7 Days of Exercise with Sara
You all may have heard my many speeches about being active, doing your strength and maintaining good flexibility? If you even wondered if “I practice what I preach” – Read on!
Why do I workout:
- Low back Pain scares me too! There are few injuries that are as elusive or onset as freakishly fast as low back pain. Simple actions like slipping on a shoe, sitting weird in an airplane, unbuckling a child from a car seat or even reaching for keys dropped on the ground can trigger one of the more excruciating pains and debilitating feelings known to man. Frightening!
- So I can keep doing my job. Working with patients on my chiropractic table (especially the ART I do) is labor intensive and repetitive. I need to keep my arms, upper back and core strong and stable in order to stay healthy while helping my patients.
- I like to be active. Hiking, biking, running, skiing, playing with my kids, as well as strength and yoga is a big part of my life that I really enjoy.
I don’t exercise to keep my weight down or body composition in check. For the most part, when my life is full of lots of healthy activity my weight and body composition takes care of itself. If ever need to drop a couple pounds of fat, I just adjust my diet a little.
So here is my week:
Monday: Yoga. I typically do a 20 minute yoga session that I found on YouTube followed by 10 minutes of practice on my own targeting stressed and tight areas. My yoga session isn’t strenuous; rather it simply works me through ranges of motions that I commonly use throughout my life.
Tuesday: Run. I run 60 minutes (sometimes more) with a friend. I like a steady long run like this for the cardio benefit and the steady impact keeps the joints and bones strong and resilient. The cool thing about the hour run is that I can always build from it and be ready for a ½ Marathon in 6-8 weeks; if I feel so inclined.
Wednesday: Strength and Yoga. My strength routines have a lot of basic moves like squats, lunges, push-ups, bridges, pull-ups and as well as more aggressive moves like burpies and jumping. I also like to use a fitball, medicine ball and an occasional kettle bell. I work lots of rotation exercises into my routine as well as full body movements. Lately I have been doing my strength in my basement followed by yoga to be more efficient with my time.
Thursday: Hike or Bike. I typically get out with my husband for a strong hike in the mountain or a bike ride. If any of you have ever met my husband you would know that a hike with him is less like a walk and more like an aggressive scramble up a mountain. …or an an easy ride for him is like a mountain stage of the Tour de France for me.
Friday: More Strength and Yoga. If did a slower full body routine on Wednesday, I might do a faster paced circuit style routine today. This type of session keeps my metabolism healthy, and makes me stronger when I am tired.
Saturday: Interval or Hill Run. This where I rev it up with hill repeats or speed to really challenge my heart and legs. These reps are also great for developing the functional range of motion I need in case I have to chase after my dog or try to compete with my kids in a game of soccer.
Sunday: Family hike and Strength: A little more relaxing than Thursday but the kids move pretty well when the trail is interesting and challenging enough. I usually get another strength session in on Sunday. I will try to focus more on balance and stability exercises. I will do exercises while standing on one leg or side planks for my core.
So there you have it; my Surgeon General Recommended 30-60 minutes of exercise a day. My week will vary slightly but it always includes plenty of exercises that challenge my muscles, joints and heart while keeping my body educated on how to move safely with good strength and proper support.
There is me – putting my exercising self out there,
Sara
