Читать книгу Tom’s Daily Goals: Never Feel Hungry or Tired Again - Tom Daley - Страница 8
ОглавлениеWhat is the first thing you do when you wake up? Do you reach for your phone with bleary eyes, stagger to the shower or press the snooze button? One of the best ways to get blood flowing to the whole of your body (including your brain), improve your posture and get your metabolism moving is by practising some yoga, or simply by doing some stretches. I think what we do immediately after we wake up sets the tone for the rest of the day, so it makes sense to make this time positive, balanced and inspiring.
Yoga is an ancient form of exercise that focuses on strength, flexibility and breathing to create a unity between mind and body. Many exercise fads come and go but yoga is one that has stood the test of time; it has been around for more than 5,000 years!
There are more than 100 different types of yoga with different emphases; some are more fast-paced and intense, while others focus more on breathing and relaxation, and the intensity of your workout depends on what form you choose. The benefits of yoga are huge and well documented and there is compelling scientific proof that relaxing the mind can heal the body. It is used to increase flexibility and strength, boost immunity, prevent injury, improve balance and posture, build muscle strength, reduce stress and anxiety and improve our mind/body connection.
I first started doing Vinyasa yoga after the 2016 Olympics. When I rocked up at the first class I wasn’t sure what to expect; I thought yoga would be a lazy man’s workout with no real benefit but that’s not the case; yoga really is for everyone of all ages and fitness abilities and can really push you. Vinyasa, which is sometimes referred to as ‘breath-synchronised movement’, focuses on flow and is a style of yoga that is characterised by stringing one pose to another seamlessly, using breath. You perform it at your own pace, moving in and out of postures on each inhalation or exhalation. Being aware of my breathing while I exercise has made me much more conscious of my body and of being present in the moment. I now feel and understand my body better than ever before.
Practising yoga has also really helped with my flexibility and given me more functional movement. This means training your muscles to perform everyday movements more effectively and safely, so you don’t end up with a bad back, for example. By using various muscles throughout the body at the same time, it also emphasises core stability and balance, which allows me to train better. All of these benefits become more important as we get older because our muscles become tighter and shorter as we age; by practising yoga, I hope to stay strong and supple for longer. I want to be the grey-haired pensioner on the diving board!
Whether you practise some moves that you know well, or you follow a book or online routine, ten minutes of yoga poses will set you up for the day. If doing yoga doesn’t appeal, just stretching out your muscles will ensure you get the blood flowing, relieve tension and calm your mind. If you sit at a computer all day, it is easy to develop bad posture as a result of poor thoracic and lumbar (upper- and lower-back) control and tight pecs (chest muscles). By stretching in the morning and taking regular breaks throughout the day you will improve alignment in your back, correct your posture and increase your flexibility.
I have included three workouts (see here) that incorporate a mixture of Pilates and yoga exercises, including one workout for when you first get up in the morning. The wide-ranging benefits of these types of workouts are huge. They will improve your balance, posture, flexibility and range of motion and will strengthen and tone both major muscle groups and smaller ones. What’s more, the mental focus and controlled breathing help to reduce stress and will improve sleep and regulate your mood. These exercises complement all the habits in this book, from helping you to become more mindful and focused, through to boosting your immunity and aiding restful and deep sleep.
My advice is to keep a yoga mat under your bed, so you can just step out of bed, pull it out and start stretching. I guarantee that ten minutes later, you will feel ready to face the day!
IF YOU DO ONE THING …
Incorporate 10 minutes of yoga or stretching into your morning routine to awaken, energise and refresh your body and offset the effects of sitting in an office chair all day.
6 rules to get you into shape
We’ve all been guilty of starting a new exercise regime and becoming frustrated when we don’t see instant results. As well as eating and exercising well, here are a few habits to help you kick-start any new fitness regime.
