Health & Wellbeing
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The benefits of downward dog pose include helping to release tension in the shoulders, align the spinal column, and strengthen the legs and arms. The downward dog pose lengthens and stretches the hamstrings and Achilles tendons as well as increasing ankle flexibility.
| Skinny jeans are creeping back into the fashion cycle—but before you panic, Kendall Jenner’s latest look proves they can be sleek, modern, and nothing like the skintight pairs of yore. Meanwhile, if your end-of-summer plans involve travel, a naturopath shares five simple, anti-inflammatory habits to help you feel your best while on vacation. |
| ANNA CAFOLLA NEWS EDITOR, VOGUE |
Adapted from Boosting Your Energy, Medical Editor: Anthony L. Komaroff, MD, Simcox-Clifford-Higby Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Senior Physician, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston.
The benefits of exercise are truly profound. Exercise helps you feel better, think more clearly, and look your best. It also helps to control appetite, boost mood, improve sleep, and reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia, depression, and many cancers.
Add to that long list of benefits that exercising regularly remains one of the most powerful ways to boost your energy. In fact, nothing medicine has ever invented or discovered rivals regular exercise when it comes to protecting your health and sustaining your energy.
Think of your energy level as a rechargeable battery. Being active is like plugging in the battery and recharging it, while sitting idle causes the energy to drain away.
Fatigue is a symptom, not a disease, and it’s experienced differently by different people. Fatigue from stress or lack of sleep usually subsides after a good night’s rest, while other fatigue is more persistent and may be debilitating even after restful sleep. Harvard’s Special Health Report Boosting Your Energy provides advice and information from world-renowned medical experts that can help you discover the cause of your fatigue and find the right treatment or lifestyle changes.
When you’re inactive, you are losing muscle cells. The cells that remain have fewer mitochondria, which lowers their ability to produce energy. It’s remarkable how little time it takes to see the effects of this.
People who have a limb immobilized because of an injury or illness begin losing muscle cells within just six hours. With weaker muscles, everything you ask your muscles to do requires more effort, leaving less energy for other activities.
It’s particularly important to keep exercising as you age because muscle mass tends to decline over the years. Sarcopenia, the gradual decrease in muscle tissue, starts earlier than you may realize — around age 30.
The average 30-year-old can expect to lose about 25% or more of his or her muscle mass and strength by age 70, and another 25% by age 90. The result is not only a decrease in energy, but also an increase in risk for a host of other diseases.
Lack of exercise also causes changes in your heart and lungs. These organs become less efficient at oxygenating your blood and pumping that blood (along with nutrients) to the different parts of your body.
What can improve your mood, boost your ability to fend off infection, and lower your risk for heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and colon cancer? The answer is regular exercise. It may seem too good to be true, but it’s not. Hundreds of studies demonstrate that exercise helps you feel better and live longer. Starting to Exercise answers many important questions about physical activity. It will also help guide you through starting and maintaining an exercise program that suits your abilities and lifestyle.
That in turn affects your energy level, most noticeably during periods of physical exertion. Compared with an active person, a sedentary person experiences more fatigue when carrying out a physically demanding task and has both a higher heart rate and lower oxygen consumption.
Inactivity also has psychological effects. The less active you are, the less active you want to be. People who don’t exercise have a greater perception of fatigue than people who do.
Regular physical activity not only increases your day-to-day vitality, but also helps prevent the kinds of illnesses that drain your energy over time. Strong evidence from thousands of studies shows that regular exercise delivers wide-ranging benefits, including
Regular exercise doesn’t just build strength and fitness; it keeps your internal “battery” charged by preserving muscle, boosting heart and lung function, and keeping diseases at bay. Even small, consistent steps — like walking, stretching, or light strength training — can make a big difference in your daily energy and long-term health.
health.clevelandclinic.org
What Is Passive Stretching?
Relax into this form of stretching while a prop or partner assists you
When you think of stretching, you might picture someone sitting on the floor, legs extended, reaching for their toes. But passive stretching takes a different approach. Instead of relying on your own flexibility, you use something (or someone) else to help.
Licensed massage therapist and registered nurse DeBorah Hill, RN, LMT, explains passive stretching and how it can benefit your health.
Most people are familiar with dynamic and static stretching. Static stretching focuses on holding a pose that stretches your muscle as far as you can. Dynamic stretching uses movements, like walking lunges or hip circles, to warm up your muscles before an activity.
