Easter is just around the corner, and if you’re anything like us, you like to indulge in a chocolate egg or two (or three). Then there is the almost impossible-to-resist smell of warm hot cross buns toasted over a campfire on a beautiful Autumn morning.
If you like to indulge a little over Easter, here’s 5 tips for how to balance the input with output so you can enjoy those indulgences guilt-free:
- Get walking! Walking with a friend, family member or your dog is a great way to stoke the metabolism. Walking uses our aerobic energy system, where oxygen and fuel are burned to produce energy. That fuel is usually carbohydrates (the hot cross buns) so walking briskly for 30 minutes or more will help to keep those hot cross buns from ending up as a six pack somewhere . . .
- Squats! Yep, you heard it from us. Squats are great for burning energy because they recruit a number of large muscles over a long range of motion. If you can do more than 15 body weight squats, its time to add load! Hold a kettlebell, dumbell, bag of potting mix (anything really) in front of you, or get serious and start doing barbell squats. You know you’re doing them correctly when you’re breathing hard at the end of your set of 5, 10 or 15 reps. Watch my video here to show you variations on squats.
- Pause between drinks:Its easy when you’re with friends and family to continually fill your wine glass or swap an empty for a full one from your stubby holder and before you know it, you’re 4 or more drinks into the afternoon or evening. A simple trick here is just to pause for 2-3 minutes after finishing your last drink. This gives your brain time to consider whether youdowant another drink right now. Another tip is to go “1 for 1”, substituting alcohol for a non-alcoholic drink. There are lots of low calorie sparkling water flavours available now and these can be refreshing as well as stretching out the alcohol consumption a little.
- Push, push! Push ups are another great exercise that uses a large amount of muscle, recruiting the chest, shoulders and triceps as prime movers but also your core and quadriceps must be tight for correct form. Watch my video on how to get the most out of your push ups by clicking here.
- Create an Easter Hunt for adults! We all remember the thrill of finding easter eggs in the agapanthus or a nook in branch of the orange tree in the backyard as kids. Why not extend the fun and make the adults work for their treats this Easter!
If you need any help with pain, stiffness or injury before you embark on your Easter break, please call us on 6056 6616 to arrange an appointment before you go.
