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Why you might wee when you are running or exercising?

Most women, at some point in their lives have experienced urine leakage while running, but never talk about it and more often than not, this is due to weaker bladder muscles. Exercising should be enjoyable and not uncomfortable and there are a number of things you can do to effectively manage and in many cases improve the problem.

 

 

  • Before you run make sure you have gone to the toilet.
  • If you are running a long-distance check that there is a toilet stop on your route as you may need to drink more in order to stay hydrated which may result in the need to use the toilet more frequently.
  • Try using an incontinence pad. Many of the continence pads available today are slim and discreet.
  • Squeeze your pelvic floor muscles when running to minimise leakage.

If you are experiencing bladder weakness when you either run or undertake other forms of exercise, you might like to try a sample of Always Discreet. You can get hold of your FREE sample here

It is estimated that between three to six million people in England experience urinary incontinence. Urinary continence is the passing of urine unintentionally. There are several types of urinary incontinence – you can find out more about them here.

Urinary continence arises for a number of reasons; pregnancy can cause temporary or longer term continence problems and women of menopausal age often experience bladder weakness. Urinary incontinence is a common problem that many people face and you should not feel in any way embarrassed to talk to anyone about your symptoms.

How to improve your Pelvic floor muscles

You may also like to consider doing some pelvic floor exercises which can help. The pelvic floor is made up of layers of muscles and ligaments that move from the pubic bone to the coccyx, side to side. Strong pelvic muscles support the bladder, womb and bowel. To strengthen the muscles, regular exercise is advised to support and improve bladder control and urine leakage. The more you exercise the stronger your pelvic floor muscles will be.

Here are some exercises for you to try:

Exercise 1

  1. Slowly tighten your pelvic floor, lifting the muscles in and out.
  2. Continue lifting up through your pelvis and into your tummy.
  3. Hold it for five seconds, then release gently.
  4. Slowly increase the length of the hold, then release slowly at the end.

 Exercise 2

  1. Tighten and lift your pelvic floor in one quick contraction, squeezing the muscles in and out.
  2. Take a pause for 10 seconds and breathe slowly.
  3. Relax fully at the end.
  4. Repeat as many times as you like with the same speed.

Remember to breathe slowly and gently when doing pelvic floor exercises!

There are also many types of products that can help to improve your Pelvic floor muscles such as Pelvic floor toners like Kegel8 and The PelvicToner.

On the talkhealth site there is lots of practical information on our talkbladder hub and the talkwomenshealth hub.  You can also become a member which enables you to talk to others in the patient discussion forums and talk to our clinic experts, and much more. Joining talkhealth is completely FREE!

If you are at all concerned about any aspects of incontinence, you are advised to talk with your doctor who will be able to discuss other treatment options with you if necessary.

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Tips for exercising safely in the sun

Don’t use the sun as an excuse not to exercise but use these handy tips to ensure you stay healthy.

1)      Keep hydrated – make sure you have a water bottle with you and take sips during your session and drink a tall glass when you have finished your workout.

2)      If you are outside then think about wearing a light, breathable running cap. Also sunscreen is a must (don’t forget the ears!), we’re working on our health, not a tan!

3)      Wear light, loose fitting clothing in a breathable clothing–like cotton or specialty exercise clothing which will allow your body to sweat and for that sweat to be evaporated in the air.  Try to find should also be light-colored clPhoto of sunny beachothing because the lighter the clothing, the less the sun will beat down and trap the heat, adding unnecessary warmth to your already hot workout.

4)      Try and avoid exercising between 10am and 3pm, if you are a lunchtime exerciser then try and find shaded paths and parks to keep out of the sun.

5)      Perform your workout at a lower intensity than usually, It takes time for your body to adjust to changes in temperature, specifically to heat–it needs to lower your heart rate and body temperature when outside, and it takes a week or two to do so (not that we get a week or two of this weather in a row in the UK! )

6)      Most importantly, listen to your body. Stop immediately if you’re feeling dizzy, faint or nauseous.  Think about finding an exercise buddy so you can keep an eye on each other.

