I’m here this week in frosty Chicago where the temperature hasn’t risen above 9 degrees for the past 5 days. Not one to break my workout routine, it was just too cold for me to run outdoors, although I did see several hardy joggers running along Lake Shore Drive. Brrrr! I opted for the relatively warm hotel gym and later relaxed with a yoga video in my room.
One crystal afternoon, my friend and I visited the Field Museum of Natural History in downtown Chicago. While walking through the Indigenous Peoples of North America exhibit I was struck by a placard which explained how our bodies today are evolved from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. They spent a part of every day moving about either hunting for protein or gathering wild plants for food.
Because we evolved as movers we also require physical activity. We operate best on a diet of healthy protein and vegetables and low in unhealthy fats and sugar. So many of today’s chronic diseases (like diabetes, obesity and heart disease) are in part because we’ve abandoned the mobile ways of our ancestors in favor of more sedentary lifestyles along with more unhealthy eating.
The cold wintry weather, along with the museum’s gentle reminder that we need to MOVE was the motivation for this week’s e-news article – staying motivated when winter’s shorter, colder days sap your energy. Don’t let bad weather be an excuse for not working out! And if you can’t afford (or can’t make it) to the gym, you can design a very affordable home gym with just a few pieces of inexpensive equipment. Don’t know where to start? I’ll show you how – simply.
Our ancestors practiced intuitive fitness. They simply got up and moved, doing what came naturally to their bodies. Today, intuitive fitness is all about doing what you like to do and keeping it interesting, simple, and fun. Because the workout that works best is the one you DO.
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