Why bother?
Good question…
Here is why : A growing body of evidence links the amount of time spent sitting to illness and even death.
Minimizing long periods of inactivity, by exercising during commercial breaks, can help reduce the risk of injury and may even help you live longer.
Here are more ideas for the couch potato set.
Consider trying some of these exercises during the typical three-to-four-minute TV commercial break.
Sit to stand routine:
Why it helps: This exercise works the quadriceps in the front of the thigh and gluteal muscles in the buttocks, which helps protect your ability to get up from a chair, out of a car, or off a bathroom seat. In addition, it’s possible to use repeated repetitions of this exercise to get your heart rate up.
How to do it: Go from sitting to standing to sitting again, 10 times in a row. Rest for a minute, then repeat.
Calf stretch
Why it helps: Keeping your calves optimally flexible can keep your walking stride longer, reduce your risk of tripping over your toes, and reduce your risk for common foot injuries such as plantar fasciitis.
How to do it: Sit on the edge of a couch with your feet flat on the floor. With one leg, keeping your heel on the floor, lift and point the toes toward the ceiling, so that you feel a stretch in your calf muscle. Hold for 30 seconds, then do the same with the other leg, three times per leg.
Stand on one leg
Why it helps: Balance gets better if you practice it, which can decrease the risk of falling.
How to do it: Holding on to the back of a chair for stability, lift one heel toward your buttocks. Hold for 30 to 45 seconds, three times per leg. To improve your balance on unsteady surfaces, try this with shoes off on a balled-up beach towel.
Shoulder blade squeeze
Why it helps: This can help prevent that rounded, shoulders-forward posture that can develop from many years of sitting, especially at a computer.
How to do it: Pinch your shoulder blades together, but not up (don’t shrug). Hold for 10 seconds, then repeat 10 times.
Hand squeeze
Why it helps: Keeping your grip strong makes it possible to turn a door knob, open a jar, and grasp a gallon of milk.
How to do it: While seated upright, hold a ball (the size of a basketball) over your lap with both hands, then squeeze the ball as if you’re trying to deflate it. Hold for a few seconds, then release. Repeat 10 times, rest, then do another set of 10 repetitions. You can also improve your grip strength by squeezing a small rubber ball in one hand.
To your health.
Abaigeal Bass.