Moving for ME! | NextGen Speaks Out on Health/Fitness
Our bodies are meant to move, it feels good and keeps us healthy. Think back to when you were a kid, thrilled at the chance to run and play at recess. That feeling of freedom, getting to stretch your muscles, to chase after a ball or a friend….. Exercise makes your body healthy; your brain releases endorphins (chemicals that are reported to decrease pain and stress), your muscles get stronger, it just feels good.
There are many more benefits to moving around than there are for staying still.
In my profession as a Massage Therapist I see daily the results of too much exercise and opposite to that the results of too much sedentary living. I have to say that I prefer to see more people coming to me for sore muscles from exercise than from not exercising. Of course a balance between too much and too little exercise is best, and that balance is different for each individual. It often seems hard to find the time, and seems even harder to find a consensus of what a person should do.
Personally I break down health and fitness activities into a few categories. Nutrition, strengthening and flexibility are all factors that we usually have the most control over. I’m not a nutritionist so I won’t go into that aspect, but I do have experience with the musculoskeletal system: our bones and muscles. My opinion of how to start and what to do is simple; do something!!!
To me fitness does not mean having the body of a weightlifter or swimsuit model…it is being able to perform the tasks in life that you wish to do.
This is what I feel people should focus on. Everybody has some limitation on what they can do, so work around it, but do something every day. Stick with realistic goals and activities that make you happy. Make sure you choose things easy for you to access as well, to ensure that you will actually do them. Buy some silly putty from a dollar store so that you can squeeze/play with it at work. Take the stairs more often. Buy an active video game and challenge friends/family to beat your score. Get together at break with a partner to stretch, or set an alarm at your desk to get you to stretch throughout the day. Set aside some time to wrestle with your kids or walk with them to the park. If you hate going to the gym, then don’t- find something else you enjoy.
There are as many ways to exercise as there are excuses not to.
I spent 6 months in a wheelchair prior to becoming a Massage Therapist a few years ago, so I had to find new ways to work my body within many new limitations. I started by wiggling my toes. That’s it! My muscles became stronger as I healed and I added other activities as I was able. To keep my arms active I got therapeutic rubber bands and throughout the day would put them to work, simply moving my arms through their natural range. To me the only thing halting us is our imagination!
A client of mine said it best recently, when talking about being able to stop using crutches “being mobile has changed everything!”. I wholeheartedly agree.
Do something! Move! You owe it to yourself
.
Bio:
Kristian Jacobsen BSc, RMT
Kristian is a Registered Massage Therapist currently working at “The Chiropractors at Commerce Place” and making on-site visits during non-office hours (780) 616-0950.
A lifelong proponent of physical action, Kristian has worked in various fields before a skydiving accident broke both of his legs and caused him to take a different career path. Time spent recovering further impressed upon Kristian the importance of continual health awareness.
On a daily basis he strives to assist people in gaining back quality of life due to impeded muscular motion, utilizing skills learned in massage at Grant MacEwan University, during his degree in Biology at the University of Alberta, and life experiences as a Sempai (instructor) of the martial art of Ju-jitsu and a varied work history. He strives to ensure that each treatment is individualized to best suit each clients specific needs and limitations.
Disclaimer
NextGen Speaks Out, our guest blogging series, is envisioned as a hub for information and discussion. NextGen is a non-political, non-denominational organization focused on giving all nextgeners a voice. NextGen does not represent the opinions expressed by the individual columnists.