Saving time at work gives you more personal time. In addition to traditional time management strategies, a variety of techniques can help you streamline your work. For example, the business structure you choose impacts the amount of paperwork and other hassles you have to deal with. An LLC structure is particularly flexible and can protect your individual assets. If you choose to go this route, give the Zen Business phone number a call for expert help.
Depending on the requirements of your business, you may need to hire employees or freelancers to assist with certain tasks. Although it can take some time to find the right fit, outsourcing particular duties, especially those outside your specialty, can save you time in the long run.
Stress management is key to a healthy body and mind. Take time out of your day, even if it is just a few minutes, to do something you enjoy or to simply sit quietly. If possible, practice deep breathing, yoga, or other relaxation strategies.
If you don’t have one already, find a hobby. Some hobbies, such as joining a bowling league, require a dedicated time commitment. Others, including reading, knitting, or wood carving, can be done whenever you have free time. Choose a hobby that fits into your schedule and does not add more stress to your days.
For busy professionals, food is often an afterthought. However, maintaining proper nutrition is an important aspect of staying healthy and productive. Portable breakfasts make mornings easy, and nutritious lunches are key to making it through the day with plenty of energy. Healthy slow cooker meals are easy ways to have something hot ready for dinner when you get home. If you’re going to be gone longer than the food needs to cook, choose a slow cooker with a “keep warm” feature so that the food stays hot but does not overcook.
If you’re really in a hurry, there are a variety of healthy packaged foods on the market today. Be sure to check the ingredients and nutrition label so you know what you are eating.
Another area those with busy schedules often neglect is physical fitness. Even if you don’t have time to go to the gym, there are quick workouts you can do at home or work. There are bodyweight exercises, including pushups and planks, that you can do without any equipment. Resistance bands, yoga mats, and Body Coach fitness equipment can be purchased if you choose to start building up a home gym.
If you decide to join a gym, choose one that meets your needs. Make sure it is open when you want to exercise and close to your home or work. If it is inconvenient, you are less likely to go. If you want to take fitness classes or hire a personal trainer, make sure those options are available before signing up.
Although owning your own business is a rewarding experience, it can be draining. Streamline your work where possible so that you have time to relax, eat well, exercise and enjoy life.
]]>Are the pounds sticking around inexcusably now that your favorite sports activity is on hold due to coronavirus? Or have you secretly never been the biggest fan of exercise, but think it's time to start living a healthier life? The following tips will help you along the way.
Get into action
Admittedly, bikini season is still a long way off. The idea that others won’t notice a few extra pounds under those heavy winter clothes seems like a great excuse to put your good intentions on hold for a while, but nothing could be further from the truth. Getting in shape takes time. If you start now, you will have the luxury of building your workouts at your own pace and getting fit in time for summer without risking injury.
Set concrete goals
Do you find it difficult to motivate yourself to move? It helps to keep a clear goal in mind. Decide whether you want to be able to walk ten miles, lose five pounds, or fit back into those two-year-old pants. Then, work out a training schedule with which you can achieve your goal. You decide how detailed you make it. You can decide to simply put on your running shoes three times a week, or you can record in advance how long, how far, and where you will jog each time out. Some people benefit from a more casual approach, while others need a detailed plan to get started. As you get closer to your goal, you will feel more and more in shape and more like working up a sweat.
Choose the right sport
In the previous example, we talked about jogging, but there are of course many more options for those who want to exercise more. Many people start walking because it is such an obvious choice, but don’t actually enjoy it. If you don’t enjoy an activity, it will be almost impossible to make it a routine. If you prefer dancing, cycling, mountain biking, ice skating, swimming, tennis or ping pong, that's fine too. Or why not get a treadmill or exercise bike at home, so that you can combine your exercise with your favorite tv series? This way, will you never have to feel guilty about a night of binge-watching again.
Also, watch your diet
Anyone who invariably treats themselves to a serving of fries after a sports session is in for trouble. So if you are determined to lose weight, you should not only exercise more, but also pay attention to your diet. This doesn't mean that you should cut everything you like from your menu. You will simply need to make more conscious choices, for example by choosing fruit as a snack, drinking water instead of soft drinks, and saying no to alcohol more often.
