Your body needs these three forms of movement every week

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Walking has earned a reputation as a great form of exercise that is easy and accessible to many people, and numerous studies show that the popular activity also has numerous health benefits.

Taking at least 2,300 steps a day reduces the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in a 2023 edition of the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

In addition, weight-bearing exercises such as walking help prevent osteoporosis, according to another study published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

However, some experts in the health and fitness fields claim that while walking is certainly good for your health and fitness, it is not really high-quality exercise. One such expert is Melissa Boyd, a certified personal trainer and trainer at Tempo, an online personal training platform. Boyd is based in San Francisco.

“Our lives have gotten so busy that we’re traveling, sitting all day, and then we’re exhausted at night that taking a short walk makes you feel like you’ve done this big, exponential thing,” Boyd said. But walking is really basic movement that your body needs to function well, to help with things like circulation and digestion, and to decompress.

To help her clients better understand why a daily walk won’t result in a beach body, which many of them believe, thanks to various social media influencers, she discusses with them the three types of movement that are beneficial for health and fitness in general.

The first is the movement your body needs or requires every day, such as walking, stretching, and bending. The second is athletic movement, which you can do a few times a week to improve your fitness or train for a sport. The third is social movement you do for fun or to connect with others, such as dancing or playing volleyball.

It’s important to think about movement in these different categories because not moving throughout the day has become normalized, Boyd said. Our lives are so sedentary, many of us are trying to get out of a movement deficit. But exercise is different from physical movement.

Our bodies need to move in many different ways

Walking is great, but it’s only one form of unidirectional movement, and our bodies need more to be functionally fit, said Dr. Carl Cirino, a sports medicine surgeon at HSS Orthopedics with Stamford Health in Connecticut.

People use the muscles and tendons in their body to help with all the bending, twisting and rotating they do in their daily lives, Cirino said, so they need to work and stretch them in many different directions. Yoga and Pilates are two very effective and healthy activities in this regard, he said.

Stretching is also incredibly easy, and something you can do when you wake up and before you go to bed, Cirino said.

Having loose, flexible muscles also means you’ll have more balance and stability, which helps prevent falls and injuries in all physical activities, she said. It’s also good to get your heart rate up several times a week for cardiovascular health.

Time for an exercise snack

Ideally, create a plan that incorporates daily movement, such as walking and stretching, with some cardio work, strength training and social activity sprinkled throughout the week, the two said. This may seem overwhelming to many, however.

Breaking down all these different movements into exercise snacks is one way to sneak in the movement your body needs, Boyd said.

Maybe get a walking pad and do some of your meetings while walking slowly on the pad, she said. Maybe every time you go to the bathroom, you do 20 squats, or every time you get water, you do 10 push-ups against a wall. By attaching these exercise snacks to something else you already do, you can make it more of a habit. I have seen great success with this.

Boyd also encourages her clients to find some form of movement they enjoy that doesn’t feel like a workout, such as playing kickball or pickleball. This way, you’re having fun and being sociable while getting fitter.

Cirino agrees. We see kids here in sports medicine whose parents want them to play baseball, but they don’t want to, he said. It’s the same with exercise. You need to find something that is interesting and easy, maybe an activity that your friends do, and use it as a basis for creating good habits.

Start slow and build from there

Rethinking exercise as regular movements your body needs for functionality, fitness and social connection can also be a means of giving yourself permission to make time for exercise, Boyd said.

It’s also helpful to note that creating an exercise plan doesn’t require an immediate, massive change in your lifestyle. In fact, it’s best to start slowly with new small pieces of movement.

What I tend to see is that people love how it starts to make them feel, Boyd said. Then, the stronger they get, the more they want to move even more. Movement inspires movement.

Melanie Radzicki McManus is a freelance writer specializing in hiking, travel and fitness.

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