Monday, April 15, 2013

Marching Monday with HHWN

 Enjoying A Healthy Life Style with
 Bryant and Anita Hewitt
Monday, April 15, 2013
Food To Chew On:
Monday – Eternalize
1 Peter 1:3 (NKJV)
 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…
Thought for The Day:
To restate Woody Allen’s words: “I want to receive the gift of eternal life and know that my physical death will simple be a rising to the next phase of my relationship with God.”
I trust that your weekend was nice… it is a cloudy Monday in California. It is “Marching Monday!!” We are going to get up and start walking around our home or even at the park, around our block and get the blood pumping! Trust me on this, you will feel better and there is nothing like get a good workout early in the AM to start your day off right…..So Let’s Get Marching with HHWN!!!! J
Neck Stretches For Seniors And The Elderly
Neck stretches for seniors and the elderly are a great way for seniors and the elderly to warm  joint fluids and  deep muscle fibers.
How many times do you need to look over your shoulder while driving, shopping or working in the garden? Probably quite a few times.
 Two  neck stretches you can easily do are presented below.
Rotation of the neck is performed by looking to the right and then the left.
Side bending is a little more difficult and involves bringing your ear toward your left shoulder and then your right shoulder.
This often causes your neck to make some crackling sounds. If this is painful, stop the exercise and only bend your neck in the range that is pain free.
If you feel any dizziness when bending your neck, stop the exercise. Only perform neck movements that do not cause any pain or dizziness. Good luck.
Neck rotation and side bend
Purpose of this exercise
 •Improve the range of motion in our neck.
•Help stretch the upper back and scapular muscles.
How to do it:
Step 1
•Sit comfortably in your chair.
Step 2
•Look to the right as far as comfortable and hold for 5 seconds.
•Then look to the left as far as comfortable and hold for 5 seconds.
Step 3
•Bring your right ear to your right shoulder and hold for 5 seconds.
•Then bring your left ear to your left shoulder and hold for 5 seconds.
 Breathing:
•Continue to breathe normally, in through the nose and out through the mouth.
 Tips:
•Stretching should be enjoyable, stop if you have pain or dizziness.
•Try to hold your shoulders still when turning your head.
•Make sure you bring your ear to your shoulder and not your shoulder to your ear.
Take it up a notch:
•Hold on to the chair seat when performing the side bends to increase the stretch.
Is the Kettlebell all Hype?
It’s the same topic I preach and teach to my clients and members daily. “Don’t just go through the motion, you have to think about every single body detail involved in every movement.” “Mind into the muscle.” Form is everything! If an average fitness seeker who is not familiar or out of practice picks up a kettlebell, most likely they are going to injure themselves. Proper muscle control (body awareness), muscle memory and overall endurance and strength must be reached first! Crawl before you walk! I spend a great amount of time with clients teaching them to retract their shoulder blades, tightening their core, and drawing their chest out…basic posture posititoning! If someone doesn’t have these bare basic involuntary muscles keyed up, then forget about doing dynamic movements. I see it way too much. Guys in MMA swinging a sledge-hammer at a giant tire, for example. Most cannot perform basic exercises in proper form and body control, and they are going to try and get something out of a super-dynamic movement such as swinging a sledge-hammer!  Forget about it! They are burning some calories, but beyond that they are not conditioning or building strength, or improving muscular endurance…they are just going through the motion (unless proper form and muscles have been established prior).
 I am obviously very passionate when it comes to these topics, and I can get lost in discussion. To some it all up, if you decide to use kettlebells, whether you are a top-level athlete looking for an edge or just an average fitness seeker looking to drop some lbs, don’t buy into the overhype, utilize common sense, strengthen up your entire mind-to-muscle pathway and build up your exercise routine into incorporating some of kettlebell movements if you see fit, or want a challenge or change of pace. They are not some magical fitness revolution tool and they will not ever replace dumbbells, barbells, bodyweight, and other forms of resistance or exercise!
A Healthy Menu For
Monday
Enjoy a breakfast of 1 whole wheat English muffin with 1 tsp. soft margarine and 1 tsp. no sugar jam, 1 small orange, 1 cup nonfat milk and coffee or tea with a sugar substitute. For lunch, choose ½ cup tuna on whole wheat pita bread, 1 tsp. low fat mayonnaise, ½ cup green beans and ½ cup fresh blueberries. For dinner, have 3 oz. orange roughy, ½ cup roasted new potatoes, 1 small banana and 1 cup nonfat milk.

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