Be Fit 2 Sit Podcast

In episode #16 of Be Fit 2 Sit Podcast, Physio Kym Siddons talks about What to do when STUDY or WORK is a Pain in the Neck… or maybe your back or your shoulders.

With so many students busy studying, or workers trying to finish off a tonne of work before the Christmas break, many are feeling the strain in their minds and bodies.

In this episode, Kym looks at a variety of ways you can help yourself feel and function better, relieving strain, drain and pain, along with boosting your concentration and improving your posture.

Sometimes it’s counter-intuitive:

* like activating muscles instead of stretching

* or taking a break when you’ve got so much to do

* reversing your body position (even getting on the bed or floor)

… But you’re guaranteed to find a few options that will work your you and help you feel amazing!

Kym Shares a few of her favourite desk exercises, plus some ideas on ways to exercise in a targeted way.

 

She also has a free video that will help you, with her 4 fave desk exercises (different to those in the episode)

Make sure you fill in the form if you’re after this valuable resource

 

You can also watch along on youtube to see exactly what she’s doing as she records this podcast episode 🙂

Are you struggling to feel MOTIVATED?

Many of us have lots of study and work to do, yet are finding it difficult to stay motivated and focussed to put in our best effort or do our best work.

In Ep #15 of the ‘Be Fit 2 Sit Podcast’, Physio Kym Siddons explores how MOVEMENT can be the easiest, cheapest and healthiest motivating tool for us to use!

So listen in and hear about

* how movment can increase our positive outlook and mood

* how movement can increase release of important hormones to help us focus, improve memory and concentration

* How movement can increase our brainpower

* how different type of movement can produce different outcomes, depending what we’re wanting to achieve

… Take a listen below and be inspired to implement ways that you enjoy, to boost your motivation levels!

The VIDEO supporting this episode, with examples of brain boosting, motivating moves can be found on the Workstation Wellness Physio Facebook page

If you think you have ‘Bad Posture’ then be encouraged!

In episode 14 of ‘Be Fit 2 Sit Podcast’, Physio Kym Siddons celebrates World Physiotherapy Day, along with ‘Women’s Health Week’ by addressing a concern so many women ask her for help with…

‘Poor Posture’.

So Kym talks about how it’s never too late to improve your postural alignment, your spinal flexibility and strength- you you can feel confident, more capable and reduce strain in your back and neck.

Now that’s worth celebrating!

Common concerns people have about their posture are

– rounded shoulders

– a slouched back

– an increased ‘hump’ at the base of their neck

Kym chats about what does and doesn’t constitute ‘poor posture’, and inspires you in how you can make small, simple adjustments throughout your day that will make a real difference over time.

She talks you through how to position yourself in a healthy posture while you sit or stand

+ directs you to her ‘Best Desk Stretches and Exercises’ video that will instruct you in targeted stretches and exercises to improve your spinal flexibility and strength.

You can find these at www.kymsiddonsphysio.com.au

She then goes on to help you establish healthy posture habits, becoming more aware of when you’re not in a healthy posture, then repositioning yourself, and moving more regularly while you’re sitting.

Moving is FUN and benefits us in a myriad of ways!

Special guest, Dale Sidebottom from ‘Energetic Education’ and ‘Jugar Life’ shares his insights and ideas on how we can encourage ourselves, our family and community members to engage in PLAY to improve our mental and physical health.

Dale shares his journey from PE teacher to international presenter, and how he’s discovered that using play and games helps him build positive connections and relationships with students and workers quickly and autherntically, so they can engage, learn and move well.

Dale’s found that ‘Play-based mindfulness’ is a great way to take a great to bring joy and set a positive tone in your home, your workplace or classroom, to improve people’s mental and physical health.

Dale shares his tips on incorporating this philosophy into our daily routines…

* Instead of wearing ‘busyness’ as a badge of honour, set aside even a few minutes regularly to schedule in ‘playdates’ with yourself, family members, school or work mates, to take an active break from the stress and strain your daily activities…

These might be dice games, or clapping games, or moves to music- the options are endless-

and you can get lots of inspiration and free resources from Dale’s website.

Just keep a few guidelines in mind with group games- which Dale shares- so your activities are inclusive, keep people engaged and feeling safe, rather than focussing on winning and losing.

