You’ve Got to Move It

Last month, in our 2-part series on burnout, we discussed six key areas that we can focus on for better health as a path to avoid or reverse burnout. Our last article covered nutrition and hydration as one area of focus. Hopefully, you’ve incorporated those suggestions as part of your overall wellness strategy as a first responder. If you made a commitment to a 28-day focus on improvement you’re well on your way to some significant changes so congratulations to those of you who are improving day by day.

Today, we’re going to focus on the next component of a lifestyle that enables us to avoid or reverse burnout: movement.

A federal government study said 80% of police officers were overweight. Another study showed 40% of police officers were clinically obese. We know that being overweight or obese leads to severe and chronic health conditions from inflammation to diabetes to heightened risk of cardiovascular disease, strokes or cancer.

About 80% of body composition is related to diet. Not being on a diet, but what you eat and drink daily. We’ve covered that in depth in other articles. If you’re not familiar with that topic, I encourage you to read those articles for more information.

The other 20% of body composition is related to lifestyle. Amount of activity, sleep and stress reduction.

Part of a healthy lifestyle is exercising your body through movement. 

Our ancestors moved their bodies frequently, at a low level. They walked, foraged, hunted, and climbed. More recently, until the 1940’s/ 1950’s people walked to work and within neighborhoods to the post office or grocery store. In our modern comfort-based society, people are increasingly sedentary. They drive a car to work, sit at a desk or drive a car at work, drive home, drive to the store, and sit on the couch. We no longer must expend much energy moving to accomplish our daily tasks.

Movement, even at a low energy level daily converts fat into energy because fat is the main fuel for low level aerobic activity. Research has shown that a short 20–30-minute walk immediately after eating can have significant health benefits. Glucose rises after food intake and peaks at 30-60 minutes after a meal. Walking suppresses glucose. We want to minimize glucose in our bloodstream due to insulin spikes. We don’t want insulin struggling to deal with excess glucose because it will be stored as fat in our body. So, eat; then go out for a 20 minute walk right after your meal.

Movement also functions to move lymph through your body. Your lymphatic system (aka your second circulatory system) does a lot of work for our body that we won’t go into here, but basically it is a part of our immune system that carries good things to our cells and bad things away from our cells. There is no circulatory organ for lymph, it is circulated by our body movement and muscle contractions. When you’re sedentary, you’re not moving lymph optimally. 

Movement also helps strengthen our circulatory system, build a strong capillary network, exercises our lungs, and builds stronger muscles, joints and tendons. Movement is functioning the body the way it is designed to function. 

Movement at a slow, comfortable and frequent pace is the best thing you can do as a foundation for fitness. If you’re following a good nutritional lifestyle, this type of movement will turn your body into a fat burning machine. 

How do you know how much is enough or how difficult your level of movement should be? As a Primal-based health coach, I like to use the previously mentioned 20-to-30-minute walk after a meal. Additionally, for other daily movement activities whether walking, hiking or cycling, look at the work of Dr. Phil Maffetone’s “180 minus age for maximum aerobic heart rate” formula. This will keep your heart rate in maximum effective range. It works like this: Subtract your age from 180 (for me that is 180-57=123). You want to keep your heart rate at or below but close to this number for maximum efficiency. If you don’t have a heart rate monitor, you can know you’re close if you can carry on a normal conversation while engaging in activity. If you’re short of breath while talking and moving your heart rate is likely too high. A heart rate monitor is a small investment to make to know you’re in the correct zone.

You can adjust this heart rate target as follows: 

• Subtract 10 if you’re recovering from illness or surgery

• Subtract 5 for a recent injury or if you have allergies or asthma or just 

• Returning to training.

• Add 5 if you’ve been training consistently for two years or more.

The good news is you don’t have to move like you’re training for a triathlon or marathon. In a future article, I’ll address the issue of chronic cardio and the negative health effects of that type of over-training. Just get out and move frequently and easily!

Movement also helps reduce anxiety and other issues that result from bottled up stress and keep hormones like adrenaline and cortisol in check. You won’t have any negative consequences from low-level frequent movement. 

Additionally, a full movement program includes resistance training with weights and occasional sprinting or high energy output aerobics for short duration. If you’re already doing that, great! If you’re not, just start with the previously mentioned movement. 

Avoid being sedentary. Take every opportunity you can to boost your movement. Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator, make a commitment to walk after meals. Your longevity depends on it!

Disclaimer: I’m not a medical professional. I am a certified health coach with an emphasis on primal/ancestral health practices. I provide information for your education. I encourage you to research these topics further for yourself in your journey to healing and health. If you have significant physical or behavioral health concerns, you should see a qualified medical provider and preferably one who specializes in holistic health. 

If you or a family member are having any issues with mental health or relationships, please reach out for help. Responder Health (responderhealth.com) is an organization that offers resources specifically for first responders and their families. Responder Health provides confidential and full-service solutions that support first responders through stress and traumatic events, and provides them with the education, resources, and community they need to live healthy, happy lives. Our peer advocate hotline (206)459-3020 offers a confidential 24-hour crisis referral service for all public safety employees, all emergency services personnel, and their family members nationwide.