Physical Fitness: It's good stress!

Physical stressors - let’s talk about exercise. Caveat here, I am NOT an expert on exercise science. I am sharing my opinions on what I have learned. Why is it so important to make sure we are moving our bodies? We all know that we should do some form of exercise. But why? 
When we exercise we are actually putting stress - good stress - on our bodies. This is what causes our bones to grow and remain strong, as your body lays down bony tissue in response to the pull of gravity and stress. This is why muscles improve in strength and tone, because your body is increasing the size of the fibers in your muscle to better resist the stress. Increasing your heart rate improves your cardiovascular health as your heart improves its ability to pump blood with more efficiency. Increased white blood cell count has been found after exercise, which improves your immune response. 
Here’s where my opinion comes in. I recently heard from a medical doctor, Dr. Ben Lynch, on true cellular physical fitness. He gave the example of a young well-muscled biker versus a 70 year old who walks their dog daily. The point he made was aesthetically we think the biker is more fit than the walker. However, if you were to take an inflammatory profile of each person, the hardcore athlete will have higher levels of inflammation than the walker. Exercise is stressful on the body. Like I said it’s a good stress, but if we don’t allow our body to have recuperation from stress, this leads to inflammation in the body as the state of the body stays in a fight-or-flight response.
Think about it - our ancestors generations ago didn’t run for fun. They ran because they were in danger. So if we constantly run, our primitive mind thinks we are in a stressful situation. The point here is that moving your body should be the end goal. The physical aesthetics are not a true measure of fitness.
Movement keeps life in your body. Have a daily movement practice. And make sure you are honoring where your body is at.

In health and wellness,
​Dr. Morgan