Use it or lose it, activity beyond running!
Key #3 MOVE - Chapter 7: Activate -Don’t just rely on running for your fitness
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Key #3 Move
Now we move on to Key #3, Move. This is where we go through changing you from what I call an active couch potato to an Energizer bunny. There are three steps within Key #3 MOVE:
Chapter #7 - Activate: How to stay active during the day.
Chapter #8 - Mobilize: Take care of your body and the maintenance you need to keep your body moving.
Chapter #9 - Lift: Maintain your muscle mass and staying strong as you get older.
Step #7 - Activate
Activate, this is where we're trying to get rid of that active couch potato syndrome. We're all used to having a set time to go to the gym or go for a run. But we want to talk about all that other time when you're not doing any structured sort of movement. The goal here is to keep all your muscles and tendons strong and supple as you age. I've got three action steps for you to get there. And it has to do with moving, doing some cross-training and participating in play.
The problem is most runners sit around too much. You might sit in your car, driving to work. You might sit in an office during work, sit in your car driving home from work, go out for that 45-minute run.
You feel like you really did it for the day. And then you're down on the couch watching TV the rest of the night. And essentially, all that lack of movement during the day basically cancels out any sort of run training that you did later on. So that's what we call the active couch potato, where you feel you're active, but you're really not.
This is one-dimensional training where the only sport or training you do is running and running is a pretty lateral straight forward exercise. So by only running, you're missing out on that sideways lateral movement that wakes up all those other supportive muscles in your body so that you're free to move around in a variety of different directions. You can get real good at running straight forward in a line, but you also need to be able to move around sideways up and down and so forth.
Not being spontaneous is a problem. I've done this where the kids said, “Hey, let's, let's go do this. Let's go do that.” And I said, “I'm a little tired or sore. I'm not going to do that.” We need to take the opposite approach and take advantage of any opportunity to be spontaneous and just jump in and do something that maybe we haven't done before. This is very important for longevity, keeping your brain moving along with your body. So, the goal here is to get off of that active couch potato routine and get you more into the Energizer bunny routine.
Activate action #1
Action step #1 in Activate is to stay active. What I mean is to avoid that act of active couch potato syndrome. You need to get up and move every 20 minutes. If you have a job where you're sitting most of the day, just about every 20 minutes, stand up and do something. You can throw in some squats or some lunges, but just get up and walk over to another desk. Get up and move so that you're not sitting for an extended period of time.
The same thing goes for if you're retired and you're at home. If you enjoy reading or you're sitting, watching some entertainment, just every 20 minutes, stand up and move around and take advantage of other opportunities during the day to add some movement. Walking the dog is always a great thing. Take the stairs instead of an elevator when you come to a building. When you go shopping, don't park close, park a little ways away. You'll keep your car from getting dinged, and you can have a short walk. When you're using your phone, this is a good little trigger for a habit; whenever you're talking on your phone, stand up and walk around.
So just by thinking, “I haven't moved in a while,” standing up and moving a little bit will make a huge difference during the day. It'll add up over time. You might think that we humans were made to run, but actually, humans are made to move. And you want to keep moving throughout the day and not have those extended time periods sitting where you'll tighten up your hip flexors and hamstrings and make it more difficult for your running, and set yourself up for injury.
Activate action #2
Action step #2 for activate is to cross-train. If you only just run, you're using the same muscle patterns all the time. You don’t want to be a one trick pony! You need to change it up and strive for all around fitness. You prevent injury by using those other supporting muscles and improve your posture, coordination, your mental strength, and you recover faster, if you're not relying on running as your only main activity.
There's a lot of activities you can do. Biking is common and swimming can be really good, but I would also take a look at pickleball, basketball, tennis, or soccer. These activities have a lot of start and stops, and quick lateral movement, which are important for our agility and balance as we get older.
The whole idea behind cross-training is when you're doing these other sports, don’t be competitive. Maybe you're competitive as a runner. That's great. But when you're doing cross-training, this is for fun, and there's no need to pile on additional stress on your body. Just go out there, have fun and enjoy the different movement patterns that you'll get from doing these cross-training activities. You can do Pilates, yoga, or even dancing.
So, your action step is to pick another sport, another activity and start incorporating that into your week. And again, do it for fun. Don't do it for competition, and you'll get the most benefit.
Activate action #3
The third action in activate is play. This is pretty uncomplicated. Just take advantage of any opportunity to be involved in the unstructured movement of play. This can happen at any time at any place. If you have grandkids or children, that's a great time to take advantage of interacting with them and playing at the same time. If you have pets, even your friends, look for opportunities to have a little pickup game of some sort. And if a group's going out to do something, don't sit back and just say, "Oh, I'm too old for this.” Hop in and have some fun. This is huge for your mental longevity. And along with just adding to your movement patterns, it’s giving you something new and different to deal with each week. So, incorporate play into your weekly activities.
Activate Homework
So it's time for a decision again. Are you going to decline offers to try another sport or play, or are you going to take advantage of your newfound energy and expand your activity level during the week by doing something other than running?
Your homework is:
1. Move every 20 minutes during the day. Don't get stuck behind a desk, a chair, or a couch, just get up and move every 20 minutes.
2. Pick another sport that you can do that you don't have to be competitive, but you enjoy. Get out there and start doing some alternative moving patterns that are different than running.
3. Always look for the opportunity to engage in play. Like I said before, kids, grandkids, pets, friends, there's always something that you can bump into that's unstructured and fun. That doesn't take much time, but that's another strong step to keep you active and moving during the day.
Thanks for taking a look. I would appreciate some honest feedback on this chapter. This review is not about spotting typos. Instead, the most useful feedback is about stuff like:
Where do you get confused or lost or have an unanswered question.
Where do you disagree, or have different experiences.
Where you start to get bored and feel like skipping ahead or giving up.
Anything you find especially interesting or helpful.
You can leave comments below(paid member) or email them to me at: Herb@foreverrunner.com
Next Chapter: Chapter 8: Mobilize - Routine maintenance for your body.