Physical activity and exercise are necessary to keep our bodies in working order. Our genes literally require daily whole body movements to express and turn on healthy genes. It’s epigenetics 101.
For instance, movement is the only way our joints receive nutrients into the joint and push metabolites (waste) out. There are no blood vessels within joints. Therefore, your joints need to move fully every day to maintain themselves, or they start to decay.
When joints become fixated or displaced from their proper alignment, we can face severe repercussions, such as Neuro-Structural Shifts, which cause many secondary conditions such as arthritis in our joints, pre-mature degeneration, disk herniations, nerve pressure, and muscle atrophy.
One of the major reasons we develop fixated, immobile, or shifted segments and joints is physical trauma. Physical traumas come in two fashions.
- Sudden trauma, like a car accident, falling while learning to walk and during play, or a difficult birth.
- Repetitive postural micro-traumas, such as sitting or working for long periods in poor positions.
Both types of physical traumas cause spine segments to distort, shift, lock, and create a cascade of body compensations that can cause brain dysfunction and lead to mood disorders, sleep disturbance, and less energy.
Both daily exercise and regular spinal hygiene in the form of chiropractic care are necessary to maintain your joints throughout a lifetime. At its most basic level, chiropractic is all about motion and how that motion impacts your nervous system and brain.
Daily whole body movements are one of the best-studied interventions for long-term physical and mental health. It could literally save someone’s life, is accessible, and all you have to do is mimic our ancestral hunter-gatherer patterns. Incorporating a rhythm of high-intensity exercise days, reminiscent of hunting, alternated with days of rest and light activity, could make a world of difference regarding our overall health.
Unfortunately, most of us aren’t living in a society that innately supports lifestyles required for daily survival, i.e., walking to get water. The positive side of living in this day and age is we now have a clearer understanding of what is necessary to stay healthy. Turn the page to see a breakdown!
Requirements of Daily Whole Body Movements:
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- Mobility: Moving our joints in all available ranges of motion as done during stretching and yoga practices.
- Cardio-respiratory: Elevation of your heart rate through movement and exercise.
3-5 Times Per Week Requirements:
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- Muscle Loading: Using our muscles to complete tasks such as carrying, climbing, and hunting. If you do not hunt or climb daily, this requirement can be fulfilled through bodyweight movements or external objects such as weights.
- High-Intensity Activity: Performing intervals of burst exercises such as 80% of your perceived maximum weight lift, intervals of 100-meter sprints, or about 12 seconds of maximal exertion. Additionally, we must perform a sub-maximal effort for a moderate duration, such as intervals of 200-400 meter sprints or about 30-90 seconds of maximal exertion.