December is the month when days are shorter and the lack of day light contributes to feeling less energetic, and keeping active turns out to be a real challenge. However, it is even more important to keep moving and not spend too much time just sitting on the couch watching television.
It is essential to keep moving to maintain our spine healthy, to lower muscle tension and stress and to prevent musculo-skeletal problems. We know that active people recuperate a lot faster from an injury or health problem than someone with a sedentary lifestyle.
New Year is around the corner and that is an excellent time to plan your new resolutions: exercising regularly is a very good one.
All you need to do is start with planning 15 minutes of exercise a day, five days a week. If you don’t feel like going outside you can work out at home any time of the day or night.
Home workouts have many unique advantages. One of them is to set up a good example of an active lifestyle to your children. Working out at home may help you stick with exercise, since it’s so easy to keep up with your routine. You can also watch your favourite TV shows while you exercise.
Integrating simple exercises is easy and does not involve any special equipment. You can find lots of different exercise programmes on YouTube or on some specific exercising sites on the net.
Buy or rent an exercise DVD, or borrow one at the library. If you have an MP3 player, you can download audio routines from the internet. This can be a fun way to stay in shape at home.
If you enjoy dancing, dance to music or play a dancing video game. Just make sure you’re working out hard enough. On a scale of one to 10, aim for an intensity of five or higher.
Do simple strength exercises that require only your body weight. You probably know how to do more than you think: push-ups, sit-ups and lunges are all good options. Jump rope. Only 20 minutes of jumping rope burns 250 calories.
Get some hand weights or stretch bands to use at home for resistance exercise. You can also use cans of food that work just as well if you don’t want to buy weights.
Stretch or practice some yoga poses. Flexibility is an important part of keeping your joints healthy. Check with your chiropractor first if you are new to exercise or have a health condition that you are concerned about. Your chiropractor can also answer questions you may have about how much exercise you do and what types of activity are best for you.
Try to make exercise part of your routine by working out at the same time every day. This is good to keep in mind if you are setting new fitness goals in the new year. Remember, it takes about three weeks to form a new habit, so don’t feel discouraged if you miss one workout. Just make sure you get back into it the following day.
Keep it up, keep it interesting. Pick activities that you like to do and you’ll be more likely to continue doing them.
Indoor activities can also be done somewhere outside your home. Go for walks at the mall with a friend or go to a local school that may have indoor gyms where you can walk. You may want to buy a pedometer from a sporting goods store. You can use it to count your steps. This will help motivate you to walk more.
You might want to consider joining a gym or health club. You can use machines like treadmills, stair-climbers, or exercise bikes. Try a fitness class or a new indoor activity, like dancing or water aerobics. Many cities have community centres that offer affordable fitness classes.
Choose health first, take care of your body. After all it is the only vehicle you need to live in all your life. Eat well, get exercising, get your spine adjusted by your chiropractor and you will feel better, sleep better and live better.
From all of us at Algarve Quiroprática we wish you a Merry Christmas and a healthy, happy New Year.
By Sandra Genest-Boudreau | Christophe O. Alves
|| features@algarveresident.com
Sandra Genest-Boudreau is French-Canadian, who graduated from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in 1990 before coming to the Algarve in 2002. She is passionate about adjusting all her patients, particularly children. Christophe Alves graduated from the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic (AECC) UK, and has a special interest in Sport Chiropractic. Algarve Quiroprática clinic: EN125 in Pêra | 282 312 853 | 969 397 375
