The pillars of health (3/3) : physical activity

Before we move on to another topic I've entitled the 9 moments of the week, let's meet up again to end this series with the 3rd pillar: physical activity.

Let's get straight to the basics: walking to school/work or not taking the elevator is not physical activity! These are just basic efforts that any "normally" constituted body is capable of making.

It's important to separate physical effort, which requires a certain level of commitment (the body faces resistance), from everyday effort. If the latter is already difficult for you and creates a certain amount of discomfort in your body, then it's best to consult a doctor who can check your aptitude for physical activity.

As with previous articles, I've deliberately kept my examples and suggestions global, the aim being to distil a few tips, bearing in mind that everyone has specific needs and it would be pretentious to propose a programme that would be suitable for everyone!
That said, there are recommendations for everything, and physical activity is no exception. According to the WHO, an adult should :

• Do between 2h30 and 5h/week of moderate-intensity activity (30'-1h over 5 days).
• Do between 1h15 and 2h30/week of sustained-intensity activity (15-30' over 5 days).
• 2x/week or more of muscle-strengthening activities.

According to the Vedic sciences, 20' of daily moderate physical activity is part of the "life routine" and is sufficient to stimulate the digestive fire, thus avoiding/transforming the accumulation of toxins (discussed in the previous article), strengthening the body and cardio-respiratory capacities.

In a lifestyle where we sit more and more and move less and less, another recommendation is to maintain the ability to carry heavy loads. The human machine is beautiful, and it's made for physical effort. Never stimulating it leads to dishabituation and therefore a loss of capacity for effort.

To put it simply:

• Have a daily routine of 15-20' of exercise to stimulate the whole body.
• 1 to 2x/week an activity requiring a more or less intense cardio-respiratory commitment.
• 1 to 2x/week have a muscle-strengthening activity that includes a heavy load at some point.

Daily exercise

Essential! The first part of this daily routine can simply be done while jumping out of bed. I've been doing this for 2 years now, and it's wonderful how quickly you can get your head out of the ***. What's more, it simply gives the body a wake-up call at the start of the day, reminding it of the movements it's capable of doing.

Efforts with intensity

Although not everyone is born with the same abilities, the fact remains that your body is built to handle a certain intensity that needs to be trained. Whether it's a long hike, a bike ride, a run, a HIIT (high-intensity intermittent training) session or a badminton or basketball session, it's important that your body is regularly exposed to a cardio effort to stimulate vascular and respiratory functions.
Medium intensity is when you exert yourself hard enough to feel good and get that little drop of sweat on your forehead.
High intensity is when you end up skull-headed, but it still feels good, and you've really worked up a sweat!

Lifting loads

We don't all have the same capacities, but that doesn't take away from the fact that there's a certain weight that's "heavy" for us, and training to lift it will be important and beneficial for the whole muscular structure.

What kind of physical activity?

There's a whole range! Particularly if you're in the student world, schools and universities have a dedicated service that lets you try out lots of different sports. While one of the main criteria would be to go for an activity that appeals to or attracts you, don't forget that we also need to go for things that challenge us and get us out of our comfort zone (cf. the 9 moments of the week).

I could make a list, but that wouldn't be very useful... The most important thing to remember is to find an activity that gets you moving every day (yoga?), one for cardio (Zumba, soccer, running?) and one for weight-bearing (there aren't 36 solutions...).

An interesting question to ask yourself would be: what kind of physical activity shouldn't I do? Here I'm not going to go into the medical or paramedical field (there are doctors and physiotherapists who are there for that) but rather into the emotional field. A few examples:

• If you're studying or working in a job where you spend all your time thinking about competition and being the best, do you think it's a good idea to add to the pressure (even if it makes you happy) by doing squash 3 times a week to beat your colleague and tell him he's no good?
• If you're the "aerial" kind who belongs to 5 associations and has started 3 books without finishing them, do you think it's a good idea to go and work out in a gym where there's sensory hyper-stimulation, with music blasting, screens in every corner and lots of people everywhere?
• If you're in a job you don't really like, you don't feel like it and you're in a rut, do you think it's a good idea to... do nothing?

In the 1st case, you need to calm things down, bring in some playful effort or have a soothing environment: dance, swimming, martial arts or energetics (I didn't say boxing).
In the 2nd case, you need to anchor it all, close the field of possibilities and concentrate on one type of activity: yoga, swimming, "slow" muscle strengthening, team sports.
In the 3rd case, you need to get moving, get out of your comfort zone and go for something more challenging: boxing, running, cardio, asthanga vinyasa yoga, Zumba.

These are just a few examples, and many more are possible. The idea is to bring in activities that will help you go against the emotional environment you're in on a daily basis.

Physical activity and stress

As I've already mentioned in an article on stress management, physical activity clears the mind and triggers a whole neurochemical process in the body that helps combat certain emotions. In particular, it increases the natural production of dopamine and serotonin (hormones that bring well-being and satisfaction) while reducing cortisol (the stress hormone).

Physical activity and recovery

This part refers directly to the 1st article in the series: sleep. If you set yourself a demanding weekly physical routine but fail to get enough or the right amount of sleep at the same time, the benefits obtained will be minimal.
This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when doing sport: not knowing how to recover, not knowing that some days you need rest, and not knowing that you need a minimum of sleep.

This concludes the series of the 3 pillars of health. It's important to remember that each one is necessary to support your structure, both physical and mental.

Can you eat and move well without sleeping well?
Eat well and sleep well without moving?
Sleep well and move without eating well?

It's like a 2-legged stool: it's very wobbly, and at best you'll keep your balance for a while, but in the end it'll fall apart!

And don't forget that there's really no excuse for neglecting any of these pillars: you decide what time you go to bed, you decide when you do physical activity, and you decide what you put into your body. (Of course, this doesn't include special situations such as illness, major financial difficulties, or having a toddler who prevents you from getting a good night's sleep!)

On the diet aspect, I absolutely agree that it's the most sensitive and that not everyone can afford to have a "perfect" diet, but there are basic principles that enable you to eat healthily and without changing what it costs. Over the past 60 years, the average French person's food bill has risen from a third to a quarter of their monthly budget. It's up to each and every one of us to make choices.

Let's move on, and make it sweat!