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Exercise is good for us, right?  It’s good for the body, the brain, your mental health, it helps keeps you young, healthy and it even contributes to living a longer, more functional life.

So the question is – if it’s THIS good for us – why do so many people hate it?  And what can we do to change that?

Well, first of all – it’s not your fault that you hate it.  Good news, eh?

We actually evolved NOT to exercise.  This goes back to our hunter gatherer days when using energy up unnecessarily wasn’t a great evolutionary choice – as you needed all your energy for basic survival. As a Palaeolithic human, using energy unnecessarily – would mean you wouldn’t have enough energy to hunt or gather – survival – or to reproduce as a species – extinction. We only really moved when it was either fun (like playing when you were a child) or necessary.

This deep-rooted instinct to conserve energy is what we fight against today when we don’t want to exercise.

Even if ‘exercise’ wasn’t on the agenda back then, we did, however, evolve to be ACTIVE – but the modern idea of making time to just EXERCISE on its own as a pursuit, such as in a gym breathing recycled air-conditioned air, is literally totally alien to our human biology.

Even though we don’t like it , in today’s modern world, where we now lead such sedentary lives, we NEED to move our bodies to get all the benefits.  Some exercise is better than none and more is better than some. There are no studies showing that exercise and movement is detrimental to humans!  We definitely benefit hugely from being physically active.

So – given that we actually evolved NOT to exercise – how do we incorporate exercise into our modern lives? I know not everyone loves going to the gym or running – so what exercise could we possibly do that’s FUN?

Well – I am sure it will come as no surprise to know that I’m promoting DANCING! 

As an exercise – it’s practically perfect. 

First of all – it IS fun! 

We normally do it with other people, which creates unconscious feelings of ‘belonging’ to the human race or the ‘tribe’ – which is a huge boost to our metal well-being.

It’s normally done to music – which has also been proven to lift your mood.  And as dancing uses all sorts of different, directional movements it not only helps our balance and proprioception, but also improves cardiovascular health, increases muscle strength and flexibility, and enhances brain function and memory.

Dancing has been proven time and time again to be one of the BEST things you can do for your overall health.

My advice?  If in doubt – JUST DANCE!

To join my classes or to find out more – see my website:

www.dancegeneration.co.uk

NO NEW CLOTHES FOR A YEAR

For those that don’t know – although I am pretty sure I have bored many of you with this quest…. On 1^st January 2025, I embarked on a self-inflicted NO NEW CLOTHES FOR A YEAR rule.

That’s right…a whole year of not buying anything new – no tops, no trousers, no underwear, no shoes, nor boots, no coats, jackets or even jewellery. And the rule isn’t just new – it’s also second-hand clothing.  Which means that Vinted and charity shop purchases were also off limits.

These rules mean I am not allowed to buy yet another pair of leggings that are practically the same as all the other pairs I’ve got and don’t get me started on black trousers… Flared, Baggy, Cropped, Linen, Jersey – yes, I’ve got a pair like that…and boots!  Oh my Lord!  I’m half tempted to go upstairs and count all my pairs of boots– but I dare not as I am sure I actually don’t want to know…

According to the latest research, the average person buys 53 new items of clothing a year.  Sounds like a lot, but with ‘fast fashion’ the supply is dictated by the demand.  That’s around one item a week.  If you want to be on-trend and wearing the latest fashion (even if it doesn’t even suit you) you’re probably buying in excess of one item a week.  I know I was! 

Many of us have a sort of itch to buy a new top or a new pair of trousers, even though we probably have one almost exactly like it languishing in the wardrobe at home. 

But that doesn’t matter as a new item of clothing makes us feel happy when we wear it for the first couple of times!  Sadly, that feeling wears off…so the itch begins again.  We go searching for the next pair of trousers, top, pair of shoes, handbag or whatever to give us that lovely ‘feeling’ again.  And so, it goes on…

But even though I’ve been trying to be a bit more minimalist – it’s challenging!  The shops are constantly FULL of new stuff and it’s really easy to talk yourself into why you need a new top/jeans/jacket or dress. 

Last time I tried this quest (which has been every year for the last three at least), I have fallen off the wagon spectacularly somewhere between March and May.  Last year I bought 12 pairs of Sweaty Betty leggings without noticing… I blame too much wine and the ease of online shopping.  Or maybe it’s the cat’s fault.

