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Exercise

Commit to "Couchersizing"

January 02, 2020

The cold of the winter months can make it difficult to find the motivation to leave the warmth of our homes. While it’s quite cozy to settle into our couches for the evening, too much dormancy can lead to aches, pains, and stiffness, as well as affect our balance.

This is where “couchersizing” comes to our benefit and rescue. We can continue to enjoy our couch potato, winter hibernation lifestyle, while still keeping our blood flowing, delivering oxygen to our muscles, and maintaining our strength.

What is “couchersizing”? Simple: “couchersizes” are exercises that can be done on or near your couch, while watching TV or between chapters of a book. These simple exercises allow you to remain at home and enjoy the entertainment of your favorite shows or books, but still get different muscle groups working and get your heartrate up.

Not ready to commit to a full workout routine? Start with adding these 2 simple “couchersizes” to your weekly TV schedule!

Sit-to-Stand:

Lean your weight forward, with arms either crossed over your chest or out in front of you, and bring yourself to a standing position. Return to seated position. Repeat 10 times. This exercise helps work the quadriceps and gluteal muscles, which preserves your ability to get yourself from a seated to standing position in many activities of daily living.

Shoulder Blade Squeezes:

With arms at your sides, squeeze your shoulder blades together (without raising your shoulders towards your ears). Hold this squeeze for 5 to 10 seconds. Repeat 10 times. This exercise works the muscles that help hold our shoulders back. It can help to reverse that forward-head, rolled shoulder posture that can be caused by too much time spent on a computer or phone, eventually leading to headaches and neck pain.

Posted in Exercise on Jan 02, 2020