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Just some home workout goodness

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Cool happenings: HealthFit’s old but popular post about making your own weights for home workouts has been picked up and included in a list at Greatist. It’s very exciting to be included! Especially since there’s some very cool stuff on there. Can you find us?

Many of us are still in the process of finding a home workout routine in these anything but routine days. But this really can be a silver lining: Working out at home is the ultimate in convenience. Who doesn’t like having one less stop to make during a busy day (or one less reason to go outside, right now). One of the main reasons that people don’t do more home workouts is that they don’t have the equipment to they think they need. As it turns out, you need less than you think, and you can make a lot of what you do need. Mostly all you need is a bit of creativity – and now all you have to do is follow directions!

Greatist  has a bit of a different take on “how to get  fit” – but then, so do we! Their articles target somewhat of a younger crowd, meaning their approach isn’t always suitable for everyone, so use your best judgement. They have a flexible take on health, fitness, and nutrition that I really like, which can be a good starting point for your own ideas. I would normally suggest checking it out on your commute… but maybe check it out with your new non-commute time instead!

Hip Conditioning Help – Quarter Squat with Band

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This is a great exercise for anyone needing glute activation, hip stability, or core stability: It’s a functional exercise that hits all three – very high bang for buck! This is thanks to the limited knee movement and high hip range of motion. You can control the level of resistance by using a heavier or lighter band. Unlike many other exercises, this has a relatively limited depth through it’s effective range.

Here’s how to do it:

  • Stand with the band just above the knees, and step back half a step with one foot.
  • Keeping all your body weight on the front foot, sit down and back slightly with the hips – no more than a quarter of your full squat depth.
  • Keep a neutral spine as you squat, allowing your chest to “bow” forward.
  • Make sure your front knee doesn’t go past your toes. Another way to think about this is trying to reach the back wall with your bum.
  • Keep both hips facing forward; don’t let the “back” hip rotate backward.
  • Push through the front heel and squeeze glutes to return to starting position.
  • Push both knees out slightly into the band as you squat and return to standing.

 

Check out the video to see it in action!

Outdoor gym and walking path at Moorlands Park Toowong

Great Outdoor Gyms in Brisbane

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In-home exercise physiology sessions are really popular. Thanks to their convenience and flexible scheduling, you can fit sessions in with the other things in life that matter. But that doesn’t mean you always want to be stuck in the house. And one of the great things about living in Brisbane is that we can take our in-home sessions outside, taking advantage of the parks, walking trails, bikeways, and outdoor gyms that the Brisbane City Council has installed throughout the city. (Plus the almost always beautiful weather!) Some of our favourite spots for in-home sessions are actually outside.

Here are some of the outdoor exercise spots we love to put to use:

Moorlands Park, Toowong

This little park features a playground for kids, complemented by a playground for adults. The outdoor gym here includes parallel bars, chin up bars, suspension training rings, and plyometric boxes. There’s definitely enough here to give yourself a well-balanced full body workout. It’s also an easy spot to jump onto the Bicentennial Bikeway through a tunnel running underneath Coronation Drive.

Bicentennial Bikeway and Walking Path, Coronation Drive – Toowong/Auchenflower/Milton/Brisbane City

Ok, this one is not a gym, but it is great. The Bicentennial Bikeway (the Coro Drive Bikeway to locals) was upgraded a few years ago into a pretty flash cycle and walking path. The upgrade saw the Bikeway split into dedicated cycle and pedestrian lanes. Keeping the fast-moving people separate means you don’t have to worry about getting run over! The bikeway runs from Toowong to underneath the William Jolly Bridge, about 2.7km. This is an immensely popular stretch with well maintained paths and minimal hills. The biggest drawbacks: There’s not a lot of shade, and if you hit peak foot and cycle traffic, you’ll find it’s quite busy. There are plenty of water stops along the way though. There’s also some covered seated areas where you could do dips, step ups, and squats, if you wanted to do a combined bodyweight strength and cardio workout.

Robertson Park, Indooroopilly/Taringa

Tucked between the St Lucia Golf Links on one side and Indooroopilly State High School on the other, Robertson Park hosts a nice little walking loop. It also has several exercise stations interspersed along the path, including a climbing rope, chin up bars and step up steps. You could get a great workout here by running or briskly walking a loop with a stop at a different exercise station for each lap you do. You can also duck across the road and take a walk or run down the wide walking path that runs along Hillside Terrace in St Lucia.

