While on a moderate-paced walk with my partner in a nearby park the other day, I thought about how far I’d come with my health and fitness. During the walk, we passed a pull-up bar and I confidently stopped to churn out nearly 10 reps. There was a time not too long ago when I could barely do one. Moreover, there was a time when simply walking was a laborious task. For years, I’d endure a few days of chronic limping after a 30 to 45-minute walk. While I was husky and happy, my lower extremities just couldn’t handle all the weight I was carrying around. The combined power of good nutrition and daily movement improved my ability to walk with pain over time.
The pandemic heightened my awareness to health trends more common among black men. Our susceptibility to suffer long COVID or COVID-related death compared with other demographics was difficult to ignore during the lockdown. I had more time than I wanted to think about my simmering health issues that I casually ignored in my 30s. My inflection point of March 2020 was an opportunity to finally commit (out of curiosity and desperation) to a sustained health strategy.
First, it was gradually changing my diet with better food choices. This was accompanied by daily walks with my then-infant child. While my eating choices were strategic, the walking was out of necessity. In part because we believed our child needed fresh air daily, but the walking also helped to reduce my stress. At the time, I hadn’t considered this as a health benefit of walking, but I soon learn that this was of many benefits. I learned that walking contributed to a healthy immune system and good bone health. Over time, I did notice more pliability in my joints. I attributed this to the combination of good nutrition and walking, which resulted in gradual weight loss over time. I went from limping after a 30-minute walk to briskly walking for 60 to 90 minutes!
By the summer of 2020, I began to incorporate some bike riding into my repertoire of daily movement. I learned that bike riding offered similar (and even more) health benefits. My rides would increase from 30 to 60 minutes over the summer. After each ride, I’d incur some temporary soreness in my quads. However, I eventually learned to stretch before and after riding. Over time, I noticed some muscle definition in my quads and legs that I’d never seen before. My body was gradually transforming through daily movement and consistently improved nutrition.
Towards the end of the summer, I started a new research position with the same employer and needed to hire a part time sitter to take over my baby walking duties. With the newfound job responsibilities and stress, I’d come to appreciate my daily movement and nutrition habits significantly. I think it’s important to stress that my realization of the power of daily movement thrived on reasonably good nutrition. In my mind, the two are synonymous. Perhaps the most gratifying aspect for me was that my progress didn’t require a 5K jog or even counting 10,000 steps, which are both good. It mainly required the consistent application of some form of daily movement for at least 30 minutes and choosing healthier foods.
In a future post, I’ll share my experience graduating from these wonderful movement exercises to more intense activity. I never thought I’d enjoy moving my body, i.e., basic exercise, in such a manner. It hardly ever feels burdensome. Is it easy? Absolutely not, but I’ve made a mind and body connection where I understand and appreciate what I’m doing. Over time, I’m rewarded with both visible results and a better frame of mind, which I can apply to other areas of my life.