Couch Potatoes Need to Move More!

I will admit it, I’m excited too, that the fall television shows have finally started. Nothing beats unwinding at the end of a a busy day by watching one TV program. I love Lethal Weapon, This is Us and Scandal. I’m also a huge Jennifer Aniston fan, so I’m really looking forward to her new comedy!

Are you a TV Junky?

I know there are many of you who watch more than one hour of television a night. I get it, it’s your time forget about reality and just relax! However, if most of your evenings are disappearing in front of TV, you need to find a way to move around more while enjoying this pastime.

Couch Potatoes – Commercials Help!

An easy way to monitor your movement is to pay attention to commercials. They happen close to every 10 minutes. Each one is about 30 seconds long, and they are usually clumped into 3-4 minute segments. This is a great length of time to get up off the couch and MOVE! Regular movement helps ease achy bones and joints, gets your heart bumping and increases your calorie burn. All movement you do counteracts your ‘lazy’ couch time.

Couch Potatoes – Let’s Get Physical!

Couch Potatoes, try performing these 4 exercises, each for a full ad during a commercial break:

1) Squats: Stand behind your couch holding onto it for support if needed. Bend your legs, sticking your butt out and drop into some deep squats. Remember to keep your knees behind your toes.
2) Plank (see image below): This is the starting position for a push-up. If you are a new exerciser, keep your knees on the floor, to help support your weight.
3) Superman: Lying face down on the ground, slowly lift your arms and legs up at the same time and hold for a couple of seconds. You should feel like you’re flying through the sky.
4) Glute Bridge. Lying face up, squeeze your glutes and lift your hips up off the ground. Slowly lower back down until you are 1 inch away from the floor and use your glutes to raise up again off the ground.

Are you a Surfer?

So you don’t watch much TV, but you never leave Facebook, Instagram, kijiji or Craigslist. You pride yourself in knowing every detail of your “online friends” lives or you know every good deal as soon as it’s listed. You feel disconnected from the world if you don’t have your phone or tablet glued to your hand. Admit it, you know who you are!

Attention Surfers, Follow These Tips!

In addition to completing the exercises above, I recommend that you start taking care of your eye health. Studies show, we blink 30% fewer times when staring at a computer or phone screen. These screens are leading to deteriorating eye sight. If you don’t believe me, unplug completely during your next one week vacation – don’t even bring your phone. You will come back seeing far better than you were able to before you left.

To help strengthen your eyes, try these 2 eye exercises:
1. 20-20-20: Look away from your computer every 20 minutes and gaze at a distant object, at least 20 feet away, for 20 seconds.
2. So Close, Yet so Far: Look at an object 20 feet away for 10-15 seconds, then gaze at something up close for 10-15 seconds. Then look back at the distant object. Repeat this sequence 10 times.

To Sum it Up…

We all have different hobbies to unwind after a hard day at work. Many of them involve more sitting. It’s important to get moving more to lubricate and stretch our bones and joints, get help with heart health and to burn more calories. Try the exercises highlighted above, to get your body and eyes moving more and please share any comments with me.