“Sit as little as possible; do not believe any idea that was not born in the open air and of free movement — in which the muscles do not also revel. All prejudices emanate from the bowels. — Sitting still (I said it once already) — the real sin against the Holy Ghost.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
People at the beginning of their fitness journey often start looking for elaborate workout plans and exercises. In fact the most effective solution is to start walking daily. Doing even just this will do a lot of things for your body:
- Exercises almost all muscles
- Is an easy way to lose fat
- Improves or maintains bone density
- Helps repair a lot of postural issues
- Can get you to a decent cardio fitness level on its own
Add to this the mental benefits (calm, clarity, creativity, better sleep, etc) and I don’t think you can beat it as a fitness starting point.
Even for advanced lifters/athletes it is an incredible add-on to any workout routine for repair, recovery, and general fitness support.
So if you are sedentary and wondering what physical exercise to start doing, I’d recommend to simply start walking daily until you are disciplined enough to do it constantly. Then you can replace some of the walks with more intense and complex workouts. Don’t worry about speed, but do a decent amount of distance (5-10 km). Explore, have fun, use it as an opportunity to be social.
Read more:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/5-surprising-benefits-of-walking
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/walking/art-20046261
https://thoughtcatalog.com/ryan-holiday/2017/11/the-life-changing-magic-of-taking-long-walks/