Minnesota Chiropractor | Healthy Living

Physical activity — which includes an active lifestyle and routine exercise — plus eating well, is the best way to stay healthy. An effective exercise program needs to be fun and keep you motivated. It helps to have a goal. It really doesn’t matter what kind of activity or sport you choose… All that matters is that you don’t just sit there … get up and move!

Your goal might be to:

• Manage a health condition
• Reduce stress
• Improve your stamina
• Buy clothes in a smaller size

Once you begin increasing your activity level, you’ll probably begin to notice other benefits:

• Better control of your weight and appetite
• Improved fitness, making it easier to do everyday activities
• Improved sleep
• More confidence in yourself
• Lower risk for heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure

Getting started

Before beginning any exercise program, it’s best to talk with your St Paul MN Chiropractor, who may be able to help you develop a routine best suited to your health situation. In addition to spinal adjustments, physical therapy, massage therapy, exercise programs and dietary and nutritional counseling, you will feel better, you will have more energy and you will increase your quality of life by optimizing the health of your body. Heck, you will also reduce your risk of a sport or personal injury.

Bye-Bye, Couch Potato!

It’s never too late to undo the damage from your couch-potato ways. There are 1,440 minutes in every day. Just start today and schedule 30 of them for exercise! Fight the urge to slouch on the couch. Instead, get up and go, and set an example for the youngsters in your life.

Make your time exercising count! There are dozens of ways to get physical activity inside—no gym required. Just find the exercises that are right for you!!!

If you haven’t exercised or been active in a long time, start slowly to prevent injuries. Taking a brisk 10-minute walk twice a week is a good start. Try joining a dance, karate, or yoga class if they appeal to you. You could also join a baseball or bowling team, or even a mall-walking group. The social aspects of these groups can be rewarding and motivating.

Physical activity may also help encourage you to spend some time outdoors. Sunlight on your skin helps your body produce vitamin D, which brings many added health benefits.

Don’t forget: Simple lifestyle changes can make a big difference over time.

• At work, try taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking down the hall to talk with a co-worker instead of sending an e-mail, or adding a 10- to 20-minute walk during lunch.
• When running errands, park at the far end of the parking lot, or even down the street.
• At home, do chores such as vacuuming, washing the car, gardening, shoveling snow, raking leaves and other yard work.
• If you ride the bus, get off one stop before your usual stop and walk the rest of the way.
• Reduce screen time. Whether it’s your TV or your computer monitor, break up screen sessions with movement. Take frequent breaks, even if it’s just to stand and stretch.

How much exercise do you need?

Aim to exercise about 2.5 hours a week. Do moderate-intensity aerobic and muscle strengthening activities. Depending on your schedule, you could exercise for 30 minutes, 5 days a week or 45 to 60 minutes, 3 days a week.

You don’t have to do your total daily exercise all at once. If your goal is to exercise for 30 minutes, you can break that up into shorter time periods that add up to 30 minutes. As you become more fit, you can challenge yourself by increasing the intensity of your exercise by going from light to moderate activity. You can also increase the amount of time you exercise.

National Walking Day

Walking is one of the best exercises there is for getting healthier and cutting your risk of heart disease or stroke. It’s free and easy, and just 30 minutes a day can make you look and feel better.

On National Walking Day, Wednesday, April 3, 2013, companies, organizations and individuals across America are going to wear sneakers to work, take 30 minutes to walk and pledge to live heart-healthy lives.  Let this be your first move towards adopting a heart-healthy work style.

Statistics show that 1 in 2 men, and 1 in 3 women are at risk for heart disease. On this day, Americans are encouraged to lace up their sneakers and take at least 30 minutes out of their day to get up and walk.

Walking briskly is a good alternative for those who are not athletes. However, use good form when walking, as one has to focus using the right techniques. Start slowly and work your way up gradually. You will not succeed, if you try to overdo the exercise, because you wish to make up for lost time. You should never attempt going from zero to sixty. You benefit greatly when the muscles become supple and flexible after a good warm up session as it sends out neurotransmitters to energize the muscle and make them willingly perform.