Category: Exercise

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Benefits of Moving Your Body Daily

Man in blue jacket running in the daytime

It’s recommended that adults get 75-300 minutes of physical activity each week. This number may seem like a lot to some, but next to nothing for others. Either way, it serves as a reminder that a person should be exercising or moving to maintain a healthy lifestyle. If you shy away at the idea of “working out”, it’s okay! You don’t have to shell out dozens of dollars per month for a gym just to stay healthy, there are other ways to get your heart pumping!

Benefits of Moving

It likely does not come as a surprise for most that consistent movement is beneficial to your health. In addition to weight loss, there are a handful of benefits that can be gained by keeping active throughout all parts of the year. Moving your body or exercising carries the benefit of enhancing your mood and improving mental health. Studies have shown that sitting around and not staying active leads to increased anxiety and even depression. Moving around will also cause decreases in stress and can brighten your mood by giving you a sense of accomplishment. Moving around daily also helps support bone health and preservation, brain health, and sex drive.

Ways to Move

Of course, the best way to move your body is to incorporate a workout routine into your day. If you don’t have a gym membership, there are several other ways you can accomplish this and improve your health.

  • Walk – To get moving, one can simply go for a walk! Travel to a large shopping area and browse around or find a trail in the woods to get away from all of the noise and take a nice hike! Either way, walking is a great form of exercise that doesn’t take much effort at all.
  • Stretch – Another easy one, take a few moments each day to stretch, when you wake up, every hour or so while at work, after a workout, whenever it works for you! Stretching helps to move lymph fluid and regulate lactic acid buildup, leading to your body feeling more relaxed.
  • Dance – Dancing is very beneficial to your body as it incorporates weight-bearing exercises such as spinning as well as range-of-motion exercises like arm and hip swings.
  • Working out – This is the most beneficial if you are willing to put in a bit more effort. Working out, either weight training or cardiovascular, not only helps to strengthen your body and maintain healthy weight, but it also has amazing benefits for mental health, such as a decreased possibility of developing depression. If you don’t know where to start, check out fitness YouTube channels for a fun challenge.

Dr. Barbara R. Edwards, a Princeton MD is the Academic Director for the Ambulatory Residency Program at Penn Medicine Princeton Health, providing quality care to uninsured and under-insured New Jersey residents in Mercer and Middlesex counties.

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Recovery Tips After a Workout

Completing a workout feels so rewarding as endorphins are released to make you feel good about the work you’ve put into yourself. Working out regularly has been proven to provide both physical and mental benefits that can improve how people look and feel. However, hours or days after a lengthy workout one can have a different feeling—soreness. There are certain steps people can take after a workout that can improve recovery and prepare them for the next workout they do. Here are some tips for post-workout recovery:

Rehydrate

One of the most important aspects of working out is hydration. This applies even after the workout as muscles need to heal and replenish after intense exercise. Drinking water or even healthy drinks such as black or green tea, coconut water, and low-sugar sports drinks can help improve muscle flexibility and strength along with preventing any soreness. Try to avoid drinks that contain sugar, caffeine, or alcohol as these can cause dehydration.

Stretch

Stretching is very important when it comes to pre-workout and post-workout. Muscles after strenuous activity tend to build up lactic acid which can increase soreness and pain. Not stretching after a workout can increase these and may make the next workout more painful. Doing light workouts on days off or stretching after a workout can prevent acid buildup, boost circulation, and even remove certain toxins. Some light workouts can include walking, yoga, or swimming.

Eat Healthy

What someone eats after a workout matters. Eating healthy, whether it be a snack or a meal, is important, especially for the first 45 minutes after a workout. Foods that are best for this contain both protein and carbohydrates. These two components help with muscle recovery and recharging energy levels respectively.

Dr. Barbara R. Edwards, Princeton Internist, practices at Penn Medicine Princeton Health in the Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center. She is also the Academic Director for the Ambulatory Residency Program at Penn Medicine Princeton Health.

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Simple Daily Exercises to Stay Active

Looking to stay active in between your busy schedule? Read along to learn the benefits of doing simple daily exercises along with some ideas on what to implement into your day-to-day life!

Benefits of being active

  • Increased circulation: Physical activity gets your heart pumping, which, over time, improves your heart’s ability to circulate blood throughout the body. Increased circulation delivers more oxygen to the rest of the body.
  • Improved stamina: Maintaining a routine that integrates physical activity can improve your stamina over time, which raises your tolerance for the length of time in which you can work out or do strenuous activity.
  • Reducing stress: Physical activity can be a healthy outlet for nervous energy you may carry around with you. Additionally, exercise releases endorphins, neurotransmitters produced in the brain that increase feelings of pleasure and well-being.
  • Increased lung capacity: increased lung capacity can help with resilience down the road if you’re exposed to smoke or viral infections. Mainly, increased lung capacity can help with your stamina.
  • Maintaining a healthy weight: while your healthy weight may be different from someone else’s, increased weight gain can be associated with diabetes, heart failure, and many conditions that can be handled through weight loss. 
  • Increased muscle strength: as we age, our muscles don’t have the capacity they once did. Light resistance training can help elderly people maintain healthy levels of muscle mass, which can help them thrive independently for longer.

