Do You Want to Start Living a More Active Lifestyle?
Nearly everyone is aware of the importance of exercise. So why are so many Americans stuck in sedentary lifestyles? If your idea of exercise is limited to lifting weights at the gym or going on 5-mile runs, you might find it hard to motivate yourself to exercise after long and tiring days at work. The good news is that there are many ways to lead an active and healthy life.
The single best way to ensure that exercise is a consistent part of your daily routine is by finding activities you enjoy. If you care about your health and are ready to commit to consistent physical activity, but don’t know where to start, consider seeing a physical therapist.
At Joint Effort Physical Therapy, we can help you discover exercises and movements that will optimize your mental and physical health, regardless of your current fitness level. Contact our office today to learn more about the straightforward ways you can start improving your strength, flexibility, and long-term health.
In the meantime, if you’re searching for ways to start getting active right now, check out this list of fun and simple ways to improve your health.
1. Exercise with friends!
With the right people, exercising can go from feeling like a chore to being something you look forward to each day.
Getting active in groups or with multiple people is a great way to make new friends or strengthen existing friendships while working on your health. Committing to working out with at least one other person also makes you more likely to follow through with your routine.
A few activities that can make exercising feel like a social activity include:
- Join a sports team – Most local recreational centers offer adult sports leagues. For a small membership fee, you could sign up for everything from basketball and golf to ping pong or tennis. Playing a sport is a great way to get active while meeting new people.
- Take a dance class – Certain types of dancing are excellent cardio workouts and can help you improve your strength and flexibility. If you want to begin a strenuous form of dance, visit a physical therapist to lessen your likelihood of injury.
- Take More Walks – Even walking through the neighborhood with friends can improve your health and your social life. If you’re feeling tired and achy after moderate walking, a physical therapist can provide exercises to help strengthen muscles and increase flexibility.
- Volunteer – Getting out in your community and volunteering for a cause you believe in is a fantastic way to stay active.
2. Try gardening
Gardening is a great activity that can promote a more active lifestyle on several levels. First, the act of planting, watering, and weeding all get your body moving. Spending just 30 minutes a day, several days a week gardening may burn as many calories as some moderate workouts.
Depending on your interests, you could grow flowers, herbs, or edible plants in your garden. Growing healthy produce like tomatoes, cucumbers, kale, and lettuce is a great way to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet.
If you live in a city, you might feel like this activity isn’t doable. However, gardening can be done almost anywhere, even in areas with minimal green space! Container gardening can be done on a patio, a balcony, or even in a windowsill.
If you’re worried about sustaining an injury, visit a physical therapist before starting your garden. Your therapist can demonstrate the proper way to lift items and bend over to ensure you’re moving in safe and healthy ways.
3. Start biking
Riding a bicycle is one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to stay active. Biking could even potentially save you money. You can save on gas and vehicle maintenance costs by riding your bike to work or to a friend’s house, instead of always driving a car. A physical therapist can show you the best way to ride the type of bike you own.
If you’re not as fit as you once were, start out small. Even 15 to 20 minutes of light biking every other day is helping you get active and develop a healthier routine. One of the greatest aspects about biking is that you can easily personalize this activity to your needs.
You can start out by simply riding around your neighborhood, and eventually build up to riding a dozen or more miles each week.
4. Stay hydrated
One of the easiest ways to improve your health is to simply drink more water. Challenge yourself for a week to cut out sugary or caffeinated beverages and drink only water and see just how much better you feel!
Proper hydration is one of the best things you can do for your body, and something we literally can’t live without. Here are a few concrete ways drinking more water will improve your health:
- Proper hydration can help maintain a healthy blood pressure and heart rate
- Dehydration can sometimes lead to stress, anger, and negative mood changes
- Having enough water in your system improves cognitive functioning
- Water helps energize your muscles, improves athletic performance, and prevents muscle fatigue
5. Schedule an appointment with a physical therapist
Whether you’re looking to increase strength, stamina, flexibility, or improve your athletic performance, a physical therapist can help you reach your fitness goals.
Your first appointment with a physical therapist will likely begin with a physical exam, to pinpoint any areas of excessive tightness, tension, or weakness. After this, your therapist will create a personalized program to meet your individual needs.
Physical therapists can treat a huge variety of conditions, including but not limited to:
- Arthritis: Joint mobilization techniques, therapeutic exercises, and cardiovascular activity all can reduce arthritis pain and improve flexibility and mobility.
- Injury from an auto accident: If you are experiencing chronic pain because of an auto accident, physical therapy can help you find relief. Avoid invasive surgeries or potentially addictive drugs with natural and fast-acting therapeutic methods.
- Surgery rehabilitation: If you’ve recently had surgery, physical therapy can help you recover at a quicker pace and lessen the likelihood of post-operative complications.
- Sciatica and back pain: Treat your back pain with a combination of exercise therapy and pain-relieving modalities including hot and cold therapy and therapeutic ultrasound.
Even if you’re not experiencing any of the previous conditions, a physical therapist can still change your health for the better. Your therapist can create a personalized exercise routine for you that helps you achieve your current fitness goals and encourage you to solidify an active routine that lasts for years to come.
Contact Joint Effort Physical Therapy today to get started!
Exercise is a crucial element of good health.
If the idea of a personalized fitness routine interests you, contact our office today to schedule an appointment with one of our licensed therapists.
