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Alrighty, time to answer some questions!
I agree. For most people who are inactive or just starting out (~90% of the population), it's best to start simple.
- For inactive people, it's important to simply start moving more. Maybe you don't like sports and fitness, maybe you do... For most people, the most important thing you want to change is your mindset. You want to learn to embrace things that are uncomfortable... Training your body is an uncomfortable thing to do, right? So it all starts with your attitude towards doing things that are challenging. Keep the reward in mind! A better health & body, more charisma, etc.
- The fun factor is very important when you start training: even if you're starting with something you may not like at first, try to find out what's the fun factor for you.
- Consistancy is always very important, but especially for beginners. You want to build a routine. Start with 2x per week and keep doing 2x a week for a couple of months. If this goes well, you can go for 3x a week.
- Don't go all-out in your training sessions, like some trainers would have you do. Start with perfecting the movements. Of course you can challenge your body, and make mistakes during your training, but focus on perfect movement.
Good basic stretches for the neck & shoulders: I won't give you any stretches, because the stretches are a temporary fix for stiffness. I'd rather explain what is happening. If you still want to do stretches, which can be good, just google.
The shoulders and neck often get tight, because of inactivity.. Generally what you want to do, is starting the workout and fix your posture. Usually, there is no permanent fix for pain and stiffness without actually training. How you can do this is something I could write a complete guide about. I won't be adressing this now.
For people who sit all day, I'd say try to stand up at least every hour. Do exercises that work on 'thoracic extension' (google). For the lower back, work on controlling ´pelvic tilt´ (google). During sitting, try to alternate between sitting up straight and other positions. It's actually not beneficial to sit like a military recruit would, as you might actually get stiff because of that. Alternate between active and relaxed sitting.
For eating, my advice is very simple: eat foods that come directly from nature, avoid foods that are (heavily) processed. Sugar for example, has been processed so much that it actually gives you calories (that could make you fat) while not providing you with any micro-nutrients (the stuff that your body needs, which comes from pure foods like meat and vegetables). Any process that changes a food, is generally bad for it's nutritional value.
As for the pillow/sleeping: you want to sleep with your joints in a relaxed/neutral position. To achieve this, sleep either on you back or on the side. Sleeping on the belly isn't a good choice in general, especially for the neck (this position is obviously far removed from a neutral position, as one side of the neck gets a lot of tissue stretch and the other one gets a lot of tissue shortening). To get a better sleeping position, you could use pillows. I usually sleep on my sides with a pillow between my knees (for a neutral spine and hips).
Time is not on my side unfortunately
First of all, sounds like you got some potential for explosive sports!
1. I'd say, try to study during day-time and for a short time. You can study for 8 hours at night and have the feeling that you have done close to nothing, while you could study for 2x 1 hour and feel like it has been very productive...
2. Yes. Work on your posture by aiming for neutral joint positions and work on the muscles that pull your body in the right position. That´s right, just trying to correct your posture won´t do the trick, you will have to work on muscle strength. How to do this, is too big a subject to adress right now.
Cycling won't do much for strength, posture, etc. You will just get better at cycling. If you cycle really fast, you will gain some endurance. Obviously when you use an e-bike, you'll go faster, but it may reduce the amount of effort you are putting into the activity, which will reduce your activity level. I'd say: find some activity that you like, with regard to the things I stated above ^
I hope this helps!
(08-24-2019, 01:42 PM)STM1993 Wrote: I'd like to start small, based on a person who has to work in an office sitting for long hours - its not a good idea to just get people to make huge sudden changes in their regime as that would cause burn out or make people give up from seeing their end goal appearing too far away.
I agree. For most people who are inactive or just starting out (~90% of the population), it's best to start simple.
- For inactive people, it's important to simply start moving more. Maybe you don't like sports and fitness, maybe you do... For most people, the most important thing you want to change is your mindset. You want to learn to embrace things that are uncomfortable... Training your body is an uncomfortable thing to do, right? So it all starts with your attitude towards doing things that are challenging. Keep the reward in mind! A better health & body, more charisma, etc.
- The fun factor is very important when you start training: even if you're starting with something you may not like at first, try to find out what's the fun factor for you.
- Consistancy is always very important, but especially for beginners. You want to build a routine. Start with 2x per week and keep doing 2x a week for a couple of months. If this goes well, you can go for 3x a week.
