As a health and fitness writer, I’m used to testing structured workouts — be it Pilates challenges or the Nordic walking method — but the movement habits in the world’s Blue Zones have always fascinated me.
If you’re not familiar with them, the Blue Zones are the regions where people consistently live the longest, healthiest lives. First identified by author and researcher Dan Buettner, the five original Blue Zones are:
- Okinawa, Japan
- Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
- Sardinia, Italy
- Ikaria, Greece
- Loma Linda, California (a Seventh-day Adventist community)
More recently, Singapore was recognised as a Blue Zone 2.0 — proof that longevity isn’t limited to rural life, and that it is possible to build healthier habits in fast-paced, urban environments.
While research into the Blue Zones takes a broad view — encompassing not just movement, but also diet, social connection, purpose, and stress levels — one of the most interesting aspects of this lifestyle is how people move. You won’t find them clocking hours at the gym or counting reps. Instead, they stay active through low-intensity but consistent movement woven into daily life: walking up steep hills, gardening, carrying heavy loads, dancing, and even kneading bread.
This feels in sharp contrast to my own lifestyle. I work from home and spend long hours sitting at my desk, so I have to make a conscious effort to move my body every day. I deal with recurring stiffness in my right hip and knee, and if I skip movement for even a day or two, I feel it. That’s why I gravitate toward structured workouts like running, strength training, and Pilates — they keep me mobile, strong, and (mostly) ache-free.
But the idea of focusing on functional exercise — without setting a timer or aiming for a certain number of reps — intrigues me. So, I decided to try it. For one week, I swapped out my usual routine and made an effort to move more like people in the Blue Zones. Here’s what happened.
How I moved like people in the Blue Zones
For this experiment, I wasn’t trying to copy a traditional Blue Zones lifestyle perfectly — that wouldn’t be feasible when living in a city, working a desk job, and relying on modern conveniences. But I wanted to see whether I could weave more movement into my daily life in the same spirit: low-impact, unstructured, and naturally occurring through daily tasks.
That meant skipping my usual gym sessions and runs for the week, and instead leaning into more functional movement — things like walking uphill, carrying shopping, foraging, and even dancing around my flat when I needed a break from my screen. I also tried to stay on my feet more during the day, whether by running errands on foot or taking detours from my usual route home.
Over the course of the week, I noticed three main ways this approach to movement differed from how I usually exercise — and how it made me feel.
Hills, heat, and heavy bags
I live on a hill, so walking uphill is already very much a part of my life. But in the spirit of living like those in the Blue Zones, I made a conscious effort to walk up and down the hill more during this week. The uphill stretch takes around 15 minutes at a steady pace, and thanks to the warm weather we’ve been enjoying recently, it felt like a genuine workout.
One day, I carried heavy shopping bags up the hill after a trip to town, forgoing my usual request for my partner to pick me up from the train station. On another day, I walked over 12,000 steps with an overnight bag slung over one shoulder. Neither was particularly glamorous, but I could feel the effects in my calves and feet at the end of the day. It made me look forward to getting into bed even more than usual.
What struck me was how people in the Blue Zones don’t need structured resistance training — they build strength and endurance through tasks like this every day. But still, I wondered: am I getting the same benefits walking through a city as someone trekking across hilly farmland in Sardinia?
There’s no clear answer, but I think the intention matters. This week wasn’t about racking up huge step counts or tracking heart rate zones, but I was moving more — and working harder than I expected just by changing how I approached everyday life.
Replacing the gym with real life
Aside from carrying groceries and hauling my overnight bag around town, I also spent one evening foraging for blackberries and elderberries in nearby hedgerows (I may live on the outskirts of a city, but I am blessed with ample green space nearby). This involved both crouching and reaching overhead, and I ended up foraging for over two hours, a time which I’d usually spend curled up with a book or watching Netflix. The challenge of exercising like people in the Blue Zones was definitely encouraging me to move more.
These moments when I was moving functionally didn’t feel like a workout at the time, but by the end of each day, my body told me otherwise. I was moving in ways that felt useful and productive, and while I didn’t get the same “burn” as I might when lifting in the gym, I definitely noticed the accumulated effort by the end of the week.
Dancing like nobody’s watching
Mid-afternoon is when my energy crashes hardest. I usually combat this with a coffee nap, but, inspired by the centenarians still going strong in Ikaria, Greece, I decided to mix things up this week. People on the island of Ikaria will frequently dance in the evening, and while this is usually done surrounded by friends and family, I felt like I could still benefit from having a solo boogie in my living room. So, I put on one of my favorite songs and danced for a few minutes. No structure, no steps to follow, just joyful movement.
It was probably the easiest way I moved all week, but also one of the most uplifting. Across all the Blue Zones, exercise isn’t tied to discipline or intensity — a “no pain, no gain” mentality simply doesn’t exist. Instead, movement is natural, woven into the day, and often enjoyable — a mindset that felt refreshing compared to the structured, results-driven approach so many of us (myself included) are used to.
For sure, I’ll be sticking to the weekday dance session whenever I need a pick-me-up.
My verdict: Is this a realistic way to move in modern life?
Spending a week moving like people in the Blue Zones gave me a valuable reset. I wasn’t chasing fitness metrics or planning workouts — I was just living, and letting movement happen throughout the day. I felt less pressure to “train” and more connected to the simple satisfaction of using my body purposefully.
That said, it’s not realistic to think that all of us can replicate a Blue Zone lifestyle. I wish it were, but like many others, I live in a city, work a desk job, and in all honesty, I genuinely enjoy the exercise I do during a typical week. The Blue Zone way of moving won’t replace running, Pilates, or strength training for me — but I will be more mindful about the way I move between workouts.
Sometimes, the most meaningful movement isn’t the kind you plan — it’s the kind that fits into your life without feeling like a chore.