Your exercise tip – Exercise to look after your knees and hips
These two major joints in our body are under great amounts of force both when we are stationary or moving, even more so when we are undertaking dynamic impact and multi directional movements.
The hip (at the junction of the pelvis and the femur) is a ball and socket joint, which has a wide range of movement available. The disadvantage to this is it is only shallow, making it susceptible to damage. The knee is a hinge joint which only moves back and forth, exactly like the hinge on a door. The advantage of this is that it is a stronger joint.
To keep these joints strong and healthy, maintain your strength through all the lower body muscles with resistance training, keep flexible by stretching to reduce excess force from tight muscles, and having some form of impact exercise in your routine to increase bone and connective
tissue (ligaments and tendon) strength are all the perfect formulae for keeping these joints stronger for longer.
Your health tip – food to keep you healthy over winter
Keeping up those essential vitamins and minerals over these cooler months can really keep our health on track when others fall down around us. Foods that can keep you on track are:
Dark leafy greens – these will boost your vitamin A, C and K as well as add folate in (particularly important for women who are trying to become pregnant to help with the newly conceived baby’s health).
Potatoes – a great source again for folate, vitamins C and B6, providing a good source of starch as well as multiple nutrients. People place them in the same category as white breads, branding them as unhealthy. Potatoes as they are, are a whole food and a great nutrition provider for us.
Pomegranates – an unusual fruit, pomegranate provides plenty of vitamin C and phytochemicals (chemicals from fruit and vegetables that help with our immune system).
Over the winter months try to maintain that variety of fresh foods to combat all the bugs we will come in contact with and to keep our bodies functioning at its best.
Winter chill tip – warming up
With the cooler weather coming in, the body can be a little stiffer when we start our cardiovascular exercise. Take a few extra minutes to warm up, starting slower than you would normally and gradually building up to the pace you want. Those extra few minutes will reduce the risk of injury and make the session much more pleasant.
Your life tips
Being fearful of taking that step is okay. Living a life where you don’t take a step is scary.
This week’s wise words
“Our basic needs: backbone, wishbone, funny bone.”
Raven O’Keefe
Have a great week and keep healthy in 2018. David.