Is movement the key to feeling fab? Exercise, fitness and sport: words that fill your heart with joy or dread?  For me, it’s my go-to habit whatever else is going on in my life.  If I’m feeling fab, it adds the icing onto the cake.  On a busy day, it gives me the headspace I need to attack my to-do list with renewed enthusiasm.  When I’m feeling like the sofa is calling to me, I remember how great I feel after I’ve exercised and I get out there and do it.  As the NHS website says, “If exercise were a pill, it would be one of the most cost-effective drugs ever invented.”

Exercise is the backbone to good health and the best thing is that you can safeguard your health and fitness with a nutritious diet and active lifestyle.  Simply walking instead of driving counts as exercise to feel fab. Research has shown that just 10 days off exercise reduces your memory. Yes, that’s all the time it takes to reduce blood flow to the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory – and dementia.  The good news is that regular activity boosts the hippocampus and can counteract any age-related shrinkage.

Here are two experts sharing their insights:

Making exercise fun

So, whether you want to embrace your fitness for the first time in years, or you’re already a health-conscious hero, find the exercise activity that works for you and get started!  The pocket rocket that is Nicole Pistak of Bootcamp Tring  has kindly agreed to share her insight on how to make exercise fun:

“After almost 23 years in the fitness industry, it still astounds me that so many people mistakenly assume that exercise and fitness are to be endured rather than enjoyed.  The truth is that exercise can always be fun; it’s just a matter of discovering the activities that set your soul on fire!

In my family, I am the loud, in-your-face, let’s-get-this-done personality.  I love physical challenges, camaraderie and the satisfaction that comes from working up a good old sweat. I’m that vocal person who cheers everyone on, hoots in delight when we achieve our collective goal and runs around giving high-fives at the end of a session. Bootcamp, Spinning, Zumba and  MudRuns tick all the righNicole Pistak and her sonst boxes for me.

The frenetic energy in those environments feeds my soul and definitely pushes me to be my best physical self.  I come away feeling great and thinking ‘Yessss!  Another beasting done!

My family and fitness

My husband, on the other hand, dislikes anything that is loud, interactive or even remotely alludes to teamwork. He is happiest going on hours-long solo bike rides through the countryside or plugging into his iPod while pumping iron at the gym.  I’ve given up trying to be his cycling buddy or workout partner because he literally makes a point of not acknowledging my presence! These days, when I ask how his workouts went, his standard answer is ‘fantastic, I didn’t speak to a soul’.

My two sons are die-hard basketball fanatics and would play all day, every day if given the chance. Basketball demands a high degree of speed, agility, strength and endurance; almost every physical pursuit they undertake (weight training, running, rowing) is done with an eye to improve their basketball fitness because, let’s face it, nobody wants to be the guy sitting on the sidelines during a big game.

How to find the right fitness activity for you

My family couldn’t be more different in our approaches to fitness but the common underlying thread is that we have all found activities that excite us. Take a moment and think about the things you love: are you quite sociable and enjoy being amongst people?  Activities with a strong social element like Nordic walking, running clubs and Bootcamp would likely appeal to you.  Prefer something a bit more dance-related?  Zumba, Jazzercise, Ceroc, Ballroom or Hip-Hop classes would be straight up your street.  Fancy something quieter?  Pilates, yoga or stretch classes would fit the bill.

You’ve heard the saying “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”?  Well the same applies to fitness: find the activity that you love and you’ll never exercise a day in your life.

 

Jill Willis of  http://www.thewholesomepeapod.co.uk/ shares her biohacking tips to move more to help support your wellbeing.

“Almost everyone, from the very sedentary to athletes, can benefit from movement to promote better mobility.  However, if you are not flexible the thought is enough to make you avoid any movement or flexibility activity whatsoever. But don’t worry, you don’t have to tie yourself in knots!

