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5 Ways To Better Health In The New Year
According to USA.gov ( a website dedicated to providing information about health, wellness, and more), of the top 10 most oft-cited resolutions, 6 have to do with health and wellness. “Losing weight” ranked #1. “Getting fit” came in at #5 and “reducing stress overall” was #10. Who knows when fitness starts to become a priority for each of us during the year. Perhaps it is in summer, when shorts and swimsuits are all the rage. Perhaps it’s the day after Thanksgiving when you can’t seem to fasten the top button of your jeans. Whenever it hits, a large number of Americans vow on December 31 of each year to lose those extra pounds and become more physically fit. Unfortunately, by January 31, many of those who made that pledge will have forgotten their commitment and resigned themselves to trudging around with 2, 3, 4 or more extra pounds for another year. The problem is that if you give up on yourself year after year, those two or three extra pounds can turn into 20 or 30. And that can have a number of negative effects on our health. So how do you keep the New Year’s momentum going? That is where Joe’s Top 5 comes in. And it is designed to give you some insights and tools for how to keep your New Year’s commitment to get fit and/or lose weight. 1. Get a physical exam - Before you start any kind of strenuous exercise or change your diet, let your doctor check under the hood. You may not need everything checked, but at least get your heart, lungs and other vitals taken to be sure you don’t put too much strain on yourself. 2. Have a plan – If you really want to see results, you need to have a fitness plan to address you fitness needs and priorities. For example, folks over forty, should be getting the right amount of calcium (to build strong bones and fend off osteoporosis) and vitamin D (to aid the absorption of calcium). They should also key in on strength building exercises. The point is that we all have individual fitness needs and considerations. So either buy a book that helps you plan your program OR sign up for a half dozen sessions with a personal trainer. You won’t regret it. 3. Start out slowly – One of the reasons so many determined people lose their momentum after just a few weeks is because they push too hard. They step into the gym all full of gusto, bursting with visions of the svelte “New You”, and they end up too sore to return or, worse, with an injury that stops their progress and their commitment. 4. Get some bodywork done – No, I don’t mean pound out the dents on your 67 Pontiac. I mean get some deep tissue therapy done to make your exercise routine easier and to see results faster. Here’s why. As we age or suffer injury (whether minor or major), the muscles and their protective sheath (called the fascia) bind up around the tender spots to protect you from further injury. The problem is that the tissue inside your body acts a lot like the tissue on the surface of your body. And you end up with scar tissue in various places in your back, knees, elbows (called tennis elbow), etc. What’s worse, scars by their nature have no elasticity – the stuff that allows muscles to stretch and strain during work outs, and that ultimately enables you to get stronger and more fit. So if you leave those nasty little adhesions untreated AND you begin to workout with gusto, you can and probably will get injured. Your workouts will halt, and you’ll be moving backward instead of forward. So, to counter the affects of aging and injury, visit my office for a body consult. And we can work together to design a treatment plan that will free you from past and future injury, while helping speed your work out results. 5. Stick with it – It takes eight weeks to form a habit, good or bad. So, as you start your fitness, program you will be setting yourself up for success if you commit firmly to eight weeks – no matter what. Once you make it to your goal, your mind and body will be tuned to crave the cardio charge and muscle making moves. Your workouts will require less mental or physical energy. And you will actually begin to enjoy your time in the gym, on the running path or in the pool. That’s Joe’s Top 5. Try them out, and have a Happy Holiday! Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Joseph Ackerman "Joe Ackerman of www.CoreStructuralTherapy.com specializes in Structural Integration which is a system wide process of deep bodywork and movement education. It is designed to improve the Structural and Functional abilities of the human body in its relationship to the field of gravity. |
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