2. Give yourself, your collegues and students ‘permission to move’ in their everyday, and promote flexibility in how they position themselves while they work or learn is key.

3. Be kind to yourself in your ‘self-talk’ and just start where you’re at, even if that’s a long way from where you want to end up.

– Set small, realistic goals for yourself- with little rewards- to really help to spur yourself on as you aim to move more. Dale and Kym share some fun ideas about ‘sneaking fitness’ into your day to day life!

– Put away your devices and other distractions away and take a walk, or whatever activity suits you best, each day

Dale & Kym discuss lots of quick and easy ways to inject fun and movement into your day, whether it’s with your work team, your family or just for your own sanity, so join us in Episode #13 of the ‘Be Fit 2 Sit’ Podcast.

Make sure you follow Dale at Energetic Education here

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and connect with him on social media

Listen into Episode 12 of the Be Fit 2 Sit Podcast for quick & easy Energy boosting & strain relieving exercise breaks to keep you healthy while working & learning from home.

So many stiff, sore and sluggish bodies limped into see me in the clinic after last lockdown…

Workers and Students who had been thrust into a more sedentary lifestyle by having their daily movement restricted greatly.

More time on the couch and moving from room to room rather than out and about resulted in physical and mental health issues.

Their ranged from feeling tight and tense in areas like their back, neck and shoulders, to more chronic and complex problems like overuse injuries, debilitating headaches and weight gain.

It really does require being MORE INTENTIONAL about scheduling a little movement into our daily routine- a little more often than usual- and this episode shares more about why and how we can do so.

The key is to keep our metabolic rate up, with a minimum of 2 minutes of movement, every half hour while we’re sitting for adults.

And what about our kids? Kym shares some guidelines about making age- appropriate decisions about how often you might like to fit in mini movement breaks for youngsters.

Plus, there’s inspiration for loads of fun and easy to do at home exercise breaks for all the family members.

From action stories, to desk exercises, to dance breaks and rhythms… you’re guaranteed to find something that injects some fun into your household!

Make sure you follow @workstationwellnessphysio on facebook or Kym Siddons Physio on LinkedIn for demonstrations of fun and active brain and body breaks you can use while you work or learn at home!

You can also access my best 4 Desk exercises on the home page of the Kym Siddons Physio Website

Episode 11 of the ‘Be Fit 2 Sit Podcast’ hosts our first guest, Dr Elizabeth (Liz) Kirk.

Liz has done loads of groundbreaking research in workstation Ergonomics and is the founder of ‘Beyond Ergo’.

Physio Kym  and Liz discuss ways you can you can thrive in our screen intensive world…

In particular, how Personal Protective Behaviours- ‘PPB’s’ are just as important as PPE (personal Protective Equipment) when it comes to feeling and functioning your best at your desk, and beyond!

This applies to developing healthy and meaningful PPB’s when using screens and different workstations, so they really benefits YOU, personally!

Liz shares tips that translate ergonomic recommendations into practical tactics that we can all easily apply to situations involving screen use, as we develop our toolkit of peronal protective behaviours.

She provides great examples of tactics to implement at our desk, such as setting your monitor or laptop screen to the best height to suit your body.

We discuss some surprising problems people have faced when working or studying from home, and the personal protective behaviours that can help deal with these situations…

Along with some simple ‘tactics’ to use to help reduce strain on your body when using your phone or reading documents.

Liz also shares her favourite ‘tactic’ for reducing eye strain and dry eyes while we use screens.

There’s so much goodness in this episode, so make sure you take a listen and supercharge your PPB’s!

 

As promised, Liz has generously shared links to her FREE resources

Moving Home Checklist – https://bit.ly/3lpD6jZ

Free Mini Self-Care Workshop – https://bit.ly/2X4XSMk

You can find out more about Liz and contact her through http://beyondergo.com.au/

 

Kym also offers her ‘Best Desk Exercises to feel your best at your desk’ FREE

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In Episode 10 of ‘Be Fit 2 Sit podcast’ Physio Kym Siddons shares how you can develop healthy habits at your desk…

That will help you feel great, function at your best and achieve your health goals!