Like so many of us, I have a large wardrobe, some boxes and the smaller wardrobe in the spare room all stuffed with clothes, shoes and boots that I just don’t seem to get around to wearing anymore for one reason or another.  

OK, so some are too big, some are too small, some are hopelessly out of fashion (not that I care much) and one big contributing factor as to whether I am going to wear something or not, is the question, ‘If I wear it and wash it – does it need ironing?’  If the answer is yes,  then it stays on the hanger and anything made of Lycra wins again. I find that I wear the same 20% of my wardrobe 80% of the time. 

I’ve even spent the last two decades shopping for a lifestyle I no longer lead, considering that these days I’m most likely to be found wearing exercise kit, trainers or dance shoes! 

Why would I need a smart tailored jacket to go with the knitted dress I bought last year, that goes with the pair of sparkly sandals, which still have the label attached to them? You tell me.

So – here we are entering NOVEMBER!  I can’t actually believe I have lasted this long, if I am honest. But, by using a number of different strategies and self talking-to techniques, I have managed it. 

I have stayed away from the shops, filled my virtual baskets with clothes and then hastily clicked off websites and even went as far as to unsubscribe from Boden, Phase Eight, Sweaty Betty and the like.

I even managed to go to Bluewater on several occasions and encourage friends to spend money, but I’ve come home empty handed.  That’s NEVER happened before! 

Not ONE ITEM of new clothing has been bought by me.

I’m feeling a bit virtuous too, as I like to think I’m contributing to sustainability and supporting the war on foreign child labour.

I am super proud of myself really.

However, this morning, the postman delivered three different clothing catalogues – one enticing me to spend my money on new active wear – as surely I don’t have enough of that, another showing several gorgeous party dresses for the festive season to wear to parties I’m not invited to and a shoe and boot catalogue with a pair of ‘must have’ winter boots – as surely I don’t have any of those either. 

My in-box, even after all the unsubscribing, is also groaning with sparkly tops, sequinned jackets (got two of those) and winter wear, all with special discounts and Black Friday deals just for me…  

Only eight weeks to go…

I listened to a fabulous podcast this week – the link is below – about LONGEVITY.  Longevity is a bit of a buzz word at the moment  – but what does it really mean?  Literally, longevity is about living longer, but in the context of health and wellness, longevity doesn’t just mean living a long time!  Longevity refers to living a longer life BUT with a high quality of physical, mental, and emotional health. This is about a person’s “healthspan,” which is the period of life free from chronic diseases, disability, or pain, rather than just the total number of years lived. 

One of the things that they talked about was what a proper rounded exercise strategy looks like – it’s made up of basically THREE ELEMENTS:

The first element is CARDIO.  Cardio exercise is defined by any activity that increases your heart rate and makes you breathe harder.  Having a healthy cardiovascular system supports the whole body – as the lungs and heart deliver oxygen to the organs and muscles.  A healthy cardiovascular system also reduces the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers AND cardio also boosts mood, improves sleep, and enhances mental functions like memory and focus.   

CARDIO is also sometimes referred to as VO₂Max which is the maximum volume of oxygen (O₂) your body can utilize during intense exercise.  It is the gold standard for measuring cardiovascular fitness and aerobic capacity.  The higher your VO₂Max score – basically the fitter and more healthy you are. 

STRENGTH is the second element.  Also known as RESISTANCE training – is any exercise that makes your muscles work against resistance – like lifting dumb bells or heavy shopping, pushing or pulling or using your own body weight like in a press ups.  Strength training helps improve bone density, which is especially important for women.  Strength training also supports metabolism, joint and cardiac function and reduces the risk of injuries. Strength naturally declines with age – a process known as ‘sarcopenia’, which is age related muscle wastage, but by doing strength and resistance training you can slow down this process. You might not think about this now – but being strong in later life means that you will be able to carry shopping easily, open jars, walk up and down the stairs and get on and off the toilet with ease. 

The last element is BALANCE / FLEXIBILITY and STABILITY.  This sort of exercise movement improves your ability to control posture while moving or standing still. Balance training strengthens core muscles to improve stability and prevent falls, and stretching helps to keep the joints and muscles moving through their full range of motion, so this enhances the freedom of movement for both daily life and other exercises – and again, it’s especially important as we age.

