We built our modern world to limit physical effort to a bare minimum. Back in the old days, when food was scarce, this was a good idea. But today, this inactivity is one of the leading killers out there. 

So, how do we get ourselves to move more in a world so meticulously designed for sedentary living? You guessed it: we build an environment to make movement automatic.

Automating movement

Here are the four best avenues to fully automated daily motion:

• Personal transportation. Many short car trips can be made by muscle power instead of fossil power. The coming of age of electric bicycles makes this transition much easier. 
• Sport and nature. Finding sources of movement you genuinely enjoy (or even crave) is great for automation. Sport and nature are the two foremost candidates in this category.  
• Work. Even though most of us spend our working lives at a desk, there are several simple habits that can permanently incorporate regular motion into your job. 
• Morning and evening routines. Movement is great for switching on the body in the morning and relaxing the mind at night. As part of a set routine, it quickly becomes automatic. 

If these sources of automated movement still look too intimidating, there are several useful fitness tools that can help get you going. 

Fitness toolkit

• Ideally located home. A location close to some green spaces where car ownership is unnecessary all but guarantees healthy fitness levels. If at all possible, this is my top fitness recommendation. 
• Equipment. Spend wisely to not end up with a basement full of fitness gizmos gathering dust. The quality of the equipment you buy should be proportional to how much you will use it. 
• Technology. Keep it very clean and simple. Start with Google Fit, add a fitness band if you can genuinely use the features, and join Strava for great motivation if you regularly cover long distances. 
• Friends and family. Movement and socializing play well together 🙂 Actively look to bring more motion to your socializing. There are tons of possibilities! 

All these tools can then be deployed to construct an ideal environment that guarantees lifelong fitness.

Fitness environment

Here is the 1-2-3 to lifelong fitness:

1. Build easy fitness habits. 
   • There are countless opportunities for free movement in our daily lives. 
   • Most of these are very easy and quickly become lasting habits when given a chance. 
2. Create a fit home. 
   • The location of your home is a crucial fitness consideration.
   • Simple changes in and around the house can encourage movement and discourage stagnation. 
3. Make movement desirable. 
   • One of the primary motivations for getting fit is to build a body that makes movement fun. 
   • Use the previous two tips to reach this tipping point and then capitalize on sports and socializing to take it to the next level. 

Life just gets so much better when experienced through a fit and able body. Put in the effort to make fitness automatic. It’s totally worth it!