Fitness Builds Your Body Armor
Here's How it Works with Simple Steps to Harness Your Super Power
Greet Your Day With Movement
Greeting your day with movement provides the most valuable return on investment, your improved health.
Building fitness is like building your own body armor and the time invested can pay lasting dividends. - David Dansereau, MSPT
Staying strong and fit is the most powerful way to prepare your body and mind for the challenges ahead. As a seasoned physical therapist and movement expert, I’ve seen firsthand how intentional morning movement can prime the nervous system, enhance mobility, and fortify resilience against daily stressors.
Whether it’s starting the day with a deep breathing ritual, stretching, walking, strength training, or dynamic mobility work, incorporating movement into your morning routine builds a foundation of strength and vitality that lasts throughout the day.
Body Armor
I equate starting your day with movement to building your body armor or suiting up for the day ahead with fitness. I’m blessed to be able to work with many clients (I refer to them as my athletes) that are challenged by their mobility and realize how exercise is their lifeline to continued independence.
Many of my athletes of all ages have had health challenges and diagnosis that have impaired their mobility. Conditions that include MS, Parkinson's Disease and stroke or other brain injuries and they come to realize exercise is their best medicine to fight back against an unfair set of circumstances.
Fitness and continued movement is indeed their body armor and it can be yours too especially if you have been blessed with good health now and desire to continue to thrive and build reliance as you age.
In fact on Episode 70 of our Know Stroke Podcast we were joined by occupational therapist, adaptive fitness expert and founder of Fit to Function Recovery Gym, Jenna Muri-Rosenthal who spoke to the power of building fitness as the opposite of sickness. I love her quote heard in this soundbite!
“What is really the opposite of sickness? It’s not just wellness, it’s fitness”. -Jenna Muri-Rosenthal of Fit to Function Recovery, Boston MA
The Science Behind Morning Movement
Your body is designed to move. After hours of sleep, the body naturally experiences stiffness due to decreased circulation, joint fluid viscosity, and muscular tightness. It’s oftentimes, we are being less active throughout the day that causes this as opposed to blaming it simply on aging and things ‘slowing down’.
Either way, movement acts as a reset button at any age, stimulating circulation, oxygenating tissues, and enhancing neuromuscular coordination and good mood enhancing hormones.
Here’s what one of my 70 year old intentionally fit clients said recently about how they are using fitness as their best investment to harness their own super powers!
I’m no longer ‘faster than a speeding bullet’. And I ‘can no longer ‘leap tall buildings in a single bound’.
I realize I am now older. But I’m still pretty good at what I do when I’m called on! -JB
Here’s what happens when you greet your day with movement :
Increased Blood Flow & Oxygenation: Movement increases circulation, delivering oxygen and nutrients to muscles, joints, and the brain.
Improved Joint Mobility & Flexibility: After a night of inactivity, synovial fluid (your joints’ natural lubricant) is stagnant. Gentle movement stimulates its production, reducing stiffness and preparing the body for physical activity.
Enhanced Neuromuscular Activation: Morning exercise activates key stabilizing muscles, improving posture, coordination, and balance.
Stress Reduction & Mental Clarity: Exercise releases endorphins and lowers cortisol levels, reducing stress and improving mood.
Metabolic Boost & Fat Burning: Morning movement jumpstarts metabolism, encouraging fat oxidation and improving insulin sensitivity.
Boost BDNF: Exercise has been shown to increase BDNF (brain derived neurotropic factor) levels in the brain, which can have numerous benefits for mental and physical well-being. BDNF is a protein that plays a crucial role in brain health, including neurogenesis (the growth of new neurons), neuroplasticity (the brain's ability to adapt and change), and cognitive function.
Habit Stacking: PT Pro Tip-Get it done early in the day, you’ll have less excuses this way to put it off until you get home when there will be more excuses to ‘do it tomorrow’. These small wins start stacking up into lasting daily habits and exercise is often the gateway to spark other healthy behavior changes!
A Simple Morning Routine to Get Started Building Your Own Body Armor
Here’s a Morning Ritual for Better Physical and Mental Strength
Start the day with deep breathing and gratitude (focus on what you are grateful for about your body instead of what is ‘wrong’ or what you may currently dislike-or simply put-be kind to yourself!). Then layer in a bit more movement after this mental warm-up.
Repeat affirmations: "This morning, I am getting stronger." "I am building my body armor."
Here’s How: You don’t need an hour-long workout—just 5–15 minutes of intentional movement can make a difference. I prefer this done outside if possible and while the sun is rising to greet the day.
Try this:
Dynamic Deep Breathing and Stretching (2-3 min) – Neck rolls, spinal twists, and hip circles to loosen up and greet the day.
Bodyweight Activation (5 min) – Squats, push-ups, lunges, and planks for strength.
Cardio Boost (3-5 min) – Jumping jacks, jump roping,high knees, or a brisk walk to elevate heart rate. Combine 2-3 into a repeat circuit if you have more time!
SmartMoves PT Final Thoughts:
Your morning movement is an investment in your physical and mental resilience. By prioritizing movement, you enhance your ability to take on the day’s challenges with strength, focus, and confidence. Build your body armor—one breath, one step, one stretch, one rep at a time then keep moving forward.
Once you get started, you’ll soon find you miss it if you skip a few days!
If you need help getting started, reach out to a local PT, we are the movement experts after all.
Chime in!
What are you doing to build your body armor?
I've been aware for some time just how bad coffee on an empty stomach swallowed down with an hour at my desk looking at news on a screen is. So I do make a point of getting sunlight on me and in my eyes for at least 15 mins each morn, and the same at dusk. Setting the clock is a subtle but powerful action. I take that time to just be in my body. Pay attention to it. That I do it every day is what builds results.
And now, David, you've inspired me to take the next leaps I've been putting off. It's all prepared; bone broth, exercise mat, clothing, etc. One hour of physical activity with no coffee, screens, etc., just my thoughts and my body, healing as I imagine it.
So thank you, and I look forward to perusing your Substack.
This is such a powerful and inspiring call to action, David. The concept of “building your body armor” through intentional movement beautifully reframes fitness as an act of self-respect and daily empowerment. I especially appreciate how you blend science-backed insights with real client experiences—it creates a deeply human and motivating narrative. Your morning routine suggestions are both practical and uplifting, making fitness feel accessible no matter where someone is on their journey. This post is a true testament to your expertise and your heart for helping others thrive.