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Snow Day Indoor Workout

2/14/2019

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After weeks filled with snow days, cooped up in the house with your kids, it’s time to get moving! Start with our quick warm up, then 3 rounds of 5 exercises, and remember to keep exercises slow and controlled to get the most out of your workout. Then finish with a deep breathing cool down.
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​Warm-up: Jump rope (with an invisible rope unless you have one!) for 60 seconds. Keep your shoulder back, core tight, and knees over toes.
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2-3 Rounds of:

1.)  10  Walking lunges ​- 5 on each side, make sure your knee stays over or behind your toes. Add weights for a challenge.
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2.)  30" to 60” Plank - Start short, increase time as you practice. Press through your shoulders and don't let your hips sag. Keep your elbows straight but not locked/hyper-extended.
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3.)  10  Push-ups - Modify by doing them from your knees
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4.)  15  Glute bridges - Keep your core tight and squeeze your glutes at the top
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5.)  10  Tricep dips - Find a stable couch, bench, or other surface from which to do these. To make them easier, keep your feet closer to the bench, or don't dip down as far. To make them harder, move your feet farther away, and try straightening your legs.
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Easier
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Harder

Cool down:  2’ of Deep breathing - Lie on your back, and place one hand over your stomach and the other over your chest. Breathe slowly and deeply, and aim to feel your chest and stomach rise and fall simultaneously.

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​By: Lisa Bartz, Certified Exercise Physiologist
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Cold weather vs. joints

10/24/2018

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We all know someone who complains their joints start to hurt when it gets cold, so let’s figure out exactly what that means.

                                 Fact or Myth: Cold weather causes your joints to hurt.

Trick question! Cold weather itself actually does not make your joints hurt but it is the drop in barometric pressure that causes your joint pain to worsen.  For those who may not know, barometric pressure is just another term for atmospheric pressure or “weight of the air.” So it is not just the imagination causing people to think their joints are aching due to cold weather.

So how do we help this problem?
1.    Ease the shock of cold weather on your body – dress in layers
2.    Maintain a healthy weight to reduce stress on your joints
3.    Apply heat pads to the painful areas to relax the muscles
4.    Stretch before going outside to loosen stiff joints so they don’t become even more stiff
5.    HYDRATE! – staying hydrated helps keep inflammation away

Another important tip to focus on is not losing what you have gained in the summer and fall, try to keep working out and staying active even if it’s difficult.  You will get even stiffer and it will be harder to get back to the place you were in when the weather was warmer and it will also reduce the frequency with your flare ups.
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By:
​Becca Popma
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3 TIPS TO STAY INJURY-FREE AFTER AN INACTIVE WINTER

2/28/2018

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As the weather warms up, everyone is ready to get outside and be active! This is great, BUT this often is a time when we see a spike in injuries, as people have been cooped up all winter and hop into full-swing activity too quickly.

Be smart and don’t start your spring out with an injury. Whether its sports, exercise, or yardwork, people tend to put a lot of strain on their body when it’s not used to moving as much in the winter.

As we age, our body can’t go from 0 – 60. Here are a couple of simple tips you can do to stay healthy and enjoy your spring free of injury:


  1. Warm up before your activity! This does not need to be extensive; it can even be doing the same activity you are going to be doing—just start slowly and build into it.
  2. Dress for the activity and weather. Your body is adjusting to doing more activity, and as we all know, Spring weather in Michigan can vary A LOT. Make sure you are dressing warm enough for whatever activity you have in mind.
  3. Don’t overdo it! Stop before you hurt. If you push yourself until your are hurting and sore, you will be paying for it the next few days. Try to ease into it and build up your activity level over time.

Preventing injury will be much easier and more comfortable than recovering from it!
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If you do suffer an injury this Spring, we can help and are just a phone call away. Let us know and we’ll get you in right away!
 
By: Brian Colvin, PT
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Stay Active this Winter with 5 Easy Exercises!

1/10/2018

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Don’t let winter get the best of you!  When you’re trapped inside during these cold, snowy, winter months stay active.  Her are five easy exercises to keep you going during the winter months without leaving home. 
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  1.  Sit to stand:  Just stand up from your favorite chair 10 x in a row.
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2.   Up and down a step:  Find any step in your home and go up and down, alternating legs 20 x. 

​3.   Cane raises:  Use a cane, golf club or anything straight.  Grab with hands shoulder width apart and lift overhead 20 x. 
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4.  Arm curls:  Grab any small wt. or object around the house and perform an arm curls 20x.

