The Sunday News
Health Promotion with Lee-Anne
A quick reminder from my previous article on Movement for Health. All the joints in our bodies were meant to move so when you don’t move they do not get adequate blood circulation and all the necessary lubrication which leads to stiffness and pain at a later stage.
Exercise doesn’t necessarily mean join the gym and be there every day. No, exercise means live an active lifestyle whereby you have tasks set out for you to do. This may range from garden work, house chores to waking up and going to work.
As I continue with the movement for good health campaign i would like to emphasise more on:
1 Warm up and cool-down
A lot of people like to exercise. Many do it to stay fit, others for health reasons and most as a spot. As much as we recommend exercise we also understand that it must be done in its correct dosages as well as movements.
The ideal warm-up routine depends on the activity and age of the participant. The warm-up exercises should incorporate the muscle groups and activities that are required during training or competition. The intensity of the warm-up routine should begin at a low level, gradually building to the level of intensity required during training or competition.
Muscles are more susceptible to injury when cold, and therefore a proper warm-up routine is essential.
The warm-up routine aims to:
-Prepare the body and mind for the activity
-Increase the heart rate
-Increase the body’s core temperature
-Increase breathing rate
What about cooling down?
Cooling down is just as important, especially after vigorous exercise, because the body needs time to slow down and it is an important step in aiding recovery. Cooling down should occur immediately after training activities and should also last five to ten minutes.
The aim of cooling down is to lessen lactic acid in your muscles, which means less soreness and stiffness the next day.
The cool-down routine can be the same kind of exercise as the warm-up routine but with low intensity body movement such as jogging or walking substituted for running.
2 Do you Suffer from Text Neck?
We all know how important it is to always preserve our spine in order to prevent bad postures as well as pain. Many people use their cellphones, Ipads and laptops incorrectly. In the long run they start to suffer from neck pain and the last thing they will think of is that the way they use their phones can be the reason for the discomfort. Here are a few things to remember when you are using your phone:
-Lift your phone towards your head — rather than lowering your head towards the phone
-A double chin is a selfie no-no, but chin tucks — lowering your head towards your chest — is a good postural exercise to do to strengthen neck muscles and help improve your head position.
-Do these two exercises regularly throughout the day:
(a) Keep the little neck joints mobile by slowly turning your head towards one shoulder and then the other.
(b) Now do the same for your upper back by turning your shoulder to one side and then the other, holding your arms relaxed next to your sides.
3 School bag weighing you down?
We all know the phrase “catch them young”. Well, its every parent’s duty to ensure that our children carry their bags correctly when they go to school. Here are a few tips to remember:
-Never wear a backpack across one shoulder only.
-There should be no gap between the backpack and your back .
-It should not be more than 15 percent of your body weight.
-Use a backpack with adjustable straps so the backpack can be adjusted to your body.