1
Focus on all-body exercise: Yoga is great because it exercises the whole body, but by including full-body exercises, including moves like burpees, squats and press-ups during your more intense HIIT workouts, you train every major muscle group in your body. Also make sure you switch up your exercise, so if you go to the gym, make a point of using the running machine one day, the cross-trainer the next and then the rowing machine, rather than sticking to one exercise machine. You need to challenge your muscles to see results.
2
Stop making excuses: From not having the right equipment, to not having enough time, there will always be an excuse not to train. Once you get started you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to form a new exercise habit. If you try to change your mindset, so exercise is not just about going to the gym and can be incorporated into your day – it can be going out for a brisk walk, playing football with friends or cycling to work – this can help.
3
Learn to be present: You must find exercise that you enjoy and discover what it means to be present. For example, when you practise yoga, concentrate on the feelings in your body and your breathing. Really breathe into the muscle or the posture you are working on and feel what is going on inside your body. Don’t think about it but let your mind actually be in that body part or muscle.
4
Set goals: Whether you want to learn a tricky yoga pose, or do 100 press-ups in a row, setting achievable goals will help motivate and inspire you. Ensure they are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely). Write them down and plot your progress.
5
Make sure you have a rest day: Some people think that in order to get into shape you should work out seven days a week. If you are working out properly, then you need to have at least one rest day, if not two. These periods are more important than the training because they let your body repair and recover, prevent injury and allow you to keep moving forward.
6
Don’t get hung up on fitness trackers: Wearable technology is becoming increasingly popular and I think it has its place because it can be a great way to figure out your limits and track progress, whether weekly, monthly or even yearly. However, I think the best way to get results is to listen to your body and pay attention to what it needs. Daily tracking of weight, progress and strength can quickly become demotivating and stressful.
Top reasons why yoga is healing
The health benefits of yoga are vast and studies continue to show that there are consistent rewards in almost every area of our health and well-being. Here are just a few ways in which it can be healing.
Boosts immunity
Yoga is one of the most effective and time-tested natural immunity boosters. It can help to stimulate the four main physiological systems that are linked to the immune system: the digestive, circulatory, endocrine and nervous systems. Poses that affect at least one of these four systems can help bolster immune function.
Increases blood flow
Like other forms of exercise, yoga gets the blood flowing around your body, improving circulation by transporting more oxygen to your cells, so they function better.
Relaxes your nervous system
Yoga makes you concentrate on the here and now, relaxing both the mind and body. It shifts the balance from the sympathetic nervous system, otherwise known as the fight-or-flight response, to the parasympathetic nervous system. This part of the nervous system slows our heart and breathing rates and is both restorative and calming.
Helps you sleep deeper
Studies suggest that regular yoga practice leads to better sleep and can help with insomnia. Yoga breathing techniques can also help you to relax and switch off.
IF YOU SUFFER FROM MIGRAINES, BACKACHE, ARTHRITIS OR OTHER CHRONIC PAIN CONDITIONS, COUNTLESS STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT YOGA CAN BE VERY EFFECTIVE AT REDUCING PAIN
Encourages self-care
Rather than being a passive recipient of care (in the case of conventional medicine), yoga provides you with the tools to make a difference. This gives you the power to effect change; seeing improvements in your health and tuning into the positive changes in your body creates hope and optimism.
Improves self-esteem
Could your self-confidence do with a boost? Practising yoga allows the mind to relax and refocus, so you are less likely to engage in impulsive and unproductive behaviours. One Australian study showed that after a 12-week yoga programme, women who struggled with binge-eating reported improved body image and higher self-esteem.
Releases tension
Do you notice your shoulders hunched over your computer or desk? Or your hands tight around the steering wheel as you drive to work? Unconscious habits can lead to muscle fatigue and chronic tension. Doing yoga can lead to a greater awareness of your body so you will learn how to release this tension.
Workouts to boost your brain
Our brains are capable of some pretty amazing things and are constantly changing in response to our habits and lifestyle. It’s not just our body that loses muscle over time, our brains can weaken, too. A healthy diet and regular exercise are important for brain health. In the same way that working out our bodies and using weights helps us to add lean muscle and retain muscle as we age, regular brain exercises can help increase our brain’s cognitive reserve. Experts call it ‘neurobic exercises’ – cross-training for the brain!
