Exercise Tips from the Butler HRC to Get You Through the Holiday Season

We all want the Norman Rockwell picture perfect holiday, but most of us end up with something that resembles more of a Clark Griswold or Homer Simpson holiday. However, it doesn’t have to be like that.

Exercise can help alleviate some of the stressors brought on by the holiday season and help maintain your weight as you make your way through the maze of parties!   Here are 3 words for you:  STRETCH, STRENGTHEN, and MOVE!

STRETCHING–  There are so many reasons you need to stretch and stay flexible:

• Decreases muscle stiffness and increases range of motion. Stretching helps improve your range of motion which may also slow the degeneration of the joints.
• May reduce your risk of injury. A flexible muscle is less likely to become injured from a slightly extensive movement. By increasing the range of motion in a particular joint through stretching, you may decrease the resistance on your muscles during various activities.
• Improves posture. Stretching the muscles of the lower back, shoulders and chest will help keep your back in better alignment and improve your posture.
• Helps reduce or manage stress. Well stretched muscles hold less tension and, therefore, leave you feeling less stressed.  Stretching allows the muscles to relax. Habitually tense muscles tend to cut off their own circulation resulting in a lack of oxygen and essential nutrients.
• Improves mechanical efficiency and overall functional performance. Since a flexible joint requires less energy to move through a wider range of motion, a flexible body improves overall performance by creating more energy-efficient movements.
• Prepares the body for the stress of exercise. Stretching prior to exercise allows the muscles to loosen up and become resistant to the impact they are about to undergo.
• Promotes circulation. Stretching increases blood supply to the muscles and joints which allow for greater nutrient transportation and improves the circulation of blood through the entire body.
• Decreases the risk of low-back pain. Flexibility in the hamstrings, hip flexors, and muscles attached to the pelvis relieves stress on the lumbar spine which in turn reduces the risk of low-back pain.

STRENGTH TRAINING- is critical for combating frailty and disability, for increasing strength and mobility, for staying active and self-sufficient.  All it takes is a few exercises to reap the benefits, and with at least 20 minutes, you can do most exercises in your own home using your body weight:  push-ups, sit ups, bridges, supermans/quadrapeds, planks, standing calf raises, back extensions, squats, bicep curls using canned goods, etc.

If everybody insists on staying inside to watch a football game or another episode of i-Carly, join them, but do your stretches and yoga while you lie on the floor.  I do it with my nieces and 2 out of the 3 end up doing the stretches with me!

MOVE/CARDIO-It’s one way to burn calories and help you lose weight.  It makes your heart strong so that it doesn’t have to work as hard to pump blood. It increases your lung capacity, it helps reduce risk of heart attack, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. It makes you feel good, it helps you sleep better, and it helps reduce stress.

If you can’t get in your normal amount of exercise, then shorten your routine but increase your intensity.  You don’t have to train for a marathon to reap the benefits.  Cardio is cumulative, so 10 minutes here and there adds up.

Look for ways to incorporate it throughout your day:

• Don’t spend your time driving around looking for a parking spot.  Purposefully park far away and walk.
• Ladies, throw a pair of sneakers in the car so if you have to walk far and you are dressed up, then just throw on your sneakers and put your dress shoes in a bag and walk to wherever you need to go (New York and Chicago ladies do it all the time)!
• Take the stairs whenever you get a chance!
• Make it a family affair- bundle up the kids and throw them in the little red wagon as you walk around the neighborhood looking at lights, have a snowman contest, walk the dog, rake the leaves, all the snow filled activities play, etc….just move.
• If the kids don’t want to go, take time for yourself and go for a walk in fresh air.

Still want some extra help?  Don’t forget the HRC offers personal training for members and non-members at very reasonable rates!