In this podcast, Clint explains how generating good habits is the goal and the daily repetition automatically creates the outcome you are after. He used to go Bikram Yoga every day to maintain a high-quality, functional range of motion through his joints.
Good Habits For Exercise to Benefit Your Health
It’s important to get your joints moving every day. Exercise has been found to be beneficial in improving function in those with rheumatoid arthritis without ‘exacerbating disease activity’ [1].
A joint exists in your body so as to provide movement. If that part of your skeleton was meant to remain still then it would just be a straight bone. So common sense tells us that it’s wise to move joints, and science tells us that the health of the joint depends on this movement.
Unlike the rest of your body, joints don’t enjoy a regular blood flow to keep them nourished. Cartilage is critically dependent upon the nourishment provided by the synovial fluid which transports oxygen and nutrients into the cartilage through compression by motion and weight bearing exercise.
A healthy body is a moving body. Ask a full-time taxi driver about his back next time you jump in a cab and you’ll be invariably informed of his/her lower back woes. Their complaining body knows best: it needs to move. Life itself is literally at stake, with active individuals showing up to a 72% lower risk of premature mortality from all causes compared with inactive individuals. [2]
Sitting is a Risk Factor
Sitting is, in fact, is risk factor for mortality. [3] A large-population study found that adults who sat for more than 11 hours a day had a 40 percent increased risk of dying within 3 years, from any cause, compared with those who sat for less than 4 hours a day.
In addition, the chances of dying were 15 percent higher for those who sat 8-11 hours a day, compared to those who sat less than 4 hours a day. The researchers found that sitting was associated with a higher death risk after controlling for factors including age, gender, smoking status, physical activity, education, body mass index, as well as living in an urban or city environment.
We must therefore keep active.
Schedule movement and exercise into your day. Set aside sections of time between work blocks, or as a chunk of time each day on it’s own.
By scheduling more activity you’ll actually do it. The goal is the habit. If you establish the habit you’ll get the results you want.
Other Habits Besides Exercise
We can also apply these good habits to other activities within our daily lives that support good health. This could be anything from healthy eating to relaxation. If we make these choices regularly as part of our daily lifestyle choices we put these first rather than just letting them slide with everyday busy activities that might get in the way.
Make exercise one of your good habits today and start to see the benefits.
[1] Cooney JK, Law RJ, Matschke V, et al. Benefits of exercise in rheumatoid arthritis. J Aging Res. 2011;2011:681640. Published 2011 Feb 13. doi:10.4061/2011/681640
[2] Ekelund U, Tarp J, Steene-Johannessen J, Hansen B H, Jefferis B, Fagerland M W et al. Dose-response associations between accelerometry measured physical activity and sedentary time and all cause mortality: systematic review and harmonised meta-analysis BMJ 2019; 366 :l4570 doi:10.1136/bmj.l4570
[3] van der Ploeg HP, Chey T, Korda RJ, Banks E, Bauman A. Sitting Time and All-Cause Mortality Risk in 222 497 Australian Adults. Arch Intern Med. 2012;172(6):494–500. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.2174