Two main problems exist with the concept of “wellness”.
- It is often interpreted as a separate and segregated section of your day.
- Too much attention is paid to the “packaging” aspect of wellness.
We will help you to solve both of these problems and give you many options for integrating health and wellness into your daily life. One of the best ways to stay healthy, we can always use a Gym membership and that’s the best choice for everyone.
Definition and Integration of Wellness
Any behavior that promotes health and vitality can be considered wellness. Healthy eating and exercise are important aspects of wellness. However, it is also possible to walk with someone, do an exercise that challenges balance, or perform familiar actions in a different way. These behaviors can be performed for just a few seconds or minutes. In other words, wellness doesn’t require you to do the same thing for a long time.
These are practical ways to incorporate wellness into your daily life. These aren’t methods that you have to apply every day. They are a paradigm shift in how you interact with the world. These ideas can be adapted to specific places and spaces. Some ideas will work for you while others may not. It is up to you to find what works for you.
- Stand while you put on your socks/shoes. Instead of sitting down, stand on one side while taking off or putting in your socks. If necessary, stand close to a wall or another solid object to help you balance or lean on. This small adjustment can provide a quick boost in balance, mobility, and coordination.
- Wear pants/jackets that have a non-dominant arm/leg first. We get stuck in a routine of doing the same things every day without realizing it. A slight cognitive and coordination problem that benefits both your body as well as your brain.
- Place a visual marker around your house to encourage or remind you to do something. In the animated GIF, four metal straws representing cocktail glasses are placed on one side. The straws are there to remind you to do push-ups as you go through your day. Move one straw from one side to the other every time you push-up.
End of each day, move all the straws to the opposite side of the stairs. The wellness benefit: These short episodes of activity can help you build your strength and stamina without the need to change clothes or plan a workout. - Varietate your gait when you are walking up and down stairs. You can walk stairs with a wider gait than usual, use two stairs at once, move up and down the stairs sideways or speed up or slow down. You can improve your balance, coordination, strength, and confidence by changing up how you move when you are walking up stairs.
- Although it takes some practice, you can do it anywhere. You can also play an old-fashioned game like jacks. These games have a wellness benefit: They help to improve skills and eye-hand coordination.
- Walking games can make walking more difficult and more cognitively stimulating. These are some ways to make walking more enjoyable:
- Path of more resistance – Walk while standing on the curb, taking a few steps and weaving around utility poles, trees, benches, or signs.
- Explicit Cognitive Challenge
- Mentally, recite the alphabet and skip any other letters or third letters.
- For example, count backwards from 100 using threes or sevens.
- Count how many objects or sounds you have seen.
- Mentally, recite as many words that begin with a particular letter as possible.
- Ball toss – While walking, toss a ball at yourself or your partner. Add the following variations to make it more challenging:
- Every third time you blow in the air, bounce.
- You can quickly toss the ball back and forth between your hands, or with a partner.
- You can keep tossing the ball higher and higher until you make a catch.
- Toss the ball above tree branches, over signs, and onto walls.
- Every toss should be unique (behind your back, under the legs and around the torso.
Benefit: Walking is good for your health. These strategies improve your brain, body, and enjoyment.
This post was written by Darryl Johnson, Co-Owner of Apex performance. At Apex performance we are a community of highly trained experts looking to provide performance enhancement and a permanent lifestyle change for our clients in a fun and interactive environment. Members can take advantage of one of the gyms in Tampa, small group classes and specialized courses for a wide variety of athletics, sports training and body goals!