Search Results for: blog exercise for back pain

Exercise Each Days Keeps Illness Away

In my blogs, I talk a lot about the long-term health benefits to a fit lifestyle. I emphasize how fitness is about more than just losing weight; it is about preventing serious diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Well last week I read an article about immediate health benefits you can reap as a result of exercising. It was found that it could reduce the number of days you miss work because of respiratory illnesses, such as the common cold. Are you one of those people that always seem to catch a cold? Do you find that you … Continue reading →

Moms Living with Chronic Back Pain

Is lower back pain keeping you sitting on the sideline of your own life? Like so many moms, I have been spending the last several years carting around infants, toddlers, and groceries, picking up stray toys and toting baskets of laundry. Now that my kids are older and I am spending more time working at my desk and driving them around in endless carpools, my lower back pain is flaring up again. Chronic back pain has plagued me in my adult life. I have gone through phases in my life where I have made more time for exercise and health. … Continue reading →

Exercise Helps Back Pain

Lately, I’ve had a lot of trouble with lower back pain. It isn’t something that started suddenly. I remember the first time I really felt like I hurt my back. I was 42 and bending over the bed to change my baby’s diaper. Yes, I realize having a baby at 41 probably put enough strain on my back alone. Anyhow, I bent over and something went kapow and I could hardly stand up. I walked funny for about a week until it cleared up. Just from bending over! (The copyright holder of this work released this work into the public … Continue reading →

Tips for Post Partum Exercise

There is a lot to be said about post partum exercise. Whether the motivation is to lose pregnancy weight, get fit after baby, or to simply get back into the routine (all of these are my motivation to exercise post partum), there are a number of things that you can do to make your post partum workouts a success. First and foremost: mental preparation. You need to get it in your head that you are going to start working out as soon as you are physically able be it four weeks post partum or twelve weeks post partum. Based on … Continue reading →

Benefits of Exercise When Pregnant

With three teenagers, having a baby is the last thing on my mind. But with so many women I know around me carrying a child, I was thinking about how differently I might have felt nearly 18, 15 and 13 years ago when I was pregnant if I had been more active. Exercise may be the last thing on earth you feel like doing when you are pregnant. You may be dealing with nausea and a lack of energy. You may feel big as a house. But many of the aches and pains that come along with pregnancy could be … Continue reading →

The Benefits of Core Body Exercises

We have been looking at the benefits to different types of exercises. Today we will be talking about core body exercises, which focus on your abdomen going down to your lower torso. Although your abdominal muscles don’t contribute much to core stability, the reality is that any core muscle which isn’t conditioned or strengthened could increase the risk of injuries and discomfort. Strengthening your body overall is important to a fitness routine, so focusing on the core body should be part of it. Your core body includes your abdomen, hips and buttocks. One of the best types of exercise equipment … Continue reading →

The Benefits of Flexibility Exercises

In my last blog I talked about the benefits of cardio, something I have recently incorporated more of into my fitness routine. Despite wanting to spend more of my fitness regimen doing cardio (with my biggest goal right now being to lose weight), I know that I also need flexibility exercises. Flexibility exercises have many benefits. Perhaps you are like me when it’s time to stretch. You sit down on your bottom, stretch your legs out in front of you and attempt to reach your toes. Notice the word “attempt.” I can’t do that…yet. But with flexibility exercises, my body … Continue reading →

Continued Exercise During Pregnancy

It was my first pregnancy that convinced me that exercise should be a regular and consistent part of my daily and weekly routine. Having developed a firm commitment to exercise in the last three years, I find myself not only enjoying my workout routine during my second pregnancy but depending on it for relief from pregnancy aches and pains. I have discovered now more than ever before that consistency in a prenatal exercise is essential to a healthy pregnancy. In early pregnancy I continued to do my regular workouts without any need for modification. My goals at the beginning of … Continue reading →

Alternative Treatments for Pain

While most of the time we think about using medication to ease pain, the reality is that sometimes other treatments are better, sometimes because these other treatments can bring better relief and sometimes because personal preference or a physical condition makes us seek out other ways to deal with the pain. There is growing evidence that alternative treatments can be very effective with fewer side effects than those that are associated with pain medication. Plus, growing evidence shows that the mind/body connection may be more effective in managing pain long term. Here are some of the more common alternative treatments … Continue reading →

The Top Five Reasons Why I Love to Exercise During Pregnancy

As hard as it is to get starting on a regular exercise routine, maintaining it can be even harder. We all know that there are a million reasons why we cannot seem to find the time or motivation to exercise, but we cannot deny the benefits of regular exercise. While we tend to focus on the negative aspects of exercise (overcoming obstacles, finding the time and motivation, etc.), there are even more positive reasons to start a workout regimen. Upon my own personal reflection of the last few years of my own exercise routine, I realized that I have gained … Continue reading →