The post Tips for exercising safely in the sun appeared first on Whole Life Fitness.

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Do you feel to old to start exercising?

According to the findings of a study from the University of Dundee, published in the journal Age and Ageing, the most powerful ‘deterrent’ among the over-65s is a lack of interest, and disbelief that exercise can enhance and/or lengthen life. Yet one study on 90-year-old women in a nursing home found that 12 weeks of strength training took the equivalent of 20 years off their thigh muscle age, resulting in improved walking and mobility.
The message about physical activity isn’t working.

“Regular physical activity is vital for healthy aging. It can help delay, prevent, or manage many costly chronic diseases faced by adults 50 years or older. Physical activity can also reduce the risk of premature death”

People know the message and don’t believe it or don’t think it applies to them.

Sports England are providing a £10 million pot of funding to help older adults (55+) to get active
“Opened the first phase of our Inactivity Fund, which will focus on projects that help older adults (55+) to get active. We will be making up to £10 million of National Lottery funding available. We’re targeting older adults first because our insight tells us this age group is much more likely to be inactive: 42 per cent of people aged 55+ are inactive compared to 29 per cent of the population as a whole.”

They are encouraging innovative ideas, anything ANYTHING to get people moving more.

I have to confess innovative isn’t really my area of expertise, I see myself as a sort of middle of the road plodder rather than out of the box thinker but it started me wondering what could get the older demographic moving.

Firstly it’s hard to picture yourself doing something if you don’t see any representation of yourself out there doing that thing. Most physical activity advertising shows very happy, polished people who are never, ever sweating or actually looking like the are exerting themselves. Every hair in place and lovely clothing. (see images on this very blog!)  There might be a few genetically blessed people who do look like that, but it’s not the majority. This is me post exercise.
post exercise
And Womens Health haven’t to my knowledge (but would LOVE to be corrected) ever shown a 80 year old lady using a resistance band whilst seated on the front cover…

And it’s not just being represented it’s also about knowing what is available. Leisure centres are very good at publicising months free membership and the fashionable activities they offer (hot yoga anyone?) but how about the activities they offer for those people with health conditions or impairments? Instead of saying 50+ classes how about calling them beginner, or gentle or slow. Emphasise it will be inclusive to all. 50+ doesn’t mean anything, I know 50 yrs olds who can run marathons and 21 yr olds who get out of breath walking up stairs but a lot of non-exercises lack the confidence to start, let them know the class will be tailored for them so taking away the fear.

Giving grants to companies to install showers and changing facilities at work in exchange for them allowing employees time to exercise in the day. (healthy employees means less sick days before anyone starts getting disgruntled by this.)

How about making all changing cubicles actually big enough for a person to change in. Providing shower stalls that have hand rails for those who need assistance (and whilst they are there putting a towel hook in a space which means the towel won’t get wet!!)

Physical activity needs to be accessible. I know the argument that you can pull on a pair of shoes and go for a walk or a run by just stepping outside your door but some people don’t like running or walking and if they don’t like doing something (or don’t like doing something alone) they are probably not going to make it a long term habit.

Of course it’s not feasible to build leisure centres in every village in the UK (but I do believe we should ensure every leisure centre built in the UK now has a pool) but how about providing transport for those in the rural areas? Or provide grants to village halls to get fitness classes started up for beginners?

More (free) respite care available so adults who are also carers can have the time to do some physical activity knowing that the person they look after is being looked after safely. Free or heavily subsidised creches available for parents who want to exercise but have small children.

I think we need to concentrate our resources on the people who want to exercise. Make it easy for them. If someone doesn’t want to exercise there is little we can do about it. However maybe we can do something about people who do want to but can’t for a reason we can provide a solution to.

Hopefully some one out there is having truly innovative ideas that will get people who don’t want to exercise moving but until then how about we start with some basics for the ones who do?

What stops you from moving more? What would you like to see improve?

The post Do you feel to old to start exercising? appeared first on Whole Life Fitness.

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