Primal Blueprint Law #3: Move Frequently at a Slow Pace

What I love best about the Primal Blueprint is that it extends far beyond just diet and gives you 10 rules that, if followed, will lead to a happier, healthier life.  The third rule is one that I've taken to heart; by paying attention to how much I move around on a day-to-day basis, I am continually coming up with new and subtle ways to increase my mobility throughout the day.  First, I bought a pair of Vibram FiveFingers that mimic the feeling of being barefoot.  And I can tell you from experience that just the normal amount of walking I do on a weekday becomes quite a workout when wearing these shoes.  The next thing I did was start paying attention to situations where I could be walking more.  I started parking at the back of the parking lot at the grocery store.  I take the stairs instead of the escalator/elevator whenever possible.  I put myself in the mindset that cleaning the house won't only get the house clean, but will count towards my daily allotment of low-level aerobic activity (i.e. walking a lot) for the day.  I recently came across this great article on Lifehacker that espouses the dangers of sitting for several hours a day and offers easy solutions for counteracting the problems created by too much sitting.

Some highlights:

Right after you sit down, the electrical activity in your muscles slows down and your calorie-burning rate drops to one calorie per minute.  This is about a third of what it does if you're walking.

Studies in women suggest you can lose up to 1% of bones mass a year by sitting for over six hours a day.

 Happily, you only need to do two things to counter the effects of sitting all day:

1. Remember to stand once an hour.
2. Get about 30 minutes of activity per day

It's not as difficult as you may think to walk more in your day-to-day life, it just takes a little more self-awareness.

Here's a great article from Mark Sisson about the benefits of going barefoot.