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Music is a lot of things: it’s restorative, motivational, moving and educational. There are endless ways we use music to get through our days, whether listening to a sad song on repeat or hitting play on an upbeat tune.
According to Ronna Kaplan, a clinical supervisor and adjunct music therapy faculty at Cleveland State University, “music is positive in many ways for mental health, it can be used across the lifespan” for many different situations.
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One of those ways is during exercise. It can be a crucial element in enhancing your workout. Here’s how.
Your body’s movement naturally matches a song’s rhythm, which can help you stick to a specific pace.
There’s a reason your foot starts tapping or your shoulders start moving as soon as a song comes on. According to Joy Allen, the chair of music therapy and director of the music and health institute at Berklee College of Music in Boston, this is because of rhythmic entrainment, which is an “unconscious reaction — that’s what we call the entrainment.”
“Our body’s going to [move] in time with that sound or that rhythm,” she says.
So, when it comes to exercise, your body automatically falls in line with the tempo of the music “because of the way that our brains are connected with rhythm,” Allen says.
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When picking music for a workout, like when going for a walk or run, for example, you’ll want to choose a tempo that is close to your natural stride. “Go [with] what seems comfortable for you and play around with different songs,” she says.
You can use music to increase your pace, too.
If you’re looking for an added challenge, pick a song with a pace that is a little quicker than your average running or walking stride, this should help you move faster throughout your workout.
You can start with a song with a slower tempo and gradually increase your speed by picking songs with faster beats, which is ideal if you’re looking to improve your walking or running pace, according to Kaplan.
“It primes the person to an outside cue,” she says. It “helps your muscles activate in their walking pattern.”
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Music can help distract you from boredom during a workout.
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It’s motivating.
How often has someone walked into the gym, realised they forgot their headphones, and then had a not-so-great workout — or even left the gym altogether? Allen pointed out this is a common occurrence: There is a major reason why music is integral to so many people’s workouts.
The music you listen to during a workout helps with motivation, and there are several things behind that motivation.
First, you probably want to hear your favorite song on your exercise playlist, which may keep you going for longer. Second, if you put on music that’s unexpected (like if you put on reggaeton instead of your regular pop soundtrack), you will be interested in hearing what comes next in the song, which may also keep you moving longer than usual.
“If you’re always listening to the same stuff, sometimes that’s great [but] sometimes we have fatigue from it — we know what to expect and what’s coming, so it can be a little less motivating,” Allen says.
And music is distracting.
No one wants to focus on their tough workout as they’re in it. If anything, they want to not think about it. As you sing along to lyrics or are reminded of music-induced memories, songs let your mind wander throughout an exercise regimen, so you don’t have to stand (or sit) there and think about how hard your workout is.
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Music keeps you from getting bored during a workout, too, which can happen when you’re doing something kind of mundane like walking on a treadmill, Allen noted. Music activates the brain by giving your mind something else to think about.
“It captures your attention… ‘oh, here’s something I’m listening to,’ so I’m not attending to what could be an uncomfortable experience with the exercise, it gives me something else to focus on,” Allen says.
You’ll reap even more benefits when you pick your music.
According to Kaplan, when someone chooses the music they’re listening to, they’ll have better results, whether working out or doing something like meditation.
A recent study led by the Department of Kinesiology at Samford University in Alabama stated, “if the music played over the speakers is not preferred by the individual giving effort, performance may suffer. Thus, coaches and athletes should consider individual music preferences when attempting to optimise performance and training.”
This further speaks to the motivation you feel when working out to music you enjoy.
Additionally, Kaplan says you might notice you’re in a better mood when working out to music you select, which may make you feel like you enjoyed your workout more. And that’s a win-win.
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This may mean you’ll be more likely to work out again that week, which is a great way to hit your fitness goals.
Move celebrates exercise in all its forms, with accessible features encouraging you to add movement into your day – because it’s not just good for the body, but the mind, too. We get it: workouts can be a bit of a slog, but there are ways you can move more without dreading it. Whether you love hikes, bike rides, YouTube workouts or hula hoop routines, exercise should be something to enjoy.
You’re reading Move, the nudge we need to get active, however makes us happiest and healthiest.
Walking is cooler than ever, thanks in large part to the made-famous-by-TikTok Hot Girl Walk trend. Not only is it cool, but walking is also great for your mental health and your physical health.
There are even ways to make your walks more beneficial, whether that’s Nordic walking (a kind of walking that uses poles, similar to ski poles, to incorporate your upper body) or interval walking, which, according to Harvard Health, gets your heart rate up more than a regular walk.
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An interval walk incorporates phases of fast and moderate walking to create a heart-pumping, challenging workout. You can mix and match the duration of each pace however you like, but generally the majority of the walk is done at a moderate pace with the quicker pace sprinkled throughout. It’s common to do this workout at a 2-to-1 ratio, meaning you walk at a moderate pace for double the amount of time of a fast pace (so, walk at a moderate pace for two minutes and follow it up with a faster one-minute walk), but it’s really up to you how you split it up.
During the moderate walking pace, you should be at about 30% to 40% of your maximum effort, said Kate Lemere, chief instructor at Barry’s Chicago. In other words, your walk should be at a pace that would allow you to hold a conversation.
During vigorous, fast intervals, she said, you’ll want to be around 70% of your maximum effort, a pace at which it should be more difficult to string together a complete sentence.
Interval walking is a way to add something different to your regular walk and can make it much more efficient.
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Here, experts share all of the ways interval walking is good for your health.
It shortens the amount of time you need to exercise.
“What does interval training do for you? It cuts down the amount of time you have to exercise to get the same benefit,” said Dr. Michael Ayers, a sports cardiologist at UVA Health in Virginia.
