builds muscle and helps keep your bones healthy. Strength training is important for both men and women. When you have more muscle and less body fat, you’ll burn more calories.
Burning more calories can help you lose and keep off extra weight. You can do strength training with hand weights, elastic bands, or weight machines. Experts recommend that you do strength training two to three times a week. Start with a light weight. Slowly increase the size of your weights as your muscles become stronger.
Stretching increases muscle and joint flexibility and range of motion so you can move your joints and limbs fully. When you stretch it keeps you from being sore after exercise, relieves stress, and makes it easier to perform daily activities like bending down to tie your shoes.
You can choose from many types of stretching exercises. Some formal types include yoga, tai chi, and Pilates, but you can find simple ways to fit stretching into your daily routine. Touch your toes ten times before you get out of bed, really reach for the items on the top shelf of the cabinet, lunge into each stroke with the mop.
If you have never exercised or it has been a long time since you last worked out, you should see your doctor before you start an exercise program.
Remember! The key to fitting in exercise is to make it something enjoyable and fun. So, put those headphones on, tap your favorite playlist and get moving. You’ll be Happy you did.
Constance Brown-Riggs, is a registered dietitian, certified diabetes educator, national speaker and author of the Diabetes Guide to Enjoying Foods of the World, a convenient guide to help people with diabetes enjoy all the flavors of the world while still following a healthy meal plan. Follow Constance on social media @eatingsoulfully