​5.  Overhead press:  Again grab a small weight and press straight up overhead 20 x.  
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These five easy exercises won’t take longer than 5 minutes.  If there too easy increase the number of repetitions or weight.  Remember, spending a few minutes exercising each day keeps you going during these cold winter months.
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Brian Colvin, PT
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5 Tips to Enjoy Holiday Treats – Without Regret!

12/20/2017

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Including wonderful holiday food and treats!

The Christmas season can be one of the hardest times to eat healthy. Sugary and fatty foods are everywhere, and they ARE DELICIOUS! We feel better when we eat healthy and aren’t feeling bloated or crashing from all of the sugar and unhealthy fats, so here are some tips to keep from over-indulging over the next few weeks!

  1. Portions – holiday treats are delicious and fun, and you should enjoy them! A healthy way to do this is by looking at the nutrition labels and deciding how much you’re going to consume before you eat.
  2. Out of sight, out of mind – keep those holiday sweets you made for the family in a cabinet instead of on the table! This will help you not grab a chocolate covered pretzel every time you you walk by your kitchen counter.
  3. Prep fruit, veggies and healthy snacks, and have these easily available in the fridge or on the counter!
  4. “Am I actually hungry?” – Ask yourself this question before you snack. Mindless snacking is easy to do; know the difference between boredom-snacking and being hungry.
  5. Stay accountable to a friend or family member – choose someone who cares about their own health and can help you stay on track! 

Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Total Diet Approach to Healthy Eating (JAND 2013)
By: Lisa Bartz, C-EP

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​How to get aerobic exercise in the winter

12/13/2017

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Are you one of the many people that would like to exercise in the winter but are not motivated to go out in cold weather? There are multiple ways to stay active this winter. The minimum requirements that the American College of Sports Medicine recommends to get a good workout includes either one of these two options:

1. 30 minutes of moderate cardio exercise five times per week.
2. 20 minutes of intense cardio exercise three times per week.

It is generally thought that cardio exercise is an exercise performed for 20 minutes or more that elevates your heart rate to 60 to 80% of its maximum rate.

So, take 220 (the heart's theoretical maximum) and subtract your age to get your age-related theoretical maximum. Then multiply that number by 60% and by 80% to get your target range for aerobic exercise.

For example, for a 20-year-old:   220-20(age) = 200 BPM. (200 is their maximum heart rate.) 200×60% equals 120 beats per minute. 80% of 200 equals 160 beats per minute. So this person would try to exercise between 120 and to 160 bpm for 20 to 30 minutes. The higher heart rate would be a more aggressive cardio workout. Disclaimer: make sure you have medical clearance to perform aerobic activity before initiating any program!

The most common forms of outdoor aerobic exercise in winter include cross-country skiing, walking, jogging, or snowshoeing. Indoor activities would include walking/running on a treadmill, exercising on an elliptical device, walking at the mall, swimming at a local indoor pool or using a stationary bicycle.

Learn how to monitor your heart rate and try different ways to get your aerobic exercise in. Variety is the spice of life!

Steve Bartz, PT
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Warm-up for Cold Weather Exercise

11/22/2017

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As the weather gets colder, we have a tendency to stop going for walks/runs outside and become less active. Instead of stopping your activities, stay healthy and active this winter by bundling up and continuing to get your exercise in!

Before exercising in the cold, whether that be walking, running or biking, warm up your muscles!

Why warm up?
  • It reduces the risk of muscle strains, tendonitis and overuse injuries
  • It increases your heart rate and blood flow to the muscles, preparing you for your workout
  • When your muscles are warmed up and flexible, they will feel less tight and sore during your exercise


How should I warm up?
  • Your warm up should be about five minutes and should focus getting your heart rate up and on moving and stretching the muscle groups you are going to be working! If you are going for a jog, get those legs moving!
  • Start slow! If your warming up for an intense bike ride, your warm up might include some forward/backward leg swings, light bodyweight squats, and a few minutes of riding slower on your bike before hitting full-speed.
  • Make it dynamic! Now is the time to get your heart rate up and blood pumping to the muscles! Instead of stretching for your toes and holding there, do some slow, easy body-weight squats and reach for your toes as your extend your knees. Try swinging one leg forward & backward, or side to side.
  • Pick a few warm up activities and stretches, and do each of them for 30 seconds to a minute.
 
Don’t forget, when exercising outside in the winter make sure you are cautious of very cold temperatures and ice on the roads/sidewalks!
Stay tuned for a blog on workouts can you do indoors this winter!
 
(ACSM Basic Injury Prevention Concepts, October 2016)
 
Lisa Bartz, EP-C
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    Authors

    Steve Bartz, PT
    Mason Riegel, PT
    Brian Colvin, PT
    ​Lisa Bartz
    ​Rebecca Popma

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