Challenge your memory
If you’re anything like me, you probably rely on your smartphone for most things. Training your memory is really easy and can be done on your daily commute: learn all the lyrics to a song in the car, or memorise the words to a poem on the Tube. Or make yourself do a task from memory, like brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand or getting dressed in the dark.
Get lingo-happy
Language activities encourage our brains to understand, recognise and remember words. By practising language fluency your brain will be stimulated to remember old words and understand and recognise new words in context. A simple way to do this is to read outside your normal realm; rather than reading the sports section of a newspaper, read the business section, so you are exposed to new words. Learning a second language has also been proven to prevent dementia in later life.
Take a cooking class or learn to cook from scratch
Giving your brain a new experience that combines all the physical senses – taste, touch, smell, vision and hearing – can stimulate more connections between the brain areas, dramatically improving memory and making parts of the brain more resistant to ageing. A cooking class or cooking a meal from scratch is an ideal way to do this. Other examples of activities that stimulate all five senses include camping and gardening. Lance and I love to challenge each other with strange and new things all the time. Taking yourself out of your comfort zone can really awaken your senses!
Make time for friends
When you think of ways to boost your brain, hanging out with your friends probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. However, spending time with friends and making new ones will expose you to more facts, information and ideas. Experts say that this develops our ability to focus, learn and analyse details. Practise actively listening to what other people say to expose yourself to as much new information as possible (talking to someone new on Instagram doesn’t count!).
Get creative
Craft hobbies and playing board games focus the brain in the same way as meditation does. One recent study at Otago University in New Zealand showed that ‘purposeful’ activities, like performing music, doing arts and crafts or cooking new recipes leads to an ‘upward spiral’ of improved health and creativity. For example, everyone has photos on their mobile phone but what about a good old-style scrapbook? Every year I make a scrapbook of everything that has happened that year for Lance as a Christmas present. I keep tickets, passes and add photos and get creative.
THE BRAIN USES MORE ENERGY THAN ANY OTHER HUMAN ORGAN, ACCOUNTING FOR 20 PER CENT OF OUR DAILY CALORIE INTAKE
3 workouts to energise & revitalise the body & mind
These workouts are a mixture of yoga and Pilates movements and stretches that are designed to provide you with the perfect way to sync your body and mind, while at the same time giving you a workout to tone you up, using muscles you never knew you had!
We are going to target all the key muscle groups and energise and re-awaken them, so you use all of your muscles properly. I have designed these workouts to be done on alternate days, interspersed with more high-intensity cardio training of your choice, such as HIIT (high-intensity interval training), running, spinning or your normal gym training sessions, alongside one rest day. If you prefer to train very hard or are working towards a specific event, these exercises are a great way to start a session because they will activate all the smaller muscles you will need to work out most effectively.
None of these exercises requires any special equipment (all you need is a mat or a towel) and can be done in the comfort of your bedroom, living room or garden. Familiarise yourself thoroughly with all the exercises first and ensure you use the correct form and keep your core muscles engaged throughout. The key with all of these workouts is to go at your own pace, flowing through each movement with your own breathing rate. So you complete one movement on the inhalation and another on the exhalation. This can take some time to perfect and when you start off you may prefer to hold the poses for longer. Concentrating on your breath allows you to focus on the present and slowing down your breathing releases tension and stress and has a soothing effect on your emotional state.
If you are cold before working out, spend a couple of minutes shaking out your arms and legs but if you are already warm, you should be fine to start working out straight away. I make a point of never over-stretching sore areas but holding a stretch and breathing deeply until the pain eases.
Here is an overview of the basic moves so you can familiarise yourself with them before you start working out properly. They will bring your mind and body together and improve both muscular and postural strength.
