A Beginners Guide to Fitness: Mobility And ROM

Whether it's dancing, cleaning your home, or playing organized sports, the body has to move to perform the desired activity. When the body’s range of motion and mobility is not exercised, doing daily activities may become difficult or impossible to do.

  Adopting an active lifestyle can help make day-to-day activities and adventures more enjoyable and with fewer limitations on the body.

Think about how many times you may have not done something because of bodily aches and pains. Over the years, more and more individuals have begun to understand and see the benefits of an active lifestyle.

Why should I even want an active lifestyle?

 

 Reason #1 :Your body is

Literally made to move.

The human body is an amazingly organized and adaptive organism. It will conform to whichever lifestyle its user embodies. In fact, the body is so adaptive that it can actually break down and rebuild itself if given the proper lifestyle that requires a rebuild.

Unfortunately, many studies over the years have shown that living a sedentary lifestyle can negatively impact our health in various ways.

  A sedentary lifestyle is characterized by long periods of sitting or lounging with minimal or no physical activity. Let's examine how our musculoskeletal system functions. Our bones and muscles provide the structure and foundation for our body. Physical activity causes our muscles to "break down," prompting the body to adapt to the stress applied. (Without applied stress, there's no need for rebuilding.)

 Individuals with a sedentary lifestyle are more likely to experience a loss of bone density and muscle mass compared to their active counterparts, heightening their risk of injury.

  Maintaining a sedentary lifestyle into old age can result in weakened bones and muscles, making everyday tasks difficult (Oh, my neck, my back… sound familiar?).

This has become common among older adults and is often accepted by society as a natural part of aging, but several studies have shown this to be incorrect.

Those who wish to maintain physical and emotional independence in their later years should incorporate regular exercise into their routine. It’s never too late to begin!

Reason #2: Quality of Life.

Would you prefer to have 20 years of flawless health, or choose 40 years with a different health issue arising each year? Envision 20 years where you can freely explore and engage in activities without any health restrictions. Now, consider 40 years filled with regular doctor appointments, medications, or needing daily help for activities such as eating or bathing. 

If you hear 40 years and go, well you get to live longer. Ask yourself at what expense? The quality of your life, well is it worth it? What if I told you that an individual practicing an active lifestyle could possibly add 30 years to their life? Would it be worth it then? 

Research on older athletes showed 70-75 year old individuals being able to perform just as well as individuals in their 50s. That’s a 30 year difference! Imagine being in your 70s still able to run around with your grandchildren. Who said old age means old bones?

  About 80% of our most chronic health related diseases can be avoided, slowed, and even reversed with proper diet and exercise. Life is a continuous cycle of choices.

Everyday you have the same opportunity as everyone else to decide what's the best choices for your desired quality of life.

Reason #3: The Infamous Physique: If You Look Good; You Feel Good.

Now if the first two reasons were not convincing enough you may just not be built for this. (hehe 🥴)  This next reason is just the icing on the cake. It's like the reward of all the hard work that gets put into any active lifestyle. The Infamous Physique.

 Let's face it, being able to look good in and out of clothes is the basic reason most want to pick up an active lifestyle. Most fitness inquirers first reason when asked why they want to start working out is because they wanna look good.  Summer is around the corner, “bae watch” is in session, and I wanna go to the beach with no shirt on!

While it's true that looking good can boost your mood, it's often insufficient for navigating tough days. This is why the "Infamous Physique" is in high demand; yet, for some, it doesn't provide enough motivation to pursue it. No matter your viewpoint, a well-toned body can enhance anyone's looks.

Despite our unique body types, adding some definition can accentuate what we already possess.

Slow and Steady.

Starting a fitness journey is easier said than done. Initially, the likelihood of experiencing burnout is high. We often go in overzealous, but as that eagerness fades, true determination must take over. Breaking habits is challenging, and the temptation to revert to old ways is comforting. 

To make the transition last, it's important to gradually ease into fitness and prepare for periods of burnout (yes, there are multiple phases, and not all are physical). By taking small steps toward the desired change, you can build the habit while managing the ups and downs that accompany the change. 

By focusing on just getting the body moving a little more each day, within two weeks you’ll feel the difference! An individual's mobility level is just one's ability to move their body through its full ranges of motion (ROM). So, if you are someone that wants to start their fitness journey, you could literally just set time aside everyday to simply move the body. This could be activities like going for a walk or stretching.

Improving the mobility of the body has been shown to improve one's quality of life, improve posture, alleviate bodily aches and pains, and make daily tasks easier.

If you're looking to ease into fitness or improve your range of motion, our FREE Beginner’s Guide to Fitness eBook provides a simple, structured way to get started.

We hope this guide helps you keep pushing toward a more active lifestyle!

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Ready to level up your results? Your workouts are only half the equation. "What you eat matters too." Learn how to use macros to support your fitness goals in our latest blog.

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