Why are you waiting for a ‘fresh start’ and why is January 1st the time to change habits and start over.
Whether you are a current patient recovering from injury or just looking to stay healthy over the Christmas break we should all be doing some form of exercise or activity over the break.
Exercise can be key to refreshing the mind and getting the body feeling good after an eventful 2021. SO.. why wait until 2022?
There are some easy tricks to stay active over the Christmas break whilst either on holidays or without giving up too much time.
#1. Increase your step count
Christmas is a very busy time of year, we catch up with friends and family, go out for dinner and drinks and run around after the kids.
None of this will change but we can try and increase our step count whilst doing this.
Some easy ways to go about this is by parking an extra 500 m away from the aquarium or restaurant, pick a nice park in town and walk around and see the Christmas lights, or simply get up 30 minutes earlier and go for a small walk.
Movement is a great way to increase the functionality of our joints, help with sleep and mental unwinding and decrease global muscle inflammation.
#2. Make Catch up’s active
We always want to see friends and family during the break, as we should. But instead of going out for lunch or simply meeting for a coffee add a walk in beforehand.
Meet up, walk around the lake. We are still able to get our social connection while staying active. This is also a great way to challenge friends and family and get kids out of the house.
#3. Do something rather than nothing
Without a doubt there is time restraint when exercising over the Christmas break.
Whether this be because of how busy we are or simply that we are on holidays. So do something rather than nothing. Looking to get lunch at the beach, walk instead of drive.
We don’t have to be running for hours to stay fit and healthy and maintain our spinal health, get up and do something each day rather than nothing.
#4. DO something fun
Let out your inner kid. Exercise doesn’t always have to be running, walking, or going to the gym.
Do something different and do something fun. There are lots of great ways to exercise and increase our heart rate.
Go to an adventure park, take the family rock climbing, go for a scenic ride around the lake, or take the family to a trampoline centre. When we exercise our goal is to increase our heart rate and move our body. So go do something fun.
#5. Choose the right Secret Santa gift
This is one of my favourites! Most of us will be in at least one secret Santa this festive season. Rather than adding another box of shortbread (delicious as it is) to the mix, grab a cheap badminton set or some other active game. Chances are this will be used and utilized at some stage.
#6. Involve the family
No one likes to be alone and isolated when exercising. Make exercise fun and active and involve the family in the above 5 tips and tricks.
We are more likely to move and exercise more if we have others around us. We can look at increasing our step count by taking the family to a museum or aquarium.
Exercising over the Christmas break is all about keeping our body’s moving. Movement is key to improving our muscle, joint and spine range of motion and muscle strength.
Stretching is also another great way to keep our spinal and muscle mobility stable whilst on holidays.
If you are looking for stretching or exercise programs throughout the break, please contact your Canberra Spine centre chiropractor for more details.
For more information on exercise or to book a consultation please call us on (02) 6257 9400. If you would like some more information about the spine and nervous system and how it relates to your health, please check out the other articles on our Facebook page or go to our website: www.spinecentre.com.au.