Category: Personal Training

How To Avoid Back Pain From Sitting Too Much

Preventing Back Pain

 

In today’s information age we seem to find ourselves sitting for longer periods of time than ever before. While there are many conveniences and high levels of productivity associated with all the technology, the down side is many Americans have become more sedentary.

Long periods of sitting cause certain muscles to overwork,and in some cases to shorten which can lead to tight muscles and back pain. The good news is there are some basic steps you can take to avoid the stiffness and back pain you feel when sitting for too long.

The Most Important Step to Avoid Back Pain

 

The most important step is to make sure that you do not sit for longer than an hour at a time. If you know you can get engrossed in your work, then consider using a timer on your desk — or an app to remind you to stand up and move around.

Once you are standing you’ll be tempted to round the back to stretch it.  However, you want to do the opposite.

Use this simple exercise to avoid back pain.

 

1) Take your elbows to your side and squeeze your shoulder blades together attempting to touch your elbows together behind you. Notice I said attempt. You will not be able to touch them.

2) Once you have brought the elbows back, hold them in place and push them down toward your back pockets. Do this 3-5 times.

After you have finished the exercise, move around.  Get a drink of water. If you have other safe stretches that you know, do them. Just remember to move every hour!

Go ahead and fidget!

 

Did you know that fidgeting is good for you? Fidgeting used to be frowned upon and considered a bad habit. However, research has shown that fidgeters burn an additional 350 calories per day. If you are fidgeting you are moving. So, as long as it is appropriate, fidget away!

Even if you get up every hour and like to fidget, sitting can take it’s toll on the body.  I recommend my clients get a massage every two to four weeks from a massage therapist that is knowledgeable in trigger point therapy.  Check with your insurance company because it may be covered under your health plan.

If your schedule or budget does not allow a massage frequently, the next best thing is “The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook” by Clair Davies.  This book is designed for the patient/client, and it teaches simple step by step techniques for self massage. I recommend this book to all of my clients and use it in my daily fitness practice.

These tips will help you move more, stay healthier, and avoid back pain.  Please let me know if you have any questions. I’m here to help!

Blessings!

Jennifer

 

 

Do You Have Good Balance?

The Importance of Good Balance

 

How would you rate your balance and/or ability to regain it in an emergency or while performing daily activities? Do you feel confident when you walk outside the home or go up and down stairs?

Balance literally impacts your quality of life. If you are afraid of falling, you risk missing out on things that you enjoy due to the fear. Good balance is also important for your safety — and as you age, affects your ability to live independently.

This past weekend, Matthew and I were blessed enough to be able to watch the Blue Angels from the small island we live on. It reminded me of the year we watched them perform from a boat in the middle of the bay.

What I’m about to share next is the important part of the story.

Training Your Brain

 

Some of the guests on the boat were retirement age. I watched them on the boat and noticed that they had great balance.  When we would hit a strong wave, they would regain their balance easily. No one ever fell!

It was a great example of how a recreational sport helped them continually train a necessary daily function. You see, they spend time on boats, and by doing so, they are constantly stimulating their nervous systems and training their muscles to react quickly. So by having fun they were also improving their balance.

Not sure if you’ve got good balance? Use a simple test. Try standing on one foot and counting to 10 (make sure you have something to hold on to if necessary).  See what happens.  If you can’t hold it for the full 10 seconds, you’ll want to improve your balance. The good news is, it’s easy!

It’s Never Too Late to Regain Good Balance

 

All it takes is adding some balance training a few minutes a day.  I’ve helped many clients overcome poor balance and fear of falling in their senior years.

If you haven’t been doing any balance work, you will want to start slowly for safety reasons. Try standing on a pillow on one foot. Remember to have something to hold on to if necessary, and make sure there is nothing sharp around you that you could fall on.

You will be surprised at how well your nervous system responds with some repetition! A 60 year old can have the balance of a 40 year old by keeping consistent with balance training.

If you know you have great balance then make sure you preserve it. Engage in activities that require you to move in different directions and challenge your stability. This will keep your nervous system trained for life!

Have a favorite balance exercise or a question? Please leave a comment below! I enjoy hearing from you!

