Winter Warm Up!
January, February, March – seems like these months never end making us look forward to the spring. These months are cold and dark, which isn’t all that bad except your body does needs to stay warm to be at its maximum benefit of health. Because of the cold (never mind snow and ice) folks tend to stay more indoors than venture out to the stores, and sadly the gym or exercise classes. At this time of year,you can still do “summer” exercises indoors such as swimming or running/jogging without ever leaving your house or breaking anything of value that happens to get in your way! Below are a few examples of how you can do these “summer” exercises and still stay in the comfort and warmth of your happy home!
RUNNING: “Taps” as I call them: Sit in a sturdy/comfy chair. Put feet flat on floor with shoes/sneakers on your feet. Lift your heels up so that the toe portion of your foot is on the floor. Alternate lifting one toe off the floor and then the other, simulating running in place. Start by doing this for 10 seconds and work up to a minute. Trust me these are harder than they sound! When you get the hang of these, voila! You are “running” in place!
SWIMMING: Seated in that sturdy/comfy chair, place your arms straight out in front of you. Simulate “swimming” by taking your right hand and pushing the “water” back and then do the same with the left arm. The swimming style is called free style swim. Do these for 10 repetitions, 3 sets. Once you have mastered this – add the legs! Lift both legs off the floor straight in front, with your toe pointing forward, “flap” your legs alternating to simulate kicking the “water” with your toes. Once you have mastered that portion, add the arms and you are “swimming!”
These exercises will not only keep you flexible and limber; they are primarily targeting circulation by involving your heart and lungs as well as your muscles. Important especially if you don’t get out much nor can you increase your heart rate easily or safely. As you can see, with a little education, ingenuity and motivation to exercise, not to mention a good sense of humor about looking a bit silly to the rest of the world, you can get benefits of exercise pretty much anywhere indoors regardless of the weather outside!!! Keep healthy and warm from Aviv Centers for Living!