Muscle imbalance

Many pain issues, such as the lower back and the neck, are frequently the result of muscle imbalance, which means some muscles are tight and others weak. Muscles work in pairs and need to be balanced to work effectively, and to allow joints to run smoothly. If a joint is pulled out of optimum alignment, it can cause friction and wear out, resulting in a replacement joint after a lot of pain. We are like a bicycle wheel where the spokes need tightening or loosening to make the wheel run true and smoothly. So, our muscles need to be balanced through stretching and strengthening to allow us to move freely without pain in good posture.

The perils of sitting

Sitting is common place these days – at a desk, in the car, on the sofa. Spending long periods of time sitting without adequate movement results in a lack of flexibility, even to bend down and put your shoes on!  It also increases the risk of fat gain and obesity, elevated blood sugar levels and insulin resistance.

This has been associated with a 21% increased risk of lung cancer and 24% increased likelihood of colon cancer. If we sit too long we become like a stagnant pond giving our major organs lack of space to operate and a lack of blood flow and energy without natural rhythm and flow as a consequence.

Stetching and flexibility

It’s important to note that if a muscle is not tight, it does not need stretching. A common mistake is to stretch muscles that don’t need stretching. This will make them looser and even less supportive than they could be in the first place! We need muscles to support our skeleton, and even more important as we age, we need to avoid falling over, or any other factors related to instability of our joints which can cause pain.

We are all different and most people don’t need the flexibility of a gymnast, however, if you do take part in sport and are not very flexible, stretching will help you to avoid injury caused by training with muscle imbalances.  Exercise can be frightening to some people as they think they will be shown up, or won’t be able to do it.

Just move more

I am talking about movement – just moving about more will help you not only to feel better, give you more energy and be in less pain but it can also help to reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke, reduce your risk of cancer, reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes, reduce blood pressure and reduce risk of osteopenia and osteoporosis. Who doesn’t want to live longer, look younger and be in less pain?

There is also growing evidence suggesting a positive association between physical movement activity and psychological wellbeing, less depression and enhanced cognitive function. I expect we have all experienced first hand someone close to us suffer from cancer, dementia or heart disease. Let’s try and avoid these at all costs, and it doesn’t mean moving to a full on exercise programme.

Simple biohacking tips to help you move more

Let’s just try and put movement into our day where we can.  For example:

  • Walk more, or if you can’t walk, or have difficulty walking, stand up (even in a standing frame if you have no use of your legs) Weight bearing is essential for bone health.
  • Carry the shopping rather than have it delivered.
  • Breathe! The first thing we do when we arrive on the planet and the last thing when we leave. It is vital movement for our health. We often forget the the diaphragm is a muscle in itself and needs to be expanded fully to work properly. It is also heavily involved in the pelvic floor, and we know how important that is!

Try and consider the basic moves that you need for everyday life for the rest of your life, whether it is:

  • Getting up from a chair
  • Lifting your shopping out of the car
  • Playing games with your children or grandchildren
  • Getting up from the floor
  • Pushing your wheelie bin out
  • Taking part in your chosen sport (imagine being able to enjoy dancing again, have greater flexibility to make that tennis serve and golf swing)

or simply being able to enjoy life in less pain with more energy.

Basic primal pattern moves

We need 7 basic primal pattern moves in our daily life:

  1. Squat or sit down and stand up.
  2. Lunge – the lunge pattern is used in most sports, for example throwing must use a lunge firstly (and then rotation) to avoid just using the shoulder and potentially causing injury. In a non athlete, failure to be able to lunge correctly  greatly increases your chance of falling. Falls cause hip fractures and are one of the leading causes of death among the elderly.
  3. Twist – rotation of our spine is a move that starts to deteriorate from aged 40. It is also important in our gait pattern, allowing us to walk freely. Twisting is integral to most functional activities. Back injuries are often caused by bending and twisting so it is vital that you can twist effectively to avoid injury.
  4. Push – overcoming the weight of an object to move it forward. Even your wheelie bin or shopping trolley!
  5. Pull – the reverse move to push. Even pulling the washing out of the washing machine or pulling yourself up.
  6. Bend – hip hinge, a basic move but you need it to pick things up off the floor and put on your shoes and socks!
  7. Gait – walking pattern.

Thank you both for sharing your movement tips.