Frew Park, Milton

New in 2014, Frew Park has an amazing playground complete with climbing areas that are good enough for adults to play on. If you’re looking for more traditional exercise equipment, there is also an outdoor gym area. You can cycle, use elliptical type equipment, or build strength using the chin up and dip bars. The outdoor gym area has a concrete block edging that is perfect for high squats or step ups. There is a concrete walking path so you to walk or run some laps if that’s your thing, and plenty of open space for movement in general. Plus, the an added bonus: As home to the Roy Emerson Tennis Centre, Frew Park also has a coffee shop. It’s open 7 days per week so you can recover nicely.

middle age woman doing yoga on rooftop

How do I become stronger physically without going to the gym?

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I don’t have (or want) a gym membership. What can I do every day to get stronger?

Muscle mass naturally decreases with age, about 1% per year from your mid-30s onward. Strength decreases along with that loss. This is easy to ignore – when you’re in your 30s, 40s, 50s, it’s easy to not notice any losses, or feel like you’ve got plenty of time to make them up. And there’s no shortage of people that say they figure it’s just part of getting old.

While these losses are indeed part of the aging process, that doesn’t mean you just have to sit there and accept them. There’s lot that can be done to maintain strength and muscle mass regardless of age. And you definitely do not need a gym. Instead, get creative and find ways to move your body against resistance. Some of the examples commonly discussed with our personal training and exercise physiology clients include:

Do some pushups. For easier versions, choose an incline option, with hands on the wall, the kitchen table, counters or benchtops, back of the sofa etc. The lower you get to the ground, the harder the exercise gets. You’ll want to find the balance between the difficulty of the exercise and your ability to maintain good technique – if your back hurts or you can’t maintain a straight line while doing it, find something easier.

Carry your groceries in a shopping basket or bags, rather than a cart. This will help build upper body strength and perhaps surprisingly, core stretch – the core muscles will work hard to counterbalance the external weight and keep you in an upright position. It’s important to alternate which side you carry items on, only using one can actually create an imbalance in core strength and muscle tension. Bonus: If you park farther away, you’ll carry grocery bags for a longer period (building upper body and core strength) and get more steps.

Take the stairs. This may seem more like cardiovascular work, and climbing stairs does count as aerobic exercise, but it’s also a great strength builder for the lower body. Minimize your risk of knee pain by taking your bodyweight through the back of the foot, not just the toes. Bonus: Carry things while you’re doing it for increased resistance.

Squat down to pick things up. Instead of bending over from the waist to pick something up off the floor, squat down by reaching down and back through your hips and sitting on your heels. NOTE: This move is often stiff and uncomfortable for people who sit a lot, especially at first. Squat as low as you can and keep your chest lifted to minimize back strain. Even if it’s not a large movement, this will actually help you regain joint mobility and movement ability through the hips over time.

Do some sit-to-stand squats. Find a chair, sofa, stool, etc. that is slightly lower than what you normally sit on. Reach backwards with your hips and slowly lower yourself down to the seat, controlling your movement all the way. Push through your heels to stand back up. Repeat 10-15 times per set.

Daily activities can be safe strength builders as long as you keep two key points in mind. Anything you do need to be pain-free, both during and after the movement (noting that there is a difference between the muscle burn from 1000 crunches and the catching, stabbing, sharp pains that often go along with acute injuries). The first rule is always “Stay Pain Free”. The second point: Strength building still takes effort, regardless of where you do it. That means that whatever you’re lifting, moving, or carrying will still need to be heavy enough to feel like effort. There are many many ways to achieve this, so get creative. What can you come up with?

Walking along coronation drive in Brisbane

Client Question: Can Walking Uphill Take The Place of Lower Body Resistance Training?

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Thanks to one of our exercise physiology clients in Indooroopilly for a great question!

Hill climbing can be a challenge to the muscles of the lower body, whether you walk outdoors or on a treadmill. As a result, uphill walking can help improve the strength and endurance of the lower body muscles. But it will not completely replace the need for lower body resistance training.

