Why Easy Workouts Are Just as Important

We all know that exercise is very good for us.

Moving your body improves the oxygen transport pathway elevating the function of your lungs, blood, heart, muscles and brain. Consistent exercise also means better odds against developing chronic diseases, better energy to tackle everything you hope to achieve, and better mental and physical performance.

But sticking with a workout routine can be overwhelming – especially when trying to fit in workouts between work, family, and everything else in our busy lives.

The main thing to remember is that doing even just a little bit of physical activity will have huge benefits for your physical and mental health. And the activity does not have to rank up your heart rate or lactic acid to have benefits.

Light physical activity can have some powerful benefits. Here are a few examples and ideas to support that concept.

Take some LSD

To activate your cardiovascular system, you can move in repetitive patterns over a longer time, which we call long slow distance, or LSD (no, not that LSD). A meandering walk is a great example. An easy bike ride is another.

You could walk, run, jog, swim, bike, or paddle—whatever feels good. If you work away from home or have time in your work- day to add in some movement, a slow walk over your lunch break works great. Walk to and from the office, bus stop or in the park during a break.

When we do those types of rhythmic, repetitive activities, we drop into theta brain waves where we innovate, create and problem solve. That’s why when we are on a long walk, we start ideating. We come up with new solutions to old problems.

These light workouts are just as good for your brain as for your body.

Light workouts are great, but you need to be consistent

Short periods of low-intensity exercise, such as walking, have been shown to increase creativity, promote neural plasticity and episodic memory, decrease levels of pro-inflammatory markers, improve sleep quality, and more. Any physical activity at all helps. 

The key to this approach is consistency. So instead of sitting at your desk for lunch, go for a 10- to 20-minute walk every day.

Whatever you choose to do, it’s better than sitting all day. “Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV, and is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death,” says James Levine, professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, in an interview with the LA Times. “The chair is out to kill us.”

Build an easy routine, and practice being consistent.

Use easy exercise to lower stress

As you now know, exercise also has the power to reduce stress and anxiety, decrease the risk of depression, and improve cognitive function, making it just as important for the mind as it is for the body. 

The increased pace of life, high workload (both at work and at home), and pressure to succeed has led to a world plagued by a constant state of stress.

One of the ways we can manage this stress response is through light exercise.

When you are walking – bring your attention to your body as you move. When you’re swimming be aware of how the water feels. When you are doing yoga bring  your attention to your breath.

Give your mind a break from the planning, problem solving, evaluation and judging.

This is a great practice to relieve stress, burnout, anxiety, pain, and depression.

Just move, be present, breathe and enjoy.

That’s it for this week! Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Yours for health, wellbeing & peak performance - Dr. Greg