Simple exercises to try

The easiest exercises you can do daily are those which don’t require going to a gym to use their equipment. Exercises you can do anywhere that don’t require a lot of space are jumping jacks, squats, pushups and sit-ups. Exercises that you can do in most places that require little equipment are using a jump rope, doing wall sits and jogging or running outside. For those who want a calming, less strenuous exercise, yoga can be a great option that you can do from home if you have a towel, mat or carpeted flooring. You can watch free guided tutorials on YouTube for yoga stretches and can cater your routine to the level of exercise that works for you depending on your physical abilities and level of experience exercising. Remember to make sure to consult with your doctor first before trying out changes in your exercise routine to avoid potential overexertion or injury.

Dr. Barbara Edwards, a Princeton MD is the Academic Director for the Ambulatory Residency Program at Penn Medicine Princeton Health, providing quality care to uninsured and under-insured New Jersey residents in Mercer and Middlesex counties

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No Equipment Necessary Exercises

Many people have the idea that in order to stay fit, they need to have a gym membership. They may think “only then I’ll have access to all the equipment that I need in order to stay active, healthy and in good shape”. This is not the case; as long as you have an open space and motivation, there are plenty of ways to stay active without all that gym equipment.

Pinterest

Pinterest is a great place to start when looking for motivation or creative workouts to do without even leaving the house. If you are someone who likes to watch television, you can look up workouts based on the shows you watch. This makes it easy to work out while watching your favorite show: when a character does something predictable, you have an assigned workout to do.  It cannot be overstated how important moving your body and getting that heart rate up is for long term health. Television-centered workouts are perfect for those days you’re not up to doing a full-circuit exercise regimen.

Hiking

For many, there are plenty of places near you to enjoy an active hike. Not only will you be able to enjoy nature and see what it has to offer, but it also it doubles as a full body work out. There are easy hikes and more difficult hikes, but they all help you stay active. Hiking helps build strength, improve balance, and since it’s a cardio workout, it can help manage blood pressure.

Planking

Planks are a great workout to incorporate into your schedule wherever you are. It strengthens the core, as well as other parts of your body. Planks are a beginner-level core exercise that packs a punch, and you can tell while doing it–you will really feel the burn.  Doing planks regularly will help improve posture if you’re able to maintain the right form while in position. Keep a yoga mat at home and at work if you’re able so that you can drop into a plank for thirty seconds to one minute when you have some down time.

Dr. Barbara Edwards, a Princeton MD is the Academic Director for the Ambulatory Residency Program at Penn Medicine Princeton Health, providing quality care to uninsured and under-insured New Jersey residents in Mercer and Middlesex counties.

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Benefits of Outdoor Exercise

Everyone understands why exercise is important both physically and mentally but lacing up those sneakers and getting out there is another story. As the weather becomes milder during the fall season, conditions are ideal for outdoor exercise. Here are a few reasons why you may want to switch up your exercise routine and move some of your workouts outdoors while the weather is so nice:

 

Being Outdoors Helps Fulfill Vitamin D Needs:

One benefit that really separates exercising indoors compared to outdoors is the difference in vitamin D exposure. Vitamin D is absorbed through spending time in the sunlight. There are alternative ways to get vitamin D, however, the sun is one of the best (and easiest) sources to obtain it. Vitamin D not only helps to regulate the amount of calcium & phosphate that is in the body, but it also helps to keep your bones, teeth and muscles sustained.

 

Provides Variation to Regular Routine

Switching up your exercise routine can have many benefits for the body overall. Incorporating outdoor exercise can really help give you a chance to try new things, which can help you avoid common overuse injuries. For example, doing walking lunges up a hill gives a shock to different muscle groups and areas of the body; stabilizer muscles are activated more regularly as the terrain is on an incline. Being outside for exercise will also switch up your training environment. Fresh air is not only good for your body, but for your mind as well.

 

Provides Other Health Benefits that Indoor Gyms Cannot:

Aside from the added benefit of access to vitamin D, exercising outdoors gives us many other health benefits as well. Mentally, exercising outside is a fantastic de-stressor on top of helping to lower blood pressure. Being outside also helps play a role in reducing levels of insomnia and can allow for better overall sleep. Exercising outside can also provide you with access to fresh air–not air-conditioned air that is being breathed in and blown around a hot, sweaty gym full of other people. Working out outdoors also allows you to burn more calories purely from the environment that you are in alone.

Dr. Barbara Edwards, a Princeton MD is the Academic Director for the Ambulatory Residency Program at Penn Medicine Princeton Health, providing quality care to uninsured and under-insured New Jersey residents in Mercer and Middlesex counties.