6 posts tagged “walking”
This weekend as my husband and I followed our first outhouse on its maiden voyage, via backhoe, up the escarpment hill to its place of honour on the trails, I thought of something to post this week…
Well, Sue, that certainly is a strange lead-in. Yes, it is. Lots of things are strange … particularly how things connect in our minds at times.
There I was, walking backward up a steep hill (well ahead of the unit in case of an incident … wouldn’t want to be crushed by a falling outhouse!) supervising angles and distance below the unit when I realized … about half way up … my shins and glutes were not happy. Ah ha! Something to write about on my blog, I thought to myself…
Quite some time ago there were a series of posts on walking and baby steps to changing your routine – variations on a theme. This is one I hadn’t thought of at the time.
When we walk in our normal manner (or do any other routine for that matter), our body quickly adapts to the methodology. It is important to constantly add in little ‘surprises’ to keep the body ‘on its toes’ so to speak. This one (and tomorrow’s) will do just that.
Is there an area near you, perhaps where you walk now, that has a fairly steep incline? Yes? Perfect. If not, see if you can think of one. If not, try this the next time you chance upon a hill.
Walk normally until you get to the incline area. Then, turn around backwards and walk up the incline in reverse. If you don’t do this regularly, you may need to pay extra attention to your surroundings … it is more difficult than you think. While walking in reverse, be aware of how your body is reacting differently. The way it automatically adapts for balance; your weight distribution on your feet; the different stress on your knee and hip joints; the new sensations in your muscles.
These types of exercises are important parts of adaptation for your brain and are very useful as we age. The more aware we are of our spatial orientation, the better balanced our bodies will be. The more balanced we are, the less chance of falling and being injured.
Tomorrow: a variation on this concept.
To better balance…
Susan Crutcher, RRPr, CPTN-CPT, PHC
Life Empowerment Mentor, Health & Wellness Coach, Baby Steps to Success Expert
www.SueCrutcher.com; www.Sutopia.com
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Permission to reprint. This article (and all articles on this blog) is copyrighted by Susan Crutcher. You have permission to reprint this article in its entirety as long as you include the following credit with the article:
Susan Crutcher is the author of “Health & Wellness Made Simple” and is currently working on a series of self empowerment books which incorporate her baby steps to success theory. She is a life empowerment mentor, health and wellness coach, baby steps to success expert and motivational speaker, is certified in personal training and over a dozen complementary care modalities with over 30 years of teaching experience. Susan is manager of Greystone Retreat (a luxury rental home on Georgian Bay), co-founder of Academy of Holistic Modalities Inc (holistic education), editor of the Reflexology Registration Council of Ontario (RRCO) newsletter ‘In Touch’ and a founding member of the Grey-Bruce Spiritual Network (GBSN). Download and enjoy a free sample of her book at: www.SueCrutcher.com
Do you have any idea how many steps you walk in a day? We’ll have to not count the last few weeks as we were all tied to our computers, but, in a normal day, do you have any idea?
The average is 10,000. I was pretty sure I did at least that and perhaps more but I had no idea … other than my greenhouse is 624 strides from my front door up a 100’ hill so it’s quite a jaunt and I do that at least once each way daily.
So … I finally broke down and bought a pedometer. Not a fancy, schmanzy, expensive one – just a simple one that has number of steps, total distance and a clock. It only has 3 buttons to press so it is easy to use (ok, I admit, I couldn’t find the one button … my husband had to hunt it down. Turns out it was under the label … who would have looked there?)
Last Wednesday, I tested it for the day – I was doing laundry at the retreat, my house and my office (21 loads) and touring on the golf cart between all the places so the count was down from normal. In just four hours, I had clocked 9,623 strides and it wasn’t even lunch. I took it off at lunch and forgot to put it back on for the rest of the day -- we usually have supper at 7-7:30 and relax the rest of the evening (catch up on blogs and the like) so I didn’t get an actual count. Obviously, I’m past the average which is excellent. I felt good about that.
I highly recommend you invest in one of these little devices – you’ll get a real measurement for tracking purposes and they are quite inspirational.
