Here are a few exercises you can do with your own body and gravity– you can load up a backpack if you want a bit more weight, but it sure isn’t necessary to make these moves challenging!
One Minute Wellness: Part 2- Stair Exercises
Try these 4 movements you can do with your body weight and a set of stairs!
One Minute Wellness: Part 1- Mat Exercises
Only have a few minutes and want to try some body weight exercises at home? Try these to work your core!
One Minute Wellness: Yoga Flow
As adults, we live in the forward plane– walking, running, buking, stairs– they all keep us moving in one direction, and we never move laterally (side to side) or rotations, and our bodies are meant to move in ALL directions. It’s no wonder we tend to get stiffer as we get older– you aren’t going to remain flexible in a direction you never go, right?
Try this one minute yoga flow of 4 postures: you can hold each position for a few breaths, and be sure to do both sides. It should NOT be painful, just challenging!
One Minute Wellness: Kegels
The pelvic floor group of muscles work like every other muscle in your body, but are generally ignored until someone has an issue! Here’s how to make sure you’re engaging (and releasing!) properly.
Stretching Should NOT be a Major Component of Physical Fitness
This recent study looks at static stretching, specifically the sit-and-reach test. The argument has always been that hamstring flexibility is important to activities of daily living and sports performance, and the American College of Sports Medicine currently recommends 2-4 repetitions of multiple stretches a day.
This author feels there should be decreased emphasis on stretching as a necessary component of exercise regimes, as static stretching does not clearly improve health and function, and flexibility can be maintained or improved more efficiently through other modes of exercise.
Flexibility levels are usually greater in older adults who are most independent in activities of daily living, but so is muscle strength. Higher scores in the sit-and-reach test do not predict who will have lower back pain, hamstring injuries, or lower limb pain. Stretching to prevent injuries has not been backed up in the evidence.
The author argues that reducing emphasis on stretching will make exercise training more efficient, and poor flexibility in the general population may be due to reduced physical activity. If an exercise session can be shorter, people may be more consistent with doing it. Time previously dedicated to stretching could be better used with additional aerobic or resistance exercise. Leisure activities or aerobic and resistance exercise should be able to maintain or improve muscle flexibility in most people.
This author makes a point of saying that muscle flexibility is irrelevant for overall health and function, and that it should not be considered a major component of physical fitness for most people. He argues that stretching generally does not improve function in healthy individuals when compared to other forms of activities or exercise.
Finally, the author notes that dynamic stretches are different than static stretches—they use body weight and recruit multiple muscles and a neural component to perform, likely making them more functional than static stretching.
If the evidence we have to date is showing that static stretches do not advance our fitness or health, and we get more gains through aerobic-type workouts and resistance training, maybe our time is better spent learning dynamic stretches for blood flow and getting our muscles to end-range pre-exercise.
What do you think?
Nuzzo, James. The Case for Retiring Flexibility as a Major Component of Physical Fitness. Sports Medicine (2020). 50: 853-870.
We look down too much! Here’s how you can help your neck:
In life, we look down all of the time– our hands are in front of us and we are constantly looking down at what our hands are doing, right? Over time, your neck might become sore, and here is a nice exercise to help counteract that. Ideally, this neck movement should feel like nothing… really. It should feel smooth and easy– if your neck feels stiff or tight, keep doing this neck movement to try to make it easier. It should never be painful– if it is, consult with your physiotherapist to make sure it is appropriate for you.
One Minute Wellness: Sloppy Push Up
This unprecedented time of COVID-19 has many of us working from home, going out less, driving less… basically everything is “less”… except sitting. Most of us are sitting around the house like never before, and most people will be slouching for long periods.
Over time, this can put your lower back in a less-than-happy place, so you can try to prevent that– or help it– by trying this simple move. The “sloppy” push up should not be painful. Ideally it should actually feel like nothing, which is weird to think like that: we generally don’t do movements or exercises that don’t feel like they’re stretching or working muscles. But the thing is that this movement should feel smooth and easy, and you’re trying to keep your muscles relaxed. If it is painful, check with your physiotherapist to see if it is right for you.
One Minute Wellness: Sitting Posture
During this crazy time of COVID-19, Elevation Physiotherapy & Wellness is closed with so many other businesses, and people are at home. Since it is not normal life, many people are probably sitting even more than normally. Research shows that it’s best to keep moving around when you’re sitting and change up your position regularly, but here is a tip to get you out of the slouching position we spend so much time in:
Safe Return to Exercise After Baby
Exercise is good, right? But how soon is too soon after giving birth?
If you had an uncomplicated vaginal birth, you can start gentle exercise (walking, stairs, breathing exercises, some abdominal exercises) almost immediately after giving birth, but clear it with a medical professional first.
Research on women who begin exercise after giving birth shows that there can be a disconnect between the pelvis and the rest of the body when trying to get back to exercise after baby. The muscles and connective tissue through the abdomen is put on stretch for several months, and are longer and softer for a period of time after giving birth, and this can lead to pain in the joints of the pelvis and pubic bone.
It would not be at all typical to experience severe pain, dizziness, weakness, vision changes, chest tightness, bleeding or leg pain—be sure to check in with your physician if experiencing any of these. Otherwise, start back at up to 30 minutes of walking each day—if you can’t do 30 minutes all in one shot, then try two 15 minute walks, or even six 5 minute walks spaced through the day. Just keep moving.
Also, get your pelvic floor moving—it would be best to be checked by a pelvic floor physiotherapist who can make sure that you are engaging properly and give you a specific exercise program to start, and teach you how to breathe on exertion. The National Academy of Sports Medicine in the U.S. recommends breath work and easy abdominal exercises with moving your legs to start.
If you’ve had a Cesarean- section, you may have to wait a bit longer to get back to the exercise game. Walking is good, and do get back to pelvic floor strengthening, but hold off at least 8 weeks for more vigorous exercises.
If you are wanting to get back to running post-partum, try the jump test first: have a full bladder, and jump up and down 20 times in a row, followed by coughing four times in a row—if you didn’t leak urine or feel any heaviness in your pelvis or vagina, you’re likely ready for that run!
