“Health Tips of the Week”

I had a member come up to me at the end of last year and ask me when I was going to start putting up my “Health Tips of Week” again.  I’d forgotten all about doing those, he told me that he really enjoyed reading the tips and it sparked his workout and/or his health habits each time he read whatever I came up with for that week.  He said he’d always try to incorporate that health tip, which really made me feel proud.  So, back on the dry erase board, are my “Health Tips of the Week” by special request.  I thank that member for putting the spark back into me to do it again this year!

Think about how weekly health tips can really benefit your health.  It’s kind of like what I’ve been preaching with New Year Resolutions; bite off a little bit at a time.  Make small changes in your workout or in your diet plan that you can honestly handle for a short amount of time.  It’s that power of the mind, those silly mind games we play with ourselves with regards to health.  The tips are not designed to completely disrupt your lifestyle, like starting a strict diet program would do; they’re designed to change things up a bit, week by week.  Then hopefully you can choose those tips that work well for you and keep them going in your life longer than the week they are featured.

The tip I have up this week is about stepping your cardiovascular workout up a bit.  Remember when I wrote about incorporating more interval training into your treadmill, elliptical and cycling workouts.  By simply increasing either your speed or your intensity for one minute every five minutes of your workout you will shock your cardiovascular system into appropriately responding to that increase.  Just think; a one minute shock followed by a four minute back to normal cardio session and your cardiovascular workout just got better.  Heart and lungs respond appropriately. Switch it up!

Last week I reminded everyone to make sure that you are incorporating stretching into your workout.  Having recently trained our latest set of interns, I made a request that we make sure to encourage new members and current members to utilize the stretchers at the back of our facility.  I know with all the experience and study that I’ve done with regards to exercise and the aging process (yes, we are all getting older) that one of the biggest concerns with getting older is lack of flexibility.  Tight muscles and joints can lead to a more serious injury if you were to fall or be injured somehow.  It only takes a basic stretching routine to encourage your body to age better.  It’s a simple addition to a weekly exercise program.  Stretch!

We’ve just added a few new exercise classes to our entourage of classes for the New Year.  One class in particular gives me another big exercise tip that will soon appear for all to see.  We’re calling it “Strong Abs/ Healthy Back.”  It’s been a huge misconception through the years that if you want your back to quit hurting you must make your abdominal muscles stronger.  Wrong!  If you want your back to stop hurting you must make your back stronger in addition to proper strength for your abdominals.  I’m excited about this class because it’s all about strengthening and stretching all your “Core Muscles” using Pilates philosophies.  This tip is all about keeping balance around your core.  You must have strength exercises that directly focus on your lower back muscles.

Here’s a tip that I think is a good one to try for a while, grip strength.  One of my friends that work out with me every day has started including the grip machine as a weekly addition to her workout.  I too have always incorporated gripping in my Senior Tri-Fit class.  That’s just one of those kitchen things that we just expect to get done, we expect to be able to open a jar of pickles when we want one.  The muscles of your hand are just as important as the muscles or your legs; it keeps us independent and allows better function of the hands.  So think about that tip too!

I will continue to post “Tips of the Week” on our new website, medxofestes.com and you can find them posted at MedX too.  Remember that they are just tips to try for awhile that will hopefully give you that spark to switch things up a little one week/tip at a time.  Our website is also a location to find my articles too, just in case you’ve missed one or have a favorite that you’d like to re-read.