For people with busy schedules, this is a huge benefit of incorporating fast-slow intervals into a walk — or incorporating any kind of high-intensity interval training into exercise, for that matter. When you mix vigorous exercise with moderate exercise, those short bursts of vigorous exercise get you the same benefits of a slower walk in less time, Ayers said.
In other words, all of the benefits of a moderate-intensity walk can be achieved faster when you add in some quick high-intensity intervals.
“Interval training definitely shortens the amount of exercise time that you have to do per week,” he added.
It creates an endorphin rush.
Ayers noted that, overall, one of the big reasons his patients like interval training is how it makes them feel afterward.
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“There’s a big endorphin kick when you go into vigorous exercise,” he said. With an interval walk, as long as you reach a vigorous pace for 30 to 60 seconds at a time, you’ll get an endorphin kick.
You could do a five-minute moderately paced interval followed by a fast minute-long interval, or one minute of moderate walking followed by 30 seconds of power walking. As long as you break up your slower intervals with at least 30 seconds of vigorous walking, you’ll be on your way to that endorphin boost.
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If you’re looking to increase your walking speed, interval walking can be a great way to build up to that goal.
It builds endurance.
Walking may not be the first thing you think of when considering endurance-building workouts, but walking can actually build up your aerobic endurance, according to Dr. Tamanna Singh, a clinical cardiologist and co-director of the sports cardiology center at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
For someone who is really pushing themselves during a walk, especially if they aren’t used to bursts of vigorous exercise, that pace acceleration “may be enough to stimulate the aerobic and anaerobic system,” she added.
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This will help you build up your aerobic endurance and sustain anaerobic levels of effort moving forward, Singh said.
Plus, interval training can help you reach endurance goals related to walking farther or walking faster.
″[The] best way to increase your [walking] speed is with interval training — increasing the duration of those faster intervals over time will help you be able to do that,” Singh said.
It’s a good workout for people who are getting back into exercise.
Interval walking can also be a great progression for those who are getting back into aerobic activity after an injury or pregnancy, said Lemere.
If you fall into one of these categories, you shouldn’t just jump right into the workout. First, make sure you’re able to walk at a sustained pace and recover without pain the next day, she said. And it’s always a good idea to check with your doctor before adding something new to a post-injury workout routine.
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But if you are ready to take your walking to the next level, you can increase your exercise output by adding fast-slow intervals.
Interval walks are helpful for people coming off of an injury and hoping to get back into running, too.
“Incorporating walking intervals is one of the best ways not to only increase your cardio but also to progress if your goal involves running,” Lemere noted.
It can help you feel less bored during a workout.
Variety equals excitement in most scenarios, including workouts.
A 45-minute or hourlong walk can seem daunting (and can end up being kind of boring), but when you break that walk into chunks that incorporate quick walking followed by slower-paced walking, you can make the workout a little more exciting, Singh noted.
You can try walking at a moderate pace for 10 minutes and follow it up with a fast walk for five minutes and repeat that pattern until you hit your time goal. This, she added, is also a way to stay engaged during the workout, which is another huge benefit.
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“Engagement is a huge component in making sure people can commit” to exercise, Singh said.
It’s not as hard on your body as a traditional run …
When you’re not properly warming up and recovering, “running can be very painful and hard to recover from,” Lemere said.
Our bodies change with age, and running may not be something you can do anymore. That’s OK.
Interval walking is a good way to get in some brisk movement outdoors without putting all of that pressure on your joints.
But the cardiovascular benefits of walking at a sustained pace are largely the same.
Beyond the benefits above, interval walking has not proved to be any more beneficial than sustained walking when it comes to general health. You may be sweating a little more after a fast walk interval, but the overall health benefits aren’t actually going to be much different.
Walking of any sort is healthy, Ayers said. Across the board, walking increases muscular strength decreases the likelihood of diabetes, and also decreases blood pressure and cholesterol levels. It results in a lower risk of heart attack and stroke, too.
“At the end of the day, get moving [and] be very intentional about how you move your body,” Singh said. “That’s the cheapest, easiest way to stay healthy and reduce your cardiovascular risk.”
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Move celebrates exercise in all its forms, with accessible features encouraging you to add movement into your day – because it’s not just good for the body, but the mind, too. We get it: workouts can be a bit of a slog, but there are ways you can move more without dreading it. Whether you love hikes, bike rides, YouTube workouts or hula hoop routines, exercise should be something to enjoy.
Just like young Tess, eight, who danced her way through their Euro semi-final in Sheffield on Tuesday, we couldn’t be prouder of England’s Lionesses.
Tickets to Sunday’s final against Germany at Wembley Stadium, the largest sports venue in the UK and second-largest stadium in Europe, are completely sold out – all 87,200 of them. It will be the biggest attendance ever for a men’s or women’s Euro final, and the game will closely rival the highest attended women’s football match of all time (when 91,553 watched Barcelona play Real Madrid in the UEFA Women’s Champions League in March).
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Three years ago we watched as the Lionesses exceeded all expectations in the 2019 Women’s World Cup, only falling to eventual champions, the USA.
While football didn’t come home that night in Lyon, it certainly felt as though women’s football was here to stay. And so it has proved.
After a pandemic pause, the current Lionesses, led by captain Leah Williamson and cool-as-you-like head coach Sarina Wiegman, have stormed through this Euro tournament, scoring 20 goals between them in front of delighted crowds, and only conceding one – in that nail-biting quarter-final against Spain.
Midfielder Georgia Stanway, who scored the extra-time “stunner” that saw them through that game in Brighton, has said: “I think we need to kind of stop talking about how big women’s football is getting and talk about how big it is.”
England’s comprehensive 4-0 victory against Sweden in the semi-final earlier this week drew 9.3 million viewers across BBC TV and streaming – the largest audience for the tournament so far.
