Podcast Summary
Movement Diet vs Exercise: Movement Diet emphasizes various daily movements for overall health, but targeted exercise like strength training is still important, especially during hormonal transitions.
Exercise and movement are related but distinct concepts. Movement is any change in body position or tissue orientation, while exercise is a specific type of movement with a goal, such as improving fitness or health. Katie Bowman, a bio-mechanist and global speaker, introduced the concept of a "movement diet," which emphasizes various daily movements rather than relying solely on structured exercise. This approach aims to make maintaining a healthy body as it ages more effortless, fun, and creative. By focusing on the pillars of this movement diet, one might question if additional exercise is necessary. However, Katie emphasizes the importance of strength training, especially for women during hormonal transitions like menopause. The key is to find a balance between the movement diet and targeted exercise for optimal health.
Movement Diet: A well-rounded movement diet includes purposeful exercise and non-purposeful movement in various domains of life to support overall health and wellbeing, adapting as needed throughout life
Physical activity is essential for overall health and wellbeing, but it's important to consider both purposeful and non-purposeful movement in our daily lives. While exercise is a deliberate way to improve physical fitness, non-purposeful movement, such as walking to work or doing chores, also contributes significantly to our movement needs. Our movement diet should include a variety of macros and micros, and we should aim to balance our movement across different domains of our lives, including sleep, leisure, occupation, transportation, and home. For example, a 24-year-old farrier's movement diet is largely fulfilled through her job, but she may need to supplement it with leisure activities or physical therapy to ensure her body is getting all the movement it needs. As we age, it's essential to adapt our movement diet to accommodate changes in our bodies, such as decreased collagen production and joint issues. By focusing on building a well-rounded movement diet, we can support our overall health and wellbeing.
Daily Movement Variety: Incorporate a variety of shapes and efforts in daily movements to reduce negative impact of prolonged positions and improve overall health, aim for 3-5 miles of walking per day
For optimal health, it's essential to focus not only on traditional macros like cardio, strength, and flexibility, but also on the shapes and efforts involved in our daily movements. By incorporating a variety of shapes and efforts throughout our day, we can reduce the negative impact of prolonged periods in one position and improve overall health. This can include activities like sitting in different positions, walking, carrying objects, and making repetitive hand movements. Aim for a daily total of three to five miles of walking, broken up into smaller sessions if needed. By prioritizing active rest positioning and varied movement throughout our day, we can better emulate the natural movement patterns of hunter-gatherer societies and enhance our overall well-being.
Walking as exercise: Walking is a simple and effective way to reduce stress, improve overall health, and increase longevity. Incorporating hand strength exercises into daily activities can further enhance these benefits.
Walking is not only a simple and effective way to calm the mind and reduce stress, but it also plays a crucial role in overall health and longevity. By redefining walking as a form of exercise, the speaker was able to appreciate its value and make it a daily habit. Furthermore, incorporating hand strength exercises into daily activities, such as cooking and cleaning, can contribute to longevity and counteract the effects of outsourcing labor and using machinery. These small, intentional movements can have a significant impact on both mental and physical well-being.
Upper body strength activities: Incorporating activities like climbing, lifting, and hanging into daily life can improve upper body strength, enhance functional mobility, prevent injury, and promote overall well-being.
Maintaining upper body strength through activities like climbing, lifting, and hanging is essential for functional mobility and independence, especially as we age. These activities not only help with daily tasks but also prevent injury and improve overall well-being. Additionally, addressing trauma and providing support for women who have experienced it is crucial for their healing and empowerment. The "climbing" pillar includes activities like ladder climbing, getting down on hands and knees, gardening, and hanging, which can be incorporated into our daily lives to improve upper body strength. It's important to remember that even small improvements can make a big difference in our ability to move through space safely and effectively.
Ancestral movement patterns: Incorporating a variety of base and peak movements, as well as rest and play, into our daily lives can improve our health and wellbeing, inspired by our ancestors' active and mobile lifestyles.
Our ancestors lived active and mobile lives, engaging in a variety of movements throughout their day to support their health and survival. This included both base movements like walking, carrying, and making movements, as well as peak activities like climbing, crawling, and more athletic pursuits. The "grandmother hypothesis" further supports this idea, suggesting that the ability to move and forage was crucial for the survival and success of our ancestors. Today, we can learn from this by incorporating more movement into our own lives, focusing on both the base and peak activities, and recognizing the importance of rest and play in our overall health and wellbeing.
Post-menopausal brain productivity: The post-menopausal stage can be the most productive and valuable for women, offering a calmer amygdala, increased empathy, and a broader perspective. Maintaining physical activity is crucial for brain health and can be achieved through daily living activities.
The post-menopausal brain may be the most productive and useful stage for women, as it allows for a calmer amygdala, increased empathy, and a broader perspective. The grandmother hypothesis suggests that women in this stage become valuable resources within their communities by providing attention, presence, and care for others. Additionally, the importance of maintaining physical activity, as demonstrated by the grandmother hypothesis and modern research, can be achieved through various activities of daily living rather than relying solely on gym workouts.
Movement balance: A balanced approach to movement involves incorporating both macro and micronutrients, addressing imbalances, and practicing a variety of movements throughout the day to maintain mobility and prevent injuries, particularly during menopause.
A balanced approach to movement, incorporating both macro and micronutrients, is essential for maintaining mobility and preventing injuries, particularly during the menopausal stage. The focus should not be on one-dimensional exercises or activities, but rather on learning and practicing a variety of movements throughout the day. The speaker emphasized the importance of addressing imbalances and fine adjustments to improve overall movement health. She also suggested resources, such as her books and podcast, for those interested in exploring this concept further. Ultimately, the goal is to find functional and meaningful ways to incorporate movement into daily life, rather than relying on lengthy gym sessions or following rigid fitness plans.
Meaning and purpose in health: Determining personal values and focusing on joy and fulfillment is crucial for organizing health information and creating a fulfilling lifestyle. Embracing aging and recognizing the value of elders can help reframe our understanding of health and well-being.
Defining and prioritizing what we find meaningful in our own lives is essential for organizing our health information and creating a fulfilling lifestyle. It's crucial to determine our value system before trying to optimize our health, as this approach will lead to more efficiency and intrinsic motivation. The definition of health goes beyond physical fitness and test results; it's about living a good life each day, focusing on what brings us joy and fulfillment. Embracing the concept of aging and recognizing that every day is an opportunity to make the most of our lives can help us reframe our understanding of health and well-being. Additionally, it's essential to challenge societal norms and broaden our perspective on aging, recognizing that elders are valuable members of the community and wisdom comes from living a full life.