Its winter but your body still needs a regular dose of activity. Staying active is harder when the days get shorter but it’s still just as important and beneficial to our health. The good news is that inactivity is reversible.
The research still tells us that better cardiovascular fitness is associated with healthier living and 2 strength sessions per week can make a difference to your health in many ways. We’ve summarised the evidence of staying active via strength exercise previously. Click here to read more. There are plenty of good activity options on Callaghan campus.
- Walking on campus – it’s the quickest and easiest option and much better than having lunch at your desk each day
- Outdoor equipment surrounding the oval 2 and 3 outside The Forum is free and easy to use. Another great lunchtime session combined with walking between them.
- Group fitness classes at The Forum – either before work or after or even at lunchtime, the group fitness classes
- NU Strength classes – If you like small group, mat based pilates style exercise then NU Moves Physio provides a range of early morning, lunchtime and evening workouts to help the body and back.
- The newly refurbished gym at The Forum is an excellent way to combine cardio exercise with some stretching and strength exercise for an overall feel better workout that you are in control of.
- Have a swim at The Forum – its particularly quiet and calm around lunchtime for a peaceful exercise session that will make you feel great.
Feel better & get active. Its worth doing.
We all know the old posters showing correct lifting technique. An ominous red cross stamped atop a person bending the back to pick up a box. The message was clear “keep the spine straight and move through the hips and knees when lifting”. After all, many back injuries result from lifting with a rounded spine. However, what if there is no load or you are not lifting? Is it unsafe to tie our shoes, or play with the kids? This message has been misinterpreted somewhat. Fearing bending the back (spinal flexion) when it is not under load in some cases can lead to persisting back pain. The problem is that if we don’t move and stretch our spine, it can become inflexible and tight, possibly leading to further injury. Maintaining flexibility and stability throughout our spine is optimal to allow us to perform everyday tasks and reduce back pain.