Energising Exercises

'Work In' Exercises

Welcome to our 'Work In' Exercises which are designed to help energise your body. Before you get into the videos, please read the important information below.

Consult your doctor before you exercise

Even though you are on The Fresh Start Program, it is still essential to consult your doctor before starting the exercise component of the program to ensure that you are mindful of your current health and any restrictions that are relevant to you. If there are any unanticipated changes to your physical condition at any time, you should immediately seek medical attention. This program is not intended to replace personal instruction or professional medical advice and we are neither responsible nor liable for any harm or injury resulting from this program or the use of the exercises described in it.  

Swap 'Working Out' for 'Working In'

It’s is essential to make sure that we get adequate movement in our daily lives but it’s equally important to make sure that we get the right kind of movement. Movement is a form of stress on the body. If your body is already drained of energy and under a lot of stress from many different sources for example from existing health conditions, lack of sleep, poor nutrition, high work loads, challenging relationships and financial stress then adding in vigorous exercise into the mix will more often than not only add to your overall stress. A workout can literally work resources right out from your body – so a visit to the gym for an intense session may be doing you more harm than good. Put simply, the more stress that you are under, the more dangerous working out intensely is for you! 

If the idea of working out makes you tired just thinking about it then you are getting an important message from your body and you should listen to this. When your body sends you a message telling you not to work out, it really is probably at the same time sending you a request to work in! Work in exercises reduce stress levels rather than raising them and help you rest and recover. These lower intensity exercises help your body pump nutrients more efficiently around the body and are designed to counter all the effects of living an inactive, stressful lifestyle. 

Work in exercises are exercises that are at an intensity that allows you to breathe normally when performing that exercise. Work in exercises should help you digest food. So if you did the exercises straight after eating then you would feel better because the combination of low stress movement and breathing with a relaxed mind actually stimulates digestion and elimination as well as lowering stress hormones and raising repair hormones. Work in exercises should also relax your mind. They should never be so complicated that you need to think as you exercise. Your brain needs rest just like your muscles and you want your whole body to enjoy the work in experience. 

Examples of Working in:

• Slow walking in a relaxed manner for 20-30 minutes each day will really really benefit you and you can build this up to an hour or more.
• Easy bike riding, easy swimming or water exercise can have a very similar effect to slow walking.
• Stretching is another great form of working-in. Stretching is a great way to balance the body and improve posture while at the same time raising your energy levels.
• Tai Chi, Qigong and Yoga.
• Pilates, the Alexander Technique and Feldenkrais.
• Gardening.

Finally, we’ve put together some simple exercises that you can do at home that are also designed to energise you and you can see these below. A daily commitment to 20-30 minutes of working-in will have a huge impact on your health, energy levels and mood and you’ll even start looking younger! When your body feels good, you have few symptoms of stress, you have a natural desire to go to the next level and most importantly if you don’t have any health issues then you can progress to working out. That doesn’t mean that you should abandon working in altogether though. Working-in exercise are designed to help you rest and recover so they are a valuable addition to any exercise program and you should balance working out with working in to help you avoid fatigue, pain and injury.