You may feel that walking uphill is a physical challenge, and you are not wrong! The major muscle groups in your legs have to work harder to keep you moving, and that can certainly lead to greater strength development than walking only on a flat surface. Walking will only stimulate strength development up to a point though, and relying on walking for strength will mean you’ll also miss out on other important elements of fitness.

Resistance Training Develops and Maintains Joint Mobility

Most strength or resistance training exercises require larger movements than walking does. These larger movements are the key to maintaining joint mobility (the freedom to move your joints through a normal, full range of motion). This keeps you moving well and can reduce wear and tear on the joints – one of the biggest causes of joint pain.

Resistance Training Develops and Maintains Muscle Strength

Strength is important, even if you don’t see yourself entering any future strongman competitions. You need a minimum, basic level of strength to meet the demands of daily life, whether that means lugging a heavy bag or briefcase around all day, carrying the groceries, or picking up the kids. While any activity that makes you work hard will develop muscular strength to some degree, resistance training is the best for this. A dedicated strength-building workout will promote far more strength than any you might build as a by-product of other exercise.

Resistance Training Helps Maintain Movement Abiliity

The combination of strength and joint mobility will help you maintain your overall movement ability, agility, balance, and gait well into your golden years. These two components of fitness and musculoskeletal health are what give you the ability to catch yourself if you trip, reach overhead to grab things down from shelves, and generally maintain your ability to walk, jog, and run well throughout your entire life.

Resistance Training Helps to Maintain Muscle Mass

Around about your mid-30s, you’ll start to lose about 1% of your muscle mass every year. Over time, this has a huge impact on your movement ability (muscle mass is directly related to physical strength) – if you don’t take action. Your body will keep the muscle it uses. Use resistance training to maintain muscle mass and your muscle mass will keep you moving.

Over time, muscle loss can also substantially slow your metabolism, one part of why many people gain weight with age. Remember that old saying “muscle burns more calories than fat”? It’s true! Resistance training keeps your metabolism revved up, helping you more easily lose weight and keep it off.

So you can’t rely on the treadmill to build lower body strength. Do you have to join a gym? Not at all. If the rise of in-home personal training options and other at-home workouts tell us anything, it’s that you can get a great workout at home with little to no set-up. Our in-home personal training, exercise physiology, and coaching options do recommend a few different training tools, but you can start resistance training at home using just your bodyweight and branch out as you need to. You’ll probably find that you actually have a few things already lying around the house that you can use to provide resistance. Get creative and enjoy the benefits!

For more information:
Plowman, S. A., & Smith, D. L. (2017). Exercise Physiology For Health, Fitness, and Performance (5th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Franz, J. R., & Kram, R. (2013). How does age affect leg muscle activity/coactivity during uphill and downhill walking? Gait & Posture, 37(3), 378-384. doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2012.08.004
Fit and healthy middle age woman in leggings and a tank top doing a plank exercise to develop core strength

The Fourth Element of Fitness: Neuromuscular Exercise

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Most exercise programs focus on the three most common elements of fitness: strength, cardiovascular endurance, and flexibility. However, a separate focus on each of these elements means you’ll overlook what training and exercise is all about: Allowing you to move better. Better could mean moving more, or being able to do specific activities, or moving in a way that is safe and will keep you pain-free.

The fourth important element is neuromuscular training. It is this type of exercise that helps maintain your movement ability and good physical function. It builds on your existing strength, endurance, and flexibility to develop coordination between muscle, joints, and the brain. For every movement you want to make, your brain will take in information from your five senses and from the thousands of tiny nerve endings all over the body, and then tells the nervous system when and how to activate various muscles to create that movement.

Sometimes this is straightforward – simpler movements like drinking from a glass take less coordination. More complex movements are highly coordinated. For example, many of us take walking for granted, but think about a child learning to walk: You have to move lots of body parts at once in a very specific manner to maintain your balance and body position and move forward.

This muscle-joint-nervous system coordination allows you to complete physical movements like walking and maintains agility and reflexes, as well as balance and body positioning. In exercise science, we refer to this as Functional Training, as it supports your ability to carry out tasks and activities of daily life. If you’re an athlete, that can mean specific skills training in your sport. If you don’t play sports, neuromuscular control is what allows you to catch yourself if you trip, or drive a car or ride a bike.