Dynamic and static stretches are limited to how far you can physically move. Think of toe touches: Some people can touch their toes and beyond, while others can’t reach their knees.
Passive stretching uses other forces to stretch your muscles, rather than your own ability. “During passive stretching, your body is loose and relaxed,” says Hill. “You let an external force — like a partner, towel or fitness strap — do the work.”
For example, instead of touching your toes, you can perform a passive hamstring stretch. During this stretch, you lie on your back and use a rolled-up towel or strap to help you stretch the back of your thigh.
If you’re new to passive stretching, use care. You could accidentally stretch a muscle too much and cause injury.
“Listen to your body as you stretch,” advises Hill. “Passive stretching should not hurt, and many people overestimate how flexible they are. It’s helpful to talk with a licensed physical therapist or massage therapist before you start.”
Consider adding passive stretching to your routine to:
Unlike static or dynamic stretching, passive stretching requires your muscles to be relaxed for it to work. This release of physical tension can benefit your mental health.
“When you fully relax for a passive stretch, you tell your brain to shift out of fight-or-flight mode,” explains Hill. “Passive stretching can take you out of survival mode so you feel relaxed.”
One study found passive stretching to be better than dynamic stretching at increasing hamstring flexibility.
“Passive stretching can increase your range of motion when other stretches don’t work for you,” says Hill. “Your prop or partner can help you gently stretch beyond what you can normally do yourself.”
If you have mobility issues or chronic pain, other forms of stretching can be difficult. Passive stretching works for people of all ages and fitness levels. Can’t bend over or move your body a certain way? Passive stretches can work around these limitations.
Passive stretches can work many different muscles. Try these stretches to get started:
This stretch focuses on your chest and shoulders:
This passive stretch focuses on your quadriceps, or the muscles on the front of your thighs:
The backs of your legs, or hamstrings, get a stretch here — no toe-touching required:
Taking a few minutes a day to stretch has big benefits, from preventing injuries to reducing joint pain. And if other forms of stretching haven’t worked for you, passive stretching is worth a try.
“The beauty of passive stretching is that it works for so many people,” states Hill. “Whether you’re just starting out or you’re an elite athlete, passive stretching can help you feel great physically and mentally.”
Choosing what to eat before a run plagues nearly every one of us until you figure out what works best for you. And because people tolerate foods differently, there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to prerun fueling. Some runners swear by eating nothing before short or easier runs, while others have to put something in their system. That said, there are some general guidelines to follow as you prepare a prerun snack or meal.
Long runs are most commonly defined as being 60 minutes or more, and once you get into half or full marathon training, a good chunk of your runs will be at least 60 minutes.
What you eat before a long run is a good dress rehearsal for your prerace breakfast, says Lizzie Kasparek, R.D., sports dietitian for the Sanford Sports Science Institute.
Long runs require more energy than shorter runs, which means your prerun snack or meal will be larger and take a little more time to digest. That’s why Kasparek recommends eating two to four hours before a long run (and eventually, your race).
“Whether you give yourself a few hours or just an hour to digest, focus on consuming mostly carbs,” she says. Your body’s preferred fuel source is simple carbs—banana, oatmeal, white bagel, a honey packet—because it can be quickly turned into energy.
Yes, we know that may mean an early wake-up for morning runners, but you’ll be grateful when you have the energy to push past the first hour. Plus, you can always wake up, eat a little something, and go back to sleep until run time.
Try: A small bowl of oatmeal topped with a few slices of banana
For sensitive stomachs: Half a white bagel with peanut butter or serving of white rice
Often, speed work doesn’t last for more than 60 minutes, but the workout is much more intense than slower, longer miles. And because of this, your body needs prerun carbs, says Kasparek, who points out that some people also like a little bit of protein with this snack.
“You need to provide your body with quick carbs that give your body energy it can use right away,” she says.
Try: Plain greek yogurt with blueberries or banana with peanut butter or handful of dry cereal or Honey Stinger gel
For sensitive stomachs: Half a banana
Most easy runs don’t require a prerun snack—even those that are pushing 60 minutes, says Kasparek.
“If you’re going out for a quick 30- or 40-minute easy run, and you haven’t eaten in a couple of hours or it’s in the morning after an overnight fast, you’re probably not going to die if you don’t eat before that run,” she says.
The best thing to do is schedule those easy runs around your normal snacks and meals. For example, after a morning run, use your breakfast as your recovery meal, which will include carbs plus 15 to 25 grams of protein, says Kasparek.
