Prime Time - Jane Fonda [145]
Gently press your head down with your left hand, feeling a stretch in your neck and up your right side.
Continue to sit up tall as you do this. And breathe! Hold for 20 seconds and repeat on the other side.
Exercise 16 / SEATED SHOULDER STRETCH
This stretches the shoulder and the triceps.
Bring your right arm across your chest; keep it straight.
Bring your left arm under it and gently press on your elbow to get a deeper stretch in your right shoulder.
Don’t let that right shoulder pull forward or hunch up.
Hold for 20 seconds and repeat on the other side.
Exercise 17 / STANDING CALF AND HAMSTRING STRETCH
This stretches the back of the leg.
Holding on to the back of your chair, bring one foot forward so that the other stretches out in back with the heel pressed into the floor.
Adjust your position by moving the leg farther back so you feel the maximum stretch in that straight back leg.
If you slightly bend your back leg, you will feel the stretch more in your lower calf muscle.
Hold for 20 seconds and repeat with the other leg.
Exercise 18 / STANDING HAMSTRING STRETCH
This stretches the back of the thigh.
Again holding on to the back of your chair, move one foot forward, resting your heel on the floor and flexing that foot up, while keeping that leg straight.
Bend the other knee and press your buttocks back so that you feel the maximum stretch up the back of the straight leg.
Hold for 20 seconds and repeat with the other side.
APPENDIX III
Basic Exercise Prescription*
The recommendations below are for people not competing in high-level sports.
Minimum Activity for Disease Prevention
CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE
Accumulate 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity most days.
STRENGTH TRAINING
Include weight-bearing activity most days.
FLEXIBILITY
Maintain your body’s range of motion by bending and stretching during daily activities.
Basic Health Level
CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE
Engage in a large-muscle repetitive activity or sport for at least 20 minutes, at least 3 times a week.
STRENGTH TRAINING
Use Key 3 (see pp. 96–98) or an equivalent program, performing 1 or 2 sets, 2 times per week. Increase the number of sets as you get stronger.
FLEXIBILITY
Perform 2 to 4 large-muscle stretches after activity. Hold each stretch for 20 seconds.
Enhanced Fitness Level
CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE
Engage in an aerobic exercise or sport for 40 to 60 minutes, 4 to 6 times per week.
STRENGTH TRAINING
Use a whole-body machine or free-weight program, performing 2 or 3 sets for each body part, 3 times per week.
Use weights heavy enough to allow you to do 8 to 12 repetitions but no more.
FLEXIBILITY
Perform 6 to 10 whole-body stretches after activity. Hold each stretch for 20 seconds.
Key 3: Double-leg press or squat. Chest press. Lat pull-down or single-arm row.
APPENDIX IV
Tips for Healthy Eating
Don’t skip breakfast! Feed yourself regularly throughout the day. Ideally, you should have one-third of your daily calories in the morning, one-third at midday, and no more than one-third in the evening—so you don’t impulsively grab whatever is around.
Keep healthy snacks on hand for between meals—things such as fruit or low-fat cottage cheese or string cheese. Red grapes go well with cheese.
Don’t shop when you’re hungry. Eat an apple or another healthy snack prior to going to the grocery store.
Make a shopping list and stick to it so as to avoid impulse buying.
Keep a food diary for a while, writing down what you eat at each meal. You will be amazed to learn how much more we eat than we realize.
Make sure you’ve consumed a variety of colors before the day is over, especially the superstar foods high in antioxidants and phytonutrients: dark greens and blues/purples and yellows/oranges. (See this page–this page.)
Make sure that at least half of the food on your plate consists of fruits and/or veggies.
Eat slowly and chew well.
Eat sitting