FEELING GREAT: Reducing the impact of muscles and joints getting stiffer daily

Without some degree of flexibility, life can be a bit more difficult than you might like and if you’re 50 or over, you’re probably already beginning to lose it on a daily basis.

As you begin to lose flexibility in muscles and joints (have you tried touching your toes lately?) you’ll notice increasing difficulty with the simplest of things, such as putting socks and shoes on.

And those next day aches and pains, the ones you feel after an active day spent walking or doing things in the garden, are caused by lack of flexibility too.

If it’s affecting your life in any of these ways, it might help to know a little bit about it why it’s happening and what you can do about it.

The big problem is that not many people are open to the idea that you can increase your flexibility. It’s as if stiffness and a lack of freedom of choice when it comes to movement are an inevitable age thing. They are, to some degree!

But doesn’t mean that you can’t slow down these effects, or even reverse them. So how do you go about reducing the impact of muscles and joints getting stiffer and tighter by the day?

It’s simple: don’t stop!

The temptation is to think that because you’re feeling tighter and stiffer, you should stop and wait for the stiffness to go. More often than not, that’s the worst thing you can do, and rarely does it do anything other than get worse.

Swimming, bike riding and walking are all fabulous ways of preventing flexibility problems in your 50s and 60s – even if you only do each one for 30-40 minutes, three times a week.

And here’s a way to get some added benefits of being active: When you finish doing any of these things, stretch a few of the muscles you usually have the problems with.

At this point, your body is in the best state it can possibly be to be stretched out, because it is warm. It’s so much easier and safer to stretch muscles and joints when you’re warm.

To get used to Healthy Habits, get in touch for a free copy of my book of that very name!

It is essential reading for people aged 50+, and for anyone that would like to improve their own healthy habits. Please call 01429 866771.