Blessings to you and yours!

Jennifer

Lose Weight For Good By Creating A Healthy Lifestyle

Have you struggled with losing weight, staying on a diet, or sticking to an exercise program? If the answer is yes, you are not alone. Forty five million Americans diet each year. We spend a whopping $1-2 billion per year on weight loss programs. Yet, Americans are still struggling to lose weight and keep it off for good.

A 95% Failure Rate!

 

So why aren’t these weight loss plans working? The answer is simple. Diets have a 95% failure rate and new research is telling us that exercise without nutritional intervention shows minimal to no weight loss either.

I am not here to discourage you. However, I want you to know the truth because the media tries to sell you a bunch of garbage and hype around health and fitness on a daily basis.

Now for the good news!

 

The way you lose weight and keep it off for good is by creating a healthy lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle is created by adopting a healthy habit one step at a time. Once a habit becomes as natural as brushing your teeth, it has become a part of your lifestyle and is very hard to break. It’s simple. However, it does take effort.

The top habits for weight loss and a healthy lifestyle!

 

1) Baby Steps.  It’s important to remember that this is a journey for life and not a sprint. Be conservative when setting weight loss goals.  Under-promise and over-deliver to yourself. One habit will lead to another, which leads to weight loss and management you couldn’t even imagine existed. To learn more about setting successful weight loss goals, read Baby Steps Lead to Permanent Weight Loss.

2) Meal Plan.  If you want to guarantee your success and remove the stress, then plan! In the beginning you may think you just don’t have time. Meal planning will save you time and is a critical part of successful weight loss. Not sure how to meal plan for weight loss? Refer to Meal Planning Helps You Lose Weight for  an easy step by step guide.

3)  Eat Out Smart. I encourage you to eat out and enjoy a great meal. Unfortunately, eating out often can sabotage your weight loss efforts! The average American eats out 4-5 times per week. Eating out this often can add an additional 670 calories to your weekly consumption. That’s an extra 10 lbs per year!

Eating out used to be a treat when I was growing up. However, with today’s fast paced lifestyles and global business market, it has become a major part of our diet. If it’s impossible for you to avoid eating out you, can avoid gaining weight if you follow some simple guidelines.

Start off by using sites like healthydiningfinder.com. Type in your current location and review the nutritional information for restaurants in the area. Or, try an on line app if your restaurant is not listed. Most apps will have general guidelines for restaurant meals. Stick to lower calorie meals and beverages that have little to no calories — unless it’s a special occasion.

4) Ignore the outside chatter! Stick to what works for you. There will always be some new diet or pill, a well-meaning friend, and Lord knows the magazines waiting to tell you that your plan is not ambitious enough. Or, that their way is better. My favorite is the person posing and asking “don’t you want to look like me?”

Now, I’m not saying to be closed-minded on a better way of doing things. I’m saying you should always question if a health or fitness idea fits into your life and values.

5)  Speak Success! Tell your body what you want, not what you don’t want. When you look in the mirror, use phrases like “I am losing weight,” or “I have a flat stomach.”  In the beginning this can be tough. You tend to think “you are lying.” However, you are not. In my favorite success book, The Bible, it says “speak as if it is already.” This is called faith my friend! You are believing you can accomplish your goals!

Negative thoughts will enter your mind. That’s normal. You’re human! Just don’t let them leave your lips. Replace each negative thought with a positive statement. If that’s tough in the beginning, use one of my favorite personal quotes. If you don’t have anything nice to say about yourself, don’t say anything at all. You wouldn’t say something that mean to a friend, so why say it to yourself?

Leave notes around the house as reminders to speak positively about yourself. This will help you build the mental muscles you will need to make success talk a habit.

6)  Don’t Quit! One of the number one reasons people fail is they give up. They don’t see results fast enough so they quit. Consistency is key. Use your “baby steps” to create healthy habits that you are able to maintain long term.

These really are the secrets to my clients‘ and my own personal success with personal weight loss. As you can see, there is nothing exceptional about them. You just have to get started and stick to it. I believe in you and I know you can do it!

Have a question or healthy habit you’d like to share? Please leave a comment below. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

With love,

Jennifer