With many of us working from home, and plenty of warnings about a second wave, maintaining physical health and movement is a challenge. For those used to going to a gym, this is a particular barrier to get moving. We all need some lock-down proof strategies to help win the day and keep our bodies out of pain. Today I want to dive deeper into three basic movements – walking, sitting, and hanging – and how to think perhaps, a little differently, about each of them.
Walking
Walking is so obvious it almost goes without saying, but in my opinion, it can’t be said enough!
This movement is so fundamental to health that I compare it to water in our diets.
On its own it is not a complete diet, but without it, the basics of health are not possible. I am a big advocate of the step tracker and the recommendation of 10,000 step per day. What I want to convey to you now is that not all steps are equal!
Getting 3000 steps by going around the block is great, but getting 3000 steps hiking around Chicopee ski club is a totally different beast. The elevation changes require more muscle recruitment and cardiovascular output, both important for health and wellness. Stripped down to its most fundamental characteristic – terrain makes all the difference.
One of the trade-offs of our modern environment is that nearly every step we take is on flat and level ground. Evolutionary speaking this is very odd. Even walking on slightly bumpy grass or an uneven dirt path requires more brain activity, coordination and strength. Over a lifetime this is not a trivial difference, leg strength and balance are great predictors of lifespan. So as often as you can take the path less traveled and get out hiking!
Sitting
Sitting is another very common movement that many may not even think of as a movement; chances are that during the lock-down you are doing lots of it! I first want to say that there is nothing wrong with sitting, we need rest, we can’t be walking all day – but the problem is chronic sitting.
When we sit chronically, the joints stiffen, postural muscles seize, and certain joints (like the ones in our spine) get overloaded. This often leads to back pain, upper and lower. However, it is not sitting per se, but the over consumption of flat and level sitting. I don’t believe there is one best sitting posture, rather you should aim to sit many ways throughout the day. So mix it up:
- Sit with one leg under the other then switch
- Sit using the back rest
- Sit without the back rest
- Sit with your feet flat on the floor
- Sit with the tops of your feet on the floor
- Change your seat height
- Turn your chair one way then the other
- Sit on the floor or with a cushion
MOST importantly get up and walk, hike or stretch at least hourly!
Hanging
This motion is the most fundamental part of the pull-up exercise, but you don’t have to be able to do a full pull-up to get the benefits. Simply hanging with some or all of your weight from a bar or rings simultaneously stretches and strengthens much of your upper body. The easiest way to get started is to buy one of those doorway pull-up bars, place it in a bed room door and every time you walk through it hang for 10-30 sec!
For beginners:
Leave your feet on the floor but let your legs go limp. This will allow you to hang with only part of your body weight
For intermediates:
Hang with just a toe on the ground and begin to shift your weight more to one arm then the other
For advanced participants:
Hang with all of your weight for up to 30 sec and even experiment with pulling your knees toward your chest!
At the end of the day, no matter what you are doing, change it up! Movement, in any form, keeps our muscles, joints, and lymphatic system working properly, and that keeps pain away. For those that need a little extra help getting out of pain that’s where we come in! If you need help getting moving, book a massage, Osteopathic, or acupuncture treatment and let us help you get back to a pain free day.
Aaron Coulthard, M.OMSc
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