I am so proud of my book and want to share it with everyone. The book’s message is a simple one: Exercise, physical activity, practical fitness, movement. Call it what you will, just make sure you do it every day. Physical activity doesn’t need to be costly, complicated, or time-consuming. But it does need to happen every single day. No special clothing, fancy equipment or expensive gym memberships are required. Just a commitment to get off your butt and move more. To that end, I’m thrilled with the early response I’ve received. There have been fantastic reviews for the book, both online and in person. It’s nice to run into someone you haven’t seen in a while and be told your book is fantastic and helping them so much. That happened to me one Saturday afternoon, as I walked to the library. And here are some written reviews I’ve received: Angela: "I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! I'm buying 7 more copies for presents for some of my friends. The red, white and black cover is very eye catching and dynamic and invites you to pick the book up. The style is fresh and positive. I love the frequent invitations to move my beautiful body. This book is a gentle reminder to keep moving and stay as healthy as possible. It suggests small changes that have a huge impact on our health: Age without Pain!" Amazon Customer: "Great book on how to get more movement in your day, whether you are actively working out every day and if you are sedentary, or think you move a lot. You will be surprised. It's an easy read and informative, backed by credible references and written by a very knowledgeable author. This book needs to be read by everyone! I workout 5 days a week for an hour; I was amazed at how much I sit or stand. If you are someone e that needs inspiration to get more movement in your day, Amanda can certainly help you and you are going to feel better. Promise!" Lydia: "This book is amazing! Amanda makes it so easy to add more movement to your day. I love the concept on nudges and creating new habits to make it more sustainable and long-lasting." Kindle Edition Reader: "A great little gem! Filled with practical ideas of how you can add more movement to your day. I especially like the suggestion of a health SMOK break at work: Sedentary & Movement Optional Kills Early. The author point out how it's socially acceptable for smokers to take a break, yet it's not as socially acceptable to take a movement break at work. As a personal trainer, I'm always trying to encourage my clients to move more outside of their traditional exercise time. I'd totally recommend this book if you're need more ideas on how to do this, whether for yourself or your clients.” I’ve published a few videos of the book’s content, including the introduction and the table of contents.
And I’ve had some wonderful individuals reach out to share details of my book with their audiences. This exposure has included podcasts, radio interviews, blog posts, and newsletter features. You can visit my media pages check back often to see the others!
Next on my list are workshops, presentations, and book signings. I have a few of those scheduled later this month. Please visit my events page to see the ones that are open to the public. And do let me know if you’d like a live event scheduled at your location. Well, in addition to promoting my book, I’m still running my fitness business. So that means it’s time to get back to work on personal training and group and private Essentrics classes. I hope you’re enjoying your summer as much as I am! And remember, keep moving.
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Move more, feel better. That’s the slogan I adopted when I created The Move More Institute™ in 2016. Physical inactivity is causing a global health crisis, as we download more apps and purchase more labour-saving devices to make our lives “easier.” But is easier necessarily better? I don’t think so, and neither do most health and fitness professionals. For several years now, we have been sounding the alarm. Have you been listening? Perhaps you’ve heard that “sitting is the new smoking.” Unfortunately, our busy lives have precluded many people from making the necessary changes to their daily lives. I'm just about to publish my first book, called Move More, Your Life Depends On It: Practical Tips to Add More Movement to Your Day. With this book, I teach people how to add non-exercise activity to their busy days. Physical activity doesn't have to be complicated or cost a ton of money, but it does have to be part of your daily life if you want to prevent premature death. How will this book help you? I’m glad you asked. With the guidance provided in this book, you can: - Learn how to nudge yourself to be more active throughout the day, every day - Improve your health by incorporating non-exercise activity into your busy workday, and - Identify and overcome barriers to being more physically active. The book is divided into three easy to follow sections: The Problem, The Solution, and The Action Plan. If you’re stuck and not sure what to do, this book will help you change your behaviour from "mostly sedentary" to "active mover.” VIRTUAL LAUNCH: To reach more people, I chose to self-publish with Amazon. The paperback and e-book versions will be available for sale later this month. If you can buy books from Amazon in your country, you’ll be able to buy this book. OFFICIAL LAUNCH: For those of you who live in the Ottawa area, I will be hosting a book launch in mid-September. Stay tuned for more details. And remember: if you move more, you will feel better. Visit Amazon to purchase your copy today. Earlier this month, I sat and stared at my laptop for the better part of a Sunday. You see, I needed to write my latest blog post, and I couldn’t. I was drawing a blank. This was more than writer’s block. I typically have at least 5 ideas percolating in the back of my brain, ready to take centre stage for a monthly blog post. And when I sit down to write, the words and ideas flow.