Let us all know how far you walk in a day…
To your health…
Sue Crutcher, Baby Steps to Success Mentor
Already? Yes. A whole week has gone by...
This week we worked on:
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Add another ¼ to ½ cup of water to daily intake
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Walking a little more than normal each day
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Walking backward
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Walking sideways
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Calf stretch
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The evil plank
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Do your remember the meaning of proprioception?
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Line drying clothes
Last week review:
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Add ¼ to ½ cup of water to daily intake
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Try one new fruit or vegetable
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Attempt to eat a fruit or vegetable of each colour daily
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Not look at your scale
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Use a smaller plate at lunch/dinner
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Sleep a little better
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Clean up for one or two 15 minute segments
I trust you are adding in what you can each day. Most of these 'baby steps' require little or no extra time in your daily schedule and are very easy to incorporate. If you are able to keep them up for 6 weeks, they will become part of your 'routine'; if you keep them up for 12 weeks, you are on your way to a new 'lifestyle'.
Looking forward…
This upcoming week will feature baby steps to home and office organization.
To your ongoing success…
Sue Crutcher, Life Empowerment Mentor, Success Coach, Personal Trainer
In keeping with Matt’s blog on conserving energy, I would like to remind everyone that in addition to using the clothes dryer at a lower temperature than you usually would, also consider:
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Laying items flat to dry
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Line drying on a rack (or on a line in the bathtub)
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Or, if you are lucky enough, line dry outside – very fresh and crisp laundry result
I use only warm or cold water for laundry now and I find with my complementary health care practice that cold water actually works best especially on sheets that have aromatherapy oils on them. If I use warm or hot (most people mistakenly choose hot) water, it actually ‘cooks’ the oils into the sheets and they smell rancid very quickly. Not a nice ambiance for the next client.
Check-in:
Are you managing your walking backwards, sideways and a few planks this week? I trust you are expending energy there not conserving it. This is one place where it is better to use energy.
Keep up the good work!
Sue Crutcher, Baby Steps to Success
In keeping with Matt’s blog on conserving energy, I would like to remind everyone that in addition to using the clothes dryer at a lower temperature than you usually would, also consider:
-
Laying items flat to dry
-
Line drying on a rack (or on a line in the bathtub)
-
Or, if you are lucky enough, line dry outside – very fresh and crisp laundry result
I use only warm or cold water for laundry now and I find with my complementary health care practice that cold water actually works best especially on sheets that have aromatherapy oils on them. If I use warm or hot (most people mistakenly choose hot) water, it actually ‘cooks’ the oils into the sheets and they smell rancid very quickly. Not a nice ambiance for the next client.
Check-in:
Are you managing your walking backwards, sideways and a few planks this week? I trust you are expending energy there not conserving it. This is one place where it is better to use energy.
Keep up the good work!
Sue Crutcher, Baby Steps to Success
I promised I would give you the meaning of proprioception today. Here it is before we get to today’s baby step to success.
PROPRIOCEPTION: Information is constantly being processed throughout our bodies which basically ‘locates’ us in space – sort of like your GPS system on your car. It allows us to run, talk, lift, grab, and perform other complex tasks. Messages are sent to the brain from various ‘sensors’ within our body (muscles, tendons, ligaments). These sensors tell our brain the amount of tension on the muscle; how much stress a tendon or ligament is under as well as the position of a particular joint. All of this information (and more) allows our brain to ‘locate’ our body in space.
Today: walk sideways
On a smooth surface, face perpendicular to your goal a short distance away.
Move the leading foot (the one closest to your goal) first toward your goal, follow with the other foot bringing it along side (but not crossing over) the leading foot.
Repeat over and over until you reach your goal (this works the inner and outer thighs very well). It should become a ‘flowing’ motion, almost like skipping. Once you catch on to the rhythm of the movement, it becomes quite easy to do.
When you get to your goal, repeat going back to your start point using the second foot now as your leading foot reversing the process.
This exercise works better if you do it more as a skipping motion as it will flow better. However, walking speed is fine if that’s what you can do. Again, we are working on balance and variety for muscle groups.