Fans went wild for goals from Beth Mead, Lucy Bronze and Fran Kirby, for the sparkling clean-sheet of goalkeeper, Mary Earps, but most of all for super-sub Alessia Russo’s devilish back-kicked nutmeg in the second half. Even the US Embassy had to give Russo props for it with a cheeky homage on Twitter.
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England goalkeeper Mary Earps and captain Leah Williamson celebrate after Alessia Russo’s goal in the semi-finals.
And all this in a sport that the English Football Association effectively banned in 1921, because – and we kid you not here – the FA worried the growing popularity of women’s games was threatening to attract too large a crowd.
“Complaints having been made as to football being played by women, Council felt impelled to express the strong opinion that the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and should not be encouraged,” it ruled at the time.
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We’ve come a long way since then, thank goodness, and now around the world, women are matching their male counterparts for passion, drive and visibility. Australian striker Sam Kerr, of Chelsea FC Women, will soon become the first female player to feature on the cover of the football game FIFA for 2023.
So, if there’s a difference between women’s and men’s football, it isn’t down to technique. These Euros have shown that women are more than capable at smashing the sport. It’s more about the way it makes us feel: positive.
Amelia Dimoldenberg, a 28-year-old writer, was at the opening game of the Euros on July 6, when England played against Austria at Old Trafford – and noticed the difference.
As a young woman, going to a men’s game can still feel intimidating, she tells HuffPost UK. “There’s so much testosterone there and so much bravado, and when you go to a women’s game it’s void of most of that” – not just because of the number of families in the stands, she adds. “It’s just exciting to see young girls and young people getting involved with the sport.
Scott and Wright, who formerly played for Arsenal women’s and men’s teams respectively, as well as for their national sides, spoke eloquently in the moment about the journey to this point in football – and the future potential.
“It is hard for me not to get emotional right now,” Scott said, holding back tears, “because the amount of investment which has gone into the women’s game is for a moment like this. For this team to get to Wembley, they are creating something special and deserve every accolade which is coming their way.”
She added: “Everyone who has been involved in women’s football has been waiting for this moment. It’s special.”
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Wright agreed, but also had a message to those who run the game. “Whatever happens in the final now, if girls are not allowed to play football in their PE, just like the boys can, what are we doing?” he said passionately post-match.
“We have got to make sure they are able to play and get the opportunity to do so. If there’s no legacy to this – like with the Olympics – then what are we doing as this is as proud as I’ve ever felt of any England side.”
Photographer Jade Keshia Gordon, 28, from London, is a lifelong Arsenal fan who started supporting both the club’s teams when she was eight. She also thinks women’s football should be championed so girls know it’s possible and “okay” to play.
“I played football as a kid and I remember hearing that I should ‘do something that girls do’ from boys my age. I hope that if I was to ever have a daughter they will have no fear of joining their football team,” Gordon tells HuffPost UK.
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A young England fan cheers on the Lionesses during the England-Sweden game.
Gordon says she enjoys watching women play for the dedication, drive and persistence on show – and of course the sheer skill of it.
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“I don’t know if it’s because they’ve felt like they’ve always had to prove themselves, but I feel a sense of strength when they play and it’s just good football, regardless of them being women,” she says. “Football is football regardless of the gender.”
It’s a sentiment that Charlotte Thomson agrees with wholeheartedly. As head of women’s football at Copa 90, a football media company that makes fan-first content, she believes the energy surrounding the Lionesses is built on more than just a successful tournament on the pitch.
“This team is proof that women’s football has well and truly arrived,” she says.
“Iconic moments provided by the likes of Stanway and Russo breaking into the football zeitgeist is testament to the changing perceptions around women’s football,” says Thomson.“At the time of writing, Russo’s goal alone has been viewed 17 times per second, every second (!) since it was scored.”
The conversation has moved on from inspiring young girls to inspiring a nation, Thomson adds, and agrees that the atmosphere at games is something else.
“You don’t have to delve too deeply into women’s football fan culture to get a taste of the positive, inclusive space they occupy,” she says. “Turning up to any of the matches this summer and the atmosphere you are greeted with is more akin to that of a festival than a typical football match.”
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Catherine Ivill – UEFA via Getty Images
Lionesses fans celebrating in Sheffield.
This positivity tips over onto social media, she adds, where Copa 90 has seen huge engagement for its match day takeovers, while off the pitch, collectives such as Baller FC, Studs and This Fan Girl have hosted watch parties and events, welcoming “everyone and anyone” to join in, Thomson says.
“However, do not make the mistake in thinking a positive space is one that’s less passionate, quieter and lacking in atmosphere,” she adds. “You just need to hear the hoarse voices of the fans this summer to understand that is most certainly not the case.”
The inclusivity she speaks of also includes the brilliant LGBTQ+ representation in the women’s game, on and off the pitch.
At the last Women’s World Cup, at least 41 players were openly gay or bisexual with individuals like USA’s Megan Rapinoe using the platform to speak out for the community – whereas, over in the male game, this year Jake Daniels was the first professional player to come out publicly since Justin Fashanu in 1990.
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“The active allyship among the women football community is to be celebrated, and is something the men’s game can learn a lot from,” Thomson says.
That doesn’t mean that progress isn’t still needed in other areas. Many fans have noticed how white the current national women’s football team is – and Thomson stresses that “a lot of systemic work” must be done.
“The fact that the current Lionesses have only three black players – Jess Carter, Nikita Parris and Demi Stokes – is proof there is clearly a need for change,” she says. Even more so, when the latest figures from Sport England’s Active Lives report show the significant numbers of girls and young women of colour who are participating in the game at a grassroots level.
“Work needs to be done from the bottom up, ensuring centres of excellence are not just in rural locations and offering resources to give a wider group of girls access to key talent pathways, ” says Thomson.
“Additionally, we need to be providing role models from a grassroots perspective, given there’s not much at the top.”
