The Wellness Wheel: Move.

Last week I introduced our wellness wheel (WW) tool to help you assess your overall approach to your health. Our WW is based on the principals of good health we teach in our

Move.Eat.Be. program.

Based on some comments and feedback, here is a closer look at each segment and spoke of our wheel so you are better able to use this tool in your own life.

Today, we'll start with the Move. segment of our wheel.

Move. has five components: Cardio, Flexibility, Strength, Core and Rest. Incorporating each of these activities into your overall approach to exercise is ideal. During Move.Eat.Be. we help you experiment with different aspects of each component so that you better understand how to get each of these activities into your life in an enjoyable and sustainable way. 

Here are some of the tips from Move.Eat.Be.:

• Cardio. It would be great if we could each get 60 minutes of cardio each and every day. Cardio exercise strengthens your heart, gives you energy, burns off stress and improves your immune system, not to mention the added benefit of weight loss. Sixty minutes a day is a big investment, and while worth it, is simply not realistic for everyone. If you can't do 60 minutes, aim for 30. A 15-minute walk during lunch and 15 more minutes after dinner might work for you. Cardio ideas include: run, jog, brisk walk, bike, row, jump rope, and dance. 

• Flexibility. Stretching your body (and your mind)  is a great idea. We subscribe to the idea that doing some stretching or yoga each day is best. These programs are typically gentle and are a good way to balance out your more vigorous exercise (and other daily stressors). We recommend you start the day with a morning yoga routine and end the day with a total body stretch. 

• Strength. Strength training is very important, particularly as you age. A well-rounded strength routine will help you maintain bone density and will up your metabolism. And, the best thing about strength training is it is easily done in small chunks of time all throughout your day. Keep a set of weights under your desk and do a few shoulder presses, tricep extensions and squats several times a day. A 10-minute strength training break each hour is a great way to increase the exercise in your life. 
• 
Core. Core work is perhaps the most disliked type of exercise. Nobody really likes doing sit-ups (though we all like the idea of six-pack abs!). Having a strong core is great for balance and helps you avoid inadvertent injuries while doing other daily activities. We recommend some core work two to three times per week. And, rest assured sit-ups isn't the only way to work your core. 
• Rest. Perhaps our personal favorite! Rest means two things: getting adequate sleep and giving your body a chance to recover from other exercise. Adequate sleep means 7-9 hours a night. You've heard it before, it has proven true over time. Make sleep a priority in your life! As for the recovery kind of rest, traditional wisdom said a day of rest in between any exercise is what you need. Newer thinking is questioning that theory. Your body will be most healthy if you do some kind of exercise each and every day. And, it is wise to rest major muscle groups between strenuous strength training sessions so as not to risk injury. Our best advice is listen to your body. It will tell you when it has had enough (but don't let the lazy bone inside of you get the better of your wellness goals). 

There you go! A glimpse into Move. and some ideas for you to up the exercise in your life. Remember, you will be most successful with your mission to wellness if you experiment and learn what works best in your life and for your body. Make the time and invest in you!

Stuff

This is a great opportunity! If you think you have too much stuff in your life, think about living with only 100 things. Following on the web challenge to only wear six items of clothing for six months, there is a new challenge... 

Live with only 100 personal possessions like a guy named Dave. In a protest against American consumerism he boiled his life down to 100 things. Read all about Dave and his quest. Interesting stuff. 

Akin to the movie Up in the Air and the backpack, "How much does your life weigh?" 

How many things do you live with? How many do you need? 

3 smiles and 1 frown

Do you remember today? Did anything great happen? Anything bad? This evening when asked "How was your day?" what will you say?

All too often we get caught up in the busy-ness of our daily lives and forget about the little things. I have several friends and colleagues that wear the badge of "busy" proudly on their chest. At some point (was it in the 80s?), being busy became a competitive sport. Many people run around being more busy than the next and then actually add things to do when their busy meter falls below frantic (yes, I have been guilty of this myself).

