exercise

The No Pain, No Gain Fallacy

We’ve all heard the phrase, No Pain, No Gain in relation to exercises. It’s a popular expression but it is not true. Actually, it’s potentially harmful.

When we think No Pain, No Gain in terms of exercise we tend to think that either our workout should be grueling, or we should be sore the day or two afterward. If we aren’t then we presume we haven’t done enough. The problem is working out and pushing through pain increases our risk of injury. Once we are injured our whole workout plan can be derailed. Plus the Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) we feel 24-48 hours after a workout isn’t practical or functional. We are more likely to get injured then because we have to alter the way we naturally move to work around how sore we are.

While you can choose to only do an upper body workout every other day, you can’t not use half your body for a whole day. We need our arms to pick up our children, reach for something off the top shelf, and open the refrigerator. We need our legs to go upstairs, get in and out of […]

The No Pain, No Gain FallacyMaggie Downie2021-10-15T16:20:14-04:00

Family Fitness – Fun for the Whole Family!

This is a great time of year to start a family fitness routine because with kids heading back to school we all tend to get back into a schedule after summer vacation. If you are looking for a family fitness routine your whole family will enjoy consider keeping it simple, incorporating variety, and looking for fun ways to move.

Simple

Probably the most basic way to incorporate movement with the whole family is to plan a walk after dinner. You could do this three, five, or seven nights a week if you are feeling ambitious. It would help instill great habits.

In case you’re not sure you could convince your whole family to walk every day, here are some other ideas. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty more and you can come up with anything and try new things daily or weekly, depending on how often you want to move with your family.

Play a Game

You could always use the technology kids love and play a game. The Nintendo Switch has boxing, bowling, and dance games you can play that will keep you moving. Or go old school and pull out a game like twister.

Bike Ride

You can take a […]

Family Fitness – Fun for the Whole Family!Maggie Downie2021-09-14T23:03:26-04:00

Motivation to Move!

Do you get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day? Most adults don’t. Thirty minutes is important because it’s the minimum amount of exercise our bodies require to be healthy. Still ¾’s of adults aren’t getting that. So how do we find our motivation to move?

What Doesn’t Work?

First, we need to realize what doesn’t seem to work for us. We seem to think we SHOULD (always a tough word) be motivated to move because we know it’s good for our health. We think we SHOULD be motivated to lose weight. Research indicates those are both useful tools for helping start a workout, but not stick with it.

What Does Give us Motivation to Move?

There are multiple motivational tools that do provide motivation to move. Next time you want to stick to a workout plan, consider whether it meets the following:

Visible

To make a workout visible consider using social media as a tool. Post about your new workout goals. Write what you did each day. Ask friends to encourage and boost you up on days you don’t feel like moving. Or partner with co-workers and have different departments compete for the most steps. […]

Motivation to Move!Maggie Downie2021-08-23T16:07:42-04:00

Swimming is more than just a great way to beat the heat. Swimming is a great form of exercise that hits so many health and wellness bases:

Cardio

Swimming is cardiovascular exercises. It gets your heart pumping.

Respiratory

Swimming enhances our lung capacity. In research comparing amateur but regular swimmers with amateur but regular runners, the swimmers had better lung capacity on all counts. Running is certainly good for lung capacity, but researchers think perhaps the pressure and resistance of the of the water helps build lung capacity even more in swimmers.

Resistance Training

The water itself creates resistance and not just for the muscles around our lungs and ribs, but every part of the body, so it helps build muscle tone and increase overall strength.

Full Body Workout

Pick pretty much any swim stroke and you are going to get a full body workout. Your core, glutes (part of your core), arms, and legs all get involved in the workout.

Calorie Burn

If you are into the workout to burn calories, there isn’t much you can do that burns more than swimming (maybe running). Of course, your intensity and choice of stroke matter.

Low Impact

The ability to be buoyant in the […]

Maggie Downie2021-06-28T21:51:33-04:00

Feel Sluggish, Hot, & Tired?

Movement can be fun, playful, & silly

Feeling sluggish, hot, & tired? Let’s blame it on the previous year we all survived living with and in COVID-19. And now, as we step out of the tunnel into the light, let’s find tools to help ourselves. Here are some tips from Maggie at Personal Euphoria:

Have you been feeling sluggish?

You aren’t alone. It’s guesstimated that we put on 2lbs a month (on average) this year. I know I put on 8 and my doctor told me that was less than half what she’d seen this year. It can feel disheartening and putting on weight that quickly can slow you down. But you can make a change at any time. You can say, “Enough is enough. I’m getting back on track.” And this time of year is the easiest and best time of year to do so.

Get outside. Take walks. Exercise doesn’t have to be grueling. If you feel like you’ve fallen behind where you were a year ago, give yourself time to get back to where you want to be. These changes didn’t happen overnight (though it may have felt that way a […]

Feel Sluggish, Hot, & Tired?Maggie Downie2021-06-07T16:24:09-04:00