But not this time. This time, I felt like my fountain of creativity had run dry. I felt “beyond burnt out”. And that made the situation worse. What if I had tapped all that was available? Was that the end of my business? Honestly, I felt heartsick. And deflated. Finally, I put my computer aside and tried to distract my overactive brain. A few days later, and still no change in my demeanour. I made a radical decision to take a break from social media for a brief spell - both professionally and personally. I told people I was logging off for a break, and gave them my website and email info, in case they needed to contact me. And then I turned off all notifications for Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and Twitter. I thought I’d experience a moment of withdrawal; but it never came. I actually felt liberated. A few wonderful souls emailed me to say they hoped everything was okay. [No need to name them, they know who they are. And their support is forever appreciated.] For 4 days, I detoxed from the online world. I tried to forget about my failed blog post. But I stewed. Was this the end of my business? Could I continue if I felt this way? You see, my heart felt simultaneously heavy and hollow. "Beyond burnt out" is the only way I can describe it. Then one morning, an idea popped into my head: write a book. Write a book?! I can’t write a book. The notion germinated all day long, and by the end of the day it became: I CAN write a book! But I kept it to myself. Until the next day, when I told my husband. His response, “That’s a good idea.” Then I told my teenage kids. Their response, “Cool.” And then I told a few close friends. Everyone was excited for me. No one said I couldn’t do it. So I’m going for it. And a few days later, my daughter started talking about my book launch party. I suggested we put a pin in that until I had a draft completed. Although the process of writing a book can seem daunting, it’s also thrilling. I’ve been researching how to self-publish; I’ve been working on my outline; I’ve been reaching out to people to be interviewed for the book. And I feel reenergized. The heavy/hollow feeling has disappeared. My creative juices are once again flowing. And I’m excited. You’re probably wondering, “What’s the book about?” Great question! The working title is “Get off your butt! Your life depends on it”. I’ll be taking much of the content I created for The Move More Institute™ and turning it into book form. And now, I need to get back to writing… Move more, feel better. That’s the slogan I chose for The Move More Institute™. Just get up and move - that’s all I’m asking. As soon as you do, your body and brain will feel better. And they’ll start to crave the movement. Trust me, I know.
