Strength training is often looked at as just a form of "exercise" and something separate from our day to day lives/activities. However, strength is a very integral part of our human ability to move, perform daily tasks, and enjoy our favorite activities. Strength is not separate from our day to day living, but is 100% a part of it. If we do not perform strength training it can impact our ability to function and our quality of life.
Strength training has a number of great health benefits:
Decreases our risk for falls
Decreases our risk of injury
Improves heart health
Boosts our self esteem and brain health
Increases bone strength
Promotes a better quality of life and more
While strength training has these numerous benefits, I also think it is important to see how different strength training movements apply to our different activities of daily living. It may sometimes seem like strengthening exercises do not directly correlate to our day to day movements, especially if your trainer or coach doesn't teach you how these movements relate to and can improve your daily movements. In this blog, I will outline 4 areas of our lives where we can really benefit from different forms of strength training and the specific exercises that help with these areas:
Shopping
Caring for children
Picking things up from the ground
Caring for dogs
Shopping
You may not consider shopping a very strenuous or strength driven task, but if you think about grocery shopping, home improvement store shopping, and loading/unloading your vehicle, there is quite a bit of strength and stability needed for these tasks. And if you are anything like me, you try to make as few trips as possible from the car into the house when unloading ;) In the following video we will look at 3 different exercises:
Carrying variations for grocery shopping
Shoulder to shoulder press for home improvement shopping
Split stance pallof rotations for loading/unloading your vehicle
Caring for Children
Those of you with children know that children require a lot of energy and strength...mentally, physically, and emotionally. While I may not be qualified to help with the mental and emotional challenges that come along with raising children, I can help you stay physically strong so that you can stay active with your children. I want to make sure that you can carry a car seat without difficulty, hold your wiggling toddler, give your child a piggy back ride, and of course be able to throw them up in the air for the ultimate kid giggles.
Picking Things Up From the Ground
Picking things up from the ground is a skill that we need for the rest of our lives. Whether or not the object is heavy or light, odd or regular shape, it is important to be able to pick up any object from the floor safely. I have heard many clients tell me that their doctor or other healthcare provider told them to never "deadlift" again because it is dangerous for their back. Typically, my counter question is, "Well do you pick things up from the floor?" Because if the answer to that question is "Yes," then you are performing a deadlift. Now, you probably do not need to deadlift 400 lbs, but everyone needs to be able to deadlift in some capacity in order to pick things up safely and with ease. In the following video, we will look at movements that help with picking up a package, backpack or suitcase, or doing miscellaneous household projects.
Caring for Dogs
For those of you with dogs, we know that you love your fur babies and that they are part of your family. Just like with having children, they can be a lot of work. However, we want to make sure that you can stay active right along with your pups. Whether you are taking your dog for a walk, playing fetch, or giving them a bath, we have 4 strengthening movements to specifically help you care for your dog. In the video we cover:
Dog Walks: Non-reactive dog - band rotating row; Reactive dog - reverse lunge with rotation
Playing Fetch: half kneeling clean and press + windmill
Picking Up Your Dog: med ball over the shoulder throw
Wrapping It Up
I hope that throughout this blog, I was able to demonstrate the relationship between strength training and life. And how there is more to strength training than just "exercise." It helps us be able to perform our daily activities more efficiently and helps keep us active and mobile for life. You can start incorporating these movements into your workout routines or if you don't have a workout routine established, choose a few of these exercises to start doing a few times a week to help you improve your ability to care for yourself, family, and pets.
If you are dealing with pain or an injury that is limiting your ability to care for yourself or your loved ones or is impacting your daily life, please reach out to us today to see how we can help you overcome your pain or injury. You can call or text 515-985-9038 or click here to schedule a free Discovery Call. Our Discovery Call helps us to learn more about your specific problem and concerns and also allows you to ask us any questions you have prior to scheduling an appointment. This helps to ensure that we are the right fit for you. We look forward to speaking with you and helping you get back to living life to the fullest.