When Hobbies Hurt

Imagine enjoying your favorite activity without feeling tired or pain from overdoing it. While this might not apply for extreme sports, there are ways to set up more ideal circumstances for enjoying ones favorite things.

The first way is to learn to stretch: sounds like PE in high school, doesn’t it? What I am suggesting is different since it only involves two seconds of stretching. This gently increases circulation and oxygen into the cells, while offering a gentle stretch to those overused muscles. And we’re only going to do 6 repetitions too. Although one can do these more than once per day.

Most of our hobbies, from kitting to golf, involve our upper body movements to go forward. This contributes to rounded shoulders and less chest capacity for the lungs and heart.

One successful stretch is to stand facing a corner (about 18 inches away) with one hand on each wall. Lean the upper body into the corner so it feels as if the shoulder bladders are almost going to touch in the back. Exhale as you extend your body into the corner, hold it for two seconds, and inhale as you relax back into an upright position. Repeat this 5 more times.

Taking a few seconds to stretch allows the body to infuse the cells of our strained and often overused muscles with fresh oxygen, nutrients and blood. Of course there are many ways to stretch, some of which I demonstrate on youtube.com/MyRealHealth. Join me for just of moment of laughter.

Whether one is active or inactive, thinking like a cat who stretches every time they awaken, and you’ll enjoy more flexibility too. Let’s enjoy our hobbies today and ensure our ability to delight in them for a lifetime.