physical activity and motor skills are associated with better cognitive function. People with sarcopenia, or age-related muscle atrophy, are more likely to suffer cognitive decline. Mounting evidence shows that the loss of skeletal muscle mass and function leaves the brain more vulnerable to dysfunction and disease; as a counter to that, exercise improves memory, processing speed, and executive function, especially in older adults. (Exercise also boosts these cognitive abilities in children.)

Muscles Don’t Matter Just To “MuscleBrains”, But To Brains Too

Orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpore sano. (A man should pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body.)

There’s a robust molecular language being spoken between our muscles and our brain. Exercise helps keep us fluent in that language, even into old age. 

There’s a robust molecular language being spoken between your muscles and your brain.

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

How Do Strong Muscles Keep Our Brain Healthy?

Our ancestors did around 15k steps a day. A modern human does about 4k, but 80% of the people in the US are doing way less than that. We should run more often and do it better. The idea we are destroying our joints while running is mostly a myth. Done correctly frequent running helps us maintain our mobility longer, not the other way around.

Running is important

As we get older we are loosing muscle mass. We thus think it's normal we should be more sedentary as we get older. But no:<ul><li>It's not a given we should exercise less if we get older. A lot of the older hunter gatherers are active until they die. </li><li>Activity and muscle training is how you remain active until later in life. The less you move and train the sooner your motor functions will disappear. </li></ul>

Strength train harder as you get older

As I get older I am more interested in ways of extending my health-span. This advice is basic but we usually miss the basic things. 

Exercise culture is crazy. But what you need to do is exceedingly simple. Subscribe to Big Think on YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/c/bigthink Up Next ► Does exercise enhance creativity? https://youtu.be/1QOfkqIKfyw We hold many misconceptions about exercise. For example, we believe our ancestors were incredibly strong, or that there is a tradeoff between speed and strength. The worst myth is that it’s normal to be less physically active as you get older. But modern hunter-gatherers remain physically active as they age. Humans need about 150 minutes of exercise per week to be healthy, but 80% of us aren’t getting even that. A good solution is simply walking more. Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/explain-it-like-im-smart/exercise-myths/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Daniel Lieberman: Daniel Lieberman is Edwin M. Lerner II Professor of Biological Sciences and a professor of the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. He received degrees from Harvard and Cambridge, and taught at Rutgers University and George Washington University before joining Harvard University as a Professor in 2001. He is a member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Lieberman loves teaching and has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers, many in journals such as Nature, Science, and PNAS, as well as three popular books, The Evolution of the Human Head (2011), The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health and Disease (2013), and Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding (2020). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Read more of our stories on exercise: When is the best time to exercise? ► https://bigthink.com/health/when-best-time-exercise/ This molecule may be the “secret sauce” of exercise — but it won’t work as a pill ► https://bigthink.com/health/lac-phe-exercise-pill/ How exercise changes your brain biology and protects your mental health ► https://bigthink.com/health/neurobiology-of-exercise/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Big Think | Smarter Faster™ ► Big Think The leading source of expert-driven, educational content. With thousands of videos, featuring experts ranging from Bill Clinton to Bill Nye, Big Think helps you get smarter, faster by exploring the big ideas and core skills that define knowledge in the 21st century. ► Big Think+ Make your business smarter, faster: https://bigthink.com/plus/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Want more Big Think? ► Daily editorial features: https://bigthink.com/popular/ ► Get the best of Big Think right to your inbox: https://bigthink.com/st/newsletter ► Facebook: https://bigth.ink/facebook ► Instagram: https://bigth.ink/Instagram ► Twitter: https://bigth.ink/twitter

longevity

Longevity

Exercise culture is crazy. But what you need to do is exceedingly simple.

Subscribe to Big Think on YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/c/bigthink 
Up Next ► Does exercise enhance creativity? https://youtu.be/1QOfkqIKfyw 

We hold many misconceptions about exercise. For example, we believe our ancestors were incredibly strong, or that there is a tradeoff between speed and strength.

The worst myth is that it’s normal to be less physically active as you get older. But modern hunter-gatherers remain physically active as they age.

Humans need about 150 minutes of exercise per week to be healthy, but 80% of us aren’t getting even that. A good solution is simply walking more.

Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/explain-it-like-im-smart/exercise-myths/ 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

About Daniel Lieberman:
Daniel Lieberman is Edwin M. Lerner II Professor of Biological Sciences and a professor of the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. He received degrees from Harvard and Cambridge, and taught at Rutgers University and George Washington University before joining Harvard University as a Professor in 2001. He is a member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Lieberman loves teaching and has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers, many in journals such as Nature, Science, and PNAS, as well as three popular books, The Evolution of the Human Head (2011), The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health and Disease (2013), and Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding (2020).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Read more of our stories on exercise: 
When is the best time to exercise?
 ► https://bigthink.com/health/when-best-time-exercise/ 
This molecule may be the “secret sauce” of exercise — but it won’t work as a pill
 ► https://bigthink.com/health/lac-phe-exercise-pill/ 
How exercise changes your brain biology and protects your mental health
 ► https://bigthink.com/health/neurobiology-of-exercise/ 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

