So you have your eating habits in order and now you’re ready to fight the “battle of the bulge.” If you’re anything like the 100 million Americans who experience chronic pain annually, you may have to balance your workout aspirations with how much you can physically handle.
Weightlifting and resistance training is great for your muscles, but if you’re looking for whole-body wellness, well…you’ve gotta do some cardio. That’s troublesome if you’re one of three Americans who have reported knee pain (or one of the countless who have not reported it.)
From the health department at Harvard: “When you walk across level ground, the force on your knees is the equivalent of 1½ times your body weight. That means a 200-pound man will put 300 pounds of pressure on his knees with each step. Add an incline, and the pressure is even greater: the force on each knee is two to three times your body weight when you go up and down stairs, and four to five times your body weight when you squat to tie a shoelace or pick up an item you dropped.”
Considering the impact from running, you’re probably looking for a separate exercise to get your heart rate up. Have you thought of rowing?
One sneaky side effect of running or cycling is repetitive motion injury. Rowing naturally engages a large percentage of your muscles which keeps certain muscle groups from not developing as quickly as other muscles.
Rowing also helps the body metabolize fats better than cycling. This is because you use your whole body to do the rowing motion. You need your hands to pull and your feet for balance. The muscles in between; like a rubber band, are engaged throughout the workout.
Once your exercise plan really takes hold, you’re going to need to energize yourself with fresh fruits and vegetables. We can bring those directly to your workplace with a free trial today!