Men’s Mental Wellness - Staying Active
The majority of Canadian men do not get the recommended amount of weekly exercise. Getting 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity can be difficult to achieve, especially when stresses from life, work, or school become overwhelming.
Physical activity has many benefits, such as reducing blood pressure, improving cholesterol levels, and improving body weight control. Physical activity also helps improve mental health, as studies have shown that not only does exercise immediately improve general mood, but it also has long-term improvements including reduced depression and anxiety rates, improved self-worth, and improved discipline levels.
Fortunately, even small increases to activity levels can greatly improve your health, even if the recommended amount is not achieved. Gratitude can help with achieving this, as people who participate in gratitude practices have been demonstrated to have improved quality of sleep and reduced stress levels, which in turn can make living a healthier lifestyle much easier – including getting more exercise.
Change does not need to be a big leap – even just small steps can start the path towards great improvements. Even just 15 minutes a day of moderate intensity exercise has been shown to increase life expectancy by three years and reduce all causes of death overall by 14%.
General Benefits of Physical Activity:
• Stronger muscles and bones
• improved energy levels
• Improves posture and balance
• Boosts confidence and self-esteem
• Improves sleep
• Great way to socialize with your friends
This week’s gratitude goal is designed to help you get active! We encourage you to take a break from studying or using electronic screens and do some exercise. This can be anything that you enjoy -- or can tolerate! -- such as going for a short walk or doing some easy to perform exercises at home. We have included some ideas that you could use to get started!
1. The 90/90 Stretch:
Start in a seated position on the ground with your legs fully extended in front of you.
Next, bend your left knee to bring your left calf in towards your pelvis. Your left ankle should be aligned with your right hip; your left thigh should be straight in front of you; and your left calf should be parallel to you, forming a 90 degree angle.
Next, lean onto your left glute and externally rotate your right thigh away from the midline of your body.
Next, bend your right knee to bring the left calf and thigh into a 90 degree bend behind you. You should feel this stretch throughout your hip joint and hamstrings, as well as your lower back.
Try your best to relax and breathe into the areas you feel most resistance. With a straight back, you can lean forward towards your left calf, to deepen the stretch.
Repeat, switching which leg is in front and behind.
2. The Seated Pigeon Stretch
Start in a seated position on the ground.
Lift and bend your right leg to bring your right ankle over your left knee.
With a straight back, bend your left leg so that your left foot lays flat on the ground and slide your left foot towards you. Your right ankle should remain on your left knee. Make sure to keep your right toes flexed to protect your knee.
Keeping a straight back, hinge at your hip to lean forward towards the right leg, or you can opt to slide the left foot closer towards your buttock.
Switch legs and repeat the steps.
You should feel a stretch in your hamstrings and in your hip rotators, as well as your lower/mid back. You may also opt to do this seated pigeon stretch from a chair
3. Full Pigeon Pose
Start on your hands and knees.
Bring your right leg between your hands and place it in front of your body with a slight bend in the knee. Your right leg does not need to be at 90 degrees exactly, but as close to 90o as you can get it. The key here is to ensure your right buttock stays in contact with the ground. If you cannot keep your right leg at a 90 degree angle without your right glute staying on the ground, increase the angle of your leg – this is more than okay!
Using your hands for support, straighten your left leg directly behind you, and with a straight back lean into the right leg as you try to keep the hips even. You should feel a stretch in your hamstrings and in your hip rotators, as well as your lower/mid back.
4. High Knees
Start with your feet hip-width apart. Then begin jogging on the spot.
As you start to jog, lift your left leg and bring it up to your chest. Switch legs.. Alternate these movements at a running or sprinting pace.
This is a great cardio-intensive exercise which engages your core and just gets your heart rate high.
5. Planks
Start with your hands planted on the floor and place your hands directly under your shoulders (shoulder-width apart), like a push-up.
With your toes grounded into the floor, lift your body off the floor and engage your core.
Be careful to not lock or hyperextend your knees, and make sure your head is in line with your back.
6. Push-ups
Start by laying with your face, palms and toes facing down. Your palms should be placed by your shoulders with your elbows tucked in.
Keep your legs and back straight. Begin by engaging your core, which will help maintain a neutral spine.
Then extend with your arms straight to push the body up and back down again. *keep shoulders down and away from the ears*.
Hip mobility is particularly important—there are 27 muscles that cross the hip joint! When we experience tightness within the hip, our body is forced to compensate elsewhere in the body, and these compensations can lead to injury. Men in general can experience severe tightness throughout their hips, which can lead to back pain, sports-related groin pain, osteoarthritis, and femoroacetabular impingement (a condition where the hip joint alters its structure due to stress, which can lead to further issues and/or injury).
Good mobility often requires regular practice! Make stretching a part of your daily schedule to increase mobility, improve overall function, and reduce your risk of injury so that you can enjoy doing what makes you happy.
The Importance of Hip Mobility
If you have time, try this 12-minute follow along hip mobility flow for guys!
This week’s journal activity is to reflect on this week’s act of doing some physical activity. What exercise did you choose? How did it make you feel? And do you feel that this could become a routine in your life?
Whether you have been following along since the start, or if this is your first post, we thank you for your participation. We hope that you were able to learn more the issues that men face, what we can do, and the benefits of gratitude!
Here are some sources that helped the UBCO Nursing team put this blog post together:
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/corporate/publications/chief-public-health-officer-
reports-state-public-health-canada/2016-health-status-canadians/page-13-what-influencing-
Health-physical-activity.html
https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/49753.html
https://www.csep.ca/CMFiles/Guidelines/CSEP_PAGuidelines_adults_en.pdf
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/is_gratitude_good_for_your_health
https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/physical-activity/health-benefits
https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/exercise-15-minutes-a-day-ups-lifespan-by-3-years
https://www.csep.ca/CMFiles/Guidelines/CSEP_PAGuidelines_adults_en.pdf
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389
https://www.heartandstroke.ca/healthy-living/stay-active/benefits-of-physical-activity
https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier