Are You Activating Your Core?
You have probably heard of your core or activate your core or use your core or strengthen your core. Do you know how or why it is so important?
If you are unsure about what your core is, it is what connects your lower body to your upper body. It involves the muscles in your trunk, abs, hips, pelvis and muscles surrounding your spine.
It plays an important role in keeping us stable and balanced. Which means it helps prevent falls and also prevents any other injuries! The stronger our core the better our balance and coordination is.
The core is what supports your spine so if you have a strong core it can prevent or decrease back pain and improve your posture.
A strong core also allows for more effective strength training of other muscles in your body. The core is what we use for stability and mobility with everyday tasks so it is something we should use often and can practice daily. Housework, playing with grandkids and other daily activities will be easier and safer with a stronger core.
How to engage the core: Start by either lying down on your back with your knees bent or sitting in a chair. Pull your belly button in toward your spine to tighten/engage. Keep your spine in a neutral position, meaning nothing moves you are just tightening by pulling your belly button in. Keep breathing while you tighten. There can be a tendency to hold your breath but please keep breathing through it. Start with holding it tight for 3 seconds and slowly work up to be able to do 10 and then work up being able to hold it for 10 seconds. For more of a challenge try to activate your core while walking.
There are great core exercises that you can do anywhere and without any equipment. I recommend Bridges, Bird Dogs and Planks. These can all be modified to make easier or more challenging depending on your individual needs. Avoid sit ups and crunches as they have been found to be ineffective.
As always please let me know if you have any questions or would like help with any core exercises.
Ways to Improve and Maintain Strong Bones
What can you do to improve or maintain good bone health?
The best things you can do are exercise and make sure you are maintaining a bone healthy diet. Getting enough Calcium and Vitamin D is extremely important. Also important is making sure you are eating enough protein.
Trying to spread out both calcium and protein consumption throughout the day instead of at just one meal is beneficial for bone health. Eating enough protein throughout the day helps maintain muscle mass.
Foods rich in Vitamin D include egg yolks, cheese, salmon, tuna, mushrooms, some yogurts, milk and orange juice that say they are fortified with Vitamin D on the label.
Foods high in calcium include dairy (cheese, milk, yogurt) and leafy greens (kale, spinach, and broccoli). Cereals, oatmeal and juice will say if they are fortified with calcium.
Omega-3 fatty acids also promote formation of new bone and protect against bone loss. Examples include chia seeds, flax seeds and walnuts.
Magnesium and Zinc also help maintain bone density during the aging process.
Examples of Magnesium include dark chocolate, avocado, almonds, cashews, and legumes (beans, chick peas, lentils), and leafy greens.
Examples of Zinc include shrimp, beef, flax seed, pumpkin seed, spinach and oysters.
What exercises are best for strengthening bones and preventing Osteopenia or Osteoporosis?
Weight bearing exercises which means exercises where your bones are supporting your weight and you work against gravity. Some examples of weight bearing exercises are walking, hiking, racquet sports, push ups, planks, squats, step ups, etc. Although swimming, water exercises and biking are great for your health, they are not considered weight bearing.
Strength training using resistance bands or weights is also beneficial to prevent bone loss and increase muscle mass.
Balance training is also important to prevent falls. With weakened bones an injury from a fall can be more severe and take longer to heal.
Also talk to your doctor. If you are unsure of your bone density or would like to find out if you have Osteopenia or Osteoporosis a simple and painless bone density scan ( also called a DEXA scan) can be done.
What is the difference between Osteopenia and Osteoporosis?
Osteopenia is when you have a lower bone mineral density for your age. Osteopenia usually has no signs or symptoms but can be found with a bone density scan. Osteoporosis is when you have more severe bone density loss which weakens bones and increases risk of fractures. Both Osteopenia and Osteoporosis are most common in women over the age of 50.
Osteopenia can sometimes progress to Osteoporosis but not always. There are ways to prevent it and strengthen your bones. Bone density naturally decreases each year as we age but can decrease more rapidly due to certain medical conditions, medications, hormonal changes with menopause and/or an unhealthy lifestyle.
If you have questions about maintaining or improving bone health through exercise contact A to Z Personal Wellness. As for a bone healthy diet, I love making smoothies with bone healthy ingredients:)
A Quick Warm Up for Pickleball to Avoid Injuries
Did you know April is National Pickleball Month? It also happens to be the time that outdoor courts have started to open up for the season.
I am only a beginner, but after hearing my mom talk obsessively about it, I have started to play a little and finally understand the craze! It is such a great way to be social while being physically active; I am all for it!
If you haven’t played in a while or are a beginner, try to ease into playing and slowly build up playing time so that you don’t injure yourself. Pickleball does involve quick changes in direction, multidirectional movements, balance, agility and coordination which is great, but getting into a stretching/warm up routine and conditioning program before hand can enhance your game and keep you safe.
Here are some tips for improving your pickleball game, avoiding injuries and preventing falls.
Warm up before you start playing. Dynamic stretching is a great way to warm up. Dynamic stretches are active movements that stretch your muscles. It is more effective to stretch dynamically before you play instead of static stretching which is holding a stretch for a longer period of time.
Some dynamic stretches that I recommend are below. These will loosen up your muscles and joints, help your balance and prepare you for Pickleball.
Depending on your balance you can either stand and use hand support or do these while walking:
- Leg swings forward and back – start by standing on one leg (can hold onto a wall, chair etc) and swing the other leg straight in front of you and then straight behind you
- Lateral leg swings- swing leg out to the side and then cross over to the other side of your body.
- High knee march
- Straight leg kicks
- Butt kicks – bring your heel up towards buttocks while knee stays pointed toward the ground
- Side stepping or side lunges
- Walking lunges or large steps
- Walking backwards
- Walking on your toes and heels (tip toe and then the opposite, trying to walk just on your heels with toes off the ground)
- Grapevine and tandem walk (walk like you are on a tight rope heel to toe)
- Arm swings and arm circles can be done to warm up your arms.
If in doubt use hand support first and then slowly take it away.
These do not have to take a lot of time, 30 seconds to 1 min of each or even just a few of these will help get your body ready for pickleball.
If you have any questions on dynamic stretching or a conditioning program to help improve your Pickleball game contact A to Z Personal Wellness.
Simple and Quick Activities to Try with Grandkids
Here are some fun energy burners for you to try with your grandkids. I know my kids love doing these activities with their grandparents. They can be played both indoors and outdoors and only with things you can find around your house!
Red Light Green Light
Green means go, yellow means slow down, and red means stop. Sometimes we add in different colors like purple for backwards walking. This game is also good for grandparents to work on speed changes and reaction time!
Simon Says
A classic game that can be as active as you want it to be. Some examples: Simon says take 3 big steps. Simon says walk as fast as you can. Simon says tip toe. Simon says walk side ways (side step). Simon says walk like a monster. So many ways to play this and also great for grandparents to participate!
Obstacle Course
Use random things from around the house or that are outside to manuever around, step over, step under, step on, balance on, go through, etc. So many options and ways to get creative with objects that you have! Also good practice for grandparents to participate.
Scavenger Hunt
You can do this by having kids find objects of a certain color, shape, theme, or specific objects. Many more options can be found on google.
Stand on One Leg or Tight Rope Walk
See how long you and your grandkids can stand on one leg, you can pretend to be a flamingo. Next see if you can walk a pretend tight rope in the circus by walking heel to toe.
If you want to participate with the grandkids of course be safe and know your limits! If there are things that are challenging, if you feel unsteady or like you aren’t able to do, feel free to contact A to Z Personal Wellness to increase your confidence and improve your strength, balance and mobility to keep up with the grandkids!
Strength Training: A Prescription for Aging Well
If you aren’t strength training, you should be! It is never too late to start strength training and it will bring numerous benefits at any age.
Whether you are inactive or active, like exercise or hate exercise, it can make an incredibly positive impact on your life.
Let’s go over all the ways strength training can help you:
- Improve your sleep
- Increase cognition
- Increase your energy and metabolism
- Increase longevity
- Improve your posture
- Increase your confidence
- Maintain independence as you age
- Increase bone density which reduces risk of osteoporosis
- Preserve and enhance muscle mass which progressively decreases with age if you don’t do anything about it
- Improve quality of life
- Increase mobility
- Better your balance which decreases risk of falling
- Improve ability to do daily activities (things like carrying groceries, walking, getting up from a chair, getting up and down from the floor, going up and down stairs, housework, gardening, etc)
- Manage and/or prevent chronic conditions such as arthritis, back pain, heart disease, depression, diabetes, osteoporosis and more!
- Decrease blood pressure
- Prevent injuries
- Enhance your pickleball or golf game
- Be an active grandparent
The good thing about strength training is that it doesn’t have to take a lot of time and it can be done anywhere. 2-3x/week is recommended. 30 minutes is recommended, but even 10 minutes can make a difference. There are many strength training exercises that can be done solely with your body weight. It is usually best to start with bodyweight exercises and then progress to adding resistance bands or free weights such as dumbbells, kettlebells, medicine balls, ankle weights and suspension trainers (like TRX).
Resistance bands are great because they are lightweight, don’t take up much space, are inexpensive, can be used at home or when traveling and can be used in a variety of ways targeting all large muscles groups.
Strength training is not just for people that want big muscles or want to look good. It is for everyone and every body. It should not be painful so it is about finding ways to make it work best for you and your body. If you have good muscle strength you will be able to function at a much higher level (doing all the things you want and need to do) for much longer.
If you are unsure of how to start strength training or if what you are doing includes strength training contact A to Z Personal Wellness.
Snow Shoveling Tips to Help you Stay Safe and Pain-free
Luckily we haven’t had to do much shoveling this winter and hopefully it stays that way:) However, it seems like the next few days we may need to do some.
