Improve your walking gait with Kris Tynan

The Clam is favorite exercise of physios and Pilates instructors for a very good reason.

Buttock and hip muscles can become a little lazy and the way you walk and run can reveal all!

A classic ‘hip hitch’ gait develops to compensate for the hip muscles, particularly the gluteus medius not activating properly. This hip hitch can cause issues in both walking and running.

The Clam will strengthen your gluteus medius so give it a go.

How to do the clam

♦ Lie on your side with your legs bent at 45 degrees. (pic 1)

♦ Ensure your shoulders, hips and ankles are all in a straight line. It is okay to stretch your lower arm out and lie right down if it is not comfortable on your elbow.

♦ Keeping your feet together, float your top knee up towards the ceiling. (pic 2)

♦ Make sure your hips stay stacked over each other. Don’t allow the upper hip to drop backwards.
After 10-20 repetitions you should feel your buttock muscles have been taxed.

Repeat with your other hip.

Do this each day for a week and note the difference.

Lifestyle tip from Kris Tynan

Magnificent Veggies

How many servings of vegetables did you have yesterday?
No not fruit AND vegetables. Just vegetables.

Your dear old mother was right when she nagged you to eat your broccoli and beans. They are high in vitamins, minerals, fibre and phytochemicals.

Bottom line is that we should be eating a lot more than we do. Ideally a minimum of 5 servings a day is recommended but that is just a MINIMUM – more is better – the Japanese guidelines are 17!

Do they have to be fresh?

Do frozen or canned veggies hold their nutritional value just as well? Straight out of the garden is the optimum but it may surprise you to know that because there can be very little time between harvesting and processing, frozen or canned veggies are just as valuable nutritionally as those that have been in transit or on a supermarket shelf for a while.

So stock up on frozen or canned food too. So much more convenient and less wasteful.