The Secret to a Great Training Plan

Morning!

Are you ready to get up and go?

Good, because I have an active message for you this morning,
yes,
that’s right we’ve got to start the day as we mean to go on so let’s get up right now and get moving.

I don’t know about you but I sat for wayyyyy too long yesterday.

Despite filming a fun and frantic pyramid workout, striding my normal 4k morning walk to and from school & a little training session with friends last night
(I stood mainly…didn’t do much)

I SAT ON MY BUTT for 11 hours yesterday…I know…mad

I could have flown to Los Angeles in that time!

No such luck…

I sat so much because I got totally engrossed in some computer work,
well,
that combined with my taxi driving service ferrying the children from pillar to post to varying after school activities.

But the shocker, to me, was when I worked out the actual hours I spent sitting, which instantly made me feel stodgy and stiff.

On the bright side,
& there always is one if you look for it

it reminded me to stretch
AND
share with you the most wonderful exercise I do after a long day at a desk, in the car, on a plane and the likes.

So if you’re a serial sitter, first up remember that:

so get up and move as much as you possibly can then,
if you find yourself curling your body up a bit like this:

or this

then follow me and let’s do my favourite stretch right now.
Then repeat it again later
and
again
everyday from now on…

Place your hands on a wall, tree or any upright object for that matter…
then
step back to bring your hips behind you, then lower your chest toward the ground stretching your shoulders
hold for 30-60 seconds and then repeat a few times.

Most of us don’t stretch our bodies and align ourselves as well as we should or as consistently as we should.

And when our muscles are the correct length, the amount of blood flow and therefore oxygen through the body is increased.

This is a really good thing.

Not stretching enough, and consistently holding muscles at a shorter length than they should be, means many of us are only getting 25% of our potential oxygen supply to them.

Not good.

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends we stretch at least two days per week
or
DAILY
if you have lost some joint motion or feel stiff.

(i.e your joints don’t move through their full range…reach up to the ceiling and check your shoulders now…difficult to reach right up? can’t reach straight up without moving your head forward or your muscles are too tight to reach that far?)

Right then,  let’s get to it & from now on let’s make time to stretch daily AND add more movement & less long term sitting to our days

deal?

Make sure you also

KEEP AT IT
BE PATIENT
&
YOU WILL REAP THE REWARDS.

Have a great day

Melissa

xx