Downward-facing Dog
One of yoga’s most recognised poses, this is where the body assumes an inverted ‘V’ shape. Start on your hands and knees. Spread your fingers wide to distribute your weight evenly across your hands and then lift your pelvis up towards the ceiling. Keep your back straight and straighten your legs if you can, but do not lock your knees. You should feel a stretch in your hamstrings but these exercises and poses should never be painful. Relax your head and neck and try and open up your thoracic spine (the upper middle area of your back) by feeling like you are rotating your hands on the ground out from each other; you should feel some space open up.
Downward-facing Dog Knee Tucks
In an inverted position, lift one leg as high as you can behind you and then tuck it as far under the chest as you can. Return the leg back and repeat with the other leg.
Upward-facing Dog
This is the opposite of the Downward-facing Dog. Start in a press-up position and slowly drop your hips to the floor. Straighten your arms and lift your torso and upper legs a few inches off the floor. Open your chest and squeeze your legs and glutes to try and get your head as close to the sky as you can.
Cat-Cow
1 Begin on your hands and knees with your wrists directly under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.
2 As you inhale, move into the ‘Cow’ pose by letting your stomach drop towards the mat. Lift your chin and chest and gaze towards the ceiling.
3 Then on your exhalation, move into the ‘Cat’ pose by drawing your stomach to your spine and rounding your back towards the ceiling. Release the crown of your head towards the floor but don’t force your chin to your chest. This is a great way to mobilise your spine.
Warrior 1
1 Stand with your feet hip distance apart and your arms at your sides. Step your feet wide apart (about 1–1.5 metres) and turn your right foot out 90 degrees. Pivot your left foot 45 degrees to the right so that your right heel is aligned with the arch of your left foot. Keep your pelvis towards the front of the mat. Press your weight through your left heel and bend your right knee over your right ankle.
2 Reach your arms up parallel or press your palms together. Look straight ahead or, if it’s comfortable, gently tilt your head back and gaze up at your thumbs. To come out of the pose, press your left heel firmly into the mat and straighten your right knee. Turn your feet forward and release your arms. Repeat on the other side.
Warrior 2
Follow the instructions for Warrior 1 but then open your arms out wide. Gently widen the stance and then turn both hip bones to face the side. Keep reaching out with your fingertips.
Reverse Warrior
From Warrior 2, bring the left hand down to rest on the left leg. Stretch the right arm towards the ceiling. Place your left arm either behind your back or in front of your stomach, depending on your flexibility levels. Look straight ahead or at the ceiling. Keep the right knee bent and relax.
Yoga Flow Press-ups
This is also known as a sun salutation. The aim is to flow between the movements, inhaling and exhaling between positions. Inhale: start in a plank position (1). Exhale: drop down into a press-up and hold just off the floor (2). Inhale: engage your glutes and push your hips to the floor, extending your arms and torso upwards so you finish in an Upward-facing Dog position (3). Exhale: push from there into a Downward-facing Dog (4). Inhale: return to a plank position (5) . Repeat.
RDL Twists
1 This is a great way to strengthen hamstrings, back and glutes. Stand straight with a slight bend in your knees. Keep your chest up and shoulders engaged (like grabbing a pencil between your shoulder blades).
2 Push your weight back into your heels and hinge forward at the hips until you can feel the stretch. Keep your shoulder blades back and your knees soft. Twist your whole torso, lifting your left shoulder up, and reach across with your right arm. Repeat on the other side with your right arm reaching across. Squeeze to come up.
Single Leg RDL
1 Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent and raise one leg off the floor. Flex the knee on the supporting leg to about 15–20 degrees to activate the glutes.
2 Without changing the bend in your knee, hinge at your hips and lower your torso so it’s almost parallel with the floor. Keep your torso in line with the back leg. Squeeze and raise your torso back to standing position.
Sumo Squat Touches
1 Place your feet significantly wider than hip distance apart. Turn your toes out by 45 degrees and hold your hands in front of you.
