Kathy Hetherington is a Physiotherapist and founder of ‘Elite Physiotherapy’. Niamh recently mentored Kathy as part of Women In Business NI mentoring programme. Kathy has blogged for us on “Get Moving”.
Getting fit, exercising, being more active, ‘getting healthy’ are often the number one New Year’s resolutions, for VERY good reason! Physical activity and regular movement plays an important role in the prevention of many conditions and diseases. It can:
- reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer
- reduce rates of depression
- helps maintain weight and prevent obesity
- reduces stress levels and help reduce anxiety
- increases energy levels
- helps to boost your mood
- can improve quality of sleep
- improves coordination and balance
- prevent diabetes
- slow the aging process
- improves quality of life
- strengthens bones and muscles and improves the functioning of the lungs
These are just a few of the amazing benefits! But why wait for 1st January, 2019 to resolve to exercise more? Use this 8 week run up to Christmas to start making some new habits and make a healthy lifestyle change.
Getting adequate exercise¹ for adults aged 18–64 means at least 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity exercise OR 75 minutes per week of intense exercise, plus muscle-strengthening exercises 2 or more days per week. If you don’t currently exercise regularly at the moment, getting stuck in with all that straight away might feel a little daunting! The easiest way to start is by putting some strategies in place so you can get started and stick with it.
Here are 8 easy ways to start on your ‘Get Moving’ journey:
- Choose something you love: There’s no reason to choose running if every step is going to feel like punishment. When your form of exercise is something you enjoy, you’re more likely to keep it up. Think swimming, rock climbing, 10 pin bowling!
- Be specific: Instead of vowing to “exercise more,” determine exactly how much you will exercise – for example, four days a week for 30 minutes each or two Zumba classes per week.
- Put in on your calendar: Prevent the “I don’t have time” excuse by scheduling your exercise just like you do meetings and social engagements.
- Make exercise plans with friends: When you have to ‘show up’ for a planned exercise class gal/bro date you are more likely to follow through! Plan a coffee catch-up after class to make it even more enjoyable!
- Set realistic goals: Instead of setting lofty goals that may set you up for failure, start small, and set new goals as you increase your fitness. Rope your husband, wife, partner or BBF into keeping you accountable for your goals so they can be your own personal cheerleader AND give you a kick up the butt if necessary!
- Be an active watcher: When you watch TV, make the most of it. Do some ball-crunches, planks, yoga / Pilate’s poses, squats, lunges or press ups while you’re watching. Or if you aren’t a Netflix user and still watch ‘regular’ TV (is that still a thing??) use the ad breaks to mix in brief cardio intervals. Run in place or up and down the stairs; do some burpees or jumping jacks.
- Have a back-up plan: Know that you might miss a scheduled workout, and have a plan for how to make up for it. For example, if you miss your Saturday morning spin class, plan to go for a fast walk for 30 minutes instead…alternatively… everyone has time to schedule a 10 minute boogie to Classic FM’s ‘Saturday night at the Movies’ show, am I right?!
- “Sneak” it in: Move more in your everyday life, by taking the stairs instead of the lift, walking or biking instead of driving. It all adds up!
¹http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/physical-activity-recommendations-18-64years.pdf
