Does an active lifestyle negate the need for fitness activities?
I could just post that I worked out, (hooray!) but I have more on my mind than that!
And my viewpoint may ignite emotions in some fitness people…I’m always up for a respectable conversation!
As a Strength Coach and woman in the movement industry for 20 years, the greatest lessons every great coach will tell you is that your fitness (how healthy you are) should serve your life (does it help you achieve your goals) and it should be readying you for aging. 
Because you WANT to be walking and mobile when youâre 85 right?!
Having too much information causes more stress sometimes. Because I KNOW all of this, but am I the fittest human on earth? No! Because Iâm fallible, active in other ways, lazy, tired, busyâŚ.blah blah blah! And I feel guilty that Iâm not fitter. Then I feel guilty for feeling guilty! 
The reason Iâm not in the gym 3-5 days a week is because I donât believe you need to be unless youâre training for an active outcome (athlete), pre-hab/rehab, forming new habits for goals (never exercised before).
Our culture of convenience has removed the DAILY LIFE MOVEMENT we all once had. We farmed, we washed clothes by hand, we cooked, we foraged, we cleaned, we had animals to care for, we had to move wayyyyy more.
And now, we can CHOOSE not to do anything. Think about it. You donât have to leave your fucking bed to have a stocked fridge, clean house, kids/pets cared for, make money. It can all be hired and done online. Gone is the need to work for your survival.
But we can also CHOOSE to create an active, physically challenging, LIFESTYLE where you can move, squat, bend over, lift, rotate – negating the need to go to the gym 3-5 days a week. You can choose to participate in more physically demanding tasks on a regular basis…that don’t involve the indoors, dumb bells, or jump ropes.
Yes – there has to be an acknowledgement to the desk job that many people now work. I know very fit humans who work desk jobs and I know very unfit humans who work desk jobs. It all comes down to choices:
You can break up your day in 30 minute active breaks.
Have a stand/sit desk.
If you/your work can afford it, get a treadmill desk.
Eat your lunch then walk outside with co-workers.
Exercise before or after work.
Ride your bike/walk to work.
Bike/walk to get groceries/do errands.
There are SO MANY ways where you sit for as little as possible if you have to work at a computer.
On the flip side, I know many people who are active parents, avid gardeners/farmers, manual labor for job, movers, and shakersâŚ.and theyâre averaging 30k steps a day. So WHY do they NEED to go the gym?
They donât.
*VERY IMPORTANT POINT* They need to make sure they ARE lifting/carrying challenging things weekly, working on their weaknesses. Make sure they are working on the skills of running, jumping, leaping, aka dynamic movements. Itâs easy to slack âif youâre not a gym go-erâ. Believe me I know.
Everyone will get imbalances somewhere. Yogi’s need more posterior chain work (hamstrings, glutes) and high impact (jumping) while farmers may need more mobility and high impact (agility). It doesn’t mean it has to come from a gym, it can come from our environments. If you’re lost, yes, please go to a professional to help you!!
But at home, you can:
Throw in some heavy carries of a soil bag or watering can.
Squat down and stand up a few more times.
Run with the kids. Or with the dog. Just run!
Hang off a tree for as long as you can, keep practicing it!
I have found myself feeling guilty for not fitting in the âgym ratâ box that I used to be in. And I shouldnât fucking feel that way! There are more choices to be made. And I hope someone reading this also gives themselves permission to be a strong motherfucker that can lift heavy and be awesome without the guilt of not getting that way from dumbbells and a bar.
And if you love the gym, keep doing you! No hate or shame. This is just my experience and thoughts for those of us who donât want to be contained in 4 walls!