2 Lower yourself by bending your hips and knees. Keep your core tight and your back straight and do not let your knees move over your toes. Push up through your heels to standing and repeat. This is great for hip mobility.
Gorilla Complex
Start in a standing position (1), then go into a forward fold (bend your knees slightly if necessary). Walk your hands out (2) to a press-up position, keeping your arms extended. From there bring your left leg outside your left hand (3), letting the opposite knee drop down towards the floor. Now take your left hand and reach it up towards the sky, opening up your chest, back and hips at the same time (4). Replace your hand on the floor, shift back to the press-up position (5) and repeat the movement, this time bringing your right leg forward and stretching your right arm up. Shift back to a press-up position, walk your hands back and move into a squat position (6) . Extend one arm up straight (7), then the other arm, then stand up straight (8). Repeat.
Thread the Needle
1 Begin on your hands and knees in a neutral position. Slide your right arm underneath your left arm with your palm facing upwards.
2 Let your right shoulder come all the way down to the mat and rest your right ear and cheek on the mat, looking towards the left. Broaden your upper back and relax. To release, press through your left hand and gently slide your arm out. For added mobility, rotate your torso and reach the arm to the sky. Repeat on the opposite side.
Iron Cross
Lie on your back with arms out to the side in a T-Position. Lift one leg, raise your hips slightly and reach your leg upwards and across your body towards to the opposite hand. Try to keep your leg straight if you are flexible enough; if not, don’t worry about a small bend. Keep your shoulders pressed down to the floor. Repeat on the opposite side.
Scorpion Stretch
This is similar to the Iron Cross but is done on your front. Lie down on your front with your feet together and your arms out to the side. Lift your leg off the floor bending your knee. Rotate your hip, bringing the raised leg over until the toes touch the floor close to your hand on the other side. Return to the starting position and repeat the movement with the other leg. Keep your core engaged throughout the exercise.
T Press-ups
Do a normal press-up and at the top of the exercise, lift one arm from the floor and raise it to the sky while twisting your torso to the side. Roll on to the sides of your feet and keep your body straight at all times. Return to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
Bird Dog
Go to four-point kneeling position with your shoulders and feet hip width apart. Then lift your leg and opposite arm off the ground at the same time and extend them out until they are parallel to the floor, without any rotation in the hip. Reach as far apart from each other as possible to elongate your spine. You are going to need balance for this one! Gently lower yourself back to your starting position and repeat with the opposite limbs.
Squat Circles
1 Squat down normally with your feet hip distance apart (1), shift your weight to one side (2), stand up with straight legs with your weight shifted to that side (3), go back to the centre (4) and then repeat on the other side.
2 Then do the movement in reverse: start in a standing position, push your weight to one side with straight legs, then squat down, keeping your weight on that side. Centralise at the bottom and then stand up.
Dead Bug Toe Taps
1 This exercise is similar to Bird Dog but this time you’re lying on your back with your arms held up in front of you, pointing to the ceiling. Then bring your legs up so your knees are bent at 90-degree angles.
2 Slowly lower one leg and your opposite arm behind and away from you and straighten them, while keeping your lower back flat against the floor. If you feel your lower back lift, stop and don’t go any further, that is your end range. Extend one leg and tap one toe to the floor. Repeat with the opposite leg.
Dead Bug Leg Extensions
With your knees at 90 degrees, extend one leg and stretch it away from you, down towards the floor, touching your calf and heel on the floor. Keep your back straight. Repeat with the opposite leg.
Hip Bridges
Start by lying flat on your back with your knees bent and your arms by your hips. Tilt your pelvis upwards and push through your heels to slowly lift your hips while squeezing your glutes. It should feel like you are rolling your spine off the ground, one vertebra at a time. Try to create a diagonal line from your shoulders to your knees.
Straight Leg Hip Bridges
At the top of the Hip Bridge, extend one leg out straight while keeping your hips level and engaging your core. Gently bring the leg back down and repeat on the other side.