I know some people who love shoveling which is great. I am not one of them but I do feel good after I finish. It is a good form of exercise and I usually love being outside unless it is completely freezing.
Shoveling done smartly and safely can be a good way to stay active in the winter and get some fresh air.
Here are my tips for making shoveling a little easier and having less aches and pains doing it.
- Dress appropriately! Wear boots or shoes that have non slip grip and will keep your feet warm. Also wear enough winter clothing to keep your whole body warm. Warm joints move and feel much better than when they are cold and stiff. It also helps your balance to be warm enough.
- Try to shovel in daylight or if it is dark have the area be well lit so that you can see any icy areas or uneven ground.
- Shovel more frequently if it is supposed to snow a lot so that you can avoid having to lift a lot/heavy snow.
- Use a good shovel. Make sure it fits you and your height so that it is not too heavy or too long.
- Hands should be spaced approximately 12inches apart on shovel for good leverage and stability.
- Avoid lifting any snow with your arms outstretched.
- Keep the shovel with snow close to your body and center of gravity when you are lifting.
- Try to push snow as much as possible instead of lifting. If you have to lift, smaller amounts on the shovel will be better for you.
- Avoid rotating and lifting at the same time.
- Bend with your knees and hips and not your back to avoid back pain.
- Engage your core muscles – try to pull your belly button in
- Avoid throwing snow over your shoulder or to one side because this creates more stress on your spine.
- Switch arms so that you don’t overwork one side of your body.
- Take frequent breaks and make sure to stay hydrated.
- Doing a little warm up/ stretch before and after shoveling is definitely a good idea.
- Enjoy the snow!
Contact A to Z Personal Wellness if you have any questions or would like help with exercises to make shoveling easier.
How to Avoid Slips and Falls This Winter
Winter is here which means snow and ice and being indoors more. Here are my tips to prevent slipping, tripping or falling this winter.
- When getting out of the car plant both feet and hang onto the door before starting to walk to make sure you have your balance and that it isn’t slippery
- Dress warmly – cold muscles tense up which affects balance and can cause a fall – also being warm decreases joint stiffness
- Wear shoes with good traction, even if it is just for a very short distance
- Wear clothes that fit well – if they are too tight or bulky your movements can be restricted which can lead to a fall or if they are to big/baggy they can catch on things
- Slow down and give yourself extra time when going places
- Always have a cell phone with you
- Keep shoes and walking aides dry and free of snow and ice as soon as you come inside
- Avoid walking in more than one inch of snow – snow can hide uneven ground, curbs, and other tripping hazards
- When walking on surfaces that may be icy, shorten your stride and walk with your feet pointed slightly out and knees gently bent (like a penguin) to improve traction and balance
- Make sure you have enough lights and night lights in the darkness of winter! Use a flashlight on your key ring for extra light when needed
- Can also carry a small bag of kitty litter, sand or rock salt with you in case you need to throw some down in a walkway or slippery area
- Have a table or chair by door/entrance way to set things down when you come in and out of the house so that you are not trying to hold too many things/do too much all at once
- Can use cleats on shoes and also add ice spikes to canes. Attaching cleats to shoes are great, especially if you want to continue to go for walks outside.
- Don’t take short cuts when walking, stay on cleared sidewalks and paths
- Last but certainly not least…keep moving!! Staying active during the winter months is one of the best things you can do for your physical and mental health.
Now you are ready to tackle this winter weather safely:)
Contact A to Z Personal Wellness if you need help staying active and safe this winter.
Home Safety Tips to Prevent a Fall
Did you know that most falls happen in the home? There are ways to make your home more safe to decrease your risk of falling.
Here are some tips to prevent falls in your home.
1) Avoid having cords or wires on the ground or in an area where you have to walk around or over them
2) De-clutter! Avoid having clutter around, the less tripping hazards the better off you will be
3) Have proper lighting- keep spare light bulbs at your house and in an easily accessible place. Is there a light close to your bed? It is best to have a light that is within reach of your bed. Use nights lights! You can get motion sensor lights which can be helpful especially at night.
4) Try to keep objects off of the floor
5) Have a clear path from your bed to the bathroom
6) Avoid and/or be cautious with area rugs – if you have them, use double sided tape or non-slip backing so they don’t move around
7) Have non-slip mats in the shower/tub and always watch out for wet spots on the floor. Grab bars are also great to have.
8) In the kitchen, try to keep things you use often on the lower shelves of cabinets, or around or at counter/waist height.
9) Outdoors or indoors, make sure to have sturdy handrails ( 2 rails are better than 1!). Keep steps cleared, well lit, and if they are uneven, loose, or in rough shape, fix them; it will be worth it!
10) Exercise or get some form of physical activity daily! 🙂
If you would like more ways to make your home safer, would like a consultation/walk through of your home with safety recommendations or have questions please contact A to Z Personal Wellness.