To maintain good movement, you do need strength, cardio endurance, and flexibility – but these elements along don’t guarantee lifelong good movement. You can maintain good neuromuscular control if you challenge yourself with exercises that mimic the movements that you use in everyday life, like standing up from a low seat, walking up steps or a hill, or changing your walking speed while you’re on the move. Training balance and good posture is also important, but you don’t need to do any sort of crazy exercises to do this. In fact, this training can be as simple as standing on one food while you’re brushing your teeth, or remembering to sit up straight when you are at your computer. Even simply remembering to think about your body as you move can be immensely helpful!

 

Need help developing your functional fitness and movement quality? HealthFit Coaching is mobile, offering in-home personal training and exercise physiology and making everyday fitness easy to achieve. Contact HealthFit now to take your first step!

Fit and healthy lean woman in a crop top standing at a barbell rack at a gym

What does strength training do for your body?

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Strength training – also called weight training or resistance training – is the type of exercise that increases muscle size, strength, and power. Strength training workouts normally consist of multiple sets of up to 15-20 reps of the same exercise, broken up by periods of rest.

Big changes

Strength training is a fundamental component of a balanced exercise plan, and is crucial to maintaining good physical health as you age, since it can counterbalance the physical decline of our bodies that begins in our mid-30s. For maximal health and fitness benefits, use a strength training program targeting all the major muscles of the body. Many (but not all) strength training benefits are specific and localized to the muscles performing the movement, such as:

    • Strength training builds and maintains muscle mass. Muscle mass (the amount of muscle you have) allows you to produce good quality movement with ease, and can help minimize risk of overuse injury and promote good posture. Low levels of muscle, or imbalances in muscle mass from left to right, or front to back, can lead to poor movement abilities and painful joints. Your overall muscle mass is also one of the most important factors in long-term health. It’s easy to not think about old age when it’s a long time away, but your level of muscle mass can greatly impact the quality of your later years, again due to its influence on movement ability, balance, and posture.
    • Strength training builds and maintains muscle strength and neurological connections. The connection between muscle size and strength is strong. The contraction force of a muscle is limited by its overall size, so muscles that are relatively small will also be relatively weak. This can limit how well your body responds to the physical demands of everyday life – things like carrying bags of groceries, picking up the kids or grandkids, or climbing a set of stairs all rely on muscular strength. Strength training also helps maintain a strong neurological signal from your brain to your muscles, so that when they are needed, they’ll produce strong contractions and support good quality movement. In fact, weak muscles and poor muscle activation are some key reasons for common musculoskeletal conditions like chronic lower back pain, knee pain, and even some types of headaches.
    • Strength training can improve the visual appearance of muscle. Even if your main goal is to improve your health and physical fitness, it’s definitely nice to like how you look. Strength training exercises are an excellent way of achieving a toned muscular appearance (if that’s what you’re after). If you use a muscle frequently – whether during daily activities or frequent strength training – your nervous system prepares your muscles to work more efficiently by maintaining a very low level contraction in frequently used muscles. This shortens the time and activation needed to fully contract the muscle, and creates the look of “toned” muscles.
    • Strength training helps prevent or stop progression of osteoporosis. Each muscle and bone is covered by a fine layer of connective tissue, helping each piece of your body connect to the others. The tension and pull of muscle contraction, and the impact forces of some exercises, stimulate the bone to either increase bone density or decrease bone mineral loss, which occurs as a natural part of aging.
Hidden changes

Benefits that are localized to the working muscles also have a flow-on effect, providing an element of benefit and protection for the entire body:

  • Strength training improves body composition. Muscle mass requires energy to maintain, so more muscle will increase your resting energy expenditure. This means your body will need to use more of its fuel stores simply to exist. Provided you are taking in the same amount and quality of food and drink, strength training will shift your body composition so that your body fat percentage will decrease while your muscle mass increases.
  • Strength training can decrease risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other metabolic diseases. This benefits stem from improvements in the way your body releases and uses stored fat and carbohydrates.
    • Long-term insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, or diabetes risks and severity can be decreased via strength training. As working muscles require more energy, the muscles become more efficient at responding to insulin levels and absorbing and using blood glucose (what you may know as blood sugar). Physical exercise and muscle contraction can also have an immediate, short-term effect on blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity.
    • High cholesterol and triglycerides levels can also be decreased via strength training. Just as working muscles become more efficient at insulin response and blood glucose use, muscles also become more efficient in using cholesterol and triglycerides for fuel. This includes and enhanced use of muscular fat stores, and an increase in use of whole body fat stores. Also of benefit, strength training has been shown to increase HDL (good) cholesterol levels, which help clear excess fats from the bloodstream.
    • Blood pressure can be improved via strength training too. It is thought that the positive impact comes from maintaining the health of blood vessels in your arms and legs. Blood vessels are naturally elastic and all exercise helps them maintain this characteristic, meaning they are better able to respond to changes in pressure and blood flow that occur with exercise or stress. Blood pressure decreases from strength training are small, but often significant enough to decrease the risk of stroke and heart disease. And strength training can be safe even if you have higher levels of blood pressure, provided exercises are performed under control and with steady breathing.