Let me explain… It’s been about 8 years since I switched gears professionally and jumped into the world of fitness. I’ve always been in the business of helping people:
You get the idea. I deal with humans - helping them improve their lives. Well, about 4 years ago, I decided I needed to teach more Essentrics® classes in Ottawa. You know, get the word out, help people feel better in their bodies. Ottawans are fortunate in that there are MANY fitness options in the city. And many fitness centres. So much so, that most people want fitness-on-demand: the class they want, at a time that suits them, near their home or office. You get the idea. I rose to the challenge and tried to start up as many Essentrics classes in as many locations that would have me. Starting up a class takes time. And a lot of computer time as well:
Wash. Rinse. Repeat. I got to the point where I was teaching 15 weekly classes in 8 locations. And spending A LOT of time on my computer in the interim. I hurt my shoulder and entire right side of my torso from too much “point and click”. It made me realize how damaging it can be to sit at your computer too much. I was incredibly fit - 15 classes a week! - and yet I still go injured. At my computer. I started to look into the research on physical inactivity and office workers. And I was astounded at what I discovered.* More than bootcamps and gym memberships, people needed real help to relearn how to use their bodies in normal, everyday ways. So, I went back to my earlier roots in health promotion research and psychology to work on a solution. Out of that work, The Move More Institute was born. On the continuum of physical activity, I’m targeting the basics. Your life is busy; you’ve got lots of people counting on you every single day. The thought of having to add one more location change - i.e., one hour at the gym, 3 times a week on your own, or once a week with a personal trainer - is making your head spin. That’s why The Move More Institute™ comes to you: short segments delivered online to your home or office, when it works for you. And you don’t need to commit to a long-term training schedule. My goal is short-term coaching for long-term results. Think about it: A 1-hour weekly personal training session accounts for less than 1% of your waking hours. I want you to get active and stay active every day of your life. If we only rely on that “less than 1%” block of time to change your behaviour, how successful do you think you’ll be? (Psst: rhetorical question alert) The Move More Institute™ can’t make your life less busy, but it can make your life better by teaching you how to add natural movement to your busy life. What does “natural movement” mean, exactly? It’s a very literal term - it’s not deadlifts or pistol squats, glute bridges or planks. It’s about non-exercise activity to fuel your body and make you feel better. And I’m living proof that it works. I teach group fitness classes and deliver personal training sessions in my professional life. In my personal life, I apply behaviour change models - the habit loop and nudge theory - to be more active during the day:
I could go on, but it’s time for me to take a break from my computer. It’s time for me to move more. *You can refer to earlier blog posts for more information. People with chronic low back pain are often looking high and low for “cures” or remedies in order to rid themselves of symptoms. Finding short term relief often comes in many different forms, but long term success can be a mystery. Unfortunately, practitioners who treat low back pain are often excellent at the treatment portion, but they are less effective at helping clients create strategies to avoid painful movements and positions or find positions of relief. Without these strategies, low back patients are often reaggravating the injury and delaying the healing process between treatments. The secret to long term success when managing low back pain lies in the ability to move in ways that do not “pick the scab”. We must think of a healing low back as we would a scab: if we constantly pick a scab it will not heal. The same can be said for a low back: if we constantly move in ways that cause pain, our back is telling us that it is not able to heal. What really matters to the patient is, how do you know if you are picking your low back scab? Luckily, your body has been telling you the answers! The biggest clue involves what you are doing when your low back hurts. Think back or observe over a few days when you feel pain or increased pain. Was it after a long day of bending forwards, or does pain increase when rolling over in bed or transitioning from sit to stand? After collecting some information, look at the positions that are on list. Is there a pattern? Does your back not like bending forwards, or reaching backwards? Does it not tolerate carrying heavy loads? If you notice a pattern, you now know what you need to avoid in order to properly let your back heal. This may require rethinking how you move during your day-to-day activities. You might have to learn to use your core as a brace in order to properly stabilize the low back when transitioning positions. Or you might have to learn to use the hip joint to bend forward and keep the spine in a neutral position when picking things up off the floor. You might also have to learn to keep the head from bending forwards, especially for extended periods, as this causes increased activity and tension in the low back musculature. While this article should not be interpreted to belittle the role of the practitioner, it should highlight the fact that you can help yourself. How you move is an integral part of low back symptom management. Learn to move well, then move often! About the author: With a Doctorate in Chiropractic, Luc founded The Movement Co. with the aim of providing individuals a one-stop-shop for all of their training and rehabilitation needs. Eager to treat all ranges of individuals, from the office worker, to the elite athlete, Luc uses a vast range of treatments customized to his patient's and athlete's needs.
