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Exercise...may sound like the antithesis to pausing... but the widely known benefits of exercise on mood, energy levels, health and wellbeing are well publicised. So here we say you are Permitted To Perform Physical Activity every day as a means of contributing to your overall better physical and mental health!
Watch this space for regular updates on simple and more advanced exercises and ideas for things to do. There are you tube videos, apps, and websites galore. Here, and on our Have You Tried..? page we're sure you'll find something to suit you! And even if it's just a walk around the block before or after work, even that is a moment for you to pause for thought in your day whilst also incorporating some exercise.
Did you know that the NHS provides an excellent summary of the recommended weekly exercise, examples of different forms of exercise with differing intensity, and links to exercise programmes which should suit all levels and ages. With free fitness guides, exercise tips, running tips, and free workouts including aerobics, strength & resistance, pilates & yoga, and other fitness plans, it provides a wealth of options, and all for free!
It even takes you through the Couch to 5K programme if you've been thinking about it!
You could make it a more social event and join your local Park Run?
And how about doing something for a charity special to you? There's no better motivation for your chosen exercise than to raise money for a meaningful cause close to your heart.
Or how about taking part in raising money for NHS Charities Together by participating in Run For Heroes ?
By running (or walking) 5Km and donating £5, and nominating 5 people on your social media to do the same, you can raise money for a cause that we all support, and also keeping fit at the same time!
Watch this space for regular updates on simple and more advanced exercises and ideas for things to do. There are you tube videos, apps, and websites galore. Here, and on our Have You Tried..? page we're sure you'll find something to suit you! And even if it's just a walk around the block before or after work, even that is a moment for you to pause for thought in your day whilst also incorporating some exercise.
Did you know that the NHS provides an excellent summary of the recommended weekly exercise, examples of different forms of exercise with differing intensity, and links to exercise programmes which should suit all levels and ages. With free fitness guides, exercise tips, running tips, and free workouts including aerobics, strength & resistance, pilates & yoga, and other fitness plans, it provides a wealth of options, and all for free!
It even takes you through the Couch to 5K programme if you've been thinking about it!
You could make it a more social event and join your local Park Run?
And how about doing something for a charity special to you? There's no better motivation for your chosen exercise than to raise money for a meaningful cause close to your heart.
Or how about taking part in raising money for NHS Charities Together by participating in Run For Heroes ?
By running (or walking) 5Km and donating £5, and nominating 5 people on your social media to do the same, you can raise money for a cause that we all support, and also keeping fit at the same time!
Our own fitness expert!
Here we will be regularly seeking advice and regular tips from an elite sports physiotherapist with many years of experience, starting out in the NHS, and now working with top flight athletes, as well as treating patients who are performing all levels of exercise.
Whether you are new to exercising, are a weekend warrior, or a regular daily exerciser, or if you find yourself cramming in moments to get your heart rate up, you should find moments in every day to stretch your legs and your lungs.
With the well described "runners high" phenomenon, where the release of the happy hormones (endorphins) is known to bring a feeling of temporary euphoria and contribute to longer term wellbeing, rest assured that running is not the only exercise that creates this!
When it come to exercising, it’s important to remember the basics:
1. Always consult with a medical professional before embarking on any new exercise if you are unpracticed, and of course be sensible and stop/pause if you feel faint, dizzy, unwell, or not yourself at any time during your workouts. Feeling a few generalised mild to moderate muscle and joint aches are expected, whether you are new to exercising, or are stepping up your level. and as the body adapts to its increased activity these should resolve after 2-3 days. However, you should never push your body beyond what feels comfortable, and if you have severe or persisting pain or loss of function you must seek medical attention.
2. Be realistic: Build up your exercise time and effort gradually: as a general rule of thumb, don't increase your exercise capacity more than 10% per week to avoid injury and illness. Remember that Rome wasn't built in a day, and you don't need to aim to become an elite athlete!
3. Know your baseline: gain an understanding of what your baseline fitness is-are you a regular exerciser or a new exerciser? Is the exercise you do more cardiovascular and making you out of breath, or is the exercise you do of lower impact, or more toning and weight based? These differences will affect the choices you make and the structure of what you do within your chosen exercise(s).
4. Identify your purpose for exercising: Of course we have included it here to promote your general wellbeing and improved mental and physical health. But you may have a more specific purpose in mind: it may be for weight loss, fat burning, toning, core stability, general increased fitness, improving your personal best time, improved sleep, or all of the above! And all of which will contribute to your overall wellbeing.
5. Plan: Factor in time to exercise within your weekly schedule.
6. Set goals: Set daily, weekly, monthy exercise targets to help with your ongoing compliance. Perhaps consider the help of a fitness app or a fitness watch to help motivate you and drive achieving your goals.
7. Don't be too rigid: You are busy! You should allow yourself wiggle room to adjust when, where, how, and for how long, you do your exercise within your schedule, as we all know that life and work can throw things at us at short notice, and throw your plans out of kilter!
8. Find a buddy: Exercise is always more fun and more acheiveable when done socially. Whether it's a walk to work with a friend, or a walk around the hospital grounds during your lunchbreak (make sure you get one!) with a colleague, or a exercise class or run with your partner or friend, this can be done! There are also apps, you tube videos (see below) and online virtual training tools (eg Nike Run Club) that enable you to exercise with the interation of others, even if you are alone, or prefer to work out in the privacy of your own home.
9. Variety is key: As a general rule avoid the same activity or exercise on consecutive days to allow the body and its activated muscle groups to recover. Changing what you do each day keeps you stimulated and motivated and removes the boredom factor!
10. Get the right gear: Always exercise in comfortable sports clothing, and ensure that you have well fitting trainers or sports shoes appropriate for the form of exercise that you are doing. And adding some music always helps too!
