Wellness & Fitness

Easy steps to start workout routine this year

AEROBIC

It is another new year and many will be seeking to raise their fitness levels.

Naturally, we tend to forget movement patterns such as jumping, squatting, and side bending among others.

I propose that you follow a moderate workout programme for a whole year to stretch and strengthen your muscles, increase oxygen intake and mobility of joints.

This programme is divided into four parts, namely:

  • Free active movements and movement patterns
  • Aerobic exercises
  • Strength training
  • Play a sport

Today I will deal with free active movements patterns where one strives to perform a movement as perfectly as possible. Most people can squat or do jumping jacks when they are told to, but how many are able to perform these movements very well and with ease?

Why we insist on you doing these movements is so that your joints, ligaments, muscles, nerves and brain patterns are able to combine to perform them with ease.

Your muscles and brain are dependent on each other to function properly.

Repetition equals retention. This quote is used to describe how movements are recorded in the brain after a number of repetitions.

The first time a baby walks he or she falls, at this moment the brain records that there is a new movement but it doesn’t know the pattern. After about 10 to 50 repetitions the baby’s brain understands in detail how to walk because it has registered in minute details which muscles to move and which to stabilise the movements.

As we age, we forget movements such as overhead reach with our arms, squatting, jumping jacks, side bending and sometimes rotation because we do not use them in our day to day activities.

These are the movement patterns I want to start with this month and see whether they are difficult to perform or not. If they are easy to perform then congratulations to you and make sure you continue performing them regularly.

If you have difficulty in performing them then it is time to assess your joint range of motion and muscle strength and length. Small repetitions each day will go a long way to ensure the potency of your joints and muscles.

Above are some of the movements that you can try and see whether you can perform them with ease. In the next segment, we will look into different forms of aerobics and accruing benefits.

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