April is more than just the start of spring. It’s a chance to reset, refocus, and realign your health habits as the world wakes back up. And fittingly, April is nationally recognized as both Move More Month and Stress Awareness Month—a powerful combination that couldn’t be more aligned with what we stand for at Alter.
Because here’s the truth: the more you move with intention, the better your body feels. The better your body feels, the more resilient you become in the face of stress. And when you build a lifestyle that supports both movement and recovery, everything starts to shift—your energy, your mood, your strength, your sleep. It all improves when you move with purpose and recover with care.
Let’s explore why April matters, and how Alter is built to support you through both pillars: moving more and managing stress—intelligently, sustainably, and in a way that fits your real life.
What Is Move More Month?
Originally launched by the American Heart Association, Move More Month is a national campaign that encourages people to increase physical activity as a way to support heart health, improve longevity, and reduce chronic disease risk. But it’s not just about getting your steps in. It’s about creating a habit of consistent, accessible movement that supports your entire well-being—mentally, emotionally, and physically.
The AHA recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, plus two or more days of strength training. And while those are great benchmarks, we know the numbers are only part of the story.
At Alter, we believe that how you move matters just as much as how often. Whether you're doing a full-body strength session, heading out for a Zone 2 walk, or taking 20 minutes for mobility and breathwork—you're making deposits into your health bank. And it all counts.
Your daily session recommendations are already designed to help you move more without overtraining. Based on your Readiness Score, previous workouts, movement preferences, and your specific goals, each recommendation helps shape your week with the right mix of intensity, recovery workouts, strength, and Work-ins—so you’re not just moving more, you’re moving smarter.
The Hidden Power of Low-Intensity Movement
One of the most underrated ways to move more—and feel better—is through low-intensity activity. Walking, stretching, mobility flows, breath-led recovery sessions… these aren’t filler. They’re fuel. These moments create space for your nervous system to shift out of “go-mode” and into recovery mode. And that’s where the real transformation happens.
If you’re someone who tends to go hard or not at all, April is your chance to reset. Movement doesn’t have to be intense to be impactful. It just has to be consistent. And when you move daily, with intention, your body responds in powerful ways—improved circulation, better blood sugar regulation, more joint mobility, reduced inflammation, and better mental clarity.
Which leads us to the second theme of April...
Stress Awareness Month: Why It Matters for Wellness
Stress Awareness Month was established in 1992 to raise awareness around the effects of stress and promote practical solutions. Today, it’s more relevant than ever. Chronic stress doesn’t just make you feel burned out—it disrupts recovery, slows fat loss, affects sleep, elevates cortisol, and drains your energy.
Stress isn’t just emotional—it’s physical and hormonal. At Alter, we track stress through biometric signals in your Readiness Score, including heart rate variability (HRV), resting heart rate, and sleep quality. This allows us to adjust your training in real time.
If you’ve had poor sleep, high emotional stress, or feel fatigued, your session adapts. Instead of another high-effort workout, you might see a mobility session, a recovery-based Work-in, or a lower-intensity training day that helps bring your system back into balance.
This is how you keep moving forward—without pushing your body deeper into overload.
Work-ins: Your Built-In Stress Recovery Tool
One of the most effective ways to manage stress is to move—but in a way that calms rather than stimulates. That’s why Work-ins are a foundational part of the Alter experience.
These aren’t passive rest days. They’re active recovery sessions that focus on breathwork, guided mobility, and nervous system regulation. They help reduce cortisol, support inflammation management, and bring your body into a parasympathetic state—the “rest and digest” mode where healing and adaptation happen.
And when you honor that process, you get better results:
- You train harder—because you’re recovered.
- You stay focused—because you’re not burned out.
- You stay consistent—because your body can actually keep up.
Let April Be Your Reset, Not Your Sprint
If you’ve been inconsistent with your training, feeling stuck, or unsure how to move forward—April is your reset button. You don’t need to overhaul everything. You just need to move more, with purpose, and let your recovery catch up to your effort.
Let your training be flexible this month. Let your body lead. If your Readiness Score is high, lean into the challenge. If it’s low, trust the recovery session. If your mind feels scattered, walk, stretch, or breathe. It all counts—and it all adds up.
Build Resilience, Not Burnout
April gives us two reminders: your body is built to move, and it’s built to reset. When you honor both, you build energy, strength, and resilience that lasts.
At Alter, every layer of your experience is designed with that balance in mind—from how your workouts are selected, to how recovery is woven into your week. Because this isn’t just about training hard. It’s about training wisely, and honoring what your body needs to truly thrive.
So this month, say yes to more movement. Say yes to smarter recovery. And say yes to a body and mind that feel fully supported—inside and out.
You don’t need a new plan. You just need to start moving—and recover like it matters.
Because it does.