Let's face it - everyone is too sedentary these days. It's as if we've reversed the evolution of man, we’re getting slower and more hunched over than our early-20th-century counterparts. You know you need to move more, but how? That’s where movement coaching comes in. Do you spend more than half of your waking hours sitting without much movement? Want to learn how to add more movement and physical activity to your daily life? Not sure how to eliminate the “convenience setup” at your desk? I created The Move More Institute™ to address these issues. Please read on to learn more! Movement Coaching At Home: How do I change my behaviour?You're retired and you've being told that you need to sit less and move more. [Note: seniors are the fastest growing demographic on Facebook.] But how to change a behaviour? I can help! The first step is to assess your current movement factor and home setup, as well as your current behaviour patterns. To change a behaviour, we work together to identify new cues and rewards. One-on-one assistance in your environment will help you turn your newfound knowledge into daily habits. Movement Coaching At Work: How do I change my workspace?Perhaps you've attended my workshop, “I’m Not Sitting Anymore, What Now?!”, and you’re looking for help with next steps. You know you need to move more during the workday, but where to begin? How do you change your space to enhance movement? How do you remember to get up and move around throughout your day? Personalized movement coaching in your environment will help you turn your newfound knowledge into daily habits. If one of these descriptions speaks to you, you need to speak to me! How Can I Help?I have a truly unique skill set that allows me to offer movement coaching: I have two psychology degrees, so I understand behaviour and motivation. I have a background in health promotion research, so I know what the research says about the problems with our sedentary lifestyle as well as recommended solutions. Finally, I’m a fitness professional who focuses on body awareness, bodyweight training, and postural awareness. I’ve written before about how to make fitness a daily habit (click here to read that post). With movement coaching, we’re going ‘back to basics’: working on non-exercise activity that is sprinkled throughout your day. Every day. My goal is to work myself out of a job; i.e., get you to a point where you’ve added the necessary movement that improves your health and well-being. My slogan is move more, feel better. If you’re ready to start, I’m ready to help you! The Good Old Days? Remember the carefree summer days of your childhood? You’d jump out of bed with enthusiasm, ready for whatever adventure presented itself. The world was full of possibility and so were you. You didn’t think twice about hopping on your bike to race to your best friend’s house. When you arrived, you’d kick off your shoes and run through the sprinkler until you were too hungry to continue. After a quick lunch, it was time to head to the park, usually until you were called home for dinner. You didn’t have to think about your posture, proper knee alignment when bending your legs, shoes to support your weak arches, or range of motion in your joints. You just did what came naturally to you - you moved. A lot. What About Now? How’s your body feeling these days? Do you still jump out of bed and run around in your bare feet? Likely not - as most adults report some form of muscular and/or joint pain. When you stand up, how long does it take you to go from sitting to standing? Do you feel stiffness in certain joints as you get up? Your joints are seizing up from lack of lubrication - aka lack of movement. When you’re stiff, you move more slowly. And when you don’t have a spring in your step, you look and act ‘old’. You don’t have to be old to move in a slower, stiff way. You just have to be inactive - i.e., mostly sedentary. Lack of physical movement is prematurely aging our society. Mostly Sedentary or Mostly Fidgeter? Are YOU a Sedentary Sam or a Fidget Finn? The technical terms are “prolonger” and “breaker”. [1] prolonger: Someone who accumulates sedentary time in extended continuous bouts, breaker: Someone who accumulates sedentary time with frequent interruptions and in short bouts. Those terms come to us from the Sedentary Behaviour Research Network. Think about that for a moment: our society has become so sedentary that researchers have had time to convene a worldwide research network to study us. I used to work in research and let me tell you, nothing happens fast. This problem has been years in the making. We’ve become a society of leisure-based, labour-saving technological slugs, and it’s killing us. Metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity are all on the rise.[2] A recent documentary entitled “Cholesterol: The Great Bluff” tackled the topic: in it, cardiologist Dr. Mikael Rabaeus proclaims, “Yet again, it’s a sedentary lifestyle that’s the killer.”[3] How did this lifestyle change - this life of leisure - entrap us in bodies that are now failing us? It was a gradual process over the twentieth century and into our current times. The industrial revolution, followed by the current technological revolution, have given us many labour-saving devices. From dishwashers and garage door openers smartphones and online shopping, researchers have tracked an increase in obesity that correlates directly with an increase in the acquisition of labour-saving devices. [4]
