You’re on the run constantly as a parent. Face it, the time you have to yourself is limited.
You may feel as though one day you’ll be able to give yourself love and attention again, but that’s time you’re taking away from your health.
As a parent, you should carve out time for exercise, despite your hectic life.
You can even make it a low-impact physical activity that doesn’t stress your body while helping you maintain your flexibility and mobility.
One ideal way is through a training gym and a Gyrotonic studio in Palo Alto.
Why Low-Impact Exercise
You’re already on the go constantly. Rigorous exercise might be out of the question given your energy level.
You also may not want to stress your joints and muscles too much, as you’ll be too sore to take care of your children the next day or so.
Low-impact exercise provides you with the benefits of physical activity without the strain or excessive energy requirement.
You burn calories and stay in motion while still getting to be there for your child fully.
Gyrotonic Exercise Explained
If you’re curious about gyrotonic exercise and how it works… simply put, it’s a whole-body exercise, combining motion with breathing techniques to enhance coordination, flexibility, strength, and balance.
Derived in the late 1970s, gyrokinesis was the first type of exercise that used these principal.
However, it was a completely mat-based program that didn’t incorporate the use of any equipment.
However, along with this type of exercise emerged gyrotonics that used the overall concepts but enhanced gyrokinesis by incorporating equipment into the equation.
On the equipment, your joints move their full range of motion without anything restricting them. Any movements are spiral and flowing, meaning they aren’t linear or stiff and are one after another.
Any machines used provide resistance and support. Both gyrotonics and gyrokinesis take inspiration from yoga, Tai Chi, swimming, martial arts, and dance.
These form of exercises have been used for rehabilitation support for injuries or those who suffer from chronic issues that limit mobility and/or cause pain. However, it’s also a useful practice for injury treatment to optimize recovery.
Other Low-Impact Exercises
Although you can receive the benefits of visiting a gyrotonic studio in Palo Alto, you can complement that workout routine with other low-impact exercises that you can do at a training gym or sometimes at home.
Treadmill Walking
For instance, a treadmill is an excellent low-impact exercise. You can control the speed and the incline, so it’s like walking on a flat surface at a normal pace.
If you’d like to increase the intensity for a better workout, you can do that as well, all while keeping your joints in mind and not putting too much strain on them.
Elliptical
Elliptical machines allow you to move your legs and arms in a smooth motion. You aren’t repeatedly pounding on your joints when you’re using this machine.
Depending on the machine, you can even choose to the intensity to ensure you’re not pushing yourself too hard but can still get an adequate workout.
Stationary Bike
Stationary bikes give you the option to ride a bike inside, no matter the weather. You don’t have to worry about hitting a pothole or worrying about pedestrians or automobiles, either. Plus, you can control the speed and take breaks as needed.
Rowing Machine
A rowing machine, when you use proper form, doesn’t over extend or stress your joints, and it’ll still give you a solid workout, working 80 to 85 percent of your body’s muscles. You control how hard you work out.
Stair Climber
You know how hard it is to walk up a long path of stairs or several staircases to get to where you want to go.
It’s engaging your leg muscles and giving you some cardio exercise.
But you know it’s quite a lot on your lower joints and extremities.
Using a stair climber, set to a slow or moderate pace, you get the benefits of a stair workout without the extensive pressure on your joints.
Other Examples and Tips
Although those are excellent examples of low-impact workouts, you could also use a leg press, seated chest press, cable machine, seated dumbbell exercises, lat pulldown, seated row machine, hamstring curls, leg extension machines, or glute bridges on a bench or mat. Yoga and swimming are good exercises as well.
Despite all of these being low-impact, how you perform the exercises matters.
You can easily turn something that should be easy on your joints and enough to keep your body moving into something that’s overworking you.
And the last thing you want to do is not be able to get up and move around with your children after a workout or the next day.
The first tip is to always read the instructions or ask a member of the gym staff how to use a piece of equipment properly.
If you use a machine incorrectly, you can easily work your muscles and joints too hard or even risk injuring yourself.
Another tip is to always start on a low setting and work your way up based on your comfort level.
Even if a machine or exercise is meant to be low-impact, you can make it high-impact if you don't take it slowly and easily.
You should always listen to your body. If you start feeling sore or tired, listen to your body and stop or slow down. There’s no shame in preventing an injury or overexertion.
Whether you choose a gyrotonic studio in Palo Alto, a training gym, or do a combination of the two, you can get a low-impact workout every time and go back to being the parent you want to be right afterwards.
Choosing the right exercises and knowing how to do them are both key to ensuring you get the most from your workout and don’t overwork your joints.
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