A Recipe for Total Fitness to Boost Your Strength

October 16, 2018 Tim@inhometherapygr.com

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Guest author, In Home Therapy of Grand Rapids

Staying healthy is an everyday effort. Just a few days of cheating on your diet and skipping workouts can throw you way off your rhythm, and it’s not always easy to get back on track.

However, it’s important for you to bounce back as quickly as possible with a routine that works for you. It should include measures that keep you in top form mentally and emotionally to deal with pressure from home or work. Here are some suggestions for total fitness so you can keep your body and mind in the game no matter what life throws at you.

Eat Smart

Ignore the dieting fads and stick with the basics. That means a wide variety of fruits, veggies, meats and grains, with some nuts, seeds and healthy oils thrown in for good measure. You can eat the things you enjoy, as long as you keep the portions under control with digital scales and measuring cups for proper calorie consumption.

Mix Up Your Fitness

For one thing, changing your routine keeps it engaging so you always look forward to hitting the gym. But there’s another reason more closely related to overall health: Your body needs cardio, strength-training, core workouts, balance and stretching to remain in peak form, says Healthline, and you can’t get all that with the same old workout every day.

Learn to Relax

That shouldn’t be too hard, right? All you have to do is kick up your feet, turn on the TV and zone out … except that doesn’t really work, according to a writer with Health & Life. In fact, relaxation is a mentally active process that rejuvenates your mind and body, which is better done through breathing exercises, meditation or listening to soothing music.

Declutter Your Home

Get organized or suffer the consequences, which include higher levels of stress. According to one study at Princeton, multiple objects within your vision compete for attention from your brain, and that’s a great scientific excuse to get decluttering. Discard items you no longer need, which will allow you to organize your home efficiently.

Be Mindful

Pay attention to the present and doing things with purpose. Mindfulness bears a strong association with meditation and yoga, though it could be just a matter of focusing your mind on everyday tasks. It helps you ward off stress while coping with anger and sadness in a healthy way rather than getting overwhelmed by your emotions.

Walk More

Think about how you get from place-to-place. Do you really need to take the car or would it be better to use your own two feet? Now, nobody expects you to walk 20 miles to work in the morning, but if it’s just a hop, skip and jump to your favorite eatery for lunch, the best decision is clear. Not only will walking help you to burn off a few calories, but you’ll also get some much-needed sunshine as well.

Have Fun

There are small ways you can make life a little more enjoyable and would give you a dose of energy to get through the day. Listen to some music or joke around with a colleague. It works wonders.

These tips help to cover fitness from all angles: physical, mental and emotional. Now you can be truly strong and move forward with whatever plans you have for the future, knowing that you can handle the pressure.

Thank you for reading the most recent blog. This edition was a special article written by Jennifer McGregor. In Home Therapy of Grand Rapids can assist you with your total fitness.

Jennifer McGregor
jmcgreg@publichealthlibrary.org
PublicHealthLibrary.org

Image via Pixabay.

The information contained in our website, blog, guest blogs, e-mails, programs, services and/or products is for educational and informational purposes only, and is made available to you as self-help tools. I strongly recommend that you consult with your physician before beginning any exercise program. You should be in good physical condition and be able to participate in the exercise.

How Physical Therapy Helps Retirees Keep Dreams Alive During the Golden Years

April 2, 2018 Tim@inhometherapygr.com

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In Home Therapy of Grand Rapids

Are you among the millions of Americans who have high aspirations for how you’ll spend the extra time during your post-retirement years? Whether you plan to travel the world, pick up fly fishing, spend more time woodworking or sign up for a golf league, your physical fitness level will be a factor.

A 2010 study suggests that the fitness declines we typically attribute to advancing age are largely caused by living sedentary lifestyles—which are on the rise due to the prominence of desk jobs in the workplace and activity-limiting personal technologies including smartphones and voice-activated remote controls in the home. Still, this runs contrary to the widely held belief that any declines in our physical abilities are caused solely by biological aging. Do we really have control over how active we’ll be in our “golden years”?

25% of runners aged 50 to 69 were relative newcomers

In a word, absolutely. The study—which examined 900,000 running times of marathon and half-marathon participants aged 20 to 79—found no significant age-related performance declines in those younger than 55 years old and only moderate declines among the older cohorts. In fact, more than one-quarter of runners aged 65 to 69 were faster than half of the runners aged 20 to 54.

And for those thinking that these runners must have been lifelong enthusiasts of the sport, the study revealed that 25% of runners aged 50 to 69 were relative newcomers—and had started marathon training within the previous 5 years. The researchers concluded that even at an advanced age, people in the “non-athlete” category who engage in regular training can reach high-performance levels.

If this revelation is intriguing, then perhaps it’s time for you to get moving! If you aren’t currently active, then you likely have questions and concerns about where to start. And if you regularly engage in physical activities, then you’ve probably set goals that you’d like to achieve. Either way, there’s no shortage of tools and resources to help you live a more active lifestyle but one reliable place to start is with a physical therapist.

The benefits of beginning with a physical therapist consultation are many: PTs are trained to assess your abilities and limitations, consider your health concerns, demonstrate safe exercises and build a plan to increase strength, function and mobility. Whatever your passion is, In Home Therapy of Grand Rapids will help you be fit and injury-free so you may enjoy life’s many pursuits.

Private Practice Section, APTA