The Forgotten Function of Movement: Oxygen, Immunity, and the True Purpose of Training
We’ve been taught to think of exercise as a tool for shrinking waistlines and shaping glutes. But this modern view misses the point entirely. Exercise was never about aesthetics. It was about survival. Movement has always been a biological defense strategy, not a cosmetic hobby. The original purpose of exercise was not to build better glutes but to drive out stagnation, circulate oxygen, flush waste, and support the immune system.
Somewhere along the way, we lost the thread. We made movement a punishment for poor eating or a prerequisite for looking good. But movement is how the body heals itself.
The True Meaning of the Word “Exercise”
The word exercise comes from the Latin verb exercere, made up of:
- ex = out
- arcere = to restrain, enclose, or ward off
Originally, exercere meant “to keep busy,” “to practice,” or “to train,” especially in physical or military contexts. But its root arcere carries the sense of holding something back or keeping something harmful away. It means to restrain, prevent, or stave off.
So we can interpret exercere as the act of warding off decline, disorder, or decay through purposeful movement.
That makes this more than just semantics. It reframes exercise as a form of biological self-defense, designed to drive out stagnation and activate vitality.
When Words Drift: What Happened to “Silly”?
It’s not unusual for a word’s original meaning to get lost. Consider the word silly. In Old English, it meant blessed, innocent, or spiritually pure. Over time, it shifted to mean naive, then weak, and eventually foolish.
Language drifts. So does culture. Just as “silly” became silly, “exercise” became about aesthetics instead of health. But beneath the drift, the true meaning remains.
Otto Warburg and the Oxygen Connection
In 1931, Nobel Prize winning physiologist Dr. Otto Warburg made a groundbreaking discovery about cellular metabolism. He found that when cells are deprived of adequate oxygen, they begin to function abnormally. Cancer cells, in particular, switch from aerobic respiration to anaerobic sugar fermentation even when oxygen is still present, a phenomenon now known as the Warburg Effect. Warburg believed that chronic oxygen deficiency played a central role in the development of cancer(1).
While not all modern scientists fully endorse his hypothesis, many agree that proper oxygenation and mitochondrial health are essential for maintaining cellular function and preventing disease.
And what naturally delivers oxygen, improves circulation, and restores mitochondrial balance? Exercise.
The Science of Movement as Medicine
Exercise is not just movement. It’s a biological intervention. When you train, your body:
- Increases tissue oxygenation
- Stimulates the lymphatic system, which removes cellular waste but has no pump of its own
- Releases anti-inflammatory myokines during strength training
- Enhances immune surveillance, improving the body’s ability to detect threats
- Promotes mitochondrial biogenesis — you literally grow new mitochondria(2, 3)
- Improves capillarization, allowing more blood and oxygen to reach dormant stem cells(4)
What Do Capillaries Have to Do with Stem Cells?
This part often goes overlooked, but it’s incredibly important. Stem cells, particularly the kind responsible for muscle repair (called satellite cells), live right next to capillaries. These are the tiny blood vessels that deliver oxygen and nutrients.
These stem cells are like quiet repair crews waiting by the road. When your body needs to repair or rebuild tissue, it sends signals through the blood. But those signals only reach stem cells if the “roads” (capillaries) are there to deliver them.
Here’s the key:
Exercise increases capillarization. That means it literally builds more of those microscopic highways to wake up and activate stem cells. The more capillaries you have, the more responsive your repair systems become.
This is why movement enhances regeneration. It’s not just about “building muscle.” It’s about keeping your entire cellular repair crew accessible and well-fed.
The Biochemistry of Movement: Immunity, Hormones, and Mood
Exercise isn’t just mechanical. It’s chemical. Movement causes a rapid cascade of immune and hormonal shifts that impact how your body defends and heals itself.
- Immune cell activation: Exercise increases the activity of natural killer (NK) cells, macrophages, T cells, and B cells, which are key players in defending against infections and eliminating damaged cells (5).
- Anti-inflammatory signaling: Contracting muscles release interleukin-6 (IL-6), which then stimulates anti-inflammatory molecules like IL-10 and IL-1ra, reducing chronic inflammation (6).
What Are Myokines?
IL-6 is one of many myokines — powerful signaling molecules released by muscle during exercise. Myokines help regulate inflammation, improve metabolism, and support brain and immune function. In short, when you lift weights, your muscles act like an anti-inflammatory endocrine organ, sending healing signals throughout the body.
- Hormone regulation: Moderate exercise reduces baseline cortisol over time, while intense training temporarily spikes it (a part of the adaptation process). Catecholamines like adrenaline and noradrenaline also rise during effort, mobilizing immune cells.
- Mood neurotransmitters: Exercise elevates dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins, improving mental well-being and stress resilience (7).
💡 Key Takeaway: exercise reshapes your internal chemistry to help you feel, heal, and function better.
It Was Never About Glutes
Yes, strong glutes are great. But they are not the goal. They are a byproduct of a system that is working. A system that is moving, oxygenating, cleansing, and adapting.
If you’ve been treating exercise as a chore or a cosmetic ritual, it’s time to reframe it. This isn’t about punishment or perfection. This is about your biology. Exercise is how the body defends itself.
✏︎ Bottom Line
Exercise was never meant to make you smaller. It was designed to keep you alive. Movement activates the systems that protect you: your circulatory system, your mitochondria, your immune response, your stem cells. The physical changes are a bonus: the real benefit is resilience.
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Scientific References
- Liberti, Maria V, and Jason W Locasale. “The Warburg Effect: How Does it Benefit Cancer Cells?.” Trends in biochemical sciences vol. 41,3 (2016): 211-218. doi:10.1016/j.tibs.2015.12.001. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4783224/
- Chabi, Beatrice et al. “How is mitochondrial biogenesis affected in mitochondrial disease?.” Medicine and science in sports and exercise vol. 37,12 (2005): 2102-10. doi:10.1249/01.mss.0000177426.68149.83. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16331136/
- Langston, P Kent, and Diane Mathis. “Immunological regulation of skeletal muscle adaptation to exercise.” Cell metabolism vol. 36,6 (2024): 1175-1183. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2024.04.001. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38670108/
- Defante Telles, Guilherme et al. “Effects of combined exercise training in older adults: a potential relationship between muscle fibre satellite cell function and capillarization.” The Journal of physiology vol. 597,8 (2019): 2127-2128. doi:10.1113/JP277747. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30809796/
- Pan, Huixin et al. “Exercise: a non-drug strategy of NK cell activation.” Brazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas medicas e biologicas vol. 57 e14144. 25 Nov. 2024, doi:10.1590/1414-431X2024e14144. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11653485/
- Pedersen, Bente K, and Mark A Febbraio. “Muscle as an endocrine organ: focus on muscle-derived interleukin-6.” Physiological reviews vol. 88,4 (2008): 1379-406. doi:10.1152/physrev.90100.2007. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18923185/.
- Chaouloff, F. “Physical exercise and brain monoamines: a review.” Acta physiologica Scandinavica vol. 137,1 (1989): 1-13. doi:10.1111/j.1748-1716.1989.tb08715.x. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2678895/