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Nikita Parris during an England training session during the Euros.
Even though Thomson, along with so many of us, has been loving the Euros coverage, she doesn’t think all football fans have to champion women’s football.
“For some people, women’s football just isn’t for them. For others, women playing football is outright offensive. But that’s okay – we don’t need them,” she says.
“The record breaking numbers this tournament has produced almost daily is testament to that. I would, however, like to see people taking heed from Leah Williamson’s quote from a recent BBC documentary: ‘I don’t particularly like watching fencing, but I don’t tweet to say that I don’t like it!’”
Nor is it one-size-fits-all. Sure, it’s heartening to see David Beckham thanking the Lionesses for inspiring his daughter Harper and the Duke of Cambridge appearing on Instagram this morning with Princess Charlotte to wish the team luck in the final. But their reach goes way beyond this demographic.
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“Contrary to how the game has been marketed in the past, we know that there is more to women’s football fans than the watered-down ‘daddy and daughters’ parade that is often portrayed,” says Thomson. “Women’s football fans have proven to be wide ranging and highly engaged.”
And one thing’s for sure, they’ll all be tuned into Sunday’s final at Wembley, where, regardless of the score, we’ll be supporting the Lionesses all the way.
You’re reading Move, the nudge we need to get active, however makes us happiest and healthiest.
Every football fan will tell you the joy of watching your favourite time play, but a new study goes one step further, detailing how it can even boost your mental health.
And with England’s Lionesses set to face Sweden in the Euro 2022 semi-final, it’s yet another reason to get behind the team, who’ve had a record-breaking run so far.
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One in two of all sports fans said watching a match helps them socialise more with friends and family, according to the study conducted by charitable social enterprise, Better. Over a third (35%) said it makes them feel part of a community and 33% said it inspires them to be more active.
The researchers asked 2,000 sports fans across the country questions about their daily exercise regimes, their participation in sports, their sport-viewing habits, their fruit and vegetable intake and their alcohol consumption.
They wanted to determine which sports fans are enjoying engaging in a sport and which ones prefer the comfort of their sofas when watching their favourite athletes compete.
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The mighty Lionesses will face Sweden in the Euros semi-final.
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“Sport and exercise is brilliant for physical, mental and cognitive health. If it was a pill it would make billions!” said Dr Josephine Perry, a sports psychologist who spoke to Better.
“As well as the physical benefits, the exercise we get through sport gives us structure, purpose, energy and motivation.”
Dr Perry explained that sport also positively alters the way we process and respond to our emotions, reducing “how much we overthink” helping to build up “an emotional resilience to stress”.
“These help reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, make us behave differently, boosts our self-esteem and means we reduce any feelings of loneliness by becoming more social,” she added.
The research also found that football fans were the most active across all sports, with 34% getting over 60 minutes of exercise every day. Footie fans were also found to be the least likely to drink more alcohol while watching sport (45%).
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Josh Cheetham, a 30-year-old avid Leeds United fan, was not surprised by the research. “In 2018 I was suffering from depression, I was in a really dark place after a tragic life event, and I didn’t see how I was going to get better. Then I went to a football match, witnessed one of the best matches I’ve ever seen, and I was feeling better as soon as the final whistle blew,” he said.
“When I watch my team at away matches, I am usually on my own, but I don’t see it that way. We all support the same team, we are all one big community and family, you can start talking to anyone around you and immediately feel like you know them and strike up a friendship that lasts for years.”
So, if you haven’t tuned into the Euros yet, what are you waiting for?
England were always a favourite going into this tournament. But whatever the outcome, you’ll get a boost from supporting them.
Move celebrates exercise in all its forms, with accessible features encouraging you to add movement into your day – because it’s not just good for the body, but the mind, too. We get it: workouts can be a bit of a slog, but there are ways you can move more without dreading it. Whether you love hikes, bike rides, YouTube workouts or hula hoop routines, exercise should be something to enjoy.
You’re reading Move, the nudge we need to get active, however makes us happiest and healthiest.
What time do you work out? Depending on your gender, the optimal timing could be different.
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For women, the best time for exercise may be evenings whereas for men it is mornings, according to a new US study.
Previous research into this area of fitness research has predominantly focused on men. But the new study shows that women burn more fat during morning exercise whereas their counterparts do the same in the evenings.
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The factors that differentiate the sexes are likely to be hormonal differences. biological clocks and sleep-wake cycles, the authors said.
The study from Skidmore College, New York State looked at 56 people (30 men and 26 women, all healthy between 25-55) over the course of 12 weeks.
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They were monitored during fitness programmes which included sprinting, stretching, resistance and endurance training.
One group worked out for an hour, before 8:30 while the other between 6pm and 8pm. Both ate a specially designed meal plan.
Researchers looked at everyone’s blood pressure and body fat during the 12 weeks, also taking into consider their strength, flexibility, and aerobic power.
The good news is that all who took part in the study saw better overall health, regardless of when they exercised. So whether you’re a morning person or an evening person, keeping moving is the way.
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“The best time for exercise is the best time you can do it and fit it into your schedule,” said Dr Paul Arcerio, the study’s lead author and professor of health and human physiological sciences at Skidmore College.
The differences may result from women being more likely to store abdominal fat than men, which coupled with the body’s internal rhythm. Researchers want to study the two more to find what exactly causes the optimal times to vary.
But there’s a bit more to it, said the authors, who stressed the ideal times can also vary for men and women, depending on the kind of training they do.
Based on the study’s results, if women want to reduce their blood pressure and lose fat around the middle of their body, they should stick to mornings.
But if they are trying to do strength training, particularly targeting their upper body, as well as improving mood and food intake, evening exercise may be best.
