Have you ever woke up in the morning with your body feeling heavy as lead, and a thousand needles seem pricking every joint of your body?
Then you try to get up, only to plop down on bed, with a dozen reasons why you should go back to bed and have a few more minutes of sleep.
We all have mornings like this - especially if the years are piling up on us. But if they come too often, watch out. You are set up for an unhealthy life.
They become a siren's song that lulls you into lethargy. Even a single day is bad because it will be followed by another and another, until it becomes a habit.
And habits are always looked at unfavorably and are darn difficult to break..
No matter how strong the temptation is to laze in bed a few minutes more, get up, with all your power; get up and shake those lazy bones and start getting physical.
Why?
Because physical activity, at any age, contributes to overall feelings of wellness. It becomes very vital I if you are at the prime of your life, or beyond.
According to the Mayo Clinic, regular workouts help control blood pressure, body weight and cholesterol levels. It reduces the risk of hardening of the arteries, heart attack and stroke; it strengthens muscles, tendons, ligaments, and many others.
Health benefits aside, getting up from bed and doing your workout routine, banishes feelings of lethargy and primes you up for the day; it gives you feelings of physical wellness.
A 30 min exercise, enough to forms beads of perspiration on your forehead, is all you need for the happy hormones to put a pleasant smile on your face.
Skeptics may scorn at this. But as soon as their doctor tells them that their cholesterol levels are high, their blood is as sweet as honey, or their weight makes them good candidates for a cardiac arrest, it sets them on a panic mode.
They immediately gulp down anti-cholesterol pills, go on a crash diet, and refrain from food that can worsen their blood sugar levels.
So where are you now? Are you still in bed, lazing, as if these things won't happen to you or are you on the road shrugging off your drowsy feelings?
If you belong to the former, it is best to re-arrange your priorities now. Getting sick is a lot more expensive that staying healthy.
Devise a workout routine now before your medical bills become more expensive than a membership in an upscale gym or wellness club.
It need not be fancy, or expensive or time-consuming. Anything will do as long as it promotes physical, mental and cardiovascular health.
Here are 4 simple workout routines you can start with.
If you don't have an idea what a tricep or bicep is, try these out and work on something else later:
1. Aerobics:
Is the collective term used to describe any activity that increases the beat rate of the heart.
It can be done with at home (by pacing in your room or the living room), in any space you can move around unhindered.
If you want to put more fun or socializing into it, join any aerobics group in your neighborhood. They are sprouting everywhere.
It can take the form of yoga, bicycling, tai-chi, or dancing, i.e., line, square or ballroom.
2. Strength:
One of the direct effects of aging is the loss of muscle mass. This shows as sagging skin beneath the chin, the underside of your forearms, softening of eh thighs and tummy.
To avoid this, work your muscles up by lifting 1 to 2 pound dumbbells at least twice a week.
If you don't have these, use your own body weight to lunges, squats, and modified push-ups.
The objective is neither to be an Arnold Schwarzenegger, nor a deflated balloon, but to be the best of yourself, despite your age.
3. Balance:
Another direct effect of aging is the loss of balance.
The CDC (Center for Disease Control) reports that "falls" are the leading cause of injury-related deaths and the most common cause of trauma admissions among Americans in their senior years.
To avoid being a part of the statistics, devise a workout routine that maintains or improves your sense of balance.
Or you can try this:
* Stand directly behind a heavy chair, like a dining room chair, that won't easily slide or tip over.
* Rest one hand on the back of the chair while the other hand on your hip.
* Raise your right leg, slightly bent at the knee. Hold until the count of ten.
* Put your leg down and relax.
* Repeat the routine with the left leg.
4. Flexibility:
Another effect of aging is the loss of flexibility.
Having problems reaching for objects on high kitchen selves or bending the hip pains when you bend own? That's loss of flexibility.
Have you had pain in the neck for craning so much to the left field while watching your favorite baseball game? That's loss of flexibility.
To cope with this, try this workout routine at home:
* Whether standing or sitting, slowly turn your head to the right until you feel a slight stretch. Don't tilt your head backward or forward.
* Hold this position for 10 to 30 seconds.
* Then slowly turn your head to the lift, and hold for just as long.
You can do stretching exercises to other parts of your body.
See how easy they are? And you can do them at home, in your pajamas or nightties. No need to drive to the gym, no need to buy expensive gym wear and they don't take much of your time, do they?
With as little as 30 mins a day, you can have physical wellness that sets your day right.
These 30 mins, could prolong your life, help you avoid expensive medical bills and make you look younger than you really are.
Joseph Dabon,
I am an online entrepreneur, content marketing writer, and a freelance/ghostwriter covering an array of subjects, but mostly about motivation, life of an elderly, and online business.
Currently I am spending more of my time on my latest blog, Elderly Talk, http://elderlytalk.com/
Come and visit my site and drop me a message in my Contact Page. Better still, be a subscriber.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Joseph_Dabon/667353
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