If you’re dancing, running or cycling etc., you’re doing the cardio element.  If you’re lifting weights – then that’s the strength part.  But the cardio and the strength is only two thirds… you need the balance, the stability and the flexibility to be able to CONTINUE to do the first two.  Strength without flexibility is no good to you.  Being able to touch your toes, but not being able to walk up and downstairs because you are too weak or without getting out of breath is also no good to you.  Each of these exercise elements supports the other two.

Which brings me onto YOGA.  I make no apology for banging on about it, because it is SO important.  There is no definitive best form of exercise in isolation – because movement is so fundamental to human health.  i am sure you have heard the saying – any movement is better than none!  But a combination of functional human movement is what serves us best.  So incorporating some kind of stretching. balance and stability is highly beneficial and complementary to other forms of movement.  My yoga class focuses on all this as well as breath work – supporting your nervous system and helping to lower stress too.
Why not try my weekly class on Tuesday evenings?

See here for more:
 www.dancegeneration.co.uk/yoga 
Here’s the recommended podcast:
Why You’re Aging Faster Than You Should, And How to Stop It!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/why-youre-aging-faster-than-you-should-and-how-to/id1795041554?i=1000721074658

Here’s something that might surprise you: The WHO (World Health Organisation) has recently announced that loneliness is becoming a global health crisis.

Social isolation has been increasing – DESPITE us being more connected than ever – with telephones, messaging services, Zoom and the internet.  One in four – that’s 25% of adults – report feeling lonely, some or all of the time.

This isn’t just a problem affecting older people either and nor is it about just feeling a bit lonely – the science shows that lack of social connections with friends, family or just being isolated from other people can put you at risk of many health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia, depression, and anxiety.  Poor social connection even raises your risk of early death by 30% – which is comparable to smoking, excessive drinking, and obesity combined. That really is shocking!

Which brings me onto why doing things – like dancing – with other people, such as in a class is SO important.  Strong social connections can boost your chances of living longer by 50% and cut your risk of the lifestyle diseases mentioned above.

Obviously, people vary in the degree to which they seek out the company of other people but, as humans, who are social beings, we all have a deep-rooted need to connect and interact with others.

Did you know that being with other people, moving in unison with them, creates unconscious feelings of ‘belonging’.  That’s why exercising alone at home or following online classes or fitness apps doesn’t generally work very well.  Humans need to be with other humans. 

Any activity that involves group participation, where everyone is doing the same thing – like dancing or even singing or sitting knitting in a group, all increase your oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine levels, making you feel happier. Even weight loss groups use this to create a common bonding experience as this helps you remain focused. 

Think about any friends you met at a group activity. Often people start a class, make friends and then meeting up, chatting or having coffee after classes sometimes becomes more important than the actual classes themselves.  And there is nothing wrong with that, as positive relationships and shared activities contribute to our well-being, especially as we age. 

Life events, such as retirement, bereavement and ill health, can reduce our social network and make it harder for us to stay socially active, but if you have already established a relationship with others at a group class, you’re much more likely to keep going, even through harder times.

The good news for people like me who run classes is that with the growing interest in Lifestyle Medicine, many doctors are now prescribing social connection as a way to combat depression and to help people add not only years to their life but also health and well-being to those years.

And, when I say dancing isn’t about the steps (which I do often) it’s because the steps are only leading you to what is really important – moving your body and being with others.

See you on the dance floor!

THREE SIMPLE REASONS YOU’RE NOT SEEING THE RESULTS YOU WERE LOOKING FOR IN YOUR NEW HEALTH & FITNESS REGIME

Try these THREE SIMPLE strategies – and watch your health and fitness TRANSFORM!

You’re NOT CONSISTENT

We’ve all been there and (not) done it.  There is always a point – sometime during the year, often after spending the festive season eating too much and doing too little, or you’ve got a holiday booked and want to look good in a bikini, that we decide it’s time to get ourselves into a regular Health & Fitness routine.