In comparison, men were found to be less sensitive to timing and were able to improve fitness regardless of timing. But, Dr Arcerio added: “Evening exercise was found to be ideal for men interested in improving heart and metabolic health, as well as emotional wellbeing.”
Move celebrates exercise in all its forms, with accessible features encouraging you to add movement into your day – because it’s not just good for the body, but the mind, too. We get it: workouts can be a bit of a slog, but there are ways you can move more without dreading it. Whether you love hikes, bike rides, YouTube workouts or hula hoop routines, exercise should be something to enjoy.
You’re reading Move, the nudge we need to get active, however makes us happiest and healthiest.
Do you have atrocious balance? Your core might be to blame. So this week, we’re delivering a five-minute workout that helps to improve both.
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The quick, equipment-free routine has been written by Fiona Hawker at Curves, a fitness community designed specifically for women.
It’ll help improve your balance, whether you’re constantly wobbling during yoga classes or find it impossible to do a basic quad stretch on one leg.
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“Balance exercises are especially important as you age because your proprioception (your ability to know where you are in space) gets worse as you age,” says Hawker. “Improving balance is also excellent for posture – it teaches you’re the static and dynamic positions that are natural to your human form.”
Add these moves to the end of your next workout or try them while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil. They really are that simple.
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1. Leg swing
Stand with your feet together and your hands on your hips. Transfer your weight to your right leg and slowly swing your left leg out to the side as high as you can comfortable without leaning to the side. Maintain your balance by keeping your core tight, swing your leg back slowly and with control to cross slightly in front of your supporting leg and repeat. Keep your torso upright and facing forwards. This is a great exercise for the muscles in your inner and outer thighs, hamstrings, quadriceps, abdominals and hip flexors. Do this for 30 seconds then change legs and do the same on the other side.
2. Statue of liberty
Start with your feet about hip width apart. Raise your left arm straight up and raise your left leg up to 90 then take your left foot down and crossed behind you dropping your knee to the floor and bringing your arm to your side. Perform this exercise slowly to focus on balance and keep your chest facing forwards. This is a great exercise for your abdominals, hip flexors, glutes, hamstrings and quadriceps. Do this for 30 seconds then change legs and do the same on the other side
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3. Single leg rotation
Stand on one leg with your hands on your hips and place the other foot against your knee or upper calf. Rotate your knee out to the side as far as you can without twisting the hips. Keep your hips and torso facing forwards then bring the knee back to the front. Perform this exercise slowly and with control. This is a great exercise for your abdominals, hip flexors and glutes. Do this for 30 seconds then change legs and do the same on the other side.
4. Standing side stretch
Start with your feet together and cross one foot over in front of the other keeping the feet close together, flat on the floor and pointing forwards. Raise both arms straight up and bend to the same side as your front foot. Keep your core tight and your back aligned so that you are not leaning forwards or backwards. Look up slightly towards your hands. This is a great exercise for your trapezius, deltoids, rhomboids, triceps, obliques, abdominals and hip flexors.
5. Balance table
Start on the floor with your hands stacked below your shoulders and your knees stacked below your hips. Extend your opposite arm and leg out until you form a straight line from your finger tips to your toes, hold for a couple of seconds then return to the start position and extend the other arm and leg out. Look at point on the floor between your hands. Keep your core in tight and be careful not to extend your leg out higher than your shoulder. This is great for your abdominals and lower back strength as well as improving flexibility in your shoulders, and hips. Do this exercise for 30 seconds.
6. Forearm plank
Support your weight on your forearms with your elbows stacked under your shoulders and your legs extended out behind you on your toes. Keep your head in a neutral position so its not hanging down or raised above your shoulders. Pull your core in tight and keep your hips down so your abs are engaged but not sagging as this puts pressure on your lower back until you create a straight line from your head down to your heels. This is a great exercise for your abdominals, obliques, your back, shoulders, triceps, glutes and hamstrings. Hold this position for 30 seconds and don’t forget to breathe!
Move celebrates exercise in all its forms, with accessible features encouraging you to add movement into your day – because it’s not just good for the body, but the mind, too. We get it: workouts can be a bit of a slog, but there are ways you can move more without dreading it. Whether you love hikes, bike rides, YouTube workouts or hula hoop routines, exercise should be something to enjoy.
You’re reading Move, the nudge we need to get active, however makes us happiest and healthiest.
For many fitness lovers, leg day is often the least favourite of the week. But that’s often because of the misconception that you have to push your body to the point of struggling to walk the next day.
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Instead, why not try a short but effective lower body workout?
David Wiener, training and nutrition specialist at Freeletics, has shared a five-minute circuit with HuffPost UK that can be added into your next gym session or practiced during spare moments of the day.
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“Lower body exercises are beneficial and vital for making daily tasks, such as walking, easier on us. Performing these exercises not only improves your stability, but it is a chain reaction on the rest of your body for helping improve your strength and posture,” he says.
“Ultimately, improving your lower body workout routine will give you lean muscle and achieve a stronger and more toned lower body, including the calves, thighs, hamstring and glutes.”
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Try the “no glutes, no glory” workout today and you’ll never* be tempted to skip leg day again.
(*Well, until next week at least.)
1. Squat Jumps
Freeletics
This exercise is great because it’s an all over body work out, but especially good for the lower body. It can help build your muscle and enhance strength, as well as boost your cardiovascular fitness, tone your lower body, strengthen bones, boost your circulation and burn many calories.
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To do one: Start standing with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Point your toes slightly outwards. Always keep your back straight. Always keep hands off your body.
Lower down until your hips are below knees. Jump up so both feet leave ground and then return to the starting position before repeating.
2. Lunges
Freeletics
Freeletics
Lunges are a great exercise to increase the muscle mass in your lower body whilst building up your strength and toning. Not only this, they also help to improve your posture, balance and range of motion. Whilst a lot of exercises put strain on your spine, lunges help give your spine a chance to relax whilst working many of the larger muscles in the lower body.
