Everyday Movement: Strategies to Increase NEAT
Most people think they need another workout to burn more calories — but the truth is far less dramatic and way more doable. In this post, Ryann, Chloe, and Maggie unpack everyday movement (NEAT), why it matters more than you think, and how small habits make a massive difference for energy, mood, body composition, and long-term health.
BLACK IRON RADIO EP. 301: Everyday Movement: Strategies to Increase NEAT
Your training sessions aren't the main driver of your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), what you do outside of them is. Ryann, Chloe, and Maggie unpack NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis), why it matters more than you think, and how small habits make a massive difference for energy, mood, body composition, and long-term health.
This episode is filled with simple ways to move more without being dramatic about it. Practical strategies and plenty of real-world examples you can start today!
📲 Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Most people wildly underestimate how little they move. We sit more, stare at screens more, and convince ourselves that a 60-minute workout somehow makes up for the other 23 hours of the day. The reality? What you do between workouts plays a much bigger role in your energy, health, and overall calorie burn than any single training session. Everyday Movement_ Strategies t…
This episode is a gentle-but-firm reminder that movement doesn’t have to be intense to matter. In fact, the low-effort stuff — walking, stretching, standing up more often — is where the magic happens.
What NEAT Actually Is (and Why It Matters More Than Your Workouts)
NEAT stands for non-exercise activity thermogenesis — all the calories you burn outside structured workouts. Think walking the dog, folding laundry, cleaning your kitchen, hauling groceries, pacing on the phone, dancing in your living room. All of it counts. And it counts more than you think. Everyday Movement_ Strategies t…
Here’s the breakdown of your total daily energy burn:
~70% comes from BMR (basics like breathing, circulation, cell repair)
15–30% comes from everyday movement/NEAT
~5% from structured exercise
A small percentage from digestion (TEF)
Translation: your workouts are great for strength, fitness, and sanity — but they’re not your biggest calorie burner. How you move the rest of the day is.
Why Sitting All Day Wrecks Your Energy, Mood & Longevity
If you work at a computer (most of us do), you’re probably sitting way more than you realize. Long stretches of stillness slow down calorie burn, mess with cognition, stiffen joints, disrupt sleep, and make you feel like a zombie by 3 p.m. Everyday Movement_ Strategies t…
And while it’s not about “earning calories,” it is about staying functional as you age. Maggie puts it perfectly: motion is lotion. Regular movement lowers the risk of chronic disease, supports better sleep, and helps maintain independence as you get older. Watching our parents age makes that point hit even harder. Everyday Movement_ Strategies t…
Most People Overestimate Their Movement — Here’s How to Get Real About It
When clients connect their wearables, there’s usually a pattern:
They think they’re moving all day…
…but the step count says otherwise. Everyday Movement_ Strategies t…
Awareness is the first step. From there, we focus on small, sustainable habits that don’t require an hour-long walk every day.
Easy Ways to Move More (That Don’t Feel Like “Working Out”)
Walk while you’re on the phone.
You don’t need a treadmill — pacing around your kitchen totally counts.
Mini movement breaks (“exercise snacks”).
5–10 minutes between tasks adds up fast. A loop around the block, a quick stretch, mobility during TV time — simple, doable, effective.
Stairs when you can.
No shame in hating it. Still worth it.
Household chores = movement.
Vacuuming, folding, scrubbing, tidying — all sneaky step boosters. Yes, even laundry.
If you have kids — embrace the slow walks.
Tiny humans walk at the speed of a distracted sloth. Instead of getting frustrated, use it as dedicated connection time. Games like “I spy” help. Everyday Movement_ Strategies t…
If you live somewhere cold, walking pads are a godsend.
You don’t need to use one during work — even 15–20 minutes in the evening while reading is clutch. Everyday Movement_ Strategies t…
Dance in your kitchen.
Zero notes. Perfect life hack.
The CrossFit Mentality & Why “All-Out or Nothing” Works Against You
A lot of us (especially recovering CrossFit die-hards) struggle to believe low-intensity movement “counts.” If you’re used to measuring a workout by how wrecked you feel, shifting your mindset is huge. Your body benefits more from steady, frequent, gentle movement than one daily all-out effort followed by hours of sitting. Everyday Movement_ Strategies t…
Movement builds energy. It doesn’t drain it.
If You’re Starting From a Very Low Baseline
Please don’t jump from 2,000 steps a day to 10,000 and expect it to stick. We never, ever set clients up like that.
Instead:
Start by adding 1,000 steps a day.
Break it into two 5-minute walks if needed.
Anchor one walk to morning light.
Anchor the other to decompressing after work. Everyday Movement_ Strategies t…
As confidence and consistency grow, then we level up.
Make Movement Enjoyable (Not a Chore)
The best movement is the one you’ll actually do — and even better if you look forward to it.
Some examples the coaches love:
Tennis (Maggie’s new obsession and surprisingly longevity-boosting)
Walk-and-coffee dates
Gentle yoga
Mobility sessions
After-dinner “digestion walks” (or as Chloe calls them, “fart walks”) Everyday Movement_ Strategies t…
Find your version of fun. Stick with it.
The Big Picture: You Don’t Need Perfection — You Need Consistency
Movement isn’t about chasing 10k steps every day or hitting a perfect routine year-round. It’s about matching your habits to the season you’re in. Babies, busy seasons, cold weather, injuries, burnout — life ebbs and flows.
The goal is simply this:
Move more than you do now.
Move in ways that feel good.
And move often enough that your future self is proud and mobile, not stuck on the sidelines.
🎙️ WANT MORE? SUBSCRIBE TO BLACK IRON RADIO!
If you enjoyed this conversation, check out more episodes of Black Iron Radio, where we cut through the noise and give you real, no-BS advice on feeling, performing, and looking your best. Each week we share practical nutrition, training, and wellness strategies and tips to help you succeed.
📲 Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify
