Exercise and Health Fitness

Lifetime Exercise: Sit up and face the day

Filed under: Muscle — arlene @ 4:30 pm

1. While sitting on the edge of the bed straighten one knee to extend the leg in front of you — lock the knee and tighten the thigh muscle as hard as you can. Repeat with the other leg. Do five repetitions on each leg. Watch your posture in sitting!
2. Once you are able to stand up, without using your arms, repeat the sitting to standing movement a few times. It is always better for your balance to have the feet in a walking position — one pulled in underneath the bed, the other slightly forward. Transfer the weight from the back to the front foot as you get up. Alternate the legs. It is always easier to have the stronger leg at the back. Gradually build up the strength of the other leg until either one can be used as the back foot.

Walk Tall

While you are checking your posture in the mirror, make sure you do it both from the front and the side.

1. Posture points that would need attention:

- Poking chin

- Forward head

- Rounded shoulders

- Rounded upper back

- Excessive arching of the lower back – Protruding belly

- Hyper extension of the knees

Bad posture becomes a habit and like all bad habits, it’s hard to break. Be conscious of your posture and the ideal posture 24 hours a day.

1. Lean against the wall -feet about 30 cm away from the wall and slightly apart. Do the pelvic tilt exercise in this position. (Flatten the small of your back against the wall, while keeping the shoulders back, touching the wall.) Now stand away from the wall and do the same. Once you are able to do this repeat it often during the day when you have to stand for any length of time (cooking, peeling vegetables, standing in line at the post office, etc.) You can even stand this way in the public bar!

Unmentionables

While sitting on the lavatory, we can do our neck exercises.

1. Sit up straight, now lift the head back until you can see the ceiling not further back. Bring the head forward while you tuck the chin in.
2. Turn the head to the left as if you are looking over the left shoulder. Repeat to the right.
3. Drop the head to the side as if you want your ear to touch your shoulder. Repeat to the opposite side.

Put your hands on your shoulders and make circles with your elbows. Make the circles backwards which helps to strengthen and stretch the postural muscles in the shoulder girdle and upper back.

Do five repetitions of each exercise.

Teething

While you are cleaning your teeth, stand on one leg and do little knee bends. (Not more than a quarter of the way down.) Do not hold on, but stand close enough to the basin to grab onto it if you lose your balance.

Do two sets of 15 repetitions on each leg.