- Don't go all-out in your training sessions, like some trainers would have you do. Start with perfecting the movements. Of course you can challenge your body, and make mistakes during your training, but focus on perfect movement.
(08-24-2019, 01:42 PM)STM1993 Wrote:
- What are some good basic stretches/exercises to help loosen the neck & shoulders?
- For people who have to sit all day, how long would you recommend for people to sit before they get up and stretch?
- (edit)Are there some common stretches that people do that are actually very bad for the body?
- Exercise and diet are things that go hand in hand, not just for building the body but also for maintaining the energy needed throughout the day. What are some eating habits that you would recommend or avoid?
- (edit)How should I set up my pillow when I sleep? Asking because this has heavy implications on the neck and I'd hate to wake up with a headache.
Good basic stretches for the neck & shoulders: I won't give you any stretches, because the stretches are a temporary fix for stiffness. I'd rather explain what is happening. If you still want to do stretches, which can be good, just google.
The shoulders and neck often get tight, because of inactivity.. Generally what you want to do, is starting the workout and fix your posture. Usually, there is no permanent fix for pain and stiffness without actually training. How you can do this is something I could write a complete guide about. I won't be adressing this now.
For people who sit all day, I'd say try to stand up at least every hour. Do exercises that work on 'thoracic extension' (google). For the lower back, work on controlling ´pelvic tilt´ (google). During sitting, try to alternate between sitting up straight and other positions. It's actually not beneficial to sit like a military recruit would, as you might actually get stiff because of that. Alternate between active and relaxed sitting.
For eating, my advice is very simple: eat foods that come directly from nature, avoid foods that are (heavily) processed. Sugar for example, has been processed so much that it actually gives you calories (that could make you fat) while not providing you with any micro-nutrients (the stuff that your body needs, which comes from pure foods like meat and vegetables). Any process that changes a food, is generally bad for it's nutritional value.
As for the pillow/sleeping: you want to sleep with your joints in a relaxed/neutral position. To achieve this, sleep either on you back or on the side. Sleeping on the belly isn't a good choice in general, especially for the neck (this position is obviously far removed from a neutral position, as one side of the neck gets a lot of tissue stretch and the other one gets a lot of tissue shortening). To get a better sleeping position, you could use pillows. I usually sleep on my sides with a pillow between my knees (for a neutral spine and hips).
(08-24-2019, 01:42 PM)STM1993 Wrote: On another note, there's a recently airing anime called "How heavy are the dumbbells that you lift", so you might see more people getting into being fit because of that show. From what I've seen so far it seems to offer some pretty legitimate gym tips and some exercises that can be done at home. You can address the tips given in that show as well if you feel you have the time to do so.
Time is not on my side unfortunately
(08-24-2019, 02:05 PM)Hammershone cat Wrote: I have nothing to say much but I'm just a student who is preparing for board examination, but still I have two questions to answer:
1. how should I keep foucsed in night when studying?
I have only almost 15 days left for board exams and I utilized my time in Compeleting assignments and other responsiblity.
2. Any tips for maintaining body posture straight?
Also,I am a fast runner in my class(stood 2nd) and I can cover 12.0(3.2sec delay from world record) seconds in 100m race.
First of all, sounds like you got some potential for explosive sports!
1. I'd say, try to study during day-time and for a short time. You can study for 8 hours at night and have the feeling that you have done close to nothing, while you could study for 2x 1 hour and feel like it has been very productive...
2. Yes. Work on your posture by aiming for neutral joint positions and work on the muscles that pull your body in the right position. That´s right, just trying to correct your posture won´t do the trick, you will have to work on muscle strength. How to do this, is too big a subject to adress right now.
(08-25-2019, 11:10 AM)Bamboori Wrote: how is your opinion on electric bicycles?
i recently started my apprenticeship and im currently riding my bike to and from work, 8km each. which is currently the only kind of sports i do. i am getting an e-bike mostly to cover days when i dont feel fit enough to cycle the whole way by myself.
by only biking, i figure my upper body isnt getting any workout, is there a routine you can recommend to complement cycling?
Cycling won't do much for strength, posture, etc. You will just get better at cycling. If you cycle really fast, you will gain some endurance. Obviously when you use an e-bike, you'll go faster, but it may reduce the amount of effort you are putting into the activity, which will reduce your activity level. I'd say: find some activity that you like, with regard to the things I stated above ^
I hope this helps!