Walk, Walk, Walk

On my last Stay Active post, I wrote about being seated  to long and I encouraged you to get up from your chair.

Our lives have become so sedentary, not only we don’t need to get up to reach the phone, we don’t need to walk to go where we want/need. We used to walk to our jobs, school, grocery store or simply to go shopping. Now we jump into our cars to go even to the corner store.

There are so many health benefits of walking. It lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, osteoporosis, dementia. If you want to loose weight or maintain, this is a good way to do it. It tones our muscles. It helps your circulation, bring more oxygen to your cells so it gives you more energy. And it boosts your mood!

There are many ways you can increase your walking habits daily. If your are in the office, instead of send an e-mail to your companion, go and talk directly. I your plan to go somewhere near by, walk instead of drive. If you are going to the grocery store or shopping mall, park your car far form the entrance. It is incredible how many steps you can add to your daily count by doing this simple changes!

Get Up

It is well known that we are sitting way to long. With technology, we don’t have to go far to reach our needs. We are sitting in front of our computers, TV, video games, and time flies by and we don’t realize how long we’ve been sitting.

When I was growing up… (this will sound like I’m really, really old!!! Haha! But I’m young in spirit), Well, when I was growing up there were no cell phones, no cordless phones, no remote controls, of course no video games and computers where just starting to develop so we didn’t use them that much and we weren’t able to carry them around. So we actually needed to get up from our chair, cozy sofa or couch and get what we needed, change the channel on the TV, answer the phone (run to get the call, there were no answering machines either!). We had to move.

The truth is that our bodies are designed to move. I encourage you get up your chair every 20-30 minutes. Get up and go to take a sip of water, go to the bathroom, leave the remote control and phone far away from where you are and stand up and go and get it!

Remember what you learned in high school: it is just physics, a body in motion tends to stay in motion.

Stand Tall

Today I am giving you a little piece of advice on how to stand. Have you noticed how you stand? We make waiting lines all the time, at the grocery store, the bank, the movies, amusement park. I remember when my children where little, oh! all those lines at Disney!

Well, if we pay attention, we can turn that waiting time into a work out! When you stand, try to balance your weight on both your legs. Shift the weight to one leg and then the other until you find you balance putting the same weight on both legs. Tighten your abdominal muscles and pull your shoulders back. See how long you can hold that position. Take a little break and do it all over again. I bet you won’t be needing the trip to the gym!

The way you stand, walk or sit, says a lot about you. Remember you are a confident, gorgeous, beautiful, amazing person. Stand Tall!

Walk Straight

It is sunday again and it is the day to give you my “Stay Active” tip. Lets talk Walking. Walking straight bring us so many benefits, it helps our spine hold our bodies in a better position, lets us see where we’re going, gives us confidence in ourselves, changes the perspective from where we are seen.

Practice walking straight. In order to do this, tighten your abdominal muscles. Don’t hold your breath. Your abdominal muscles should be tighten without interfering with your breathing. Pull your shoulders back and look forward.

So remember to feel and use the muscles in your body and walk proud!