Stretching Tip

Tension between the shoulders is common especially if you work at your computer a lot or drive long hours, and it is a hard area to stretch out so here’s a tip on how to get some flexibility in that area and ease the tension.

Wrap right elbow underneath the left, forearms and hands facing upward. Face your palms toward each other each other and twist your torso to the right. This will separate your shoulder blades and stretch the muscles between them. Hold for 30 seconds and release slowly. Repeat to the other side. This will help to increase the suppleness in your back.

Cheers, happy stretching,

Nancy

I was talking to a friend the other day and she was telling me about a woman she knew who was taking part in a triathlon after getting on a bike for the first time in her life just a few months before. She had never been fit, and had never taken part in anything like this in her life. Not being particularly competitive by nature nor having any belief that her body could do what she was now putting it through to prepare for this event she surprised herself, her family and friends. Even her harshest critics were murmuring their admiration.

She was so inspired after hearing about another woman who had overcome all sorts of obstacles to complete this challenge. She put down the remote control and got cracking on figuring out a way to what to her was seemingly impossible. She focussed whole heartedly on the desired our come a slim, svelte body that she could do all sorts of things with most especially have the energy to enjoy her young boys in.

She got her self a trainer who helped her work out a training schedule, she discovered about healthy eating, threw out everything from her kitchen that sabotaged her efforts. Her trainer helped her put together and training eating plan and she had her partner and kids cheering her on. When she first started it seemed like her muscles wouldn’t stop screaming at her but with the help of her trainer urging her on, in time they gave up their protest and she began to feel and energy and aliveness and a sense of satisfaction in her accomplishing about what she was asking of her body to do each day. She began to fee comfortableness in her own skin that she had scarcely experienced since childhood and she actually began looking forward to her daily workout.

On the day of the race she was so excited she could barely wait for the start gun to sound. Her elation when she crossed the finish line was a high water mark in her year, the spin offs have been immense she never misses a workout if she can help it even after reaching her target weight, the sheer pleasure of keeping her body, fit, strong and flexible keeps her motivated and she is so grateful.

Feeling like this is a choice. Its’ taking one step and then another step and then another step until you accomplish your goal and have the satisfaction that goes with it. We invite you to take a look at the products we’ve created from our experience, passion, knowledge about the benefits you can derive from fitness. To learn more go to www.flexibilityplus.com.

Yours in health,

Nancy

•    Our age in years and our age according to the way our body behaves can be one and the same or two different things
•    This matters because if our body behaves much older than our age in years this doesn’t bode well for our future health

Certain biological markers such as blood pressure, heart rate and pulse, blood sugar levels, hormonal levels, cholesterol levels, bone density, kidney and liver function can help identify our true biological age. For example if you 48 years old with a blood pressure of 117/ 76 you could be said to have the blood pressure of someone in their early 20s. Similarly if you are in your 30’s and have a blood pressure level of 140 / 90 you would be considered much older than your age in regards to blood pressure. In fact a 35 year old friend of a fellow personal trainer came in to her gym to train. He was some what over weight and was keen to shed some the extra pounds. So began an assessment with him, but by the end of the warm up he was perspiring quite profusely and feeling unwell, her gut told her something was a miss, she took his blood pressure and it was off the charts even though he had been cleared to exercise previously.

She called an ambulance immediately, he was rushed to hospital and was put on blood pressure medication to stabilise his condition. According to his doctor would need them for the rest of his life. The blood pressure rise he experiences came on with out warning, most likely as a result of unusual stress he was experiencing at the time. The situation came as great shock to my colleague who would not have suspected blood pressure as high as this man had in someone his age. He was lucky to have been in the gym that day undergoing an assessment where it was picked up otherwise he could have easily collapsed somewhere and had a heart attack, possibly fatal.

Keeping a healthy weight by following a regular exercise routine and a healthy diet has been proven by the research to add years to your life and life to your years. In our system at flexibilityplus.com we teach you the key principles of optimal nutrition and provide a broad range of exercises to keep every part of your body flexible and strong. Go to www.flexibilityplus.com to learn more so your age in years can match the age  your body is behaving or better!

Cheers,

Nancy

To improve your flexibility requires regular weekly flexibility training, allowing you to gradually increase your range of motion, without pushing yourself beyond sensible limits. There is little point in going hard out for a few days performing flexibility workouts without a well thought through game plan to increase your flexibility over time in a systematic manner.

A short-term approach to flexibility is far more likely to result in potential injury and ultimately slow your progress towards your goal that is to increase your flexibility.

Improving your flexibility in the most effective manner involves consistent application of proven stretching techniques that allow you to safely increase the range of motion for each type of stretch. Whether you want to increase your pelvic flexibility for a specific activity, such as discus throwing, or want to look at improving your general flexibility, you need to take a long-term approach. This will ensure your muscles and joints gradually accustom themselves to greater ranges of motion over time, avoiding injury.

Not only should you take a long-term approach to improving your flexibility, you should also incorporate flexibility warm-ups before launching into full-on stretches to avoid injury and also to ease your way into this new exercise routine you have taken on.

The “get flexible quick” mindset is about as ineffective as a “get rich quick” scheme.

So, apply yourself in a regular consistent manner through following a systematic approach to flexibility training and after a few months you will realize how much more flexible you have become through your dedication to performing your regular flexibility workouts. At each step along the way remeber to take time to notice your progress and to give yourself kudos for the effort you are putting into your own health.

Increasing your flexibility definitely requires you to have the right mindset and it requires some discipline, but the results are well worth the effort and you deserve it.