To do one: Start standing upright, with your hands on your hips. Always keep your shoulders above the hips. Step forward with one foot Keep your front foot flat on the ground. Bend your back knee so it touches the ground below your hip Alternate lunging leg for the desired number of reps.
3. Squats
Freeletics
Much like a jumping squat, a normal squat has similar benefits but not as much cardio. Whilst this exercise will of course not burn as many calories as a jumping squat, it is still a great exercise to put your quadricep group of muscles to work. There’s a misconception that squats put too much pressure and strain on your knees, but squats will actually strengthen your knees and make them less prone to injury as you get older.
To do one: Start standing with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Point your toes slightly outward. Always keep your back straight. Always keep hands off the body. Always keep weight toward your heels. Lower down until your hips sit below your knees and rise back up to the starting position
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4. Split Lunges
Freeletics
Much like the normal lunge, split lunges are a great way to work your quads, glutes, hips and hamstrings. As they are a unilateral exercise (meaning they only train one side of your body at a time), they are proven to increase your balance and posture too. Not only this, your hip flexor muscles are most commonly tight, but performing split lunges will help you improve the mobility of these muscles.
To do one: Start standing upright. Always keep your shoulders above the hips. Step forward with one foot. Keep your front foot flat on the ground. Bend your back knee to touch the ground below hip. Jump up to switch sides. Make sure your feet leave ground at same time.
Rest.
5. Table Twists
Freeletics
To enhance the flexibility of your lower body and spine, table twists are simple to perform and will stretch out all the major muscle groups in your body, helping to boost flexibility and enhance range of motion.
To do one: Start with your hands below your shoulders, heels below the knees, and hips on ground. Push up until your hips are in line with your shoulders and knees. Reach one hand up and behind you. Return to the starting position. Alternative sides Always keep your arms straight.
Rest and repeat.
Move celebrates exercise in all its forms, with accessible features encouraging you to add movement into your day – because it’s not just good for the body, but the mind, too. We get it: workouts can be a bit of a slog, but there are ways you can move more without dreading it. Whether you love hikes, bike rides, YouTube workouts or hula hoop routines, exercise should be something to enjoy.
You’re reading Move, the nudge we need to get active, however makes us happiest and healthiest.
Re-establishing your fitness routine after having Covid can have major benefits for your physical and mental health, but it needs to be approached cautiously if you’re still experiencing long Covid symptoms.
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The NHS advises those experiencing long Covid to ease themselves back into exercise slowly. “Exercise is very important for regaining your muscle strength and endurance but this needs to be safe and managed alongside other long Covid symptoms,” it says. You can read further information about exercising after Covid infection on the NHS website.
Jeannie Di Bon, founder of the Moovlite app, is a movement therapist specialising in working with people experiencing chronic fatigue and chronic pain. More recently, she’s been designing workouts for those experiencing long Covid.
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“You may find that your energy levels have dropped post-Covid and you may experience fatigue and post-exertion malaise (PEM),” she explains. “With this in mind, I recommend taking it gently and slowly. We need to keep the nervous system calm to allow the body to repair and we need to start moving without causing a fatigue flare-up.
“Listen to your body and try not to push yourself to pre-Covid fitness too soon. The more you fight the impact of long Covid, the harder it may be to recover.”
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Below, Di Bon has shared a gentle, five-minute workout created for those who feel ready to start moving again.
But remember, always speak to a healthcare professional about resuming physical activity if you’re experiencing chest pain or severe breathlessness, or if physical activity is worsening your long Covid symptoms.
Exercise 1: Belly breathing
Jeannie Di Bon
Start with some gentle belly breathing, allowing the lower ribs to expand. For many people, Covid causes a cough and cold so we want to start moving the lung tissue in the right way. Try to breathe quietly in through the nose and out through the nose. Lying on your back does not require strong inhales so take it very gently, allowing the breath to come to you.
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Exercise 2: Arm rolls
Jeannie Di Bon
Staying supine (lying on your back) is a good way to start moving – especially as some people experience dizziness with long Covid. You may find you don’t want to be standing for too long or doing exercises that involve inversions or squats. Keep it simple. This arm roll exercise can help stretch into the thorax and open the chest.
Start with your arms by your side. Try to keep the back heavy as you move the arms above your head and gently stretch. Let your breath settle the spine into the floor and allow the tissues to relax. You can add arm circles to this for a beautiful stretch across the chest.
Exercise 3: Ankle roll
Jeannie Di Bon
To help with the dizziness that can happen, some simple leg exercises like calf pumps or ankle circles are recommended. You can do these lying on your back: hold on to one leg and try to circle to the ankle without the rest of the leg moving. Gently lower it back to the ground and repeat on the other leg.
Exercise 4: Resistance training
Jeannie Di Bon
To build leg strength further, you can add a band for resistance work that is also gentle. This is another great exercise for circulation and helps prevent dizziness. Take a band and place it around your foot with the knee bent. Focus on gentle rolling the back of the thigh along the mat until the leg straightens.
Try not to lock the knee or hang into the band. Keep the energy flowing down the leg into the band. The back stays heavy into the mat – if your back is arching, raise the leg higher. Once the leg is straight, press the balls of the feet into the band and start to point and flex the foot. This is a brilliant way to utilise the calf pump.
Exercise 5: Seated twist
Jeannie Di Bon
Jeannie Di Bon
A seated twist is great to help circulation and digestion. Many people do experience stomach cramps and pain with Covid. Find a comfortable seated position and cross one leg over the other straight leg. Use your arms to guide yourself around to look over the opposite shoulder. Try to lift the spine up as you twist, rather than compress the spine. It’s also important to go gentle and not force into the twist. Stay in the position and breathe softly allowing tight muscles to release. You can then repeat on the other side.