Reward yourself
As long as you're not doing it with food, it's also not a bad idea to reward yourself regularly when you get one step closer to your goal. With, for example, a nice sports outfit, a fitness watch, or a smart scale that measures your BMI to keep an even closer eye on your progress. And as soon as it gets warmer: a flashy new bikini or swimming pants!
Do you want to take action immediately? View the full fitness and health offer here.
If you're an avid athlete and you don't have access to a gym, there are two possible scenarios: you already have resistance bands in your house, or you're considering buying them.
Mike Wilson, strength training specialist and Strength and Conditioning Coach among others, provides text and explanation.
Does it make sense to train with resistance bands at home?
Yes absolutely. Resistance bands are a great substitute for weights in Corona times and are an effective means of exercising at home, especially if you don't have anything else.
So what do you have to pay attention to if you want to buy a set of resistance bands?
You have to be careful that the set has the resistance that is suitable for your level. In other words, don't go for elastics with the most resistance. After all, you can stretch a loose elastic so that you create more tension. But if you buy too strong an elastic you can not make it weaker. In that case, buy something lighter.
What are the biggest advantages of resistance bands?
One of the biggest advantages of resistance bands is that they are excellent for doing insulation exercises. This is particularly useful for your upper body. It is very easy to train your biceps, triceps, shoulders, and chest individually, so you can get the most out of your muscles.
And where you need a lot of space and storage for weights, elastics are so small that you can even put them in the inside pocket of your jacket. This allows you to work out in your bedroom or in the park for example. Another advantage is the greater mind-muscle connection. This is because the resistance increases the further you stretch them. As the power curve increases so do the resistance. Finally, the load on your muscles and joints is also less intense than with heavyweights. This allows you to recover faster after a training session, so you can also train more often. This is a fun activity to break your day now you have to stay at home 24/7 during these corona times.
What are the main disadvantages of resistance bands?
For some people, it is nice to be able to work with elastics instead of iron but for many serious lifters, it is exactly the other way around. They want to see and feel iron on the rod. It is also still an ego thing if you can tell when you can lift 5 kilos heavier again. That you now grasp the resistance band a little lower is a bit less tough. Furthermore, with real weights it is easier to keep track and whether you are making progress. This allows you to feel that you have reached a plateau faster with elastics which can decrease motivation. It is also more difficult for advanced athletes to find the right training incentives. You simply cannot replace a heavy 1RM squat with elastics. Two other points that I mentioned earlier as an advantage are also a big disadvantage. As indicated elastics ensure less muscle damage. This means that resistance bands are less effective for muscle growth. It is unlikely that you will grow huge biceps or chest muscles with elastics. Nevertheless, they are a good way to keep stimulating your muscles so you lose muscle mass less quickly.
What is your final verdict on resistance bands?
Resistance bands are really good to have at home but also in your sports bag when the gyms are open again. They are certainly not a full-fledged replacement for weights and you will never make as much progress with them as with iron. But especially now that the gyms are closed I advise all my clients to train with elastics so as not to deteriorate. The real progression will come later but then you are in any case not even further from home.
Want to start working out? Get yours here!
]]>Researchers all over the world are posting new findings daily, concluding that our posture is one of the leading causes for all issues that lay at the base for lower back pain, neck pain, and even severe headaches or migraines!
Your body is the only vehicle you’ll own during your entire life. Treat it with some extra care. Every cell in your body is controlled by your central nervous system, and if your spine is at the heart of it. It's an amazing part of the human body. But bad posture can cause some problems over time.
The principle that prevention is better than cure has proven to be especially true when related to your body and posture. The abdominal and back muscles maintain the spine's natural curves. Good posture involves training your body to stand, walk, sit, and lie so that the least amount of strain is placed on the spine during movement or weight-bearing activities.
Discomfort and even pain in the Lumbar spine (yellow) region that gets worse after prolonged sitting or standing. Stinging or burning sensation from the lower back to the back of the thighs or the lower legs. Difficulty standing up straight, especially while sitting to stand up.
Fixing bad posture is the key to feeling best.
Like exercise, when we don't do it for a prolonged period, it only gets worse. That' s why everyone should care about there posture from time to time.
