Words on Wellness

Guest Column
By: 
Kelsey Salow
Human Sciences Specialist, ISU Extension & Outreach

Take a Time Out for Flexibility

     While watching your favorite teams compete in March Madness, take a time out during commercial breaks to stretch. Flexibility is an overlooked component of exercise that improves your range of motion, which increases your ability to engage in all different types of physical activity. You do not need to go to yoga to improve your flexibility. The most recent physical activity recommendations suggest stretching as an easy and effective means to increase flexibility.

     Follow these simple stretching tips to minimize injury and maximize flexibility benefits:

     • Relax by taking a few deep breaths during stretches.

     • Make smooth/slow movements instead of jerky/quick motions.

     • Stretch until feeling a gentle pull; if you feel any sharp pain or discomfort, you have stretched too far.

     • Hold stretches for a total of 15-30 seconds.

     To get started, try these simple stretches as you wait for the basketball games to resume:

     • Forward Bend – When sitting/standing, reach your hands toward your toes. Hold of 15-30 seconds.

     • Wall Push – Stand 12-18 inches away from a wall; lean forward, pushing against the wall with your hands and keeping heels flat on the floor. Hold for 15 seconds; repeat one to two times.

     • Hip Flexor Stretch – With both knees on the floor, bring one leg forward placing your foot flat on the floor and your knee at a 90-degree angle. Push your hips forward until you feel a stretch in your front thigh, near the groin. Keep your torso upright and front knee behind your toes. Hold for 20-30 seconds on each leg.

     Visit the American Heart Association (https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/staying-motivated/stretches-for-exercise-and-flexibility) for more stretches.

Everything and the Kitchen Sink

     With spring cleaning right around the corner, it’s important to prioritize what needs cleaning in our homes.

     According to the National Sanitation Foundation, the kitchen is the dirtiest place in the household. This place where meals and snacks are prepared and served daily tends to have the most germs. The “germiest” area in the kitchen as well as the second “germiest” item in the household is the sink.

     This spring, clean everything and the kitchen sink to reduce germs in your home. wash and sanitize the sides and bottom of the sink once or twice a week with disinfecting cleaner or in a solution of 1 tablespoon of bleach to 1 gallon of water. Clean kitchen drains and disposals every month by pouring a solution of 1 teaspoon of bleach to 1 quart of water down them.

 

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