Can you believe it? We are already in the thick of the holiday season! Right now, everyone is rushing around making sure everything is just perfect for the holidays. In these hectic times, we can lose sight of ourselves and put everyone and everything else first. If you find yourself stressed and busy this holiday season, here are five ways to sneak in some time for yourself and your body.
Start Your Day with Some Stretches
First, make moving a part of your morning routine. Start by contracting and relaxing your muscles from your toes to your head. Scrunch your toes for 5-10 seconds and then relax. Repeat that a couple of times and start working your way up, activating every body part. After that, you can hop out of bed and move through some stretches for each muscle group. If you’re feeling froggy, you can follow a yoga routine. There are some great examples for beginners on Youtube!
Park Farther Away
Next, instead of looking for the closest parking spots, look for one that’s farther away. If you do this on each trip to the store, those steps will definitely add up. Did you know that it is recommended that adults get in 10,000 steps every day? Studies report that only about half of Americans achieve that goal. Parking a few spots farther away will help put a dent on those numbers!
10 and 10
Throughout the day, take a few minutes and do 10 air squats and 10 push-ups. Your goal is five rounds of this a day. After doing 50 squats and 50 push-ups every day, you’ll start to feel changes in no time! Remember for squats, your hips and knees should move at the same time. Don’t stick your rear out too far and don’t come up on your toes allowing your knees to go way past your toes. For push-ups, if you can’t do a full push-up you can always modify to knee push-ups, elevated push-ups on a bench, or even push-ups on the wall.
Walk It Old School
Up next, when given the opportunity to use the elevator or take the stairs…take the stairs. Not only are the stairs typically quicker (no waiting in line or waiting on an elevator car to make it to your floor), but you also add more steps to your daily log. Climbing stairs also creates a physiological response to increase heart rate and speed up your breathing. That means more active time for you!
Stair Master
Speaking of stairs…during those times when you have a few extra minutes on your hands, take a few laps up and down the stairs. There are many advantages to walking flights of stairs. One major advantage is efficiency. While climbing stairs your body burns more calories per minute than jogging! Also, stairs are a free gym. Some people have stairs in their home, but if not, try visiting a local park or mall that’s open for mall-walking in the morning. Finally, making stairs a habit leads to a healthier lifestyle. Studies show a lower mortality rate among people who climb 55 flights of stairs per week. Just think – that’s just under eight flights of stairs a day!
Being more fit and active makes all that holiday shopping and prepping easier, less painful, and with less fatigue. Now you’ve got a plan of attack and more ways to stay active and healthy this holiday season! Now take action, take time for yourself, and take on the season with confidence! If you have pain from the extra standing and walking, you can always schedule a visit with one of our physical therapists. If you’re looking to increase your strength or stamina to make the walking and shopping easier, call us today and set up a FREE consultation with one of our Wellness Coordinators!
