Although American Heart Month has come and gone, it is still important to keep in mind EVERY month why we acknowledge the importance of heart health and ways to keep our hearts healthy. One way to help reduce our risk of developing heart disease is to maintain a physically active lifestyle. Walking is one easy way to achieve the recommended 30 minutes of activity per day. Not only is it important to incorporate physical activity into your every day routine, it is also important to maintain a flexible lower extremity to help reduce your risk of injury and keep you active! In our PT Minute series, Physical Therapy First’s Dr. Alex Tan, PT, DPT, demonstrates three of his favorite stretches that target your lower extremity to perform during your cool down after walking: PTtip Stretches
Stretches for After a Daily Walk:
- Standing Calf Stretch
- Standing Quad Stretch
- Hip Flexor Stretch
Recommended Guidelines:
- Hold each stretch for 30 seconds.
- Remember to perform the stretches with both your right and left legs.
- Repeat each stretch for a total of 3 times per side.
Heart Health Tip
Another key factor for one’s heart health and overall health in general is maintaining a balanced nutrient-rich diet. Therefore, it’s important to incorporate a lot of fruits and vegetables into your food! The recommended serving of fruits and vegetables varies for each individual based on total caloric consumption. Factors that infuence this are age, activity level, gender, weight. One important thing to keep in mind is maintaining variety within your consumption! This means branching out and trying a wide range of different options for your body to reap the benefits of various vitamins and minerals.
Healthy Diet
An easy way to incorporate vegetables into your diet is by adding them to sandwiches. You don’t have to stick to just lettuce and tomato. Get creative and add on other great options such as shredded carrots, sprouts, sliced beets, cucumber, or zucchini! Extra vegetables like spinach, tomatoes, or broccoli, can even be added to homemade pastas, soups, or pizzas as an easy way to eat more vegetables. Incorporating fruit into foods like whole-grain oatmeal, waffles, or cereal can be an easy way to get a serving of fruit with breakfast. One example of a creative way to eat a serving of fruit is to blend together plain Greek yogurt with your favorite frozen fruit of choice to create a dessert-like treat!
If you have any questions or would like to make an appointment with one of our physical therapists to help with your mobility or with creating a ‘heart healthy’ aerobic exercise plan, give our office a call today at 1-855-PT-First!
*As a reminder, always discuss any questions or concerns with your physician regarding your own health and dietary needs, as the information written should not replace any medical advice.
References
American Heart Assocation. (2014). Why walking. Retrieved from: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/PhysicalActivity/Walking/Why-Walking_UCM_461770_Article.jsp#.Vs4FRBzxJC9
American Heart Association. (2014). About Fruits and Vegetables. Retrieved from:
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 2016. Variety. Retrieved from: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/variety