Red Hot Mamas In Charge of Change.
By: Red Hot Mamas
Published: September 29, 2014
Age Actively – Getting more from your Physical Activity
Maximize the benefits of physical activity by incorporating all types: balance, endurance, flexibility and strength.
Strive to build up to at least 30 minutes of activity a day that makes you breathe hard on most or all days of the week. Because it builds your energy or ‘staying power’, this is referred to as endurance exercise. One good thing to remember is that you don’t have to do the 30 minutes of activity all at once. Try two 15 minute sessions a day to start– especially if you have a hectic schedule.
During exercise, how hard do you need to push yourself?
One quick way to tell is: If you can talk while exercising without any trouble at all, you are not working hard enough. If you can’t talk at all, you are exercising too hard- tone it down a bit.
Strength exercises build muscles. Lifting small amounts of weights helps keep your arm muscles strong.
Keeping your muscles in shape helps prevent falls. When your leg and hip muscles are strong, they support your body better and help keep you from falling.
Basic steps to help improve your balance are standing on one foot, then the other (without holding to something for support). Standing up from a chair without pushing off with your hands. Performing some of the basic moves in Yoga can help with your balance as well as stretching.
Your flexibility improves with stretching, and having good balance helps too. Stretching enables you to move more freely.
There are many simple stretches you can do every day to help with your posture, your overall flexibility.
Try reaching upward with both your hands- really reach, and look upward while you stretch.
So many times in our day we are looking or bending downward at our jobs that we may not realize we are not standing up fully straight. Doing this stretch a couple of times a day can help with your flexibility.
In conclusion, please remember to get 30 minutes of activity a day!
