Episode 2: Exercise more (even a little)
In this episode, we discuss the importance of fitness and health. Experts weigh in on effective strategies for fitting in your fitness goals into your routine including microdosing your exercise and narrowing your focus to achieve BIG results.
Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
There are limits to my exercising because of my knees. I walk. This is difficult here where I live
because there are hills and-- there are nothing but hills and curves. [MUSIC PLAYING]
I have a walking machine downstairs that I use now and then. But the truth is that I hate it.
When there are trees around, when there's sunshine, when there's air, when you hear birds, that's lovely.
When you hear [MECHANICAL GROWLING] that is not lovely. Actually, I'm probably going to sell the damn thing.
I'd just as soon walk. And no, I can't run. I can't jog. That's out. I'm not 90 for nothing.
No one has ever regretted having worked out. [MUSIC PLAYING]
Exercise is a very big priority for most people. And we can come on and off the wagon when it comes to exercise.
In order to really make it a priority and to actually implement and make a change when it comes to your fitness activities,
your fitness behaviors, number one, do not look for big blocks of exercise.
Trying to get to the gym or a class, or anything that's like 90 minutes three times a week, is so unreliable.
If you did it pre-COVID, all those things went away during COVID. And now you're trying to get back to that-- it's very hard to get back to that.
And it's hard to find those big blocks of time. So think at first of microdoses of exercise that you can do in 5 to 20 minutes
every single day no matter where you are, to get the motor running, to get movement back in your life.
It could be a walk. It could be something online that you're following somebody's program which
is 20 minute workouts or less every single day. Number two, attach the exercise to an already existing habit.
So research shows that we're able to build habits more easily if we attach them to anchor habits.
You always have dinner. No matter what time you have it, there is a point at which you stop eating. Get up and go for a 10-minute walk.
So build your new exercise habit attached to an existing habit. The third thing that can really help is to just track it.
We change what we measure. And if you just say, every day, I'm doing it and you just check it off for yourself-- you can have an accountability partner
or you can be your own-- you'll celebrate and internalize the benefits instead of just doing it and forgetting how good it felt.
And you'll also observe what gets in the way of your exercise and why.
What I want people to do from the minute of their birth to the minute of their death is to stay mobile.
[MUSIC PLAYING] The contraction of skeletal muscles, which I'm doing right now with my arms--
I'm contracting my biceps-- the very action of skeletal muscle contraction is amazing for your metabolism.
It will level out your glucose levels so we don't have these huge spikes, which cause all kinds of inflammation and free radicals and disease.
Skeletal muscle contraction has also been found to cause the transcription, or the making,
of the longevity protein, which is called klothos. But listen, it doesn't stop there. Contraction of skeletal muscle also
causes the transcription, or the making, of a protein that travels to your brain and helps build heartiness.
So take a break right now. Get up from your seat watching this video and move. Because we want you to have the gift of mobility,
which leads to longevity and health. [MUSIC PLAYING]
Fitness, and exercise really seems to make everybody's list in some way or another when it comes to goal setting, et cetera, every year maybe
even every month or every week depending on who you are. What's the psychology behind fitness or exercise
making that top list all the time? Yeah. So moving your body, especially in ways that are pleasureful,
have really been shown to improve all health outcomes, everything from cognition
to shifting cholesterol levels to reducing blood sugars and blood pressure.
So when we talk about finding these sustainable patterns of movement, we're really tying that in to improving people's health outcomes.
And Rosey, for folks who have set the same goal every year, how can they make 2023 different?
Here I go with the unpopular statements. If you've made the same New Year's resolution every year
for the last two to three years, let it go. It's time to change it to something new. Because if you've not done it in the last two to three years,
chances are you're probably not going to do it this year. And that is going to continue to perpetuate
this feeling of pressure. You're pressuring yourself to accomplish something
that you've already established you're not going to do. And now, I'm not saying that so that people feel bad
about themselves. I've done it myself. You have these goals every year. I'm going to start doing this. I'm going to run more.
I'm going to start to be more active. I'm going to cut out the desserts every night
for dinner-- all of those things, where, if it's something that's not happening, it's time to take the blame off of yourself
and examine the goal itself. This has nothing to do with you. A lot of the times we feel it's us. We're bad or we're unable to complete this task.
It's like, maybe the task is flawed. [MUSIC PLAYING]
That change in psychological mindset is the direct connection to improved performance. [MUSIC PLAYING]
So I had the opportunity to talk with some of the world's fastest runners, gold medalists out of Trinidad, the fastest sprinters in the world.
And I went in asking them, what are you looking at? Is there some way that you have a superpower of perception that I might be able to learn from?
And what I learned in those conversations is that these individuals run their fastest when they assume a narrowed focus of attention,
when they keep their eyes on the prize-- in this case, the finish line. That's a strategy, that narrowed focus of attention, is a strategy that all of us can learn
and can adopt and integrate into our exercise practices. We can all imagine a spotlight is shining just on a target
up ahead and we're not paying any attention to what's in our peripheral vision. What we found in our research is that when we directed people's focus of attention in that manner,
they were able to engage in a challenging exercise 23% faster. They moved faster even though the distance was the same.
That's a strategy that people can use when we're not there with our stopwatch keeping track of what they do. When we gained access to what's going on into their health
and fitness apps, what we saw is that people who have been trained to use that narrowed focus of attention,
they went on more walks. They took more steps. They walked faster in the same amount of time. We increased the frequency and the efficiency
of their exercise. Now, the strategy of narrowed focus of attention isn't magic. Instead, what it's doing is taking advantage
of that power of perception to gain control over our own psychological mindset. People who use that narrow focus of attention
saw their targets, those finish lines, as closer than they would otherwise. And when it seemed closer, it now seemed more feasible.
They felt like they had the resources that they needed to meet that goal. It didn't seem so difficult for them. They felt more empowered.
And they had a greater sense of self-efficacy to actually get there. That's the reason why they could walk faster, walk farther, feel
like they defied their own expectations for themselves and try again. [MUSIC PLAYING]
Hi. I'm Dana Taft, and I'm a yoga instructor. I have some pointers for you as you ease into yoga.
[MUSIC PLAYING] This is great for anyone who's just starting off--
all beginners, all are welcome. The first thing I want to bring to your attention is that yoga primarily is about the breath.
And in our society today, you would be surprised how much our breath can be restricted.
So let me show you how we breathe in a yoga practice. This is a yoga breath we call Ujjayi Pranayama.
And it's a breath that's going to warm up your body from the inside out. A funny way to think of this breath
is like the "Star Wars" character Darth Vader. It's going to sound almost like an ocean wave, where you're
going to breathe in through your nose and your exhale is also through your nose. But you'll feel the fiery breath come out
from this part of your throat. So lightly lay your hand over your throat.
Breathe in through your nose. Breathe out through your nose.
You notice the sound as you breathe in. And you notice the feeling under your hand as you breathe out.
As you do that breath, also bring your attention to the muscles in your face. You want a relaxed jaw.
Relax around your eyes. And even in your mouth, relax your tongue.
So do that Ujjayi Pranayama breath with me. In through your nose.
Out through your nose. You notice that your nostrils do not need to flare.
Your shoulders do not need to move up and down. And your stomach isn't noticeably moving out and in.
It's all here in the throat. And as you sit and do that yoga breath, you might also notice your body warming up.
It's because you are doing yoga. [MUSIC PLAYING]
healthy habits
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