Baz Moffatt says "Our mindset about exercise needs to overcome our natural preference for SEDENTARISM in today's society". As the guest speaker at a recent event for a group of RSM members she explained "We have not evolved to survive in this world. We're still physiologically and behaviourally hunter gatherers which doesn't work when life is so convenient, screens are ubiquitous and all the signals are there to stop moving and eat energy dense food."
Baz Moffatt is an expert on exercise science She has studied and researched extensively how the human body responds to elite physical training, moderate exercise, inactivity - and everything in between. She rowed for Great Britain herself and works as a Personal Trainer with athletes as well as "normal people"(including mums) in Putney, London.
Baz could also be described as the brains behind the Ready Steady Mums programmes. She worked closely with me in developing the specialist exercises for mums that we recommend through our virtual personal training service. Baz’s technical knowledge and practical experience was extremely valuable as we tailored the exercises for the specific needs of the postnatal body.
Now, for all you mums who have been inspired by Baz to make being active part of daily life, she's written down some of what she said on SEDNTARISM so you can share with your friends. Please do!
Baz:
The world has quite literally stopped moving – within the
last two generations opportunities to be active have been replaced with ‘energy
saving’ devices such as cars, escalators, online shopping and leisure time is
dominated by ‘chillaxing’, watching TV, iPads and takeaways – a convenient
life. I even saw one advert this weekend
for a take away saying ‘don’t cook, just eat’ – we’re being told the whole time
to stop and eat! Not good.
The major problem with this is that our bodies are designed
to move and they like to move a lot. In fact, they like to move most of the time.
The only way to do this is to incorporate activity into all
aspects of your world. It’s not enough to be hitting physical activity targets, you can do that very easily and remain sedentary for the remaining 23 hours of
the day. It’s the sedentary activity that is the problem, and it’s a big
problem that is getting bigger.
In the USA it is predicted that by 2020 the majority of adults will
burn as much energy in a week as if they were lying in bed for the whole time –
and the UK tends to be about 10 years behind their stats.
Our bodies have not caught up with the world around us which wherever we turn sends out signals to eat and stay still. Our bodies are wired to be hunting and gathering, it has not adapted to being surrounded by food and screens – we’ve not kept up or evolved to thrive in this environment.
Now mums, things don't look to bad for you as a group. I understand that you are probably on the go the
entire time, and in terms of your body this is a
good thing, it’s what we’re designed to do.
So if you think you’re moving enough, what am I trying to say is keep it up!
So if you think you’re moving enough, what am I trying to say is keep it up!
You're a great role model - kids of active mums are twice as likely to be active when
they’re older.
You're creating early positive
play activity - kids love experiences which involve plenty of time and space.
You are integrating activity
into everyday life - keep walking, cycling, public transport the norm
as opposed to jumping in the car to go to everything.
 |
| Baz talking to Ready Steady Mums |
Keep Moving,
Baz
I really enjoyed Baz's talk. One particular lightbulb moment for me was when she pointed out that when you feel tired after a long day sitting in the office you are not actually physically tired, and exercise will actually make you feel better. I hadn't realised that being inactive makes me feel more tired!
ReplyDeleteIt does feel tired sitting for hours in the office. It tires you as if you've been working all day physically.
ReplyDelete