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Don’t Die by the Machine – 8 Reasons to Walk During Lunch Every Day

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walking

“Movement is life.” – Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) from World War Z

It started about 2 years ago when Clint, a co-worker of mine asked if I wanted to walk with him and another co-worker during lunch. Why not.

As we were walking, he mentioned that he had been walking for a little while now. He didn’t want to die by the machine (computer). That has stuck with me ever since. I sit at the computer at least 9 hours a day. It was refreshing to step outside and get that break.

I’ve made an intentional effort to walk during lunch almost every day. I usually go during lunch. I even take a walk in the middle of the Florida summer! Everyone thinks I’m crazy, but I feel better (after I cool down). 🙂

Did you know that taking a 30 minute walk every day can significantly improve your health and well-being? Just 30 minutes – It’s true! This is especially true if you sit in an office or in front of a computer all day.

Here are 8 reasons why you should take a walk at lunchtime –

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Hack Your Sleep – Tricks for the Best Sleep of Your Life

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sleeping-suri

“I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I’m awake, you know?”
– Ernest Hemingway

Do you want to get better sleep? Do you want to sleep less and function better?

We all know what it’s like when we get a bad night of sleep. I can remember driving to work most mornings and almost falling asleep at the wheel. It was a horrible feeling because I would either have to pull over and take a nap at a truck stop (which I never did) or just hope I didn’t completely pass out. “Just 20 more minutes.” I would tell myself. I would roll down the windows and crank up the radio.

It wasn’t lack of sleep because I still get the same 6-7 hours of sleep a night I get now but rather poor quality sleep.

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The 25 Second Workout (That You Can Do with Your Kids)

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pullups

I get asked a lot about the best way to get a workout in with limited time and without having to spend money on a gym membership. There are a lot of great exercises you can do at home in a short period of time but I think the pull-up is one of the best.

The pull-up is one of the best things you can do to develop functional strength. If you can pull yourself up from a hanging position, you can probably climb anything (important during a zombie apocalypse.) “The pullup targets more muscles than any other upper-body exercise,” says MMA strength coach Chad Waterbury, M.S.

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Sometimes We Do the Grok Squat – The Importance of Stretching

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squat

“Grok serves as our primal exemplar, a figurative model for evolutionarily tried and true lifestyle behaviors: diet, exercise, sleep, stress, etc.” – Mark Sisson, Author

I had been sitting at my desk staring at my computer for a while and decided to do a little stretching. I dropped down in a squatting position (the Grok Squat or Indigenous People’s Stretch) and stayed there for a minute. While I was squatting, Uncle Butt, my much older yet well respected cube neighbor at work who prefers to keep his professional name anonymous as he is avoiding fame :-), peeked in and said “What are you doing?!” As I maintained my most perfect Grok squat stretch, I went on to explain…

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Primal Living in a Modern World

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On December 1st, I’m kicking off My21DayX (Experiments in Lifestyle Modification) by going 100% Primal…and the family is going with me!

Mark Sisson, author of The Primal Blueprint, defines it best:

The Basics
1. Eat real food.
2. Avoid sugar, grains, unhealthy fats, beans/legumes.
3. Align your carb intake with your weight goals and activity levels.
4. Move frequently at a slow pace: Get between 2-5 hours per week of moderate aerobic exercise.
5. Lift heavy things: Conduct 1-3 brief, intense sessions of full-body functional movements.
6. Sprint: Go “all out” once a week.
7. Get 8 hours of sleep every night.
8. Get 15 minutes of direct sun exposure each day.
9. Play! Find time to let go, disconnect, unwind and have fun each day.

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