Stay Fit in Less Time
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Stay Fit in Less Time 20-minute cycle workout 20-minute run Endurance Flexibility Strength << back to Work/Life Balance << back to ANF Women's Forum  |
Flexibility Expert recommendations The average desk-bound worker loses a quarter to a third of her range of motion during her adult life. Not good: decreased mobility sets you up for injuries like muscle strains and tears, and could see you in a nursing home before you hit 80. Exercise physiologist Peter Woodgate advises you stretch two to three days every week, with at least four stretching repetitions per muscle group. Go by with less Prisca Boris, cofounder of Yoga for Athletes, recommends doing a downward dog to stave off tight muscles. “It’s the ultimate pose for lengthening the spine,” she says. To stretch your front: stand with feet together. Extend your arms overhead, palms facing each other. Press your heels into the floor and, keeping your arms and legs straight, lean your torso to the right as far as is comfortable. Repeat to the left. Do the stretch sequences three times a week, repeating the flow three times. The least you can do A once-a-day, full-body stretch sequence that you can do anywhere, any time. “Even 30 seconds a day can keep you from tightening up,” says physical therapist Vincent Perez, from Columbia-Presbyterian Eastside Hospital in New York. Try this: windmill your arms from the shoulder three times forward and three times back. Place your hands on your hips and lean to the right from the waist, hold for five seconds, then repeat on the other side. With your right leg in front of you, draw three circles clockwise with your right heel, then reverse and do three circles counter-clockwise. Repeat with the left leg. |