The Caregiver Easy But Effective Exercise Routine

I always feel SO much better when I move my body, even it's just five minutes of stretching. And I have always loved sports - my favourites as a child were riding, skiing and dancing. But then caregiving entered my life and I became mostly homebound. My exercise became cleaning the house and lifting our son who has cerebral palsy. "You are my personal trainer!" I told him, "Look at my muscles - thank you!"

I was usually way too tired to think of going to exercise classes and it didn't even occur to me to move my body during long periods of our son's (or my Mom's) illnesses.

But then I found a routine that only takes 15 minutes in total if you add a little warm up before and a stretch afterwards. It's called the New York Times Seven Minute Workout. You don't need any equipment - only a wall to lean against, a chair or bench and pillow or a yoga mat, if you have one.



Each exercise is 30 seconds and there's a 10 second rest period between each interval. Total exercise time is only 7 minutes. If you never exercise, some the positions might need to be adapted. For example, I never do the 'men's' style pushups - I do them with my knees on the ground. If that is too hard, you can do pushups against the wall using your body weight as the tension. Adjust as necessary. Jumping jacks are the first exercise in the series, but if you don't jump, just do side-steps. 

And if you want to add a really quick and easy warm-up and stretch routine, here you go! 

Movement makes everything better in life so why not try this quick and easy routine today? And if you are nervous about starting, just begin with the 5 minute stretches. Then sit back and enjoy the feeling of wellbeing.