As the summer comes to a close and the Fall Harvest season lies ahead, I had a moment to check my phone’s health tracker. I was feeling tired, a bit run-ragged, to be honest, and I wondered why.
Over the past weekend’s events and the prep for those events, I’d been standing for 15-17 hours a day!
With that level of standing, I didn’t feel much like exercising, either running, yoga, or weight lifting like I usually do in the mornings before work. That’s when it hit me that I had been active and working but not really moving.
The National Institute for Health says:
“The biological pathways whereby regular physical activity might confer resilience include (i) serving as a buffer against stress and stress-related disorders/chronic diseases, (ii) optimizing neuroendocrine and physiological responses to physical and psychosocial stressors, (iii) promoting an anti-inflammatory state, and (iv) enhancing neuroplasticity and growth factor expression.” FULL ARTICLE
Silverman, M. N., & Deuster, P. A. (2014). Biological mechanisms underlying the role of physical fitness in health and resilience. Interface Focus, 4(5).
According to the article, the trick seems to be that daily chores, even farm work, don’t cause the same benefits as focused exercise. Exercise, starting with walking for 20 mins, will deliver the benefits.
Why am I writing about this? Exercise and focused movement are being pushed out of our lives. Kids don’t get enough recess. Adults spend hours sitting at desks. Commuting and driving for your job traps you in a vehicle. Mental exhaustion leaves us with low energy and lower willpower to workout after we get home from work and commuting. Kids’ activities have us driving more then waiting for their activities to end.
I get it, but the human body was built to move. Further on in the article referenced above, we learn that exercise fires all the stress reduction and immunity-boosting chemical processes our bodies need to thrive.
This is one of the best features of visiting the farm. We offer delicious, nutritious apples right from the trees. The maze is a GREAT place for the whole family to engage in positive, collaborative movement, and you’ll be walking for at least 20mins:-)
Joy abounds when you exit the maze together, lifting everyone’s spirits! THIS is why we work so hard (standing for 17 hours some days) to make all this possible for you and your family.
After a good night’s sleep and a few miles running this morning, I feel good as new; ready to tackle the day. Almost counterintuitive, right? Exercising, before working feels better? Humans are so weird.
In ancient times, humans needed good food, then we could spend the day working together. We were built for it. We were built to move.
This farm is built for it, for you.
See you soon on the farm,
Farmer Hugh
