Forgotten function
Spin classes in the water. Yoga with weights. Heated barre studios. It’s easy for women — who make up the majority of fitness class participants — to get swept up in the latest exercise trends. And while that can be a good thing (hey, whatever gets you moving!), attention should also be paid to some other essential activities for women, including those that support their mental health and internal organs, experts say. Here are six exercises you’re probably not doing daily, but should:
Transverse abdominis holds
Isa Herrera, a physical therapist in New York City who founded PelvicPainRelief.com, no longer prescribes crunches to patients. Why? Too often, they’re performed incorrectly (with a curved, rather than neutral, spine) and not balanced with exercises that strengthen partnering muscle groups, which can promote pelvic floor problems like prolapse. Instead, Herrera prescribes transverse abdominis holds, or exercises that strengthen the “corset” muscle connecting the lower spine and pelvic floor. To perform them, pull your belly button in and up, as if you were putting on a tight pair of jeans. “Women do it all the time, just not for exercise,” she says. Hold for five seconds and repeat five to 10 times.
Walking
There’s nothing trendy about walking, but that’s also why it’s so important to do regularly, says Kelly Coffey, a personal trainer in Northampton, Massachusetts. “It’s free, it’s practical, it’s an exercise that’s accessible for almost everybody, it’s arguably why the human body was created the way it was and it can be incorporated into about any lifestyle,” she says. One often-cited 1998 study that followed up with 229 postmenopausal women found that those who had walked at least a mile a day for about three years were less likely to report heart disease, hospitalizations and orthopedic surgeries 10 years later. Plenty of newer research shows walking boosts mood, improves creativity and more.
Masturbation
As a personal trainer, Coffey sees plenty of value in full-body strengthening exercises like squats, dead-lifts and pullups. But if she had to pick just one activity for all women to do daily, it would be something entirely different: masturbation. “I would want my clients to bring themselves pleasure so … they don’t feel like it’s dependent on someone’s interest or willingness or time availability,” says Coffey, who created the free online workshop, “Why We Sabotage Ourselves with Food and What We Can Do About It.” “It’s not just a tremendous stress-reliever, it’s an incredible amount of fun and it connects women to their bodies and their sexuality. And, it’s free.”
Breathing
If you’re reading this, breathing is already something you do every day. But deliberately bringing attention to your breath through, say, a mindfulness practice or a restorative yoga class, does a whole lot more than keep you alive. It tells your brain you’re relaxed, which tells your heart rate to slow, your blood pressure to dial back and your muscles to let go. As a result, you can reduce your risk of the long list of diseases linked to chronic stress. Proper breathing during more traditional exercises like planks is important too in order to reap their benefits, adds Herrera, who is also a strength and conditioning specialist. “Practice the art of breathing,” she says.
Wall sits
Thanks in part to sedentary lifestyles and posture-killing desk jobs, back pain is nearly a norm in the U.S., with 31 million Americans experiencing low back pain at any given time, according to the American Chiropractic Association, the majority of them women, research finds. But exercises like wall sits, which require a flat back, can help alleviate it, not to mention strengthen your quads, Herrera says. Want to get more burn for your buck? Try squeezing a stability ball between your legs and pushing against a resistance band outside of them. Throw in a transverse abdominis hold for a short but effective full-body workout. “You’re going to feel that right away,” Herrera says.
Positive self-talk and care
“I am enough.” “I’m doing the best I can.” “It’s not about perfection.” Whatever you claim as a mantra, say it to yourself daily, suggests Jodi Rubin, a therapist in New York City who specializes in body image issues. “If we’re conscious about the way we think about ourselves and ultimately the way we treat ourselves, it has huge consequences that are very positive,” she says. Some of them are quite tangible, with research showing how self-talk training can improve athletic performance. Coffey recommends another response to self-criticism: self-care. “With practice,” she says, “that voice becomes the signal that it’s time to do something fabulous.”
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6 Exercises Women Should Do Every Day originally appeared on usnews.com
