Making More of Movement and Home Exercises

In a previous blog post, we talked about the importance of being consistent with a home exercise program. It can be easy to say, “be consistent with your home exercises” but sometimes it’s not as easy to do. Schedules, energy levels, and even sickness can all affect follow-through with exercises.

In the physical therapy world, we often call home exercise programs “homework,” but they shouldn’t be something you dread! Our bodies are made to move in a lot of different directions and ways, but our modern world doesn’t always make it easy to keep movement as a part of our routine. Here are a few idea to change your mindset about home exercises:

Think of your exercises as a “movement vitamin.”

Just like you would take a multivitamin or a medication for specific conditions, movement should be something we do to keep our bodies happy. One dose of movement a day can go a long way!

Break it down into a few movements several times a day if you have trouble doing it all at once. 

Doing half of your home exercises in the morning and half in the evening may help make it feel like less of a chore. It will also keep your joints and muscles moving more frequently throughout the day. Our bodies are meant to move!

Do your exercises while you’re doing other things.

Waiting for your lunch to heat up in the microwave? Do a stretch or some mini squats. Catching up on the evening news? Do another stretch or a set of heel raises while you’re watching. Use the time, even in short increments, to make a difference in how your body feels.

Keeping your body in motion helps with a variety of conditions.

Arthritis, heart disease, and diabetes are just a few conditions that can be positively affected by exercise. It can even help reduce stress (and who isn’t stressed?). The benefits of exercise are too numerous to count!

Start small.

You don’t need to run a mile or a marathon in order to get results from movement. Simple stretches and easy full body motions can help loosen tight muscles and get you feeling better. 

The old “no pain, no gain” way of thinking doesn’t have to apply.

You don’t need to push into or past pain. You don’t even need to sweat if you don’t want to! Moving your body can be gentle, and yes, even fun, which brings up the next point.

Find something you enjoy to keep you active.

Don’t like to run? Then don’t! There are so many ways to exercise, and you shouldn’t force yourself to do something you hate. Challenge yourself to try something you’ve never done before every once in a while, and you might be surprised by how much fun you have.

Join or create a group of fellow movement enthusiasts to keep it social.

Having a group of people to keep you going is an important piece of staying active. This could look like joining an exercise class, participating in a bowling league, or even starting a walking group in your neighborhood. You could even video chat with your best friend and work out together. The possibilities are endless! Not only can your group keep each other active, you can also meet new people and deepen friendships.

Is pain or another factor limiting you from getting more physical activity? We can help with that! Contact us for more information on how we can help you get moving!