Don’t let cold weather derail your exercise program

Is your exercise program slipping due to cold weather? You’re not alone! It’s common for folks who have started an outdoor exercise program in warm weather to let it slide when the cold and snow of winter hit. If you always exercise in a gym, or if you move your exercise indoors to a gym in cold weather, you’re all set. But some people don’t find gyms motivating and/or really like to be outside to exercise. It can be done!

Read on for ideas on how to look at outdoor exercising in a new light:

  • For those with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), exercising outside can provide a chance to be in mood-lifting daylight
  • Exercise boosts the body’s immune system, critical during cold and flu season
  • Exercising in the cold burns more calories, as we tend to pick up the pace in order to stay warm
  • Winter offers a chance to try outdoor activities you can’t do in the summer, such as ice skating, cross-country skiing, or snowshoeing

Keep these tips in mind to stay safe and healthy when exercising outside in winter:

  • Warm up inside before heading out
  • Dress in layers, so you can peel them off as needed
  • Stay hydrated; even though the temperature has dropped, your body still needs to replace fluids lost by sweating
  • Be sure to cover extremities – nose, fingers, and ears
  • If your exercise is walking, consider wearing cleats if conditions are icy

Stress Management – SFHP Style

Feeling overwhelmed and stressed out? You’re not alone. According to a recent Associated Press survey, 85% of college students feel stress on a daily basis. Students reported feeling worried and stressed about a variety of topics, among them career concerns, college major or changing majors, social concerns, academic concerns, and social worries. What to do?

First, it’s important to recognize that not all stress is bad. The stress response is simply the body’s way of protecting you and making you alert to a situation your mind perceives as a challenge or threat. That can be good if you’re preparing for an important midterm or presentation because the adrenaline can focus you and improve your performance. Stress is bad if it is ongoing and pervasive.

The human body and mind are wired to handle stress in short bursts (think of our long ago ancestors being prepared to fight or outrun an attacking tiger). That’s why stress is often referred to as a “fight or flight” response; we were originally programmed to do one of those two actions. So, when the heart pounds, breathing gets faster, muscles tense, and the mind races. We are prepared to stand and fight or to run. However, when the stress does not abate, this hyper state in the mind and body begins to wear down the systems, eventually creating negative responses in the body such as high blood pressure, stomach ulcers, or heart attacks.

While stress is a given in our modern culture, we can take steps to better handle it. Following are a few suggestions:

  • Work on your attitude. Change the way you think about a stressful situation. For example, viewing a difficult assignment as a chance to improve your skills.
  • Take a mental mini-vacation. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, and visualize lying in warm sand on a beach or in a mountain meadow.
  • Use affirmations. Repeat something to yourself such as, “I can handle this….”
  • Maintain strong friendships and social connections.
  • Exercise. Working out, or even just going on a walk, can help the body work through some of that excess energy.
  • Get enough sleep. Trying to operate on just a few hours of sleep a night makes everything seem worse and eventually takes its toll on the body.
  • Make smart food choices. While that pizza or ice cream sundae may seem like a stress reducer at the time (and nothing is wrong with that from time to time), consistently making unhealthy food choices adds one more stressor to the body and actually robs you of energy.

Realize that everything changes, so the stressful situation you are in today will eventually pass.

 

Author: Elaine Torrie, SFHP Yoga Instructor

Don’t Catch That Bug!

Now that we’re heading into cold and flu season, it’s a good idea to think about preventing illness rather than just treating it once we are sick.   For example, we’ve all heard about the importance of getting a  flu shot, eating well and trying to get enough sleep in order to keep our bodies healthy and more disease resistant.

But did you know that exercise can actually help prevent disease as well?  Studies are showing that there is a direct link between exercise and a strengthened immune system.  Turns out that disease-fighting cells are not unlike the rest of the body – they can be strengthened with regular exercise.  Once they are strengthened, they are better equipped to fight off disease.

The good news is, you don’t have to be a marathon runner to reap these benefits.  A recent study at the University of Nebraska Medical Center found that even moderate exercise (such as walking 30 minutes a day) significantly boosted the immune system.

How to get started:

  • Pick something you enjoy.  You’ll be more likely to stick with it than if you pick an exercise you feel you “should” do, but dread.
  • Pace yourself.   Start off slowly and build endurance over time.  If you overdo at first, you are likely to become sore and injured and give up.
  • Try to work exercise into your daily life – take the stairs, park farther away from your destination and walk, etc.
  • Enlist a friend to exercise with.  This can make the time go more quickly and you can encourage each other to keep on track.

Not sure what kind of physical activity you might enjoy?  Why not try something out and see?  One idea would be to review the SFHP course offerings for ideas.  There are a myriad of activities for credit available.  That way you can boost your immune system while trying something new AND receive credit for it as well.