11. Remember that warming up and recovery are as important as the exercise that you are doing:
Preparing for exercise: Always make sure you have fuel and hydration on board before starting any exercise- you wouldn't drive your car when the fuel guage is empty or run it on the wrong fuel. See our Nutrition page for more.
Recovery should encompass stretching, rehydration, refuelling, massage, and rest! Sleep is the most underrated recovery strategy-see our Sleep page for more.
12. Choose your environment: The weather, the time of day, the time of year (those dark months), your work load, , your friend dropping out, and the availability of facilites, may all affect your motivation to exercise! Remember that you can adapt what you have planned to do and you should factor in a plan B for each scheduled exercise
(try an app or you tube exercise at home instead of at the gym for example)
And importantly ENJOY IT! Exercise shouldn't be seen as a chore, especially when looking to incorporate it into your already busy and stressful life! If it becomes that way, you should either change the exercise that you are doing, or make it more manageable with your time, type, and place of exercise.
Here we will be regularly seeking advice and regular tips from an elite sports physiotherapist with many years of experience, starting out in the NHS, and now working with top flight athletes, as well as treating patients who are performing all levels of exercise.
Whether you are new to exercising, are a weekend warrior, or a regular daily exerciser, or if you find yourself cramming in moments to get your heart rate up, you should find moments in every day to stretch your legs and your lungs.
With the well described "runners high" phenomenon, where the release of the happy hormones (endorphins) is known to bring a feeling of temporary euphoria and contribute to longer term wellbeing, rest assured that running is not the only exercise that creates this!
When it come to exercising, it’s important to remember the basics:
1. Always consult with a medical professional before embarking on any new exercise if you are unpracticed, and of course be sensible and stop/pause if you feel faint, dizzy, unwell, or not yourself at any time during your workouts. Feeling a few generalised mild to moderate muscle and joint aches are expected, whether you are new to exercising, or are stepping up your level. and as the body adapts to its increased activity these should resolve after 2-3 days. However, you should never push your body beyond what feels comfortable, and if you have severe or persisting pain or loss of function you must seek medical attention.
2. Be realistic: Build up your exercise time and effort gradually: as a general rule of thumb, don't increase your exercise capacity more than 10% per week to avoid injury and illness. Remember that Rome wasn't built in a day, and you don't need to aim to become an elite athlete!
3. Know your baseline: gain an understanding of what your baseline fitness is-are you a regular exerciser or a new exerciser? Is the exercise you do more cardiovascular and making you out of breath, or is the exercise you do of lower impact, or more toning and weight based? These differences will affect the choices you make and the structure of what you do within your chosen exercise(s).
4. Identify your purpose for exercising: Of course we have included it here to promote your general wellbeing and improved mental and physical health. But you may have a more specific purpose in mind: it may be for weight loss, fat burning, toning, core stability, general increased fitness, improving your personal best time, improved sleep, or all of the above! And all of which will contribute to your overall wellbeing.
5. Plan: Factor in time to exercise within your weekly schedule.
6. Set goals: Set daily, weekly, monthy exercise targets to help with your ongoing compliance. Perhaps consider the help of a fitness app or a fitness watch to help motivate you and drive achieving your goals.
7. Don't be too rigid: You are busy! You should allow yourself wiggle room to adjust when, where, how, and for how long, you do your exercise within your schedule, as we all know that life and work can throw things at us at short notice, and throw your plans out of kilter!
8. Find a buddy: Exercise is always more fun and more acheiveable when done socially. Whether it's a walk to work with a friend, or a walk around the hospital grounds during your lunchbreak (make sure you get one!) with a colleague, or a exercise class or run with your partner or friend, this can be done! There are also apps, you tube videos (see below) and online virtual training tools (eg Nike Run Club) that enable you to exercise with the interation of others, even if you are alone, or prefer to work out in the privacy of your own home.
9. Variety is key: As a general rule avoid the same activity or exercise on consecutive days to allow the body and its activated muscle groups to recover. Changing what you do each day keeps you stimulated and motivated and removes the boredom factor!
10. Get the right gear: Always exercise in comfortable sports clothing, and ensure that you have well fitting trainers or sports shoes appropriate for the form of exercise that you are doing. And adding some music always helps too!
11. Remember that warming up and recovery are as important as the exercise that you are doing:
Preparing for exercise: Always make sure you have fuel and hydration on board before starting any exercise- you wouldn't drive your car when the fuel guage is empty or run it on the wrong fuel. See our Nutrition page for more.
Recovery should encompass stretching, rehydration, refuelling, massage, and rest! Sleep is the most underrated recovery strategy-see our Sleep page for more.
12. Choose your environment: The weather, the time of day, the time of year (those dark months), your work load, , your friend dropping out, and the availability of facilites, may all affect your motivation to exercise! Remember that you can adapt what you have planned to do and you should factor in a plan B for each scheduled exercise
(try an app or you tube exercise at home instead of at the gym for example)
And importantly ENJOY IT! Exercise shouldn't be seen as a chore, especially when looking to incorporate it into your already busy and stressful life! If it becomes that way, you should either change the exercise that you are doing, or make it more manageable with your time, type, and place of exercise.
Tips:
If you're a complete begninner and are thinking of taking up running, our fitness expert advises that you start very slowly, with a 1 minute jog, followed by a 1 minute walk, and repeat this for increasing time increments as you feel able. As it gets easier you can increase the time that you run in between the interval recovery walks, and in time you may come to replace the walks with continuous jogging!
If you're a complete begninner and are thinking of taking up running, our fitness expert advises that you start very slowly, with a 1 minute jog, followed by a 1 minute walk, and repeat this for increasing time increments as you feel able. As it gets easier you can increase the time that you run in between the interval recovery walks, and in time you may come to replace the walks with continuous jogging!