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Move celebrates exercise in all its forms, with accessible features encouraging you to add movement into your day – because it’s not just good for the body, but the mind, too. We get it: workouts can be a bit of a slog, but there are ways you can move more without dreading it. Whether you love hikes, bike rides, YouTube workouts or hula hoop routines, exercise should be something to enjoy.
You’re reading Move, the nudge we need to get active, however makes us happiest and healthiest.
HIIT, or high intensity interval training, was all the rage a few years back. And if you love getting your sweat on with rapid circuits and burpees, you do you.
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But there’s a new trend in town that might appeal to those who found HIIT, well, a little too intense.
Enter HILIT, which stands for ‘high intensity low impact training’. Instead of throwing yourself around at the gym, HILIT is all about small, targeted movements that lead to mighty results.
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And according to Amber Johnston, assistant head trainer at Barrecore, this type of exercise is “suitable for everyone,” including “new people to exercise, prenatal and postnatal people, plus athletes recovering from injury”.
“Very simply, via HILIT work outs, you are putting less impact on your body, especially your joints,” she tells us.
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The benefits of HILIT, according to Johnston, include:
• Raising your heart rate
• Improving cardio fitness and muscle strength
• Protecting you from joint damage, pain and injury
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• Burning calories
Below, Johnston has shared a five-minute HILIT workout that focusses on squats. “Squats are great for ankle and hip mobility, you will work your quads, glutes, hamstrings and core whilst getting your heart rate up with the full range movements especially the arms above your head,” she says.
“Watch your alignment; knees in line with toes, knees and ankles stacked and keep breathing! If you have trouble with your knees/hips/ankles keep the range of motion smaller and higher.”
Give this a go at home or in the gym.
1. Start with slow squats, feet wider than your hips, toes turned out slightly, weight in your heels as you drop down for two counts and up for two counts, repeat for 30 seconds. Speed up to single count down, single count up, repeat for another 30 seconds.
2. Raise arms above your head as you come up, repeat for 60 seconds, then hold at your deepest squat position and do tiny pulses for 30 seconds.
3. Hold your squat position and start walking to the side as if you are a crab, maintaining your deep squat position, step five times to left, five times to right, then four, then three, then two then one. This should take around 60 seconds to complete. Come back to your squat position and start to do single full range [as low as you can squat] again with arms and legs together for another 30 secs.
4. Finish your workout in a 30 second straight arm plank with mountain climbers.
5. Then finally lower onto your forearms for the last 30 seconds for an active recovery whilst targeting all of your major muscle groups in a full isometric hold.
Focus on keeping your elbows under your shoulder, head in line with your spine, tailbone slightly tucked to prevent arching in the lower back, whilst focusing on drawing your belly button to your spine on each exhale breath. Modify onto your knees if you are struggling with your form in this position.
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Move celebrates exercise in all its forms, with accessible features encouraging you to add movement into your day – because it’s not just good for the body, but the mind, too. We get it: workouts can be a bit of a slog, but there are ways you can move more without dreading it. Whether you love hikes, bike rides, YouTube workouts or hula hoop routines, exercise should be something to enjoy.
“I love the Paralympics but this time round they need to be more than just a feel-good story.” Sophie Christiansen CBE is a British dressage rider who has competed in four successive Paralympic Games. Already an eight-times gold champion, she hopes to up that medal tally at this year’s games in Japan.
Post-Olympics, the Paralympics light up Tokyo again this week, starting with Tuesday’s opening ceremony. But something about this year’s games feels different. After all, the games, which celebrate the sporting achievements of disabled people, and have been held every four years since Rome in 1960, are taking place a year later than planned due to (and during) a global pandemic. One in which disabled and vulnerable people are among those most affected.
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Christiansen is leading a campaign with Scope and the British Paralympic Association with a rallying call to turn cheers into change. “I want to use them as a platform to show the reality of living as a disabled person in the UK,” she says.
This is because, like so many others in the disabled community, she’s concerned interest in the Paralympics does not translate into support for disabled people.
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Scope / BPA
Sophie Christiansen: ‘The Paralympics need to be more than a feel-good story’
Channel 4 certainly anticipates an audience for the games, having launched its most ambitious Paralympics schedule yet with a high-budget promo. At first glance, the ad seems like any other piece of media selling disabled people’s lives as a sob story or the ultimate bravery, until you focus on the narrative.
Instead of framing Paralympians as “super humans”, a message that saw the broadcaster heavily criticised in 2016, this new campaign shows the everyday struggles of disabled people and, in turn, para-athletes – from making hospital appointments to taking medication, and the general inaccessibility of life, whether at sporting facilities or, for one woman, her local greasy spoon.
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“So you might as well quit, if you haven’t got it,” rings out the Bugsy Malone backing track, echoed in a pointed clip of Boris Johnson saying the same – before the “super” in the phrase “super humans” is smashed right through.
Evidently, the broadcaster want us to know it has listened – and that there’ll be no more switching off the comments on YouTube as in 2016. This year, Channel 4 and More 4 will carry live subtitles. The opening ceremony will have live signing and enhanced open AD/commentary simulcast on 4Seven, while the majority of content on the Paralympics microsite will also have subtitles.
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Unfortunately, the messaging that accompanies the campaign lets it down: “To be a Paralympian, there’s got to be something wrong with you.” To non-disabled people, that may read as tongue-in-cheek, but for many people with disabilities, it brings back memories of being taunted with “what’s wrong with you?!”
Causing an even bigger uproar online is the accompanying billboard and bus shelter campaign, which uses the slogan: “It’s rude not to stare”.
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It’s clear Channel 4 are trying to be subversive here, but when you’ve grown up being told you don’t fit in, that there is something wrong with you, and that if you don’t control your disability, people will stare, these words can still hurt.