Most importantly, get moving!  Don’t put it off until later.  Making time for exercise even for a few minutes a day is a start that could get you into the habit.

~Elaine Torrie, Community Instructor – Yoga

SFHP Health Nut – Ryan Wilhelm

Health Nut_Ryan WilhelmCongratulations to Ryan Wilhelm, this week’s SFHP Health Nut. Ryan is a career counselor in the Younkin Success Center at OSU. He’s taken a couple of SFHP classes – they are open to staff members, too – and this summer he took Yoga 1 with Elaine Torries. Elaine commended Ryan’s performance in the class and his ability to take the learning “off the mat” and apply it to his day-to-day life. When we caught up with him yesterday, he agreed, “[The yoga class] shows you how what you’re learning today connects with other parts of your life.” Ryan recommends that everyone should take an SFHP class. The yoga skills are helping him with his current marathon training – building core strength, increasing flexibility, and helping with the mental endurance. Way to go, Ryan!SFHP Health Nuts

Why Practice Yoga?

About ten years ago a student told me “I’m taking yoga because Madonna does yoga. Madonna has lots of money and could do anything she wants, so if she does yoga, it must be good.”

If that is not good reason enough to try yoga class, you might consider these other benefits:

  • Increased flexibility: Yoga poses take you through a range of motion that you don’t get in most other activities.
  • Increased strength: Most people don’t realize that you work your muscles quite a bit in yoga practice. Many times students find muscles they did not know they had.
  • Better balance: We practice balancing on many levels- with physical balance postures, learning to balance effort with ease, and balancing the pace of modern life with…
  • Mindfulness and Relaxation: A relief from multitasking, and a chance to slow down and savor the moment. Time to rest the mind in meditation as well.
  • Better Posture and Body Awareness: we learn to use the support within and around ourselves so that it is easier not to slump…or to over-straighten, for that matter.
  • Breathing Awareness and Breathing Techniques:  Awareness of breathing leads to greater self-understanding, while breathing techniques can be used to calm and/or energize as needed.
  • Better Self-Awareness:  In the words of senior teacher Donna Farhi. The goal of the poses is “to live in your body and learn to perceive more clearly through it.” When we become more aware of how we react to stimulus, we gain greater ability to then choose how to respond in life.

In case you are still not convinced, maybe it would help to know that Katy Perry, Adam Levine,   LeBron James, and Victor Cruz of the NY Giants, and Lady Gaga also practice yoga.  They all have lots of money and can do anything they want, so  if they do yoga, I’m guessing it must be good.

~Beaker Prince, Yoga Instructor, SFHP

Nine Reasons to take a KNSFHP Activity Class Before You Graduate

At least once before you graduate. The benefits are so good, though, you’ll want to take an activity class every semester. 1)     You’ll get a healthy break from studying, and from the computer. You can let off steam, work it out and/or mellow out, and not even have a hangover the next day. 2)     Physical Activity is good for the brain. Seriously! If you can’t force yourself away from your studies, you need to consider this: research has shown that different kinds of exercise are linked to better regulation of neurotransmitters, faster learning, and lowered stress levels which increase ability to focus. Learn more here, here and here. 3)     Dedicated Exercise Time Have you ever felt sluggish, knowing that once you  get moving, you’ll feel better, and STILL somehow put off exercising for days? When you take a KNSFHP class you have dedicated times for activity each week, and the bonus of earning  an academic credit  to keep you motivated on those sluggish days. 4)     Skilled Instruction If something is worth doing, it is worth doing well. Taking a class helps you develop skills for more satisfying performance. Plus you will learn to take care of yourself and practice with safety in mind. 5)     Learn Healthy Habits for Life Of all that you learn in college, how much applies directly to your health and well-being? What you learn in activity classes you will be able to use for the rest of your life. 6)     Better College Memories Looking back twenty years, I have few memories of being in major and lecture classes. On the other hand, I have many fond memories of participating in elective classes in movement and physical activity. When we learn experientially, we make more neural connections, and stronger memories. 7)     Have Fun Exercising In KNSFHP there are so many types of classes to choose from. You can stick to activities you know you enjoy or branch out and try something new. You might even find a new favorite! 8)     Balance Your Game If you already play a sport or have other athletic pursuits, consider taking a class in a counter-discipline to complement your practice. Sore muscles from lifting or running? Try yoga to get more stretching. Training in a high impact sport,? Balance with a  lower impact activity like tai chi, yoga, or swimming. Do a lot of weight training but need some cardio? Try aerobics, or a fast -paced ball sport like soccer. You get the idea. 9)     Peer Support Take some risks, try something new. You’ll have a whole group of folks learning along with you. You’ll learn new skills, and it wouldn’t be surprising if you made some new friends in the process.

Beaker Prince, Lecturer – Sport, Fitness, and Health Program