Smart Woman Online

Bite-Sized Moves, Big Results

January 7, 2008
By Lynne Brick, RN, BSN

The holiday season has come and gone. The weather is less than lovely. You know you need to do something about the weight you’ve gained recently, but inertia overwhelms you. Even just thinking about getting off your seat and onto your feet takes energy, and you’re all out of that. Probably you’re also stuck in the dreaded family-food-work-stress-food-work-stress-food-work-stress-family-sleep cycle. Everyone and everything else is much more important than you are. So you do nothing for yourself.

It’s time for a change. Now, change is like eating an elephant. How would you eat an elephant? In one huge gulp or in small, bite-sized pieces? Obviously, small pieces are easier to swallow. Likewise, healthy habits are much more easily incorporated into your lifestyle when they are introduced in small, bite-sized bits. Little moves give big results!

You need only two things:

1. A basic desire to change.
2. A list of bite-sized moves to use daily.

To change or not to change, that is the question

Change can be scary, especially when you try to tackle it on a large scale. But change is good and, more important, change is healthy. Remember this: Nothing changes if nothing changes.

This year, why not make your New Year’s resolutions part of your lifestyle — for life? It’s easy. You need only three weeks. That’s right: It takes only 21 consecutive days to make a new habit. Commit to your new lifestyle for 21 consecutive days and it will be part of your life. No excuses, no whining, no complaining. Just look forward to good, old-fashioned results!

Bite-sized moves you can use

You can do these moves anytime, anywhere, and you can do them while you’re doing something else. You CAN do these!

1. Seat Lift

   While sitting at your desk, place your hands on your seat with your fingers facing your feet. Place your feet under your knees and your knees at a 90-degree angle. Press your body weight into your hands and lift your bottom off your seat! Repeat 15 to 20 times. You will develop stronger arms, stronger shoulders and a stronger upper back, which can improve your posture.

2. Walkie-Talkie.

   Any time you are on the phone, be sure to walk and talk at the same time. Every step you take is a step in the right direction toward fighting heart disease. It takes only 10,000 steps a day to keep the doctor away! (Remember, your heart is a muscle and needs to be exercised daily. Heart disease is THE No. 1 killer of women.)

3. Line-up, Line-up.

   While waiting in line at the grocery store or the ladies’ room, use the time to straighten your spine. Then hold your core — abdominals, back and glutes — tight and stand on one foot. Balance yourself for 30 to 60 seconds. For an extra challenge, try to raise and lower the heel of your supportive foot 15 to 20 times. Rest, reset your spine in a line and switch to the other foot to work the other leg.

4. Seated Legs-Legs-Legs.

   Sit up straight and keep your knees bent at a 90-degree angle. Lift one leg off the floor and pulse your thigh high to the sky, lifting your foot 8 to 10 inches off the floor each time. Repeat with the other leg.

5. Standing Legs-Legs-Legs.

   Any time you brush or dry your hair or brush your teeth, lift your leg behind you to work what’s back there! Keep your core tight and lean your body forward to counterbalance the backward leg lift.

6. Better Bootie Break-Time.

   OK, it’s time to take a break from work, but you do need to put your back into this one! Place your back flat against the wall. Place your feet under your hips. Slide your back down the wall until your knees are bent at just above a 90-degree angle. Hold for 30 seconds to two minutes. Then press your weight into your heels and stand up straight. Shake out your legs and repeat 3 to 4 more times. You’ll thank me in the “end”!

7. The Hoover Maneuver.

   Any time you vacuum, iron, rake leaves, wash your car, dust or shovel snow, be sure to put your whole body into the move. Lunge forward on one leg as you press the vacuum, rake or shovel forward. Move your entire body while you iron, cook or clean. The key is to keep your core switched on like a light bulb while you move your extremities. (These are actually fundamental Pilates moves. See my column on Pilates in the next issue of Baltimore SmartWoman.)

8. Power Shopping.

   Got holiday returns? No problem! Make it your goal to complete all of your business within a short period of time. Briskly walk from store to store; keep your feet moving even if you have to wait in a checkout queue. This will keep your energy high. Positive thoughts yield positive energy and positive results.

9. Rubber-Band Woman.

   Rubber bands — the ones that are about a half-inch wide and 12 inches long — are great tools for strengthening, toning and tightening muscles. Get them at an office supply store or at a shop that sells home gym equipment. Use the bands in place of weights to do bicep curls, upper-back-strengthening reverse flies, lateral shoulder lifts and overhead presses.

10. Desk Push-Aways.

    This is a great exercise that uses your body weight against gravity. Place your hands shoulder-width apart on the edge of your desk; put your feet hip-width apart a few steps back from the desk. Lean your body forward into your desk; your body should be aligned in a straight line. Now, push your body away from your desk. This will strengthen the muscles of your chest, back and shoulders. To decrease the intensity, do the move against a wall.

“NR-Gizer.”

Do these two exercises every hour while you’re at your computer. Guaranteed to improve your “NRG”!

1. Shoulder rolls.

   Roll your shoulders back and pretend to put them in your hip pocket. This exercise will renew your mind, refocus your spirit and rejuvenate your body. Great posture improves oxygen delivery to your brain by 30 percent.

2. Breathe.

   Take deep, cleansing breaths. (If you’ve had a baby, you probably remember this technique from Lamaze classes.) These breaths improve oxygen delivery to your body and brain.

It’s 2008 — time for you to get in shape and feel great! Research shows that three 10-minute exercise segments are equal to a nonstop 30-minute workout. Incorporate these exercise tidbits into your life and start enjoying the results. You can do these moves anytime, anywhere. Enjoy!

Resources:

www.lynnebricks.com

www.acsm.org

diet.ivillage.com/workouts

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