Your Diet Is A Stretch

You need to do a bit of warm up before your daily walk to increase the effectiveness of the exercise and reduce any stiffness that might come later. There are just a few to do to give you a great start.

Hamstrings (back of legs)

1. Sit on the edge of your bed with one leg up and the other on the floor and reach with both hands until you feel the stretch in the back of the leg.

Calf stretch

1. Stand at arms length away from a wall and lean against it.

2. Put one leg straight back and the other bent under you.

3. Keep your back straight and lean your hips forward.

4. Keep rear leg straight with your heel on the ground.

5. Repeat for other leg.

Side stretch

1. Stand with both arms over your head.

2. Lean to one side, then the other.

3. You can also leave your right arm at your side and bend to the right while reaching your left arm reaches overhead, then reverse.

Torso twist

1. Stand with both arms out to side with elbows slightly bent.

2. Feet should be at shoulder width or slightly wider.

3. Twist your torso to the right and then the left, alternating back and forth slowly.

Quadriceps (thigh)

1. While leaning against a wall, reach back with your left hand and grab your right ankle.

2. Pull your foot back and away from your butt.

3. Repeat for the other side.

It really won’t take you long to do these. It’s a good way to start your exercise or even just your day.

TODAY: DO YOUR WARM UP EXERCISES.

Keep “Marching” On

March is ending, but you should be hitting your stride now. No more excuses about it being too cold out to go walking. It doesn’t take anything besides putting one foot in front of the other. Left, right, left. Left, right, left. Out the door and down the street. If you want, you don’t need an mp3 player to give yourself a beat. Hum a marching tune. “76 Trombones” comes to mind. Or try the famous song from Saturday Night Fever “Staying Alive”. It’s got the perfect pace for a nice workout. Of course you’ll need to put on your white suit like John Travolta.

TODAY: HIT THE BRICKS AND WALK.

30 Second Burst Exercise Accelerator

I saw a report today from a university study in Ontario that a half hour of bicycling had the same effect as an hour and a half of moderate pedaling by simply doing 30 second “power bursts” followed by 4 minutes of slow pace cycling. It seems the same might work for other aerobic exercise like walking. Sounds like a great way to get more for less.

TODAY: TRY A POWER BURST WHEN YOU EXERCISE.

Exercise Like You Shampoo

You’ve read it hundreds of times. Rinse, wash, repeat. Though the secret is that the directions originated from the marketing department at one of the shampoo companies. They realized that they could sell twice as much shampoo if they just told us to wash twice at a time! Well, if you approach your exercise program the same way you’ll quickly double your calorie consumption.

TODAY: EXERCISE, RELAX, REPEAT.

What Did You Do With That Hour Yesterday?

You may have noticed that you weren’t as hungry at “meal time” since we started Daylight Saving Time. But you’ll likely adapt to eating earlier easier than waking up earlier. Just try and use that reduced appetite to reduce a few calories. You can still satisfy the cravings that come later with a nice piece of fruit or high fiber cereal AFTER you take a walk in the daylight that is left at the end of your day.

TODAY: RENEW YOUR COMMITMENT TO EAT LESS AND EXERCISE MORE.

Minutes Add Up To Years

As we head into the last days of “Standard” time I want you to start “spring ahead” with your walking. It only takes a couple of minutes at a time to start having it add up to a goal of about 30 minutes a day. It doesn’t have to all happen at once. It all adds up and increases your endurance so you will eventually have no trouble walking more. Chances are you will WANT to walk more. You’ll feel better, have more endurance, more energy and sleep better. Just like they used to say that every minute of smoking was subtracting your life span, walking will add to it.

TODAY: PUT SOME SPRING IN YOUR STEP. GET OUT AND WALK!

Hot Exercise Cools You Down

Yesterday I told you to exercise in the morning. Now today I’m suggesting that you exercise at the end of the day. I know your thinking what the hell? Can’t you make up your mind? Well the truth is I’m trying to make up yours!

Just like the morning exercise gets you pumping, exercise late in your day will get rid of all the tension that has built up. A good brisk walk, or spinning on the exercise bike, or simply doing several reps of exercises will clear your head, warm your muscles and get you ready for a nice hot shower. It will curb your appetite some while relaxing you for when you go to bed for a good solid sleep. So you can get up early… and exercise!

TODAY: GET SOME EXERCISE BEFORE DINNER.