Motivation to exercise
The book Built to Move is the answer to the question of how to get a body that spends much of the day sitting moving again. Simple exercises that will give your body back its mobility, energy and joy of life. Looking for motivation to get started and stick with exercise?
I've been noticing that my joints are a bit scratchy for a few years now, but I've lacked the impetus to do anything proper about it. That came this summer in the book mentioned above. The last straw was a question from a friend on the way home from lunch. "Do you get so stiff when you sit for a bit of length, too?" Oh, I'm not alone...
Healthy body, healthy mind
The book lists 10 signs of vitality and devotes a chapter to each of them. Most of these focus on movement and exercise, but chapters discussing breathing, eating and sleep are also included. For each vitality trait, the reader has the opportunity to test themselves and see how they stack up in that category. Based on the results, they then choose the level of exercise that matches the fitness of their body.
The exercises focus on:
- Stretching the joints (mainly hips, knees, ankles)
- Improving balance (feet and gait, including barefoot walking)
- Strengthening the shoulders and neck
Just start
Recommended exercises include squats, Turkish sit-ups, and one-legged stands (for the advanced with eyes closed). My enthusiasm has to do with the fact that anyone can do these exercises and the comment "I don't have time" is just a false excuse. (Doesn't apply to those who don't follow social media, brush their teeth or drink coffee.)
Just squat before opening your favourite social network and you immediately get two in one:
1) I'm exercising, I don't even know it
2) when the squat becomes uncomfortable, I get a sign that it's time to leave the social network again.
Brushing your teeth on one leg or massaging your foot during a coffee break is also fine.
So the next time you hear a suspicious creak in the background during a phone call, know that it's just my joints moving from a Turkish sit to a squat 😊
Source of inspiration
The authors of the book are physiotherapist and consultant to NHL, NBA and US Olympic team athletes Kelly Starrett and his wife, former professional rafter Juliet Starrett, co-founders of The Ready State. As athletes, they approach the whole subject with insight and humour, and the reader will come across guides to testing one's own fitness under titles such as the couch test or the old man's balance.
The book Built to Move is published in Czech by Jan Melvil Publishing and has 320 pages. The publisher is offering one chapter as a free sample to read.
Need a kick?
Don't like to read? Don't have time to exercise? Do you lack stamina and you're about to drop everything again? Let's talk about it. Find the motivation and remove the obstacles that keep you from taking off.
I'll help you get your bearings:
- why you're not doing what you think you should be doing.
- whether you really should be doing it
- how to find the time, desire and energy to do the things you love.