    Including some type of strength training in your exercise program or daily movement is immensely helpful in maintaining good health and quality of life, no matter your age or current health status. Different sets, reps, and exercise choices can significantly impact the results you get from your training program; speak with a professional qualified in strength coaching or exercise physiology to maximize benefit. Programs can be safely done at gyms or as an in-home workout, and you can use all sorts of exercises ranging from bodyweight to resistance bands to free weights. Give it a try – your body will thank you!

    For more detailed information, read these…
    Baechle, T. R., & Earle, R. W. (2008). Essentials of strength training and conditioning. Champaign (IL): Human Kinetics.
    Lira, F. S., Yamashita, A. S., Uchida, M. C., Zanchi, N. E., Gualano, B., Martins, E., . . . Seelaender, M. (2010). Low and moderate, rather than high intensity strength exercise induces benefit regarding plasma lipid profile. Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome, 2(1), 31. doi:10.1186/1758-5996-2-31
    Mann, S., Beedie, C., & Jimenez, A. (2013). Differential Effects of Aerobic Exercise, Resistance Training and Combined Exercise Modalities on Cholesterol and the Lipid Profile: Review, Synthesis and Recommendations. Sports Medicine, 44(2), 211-221. doi:10.1007/s40279-013-0110-5
    Nikander, R., Sievänen, H., Heinonen, A., Daly, R. M., Uusi-Rasi, K., & Kannus, P. (2010). Targeted exercise against osteoporosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis for optimising bone strength throughout life. BMC Medicine, 8(1). doi:10.1186/1741-7015-8-47
    Sillanpää, E., Laaksonen, D. E., Häkkinen, A., Karavirta, L., Jensen, B., Kraemer, W. J., . . . Häkkinen, K. (2009). Body composition, fitness, and metabolic health during strength and endurance training and their combination in middle-aged and older women. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 106(2), 285-296. doi:10.1007/s00421-009-1013-x
    If you are Brisbane based and would like to start strength training in-home with personalized guidance and accountability, HealthFit can help! Contact us now to take your first step towards better health and fitness.
Two people exercising at a gym and at home exercise equipment

Which is better, exercising at home, or exercising at a gym?

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Where will you get the most out of your workout?

In the home-exercise versus gym-workout battle, there is no clear winner. Both gym-based and at-home exercise have their own pros and cons, but in the end, it’s a very individual preference. And this preference makes all the difference in how effective your workout actually is.

If you’ve struggled with getting into a workout routine or setting up another exercise habit, it may be that you’re pushing yourself in the wrong direction. Making your movement fit into your lifestyle and figuring out what you enjoy can make any exercise routine WAY easier. These pros and cons will give you a hand in figuring out where your workouts will be most effective:

Gym-Based Workouts – The Pros

You’ll have a large variety of equipment available. Gym equipment is expensive, so if you like having choices, you may save money, space, and effort with a gym membership versus setting up a home gym.

You might not pay much. There are pricey gyms out there, no doubt, but there are a lot of great gyms with reasonable membership rates. Pro tip – if you are looking to sign up for a gym membership but aren’t in a huge rush, wait until the end of the month. Most gyms have a monthly membership sales quota and you may be able to get a discounted or waived “sign up” fee if they are low on numbers. Don’t be afraid to negotiate!

You could have some fun! Classes and group fitness, if included in your membership, can be a huge bonus (especially considering that a single group fitness session can cost $15 -$20). Classes can be fun and motivational as well, especially if you have a competitive streak.