So – we enrol at the gym or start going to a fitness class, and with all good intentions, we aim to go twice a week, maybe more if we can manage it.  And we do manage it – for a few weeks or maybe even a month (which is pretty good going considering) and then – oops!  Something happens and we miss a week or a few days and dammit! Yet another thing crops up, could be a bad cold or an invitation for after works drinks, it really doesn’t matter what it is, it could even be that it’s raining, but before we know it, another week has gone by and we haven’t made it to class or to the gym and now if feels SO HARD to get back into motivation mode, so we literally just give up.  We decide the time wasn’t right and vow to ‘try again’ in a few months when we feel a bit more motivated.

Sounds familiar?

The truth is – you will NEVER wake up in the morning fitter and healthier than you were the day before unless you DO something to make that happen.  And there are very few people who ‘feel like’ going to the gym, most of us see exercise as a chore, which is such a shame as once you really begin to see the benefits, it becomes essential to your well-being on so many levels!

if you want those benefits you’ve got to KEEP GOING.  And that means even when you don’t feel motivated!   Keep lifting those weights, keep walking or running or going to dance classes.  Being CONSISTENT, showing up twice a week or more, every week is where you see the gains.  Consistency is one of your secret weapons.

You’re NOT INCREASING INTENSITY or DURATION

When you first start a new fitness or health routine or a new hobby that involves learning lots of new ways to move, it can be very challenging.  As adults, we don’t really like to do stuff that we aren’t any good at – but again, that’s where the rewards are.  Jogging the same 3 miles over and over again and not even trying to go a little bit faster or adding in some sprints, won’t increase your cardio fitness.  Jumping a little higher or making your movements a little bigger and mastering a dance step that previously you couldn’t do will also give you a fantastic feeling of achievement and if you’re lifting weights you need to increase the weights. If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.  I’m not saying that it isn’t worth doing any exercise as some movement is always better than none, but if you want more strength, better stamina and cardio fitness, you need to see a steady improvement in your output.

You HAVEN’T CHANGED YOUR DIET

I always used to think that if I just upped my exercise a bit – I could still eat what I liked and lose weight.  I now know that this is a hiding to nowhere.  Exercising to lose weight gives a very poor return compared to changing what you eat. What you eat and fuel your body with has a far bigger impact on how healthy you are than exercise alone.  You cannot expect your body to get healthier and fitter if you aren’t feeding it properly.  Your cells, muscles, organs and even your brain are also feeding on what you’re eating and if you’re putting the wrong fuel in your body then it won’t run properly.

A good diet is 80% of your health and weight loss battle.  If you are trying to lose fat – and you do the usual advice, which is EAT LESS and MOVE MORE, you will almost certainly give up pretty soon.  First of all, exercising more makes you HUNGRIER!  And if you’re not eating enough food – especially protein and fat, which together satisfy your hunger – you won’t be able to fuel your work out sufficiently and you’ll feel tired, lethargic AND you’ll be STARVING!  Who wants to be hungry all the time?

If you’re eating crap – with a diet high in UPF, packet food, snack, crisps and even the growing popular so called ‘protein products’ you’ll feel like crap.  If you’re basing your meals on lots of starchy carbohydrates – things like bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, oats and cereals etc, then you are still not fueling you body properly as these types of food have very low nutrient density as they are mostly sugar.

A proper human diet is not KFC or meal deals.  It’s not diet sodas or pasta, rice, oats, cereal or even brown bread and kale smoothies.  A proper human diet is animal based, (sorry vegans – look at the anthropological evolutionary science of how we evolved), humans can survive on a plant based diet, but for optimal health we are designed to eat meat, fish, eggs, full fat dairy, nuts, seeds, berries and above ground vegetables.  This type of diet will give you all the nutrients that your body needs.  You’ll lose weight and feel healthier and will have more energy.  Who wouldn’t want that?

 

FIXING THE NHS
You’ve probably seen the good news a week or so ago that the Government is looking to ‘Fix the NHS’!  My first thought was, ‘About time’.  And my second?  ‘Good luck with that then!’  And now, the more I dwell on this the less confident I am that the Government can ‘fix’ anything, let alone the NHS.  But, let’s stick to the NHS – otherwise this might turn into an essay rather than a blog post!

First of all – there is so much more to this than just pouring more money in or restructuring the NHS, so that at least the trusts communicate with each other!  Yet that seems to be the main focus.  More money.  The NHS is certainly underfunded – but that’s because the whole approach to health care in this country is fundamentally WRONG. 