If you’re running in the afternoon, instead of having your usual 3 p.m. snack and a 4 p.m. prerun snack, skip the prerun snack, or bump your 3 p.m. snack to an hour before your run. Then Kasparek suggests making your postrun meal your dinner.
That said, if you know that you can’t run well or safely without something in your system, have something small like half a banana or a tablespoon of peanut butter. And remember, easy means easy, so running at a relaxed pace that you can maintain and talk to a friend effortlessly if needed.
Try: Eggs with toast or a protein shake or oatmeal made with milk after a morning run, or salmon with rice or a veggie stir-fry after an afternoon or evening run
If you’ve been training properly, you have practiced your prerace meal before your long runs, says Susan Paul, exercise physiologist and program director for the Orlando Track Shack Foundation. “Race morning is not the time to try anything new,” she says.
For shorter distances, like a 5K or 10K, your breakfast should be similar to what you’d eat before a track (interval) workout, because the intensity is higher, while the duration is shorter.
For longer distances, like a half or full marathon, your breakfast—and the timing of when you have it—should be similar to what you practiced eating before your long runs.
As Paul and Kasparek point out, give yourself plenty of time to digest before you head to the start line. And because you might have hours between the time you have breakfast and toe the line, bring an extra snack, says Kasparek.
“You don’t want to be hungry on the start line,” she says.
Try: Bagel with peanut butter + gel or Clif bar 30 minutes prior to the start
RELATED: Build a killer midsection in the kitchen for powerful, effortless miles on the road with Eat for Abs!
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| Skinny jeans are creeping back into the fashion cycle—but before you panic, Kendall Jenner’s latest look proves they can be sleek, modern, and nothing like the skintight pairs of yore. Meanwhile, if your end-of-summer plans involve travel, a naturopath shares five simple, anti-inflammatory habits to help you feel your best while on vacation. |
| ANNA CAFOLLA NEWS EDITOR, VOGUE |
Running can do wonders for your strength, fitness, mental wellbeing and lifespan – and there’s no better time to start running than now
By Andy Dixon and Rachel BoswellUpdated: 05 June 2024
Occasions like Global Running Day and the London Marathon put a brilliant spotlight on the activity of running – but running isn’t just about single days. Instead, running is a sport, a hobby and a mental and physical release that everyone can enjoy and improve at. In other words, running can become a welcome, important and extremely beneficial part of your life.
If you’ve never run a step, here are 10 benefits of running that will inspire you to lace up those running shoes and get going today…
When you run, your whole physiology reaps the rewards of your movement. Here are just some parts of the body that feel the positive effects of those accumulated running steps.
Among other things, regular running helps to improve your respiratory function, lower your cholesterol, reduce your risk of diabetes and improve your heart health. In fact, according to leading cardiologist Dr Dan Augustine, ‘if you could put exercise into a pill, it would be better than most drugs that a doctor could give you’. That, in itself, is one mighty selling point for running.
The heart is like an engine. As you run, or do any form of endurance exercise, your heart must pump out more blood so it can deliver more oxygen to other muscles and organs in the body to keep them working effectively. In return, more blood must return to the heart so the cycle can continue. The more you run, the bigger and stronger your heart becomes, which means it can pump out more blood with each heartbeat. This, in turn, means that your heart can deliver the same amount of oxygen with fewer heartbeats, lowering your heart rate – and a lower heart rate is linked with more efficient heart function and better cardiovascular fitness.
The legs
Unsurprisingly, running is a lower limb-centric exercise that variously employs the four main leg muscle groups – quadriceps, calves, glutes and hamstrings – among other big muscles such as your hip flexors. As you run and repeatedly use these lower body muscles, you’ll gradually increase your muscle strength, build your speed and balance, reduce your risk of injury and improve your running economy. That amounts to many wins.
Sorry, naysayers! Despite popular legend, running won’t wreck your knees. Instead, it can actually strengthen your knees and other joints, with research from Stanford University in California finding that recreational runners showed less wear and tear on their joints than non-runners.
Various studies add evidence to the pile that running works wonders for your lifespan.
A recent study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health has found that running for 75 minutes per week can add a solid 12 years to your life. Looking at 4,400 subjects, it compared those who ran at least 75 minutes a week with those who ran less than 10 minutes a week, showing that big rewards can come from a small, manageable amount of running.
