Weeks 1 & 2
PreviewExercise, Level 1, Weeks 1 & 2
Goals
- Breathing
- Cardiovascular Exercise
- Stretching
Welcome to Pain Free Lifestyle.
Pain Free Lifestyle is designed to get you moving.
It will get you moving in ways that are easy on your body, and in ways that are easy to maintain.
The exercises are easy on your body, and won’t create injury. If you’re looking to reduce pain and improve your mobility, this is the program for you.
Play Exercise & Stretching Demonstrations
Breathing
Breathing is often overlooked and underappreciated, until you can’t do it.
I like to joke that breathing is important, only if you want to live. I want to cover breathing at the beginning, because if you aren’t breathing correctly, then you can hyperventilate, and have other issues, while exercising.
While exercising, your muscles need oxygen to power them and to keep them moving. If you are holding your breath, or not breathing correctly, then you can hurt yourself.
I recommend a style of breathing called 3-4-5.
You breath in through your nose for a count of 3, pull the air into your belly by pushing your belly out as you breath in.
Hold your breath for a count of 4. Then slowly breath out through pursed lips for a count of 5.
This slows down your breathing, and helps to prevent you from getting out of breath.
This exercise will also help you to clear out toxins that can accumulate in the bottom of your lungs.
Breath like this, while exercising, and it will help you to be more comfortable while exercising.
This is also a great exercise when you are sick or have a cold, for clearing out your lungs, and preventing pneumonia.
Stretching
If breathing is only important if you want to live, then stretching is important, only if you want to move.
The more I am around physical fitness, exercise and the human body, the more I am convinced that it doesn’t matter how fast or strong you are. If you aren’t flexible, then you can’t move.
There are a bunch of stories of people who look great, but can’t bend over to tie their shoes. Or be able to do other activities like that, because they have no flexibility.
I want to start you off with stretching, before starting with weight lifting, to prevent injury.
If you try to strengthen up a tight and irritated muscle which is causing a misaligned joint, it will only make that muscle tighter and more irritated, and it will further mess with the joint alignment.
Stretching is a great way to start loosening up tight and irritated muscles, and to start aligning joints.
Cardiovascular Exercise
You are also going to start with some low intensity, and low impact cardio-vascular exercising.
You can walk, ride a stationary or outdoor bike, stairmaster, elliptical machine, swim, tai chi, or anything at all. As long as the exercise is low impact. Low impact exercising will be easier to stick with, and help you to feel better.
High impact exercises such as running will break the joints down and take you another step closer to arthritis. High impact exercising is much harder to recover from and will beat you up more, leading to more injuries and pain.
If 20 minutes is too much for you, then start with 10. If 10 is too much, then start with 5. Work within your own limitations. Don’t progress until you feel comfortable with progressing.
Intensity wise, while doing the cardiovascular workout, you want to be able to hold a conversation. You don’t want to go so hard right now that you get out of breath.
Keep in mind that you want to go easy. You are getting yourself into shape to start exercising. You have to ease your way into exercise, if you want to keep exercising for years to come.
That is what we are trying to establish here.
Exercising and eating habits that you can stick with for the rest of your life.
You are not dieting. You are changing around your lifestyle. It takes time.
Good luck, be easy on yourself.
I hope that this helps you to have a pain free day.
