Everything Counts

These days, we often get the message that things need to be done in a certain way. This is especially true when it comes to exercise.

You have to do this type of exercise for this long, and perform it in this way.

This type of exercise is good, but that type of exercise is bad

This type of exercise is better than that type of exercise.

Perhaps most egregious of all are the implicit—and sometimes explicit—messages that if you don’t do this type of exercise for this amount of time this many days per week, there is no point. That you might as well not do it at all if you don’t meet some arbitrary standard.

Well, I’m here to tell you the truth.

And the truth is that everything counts.

What is Exercise?

Before we get into the specifics of this principle, let’s zoom out for a moment and break down what exercise really is. 

Exercise is simply moving your body. 

And there are many parameters that can be adjusted to achieve different results: 

• Frequency

• Intensity

• Time

• Type

And so if you have specific goals, it can be useful to adjust the parameters of movement to achieve the results that you desire.

But this in no way takes away from the simple fact that everything counts.

Motion is Lotion

Our bodies are made to move. They are equipped with dozens of movable joints, which have evolved to optimize movements like locomotion, reaching, grasping, throwing, running, jumping, bending, lifting.

As such, movement is not only a perk of being a human being, but it’s essential.

The tissues of our bodies require movement to be healthy. It’s baked into their structure and physiology.

For instance, we know that compression is essential for cartilage (such as the cartilage at the end of our bones that form the knee joint) to be healthy. Cartilage does not have its own blood supply, and so it relies on compressive forces, such as those from movement to get adequate nutrition.

Similarly, we know that the most detrimental thing to discs isn’t compressive loads, it’s immobility: under-loading.

So this silly little phrase—Motion is Lotion—is much more than that. It is a deep truth about the nature of the human organism. 

Everything Counts

So what does all this mean for you?

What this means for you is simply that every movement you do helps. 

It doesn’t matter what kind of movement, how much, how long, or what somebody on Instagram says. 

It all counts, it all matters, and it all helps you to be even healthier.

So you can rest assured that every step you take, every move you make, leads to a healthier you.

And if you have specific goals—specific things that you want to be able to do or ways that you want to be able to move—you can get specific about the parameters of the movement, mimicking the parameters of your goal more and more with time. 

And every step you take, and every move you make, can bring you closer and closer to reaching that goal.

Happy moving,

Andrew