Stress-Free Holidays for All!

The holiday season is here, and it is no surprise that everyone is increasingly busy fulfilling that growing to-do list. It may become a challenge to maintain regular exercise 3-5 times per week. Extra planning and a push of willpower are needed to continue a cardio, stretching, and strengthening workout program. Stress levels can be controlled with careful attention to your body and mind signals. If you find that stress is becoming your best friend, remember that exercise is a de-stressor and can support you during challenging times.

 
 

Take 5! Taking slow deep breathes and inhaling through your nose for 5 counts -- 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 -- makes the chest expand. Exhaling through your mouth as though blowing through a straw for 5 counts -- 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 -- while pulling in abdominal muscles can be an instant stress reducer. De-stressing exercise can begin with the most basic activity, such as breathing exercises, to a complex full workout of 20 to 45 minutes.

Check out these fitness videos to help jump-start your exercise program: Exercises for Lower Back and Abdomen (video clip) Exercises for Biceps, Triceps and Shoulders (video clip) Exercises for Upper Back and Chest (video clip) Exercises for Legs: Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Calves, Gluteals (video clip)

5 Minutes Simple Workout: Brisk walk or march - 1 minute Standing stretch - 1 minute Standing side stretch - 30 seconds each side Standing stretch and reach - 30 seconds each side Standing or seated back stretch - 1 minute Increase time and encourage Family participation

Complex Workout:

• Brisk walk or march - 1 minute
• Walk/jog/run - 10-20 minutes
• Stretches for major muscle groups (calf, quads, hamstring, chest, upper/lower back, shoulders)
• Knee lifts and/or squats
• Regular/modified and/or wall push-ups
• Crunches, knee to chest, supine bike (if no back limitation) or seated knee to chest (if you cannot go to the floor)

Note: No exercise regimen should be pursued without consulting a health care provider. These exercises can be performed at various levels and repetitions can be increased or decreased depending on individual fitness levels.

Simple and complex workouts can become Family events especially during the holidays. This is a twofold mission -- reduce stress and improve Family quality of life by bringing loved ones together to experience the joys of lifelong health and wellness.

Sustain Deployment/Mobilization Workout

Let's face it: you cannot afford to slack off your workout routine if you want to sustain your deployment/mobilization readiness status. Following this guidance will keep you in HOOAH shape throughout the year!

• 5 days per week -- cardio (running, treadmill, elliptical, spinning, step drill, jump rope) 2-5 miles/30 to 45 minutes, 70-85 training heart rate.
• 7 days per week -- stretching static and developmental stretch (all major muscles groups -- calf, quads, hamstring, chest, and upper/lower back).
• 5 days per week -- strength training alternating chest, back, shoulders, abdominals and back, quads, hamstrings, calves, and buttocks. Push-ups regular, wide, close, asymmetric (one hand on the ground and one hand elevated; i.e., helmet or medicine ball); sit-ups regular, crunches, flutter kicks and supine bicycle with low back support (if no back limitations); supine bicycle.

Goal Setting, Accomplishing and Maintaining a Healthier Happier 2004

Did you accomplish your 2003 resolution to improve and maintain your overall fitness and health? If not, maybe rethinking your goals and making realistic adjustments could lead to success in 2004. Here are some suggestions that might help.

• If you are not currently participating in a regular exercise program start a walking and stretching program 3 to 5 times a week starting with 5-20 minutes of activity.
• Do you think before you eat? If not, start making better choices. Eat fewer sweets and more fiber; remember to eat 5-a-day of fruits and vegetables; try to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water; limit intake of soda, coffee, and alcohol. Try to decrease your daily calorie intake by 250, and exercise 10-30 minutes three to five days per week. If you include stretching you will burn an extra 250 calories.

For more ideas on having healthier holidays, try these other pages on HOOAH 4 HEALTH:
Holiday Weight Reduction and Fitness
Holiday Nutrition
Holiday Stress