Listen in to grab ideas that will inspire you to

* Move a little more, often

* Remind yourself to keep moving

* Setup your desk to reduce strain

* Change up your posture to lessen stiffness & soreness

* Simple stretches you can do anywhere, anytime

* Targeted exercises to improve your core strength and resist gravity

… all while you’re sitting!

There’s also a FREE Video that demonstrates the 4 best exercises you can do at your desk

You can access it for free HERE

FOLLOW KYM on Social Media for more updates and ideas on feeling & functioning your best at your desk

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When I go into classrooms to talk to kids about moving more, healthy postures & desk setup I am often amazed.

Firstly, because I didn’t think kid as young as 8 & 9 years would tell me how much their neck, shoulders and backs hurt when they’re gaming or using their iphones/ ipads.

Secondly, kids astound me by how interested they are in knowing more about their bodies!

So many students enjoy the opportunity to feel the difference between a ‘hunched’ posture and ‘healthy’ postures.

They love finding fun ways to move more that resonate with what they enjoy.

… and one student’s parent even told me her son set her home office up to be ‘ergonomically friendly’ during lockdown after taking home advice from one of our ‘Be Fit 2 Sit’ classes!

In Episode 9 of the ‘Be Fit 2 Sit’ podcast I share some scary statistics about how students, globally, are suffering physically and mentally from increased time sitting.

They’re sitting at their desks, hunched over laptops more.

They’re sitting slouched over phones and tablets on their couch or bed more.

All of which doesn’t set a great foundation to be healthful, successful movers, learners and leaders in their years ahead.

Don’t be discouraged by the statistics!

It’s time to take action and encourage our students to healthy movement, posture and ergonomic habits!

Enjoy listening as physio Kym Siddons shares some ways you can join the ‘Be Fit 2 Sit’ movement as we help our next generation employ healthy habits for life.

Is your desk setup sabotaging your health?

If you’re feeling stiff and sore, tight and tense and continually lacking energy at your desk…

Listen to Episode 8 of ‘Be Fit 2 Sit’ Podcast, as Physio Kym Siddons shares insights into some aspects of your desk setup that might be stopping you feeling great while you work.

How your workstation is setup, including furniture and accessories, along with how you position yourself and move within that work environment to fulfil your work tasks, is what the term ‘Ergonomics’ is referring to.

An ‘Ergonomically friendly’ work environment is supposed to help you feel good physically, as well as encouraging great productivity and efficiency as you work.

It also helps you be far more productive and minimise the risk of work-related illness and injury…

So that work is a really positive part of your daily life!

BUT

If your desk setup isn’t quite right for your body, the tasks you do or the workflow you prefer it can be very frustrating- mentally and emotionally as well as physically.

So this episode helps you identify areas that you can easily address to feel and function your best at your desk!

Key factors of poor ergonomics that can negatively impact your health at your desk are

– not facilitating movement

– not setup for efficient movement

– repetitive (particularly static) load on your body (and mind)

– repetitive movements in poor positions

– Lacking adequate or appropriate support

Physio Kym talks through these aspects and give you some things to look out for and improve on!

You’re also invited to join Physio Kym in the FREE ‘Be Fit 2 Sit 5 Day Challenge’

It kicks off in the Be Fit 2 Sit Challenge Facebook group on May 24th

Click HERE to join us for targeted exercises and advice to help you feel great while you work

or head to https://www.facebook.com/groups/befit2sitchallenge

 

 

 

If you feel tightness or tension in your neck, shoulders or upper back at your desk, then Episode 7 of the ‘Be Fit 2 Sit’ podcast is especially for you!

Physio Kym Siddons shares some tips that help reduce soreness and stiffness in your neck, upper back and shoulders by

* easing load on our muscles and joints through better posture and positioning

* stretching in targeted ways

* switching on pain-relieving muscles

* adjusting your ergonomic setup

She dives into quick and easy posture tips

PLUS some exercises you can do at your desk, in meetings or in the car.

Join Physio Kym in a FREE 5 day ‘Be Fit 2 Sit’ challenge to find out even more ways you can feel & function your best at your desk!

Join the FREE Be Fit 2 Sit Challenge on Facebook at

https://www.facebook.com/groups/befit2sitchallenge