Go Big or Go Home? Move Like a Kid, and Live With Intention
Hi Folks! Connor and Nick here from Healthy Living With Nick and Connor. Thanks again for being on our email list, it means a lot, and we are excited to share our weekly email with you. We hope you enjoy it! Here is what we hope you take away from this one:
Instead of following the go big or go home mantra, instead follow “go big or go back to the drawing board and then go small.”
Stop only walking in straight lines on flat ground. Stop sitting all the time. Stop moving in the same old way. Re-teach your body how to move and move like a kid again to get stronger, healthier, and avoid injuries.
Live in the moment, do what you enjoy.
Starter Mindset Tip: Should You Go Big or Go Home? Usually, No.
Should you follow this mantra when you are trying to tackle a new goal or habit? It feels great to make the decision to make a radical change in your life. You get excited about it, maybe you tell some friends and family about this big change, and then, when the excitement wears off a little, you will actually have to tackle the big goal. We don’t want to paint everyone with the same brush, but we can confidently say that we as humans typically do not welcome change very openly. This big change will rely on a lot of motivation to complete, and this is where we can get into trouble and discouraged. We are not saying big changes are impossible. If the big change is something that you are really interested in, something that inspires you, and something that you can realistically accomplish, then heck ya, you can crush that big goal. However, most of the time, if you start small and build up to that big goal, you will be more successful. When you choose that big goal, find some small steps that you can do that are easy and do not require all of your motivation. As you start crushing these small steps, your confidence will grow, you will be able to celebrate these small victories, and you will be well on your way to accomplishing that big goal of yours. Last note, if you do try to go big, and you fail, don’t beat yourself up about it. Recognize that the reason you didn’t accomplish the goal is because you tried to do too much at once. So step back, figure out how you can break the goal down, and then start small. Let’s change the saying here from “go big or go home” to “go big or go back to the drawing board and then go small.” Not as catchy, but we are going for realism here folks!
Health Recipe: Move Like a Kid Again
Timing: You just need little moments throughout your day
Level of Difficulty: Easy-hard depending on what you choose
Serving Size: Start with small moments, grow from there
Spiciness: It can feel pretty spicy if you haven’t moved like a kid in a while!
INGREDIENTS
Just yourself and a willingness to move in different ways
REASONING AND BENEFITS
What do kids do? They walk on ledges, run through forests, sit on the ground, crawl on the ground, sleep anywhere, roll, jump, climb, swing, hang, twist, dodge, dip, duck, dive, and dodge. What do we as adults do? We lay in beds, sit in chairs, look at our phones, walk on flat ground in straight lines, exercise with machines in straight lines, and the very thought of doing a somersault could make us dizzy or pull a hamstring. The muscles in our bodies are meant to complement each other, and work together. When we stop using our bodies and muscles in all the ways we are capable, we fall into the old saying use-it-or-lose-it, we forget how to move, and we can injure ourselves easier. Just look at how kids squat, lunge, hold things overhead, and move in general. They are absolute masters of their bodies and joints. Just because you are an adult does not mean that you cannot move like a kid, you may just have forgotten how. You just have to start moving in these different ways to re-teach your body how to do it, and the benefits will be plentiful. You will get stronger, you will avoid injuries and nagging back pain, you will have more fun, and you will be able to play with your kids, grandkids, and great grandkids. Your brain will even benefit! A lot of our brain coordination comes from postural and positional information, and our dexterity and balance work with this. Walking on an uneven forest trail will send millions of postural signals to the brain, which is way more than walking on flat concrete will send. This constant flow of postural information will help maintain balance, which is incredibly beneficial as we age to avoid falling and hurting ourselves (Urban Monk, 101). Help future you by moving now.
INSTRUCTIONS
Start thinking about when and where you can fit different movements into your daily life. Here are some examples: walk through the park or forest instead of on the sidewalk, walk on curbs for balance, sit on the ground, sit in a chair with no back support, hold a squat position, jump over things, jump up onto things, sprint, hang on a pergola or park monkey bars, climb something, do exercises with twisting, play on the ground with your kids, grandkids, nieces/nephews.
Most of those examples can be done at any time. Keep your body guessing, break up your normal day and send some new positional and postural information to your brain.
Ease into fast movements like jumping and sprinting if you haven’t done them in a while. Doing a full sprint is a recipe for injury if you haven’t done it in a while or warmed up. Slowly start increasing your speed until you are able to run as fast as you can, just like you used to as a kid all the time.
Start exercise routines that incorporate a lot of these movements. Some examples: yoga, dancing, martial arts, boxing, forest running. Or throw exercises into your current workout routine that involve these movements such as twisting.
PRO TIP: It is so easy to get stuck in the same old routine in our busy lives. Doing the same things over and over can feel safe and comfortable. Get out of your comfort zone a little here and try out some new exercise, move your body in different ways, and have fun with it. Your older self will thank you when you are stronger, healthier, hardier, and have fewer injuries.
* Rotational movements are incredible for keeping our bodies strong, agile, and avoiding injuries. For example: dancing, yoga, martial arts, boxing.
** Moving like a kid again will activate your brain more than living how we live right now—in straight lines with limited movement. Fewer movements means fewer signals to the brain.
*** Starting to move in all the ways we are capable can even fix back pain. That fact alone should get us all trying this out. Back pain is no fun, and it is far too common. Move like a kid, get rid of back pain.
Dessert Quote:
“Zanshin is choosing to live your life intentionally and acting with purpose rather than mindlessly falling victim to whatever comes your way. The act of living with alertness regardless of whether the goal has already been achieved.” https://jamesclear.com/zanshin
Now we want to hear from YOU! Please let us know what you think of today’s newsletter, and send us an example of how you applied the health recipe to your life! We would love to share how you introduced this week’s recipe into your life’s unique menu. Thanks and have a great Sunday!
Sources:
Learn more about incorporating small changes and habits into your life:
Clear, J. (2018). Atomic habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. National Geographic Books.
Fogg, B. J. (2019). Tiny habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything. Eamon Dolan Books.
Learn more about the benefits of moving like a kid, and so much more:
Easter, M. (2021). The comfort crisis: Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self. Rodale Books. Pages 254-257
Shojai, P. (2017). The Urban Monk: Eastern Wisdom and Modern Hacks to Stop Time and Find Success, Happiness, and Peace. Rodale. Pages 101-105
