Spring Into Shape

Happy first day of Spring!

The sun is finally out, and the temperatures are (mostly) above freezing! It’s time to start thinking about making the most of the longer daylight and enjoying the sun and warmer weather by exercising outside!

Whether it’s in your neighborhood, at the park, or just in your yard or on your patio, there are lots of exercises you can try outside:

• Walk
• Run
• Bike
• Hike
• Yoga
• Bodyweight workouts (bring your yoga mat!)

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Invite a friend to your outdoor workout, or find a group that does outdoor activities together! This makes it more fun and keeps you accountable to your workouts.
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As you begin to exercise outside this spring, don’t forget to warm-up, especially with the temps still being cold. Your warm up can be just a few minutes long, inside or outside, and should focus on getting your heart rate up and should include dynamic stretching. Here are a few warm up exercises/dynamic stretches to try:

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1.  Leg swings - 10 reps on each side, to stretch the front and back of your hip and leg; hold something for balance if needed

2.  Forward march with knee-to-chest stretch - 10 reps on each leg, to stretch your hip and groin

3.  Walking quad stretch - 10 reps on each side to stretch the front of your leg and hip

​Let us know your favorite outdoor exercise in the comments! As always, if you have a nagging injury keeping you from exercise, call us to set up a physical therapy evaluation: 616-662-0990.

 
By: Lisa Bartz, C-EP (Cert. Exercise Physiologist)

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