I am currently working on a in-depth post that requires a lot of information and effort, so in the meantime I wanted to talk about my current obsession.
I know "walking" is a bit boring and might not be the fitness advice that you wanted today. But it has changed the game for me this spring.
Reflecting back to the fall of 2020, I knew a quarantine winter would be difficult; the cold and dark is typically a challenging time for me, but on top of the current state of our world, I was nervous about having even more limited access to fresh air and activities. I tried to go into the season with a positive mindset, but let's be honest: it was brutal. On top of the frigid and boring period, my fiancé and I had Covid over Christmas. You can imagine that coming into 2021 I was feeling drained and defeated.
Throughout the cold months, I stayed consistent with my at-home workouts. I completed them in my little office area inside; I felt unmotivated and stagnant but it was crucial for me to maintain some kind of routine, even if I wasn't pushing myself anymore.
Suddenly it was February and I was grateful to be done with dreary, dark January. February brought a handful of "warm" days...or more accurately, "days where it didn't snow and I could bundle up in layers." I considered trying to run since I hadn't trained with running since October, but the thought of it filled me with dread. So I took a mental step back and told myself:
"It's so sunny outside, the air is fresh, and you need to move. Don't look into it too much, just move. Walk around the neighborhood for a little bit."
And I did. I turned my face towards the sun and actually had an emotional moment. I was gulping in the crisp air and pace picked up. I couldn't get enough and ended up walking 3 miles, partly uphill. The following day, I was shocked at how SORE I was! I walked three more times that week, and ended up with a swollen ankle (most likely due to my shoes and my lack of stretching). I was so surprised at how much I was sweating under my layers of clothing, and how much stretching my body was begging for. I was in the mindset of "it's just walking, it's easy. I'm taking a break from working out to do this for my soul."
But the reality is that walking IS a workout; it's much-needed movement. And after a long winter of no cardio, walking proved to kick my ass. March came and I continued to walk as my only form of movement. Some days I walked 4 or 5 miles. I found that I had to significantly increase my calorie intake to match my new cardio. My knees suffered a bit, which surprised me; I've been lifting for years and haven't been injured from heavy weights yet.
March is almost over and I continued to walk throughout the month. Recently during an outing, a powerful song came on my playlist and I felt a surge within me. I broke into a jog after months of no running. I only ran a mile, but was surprised at how capable I felt. I beat my PB time in a mile run! Since then I've been implementing my running training into the walking routine and I'm so excited to see the results manifesting in my speed and stamina.
So what's the deal with walking?
First let's look at the medical, physical, and scientific benefits:
-Improves cognitive function; prevents the deterioration of brain tissue, improves memory
-Increased cardiovascular fitness
-heart health
-can help with a fitness "plateau"
-low impact exercise that is accessible to most people
-improves endurance
-posture support
-elevates symptoms of depression and fatigue
-reduced cholesterol
-slowing of resting heart rate
-increases creativity
-aids in weight loss
These are fairly obvious benefits, but I'm going to focus on brain function/blood flow here. I'm going to include some Traditional Chinese Medicine into this topic because I've been diving deep and I think TCM can be integrated with western medicine to reap the positives of both.
A handful of those benefits (mainly the cognitive function but also heart health, creativity, symptoms of depression) have some deeper reasoning. Now we get to talk about my current favorite topics:
Circulation and the liver.
My friends and fiancé can vouch for the fact that I have not shut up about circulation lately; it's an important topic in general but particularly important in spring. And that leads me to the Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective.
Disclaimer: I am not against medicine and science, and I'm not against holistic practices. There is a time and place for both. I enjoy these conversations because I want to bring the two together so they can both shine in the correct circumstances of our lives. I am passionate about PREVENTION but that does not mean we won't ever get sick or need medical care.
I will also refer to Traditional Chinese Medicine as TCM.
So in TCM, each season is tied to dominant organs of the body. Here is how that looks:
-Summer= heart
-Autumn= lungs
-Winter= kidneys
-Spring= liver
Doesn't it seem fitting that spring is dominated by the liver? That has been my focal point for about a year now, mainly in light of my fiancé's liver management with his elevated enzymes.
I could do a DEEP DIVE into this but I'm going to try to stick with the relevant topic here: walking, circulation, and the liver.
First, think about the seasons from the perspective of plants. Autumn rolled around and plants/animals prepared to go inward for the cold season. During winter, everything goes into hibernation and plants die. Things freeze over and become stagnant. And same with us as humans! On top of that we're in a pandemic so we are truly staying inside, not moving, and protecting from the cold.
Now we're in spring and the plants are preparing to sprout back up. Again, same with humans. You'll notice (at least for me) when we enter into winter, if we are affected by the weather change, we feel a very cold-based sadness or depression; almost a "mourning" feeling. Now in the spring transition, it's a heat-related sadness. The big word is FRUSTRATION. We, just like plants, have our Qi (life force) building back up so we can "sprout" into the summer. But during the transition of this season, it can lead to feeling very stuck and agitated since we're exiting a very frozen and "stopped" time (again, especially on top of a pandemic during the cold season). All of this energy is accumulating within us again and it is preparing to come out. When you look at it in alignment with the world's cycle, it makes sense: in the cold, nothing moves. Water freezes, plants have died so they're not processing nutrients, and circulation in the body is affected. So some people really struggle in spring due to the frustrating physical AND mental shift.
So what can we do now?
MOVE!
Move your body by going back to basics, especially after such a slow period. Walking is a simple way to do this and you get a large variety of helpful factors: movement, blood flow, fresh air! And that circulation is not only physically helpful, but it's going to also get blood moving to the brain; that leads back into the benefit of "creativity." And it can also help alleviate the aggravating "stuck" feelings. We want to warm everything up and bring the flow back. This also leads to digestion; warm, nutrient-dense foods will benefit us right now too! But that is an entirely different conversation.
I'll stop there because I could run with this (pun intended) but the whole point of this is to say that walking is key right now, or any movement for that matter. It sounds simple but a lot of people categorize walking as "not enough." But it is! And it's accessible to most people! If you don't have a safe space near you for walking, gentle stretching is a good start. And while movement is specifically crucial during this time, it's obviously necessary all year round.
We don't need to overcomplicate fitness and health. Go back to basics, get outside, stretch, walk, dance, get rest, stay hydrated, eat nourishing foods. A quote comes to mind that makes me smile when I see it: "we are like houseplants with more intricate emotions."
Social media is pumping us full of information that is sometimes helpful, but remember that we don't need to overthink this. Just start now with what you have.
Thank you for reading and I hope Spring of 2021 is treating you well so far!
Links:
My page: on instagram @cassiegoeshealthy
*Pictures used are my own
*I am not a medical professional
*Credentials: certified culinarian
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