Has this challenge been a reality check the last week and a half about how little time you spend outside?  Not only are you often frantically running from work to events the entire night, now you need to incorporate thirty minutes of time outside! 

BENEFITS

·         VITAMIN D.  Crucial in mineralizing bones and teeth.   While wearing sunscreen, 10-30 minutes out in the sun (UVB light rays) provides enough of the vitamin D precursor to synthesize several days’ worth of vitamin D.  (If you refuse to wear sunscreen, 5 minutes is adequate exposure to synthesize vitamin D).

·         MOVING MORE.  Physical activity reduces stress, increases stamina, makes you feel better and increases your heart health.

·         FUN.  It is easy to find ways to enjoy half an hour outside when the weather is nice, but when the weather is not great, a little more effort may be required.  Be creative with your outings, race boats down the stream in the street, fly a kite, eat lunch outside, or go for a walk.

Can't Seem to find the Time?  Consider this.

LIMIT SCREEN TIME.  Several recent studies have shown media use is drastically increasing among children, but also among adults.  This may not seem surprising with the constant introduction of new technology gadgets.  Research found that children (8-18-years-old) spend 7 hours and 38 minutes consuming media a DAY!  (Kaiser Family Research). 

Now don’t dismiss yourself too quickly.  Perhaps you do not constantly have music flowing into your ears or play video games, but adult internet use is also increasing dramatically.  From 2009 to 2010 there was a 33% increase in social media usage among adults ages 18-65+.  In 2010, 61% of all American adults use social networking or twitter. 

Spring Challenge: Strength Training

Are you ready to bulk up and pump iron?  No?  Don’t worry, incorporating strength training and the activities from the Spring Challenge will not make your muscles bulk, but there are several benefits you should anticipate.

·         Prevent injuries.  Whether you are an avid runner, school teacher, or grandparent, your susceptibility to injuries is greatly reduced with proper strength training.  Strengthening muscles increases performance and contributes to balance.  Strength training can also improve chronic aches and pains; such as back pain.

·         Strengthen bones.  Women are and should be especially mindful of increasing the density of bones.  Strength training reduces the risk of osteoporosis.

·         Assists weight loss.  Muscle burns more calories during physical activity and is a crucial aspect of weight maintenance often overlooked.  Strengthening muscles tones the body.

The recommendation for strength training is three times a week.  Because the exercises break down muscle, make sure to give your body ample time to rest.  These three days should not be consecutive.  With this challenge, you are working different muscle groups and do not present problems doing the activities throughout the week.

As mentioned above, strength training prevents injuries from daily living, but if done incorrectly you may injury yourself while doing the exercises.  Even if you know how to do a push-up, take five minutes and go through instructional videos from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Be especially careful with lunges and squats.  Make sure your knee does not extend PAST your ankle.  You do not get more out of the exercise if you push past a 90 degree angle, in fact, you will injury yourself.

Before beginning an exercise program, make sure to consult your physician.  If you find that any of the exercises aggravate joints or muscles, please discontinue and contact the wellness coach to discuss alternatives. 

Spring into the Upcoming Challenge

Starting on Monday, April 9^th EMI Wellness Spring Challenge begins.  You should have already received an email detailing the challenge, but if not here is a brief overview of the challenge.  (For details regarding each component of the challenge, log-in to your account and select "Rules" under Spring Challenge.)

The Challenge:

1.       Strength training

2.       Spend time outdoors

3.       Track what you eat

4.       Exercise

5.       Once a week, walk somewhere you would normally drive

With nice weather and the sun shining, it would be a challenge to convince yourself to not participate!  So, get involved; have fun, and enjoy the experience.  A healthy lifestyle should not be miserable, go outside—spend time in your yard, walk, hike, bike, just have fun. 

Over the next few weeks, I will include tips for each of the components of the challenge, so make sure to check in every week for the latest tip in participating in the challenge.

Make sure to log-in and spring into full participation in the challenge on Monday!