Posts Tagged ‘maintaining energy’

“No time for a workout,” you say?

On days when you can’t make it to the gym or you wake up with no ambition to go for that run, there are still things you can be doing to stimulate your brain and body. It just takes a little bit of creativity: workouts can be done in small doses (1-10 minutes) that still capture the same benefits as a full workout.

A quick workout should:

• Get your heart rate up

• Move your muscles to remove them from a state of constant contraction 

• Encourage blood to flow more freely to all parts of the brain and body.

Micro-workouts serve a purpose

They do serve a very important purpose of bailing you out on days when a full workout is not on the cards. Focus on simplicity: you should be able to jump up from your seat at work and dive into a workout within your personal space. Examples of this include 5 minute yoga or pilates routines, 60 seconds of jumping jacks or 20 push-ups in an hour. Planking is great because all it asks is for you to get into and hold a position for as long as you can! The weight of your body and the position will condition the parts of your core which count for maintaining good posture throughout the day. 

Make your space workout-accessible 

Keeping a set of dumbbells, a yoga mat or a jumping rope stowed underneath your desk allows you to jump in and out of a workout whenever you have a spare moment. Workouts are about discipline so it makes sense to start small and work your way up- the important part is that you get your body moving throughout the day when you would otherwise be sedentary. 

Dr. Karen Thomas, D.C.