About Big Think | Smarter Faster™
► Big Think 
The leading source of expert-driven, educational content. With thousands of videos, featuring experts ranging from Bill Clinton to Bill Nye, Big Think helps you get smarter, faster by exploring the big ideas and core skills that define knowledge in the 21st century. 
► Big Think+
Make your business smarter, faster: https://bigthink.com/plus/

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Want more Big Think?
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Harvard professor debunks the biggest exercise myths | Daniel Lieberman

Stay healthier longer - Harvard Scientist Basic Advice

<ul><li>Online fitness is becoming more intertwined with performing pleasantness - and, by extension, being perceived as beautiful at all times.</li><li>It could inspire some consumers to pursue healthier habits or to organize their days in a way that makes more sense for them. For others, aspirational content can exacerbate pre-existing insecurities.</li><li>As more people post this type of content, it can become a convention. Those social codes can create unrealistic expectations and potentially cause people to think if their workout doesn’t fit into the bounds of that pattern, it’s not real.</li></ul>

The pitfalls of uplifting an aesthetic in terms of exercise

Much of the fitness content we consume online is about achieving a certain body type. This can be motivating, but for others, this can lead to problems like eating disorders.It is okay to admire someone else's physique and to be motivated by their social media accounts, but this becomes problematic when someone thinks there is only one acceptable body type.

Achieving a certain body type

Don’t focus on aesthetics — fitness is a feel-good ritual.

food

Food

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

You don’t need to look perfect to work out

The more attention and care you give to a plant, the more the yield.You may either get a thorny bush or a fragrant flower. It all depends on the seed and how much work you put into it.Given a choice, you'd naturally want more of one kind and less of other.

Plants

Come to think of it (pun intended). Thoughts are like plants. We prefer some - childhood memories, vacations, achievements. We dislike some - unpleasant memories, past experiences, stress, anxiety.Most of us trim the flowers and water the bushes, unknowingly.

Thoughts

We are constantly working on our garden (mind) which has all kinds of plants (seeds).Everytime we ignore or escape from the thought, we are still giving attention to it i.e. watering it.Sometimes we are aware of this, most of the time it is subconscious.

You are the gardener

First step is noticing that the a thought has arisen. Don't fight it or run from it. Acknowledge it, say 'hello'. Think through if this has any relevance in your present.If it does, plan the best step forward.If it does not, take a deep breath and just visualize that you have chopped of a part of this bush with hedge shears. Wait a few moments and then carry on with your day.

Trim thorny bushes

Brain has the ability to be influenced by thorns and flowers equally. Use this mechanism to your advantage.If you naturally feel grateful and relive good memories, great! Otherwise, set some time during the day for this activity.Pick any thought - a person, a moment, nature, god, whatever makes you feel at peace. Fully live this thought, take a deep breath and imagine you are watering a flower pot.

Nurture fragrant flowers

With consistent effort, over a period of time your garden will have almost no thorny bushes and full of flowers.Maybe a few trees as well :)Use the power of visualization as that too is just a thought. A strong one because you are aware of it.

Garden of your choice

Use your brain's natural tendencies to your advantage. Tips to control your thoughts the way you like.

mindfulness

Mindfulness

habits

Habits

Gardening your mind

<ul><li>For good health, we need more than 40 different nutrients, and no single food can supply them all. It is not about a single meal, it is about a balanced food choice over time that will make a difference!</li><li>A high-fat lunch could be followed by a low-fat dinner</li></ul>

1. Eat a variety of foods

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">About half the calories in our diet should come from foods rich in carbohydrates, such as cereals, rice, pasta, potatoes, and bread. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">It is a good idea to include at least one of these at every meal. Wholegrain foods, like wholegrain bread, pasta, and cereals, will increase our fibre intake.</li></ul>

2. Base your diet on plenty of foods rich in carbohydrates

<ul><li>Fats are important for good health and proper functioning of the body. However, too much of it can negatively affect our weight and cardiovascular health.</li><li>We should limit the consumption of total and saturated fats (often coming from foods of animal origin), and completely avoid trans fats.</li><li>Eating fish 2-3 times a week, with at least one serving of oily fish, will contribute to our right intake of unsaturated fats.</li></ul>

3. Replace saturated with unsaturated fat

Fruits and vegetables are among the most important foods for giving us enough vitamins, minerals and fibre. We should try to eat at least 5 servings a day. For example, a glass of fresh fruit juice at breakfast, perhaps an apple and a piece of watermelon as snacks, and a good portion of different vegetables at each meal.

4. Enjoy plenty of fruits and vegetables

<ul><li>A high salt intake can result in high blood pressure, and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. There are different ways to reduce salt in the diet:</li><li>When shopping, we could choose products with lower sodium content.</li><li>When cooking, salt can be substituted with spices, increasing the variety of flavours and tastes.</li><li>When eating, it helps not to have salt at the table, or at least not to add salt before tasting.</li></ul>

5. Reduce salt and sugar intake

Adults need to drink at least 1.5 litres of fluid a day! Or more if it's very hot or they are physically active. Water is the best source, of course, and we can use tap or mineral water, sparkling or non-sparkling, plain or flavoured. Fruit juices, tea, soft drinks, milk and other drinks, can all be okay - from time to time.

