I believe that 2015 will be the age of using the outdoor environment as the gym. No longer are we restricted to a single location or stuck on indoor fitness equipment. For decades we’ve left the great outdoors and ventured back inside for exercise. What the heck happened to those of us that used to play as kids outside?
It is my belief that both kids and adults should be outdoors and enjoying it. If you were to truly look at what it has to offer, you’ll very rarely train indoors.
When I read an article on Erwan Le Corre and his Movnat program, I was excited to see someone embracing the natural movement lifestyle and teaching it. When I discovered Parkour, I thought, here’s a way of movement that can be done in the urban environment. Though, both the natural movement of Erwan Le Corre and Parkour are related and can be done anywhere. Both fit into my way of living fitness.
You can have the same. It starts with your perception of what constitutes fitness. As I’ve paraphrased an old saying in previous articles, “If you only have a hammer, all you’ll see are nails.”
Here are my 5 keys to getting and living a movement lifestyle…
- Get outdoors like you did when you were a kid and simply play. This means to play on playground equipment, even if you’re an adult.
- Take hikes in nature. Explore with friends and even get into nature’s mindfulness.
- Train in an indoor rock climbing facility and then take it outdoors. It’s okay to train indoors so that you can get better outdoors. Rock climbing will also help you with climbing trees and other things.
- Wherever you go, think of your surroundings as possible gym equipment. I’ve even used the roof of bus stop to do pull-ups. Parkour has expanding my versatility in using urban and natural environments to train.
- Take at least 5 minutes every hour to stand and move. Do this at work and at home. Do this everywhere. Make it a habit. If you happen to miss an hour, don’t fret. Heck, you can even do 10 minutes later. Simply just do it.
Bonus: Think of any kind of movement that you can. This can includes things you enjoy. Dancing, swimming, martial arts, snow skiing, surfing and so forth all count. The more you can wrap your mind around what movement actually means, the better you’ll be in doing it more.
Movement should have always been a part of all of us. If we were to include movement as a way of life, then it will affect those around us, including our children. Think of this, when you do that, your children will to. And when your children adopts the movement lifestyle, so will your grandchildren.
It is my belief that schools and businesses should adopt this as well. I can even imagine all the Congressmen of the House of Representatives doing 20 four-count jumping jacks just before they legislate. Can’t you? Hahaha!
Realize that it begins with you. Join me in starting a movement lifestyle movement.
Cheers,
Bob Choat, “Transformational Master Black Belt” 
America’s #1 Mind-Body Transformation Expert and author of Mind Your Own Fitness