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| Spring Back! |
Also this month is Humor Month - see more below.
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Coming out of a winter exercise slump?
According to RealAge, "If you make it a habit of slipping these 7 exercises into your daily routine, you may begin to notice improvements in your strength and endurance after only a few weeks":
1. Chair crunches
Muscles worked: abdominals. Aim for 4 minutes
Starting point: Seated, back straight, arms at sides, hands gripping the bottom of the chair, feet flat on the floor, knees bent and over toes, legs pressed together. Action: Lift your knees straight
up, keeping the bottom of your feet parallel to the ground. Exhale while you lift your knees and inhale as you bring your feet back down to the floor. Complete 1 set of 10-12 repetitions. Tip: For extra workout points, keep your back off the backrest and do not lean heavily on your arms.
2. Chair crunches with a twist
Muscles worked: internal obliques. Aim for 4 minutes
Starting point: Same as regular chair crunches, except instead of gripping the chair, clasp your hands behind your head and push your elbows out to the sides. Action: Lift your left knee straight up. As you do so, twist your upper body to the left side until your right elbow meets your left knee. Return to your starting point. Repeat, only this time lift your right knee straight up and twist your upper body to the right until your left elbow meets your right knee. Complete 1 set of 5-6 elbow-to-knee touches per side.
3. Grocery bag curls
Muscles worked: biceps (upper arms). Aim for 5 minutes
Starting point: Standing or walking, arms straight down at your sides, palms facing forward, grocery bag handle gripped in one hand. Action: As you walk, every time you step with your left
foot, bend your arm at the elbow to lift your bag up to chest level; straighten and lower your arm back down every time you step with your right foot. Complete 1 set of 10-12 reps. Switch hands and repeat with the other arm. Tip: Keep your wrist straight and your elbow directly beneath your shoulder with each curl.
Quick Tip: Keep a pair of comfortable walking or running shoes and a pair of sweat socks in your car at all times.
4. Grocery bag rowing
Muscles worked: deltoids (shoulders). Aim for 5 minutes
Starting point: Standing or walking, arms straight down at your sides, hands in front of your thighs, palms facing your thighs, a bag handle gripped in each hand. Action: Pretend that there is a "golf club" connecting the bags in your hands.
Lift the golf club up toward your chest, bending your elbows out to each side as you lift. Complete 1 set of 10-12 reps. Tip: Keep your hands about 3 inches in front of your body as you lift.
5. Leg lifts
Muscles worked: adductors (inner thigh). Aim for 4 minutes
Starting point: Standing, weight on left foot, right leg extended in front of you until the toes are resting on the ground about 10 inches in front of your left foot. Action: Slowly sweep your right toes to the left, beyond your left foot.
Use your inner thigh muscles to pick your right foot up and move it back to the starting point. Complete 1 set of 10-12 reps for each leg. Tip: Keep your knees straight and your weight on your stationary foot.
6. Hip hiker
Muscles worked: abductors (outer thigh). Aim for 4 minutes
Starting point: Standing, weight on left foot, right knee bent with right foot setting on a stable 4- to 6-inch rise (such as a stair step or a sidewalk curb), hands on hips. Action: Slowly straighten your right knee so that you are lifting your
weight up onto the step or curb. Hold for 5 seconds and then slowly lower your weight back onto your left foot. Complete 1 set of 10-12 repetitions. Reverse legs and repeat. Tip: When using a step, stand sideways so that your feet are parallel. When using a sidewalk curb, safety first! Choose a sidewalk curb that is not near traffic.
7. Heel raises
Muscles worked: gastrocnemius, or gastroc (calves). Aim for 4 minutes
Starting point: Standing, legs straight, feet one inch apart. Action: Slowly rise up onto the balls of your feet, lifting your heels off the ground as high as you can, and then slowly lower your heels back to the ground. Complete 1 set of 10-12 reps.
Tip: Keep your legs straight but don't lock your knees.
RealAge - The No-Workout Workout
www.realage.com/WorkOutCenter/Articles.aspx?aid=10069 |
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If you mainly walk for exercise, remember to include some brisk walking and stair climbing to get your heart rate up. Aim for some light weight lifting for strength 2-3 times per week. Warm up before exercising, and stretch afterwards to cool down and help maintain flexibility.
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April 21-27 is Medical Fitness Week
"The Medical Fitness Association (MFA), in conjunction with the MFA Education Committee, has scheduled it's third Annual Medical Fitness Week, April 21 - 27, 2008. The goal of this MFA initiative is to promote an increase in physical activity levels in all ages and to highlight the medical fitness difference. During this international event, medical fitness centers and communities throughout the U.S., Canada, and Abroad are asked to offer programming that focuses on teaching families the skills they need to develop healthy lifestyle habits."
www.medicalfitness.org
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National Humor Month: Laugh Yourself Healthy
For years, research has indicated that
laughter is good for us. Are you laughing enough?
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore have shown that laughter is linked to healthy function of blood vessels. "We don't recommend that you laugh and not exercise, but we do recommend that you try to laugh on a regular basis. Thirty minutes of exercise three times a week, and 15 minutes of laughter on a daily basis is probably good for the vascular system." -Michael Miller, M.D., director of preventive cardiology at the university
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/03/050310100458.htm |
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According to the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH),
therapeutic humor is "any intervention that promotes health and wellness by stimulating a playful discovery, expression, or appreciation of the absurdity or incongruity of life's situations". It may "enhance work performance, support learning, improve health, or be used as a complementary treatment of illness to facilitate healing or coping, whether physical, emotional, cognitive, social, or spiritual".
www.aath.org |
More on humor:
rtpnet.org
stress.about.com
www.lifescript.com
www.humormatters.com/
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Research seems to indicate that spending too much time in front of the television
contributes to obesity.
Turn off the TV
and get active!
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