These are the most common problems coming from bad posture
• It can damage your neck, back and/or shoulders
• You can get chronic headaches or migraines attacks
• It can lead to impacting your sex life in a negative way
• Slouching makes you look older (and somewhat silly)
• It can cause an array of problems like a misaligned spine or
curvature problems, poor circulation of our fluid systems,
bad digestion, impaired lung functions, constricted nerves
at specific places in our bodies, and the list goes on...
WHAT IS BAD POSTURE AND HOW DOES IT AFFECTS OUR LIFE?
Do you ever feel a sharp pain in your back or neck? Or you feel like you slouch too much and your body is always tired? If the answer is yes to one or more of these questions, then there is a big chance that there something is wrong with your posture.
Bad posture can make your life miserable as it not only takes the charm away from your personality, it can also result in some serious health problems, including permanent damage to your back and neck.
To many people, fixing body posture seems like an impossible task especially with the hectic lives people are living these days. According to a study, an average person spends around 3 hours looking down on a screen. From scrolling through your Facebook feed to reading eBooks on Kindle, people spend alot of time sitting and staring at their screens.
However, bad posture can also come from an injury or due to your genetics.
HOW TO ACHIEVE GOOD POSTURE?
A big issue people have with achieving a neutral spine is getting the shoulders to line up where they should be. Most folks with bad posture have shoulders that round forward, giving them that Quasimodo look.
Your overall goal with posture is to have a “neutral spine.” A neutral spine retains three natural curves: a small hollow at the neck’s base, a small roundness at the middle back, and a small hollow in the lower back.
To achieve correct posture while standing, the ears, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles should align in one straight line. To give you a mental image of what good posture looks like, imagine a plumb line running from your earlobe. If you have the correct posture, the line would hang straight to the middle of your anklebone.
A GOOD POSTURE CORRECTOR CAN BRING THE BEST RESULTS
But the good news is that a lot of mentioned problems can be solved using a good posture corrector!
A good posture corrector follows the principle of tissue adaptation, which refers to the fact that whenever you do something for an extended period, your body adapts to it. Therefore, when you wear a good posture corrector, your body is held in a better position for a longer time.
The brace pulls your muscles to the natural position, and you are restrained to keep it in that position. It restricts your body from slouching or hunching down your shoulders. It can be a bit uncomfortable in the beginning, but once you start wearing it every day, you will start to see the results for yourself.
The benefits of good posture are simply overwhelming!
THE BENEFITS OF GOOD POSTURE:
Here are the most important benefits of good posture:
• It can eliminate neck and back pain completely
• It boosts your self-esteem in a gradual way
• It improves your memory and learning capabilities
• It makes you happier and in an overall better mood
• It increases testosterone
• It boosts your energy levels, thus your productivity goes up
• It makes you taller and slimmer, and look more powerful in a way
• It makes you recover from your workouts faster
• It improves your breathing and makes you feel freer in your body overall
A FEW TIPS FOR A BETTER POSTURE THAT ARE COMPLETELY FREE
It's all about making the right choices from moment to moment, our habits. If you can incorporate 1 or more of these habits you will improve upon your posture :
Stand up tall. Pretend you’re standing against a wall to measure your height. Hold your head straight and tuck in your chin. Your ears should be over the middle of your shoulders. Stand with your shoulders back, knees straight, and belly tucked in. Don't let your booty or hips stick out. Straighten up so you feel like your head stretches toward the sky.
Stretch. Simple stretches can relieve muscle tension and help you realign your posture. Try the shoulder roll: Sit or stand comfortably. As you inhale, raise your shoulders to your ears. As you exhale, pull your shoulder blades down and together. Do this five or 10 times in a row, a few times a day.
Don't sit still for too long at a time. Sitting for long periods almost always leads to stiffness and slouching, Deon says, so she recommends getting up to move around every 20 to 30 minutes. If you need reminding, several smartphone apps will nudge you to take periodic breaks.
Keep your chin up, even when looking at your phone. Texting is the modern enemy of good posture, Deon says. "You never want to spend long periods with your head pushed forward — that's a really good way to develop a long-term neck problem." Tilting the head forward 30 degrees more than triples the amount of stress placed on your neck, which can result in muscle strain, pinched nerves or herniated disks. To avoid "text neck," practice looking down at your phone with your eyes alone, not bending your neck.