What do we miss with all of this busy-ness? The smile from a stranger, the hug of a child, the kudos from our boss. Granted, we may miss some not so good stuff too. We stub our toe on a chair, we spill our tea onto some important papers, we hear of the misfortune of a friend or experience some for ourselves.

I contend there is something important in recognizing the good and bad in each day. Recognizing the good helps us remember to be grateful. And the good reminds us life is pretty good on this side of the grass even when we stub our toe. Sure, we'd all like to forget the bad parts of life but they do serve a purpose. The bad parts of life help us to recognize how good the good parts are. Let's face it, life would be pretty boring if everything was perfect. Remember the movie "Pleasantville?"

So here is a little experiment for you today. Near the end of the next several days, make a little list. Record four events/memories/ideas/encounters/thoughts from your day. Three of them will make you smile; one of them will make you frown. Then when someone asks you about your day, you can pick one of the smiles and share the smile. When you're feeling down and too busy to find time for fun, read your list of smiles. Then read your frowns and remember how very good life is.

Give up the badge of busy and remember to be grateful. It might just make all of the difference in the world.

A Stretch in Time Saves Nine

One of the best things about being a member of Cybercise is the number of exercise videos we have that are 15 minutes and shorter. The whole idea behind this very purposeful (and brilliant!) approach was to help our members fit fitness into their lives.


Hello! *jumps up and down and waves at you* You don't need to spend an hour in the gym to improve your level of health. The CDC even says "10 minutes at a time is fine." If you are not working out because you don't have an hour in your day to stop what you're doing and go to the gym, try us.


During my travels this week, several people have asked me what a "typical" week of Cybercise could look like. I've put together the following schedule to give you an idea of the how easy it is to get all of your exercise (and more) into your week. And, as a member of Cybercise, we even give you a handy calendar feature so you can plan your workouts in by week to be sure you're covering all the bases.


Here goes:
Monday -
AM - Morning Yoga (10 m)
Noon - Upper Body I (15 m)
After work - Abs I (10 m)
Bedtime - Upper Body Stretch (10 m)

Tuesday -
AM - Total Body Stretch (15 m)
Noon - Walk (10 m)
After work - Lower Body I (15 m)
Bedtime - Lower Body Stretch (10 m)

Wednesday -
AM - Morning Yoga (10 m)
Noon - Arms I (5 m) and Chest I (5 m)
After work - Abs I (10 m)
Bedtime - Upper Body Stretch (10 m)

Thursday -
AM - Total Body Stretch (15 m)
Noon - Walk (10 m)
After work - Glutes and Hams I (5 m)
Bedtime - Lower Body Stretch (10 m)

Friday -
AM - Morning Yoga (10 m)
Noon - Arms I (5 m) and Back I (5 m)
After work - Abs I (10 m)
Bedtime - Upper Body Stretch (10 m)

Saturday -
REST

Sunday -
AM - Total Body Stretch (15 m)
Noon - Walk (10 m)
Bedtime - Bedtime Yoga (15 m)

There you go! When you follow this schedule, believe it or not , you'll have done some kind of exercise for a total of 270 minutes! Awesome, well done! *roars from the crowd* Notice, I included walking which you would do outside of Cybercise. You can add walking (and all other non-Cybercise activities) into your workout calendar on our site.

The idea is to show you how much flexibility you have as a member. If you know one day of your week will be particularly busy (say a PTA meeting at school on Wednesday night), simply schedule that day as your rest day or schedule a 10 minute stretch routine. If you want more heart pumping exercise schedule more cardio and reduce the schedule of strength training.

To make this all possible, you simply have sign on to Cybercise and follow along with the videos. You don't have to think, plan, ponder, consider, worry or fret. I challenge you to follow this schedule for 2 weeks. Two tiny small weeks out of your fabulous life. At the end of those two weeks, you'll feel better.

Join us. Let's get to health together a few moments as a time.
You can do it.
We're here for you.