4 Reasons To Get a Move On
If you’re a business owner who wants to be productive and efficient, then take a hike!
Literally. November 17 is Take a Hike Day, and hiking (or any other physical activity you enjoy, yes, including THAT) makes you more productive. If you hate the gym then don’t go to the gym, but you still have to get moving in some way.
Move your a** for brain health
In southern California, as well as other parts of the country, people seem to equate physical activity with losing weight. They apparently think if you’re not fat, you can give up on exercise (or physical activity if you hate the e-word.) Not true.
Getting a move on may help you ward off Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. Are you sure you still want to skip exercise because you’re busy? Seems like a bad short-term decision that could have negative long-term consequences… which normally business owners try to avoid, not embrace with open arms.
Productivity starts in the brain. If your noggin isn’t receiving oxygenated blood flow (which comes from getting your a** moving), then you’re not going to be productive. You’re going to be grinding away but not getting enough accomplished because you’ll be busy, not productive. If it’s good for your brain, it’s good for productivity.
Move your a** for physical health
I feel like I should just say “duh” here for this one. Obviously hiking and other physical activities improve your physical health… and yet, I still know executives who have chosen to skip exercise (instead of being more productive during the workday.)
Again, physical health does not equal being at an acceptable weight. A diet of cocaine and cancer sticks will keep you thin, but that’s not healthy.
Physical movement helps blood flow and can help keep your joints and organs in good working order. For hundreds of thousands of years, humans got plenty of physical activity, and so the human body needs physical activity to stay healthy. It’s really that simple.
We no longer need to go hunting predators or foraging for our daily needs, so many of us need to take time out of the day to move. No, a half hour at the gym isn't enough. (And by the way, the point of the gym is to get moving, so why are you trying to find the nearest parking space to the front door when you get there?)
Hate the gym? Don’t go. I don’t go. I hike because I enjoy it, and I do bodyweight exercises for resistance training (because I hate the gym.) What do you like? Do that. But mix it up with other stuff because the human body developed while doing different types of movements.
I found that out for myself because walking and hiking by themselves stopped doing it for me. So I had to mix in some other things.
Move your a** for emotional health
No, a hike or bike or jog won’t cure depression, but they can help you fight off the blues and feel better about yourself. If you need some companionship, find someone else who has the same activity that they enjoy and get together.
Moving your a** is a great stress reliever. A few years ago (before COVID) while I was president of a local women’s organization, we had our annual fundraiser. Everyone who was supposed to help showed up late, including the one who was supposed to be running the show, and I ended up doing most of the work. At the end of the event, I was furious.
Well, there’s a very steep hiking trail near where I live, and I stormed up that path swearing a blue streak (until I was gasping for breath). Wouldn’t you know it, after all that yelling and swearing and stomping, I felt perfectly fine when I got home.
Move your a** because it feels good
For some reason, we Americans seem to believe that if it feels good something must be wrong. Work is not something to enjoy, but to grind away at for hours at a time. Healthy meals must be tasteless, and unless you’re completely out of breath and drenched in sweat and hating life, your workout is no good.
To be fair, some of your workouts should get you completely out of breath and drenched in sweat, because it’s actually good for your bod. But you can do something you enjoy instead of hating life.
Also, no one should be having any fun because they should be working. Unless they’re sleeping. And everyone must get up at 3:30 am whether they like it or not so they can get back to the grind ASAP.
You can see why I’m hesitant to say that you should move your a** just because it feels good, given that so many Americans look down on doing things just because they feel good. But getting a move on really does feel good, doesn’t it?
Now you know how important physical activity is for health, so let's take the time to acknowledge that it feels good too. And there are good chemical reasons for this – because moving our collective a** was so important for our human ancestors, the brain rewards us with happy chemicals so we will do it again. And again.
Recap:
Looking to be more effective? Take a hike, why don’t ya.