THE TWO MYTHS OF GOOD POSTURE
So having good posture comes with big benefits.
But what does good posture look like? When most people think of good posture, they’re usually thinking of it in terms of two myths we should get out of the way before we go any further:
Posture Myth nr. 1:
"Good posture should feel rigid and take a lot of work."
When most people hear “good posture,” they imagine a soldier standing at attention. But this is bad posture (and despite our perceptions, isn’t the way actual soldiers are taught to stand either). This imaginary soldier stance causes your muscles and tendons to work hard to maintain an unnatural position. If you’ve felt sore after a day of focusing on good posture, chances are it’s because you spent your time trying to pull yourself into this pose.
Good posture should feel relaxed and easy. When you have good posture, your bones, not your muscles, keep your body upright and balanced. Even though you’re sitting and standing straighter than you usually do, you shouldn’t feel tense or strained.
Now, if you’ve done a lot of sitting and slumping in your life, getting into a good posture position isn’t going to feel effortless at first. You shouldn’t feel strained, but you may feel tight. To ease this tightness, read and implement the tips in the last section of this article.
On to Posture Myth nr. 2:
"There’s one ideal posture everyone should be aiming for."
Contrary to popular belief, there’s no one exact standard for what constitutes good posture. Everyone’s body is different, so good posture for one man won’t necessarily look the same for another. With that said, there are a few cues we can all use to find our ideal posture, whether sitting or standing.
SO ARE YOU READY TO WORK ON YOUR POSTURE?
By now it should be clear how important good posture is for a healthy body.
Improve your posture and live a healthier, happier and more fulfilled life!
Extra resources used:
5 Really Great Reasons Why Good Posture Is Super Important
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/5-really-great-reasons-why-good-posture-is-super-important_n_581282f8e4b0390e69cf3d90?guccounter=1
The Ultimate Guide to Posture
https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/the-ultimate-guide-to-posture/
Anatomy of the Spine
https://mayfieldclinic.com/pe-anatspine.htm
STRUGGLING WITH LOWER BACK PAIN?
You're not the only one, lower back pain is one of the most common issues for modern mankind. About 80 percent of adults will experience lower back pain at some point. The second most common reason for visits to the doctor’s office.
WHAT CAUSES THIS SHARP LOWER BACK PAIN EXACTLY?
Due to sitting, standing, walking and handling too much in a bad way or "posture". Poor posture while lifting and sitting is the most damaging activity for our back. The #1 cause of lower back pain is a torn or pulled muscle and/or ligament.
Strains occur when a muscle is stretched way too far and tears, damaging the muscle itself.
Sprains happen when over-stretching and tearing affect the ligaments. These are both ends of every muscle that connect the bones and the muscles. A low back sprain or strain can develop slowly over time, from repetitive movements. But it can also happen in an instant, by lifting something heavy in a bad way.
Many different muscles, bones, and connective tissues meet in the back. This is the reason many people experience a wide variety of symptoms in the lower back.
The Lumbar spine has to bear all the weight (a yellow region in the pic. below) from the Cervical spine and the Thoracic spine with the complete upper body attached to it. So it's not a surprise why so many people suffer from lower back pain. You can see it as a skyscraper in a certain way. For such a huge task, our spine is surprisingly narrow. That' s why everyone should care about there spine a lot more than everybody thinks they should. It's almost epidemic how many people are affected by back problems.
MOST COMMON SYMPTONS OF LOWER BACK PAIN
Discomfort and even pain in the Lumbar spine region that gets worse after prolonged sitting or standing. Stinging or burning sensation from the lower back to the back of the thighs or the lower legs. Difficulty standing up straight, especially while sitting to stand up.
BAD POSTURE IS THE RECEPY FOR FEELING BAD
These are the most common problems coming from bad posture:
• It can damage your neck, back and/or shoulders
• You can get chronic headaches or migraines attacks
• It can lead to impacting your sex life in a negative way
• It has a big impact on how you feel emotionally
• Slouching makes you look older (and somewhat silly too)
Thereby it can cause an array of very serious problems!
