BOSH! Healthy Vegan. Henry Firth
Or try ‘exercise snacking’: moving regularly for short periods throughout the day. Look for ways to introduce extra activity: do you have a long work phone call scheduled? Could you do it while you go for a walk? Or if you have to travel to a meeting, can you incorporate some walking or cycling into the journey? If we have a meeting a few miles away and the weather’s nice, we like to cycle, to help us keep active.
Exercise your heart weekly.
Two or three times a week, do something that gets you breathing hard and your blood pumping. This could involve a run, a cycle or simply a fast walk, but find a way to make it a bit strenuous. You need to be breathing hard enough that it’s difficult to have a conversation. If you’re able to talk to someone easily, you’re not working hard enough.
Alternatively, if you’re a gym goer, do some cardio, a high-intensity-interval-training (HIIT) workout, or simply lift weights faster! If you wear a smartwatch, then you’re looking for an elevated heart rate as a sign that you are pushing your heart to work harder. Get that blood pumping to keep your heart fit. The heart is literally a muscle, and we want to make sure we keep it nice and strong.
Strengthen your muscles weekly.
As we get older our muscles start to deteriorate. One of the best ways to fight this is to continually build muscle mass through strength training. The more muscle you have, the longer it will last.
We’re not talking about building an Olympic body here – although it’s up to you if you want to do that! We’re talking about pushing your body to get strong and to build and retain muscle.
There are many ways to do this, but you might try cycling, rock climbing, yoga, Pilates, lifting light weights or following fitness DVDs or YouTube videos – whatever works for you. Of course, you could use a personal trainer too, although that can be quite an expensive option. There are plenty of strength-based classes at the gym or in local parks, or you can just do it at home.
And stretch ….
Flexibility and mobility are two sides of the same coin. You want to be flexible enough that your joints and muscles can move through a large range of motion. We’re not suggesting you should be able to do the splits, but being able to touch your toes is a good indicator of hamstring flexibility.
Ian has tight shoulders, and an area of focus for him has been working on raising his arms straight above his head. This might sound simple but many of us have shoulders too tight to do this. And these limitations in flexibility can cause issues further down the line.
Mobility means that you have strength throughout your range of flexibility. So, in Ian’s case, he doesn’t just want to be able to reach his arms straight above his head, but also to be able to carry a weight safely through the whole range of motion. Your goal should be to improve your flexibility and mobility at the same time.
Regular stretching is great for building flexibility. If you’re sitting in front of the TV on a rainy Sunday, then why not run through some gentle stretches at the same time? You can find loads of follow-along stretch videos on YouTube, and once you’ve learned them you won’t need the videos any more.
Yoga is perhaps one of the best and most popular ways to build both flexibility and mobility. Pilates and barre work wonders too, as does Tai Chi. Martial arts are also good choices, as are rock climbing, gymnastics and calisthenics.
Another crucial part of improving mobility is breaking up tight muscle fibres. We all know what it feels like to have knots in our muscles, whether they’re in our shoulders, back or glutes. These are muscle fibres that have stuck together, and it’s important to break them up to get good flexibility and range of motion. This can be done through massage, but not all of us can afford weekly massage sessions! The best way to do this for yourself is with an inexpensive foam roller – ideally one with little knobs on. Find a follow-along video class where they’ll show you how to use the roller to ease up tension in your muscles.
Find a form of exercise that you love.
Whatever you choose to do, find an exercise that you love and make it part of your regular routine, aiming to exercise three to five times per week.
In the last few years, we have adopted a regular calisthenics and gymnastics schedule. We absolutely love it. We’re not just lifting more weights, but at every session we achieve goals or levels that we would have never thought possible. When we started, we could barely do push-ups or pull-ups. Now we can perform them with ease, and we’re working on handstands and doing cool flips on gymnastics rings. It makes every gym session fun!
Maybe you have a room at home where you can follow fitness video classes. Or maybe you prefer a gym class before or after work. We like to get our workouts done in the morning, so we can begin the day having worked out.
Commit to getting started by trying one type of exercise for a week. Make it a priority in your day – just like you’ve done with sleep. And see how much better you feel at the end of the week.
Find the right kind of exercise for you, as that’s the only way you’ll keep it up. Try different classes or home workouts until you find one that resonates with the way you want your body to move. You might fall in love with Zumba, or weight training. Or you might prefer to become a supple gymnast or Pilates master. Or perhaps 5am karate sessions in the park are more your thing.
Find a form of exercise you love and make it part of your regular routine, for a longer, happier life.
RELAX.
Most of us are generally not that great at relaxing. We live busy, frantic lives running from task to task, constantly spinning plates. With no downtime, your brain is constantly in a state of stress. When you are overwhelmed with stress, your body is constantly in fight-or-flight mode, with high cortisol levels (cortisol is our body’s stress hormone) which can lead to longer-term health consequences. Finding an opportunity each day to relax really helps to reduce stress and promotes a more positive attitude to life.
Relaxing on a daily basis can give you a new default mode. Instead of being like a stretched elastic band, constantly under pressure, you’ll find yourself existing in a more relaxed state of mind most of the time. If something stressful does happen it’s easier to deal with from a state of calm. It will also give you a more balanced view on life. You’re less likely to lash out at those you love, and in difficult negotiations you will be more flexible. You’ll find you sleep better too, and might even find it benefits your exercise and general fitness. See? It all fits together beautifully!
Learn to meditate. Meditation is perhaps the most commonly talked about form of relaxation. Many people practise meditation or mindfulness on a daily basis to help quiet their minds. Apps like Headspace or Calm are great for this (we use both): you can practise meditating daily for 5, 10, 15 or even 30 minutes, and you’ll experience benefits from the first session. If you prefer, attend meditation classes and learn the principles from a teacher, which you can then apply to your own practice. Forms of prayer work to quieten the mind, too, and both prayer and meditation have been linked to populations who live longer.
Focus on what you’re grateful for, and let your internal voice thank the universe for that thing. Did you feel stressed? Probably not. It’s hard, if not impossible, to be stressed while feeling grateful. Gratitude is a practice, almost like a muscle, that can be strengthened through daily exercise. Spend some time each day, either just in your mind or writing in a journal or on your phone, focusing on three things you are grateful for. This will help calm your mind, give you a more positive outlook and reduce stress.
Factor in some ‘me-time’. We consider our morning workouts as ‘me-time’. They help clear our minds and give us a really positive boost for