Mandate #1: Movement is a Magic Pill

“What’s the ONE Thing I can do, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”

– Gary Keller, author of The One Thing

Longevity expert Dr. Peter Attia says: “Of all the pillars that we have to embark on improving our health, whether it be changing our nutrition, improving our sleep, taking medications and supplements, . . . I don’t see any evidence that anything trumps exercise.”

Imagine a free pill that could make you stronger, smarter, sexier, healthier, happier, and add years to your life… we’d all be taking it. That pill doesn’t exist. 

But movement does. The research is here, the right dose of the right kinds of movement will:

• Add Years to Your Life: the #1 predictor of lifespan is cardio fitness. Being sedentary predicts early death more than diabetes, heart disease, or even smoking. Adding muscle mass even improves cancer outcomes.
  
• Boost learning, memory, mood, and reverse brain aging with BDNF: high-intensity exercise triggers brain-derived neurotrophic factor and neurogenesis of brain cells. In another study 3 sessions/week of aerobic workouts for one year GREW the hippocampus 1-2%, while the control group SHRANK 1-2% (normal aging).
  
• Reverse Heart Aging: 50-yr old hearts can look like 30-yr old hearts with one dose per week of high-intensity exercise (Norwegian 4×4 Protocol).
  
• Fight Depression & Stress: when you contract your muscles, myokines (nicknamed the “hope molecule!”) are secreted into your bloodstream, then to your brain, boosting mood and making you resilient to stress. Exercise is often shown to be a more effective anti-depressant than medication.
  
• Enhance Sex? Resistance and aerobic training is associated with improvements in erectile function in men, and acute exercise can enhance physiological sexual arousal in women. Also, look better naked.
  
• Make Friends: moving with others creates “collective effervescence,” binding us together.

This is why designing a life where movement is the default is the cornerstone of the Movement Mandate. It’s a free magic pill. The One Thing that makes everything else easier or better. 

The irony? In spite of all these benefits, only 1 in 5 adults get the minimum effective amount of exercise. For many reasons, most have lost the joy in movement.

That’s where we’re headed next: the second Mandate, Movement is inherently enjoyable. Because the real magic happens when you don’t just know it’s good for you, you actually enjoy it.

With you in it,
Amanda