There’s also the fact that most people seeing the advert won’t have experienced bias or hate because of their disability, so to them it won’t read as “watch the Paralympics.” It reads as “make disabled people your inspo porn.” Again.
The ads have certainly divided disabled people, and that’s to be expected. Contrary to some reports, we don’t all think the same about things.
Just seen the channel 4 paralympics poster….
“It’s rude not to stare.”
I don’t know about any other disabled people but… I hate it so much I feel slightly ill.
I actually quite like Channel 4’s Paralympic tag line. It’s a clever play on a trope. “It’s rude not to stare” is not the same as “It’s not rude to stare.” Kind of sick of the idea we can’t do witty or smart disability campaigns just because some non-disabled people don’t get it.
Lol at the people saying the Channel 4 ‘it’s rude not to stare’ Paralympics billboard is ‘clever’ and ‘original.’ I’m sure some executive thought it was clever when they thought of the idea. It isn’t.
Comedian and presenter Rosie Jones is part of The Last Leg team, presenting live from Tokyo. “I really think since the Paralympics have been on Channel 4, it’s a completely different thing,” she says, while acknowledging her possible bias. “Maybe I’m being naive but I don’t think there’s been an ‘inspiration porn’ aspect. It’s all about balance and it’s like, ‘yeah, great, we know how we got disabled, now can we watch then just smash the rowing or the cycling.’”
Inspiration porn, a term widely used by the disability community, was first coined by activist Stella Young to describe a situation where a disabled person is seen as inspirational purely because of their disability – for example, an Instagram post showing a disabled athlete running a race on prosthetic legs with the text: “If they can do it, what’s your excuse.”
These sort of clichés ignore the hard work disabled people put in to get to the top of their game, despite the ableism thrown at them – whether the game in question is sport, as for Paralympians, or in Jones’s case, stand-up comedy.
For her part, Jones attributes a reduction in inspirational imagery to a rise in disabled talent – for the first time, more than 70% of Channel 4′s presenters for the Paralympics have disabilities themselves. “The storytelling comes with a sense of authenticity you wouldn’t get if the entire team were abled bodied.”
Although what Jones says has some truth in it, much Paralympics coverage still leans on sob stories and in-depth personal details from disabled people’s lives in order to get an emotive response from non-disabled viewers. But former Paralympian wheelchair racer Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, who will be commentating the games for Channel 4, believes there’s a clear solution.
“They need to show sport, and they need to commentate on it as just sport.”
– Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson
“If we’re in the studio having a discussion about the politics of disability, then that’s the time to educate and talk about someone’s disability, not when they’re getting ready to compete,” she says. “They need to show sport, and they need to commentate on it as just sport.”
In something of a Catch-22, the very fact that disabled people are ignored or overlooked so much of the time is what leads people to pay closer attention when they are doing something out of the ordinary, like competing in the Paralympics, and to hold them to impossible standards.
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Something that could be solved, perhaps, if the world was built more for disabled people
BPA / Amy Mace
Liz Johnson: ‘It’s assumed that Paralympians represent all disabled people’
“If we invested more attention in creating a world in which everyone was enabled and empowered to get on with their lives, being disabled wouldn’t be seen as something to be ‘pitied’ or dramatised,” says Liz Johnson, former Paralympian swimmer, commentator and co-founder of The Ability People and Podium, a platform for people who are unable to work conventionally, due to disability or impairment, to share and promote their skills and expertise.
“It’s assumed that Paralympians represent all disabled people. But just as not every person wants to be an athlete, nor does everyone with a disability want to be a Paralympian,” says Johnson. “The better representation we give to disabled people from all walks of life, doing all kinds of jobs, the more we’ll level the playing field and stop ‘othering’ people who happen to have a disability.”
Now more than ever, the Paralympics wants to champion sporting excellence while using its legacy to draw attention to the lives of disabled people – but how big a burden is this on an event that happens only once every four years?
Tom Dulat via Getty Images
Tokyo hope Kadeena Cox at the IPC World Para Athletics Championships.
“We can’t expect the Paralympics to do everything. If we wait for the Paralympic movement to raise the bar, it’s never going to raise,” says Grey-Thompson. “We need government and other people to raise the bar. If you just let the Paralympic movement do it, it means government don’t have to take any responsibility.”
London 2012 was widely seen as a high water mark for disabled visibility, with the Paralympic events as packed as their Olympic equivalents. But by no means was it ‘job done’ for equality.
“Yes, 2012 changed the world for disabled people, but, it didn’t stop, “do not attempt resuscitation” orders being put on 1000s of disabled people last year. It hasn’t changed hate crime doubling against disabled children since 2012. It didn’t change my ability to get on the Northern line,” Grey-Thompson adds.
Mike Sharrock, chief executive of ParalympicsGB, sees the urgency of this moment. “Following the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on so many disabled people, we now believe more than ever that the success of ParalympicsGB must be a catalyst for meaningful, long-term action,” he says.
“Athletes are powerful advocates to turn the nation’s cheers into change and those medals into a UK-wide movement. The Paralympics might only be four weeks every four years but the message from disabled campaigners and Paralympians alike is clear – we won’t be forgotten when the Paralympics end.”
Ultimately, the International Paralympic Committee, the British Paralympic Association and Channel 4 aren’t the ones in power. We can hold them to account for the ways they portray disabled people, but we can’t expect them to enact meaningful change in our lives. For that, we need to lobby government and, disabled or able-bodied, we can all play our part.
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“My concern is the after-care and how quickly people go back to their normal lives and they forget about disabled people,” says Rosie Jones, summing it up. “We’re at a point now as a country where we’re just as excited for the Paralympics as the Olympics, but we shouldn’t be grateful that for four weeks, we’re equal to abled-bodied people. That should be happening all the time.”
