An Cosantóir

25 programme, you should be monitoring your breathing: you should be out of breath during exercise, but still able to manage a conversation with someone. I would recommend starting a log journal, where you record everything on your path to recovery. This will also aid you if you are not performing on some days and it repeats itself the following week, you can then reduce your programme. Maybe speak to a health professional too, if you don't structure your plan it will fall apart. FUNDAMENTAL MOVEMENTS Fundamental movement skills categories include: Balance skills - movements where the body remains in place, but moves around its horizontal and vertical axes. Locomotor skills - such as running, jumping, hopping and galloping. Ball skills - such as catching, throwing, kicking, underarm roll and striking. www.health.act.gov.au › fundamental Your body is after encountering a great ordeal and it is now repairing itself so you can return to normal activities with your family & friends. It's so important that we start developing the basic movement skills, the anatomy of the human body allows us to move our body differently and this is taught at a young age. So let's take a quick look at the basic movements and if you implement them into your daily workout, this will add strength and better range of motion (ROM) to your overall performance. Locomotor (Movement) Skills Walking, Running, Jumping height/distance, Skipping, Hopping, Leaping, Sidesteps, Swinging, Climbing, Crawling, Dodging, Galloping Example of locomotor movement skill: During a run, the feet are both in the air at the same time, the feet alternate moving forward during the skill. Body Control (Stability) Skills Balancing on one foot (change foot), Climbing, Rolling, Walking a straight line, Twisting, Turning, Rotating, Bending, Landing, Stopping, Stretching Example of body control stability skills: Stability skills are movements where the body remains in place but moves around its horizontal and vertical axis. With locomotor and stability skills implemented into your daily workout, your functional movement will improve. All of the above skills can be carried out in the comfort of your own home. If you're feeling weak or fatigue at any point stop, and rest. Also support your weight by holding onto the wall or using a kitchen chair as you accomplish the exercises. Being active and avoiding long periods of bed-rest is important, it can help you to recover more quickly and improve your physical and mental wellbeing. COVID-19 symptoms can sometimes persist for months. Most people will make a full recovery in days/ weeks, nonetheless not all are so lucky and they will continue to experience symptoms well after their initial recovery. The virus can damage the lungs, heart and brain, which increases the risk of long-term health problems. So when carrying out any physical training, take your time and don't rush into it, start small and it will eventually lead to bigger things. Having structure in your programme can help you move along nicely and with ease. If you're not up for training on that particular day then use it as a rest day. The main thing is you're on the correct path to recovery and implementing the basic exercises into your routine will benefit you. MAIN BODY ORGANS (LUNGS) COVID-19 has a tremendous impact on your lungs; research has shown once the lung is damaged, it can cause fluid leaking from small blood vessels within the lungs. The fluid collects in the lung's "air sacs" or "alveoli" this makes it more difficult for the lungs to transfer oxygen from the air to the blood. Exercise to improve adequately lung capacity "breathing exercise": • Diaphragmatic breathing • Simple deep breathing • «Counting» your breaths • Watching your posture • Staying hydrated • Staying active The lungs, as we all know, play an important role in keeping us strong and in good health. It's not until we experience breathing problems that we start taking notice. The truth is like the rest of our body, our lungs need looking after daily. By carrying out some basic breathing exercise, you can strengthen your lungs and make them healthier. Without sufficient oxygen, people are more prone to health problems, such as heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and respiratory illnesses. You need to challenge your lung's daily day-to-day activity. This helps you use your lungs to their full capacity; more intense activity is needed during the day/ week to help counteract the build-up of toxins and tar in the lungs, caused by environmental pollutants, allergens, dust and cigarette smoke. You need to help your lungs cleanse themselves. Why is physical activity important during Covid-19? During the COVID pandemic, so many of us are restricted in our movements. However, people of all ages and abilities need to be as active as possible. Even a short break from sitting, by doing 3-5 minutes of physical movement such as walking or stretching, will help ease muscle strain, relieve mental tension and improve blood circulation and muscle activity. Regular physical activity can also help to give routine to your day, plus be a way of staying in contact with family and friends. This pandemic is after turning the world upside down, but each person has a part to play. During this difficult time it's very important to maintain high standards in cleaning/ hygiene and most importantly, your physical and mental health. This will not only benefit you, it will also help you fight back COVID. Thank you all for giving up your time to read this; they're just my thoughts on COVID-19 and the path to recovery. I do believe implementing the stability skills into your daily workout will benefit you and soon you'll be "walking into a healthy lifestyle" - but only you can make this happen. I hope it helps and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me. Continued next month in Part 2 of Walking into a Healthy Lifestyle WALKING INTO A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

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