Gym-Based Workouts – The Cons

You have to share the gym. Other people will also be there. Waiting for weights or equipment can be a big turn off, especially if you are on a tight schedule.

You might get some bad advice. There are plenty of people (both trainers and other gym members) that have no problem offering unsolicited advice based on outdated knowledge. At best, this is annoying and it can be hard to know what you might need to listen to. At worst, you could follow some bad advice and end up doing yourself harm. (Key to avoiding this: only listen to people who are well trained and listen to what you have to say!)

You might not get there. My biggest issue with a gym membership is actually taking an additional half-hour out of my day to get there and get home. It’s a well-known fact in the gym industry that if you get a client who has to go out of their way to get to the gym, you won’t see them for long. It’s got to be super convenient, and even being close to work or home sometimes isn’t enough. If you don’t belong to a 24-hour gym, you might find that you’re even less likely to get there.

At-Home Workouts – The Pros

You can do it whenever you want. Working out at home means working out when it suits you. I do mostly home-based workouts now because I can squeeze in a session when I have a spare 20-30 minutes, rather than having to plan it into my day. This works best if you don’t need a plan to stick with in order to get things done.

It’s a zero-judgement zone. It’s just you – no one else to check out what you’re doing or offer unsolicited advice.

You don’t have to wait for anything. Even if you’re sharing your home gym equipment with family members, you can tell them to hurry the heck up with it! But generally, you’ll be able to move through your workout at exactly the pace you need it.

At-Home Workouts – The Cons

You may have limited equipment choices. You don’t have to have a home gym at all in order to get a good workout at home. Most movements can be done using just body-weight resistance, but you might have to get creative with your “pull” exercises – anything that targets your back. And you definitely don’t want to exclude these!

You may spend a little more money up front. Home based exercise equipment can cost a bit of money at the outset. Fortunately, by making wise choices, you can get all the equipment you need with just a few pieces of equipment – easily setting your home gym for the same cost as a few months of gym membership.

It’s easy to not do it. I went through a phase not too long ago of being too busy to get to the gym, and continually telling myself that I’d do a quick workout when I got home. Instead, I got home and sat on the couch – for the rest of the night. If working out at home isn’t part of your routine, you’ll probably need to put a little extra effort in to get this habit kickstarted. For what it’s worth, I’ve given up on evening exercise – it’s morning or nothing for me!

Of course, this is not a complete list! Everyone will have their own preferences and perks to working out at a gym or at home. The best workout is the one you enjoy doing!

HealthFit Coaching offers exercise and physical activity programs and training. If you’re in Brisbane and keen on getting a comprehensive, individual exercise program set up for your needs – whether for in-home training or gym based – contact us to start now!

The Golden Rule of Exercise

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Ever heard the saying “no pain, no gain”?

I bet you have. And when it comes to exercise, I’m here to tell you, this is a big fat lie. While it can sometimes be difficult to tell the difference, different “pain” feelings can mean very different things for your body.

Unfortunately, when it comes to exercise, pain has long been considered a part of the experience. Sore knees, aching backs, bum shoulders that catch, stab, or just don’t move very well anymore… The idea was that if things weren’t hurting, you weren’t working hard enough. Apply this to a different situation: Would you put your hand on a hot stove to make sure you were cooking well enough? Doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it? You can actually have a far more effective workout when you aren’t hurting, because you will be able to continue to exercise on your regular schedule, and not limp around for three days. So our Golden Rule: No Pain (or, If it hurts, don’t do it).

Feelings of intense exercise should occur in areas powering movement, mainly muscles and/or lungs.

But exercise isn’t always pleasant, and can be downright uncomfortable, especially as intensity increases. The physical sensations that come with intense exercise or physical activity – burning muscles, bursting lungs or shortened breath, or a stitch in the side – are not particularly pleasant at the time. But the “pain” of working hard during exercise should not last. When you stop and rest, these feelings should subside, leaving you pain-free, or at worst, somewhat fatigued. In the days following an intense workout, you may also feel stiff and sore through the muscles, a short-term state known as Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS.

Any aches and pains arising during or after exercise that are different than these should be brought up with your doctor or an exercise physiologist ASAP to make sure you stay safe and injury-free. Some of the most common feelings that should prompt this discussing (during or after a workout): joint pain, back pain, pain in areas that may not be related to a workout – anything that seems unusual, really. These are often indicators of tissue damage. Further, if you have a history of injury, or a chronic health condition, you may experience slightly-to-very different feelings during exercise or physical activity than someone who is assumed healthy. If this is the case, definitely talk to your doctor or an exercise physiologist about how to get exercise safely and what to look out for.

