Contents - 3 minute read:

• Inform - Be smart about when to do your exercise for the most benefit.

• Motivate - 3 beginner exercises to get you working on your balance today

• Celebrate - 2 seniors who are getting stronger and challenging themselves

Some things just work best when they are done in the right order. We follow a logical system for many of our daily activities and the same should be true for our exercise choices. Getting dressed is a good example. The socks must go on before the shoes, the vest before the jacket. The cake recipe has a sequence of steps if you are looking for a tasty result. Mix up the sequence and the end result could be a disaster. Lets look at your exercise goals and discover the preferred time to exercise to get the best results

Mobility exercises - the aim of this group of exercises is to keep your movements or stop you from getting stiff. For many, there may be stiffness after a good nights’ sleep for instance in the hip or the back. If this is you, then exercising to get your joints moving and lubricated works best before you get out of bed. If you have been sitting for a long time, then mobility exercises to get you moving before you head off up the stairs will stand you in good stead.

Resistance exercises - This group of exercises keeps you active and strong. They have excellent evidence to support general health and wellbeing, particularly as we age. For this type of exercise to work well, we need to move the joints. If we are still stiff from early morning, then you can’t move your joints through the full range to get the benefits. The muscles should be warm and ready to take on the challenge. This is why a 5 minute cycle before you move to the weight room is a smart move.

Stretching exercises - If you have muscle tightness then stretching is your exercise of choice. As for the resistance group,a warm muscle responds much better to stretch. Warming up the area prior to stretching gives better benefit and makes the stretch more comfortable. You can warm up the area with a hot towel that has been on a radiator or after a bath or shower. Another good time to stretch is at the end of your exercise routine when the blood is diverted to the muscles and allows for a better response .

These 3 groups of exercises are all key components to a healthy body. To ensure you get the most out of your session then consider ordering your exercise to ensure top results

As a physiotherapist, a common issue I notice is that people work on the parts of the body that they can see. I am sure that you have seen those gym goers who pump their biceps but aren’t too impressive from the back view. Muscles work as a team , one muscle shortens to bend a joint while its partner lengthens then vice versa to straighten again. This means you should not neglect the opposing muscle, if you work in one direction, then be sure to do the same the opposite way. We tend to spend much of our day with our arms and legs coming forward and they can get weak at the back which can lead to an imbalance. The posterior chain are the muscles at the back of the body. Lets review some exercises that target these muscles 😃 

• Rowing or rowing exercises

• Swimming

• Bridging exercise - lying on your back and lifting your hips

• Squats

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