how many times a week should you workout?

hmm.

simple answer:  everyday

complex:

how you feel, your lifestyle and goals all effect how much you should move and the types of things that you should be doing on a daily basis.   

generally speaking most people are much too sedentary and should be moving more, everyday.  the fact is that modern life forces us to digest an endless stream of information which means we sit for long periods of time, eat more calories than we burn, and not get enough sleep. 

all of this leads to problems:  back pain, weight gain, and stress.

so in answering this question you need to first look at how to counter act these things. First and foremost you should:

- stand up and move around more.  change your computer screen height so you can stand and still do work. take breaks as often as possible.  every time the phone rings stand up and have a conversation.

- work on posture.  tightness in the hip flexors, hamstrings and chest muscles and weakness in the glutes, and back can lead to significant compensation over time.  left uncorrected will eventually cause you back pain or worse.  to combat this you need to be working on two essential things:

a top priority should be to mobilize the areas that are restricted and at the same time activate areas that are inhibited (due to being seated so much):   this properly adjusts the length – tension relationship in these key muscles and gets your body aligned.  imagine trying to drive your car when you have a flat tire in the rear, and half the engine not firing. that’s your body when it’s compensating. once you learn how to do this you will be able to move freely without creating further tension and problems.

areas that commonly need mobilization due to being seated include:

• Hip Flexors: specifically the Psoas
• Hamstrings
• IT Band/TFL (tensor fasciae latae)
• lumbar spine
• chest: pecoralis major
• levator scapula, shoulders & cervical spine

areas that commonly need activation to overcome inhibition from lack of use include:

• glutes:
• back: latissimus dorsi, trapezius
• “core”, “pillar”  or torso musculature:  this is much more than simply the stomach and should be thought of as a network of muscles, fascia(connective tissue that provides structural support) and neuro-muscular mechanisms.  Our “core” is more like a computer network than simply a set of muscles.  to work properly  there needs to be a series of synchronous contracting & lengthening of cycles for this to occur.

as you can see the complex answer to this question leads us into a much bigger discussion and asks you to think more about the “quality of your movement choice”.

to summarize:

- move more everyday paying attention to the “quality of your movement” not quantity (at least for now)

- pay much more attention to your posture:  get out of your chair more, find out if you are tight and inhibited or weak in the areas we discussed.

The next step here is to discuss the “how to” accomplish these things.  I will devote the next series of posts in this section directly to addressing this and provide you with exercises to try out (both videos and photos).

comments and questions are encouraged.

here’s an example of a “Core exercise” that will begin to get you moving better.  everyday.