Meanwhile, another study of 55,000 people concluded that running three times a week for an average of just 17 minutes at a time reduced the risk of fatal heart attack or stroke by 55%.
While running doesn’t cure cancer, plenty of research suggests that it can help to prevent it. A recent study published in Cancers (Basel) found that those who engaged in exercise had, for example, a 70% lower risk of developing colon cancer, around 30 to 40% less chance of developing breast cancer and an overall prostate cancer risk reduction ranging from 5% to 65%. It also concluded that exercise can also be used as ‘a complementary part of the medical treatment of cancer patients’.
Another study performed a genetic analysis of nearly 131,000 women from around the world, including nearly 70,000 who had been diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. It found that people who were likely to engage in ‘greater overall physical activity, greater vigorous activity, and lower sedentary time’ – based on their DNA – had a 41% lower risk of invasive breast cancer than those who were inactive. This means that physical activity such as running could help to safeguard your body against diseases such as this.
While the physical benefits of running are enormous, let’s not overlook the psychological ones.
Research in the Psychonomic Bulletin and Review posited ‘insurmountable’ evidence that regular exercise helps to curb age-related mental decline, with Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience also finding that adults over the age of 50 who take up aerobic exercise benefit from better cognitive function and improved blood flow in the brain.
What’s more, a separate study in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease found that those who ran 15.3 miles per week had a 40% lower risk of dying from Alzheimer’s disease than non-runners.
As such, the cognitive benefits of running are worth keeping in mind.
Ever felt more relaxed and energised after a run? If so, you aren’t alone, as running is repeatedly cited as an activity that helps to lift mental loads and reduce feelings of stress and anxiety.
A small study conducted by Asics measured the brain waves of participants before and after a 20-minute run, and found that even this relatively short bout of exercise led to a 58% reduction in levels of cognitive stress.
We all have different budgets and priorities when it comes to running, just like anything else.
While we can spend money on more premium running goods such as carbon plate running shoes, GPS running watches and compression boots for recovery should we want or be able to, it’s important to remember that running needn’t cost the earth. Strip things back to basics and all you really need to get started and feel the benefits of running is a pair of comfortable, supportive running shoes and good-fitting running kit that works with you as you move. As far as sports go, running is one of the most affordable you can choose to do.
Running is a great way to give yourself permission to do something just for you. As you log the miles you can listen to music, catch up on an audiobook or tune into your favourite podcast. Or, you could leave your phone at home, unplug yourself altogether and be mindful of your breathing and the sights and sounds around you.
Whether it’s to escape the kids or your inbox, or to simply catch some fresh air while you can, carving out time for a run helps to keep the balance of your life in check.
Talking of fresh air, going for a run really is an ideal reason to get outside and enjoy the therapeutic benefits of nature. One study published in Environmental Science & Technology found that people who exercised outdoors experienced increased energy levels and decreased feelings of depression, and were more likely to repeat their workouts.
Running in a natural environment is also good for boosting your levels of vitamin D – an all-important vitamin in which many Britons are deficient – so there’s no better reason to hit the trails or your local park for your next run.
Adaptable and flexible, running is the ultimate pursuit for personalisation – you can choose precisely how and when you want to approach it.
You can run solo or with others; purely for fun or to prepare for goal races; for 10 minutes or for two hours; first thing in the morning or as the final activity to wrap up your day. A special benefit of running is that it’s not a one-size-fits-all activity – instead, it’s one that you can slot into your life according to your own targets, preferences and schedule. It’s up to you.
When you go for a run, you can leave negativity at the door – studies have proven that running can enhance your mood and general sense of wellbeing.
One study, conducted by Glasgow Caledonian University, quizzed more than 8,000 parkrun regulars on their health and wellbeing. On average, they scored 4.4 out of 6 on the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, which is above the average of score of 4 for the general population. Plus, 89% of parkrun participants said that running regularly made them feel happier and had a positive impact on their mental health – and that’s perhaps one of the best benefits of running you can get.
| Skinny jeans are creeping back into the fashion cycle—but before you panic, Kendall Jenner’s latest look proves they can be sleek, modern, and nothing like the skintight pairs of yore. Meanwhile, if your end-of-summer plans involve travel, a naturopath shares five simple, anti-inflammatory habits to help you feel your best while on vacation. |
| ANNA CAFOLLA NEWS EDITOR, VOGUE |
Fitnessaware 