Prime Time (55 page)

• Lift your right thigh and circle the ankle clockwise 5 times.
  
• Repeat counterclockwise 5 times.
  
• If it is too hard for you to keep your thigh lifted, you may hold your thigh under your knee.
  
• Repeat with the other leg: 5 times clockwise, 5 times counterclockwise.
  
• Throughout this exercise, keep your abdominals pulled in and sit up tall.
  

STRETCHES.
After working out, when our muscles are warmed up, is the optimum time to stretch. Stretching helps us stay flexible and helps prevent injuries. Each stretch must be held for a minimum of 20 seconds to get the full benefit.

Exercise 14 /
SEATED HIP STRETCH

This stretches the muscles in the hip and buttock.

• Place your right ankle across your left knee. If your hip is tight, you can move your left foot away from the chair a little and put your right ankle on the leg just below your left knee.
  
• For more intensity, you may gently press your right knee down.
  
• Sit up tall while you do this, and keep breathing.
  
• Hold the position for 20 seconds.
  
• Repeat with the other leg.
  

Exercise 15 /
SEATED NECK STRETCH

This stretches your neck and side.

• Place your right hand under the seat of your chair.
  
• Place your left hand on the right side of your head and tuck your chin toward your left armpit, near your collarbone—
  not
  straight forward!
  
• 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

1. 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.
   
2. 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.
   
3. Don’t shop when you’re hungry. Eat an apple or another healthy snack prior to going to the grocery store.
   
4. Make a shopping list and stick to it so as to avoid impulse buying.
   
5. 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.
   
6. 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
   .)
   
7. Make sure that at least half of the food on your plate consists of fruits and/or veggies.
   
8. Eat slowly and chew well.
   
9. Eat sitting down.
   
10. Eat mindfully. Focus on what you are eating, and don’t read or watch TV while you eat.
    
11. Avoid empty calories, like those from sodas, candy, alcohol, and cakes.
    
12. Get in the habit of reading food labels before you buy.
    
13. Don’t diet! Studies have shown that the majority of people who go on diets gained back more weight afterward than they had lost.
    
14. Instead, try to eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. If you have food addictions (bingeing, anorexia, bulimia), you may not be able to recognize when you are full—you eat to satisfy other needs. To help you identify those other needs, read
    Women, Food and God,
    by Geneen Roth.
    

HOW TO READ THE NUTRITION FACTS PANEL ON FOOD LABELS

1. How many
calories per serving
are shown? Bear in mind that you want to keep your total caloric intake to between 1,500 and 2,200 calories a day. That means your meals will be about 400 to 800 calories each. If you are on the small side, I recommend closer to 1,500 to 2,000 calories, with meals of 400 to 700 calories each, depending on your schedule, your snacks, and your preferences.