20 Non-Workout Ideas To Move More Every Day

Here we are in 2021: technology is evolving at what seems the speed of light. But by comparison, the human body is evolving at a snails pace.

Did you know our bodies are designed to:

• walk up to 90km per day

• squat to rest (instead of sit)

• squat to use the bathroom,

• climb trees, and

• be exposed to elements almost all day, every day?

If you mapped it out on a timeline, in 2021, our lifestyle is best suited for having everything accessible at navel-to-neck height. Think about it - almost everything you do everyday is probably done at these levels, and our homes and places of work are also built to suit interaction at this level.

However, the human body is built to live in an environment that is from the ground to about 10 feet in the air. Imagine eating, sleeping, cooking, cleaning, playing - all on the floor. Nothing at waist-to-shoulder height.

So why does this matter? This matters a lot - because the range of motion your body is biologically designed for is not being used. The human body is made to be constantly squatting and moving around in that position. It is made to be constantly twisting, walking, bending, reaching. Even though it isn’t normal for our lifestyle, “normal” for this body is eating while sitting on the ground, sleeping on the ground, climbing to get food, and being constantly in a squat for almost everything that can be done without standing.

Our lives are much more comfortable than hunter-gatherer days, yes. But the result is people are not moving enough, as in most people have a giant void that constant moving and physical activity is supposed to fill… and so enters chronic pain and physical degeneration of the joints.

Am I saying throw away your kitchen table and living room couch? If it prevents you from sitting like you would on the ground, then yes! Ha.

As a species, we need to get moving. Not in an exercise-class kind of way, but instead, with an approach that:

1. injects movement throughout the entire day, because that is what will be best received by the body; and

2. gradually improves and restores the function and range of motion of the body.

20 Non-Workout Ideas To Move More Every Day

Here is a list of 20 ideas for more moving: things you can do every day to naturally improve your mobility.

1. As soon as you get get out of bed, crouch down and touch the ground with your hands.

2. Ideally, be barefooted when you are in your house throughout the day. Or whatever you have on your feet, make sure it allows your toes to splay without restriction.

3. Do some kind of movement before you eat breakfast.This can be a yoga practice, a joint wash, a morning mobility routine. It should be something where your breath is coordinated with your movement.

4. Get down onto the ground and back up again without using your hands, or with as little hand assistance as possible. If your morning movement routine doesn’t include being on the ground, add this in.

5. Use the toilet in a squat.

6. Brush your teeth while balancing on one foot. Dentists say brush your teeth for 2 minutes. So practice balancing for 60s on each leg.

7. Brush your teeth in a squat.

8. Get dressed standing up without holding onto anything or sitting. Maybe you’re laughing at this, but there are a lot of people who can’t put on a sock without holding on to something or sitting down.

9. Never take an elevator again, unless it is absolutely necessary. ‘Necessary’ does not mean you’re tired that day. Think pushing a giant trolley on wheels. You don’t know how many times I’ve been in this situation: walking with a co-worker in an office building, both of us heading up one level. They head to an elevator, I say that I’m taking the stairs. I take the stairs, and just as I put my foot on the landing of the next level, ding - elevator opens and we’ve arrived at the same time. I needed a shirt that said “USE YOUR LEGS”.

10. Do not use a cart when you shop for groceries / at Costco. Employees fall over themselves asking us if we want a cart. Some actually take offence. Let it be noted - if you are offended or feel an opinion erupting when you see a woman carrying something bigger than a purse (forbid anything heavy) out of a store and gasp all the way to the parking lot, you have a serious problem. I won't get started on the boxes of baby wipes and Epsom salt jugs that Darren carries out to the car, with Costco workers chasing him down with trolleys in rearview.

11. Do not use a luggage cart in an airport. You don’t know how many times Darren and I have been carrying our luggage up and down stairs - people think we are insane. But we can, so we do. And if you can, you should, too.

12. Eat every meal in a cross-legged sitting position. Ideally, on the ground. But at least sit cross-legged. If you need to, sit on a cushion or rolled up towel. Or, you can place a rolled up towel under each knee.

13. Put your shoes on without sitting down or holding onto anything.

14. Every time you go on your phone, no matter what, go into a squat or sit on the floor.

15. Set up a designated workspace area on the floor and move your at-home work station to be on the ground.

16. Go and clean all the baseboards in your home. Don’t just bend over - get into your best squat or crawl around on the ground.

17. Arrange your kitchen strategically so some less delicate dishes and containers that you use regularly are below counter level.

18. When you’re folding laundry, put a clean blanket down and fold all laundry on the ground.

19. To turn off every light switch, stand with your back to it so that you have to twist your torso to reach it.

20. Convert your living room into a floor living room. There are tons of ideas for this on Pinterest.

Will some of these feel uncomfortable to most people? Yes. Why? Because you haven’t used it, so you’re losing it - ‘it’ meaning your ability.

Realize that aches and pains mostly come from the body deteriorating from lack of use. You can test this easily by picking a joint that aches (that was not recently injured) - let’s use the shoulder as an example. Over the course of 3-10 days, build up to 1,000 arm circles per day (500 each direction). Use a bit of discretion on this if you haven’t moved your arm in decades.

You will notice that the pain will start going away.

Conclusion

You only have one body. You need to move it, or you’ll lose it. And moving it goes beyond playing a pick-up game of basketball or walking your dog. You need to get blood flowing to every part of your body, every single day.

And if you do this, you’ll notice how much better you feel.