The NHS is brilliant for emergencies – that’s anything you will die from very quickly if you don’t get treatment or antibiotics.  Things like wounds, bacterial infections, emergencies and accidents. But our hospitals aren’t filled with this type of medical emergency.  They are filled with people suffering from complications from diabetes, strokes, heart attacks and other chronic auto-immune diseases. There is far more cancer (one in two of us is predicted to get some kind of cancer!) and the waiting lists are crammed with people needing treatment for things that are not immediately life threatening, like new knees and hips or they are waiting for minor operations to treat conditions that were relatively rare just 100 years ago.  

The care that the NHS provides these days is not focused on HEALTH – it’s focused on sick and social care.  If you go to the doctors – the doctor will most probably prescribe a drug to treat your symptoms.  Rarely do doctors spend time investigating the causes and reasons WHY you are ill.  If you’re unlucky enough to suffer from one of the popular lifestyle conditions (high blood pressure or pre diabetes for example) – before you know it, you’ll be on long term drugs to treat just the symptoms of these diseases – and your condition will not go away – as these drugs will not CURE you. 

In truth, the NHS was NEVER set up to deal with long term chronic illnesses or care.

I know what you’re thinking!  You’re thinking how come, if the NHS is so broken – we, on average, live much longer than people did 100 years ago?  

I agree.  It is true that our lifespans are much longer these days than they used to be.  But, consider this – are we really LIVING longer?  Or are we just DYING more slowly?

LIVING is very different from just being ALIVE – and that’s where all the drugs and treatments score.  They can extend your lifespan – so that you are basically ALIVE.  But if being alive also means sitting in a chair being spoon fed for years and years, in a care home suffering from multiple chronic diseases – is that what you call LIVING?

We can treat long term chronic illnesses with drugs to relieve symptoms, but if you’re in chronic pain, unable to move around easily, overweight, stiff, unable to sleep or any other condition that ultimately affects your quality of life – even with the drugs – is that LIVING?  

The shocking truth is – only about 10% of our adult population is deemed as metabolically ‘healthy’!  The rest are all dealing with some kind of lifestyle disease – complications of obesity, CVD (cardio vascular disease), diabetes, CPD, high blood pressure and many digestive issues.  Across the globe we take millions of drugs EVERY DAY to relieve the symptoms of these diseases (remember – the drugs do not cure you!),  More than half of adults 65 and older (54%) in the UK alone, report taking four or more prescription drugs DAILY! 

And – do you really want to take drugs for the rest of your life?  Short term drugs like antibiotics that you take for a week or ten days – WILL, in most cases, cure you of a bacterial infection, but long term drugs prescribed for chronic lifestyle conditions will never cure you.  This is good news for the drug manufacturers.  The more drugs we take – the richer they get!  Why would they want to cure you?  If you’re healthy – you won’t take ANY drugs at all!

The saddest thing about all this?  Most of these chronic lifestyle diseases ARE PREVENTABLE.  Especially things like high blood pressure and Type 2 Diabetes.

Fixing the NHS is part of the solution – and I was heartened to hear Sir Keir Starmer mention prevention – but we also have to educate and make changes to how we live.  That will have the biggest impact as until we change what we eat, how we sleep, how we deal with stress, how we move and our social support networks – you won’t ever fix the NHS.

The NHS is overwhelmed.  But it’s largely overwhelmed with sick people suffering from lifestyle diseases that are not their fault, as they have been told what to eat according to the Food Pyramid – which bases meals on starchy carbs, promotes low fat foods, limits red meat and other animal products and warns us against eating saturated fat.  If this advice was to keep humans healthy – it’s not working.

We need to take control of our lifestyles so that we prevent ourselves getting these long term chronic diseases in the first place!  But more importantly, so that we can enjoy a longer, healthier more active life free from all this chronic illness.  Hard as you try – you’ll NEVER medicate, isolate or drug yourself into health. 

The quality of how you function (ie your health) is DIRECTLY related to the quality of energy you choose to supply your body with. Health starts with FOOD. 

If we want to fix the NHS (which is ultimately designed to keep us healthy) – then we need to fix the food system first  – as it’s the food system that is broken – not the NHS. 

Learn more:

A PROPER HUMAN DIET

WHAT HUMANS ARE DESIGNED TO EAT