Just Start Moving, Turn Information Into Knowledge, and Start Something and Do Not Stop

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: 

1. Turn information into knowledge that you can apply to your life, and help others apply to theirs.

2. Just start moving. This may just be the best thing you can do for your long term health. 

3. There is no magical thing that will help you accomplish what you want to accomplish. What you need to do is just start, and then never stop. 

Starter Mindset Tip: Turn Information Into Knowledge

“Our modern era, often termed the Information Age, has never been called the Knowledge Age. Information does not translate directly into knowledge. It must first be processed - accessed, absorbed, comprehended, integrated, and retained.” (Cialdini, p. 441) We find this to be a very interesting quote when you think about it in terms of the world of health. We have access to so much information, but this information does not always translate into knowledge. There are so many things we learn about, but if we do not integrate that information into our lives, it will not be retained, and that ever powerful information ends up getting left behind, never to be seen or thought of again. We don’t expect you to remember everything you learn, or integrate everything you learn into your own life, that is unrealistic. We do however want you to try and start to turn some of the information you receive into knowledgeable action. Think about something you have learned recently that made you think to yourself, “I wish I could do this in my life, or I would really like to be able to do this on a regular basis.” Do not pick something that you are not actually interested in because you are setting yourself up to fail. Pick a slice of information you have heard recently that interests you, apply it to your life, and turn that information into usable knowledge that you can use, and then share with others. 

Health Recipe: Just Start Moving

Timing: As much time as you can spare

Level of Difficulty: Easy - Hard depending on how much you move now

Serving Size: Do something every day.

Spiciness: Can be spicy while exercising, but man, the after effects feel darn good

INGREDIENTS

  Yourself and some movement baby

 REASONING AND BENEFITS

“The first doctor to prescribe exercise for health was around 600 BC, his name was Susruta, in northern india. He noticed that his underactive patients seemed to be more disease prone. But diseases fly from the presence of a person habituated to a regular physical exercise regime.” (Easter, p. 222) This discovery has been seen time and time again by doctors and researchers around the world. There is a direct correlation between how much you move, and how healthy you are. The more you move, the healthier you are, the less you move, your health will decline. Moving will have unrivaled positive benefits seen in all areas of your health from lower rates of cardiovascular disease, to lowered depression, and even lower chances of cancer. There are not many things that we can do that will have as many benefits. Improving your cardio fitness will distance yourself from all popular ways to die. Improving your strength will do the same with the added benefits of maintaining muscle to avoid all the issues that come with lack of muscle as you age. Stretching and moving in different ways will protect you from injuries and allow you to move better longer. Standing instead of sitting, walking instead of driving, rucking instead of walking, running and jumping instead of walking, sitting on the floor instead of a chair, holding a squat instead of sitting on the floor. The possibilities are endless, your options are many, all you have to do is alter the way you think to start incorporating movement into your life. Just start moving, and move every day. “Life is busy, so we say always do something, or never do nothing.” (Starrett, p. 280) 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Start small by implementing some rules for yourself. Examples: use a standing desk instead of sitting all day at work, sit on the floor or hold a squat for the first 10 minutes of watching TV at night, walk somewhere that you would normally drive, get up and move every 30-60 minutes while you are at work, throw a weighted backpack on for your next walk, do some push ups before you drink coffee, do sit ups before a shower, skip for 2 minutes in the morning in the sunlight. We could go on and on, pick things that you will actually do

2. Cardio: It is recommended to get around 150 minutes of moderate intensity cardio activity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity or a combination of the two every week. (Starrett, p. 280)

3. Strength Training: Perform muscle strengthening workouts at least twice a week. If you can do 10-20 sets for each muscle group every week, you will be building muscle. So you can do two full body workouts per week and make improvements. (Huberman Lab with Andy Galpin, Ep. Feb 8, 2023)

4. Again, we know life gets busy, so create an environment around you that supports movement. Doing something every day, even just a few minutes of air squats, will teach your mind and body to prioritize movement to improve your life now, and in the future. 

PRO TIP: Self care and exercise are often the first things to go by the wayside when life gets busy. When this happens, don’t throw in the towel. Do something every day. Keep your momentum going. When things slow down, that momentum you created will make it way easier to get back in the saddle of exercising more.

* “Going from zero weekly exercise to just 90 minutes per week can reduce your risk of dying from all causes by 14 percent. It’s very hard to find a drug that can do that.” (Attia, p. 218)

** “Study after study has found that regular exercisers live as much as a decade longer than sedentary people.” (Attia, p. 218)

*** “Exercise has the greatest power to determine how you will live out the rest of your life… Not only does it reverse physical decline, which I suppose is somewhat obvious, but it can slow or reverse cognitive decline as well.” (Attia, p. 217)

Dessert Quote: 

“The magic is that there is no magic. Start where you are. Don’t stop.” — Seth Godin, “The Practice,” p. 257. 

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 turning information into knowledge:

Cialdini, R. B., PhD. (2021). Influence, new and expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion. HarperCollins.

Learn more about the magic of movement: 

Attia, P., MD. (2023). Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity. Harmony.

Easter, M. (2021). The comfort crisis: Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self. Rodale Books.

Starrett, K., & Starrett, J. (2023). Built to move: The Ten Essential Habits to Help You Move Freely and Live Fully. National Geographic Books.