Fit Feb with Miko + Mollie: WEEK 1
It really is a lifestyle change and a positive motivator to take care of your health and well-being: mental and physical.
Studies show certain types of exercise undertaken earlier in life (and maintained) can lead to greater independence for longer in our twilight years too.
So that’s why we’re passionate about Fit Feb!
Did you know among our team Courtney is a workout junkie and works out 3-4 times per week among her 70-90 hour working weeks? She maintains it’s the reason she has so much energy and the only way she maintains strong, positive mental health in such a crazy and demanding week! Lily is a star netballer and very, very fit, always enjoying the outdoors. Sally is a qualified PT and runs a training business outside of her Miko + Mollie job. And Dani and her husband, Brad founded Yates Physio, a collective of physio studios that also specialise in Pilates for rehabilitation and particularly post-partum. That’s a lot of healthy habits in one team! And we are all big believers in the holistic benefits of exercise. We all find when we are active we are also making healthy choices in other parts of our lives including our diets and the way we manage day to day stressors.
So each week this February we are going to publish one of our favourite exercises, one of our favourite healthy recipes, a healthy habit to try, a mental health tip and of course, our favourite activewear so that you can jump on this train and experience the benefits for yourself! So subscribe to our newsletter to get all of the latest health and wellness tips straight to your inbox!
Lots of love
Your Miko + Mollie team xx
1. Exercise of the week
The exercise of the week is SQUATTING! Why? Because it uses some of the BIGGEST muscles you own and a massive group of muscles are engaged as you perform the movement so it’s great bang for buck. You’re working a big muscle group (quads, glutes, abductors (inner thighs), hamstrings, erectors, abs and obliques, upper back and late, and your calves!), burning more fat and toning some of the biggest muscles you have meaning you will see results faster. It also helps strengthen bones and joints - very important as we age. So why start anywhere else?
Pip Edwards from PE Nation is performing a pilates move above based on the classic squat!
I personally build squatting into every workout I do because it’s a hard-working exercise for a big muscle group and it’s not actually difficult to do. I even squat while I’m brushing my teeth morning and night so if you don’t have time to exercise we will be giving you these home exercise tips each week that you can easily perform each night and start to build stronger, leaner muscles that will support your body as we age!
Watch this quick video by Bowflex on how to do a squat correctly.
Photo credit: PE Nation
Pip Edwards loves her Full Court Sports Bra and Easy Keeper Legging for her Fit Feb workouts!
Photo credit: Pip Edwards at instagram.com/pipedwards
2. Recipe of the week
Our recipe of the week is one of my faves from Aussie legend, Donna Hay: Chipotle Roasted Chicken with Zucchini Slaw and Jalapeño Dressing.
It’s fast, fresh and tasty! And even the kids will love it (if you leave the jalapeños out of the dressing...🙈)
Click here for the full recipe.
Photo credit: Donna Hay at donnahay.com.au
3. Healthy habit of the week
Our healthy habit of the week is to increase your water intake!
You've probably heard that eight glasses a day is what you should aim for.
This advice appears to have come from a 1945 recommendation of the Food and Nutrition Board of the United States National Research Council. We know a lot more now and it’s said that a good rule of thumb is 35 millilitres per kg of body weight. So if you’re 60kg, you should be consuming 2.1 litres of water per day.
Why is increasing our water intake important?
Water makes up about 50-80 per cent of your lean body mass.
As well as helping to maintain the balance of essential minerals, your body needs adequate water to help with:
- Temperature regulation, especially keeping you cool by allowing you to sweat when you get hot.
- Digestion and processing of food, by keeping your gastrointestinal tract moist to aid in the passing of the food through the gut.
- Absorption of nutrients and helping you to pass waste.
They’re just the essentials! But it also helps maintain clear, healthy skin, keeps the bladder and urinary tract healthy, energises the brain and muscles, helps protect our joints and cartilage and helps cleanse our bodies of toxins (like that glass of red wine we had last night...) when we sweat or pass water.
So increase your water intake in line with your personal body weight this month and see how you feel!
4. Mental health tip of the week
Courtney uses mindfulness meditation and essential oils to keep her mental health in check, in a regular and ongoing way, as well as taking a few moments out of her busy schedule to calm her body down. When you're go, go, go all the time, anxiety and stress can build in your body and it's important to take regular moments to let this go - a hot bath, a few moments laying in the sun without your phone or anything to read, sitting on the beach and watching a sunset just because you can. These moments can help manage rising stress and anxiety. But when she can feel her anxiety rising and she's unable to take time out to do something for her, she uses the Box Breathing Method.
This is a tool that she uses to take time out, focus on her breath and calm the physical signs of anxiety down in her body so it doesn't escalate. When you are stressed or anxious your breathing can get short and shallow. This exercise helps you slow that breathing back down and breathe from the diaphragm where we are designed to breathe from, instead of the chest which is where we tend to breathe from when we're stressed, anxious or feeling panic.
To use the technique, breathe in slowly through the nose for a count of 4, making sure you breathe deep into your diaphragm and feel the stomach rise, not the chest. Hold the breath for 4 seconds, release slowly out of the mouth for 4 seconds and then wait another 4 seconds. Do 4 cycles of this. Easy to remember! 4, 4, 4, 4 x 4! When you are very stressed or anxious, slowing down your breathing can feel like you are not getting enough breath but as your body calms down and stops using so much energy to get you anxious(!!) the breath will feel more natural so push through those first few moments of discomfort to reach a more calm, balanced feeling.
Image source: Mindful Wellness Rochester
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