NEAT is different that your workout at the gym: “NEAT corresponds to all the energy expended with occupation, leisure time activity, sitting, standing, ambulation, toe-tapping, shovelling snow, playing the guitar, dancing, singing, washing, etc.” [5] Even if you do a daily one-hour workout, you still need to keep your body moving in other ways throughout the day. If not, you’re what’s referred to as an “active couch potato”. [2] The Move More Institute™ nudges people to be more active throughout the day. Natural, non-exercise activity spread across your day. Every day. I'm a fitness professional with a radical idea - don't exercise! Just move more! Move More! What can you do to keep yourself independent and living your life actively and without pain? Move your body. Add snacks of movement to your day:
References
1. Sedentary Behavior Research Network (SBRN) – Terminology Consensus Project process and outcome, Mark S. Tremblay, Salomé Aubert, Joel D. Barnes, Travis J. Saunders, Valerie Carson, Amy E. Latimer-Cheung, Sebastien F.M. Chastin, Teatske M. Altenburg, Mai J.M. Chinapaw and on behalf of SBRN Terminology Consensus Project Participants, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2017,14:75; https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-017-0525-8 2. Too Much Sitting and Metabolic Risk—Has Modern Technology Caught Up with Us? David W Dunstan, Genevieve N Healy, Takemi Sugiyama, Neville Owen European Endocrinology, 2010; 6:19-23; DOI: http://doi.org/10.17925/EE.2010.06.00.19 3. Cholesterol: The Great Bluff, 2017; http://tvo.org/video/documentaries/cholesterol-the-great-bluff 4. Levine, J.A. Nonexercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT): environment and biology, American Journal of Physiology, Endocrinology & Metabolism. 10. 1152/ ajpendo. 00562. 2003 AJP - Endo May 1, 2004 vol. 286 no. 5 E675-E685 http://m.ajpendo.physiology.org/content/286/5/E675.full#F3 5. The Role of Non-exercise Activity Thermogenesis in Human Obesity, Christian von Loeffelholz, 2004, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279077/ (endotext.org) Ever heard someone say this: “I have a bad back, so I can’t exercise this week.” Or perhaps you’ve said it yourself. But what exactly does it mean to have a bad back? And why would that restrict you from physical activity? First, let’s look at the definition of ‘bad’: Bad, defined(1): - low or poor in quality - not correct or proper - not pleasant, pleasing, or enjoyable Is your back poor in quality or not correct? Is it truly “bad”? Yes, I do realize “bad back” is a colloquialism, but it shouldn’t be. Having a bad back implies you can’t use it, and yet, you use it every single day of your life, when you move. Did you know that low back pain is the number two cause of work absenteeism?(2) And guess what? “Almost everyone can expect to experience back pain at some point in their lives.”(3) What causes low back pain? Some of the physical factors include: lack of fitness, heaving lifting of objects, operating motor vehicles, prolonged sitting, operating vibrating tools, and history of cigarette smoking. Some sports, like golf and horseback riding, may also overload or stress your lower back. (2) Your back may be in pain because it or another part of your body is weak or tight.(3) In the case of muscles other than the ones in your back being weak or tight, your back then has to carry more than its share of the load. It’s called a muscular imbalance.
Here’s the thing: stiffness begets stiffness. The less you move, the weaker and stiffer your muscles and joints become. And the harder it becomes to move easily and fluidly. So you don’t move. So, what’s a person with low back pain to do? Keep moving. Motion is lotion, after all, and the movement associated with your activities of daily living will slowly help to unlock the area of pain.(3) That doesn’t mean go run a marathon - be sensible about intensity of activity.
A few weeks ago, I was moving furniture. I know how to safely lift and carry heavy objects. But a well-meaning individual distracted me and I lost my focus. So I lifted heavy chairs with bad alignment. Yup, you guessed it. I injured my lower back and put it into spasm. Currently, I teach 9 weekly Essentrics classes and 5 weekly water-based fitness classes. I did not miss one of those classes while I was injured. I was able to continue teaching as I recovered. My back still isn’t 100%, but it’s slowly healing. And now, I need to get up from my computer and move around. Because we all need to keep moving.