Feelings of injury or damage are often felt in joints, and can last for days after activity.

It’s important to distinguish between these two types of pain, because the “pain” of appropriate and/or intense exercise can actually prevent the pain that coincides with tissue damage and long-term aches, pains, and injury by conditioning the body to be better able to respond to physical stress. Next time you’re moving and something isn’t feeling great, take a moment and consider what kind of whether you’re feeling the burn of hard work, or whether you might actually be doing some damage, and then apply the Golden Rule as needed.

In order to move well and stay healthy and injury free, you have to get and stay pain free. Continuing to exercise when you feel pain will likely increase that pain, may create further tissue damage, and make it more difficult to exercise or get through your normal daily activities. In the long run this will be detrimental to your overall health and fitness, mental health, and ability to make progress. All of this makes exercising when you’re in pain a bad idea! So when in doubt, seek help. Better to have an extra appointment and stay safe and feel good, than push through pain until something breaks.

Three Steps to Feeling Great

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Movement is one of the four key areas of health used in the HealthFit approach, and a great tool to improve your health and feel better – our end goal! To help you achieve it, we provide a three-step framework that takes the seemingly overwhelming process of increasing fitness and strength, and turns it into something a little challenging, but totally achievable. Whether you are investing in yourself with Health Coaching for healthy lifestyle choices, or succeeding with an In-Home Exercise Program, your coach will work with you to develop the details while guiding you forward through the process of building more movement into your life. It’s as easy as one, two, three…

Step One: Get Moving
Think about all the muscles and joints you have in your body – it’s built to move! Just 100 years ago, life had many more physical demands. These days, while we don’t have to worry about planting the garden in order to get dinner on the table, now we also don’t get the exercise that goes along with that.

You and your coach will work as a team to figure out what kind of movement you can fit into your lifestyle – easily and enjoyably, and taking into account your interests and abilities. This may mean joining a gym or taking an exercise class, but it also can be as simple as taking the dog out for a daily walk. There’s no single “best” way to get moving.

It’s important that you stay safe and pain-free (always, but especially at the beginning). That means easing into it to get your body accustomed to additional movement, and making sure you feel good before, during, and after. It’s also important that you have a movement plan you enjoy. Life has a tendency to throw curve balls, and exercise is often one of the first things to stop when the going gets stressful.

Step Two: Move Better
The Move Better step helps your body move easily. The stiffness, weakness, and aches and pains that we associate with aging have more to do with years of postural stress and lack of movement than getting older. Move Better is not learning a new way to move. Rather, it allows your body to remember how to move well, and lets you rebuild the ability to do it.

You and your coach will come up with a plan to help you loosen tight parts and lengthen short parts to decrease physical stress, and strengthen the whole body to help you more easily meet the physical demands of daily life. This will allow you to achieve and maintain better posture and greater flexibility, and stay pain free and decrease injury risk. As well as kicking those achy joints to the curb, adding Move Better to Get Moving can result in positive changes to health markers like blood glucose levels or high cholesterol or triglycerides. Much of this work can be done in your own home and on your own timeframe, and doesn’t require a major time commitment to create a major change.

Step Three: Move More
For many people, taking steps to Get Moving and Move Better will be enough to get them to the level of health and fitness that makes them happy. But if you want to build on feeling better, Move More is the next step. You can get stronger, fitter, leaner, more flexible, or train for a specific goal or event.

Move More often does mean having a more detailed plan for exercise or physical activity, but that still doesn’t mean a daily commitment to an hours-long gym workout. To continue your progress, you will work with your coach to find smart, realistic ways to further increase the amount of movement, exercise, or physical activity in your everyday life. Your program will follow the same rules: keep you safe and pain-free, fit into your lifestyle, and be effective.

At each step, the focus is on finding what works for you. You’ll be guided through this process with the freedom to call the shots or follow directions as much as you like. You’ll have the full support of your coach to pursue better health and fitness in whatever way makes you most comfortable, and have someone to celebrate with when you hit the marks. Our goal for every client: Healthy, fit, happy.