The Flotus Workout - First Lady of the United States

While reading the paper I came across a throw away remark about Michelle Obama and those 35lb weights.  Upon further research - and there is heaps -  this is what I found.

She decided to make time to exercise, so she just got up early..  She says in her current situation she has plenty of support.  But wow. 

Don't take my word for it.  Here is the link.: - twitter film clip sample of Flotus's workout.

How motivating.    Can you jump up onto that bench..  On twitter Ellen says that Michelle Obama is 50, but her arms are 22 years old.

I'm probably the last person on earth to see this.... I'm impressed.

Keep your head above your Body - Habit of the Week - H.O.W

When I catch that sideways glance of myself, I see my head is more forward of my body.  Uh  Oh.  Are you leading by a nose?
This is a bad idea because:-

• When we travel through our days with our head forward, we put stress fatigue through our neck and shoulders
• When we look down, we fall down.  It changes our centre of gravity.
• If we are spending time looking down at our screens, our world is passing us by
• It makes us look older and more awkward.  
• Head forward posture makes our stomach stick out.

So this week, let's pull your head in.  Habit of the week -  Keep your head above your body.

A New Food Pyramid - Just Eat More Veg.

The new Healthy Eating Pyramid has been launched by Nutrition Australia and it is an improvement.

It seeks to feature only healthy food, instead of giving consideration to existing "bad habits".  So the sugar at the apex is gone.  Instead, sugar and salt are both outside the pyramid with a big red cross.
The biggest change, however, has switched the grains/flour/bread layer up to a smaller part of the pyramid which reflects a more up-to-date idea of a healthy eating plan.  The vegetables occupy the entire bottom section which means our diet should comprise mostly veg.  Remember Michael Pollan's tome@"In Defence of Food - an eater's manifesto".

I like the update, here is the link to  Healthy eating pyramid, where you can read more about it.

 Remember Michael Pollan's tome "In Defence of Food - an eater's manifesto".

The ribbon tied around the lettuce says  "Eat food, Mostly Plants, Not too much"

Take note of your sitting time - Habit of the Week.

I came across an article about the dangers of sitting down each day for prolonged period.  Thanks Ted.  There is a one minute video clip on the link, very succinct and well worth a look.

Here is the link:-a "sciencealert.com" Article about sitting

The article explains that sitting for eleven hours a day has significant negative effects on health compared to sitting for, say,  four hours a day.  The article says the risk of death is 40 per cent greater for those who sit eleven hours a day.  The article lists many conditions exacerbated because of prolonged sitting, the metabolism of blood sugar, cholesterol, postural problems, breathing and back pain and even disease states, like cancer. yikes.

My first impression was that I could not imagine sitting for eleven hours. But wait a minute, one day per week, I commute for nearly four hours, add a couple of hours watching TV and eating meals coffee breaks and meeting people. There is not much change out of seven hours and I don't have a sedentary job.  Eleven hours would be easy, if you worked behind a desk.

A few years ago, I had a small injury to my tailbone and it really hurt to sit for more than about 15 minutes.  So okay, I stood up a lot:-  I watched TV standing, go visiting friends and asked permission to stand, in waiting rooms I would choose to stand.  I felt silly, but guess what.    I lost a kilogram that year. Ha.

Hipsters are installing standing desks.  I am thinking about it for my new office, too... oh no... Am I a hipster?  No, I think you need a beard..

Our Posture Can Affect our Mood

What happens when we do sit down after hard exercise or hard work.  Do we slump into the chair as if we have been defeated, with a deep sigh, head bowed. This may leave a psychological imprint of the physical activity we have just done, which is negative.  It may mean that we perceived ourselves as a victim because of hard physical activity.  I say no, it does not kill us to move about, it makes us stronger.  So let us sit triumphantly. Our sweat is a badge of honour.

Habit of the week - Take notice of your sitting hours, and when you do, sit triumphantly.

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Habit of the Week - Lift up out of your hips

"Lift up out of your hips" used to be a postural cue from years ago.  It has gone out of fashion.  The Yoga teacher, Ralph, made me think of it again.  He told the class that tendonitis might be caused by us hanging off our tendons and slumping.  So I practised lengthening out of the hips and found when I did my core switched on, I grew a little taller and straightened up.

Good posture seems to line my head up better, one good postural cue seems to lead to another.  

This week's habit is "Lift up out of your Hips" .  Go ahead, right now........ Don't you feel better.

Habit of the Week, H.O.W. DROP THOSE SHOULDERS

We can find ourselves going about our daily business and, when we check, our shoulders are bunched up tightly towards our ears.
There are quite a reasons why this habit is a good idea.  Carrying our shoulder too high means:-

• So much of our energy is wasted
• Bunched up shoulders can cause neck headaches
• Leads to bad posture, like, head forward, sunken chest, rounded shoulders,
• The pull down muscles become weaker
• Leads to poor breathing
• More stressful

So let's drop those shoulders away from the ears, sit up tall, take a deep breath.  Seek to pull the shoulder blades away from the ears.

 H.O.W.   -  drop those shoulders.

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There has been a lot more pageviews on the blog after I showed everyone how to " follow by email".
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