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5 EASY STRETCHES TO DO RIGHT NOW (OR ANYTIME YOU’VE BEEN SITTING TOO LONG) EXPERT TIPS FROM JENENE ARMSTRONG OF HEALTHFIT COACH

If you sit a lot for work, and you’ve been sitting even more these days of quarantine, then this post is for you. Here I interview Jenene Armstrong of Healthfit Coaching LLC to get her expert advice. Jenene shares 5 basic stretches you can do anytime to give your body a refresh—and you’ll definitely thank her for it. Read through and give these a try!

Here is the transcript of the video interview:

Sherry: Hi, Jenene. Thanks so much for being here today to talk a little bit about your business. I reached out to you because I know you’re a pro. Would you tell us a little bit about you and what you do, and then we can dive into why we’re chatting today?

Jenene: I’m Jenene Armstrong and my business is Healthfit Couch, and I am a certified health coach and a certified personal trainer. I’m also a women’s fitness specialist, a TRX suspension training coach, a core training specialist, and I’m certified in bar instruction. I keep adding to my repertoire to be able to help my clients more and more.

I work with women exclusively and help those who are struggling with aging and all the stuff that comes with getting older—through menopause, gaining extra weight, and running out of energy. I help women who just aren’t feeling like themselves but want to again. I help women take charge when they’re ready to take charge again.

My clients learn to eat better for their unique body, and get active again. I help them do the things they need to do so they can live longer, live healthier, and live more active lives. I do this through health coaching, and I do this through personal training, and I do both for some clients.

Sherry: I’m nodding a lot because those are all things I can relate to. I follow you n Facebook, and I know you’re a pickle ball fan, and I know you to be quite active, so I really appreciate you taking time today. The reason I asked to visit with you was in the hopes you could share some stretching tips. I don’t know about anybody else, but I sit a lot because of what I do.

I mean, I spend a lot of time hunched over my computer. And these days in quarantine, it seems like a lot of extra sitting is taking place. So, I wondered if you’d share some stretching tips, maybe 5 or so, just simple ones we could incorporate and get started on a path to a stretching routine.

Jenene: Your timing is perfect for this because we are all home so much more. We are not getting up and going anywhere like we used to, getting dressed and getting in our car and going to an office or whatever we do, or going to visit people. We are home a lot. So, the most important thing is to get up every hour. If you find yourself sitting too long, you can get a timer, or a reminder on your phone, or your Apple watch or your Fitbit (which does automatically bing you to get up). But the first thing is to stand up. Standing up is #1.

#2 is to breathe. To simply re-energize, take big breaths in. We shallow-breathe all the time. We don’t think about breathing. So even if you can’t get up at the moment, take big breaths in, and bigger breaths out. You’ll be bringing fresh oxygen into your body.

#3 is one of the warming up stretches I do with my clients which I think is so re-energizing. Start with a breath and I’m going to swoop down (cross arms in front and squat slightly), reach down, and inhale as I do so (reach arms overhead and breath out).  Do a bit of a yoga pose and then stretch back.

Stretch those shoulder blades and reach back into a cactus pose (arms at sides bent at an angle with chest jutting forward) and then dive down all the way to the floor. This is called a forward flow. Then come back up with another big breath in and then cactus pose, back up and forward fold again. You can do as many of those as you want.

I’d recommend upper body moves doing arm circles in both directions.

Sherry: Those can be hard.

Jenene: It’s like an exercise, but you’re stretching as well. For #4 Reach up and pull over so that you’re stretching your waist muscles (your core muscles) out, and do this on both sides. And obviously, you can do as many of these as you want. This is stuff you can do at your desk as well. Then rotate to the side, and when you do make sure to bring your ankle with you. Don’t just turn.

Sherry: Oh, pivot with the ball of your foot so your ankle follows along?

Jenene: Yes. Pivot with the ball of your foot so you’re less likely to strain your back, and then reaching both ways. Then continue that down to the floor and do some side lunges and reach down to the opposite foot. The point is that you’re working all the way down. You start with breathing and loosening up your shoulders and then your arms and your waist, and then your hip side to side.

For #5, do some squatting, just simple squats. These are a great exercise but also a great way to stretch. Squat as low as is comfortable for you. Some people can’t squat too low. Just squat as if you’re sitting back into a chair. The point is that you’re stretching out those legs.

Then just finish up rolling your shoulders.

Stretching feels so good, and anytime we stretch, we realize it feels so good for our muscles, and then we don’t do it often enough.

Sherry: It’s just like the breathing. You talked about shallow breathing, and I thought, “Oh, I’m a shallow breather.”

Jenene: Right. We don’t think about breathing, and our body does it anyway because it has to. Often people hold their breath while they are doing exercises, but you need your breath to help you do the activities. I’m always reminding clients to breathe.

Sherry: Ok. So, you get us from the top to the bottom. Now I have a zinger question for you. Are you ready?

Jenene: Yes.

Sherry: I think I’m on a quest now that we are quarantining and all (more time to think), so now I feel I want to ask everyone who is an expert at something to give their thoughts on this question. What do you think holds us back from doing what is good for us? Obviously, by the time your clients see you, they are ready to make a change. They feel bad, and want to turn things around. But if you were to share your theory, what do you think prevents us from doing what is good for us up to that point?

Jenene: I think it boils down to habits. Habits form out of the things that feel most comfortable for us and are probably easiest to do. When it comes to exercising, it is a whole lot easier to sit on the couch or do nothing at all. It takes effort to get up and exercise even though we know it makes us feel better.

It is a matter of finding the time, and making the effort. However, our habits have us do whatever feels best and is easiest at the time, which is most likely not exercising. You need to get into the habit of making exercising a part of your life. And it is the same with eating. It is easier to east fast foods and sugary comfort foods. We know those make us feel good for a little bit of time. It takes more work to prepare healthier foods. And again, it is habit.

When you start to change those habits, and you work at it for a little while, then pretty much it becomes more natural. It feels better, it makes you feel better, and you have more energy. It takes some time to get into the habit, but our habits are what holds us back. Changing habits can be hard, but it’s definitely worth doing.

JOURNAL PROMPT

What do you think holds you back from doing the things that you know to be good for you?

picture credit: Photo by Rowan Chestnut on Unsplash

Postscript: When things seem out of control like it feels these days, acting where we have control is a comfort. Cleaning up your stuff is within your power! If you need help getting going on organizing your home check out Get Organized Gal’s courses for support.

I used her course to organize my office, and it is in pretty good shape these days. Success in one space has lead to cleaning channels to other rooms and photos as well. Check out he courses here. 

Sherry is the founder of Storied Gifts a personal publishing service of family and company histories. She and her team help clients curate and craft their stories into books. When not writing or interviewing, Sherry spends loads of time with her grandchildren and lives in Des Moines, Iowa.

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