Saturday
Jul142012
Get Moving!
Saturday, July 14, 2012 at 5:32AM
A healthful diet is not the only factor when it comes to achieving a healthy weight - physical activity plays an important role as well. While it may seem challenging to find time to work out, the long- and short-term health benefits make it a necessary aspect of achieving optimum health and a healthy weight. These five, simple tips can help get you moving and your calories burning!
- Change your daily habits. We've all heard the advice to park farther away or take the stairs, because it works. Set a goal to take the stairs at work every other day, then every day.
- Join a gym. Make an appointment with a trainer on staff - she or he can help design a plan for your level of fitness, health concerns or time constraints. Then go! (If you think a gym membership is beyond your budget, many healthcare plans now offer reimbursements if you visit the gym a certain number of times per month. Contact your healthcare provider for more information.)
- Take care of yourself. Wear the proper footwear, removable layers or light clothing, start slow and work your way up, and avoid dehydration by drinking more water than you think you need.
- Get excited to work out. Join an exercise class, rent new exercise videos, hire a personal trainer, or enlist a friend for morning walks. It's more fun if you don't go it alone. And mix up your exercise routine to work different sets of muscles and keep boredom at bay.
- Try yoga. It is an effective and enjoyable way to burn calories, increase muscle mass (which in turn burns more calories) and enhance stretching, which is important for keeping joints limber and preventing injury.
- Start dancing! Fast-tempo dancing is not only fun (especially when you get some friends to join you) but can burn 400 to 500 calories per hour.
Reader Comments (4)
I want to echo Jenny's post about Nia. I know hundreds of people who have started a regularl fitness practice with Nia and had it change their lives, as well as their idea of what exercise is. It truly is a remarkable, effective program for people of all ages and abilities. Nia has a soul effect also....profoundly pleasurable and full of meaning.
I too am a practitioner of the Nia Technique and can attest that it is super fun! In addition to the health and mental benefits, it fills that space that used to be filled, in younger days, by going to a dance club and shaking your groove thing. Nia provides body awareness, mental calm, mental challenge, physical exercise, physical self-expression, all set to great music. A class experience is summed up this way... being alone together. I love Nia. Taking the Nia White Belt Intensive (the first level of Nia training) changed the trajectory of my life. Go to NiaNow(dot)com and find a class in your area. If you don't totally fall in love during the first class (I didn't), go again. The second best part of Nia is community. Everyone is accepting and kind. We're all on the journey... alone... together. Finding Nia is the best thing I've ever done for ME.
This post doesn't say anything new. I've seen these same tips repeated over and over for years. Unimpressed with the lack of original content featured on a celebrity doctor figure's site.
I appreciate the Zumba community (their training is laughable) for bringing joyful dancing to the masses and getting lots of people moving. I also appreciate other dance modalities such as bellydancing or African style or freestyle ecstatic. I do think for at least the average American lifestyle, what lacks is good diet and cardiovascular activity. People will generally return to something if it is exciting and fun, not to mention endorphin releasing. Go find a movement class and well...move!
I was a hard core aerobics enthusiast, wearing shoes and loving the sweat. Then, in my 40's I tried Nia; barefoot, self-pacing and totally body centered. It's an hour of movement which feels good and gets a sweat on too. I love Nia as it teaches me to listen to my body, to be in it, to love and appreciate the beauty and miracle of movement. I think Nia's motto "through movement we find health" echos perfectly what you are saying! Try it you will love the combo of world music, choreography and freedom.