Over time, which children do you think will stick to a program of physical fitness? It’s not a trick queston, by the way. There’s plenty of research to suggest that setting an example for your children will ensure a lifetime of good habits. In other words: although the expression, “Do as I say, not as I do” may ring true for bad habits; when it comes to healthy habits, it’s “do as I do” all the way.
The great thing about these daily habits is that they’ll translate into healthy behaviour in adulthood. They’ve made the choice of what to do and when, so they’ll be more likely to stick with it. The list below is an excerpt from an online article about the top 10 tips to help your children develop healthy habits. I pulled out these 4 tips in particular because they ring true for our household. Not purposefully, though, it’s just the way we roll.
First, a little background: This is my seventh year as an Essentrics instructor, and my fifteenth year - yes, I said 15 - of following its television version, Classical Stretch. The TV episodes are only 22 minutes in length - 22 minutes to feel great, unlock tight muscles, and relieve joint pain. That’s a daily habit that wasn’t too hard for me to adopt. Even when I take breaks from teaching Essentrics classes, I still do my own daily workout at home. This summer, my teenagers joined a local fitness club. The facility has a teen fitness program that allows them free access for July and August. While my son had workout buddies, my daughter was going to be on her own. So she asked me to join with her. I promptly agreed: daily exercise is an important habit for everyone, and if spending money on a gym membership would keep my daughter physically active, I was willing to pay for the summer months. During our first workout at the gym, I was struck by how many people had less-than-optimal posture, poor form during their workouts, and perpetually contracted muscles which inevitably leads to joint compression - aka pain! Were these people aware that only 22 minutes of dynamic stretching could improve their gym experience? Don’t worry - I resisted the urge to preach the gospel according to Essentrics. But it got me thinking: what would happen if I stopped my daily Essentrics workout and only did a gym-based workout? The American College of Sports Medicine defines 3 fitness components on which individuals can train for optimal health: cardiorespiratory training, resistance training, and flexibility training:
Notice anything about this table? I’ll give you a hint - I highlighted it in yellow. Flexibility training - aka stretching - is recommended daily or almost daily for every population. So, how many people actually follow these recommendations? Judging from the people I was seeing at the gym, I think it’s fair to say “not many”. Since I’ve never been into resistance training, and I was now doing it 3-4 days per week with my daughter, I wondered how my body would fare if I eliminated the flexibility training from my exercise repertoire. Well, I’m a research nerd at heart, so the only logical solution was to run an experiment. Sample size = 1. It’s called a case study, people. I’ve spent enough of my life in the world of research to know the limitations of a single case study, so don’t worry, it’s not being submitted to a peer-reviewed publication. So, in early July, I stopped doing Essentrics and only did cardio and resistance training workouts. What happened to my body with this change in workouts? Well, a lot. Every injury I’ve ever had seemed to resurface - plantar fasciitis in one foot, torn calf muscle in the other leg, severe big toe pain, recurring shoulder pain. When I got out of bed in the morning, I couldn’t put my heel on the ground and I had to walk down the stairs sideways. It reminded me of my pre-Essentrics life and what drove me to daily practice of this program in the first place. I realized I couldn’t continue this experiment on my return to Ottawa. This was a situation where the science was hurting the test subject. I’m still doing cardio and resistance training workouts with my daughter, but first I do my own Essentrics workout at home. For me, it improves my gym workout because I know I’m still rebalancing my body on my own time. Bottom line, Essentrics can and should be a daily habit. Not just for me - for everyone. Daily habits make life more manageable. And Essentrics is a tool for better living. Daily Habits: What are your daily habits? Do you:
These are all great daily habits - do you remember a time when you didn’t do them? Your daily habits are just that: things you do every day without even thinking about it. Reference:
American College of Sports Medicine: ACSM’s Resources for the Personal Trainer, 4th ed. (2014) Publishers: Wolters Kluwer; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Photo Sources:
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AuthorAmanda Sterczyk is an international author, Certified Personal Trainer (ACSM), an Exercise is Medicine Canada (EIMC) Fitness Professional, and a Certified Essentrics® Instructor. |