Clams
1 Lie on your side with your knees bent at 90 degrees and your legs stacked on top of each other. Adjust your hips and torso so they are perpendicular to the floor.
2 With your core engaged, rotate your top leg at the hip to bring your top knee upwards, like a clam. Stop before you feel your body rolling backwards. Return to the starting position and repeat. Then turn over and repeat on the other side.
Straight Leg Clams
Start in the same position as a clam but keep your top leg straight and extended with your body line. Keeping your stomach muscles tight and your top leg straight, lift the leg up. Return to the starting position and repeat. Then turn over and repeat on the other side.
Plank Knee Twist
Start in a high plank position with your arms straight. Keep your back and burn straight. Bend one knee and twist it towards the opposite elbow. Repeat on your other side.
Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch
1 Start from a kneeling position. Lift one knee up and place your foot slightly in front of your knee.
2 Exhale as you bend your front knee and lean forward. Hold the stretch, keeping your glutes squeezed and pelvis tilted underneath you to protect your back and maintain a good posture. Repeat the movement and then change sides.
Pigeon Pose
1 Start on all fours on your hands and knees. Bring your right knee forward and place it behind your right wrist. Place your ankle in front of your left hip. The more your lower leg is parallel with the front of your mat, the wider the stretch.
2 Slide your left leg back, straighten your knee and point your toes, with your heel pointing towards the ceiling. Lower yourself down and keep your hips level.
3 As you inhale, lift your upper body, come on to your fingertips with your hands shoulder width apart, draw your tummy in and open your chest. As you exhale, walk your hands forward on your fingertips and lower your upper body to the floor. To come out of the pose, push back through your fingers and lift your hips before moving back into all fours. Repeat with the other leg.
Frog Stretch
This is a great stretch to release your hip flexors. Support yourself on your knees and forearms. Begin to take your knees out wider than your hips, then your feet out wider than your knees. Pull your hips back and press your pelvis down.
Frog Stretch Rocks
Push your hips back and then rock forward and squeeze your glutes. To extend this further, push up on your hands.
Side Plank Touches
Start on your side on one elbow. Raise your hips until your body is in a straight line from head to feet. Drop your hip to touch the floor if you can, or go as low as possible.
Forward Fold
Hinge at the hips and let your hands dangle to the ground. Bend your legs slightly if needed and hang like a rag doll. You might find it easier to hold your arms at the elbow. Come up slowly.
Shoulder Extension
Kneel on the floor with straight arms resting on a bed, sofa or bench and push your chest towards the ground.
Reverse Shoulder Extension
Face away from the bed, sofa or bench and place your hands narrow behind you with your palms facing away from you. Gently kneel or squat down to feel the stretch in the front of your shoulders.
This workout is great for when you get out of bed and need to loosen up and get rid of any aches and pains. The Cat-Cow will start by loosening up your spine and opening up the chest, while the other exercises will target the major muscle groups and energise you for the day. It is also a good set of exercises to do as a mobility warm-up for more intense exercises afterwards. Follow your breath to move between repetitions and exercises.
2. STRENGTHEN, STRETCH & SCULPT WORKOUT
Beginners can follow the routine once, intermediates twice and advanced three times. This workout will engage your core muscles and all your major muscle groups. Lots of people ask me about how they can engage their lower abdominal muscles and these exercises are a great way to start. My top tip is to pull up your pelvic-floor muscles and try to keep them engaged throughout.
This workout will open up your hips and strengthen your glutes and lower back. It’s especially good if you sit at a desk all day. If you suffer from back, knee or hip pain, this workout can really help strengthen those muscles to give you some relief. Beginners can follow the routine once, intermediates twice and advanced three times.
At the end of each of these workouts, I recommend doing the following stretches, holding each one for 30 seconds. Don’t be tempted to skip this part! It is imperative that you stretch out after a workout to keep your muscles strong, flexible and healthy. You should feel a stretch but it shouldn’t be painful – if it starts to hurt, release the hold slightly or stop.
