Why You Should Move Your Body Every Day

If we go back in time for a moment, before the invention of vehicles, before public transportation, before sitting at desk jobs, before television, movies, and restaurants, human beings moved, every day, most of the day. They had to walk on foot, work, carry, gather, hunt, work in the field, in the factory, or outdoors. To get something from one place to another there wasn't always a vehicle, a moving company, or a postal service. And the further back we go, the harder humans worked, exerting their bodies.

If we look at the humans who lived thousands of years ago, they were bigger, stronger, healthy-looking, full of hair and full of muscle.

These days the situation is very different. And problematic. It's not all about looks. The epidemic of obesity, illness, and depression is on the rise, and the fact that I'm not there today doesn't mean that if I don't take care of myself, I won't end up there. Over the years, humans have become a more fragile, sicker figure, with back pain, sore muscles, fatigue, a belly, baldness, and the list goes on.

The fact that our lives are more comfortable is amazing. But from an evolutionary standpoint, it doesn't mean we can afford to surrender completely to this lifestyle if we want to stay healthy, happy, and energetic.

To put it plainly: the environmental situation is working against us. Everything leads us toward being weaker, sicker, more depressed.

The way for us to become more like the robust human who lived back then is through daily physical activity. This isn't a chore, it's a way of life. Physical activity shouldn't be the path to thinness (that's actually about nutrition), it shouldn't be about aesthetics and a six-pack. It should be the path to health and strength. That's what a healthy, strong person looks like. Healthy people look better, are more attractive, and their self-confidence is doubled and redoubled.

So what do you do? It mostly depends on you. To stick with it, you'll need to find the activity you love. That doesn't necessarily mean you'll love it from day one, or that you'll be thrilled to do it every single time. You won't always have the energy or the desire, but you need to love it and be good at it.

For my part, I love lifting weights and surfing. And I get around by bike 95% of the time.

For my part, I don't enjoy running, so I don't force myself to do it. I don't enjoy yoga classes, so I don't drag myself there, and in general I don't like being told what to do and when to do it. So I found what works for me after trying almost everything.

The more I train, on a consistent basis, the more I notice the improvement. First there's the matter of progress. When a person sees progress in what they do, they already feel good and satisfied. Beyond that, I feel my body getting stronger, my sleep improving (the more energy I expend, the better I sleep), my body looks better, my back pain disappeared, and I function better in other areas.

How do you start? By understanding that you don't start all at once. Small steps are deeply meaningful. Even a 1% improvement a day becomes a 365% improvement over a year. So small steps will be excellent.

After that (as noted above), it's best to choose the thing that comes most naturally to you, and pick something that's easy for you to do. For my part, I go to a gym that's a 3-minute walk from my home. Any farther and I wouldn't go as often.

And last and most important, like any other obligation, whether it's getting to work on time, to a meeting, to a doctor's appointment or a therapy session, decide what you're doing, where, and when, and put it in your calendar.