Exercises

Posture Exercises for Desk Employees

February 6, 2012 by Edwin

We’ve all heard that sitting for prolonged periods of time can be bad for our bodies and our minds. But do we really understand what happens to our bodies in the long term when we frequently finish work with a foggy brain, strained neck, and sore back? Thanks to the Washington Post and four health experts we now have a picture of what it all means. Check out the infographic.

But what can we do throughout the day to minimize these problems? Adopting an active mindset in the workplace is a good start. Stand up frequently from your seat while in the office, learn about office yoga, or do simple posture-strengthening exercises and stretches at home.

Here’s a sampling of some simple exercises that you can do to start a new active routine in your workplace.

Posture and Stretching Exercises for Desk Employees

Thanks to the folks at Sutherland-Chan Centre and Stretching by Bob Anderson.

This post was edited 24 Feb 2014.

Top 5 Tips for Running Your First Marathon

November 27, 2011 by Edwin

Introduction

Running a marathon has been on my bucket list for years. But with a 6km run on my apartment treadmill as the longest distance I’ve ever run, a 42km race on an unknown road course with thousands of other runners seemed like such a daunting task. Inspired by my father who ‘ran’ his first marathon at age 60 and supported by my friend and running coach (Julie Price, CEO of Shinobi Labs), I decided that now is as good a time as any to run my first marathon.

I’m happy to say that I just completed my first official half marathon and my training continues for my first full marathon. Having said that, I thought it would be a good time to stop and share my Top 5 Tips for other non-runners out there with a similar goal of completing a marathon.

Top 5 Tips for First-Time Marathoners

1) Have a Consistent Running Schedule: Consistency is the key to building a solid ‘running’ foundation so that your body slowly gets used to long distance running. Stick to a consistent training schedule which starts off very slowly with short distances and gradually adds distance in each subsequent week. I started training 10 weeks prior to the half marathon having nearly zero running time in the previous 12 months. The 1st week consisted of four 3km runs. Within only a few weeks, I broke my own distance record every Sunday, eventually reaching 20km ‘training’ runs by week 8.

2) Act Like a Boat, not a Car: Boats start off very slowly and change speed very slowly. When training, you should think about jogging, not running. After you pass your first or second kilometer, then slowly increase your speed. Unlike any other sporting competitions that I’ve trained for, marathon training is conducted at a much slower place than actual competition day in order to prevent injury and to prepare your body for a very long race day.

3) Find Your Inspiration: Whether it’s running on a nature trail, listening to music or audio books, or just being alone with your thoughts, find whatever inspires you to run. For me, I enjoy listening to audiobooks because I get lost in the voice of the author and my mind wanders to the point that I forget that I’m even running. On race day, fun and upbeat music is my inspiration of choice. Overall, the key is to have fun!

4) Get Support: Proper marathon training is a long process and the encouraging words from friends, family and colleagues can be the boost that you need to keep you inspired. After every one of my training runs, I exchanged notes online with my running coach and she helped keep me on track. She answered every question I had, provided suggestions to help me improve, and gave me encouraging words to keep me motivated.

5) Run Your Own Race: Don’t worry about how fast someone next to you is running and try not to pay close attention to your average pace. My preference is to run alone and with a heartrate monitor. This enables me to run consistently within my target heart rate range and to very clearly track my progress each week. On race day I started off slowly while hundreds of runners raced past me, but by the 10th kilometer I reached a very comfortable stride and began passing many of these same runners who ran out of fuel all too soon.

Hotel Room Exercises for the Busy Executive

November 20, 2011 by Edwin

Introduction

During my 15 year career in the tech industry, I traveled hundreds of thousands of miles across multiple continents. When I was at home, I was always fortunate to have proper fitness facilities nearby and I made sure to exercise often. However, I traveled 50% of the time and needed a set of simple but effective exercises that would keep me energized throughout my business trip and help me battle jetlag.

As a result, I created a comprehensive set of bodyweight exercise routines that kept me fit while on the road for many years. These routines became the basis for what I now call the ALMA Bodyweight Circuit – a series of exercise routines (of varying levels) that can be performed anytime, anywhere, with only your own bodyweight.

ALMA wellness‘ health coaching clients will learn all of these circuits, but for our online readers, here is the ALMA Bodyweight Circuit – Level 1. The initial goal is to complete this circuit three times in one training session. Once you can complete this circuit five times in one session, then I recommend moving onto Level 2.

ALMA Bodyweight Circuit – Level 1

Jumping Jacks (30 repetitions) – great exercise to get blood flowing to all parts of the body

Press Ups (10 repetitions) – the most complete exercise to train your chest, shoulders, arms, and core muscles. Also see this article for more variations.

Sit Ups (10 repetitions) – one of many exercises to train your abdominal muscles

Squats (10 repetitions) – great exercise for your glutes and thighs

Tricep Dips (10 repetitions) – primarily trains your triceps and a little bit of your shoulders

Plank (hold position for 10 seconds) – one of the best exercises to train your core muscles. Improving your plank will help you improve your press up.

Repeat this exercise circuit for a total of 3-5 circuits

Top 5 Tips for Healthy Air Travel

November 19, 2011 by Edwin

Introduction

No matter how healthy you are we’ve all experienced the negative effects of jetlag, from trouble sleeping to pounding headaches. In most cases, air travelers experience milder effects of jetlag such as dehydration and lack of energy.

Small changes to your flight habits can have a significant positive impact on preventing jetlag. Here are our top 5 tips for healthy and comfortable air travel.

Top 5 Tips for Healthy Air Travel

1) Hydrate: Keeping yourself hydrated in the dry airplane cabin is the easiest way to mitigate the impact of jetlag. Avoid alcohol during, before or immediately after the flight and drink water throughout the flight by keeping a bottle at your seat. If necessary, bring your own empty bottle and have the flight attendants fill it up as soon as you board.

2) Block the Noise: The high decibel constant buzz of the airplane is a big cause of jetlag and the poor quality earphones in cattle class seats are the fastest way to send a headache straight to your head. Instead, bring your own pair of noise cancellation headsets or wear ear plugs when sleeping or reading.

3) Maintain Blood Flow: How many people actually sit in their office in one chair for an entire 10 hours? Probably none of us. Then why sit in a plane seat for that long? Instead, sit in the aisle seat, stand up frequently and walk around, or at the very least shake your legs out and do simple upper body stretches in your seat.

4) Reduce stress: Give yourself plenty of time before your flight to reduce stress of unpredictable queues for security or immigration. If you want to remain productive, then schedule a phone call right before your flight or bring along 30 minutes of work to do after you’re sitting comfortably in the frequent flyer lounge or at your gate.

5) Treat Your Body Well: Sitting in a small seat or carrying a heavy messenger bag is the perfect way to get your body twisted like a pretzel. We suggest that you use luggage carts for your heavy luggage and even for your carry-on when wandering around the departure hall. If you can spare the time, get yourself a massage when you land to relax your muscles and get your spine back in-line.