Fitness Gift Giving

Stuck on any last-minute gifts for people you love? Encouraging people to move is a wonderful gift. Of course you never want to try to twist someone’s arm if movement isn’t their thing. This year for CT LIVE we put together a few fitness ideas that are playful and practical. Click here to watch. I hope these ideas help with someone you are stuck on. And we aren’t paid by anyone to plug these gift ideas…

Trekking Poles: Can’t speak highly of these enough. I started hiking with them in my 20’s. I was embarrassed because no one my age used them, but my knees felt so good when I used them. People resist them but they are a game changer for anyone you know who likes hiking (and wants to continue lifelong) or anyone you know who is getting a bit older and a little unsteady.

For hikers they give you a more full-body workout, help you move faster, burn more calories, help with balance, and reduce how sore you’ll be after you hike.

A Stretch Strap: this gift can be for the person you know who LOVES stretching or the person […]

Fitness Gift Giving2024-12-20T10:46:01-05:00

Exercise on Vacation

Maggie hiking Mt Kilimanjaro

A few people have asked me what I do for exercise on vacation. The answer: it depends.

Sometimes I don’t. And that’s okay for anyone. It is necessary to allow your body a break from its typical routine for a week or two. In fact, it’s probably good. My regular routine has a lot of physical activity in it. And breaks are vital. As someone who LOVES to be in motion, I probably don’t take breaks as often as I should.

Also, sometimes our personal trips are so physically active whatever we are doing is my exercise. When we hiked Kilimanjaro or the Inca Trail, I wasn’t adding exercise. When I did the El Camino with my mom, I didn’t add more exercise to the 15 miles we were walking each day.  However, if we had access to a pool, I tried to swim for 30 minutes.  But moving in a pool is a wonderful addition to any workout routine, especially if your body is sore.

Maggie finishing the El Camino with her Mom

Exercise on Vacation2024-09-19T16:44:12-04:00

Help!!! I’m Losing Muscle!!!

Sarcopenia is the loss of muscle tone that happens as we age.  It can be seen in lack of strength, balance, and speed—though there are currently no definitive measures for practitioners to look at when diagnosing sarcopenia.  That might be changing as sarcopenia became an official disease in 2016.  It’s considered a treatable disease.

New research indicates it also might not be inevitable.  Humans may not just lose 3-8% of our muscle mass each decade starting in our thirties (that’s the actual data).  It could be that each decade we move less and therefore lose muscle.  That makes the answer simple: move more and keep your muscles.  It also implies you aren’t fighting an uphill battle.  So how do we keep as much of our muscle tone as possible?

Keep Moving and use the acronym MOVE:

Movement Awareness:

Notice anything you’ve lost.  Is it harder to balance? Can you no longer get up and down off the floor.  When you pick something up do you no longer squat and instead hinge from the back? Is it hard to lift a heavy pot suddenly?

Objective:

Set an objective.  What do you need to train to help rebuild what you’ve lost? Who can help and is there anything […]

Help!!! I’m Losing Muscle!!!2024-01-26T12:07:20-05:00

Movement Snacks

Movement snacks are short bursts of movement throughout the day much like you’d have a snack between meals.  They are not meal substitutes.  It would still benefit you to get a workout in, but whether you workout or not, adding small bursts of movement throughout the day is vital to health.

If you absolutely don’t have time for a full workout, adding in movement snacks is better than nothing.  More and more research indicates that any movement you can make time for is worthwhile. A recent study out of Japan found doing one bicep curl a day increased muscle strength by 6-12 percent. Our body really responds to any movement we give it.

The goal of a movement snack is to figure out how movement can fit into your day.  I’ve provided some suggestions below, but really you want to think about what will actually work in your day. Consider what is a new habit you can form.  In the video below Taylor Kinzler from NBC CT LIVE mentions how she could fit in a movement snack while her videos are uploading at work.  That’s the idea…think like that.  But if you need some tips… try some of these:

 

Wake Up & Pandiculate

Your […]

Movement Snacks2023-08-29T13:45:18-04:00
Go to Top