Do you ever feel tight in your hips, shoulders or back? Do you struggle getting out of bed, or find that you aren’t as flexible as you used to be? Increasing mobility and flexibility is crucial to long term health. As we age, it is important to warm up the body properly, but also activate our muscles before exercising, as well as cool down properly once we complete our workout.
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Gone are the days of jumping right into a high intensity workout without a proper warm-up, or post-workout stretch. Unless you want to risk injury or muscle soreness. I fully believe everyone can benefit from adding one day of yoga to their current workout routine.
I’ve seen so many people have to quit their exercise program because they aren’t taking the time to properly warm up and cool down, or stretch. If you want to increase flexibility and be able to exercise well into your geriatric years, take the time to SLOW DOWN now!
I’ve been working through a 13-week strength program and what I’ve learned from my trainer is how to take 8-10 minutes prior to working out to warm up properly. Start with slow standing squats to warm up the legs and glutes, work through cat & cow to allow your spine to contract, open up through a deep chest stretch, stretch the quadricep and hamstring muscles, and walk out from standing position to a plank and back up through what we call inchworm to warm up!
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Spending about 1 minute slowly moving through each movement will allow your body to get warm.
Once you are warm, you can begin to focus on a single muscle group or a combination of muscle groups through guided resistance and strength training. I like to break my workouts up with one dedicated lower body day, one dedicated upper body day, two total body workouts, one cardio workout, and one mobility and flexibility day.
I want to share a series I created from a mobility and flexibility workout that focuses on building core strength and increasing hip mobility. These 4 moves incorporate 1 core move with 1 hip mobility movement:
- High plank & Downward Dog
- Low plank & Hip hike
- Right side plank & hip dip
- Left side plank & hip dip
Hold each move for 45 seconds and take a 15 second break, or 2 deep breaths in between moves. Watch the video for a proper demonstration of each move and give it a try yourself. I promise your core will feel stronger and your hips won’t feel as tight. Cheers to improving mobility and flexibility for long-term health benefits.
LISA FOUGHT
Lisa is a 41 year-old mom & wife who lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL with her husband Josh, and two boys, Jackson-8, and Hudson-6. She is a fitness fanatic who started her affection for sports at a young age through gymnastics, Volleyball, Track, and Cheerleading.
Lisa is from Lebanon, Indiana where she grew up and went on to Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Allied Health Science and Secondary Education . After graduating college, Lisa moved to Charleston, South Carolina where she started teaching as an adjunct instructor at a community college. She pursued her group fitness certification while teaching at the college and has continued to teach group classes for the past 17 years.
Lisa currently teaches Yoga and Pilates at her community gym and is a Virtual Health Coach who helps pair women with fitness & nutrition plans that fit their lifestyle and budget. When she isn’t coaching, teaching at the gym, or leading a zoom workout, Lisa enjoys traveling with her family and spending time at the beach, or the waterparks in her community.
Lisa is thrilled to join the Peaceful Living Wellness community. She will be sharing some of her favorite workouts & nutrition tips with you.