To name a few: A misaligned spine, one of the 3 main curvature problems, poor circulation of the fluid systems, bad digestion, impaired lung functions, constricted nerves at specific places in our bodies...
And the list goes on and on...
NOW, WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM THIS ALL?
THAT GOOD POSTURE IS KEY TO FEELING BETTER!
THE BEST BENEFITS OF GOOD POSTURE:
• It can eliminate neck and back pain completely
• It boosts your self-esteem massively
• It improves your memory and learning capabilities
• It makes you happier and in an overall better mood
• It boosts your energy levels, thus your productivity goes up
• It makes you taller and slimmer, and look more powerful in a way
• It improves your breathing and makes you feel freer in your body overall
• It makes you recover from your workouts faster
• It increases testosterone levels
• And the list goes on and on again...
A FEW TIPS FOR A BETTER POSTURE THAT ARE COMPLETELY FREE :-)
It's all about making the right choices from moment to moment, our habits. If you can incorporate 1 or more of these habits you will improve upon your posture :
Stand up tall. Pretend you’re standing against a wall to measure your height. Hold your head straight and tuck in your chin. Your ears should be over the middle of your shoulders. Stand with your shoulders back, knees straight, and belly tucked in. Don't let your booty or hips stick out. Straighten up so you feel like your head stretches toward the sky.
Stretch. Simple stretches can relieve muscle tension and help you realign your posture. Try the shoulder roll: Sit or stand comfortably. As you inhale, raise your shoulders to your ears. As you exhale, pull your shoulder blades down and together. Do this five or 10 times in a row, a few times a day.
Don't sit still for too long at a time. Sitting for long periods almost always leads to stiffness and slouching, Deon says, so she recommends getting up to move around every 20 to 30 minutes. If you need reminding, several smartphone apps will nudge you to take periodic breaks.
Keep your chin up, even when looking at your phone. Texting is the modern enemy of good posture, Deon says. "You never want to spend long periods with your head pushed forward — that's a really good way to develop a long-term neck problem." Tilting the head forward 30 degrees more than triples the amount of stress placed on your neck, which can result in muscle strain, pinched nerves or herniated disks. To avoid "text neck," practice looking down at your phone with your eyes alone, not bending your neck.
THE TWO MYTHS OF GOOD POSTURE
So having good posture comes with big benefits.
But what does good posture look like? When most people think of good posture, they’re usually thinking of it in terms of two myths we should get out of the way before we go any further:
Posture Myth nr. 1:
"Good posture should feel rigid and take a lot of work."
When most people hear “good posture,” they imagine a soldier standing at attention. But this is bad posture (and despite our perceptions, isn’t the way actual soldiers are taught to stand either). This imaginary soldier stance causes your muscles and tendons to work hard to maintain an unnatural position. If you’ve felt sore after a day of focusing on good posture, chances are it’s because you spent your time trying to pull yourself into this pose.
Good posture should feel relaxed and easy. When you have good posture, your bones, not your muscles, keep your body upright and balanced. Even though you’re sitting and standing straighter than you usually do, you shouldn’t feel tense or strained.
Now, if you’ve done a lot of sitting and slumping in your life, getting into a good posture position isn’t going to feel effortless at first. You shouldn’t feel strained, but you may feel tight. To ease this tightness, read and implement the tips in the last section of this article.
On to Posture Myth nr. 2:
"There’s one ideal posture everyone should be aiming for."
Contrary to popular belief, there’s no one exact standard for what constitutes good posture. Everyone’s body is different, so good posture for one man won’t necessarily look the same for another. With that said, there are a few cues we can all use to find our ideal posture, whether sitting or standing.
SO ARE YOU READY TO WORK ON YOUR POSTURE?
By now you should know how important good posture really is for a human being.
Improve your posture and live a healthier, happier and more fulfilled life!
Extra resources:
5 Really Great Reasons Why Good Posture Is Super Important
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/5-really-great-reasons-why-good-posture-is-super-important_n_581282f8e4b0390e69cf3d90?guccounter=1
The Ultimate Guide to Posture
https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/the-ultimate-guide-to-posture/