 Drink plenty of fluids

<ul><li>The right weight for each us depends on factors like our gender, height, age, and genes. Being affected by obesity and overweight increases the risks of a wide range of diseases, including diabetes, heart diseases, and cancer.</li><li>Excess body fat comes from eating more than we need. The extra calories can come from any caloric nutrient - protein, fat, carbohydrate, or alcohol, but fat is the most concentrated source of energy. Physical activity helps us spend the energy, and makes us feel good. </li></ul>

7. Maintain a healthy body weight

<ul><li>Gradual changes in our lifestyle are easier to maintain than major changes introduced all at once. For three days, we could write down the foods and drinks we consume throughout the day, and make a note of the amount of movement we made. It won’t be difficult to spot where we could improve:</li><li>Skipping breakfast? A small bowl of muesli, a piece of bread or fruit, could help slowly introduce it into our routine</li><li>Too few fruits and vegetables? To start with, we can introduce one extra piece a day.</li></ul>

8. Start now! And keep changing gradually.

Never sleep on your stomach, on the couch or in the recliner. No pretzel sleeping! Your body needs a neutral position to rest properly.

9. Your Position Matters

Warm up or Stretch before exercising or other physical activity could help you practice your daily exercises easier.

10. Warm Up

Helpful fitness lifestyle should be followed not only by adults but also kids too!

Discover the secrets to a healthy lifestyle and 10 easy tips that will help you follow a healthier diet as well as a more active daily life.

10 Healthy Lifestyle Tips for Adults

Our bodies move all the time. Or, rather, we are loading our cells all the time, even when we are in a chair or bed at night. But many of our loads are static. We call the state of being loaded in one position for a long time sedentary.  Sedentarism is an unintended consequence of other ways we identify our culture: like being“well developed” or “technologically progressive,” etc.

Changing a sedentary culture

Everyone will have to think about ways to move more. For example, walking more can be a good program to improve your physical fitness levels. Aim for 100 steps per minute. If you're just getting started, your fitness-making pace might be slower. On the other hand, if you're already used to walking at 100 steps per minute, you might need to walk faster.   If you can't walk faster than 100 steps per minute, choose uphill or staired routes, or carry a load to challenge your fitness level.

It's not about running

"Sedentary culture" is currently part of the broader, overarching culture. But subcultures, including our individual culture, can also be sedentary. We would be moving more if society was set up to encourage or even require us to move more.  However, the most immediate benefits can be found in changing our personal culture, which can grow into a dynamic family culture. For example, the whole family can sign up for a running race.

Cultures and subcultures

Measuring your steps per minute can be boring. One way to challenge your pace is to use a song's beats-per-minute (bpm) as your stepping-rate guide.Beyonce’s "Crazy in Love" and Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" are 100 bpm songs. Try some 120 bpm songs for comparison, such as "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" by Whitney Houston, "Enter Sandman" by Metallica, or "Don’t Stop Believin'" by Journey. Check your pace by humming a few bars to see how your steps measure out. Spotify has playlists that organise songs by bpm.

Walking and BPM

Right now, “sedentary culture” is part of the broader and overarching culture. But subcultures—including our individual culture—can also be sedentary. These sedentary subcultures end up reinforcing the overarching culture, and around we go. So what can we do? Find out in this episode. Hint: this isn't all about running. Find the original post at: nutritiousmovement.com/changing-a-sedentary-cultureAnd the full post about pacing at: nutritiousmovement.com/the-best-walking-paceWe’ve teamed up with Softstar Shoes, one of our favorite minimal footwear makers, for a family-friendly event celebrating movement from the feet up! Join us on August 6th from 9am–1pm in Philomath, Oregon at the Softstar Workshop. Details at nutritiousmovement.com/softstar

podcasts

Podcasts

Right now, “sedentary culture” is part of the broader and overarching culture. But subcultures—including our individual culture—can also be sedentary. These sedentary subcultures end up reinforcing the overarching culture, and around we go. So what can we do? Find out in this episode. Hint: this isn't all about running. Find the original post at: nutritiousmovement.com/changing-a-sedentary-cultureAnd the full post about pacing at: nutritiousmovement.com/the-best-walking-pace --Find out more about the Wheat Retreat at https://www.nutritiousmovement.com/product/wheat-retreat/

Although the world is becoming mostly sedentary, our bodies still require a wide variety of daily movements in order to work well. Many of us struggle to get regular exercise, but even that can fall short of nourishing the body from head to toe. How can we move more—a lot more—when we have sore, stiff parts and overly busy lifestyles?  Join Katy Bowman M.S., biomechanist, author, and movement educator as she combines big-picture lessons on biomechanics, kinesiology, physiology, and natural human movement with simple and practical solutions and exercises to get all your body parts moving better. Katy’s lighthearted and funny approach helps us all put the movement back in our lives, and the joy back in our movement!

Move Your DNA with Katy Bowman

Ep 128: Sedentary Culture/Active Nature

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