Just because we’re locked down, it doesn’t mean you have to let your fitness go by the wayside. Vitruvian Health shares a two-step core workout that you can do from the comfort of your own home using just a resistance band!
Life
Use it or rapidly lose it: how to keep up strength training in lockdown
If you’re among the millions in lockdown, ask yourself: when was the last time you did some strength training?
Many of us are regularly going for walks or runs during lockdown but, with gyms closed in a lot of places it’s more difficult to lift weights, and we may neglect bodyweight exercises like push-ups.
Unfortunately, when it comes to muscle mass, it’s a case of use it or rapidly lose it.
Short- and long-term consequences
Research shows periods of muscle disuse can lead to staggeringly rapid and significant loss of muscle mass, even in young people.
Beyond the obvious decline in strength and function, loss of lean muscle mass can affect metabolism, increase type 2 diabetes and obesity risk and weaken your bones. In older people, it’s associated with cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, cognitive impairment, depression, falls and fractures.
That’s why it’s so crucial to keep up your strength training and maintain muscle mass, even in lockdown. The good news is there is plenty of strength training exercises you can do at home, even without special equipment.
Try as best you can to match your usual strength training routine during this time or, if you don’t have one, begin building it into your day.
Young people are not immune to muscle mass loss
Many think of muscle mass loss as a problem that mostly affects older people, but even people in their early 20s can experience rapid muscle loss under certain conditions.
One study of men in their early 20s found just one week of strict bed rest resulted in an average loss of around 1.4kg in whole-body lean mass.
Another study, involving young people who had one leg immobilised by knee brace, observed muscle size decreased in the immobilised legs by approximately 5% over two weeks. Strength decreased by 10-20%.
Clearly, lockdowns do not enforce the same degree of muscle disuse as bed rest or immobilisation.
Nonetheless, in studies where people decreased their usual physical activity levels, it took just two weeks or so for worrying changes in lean mass, insulin sensitivity and function to show up.
Decline can happen in fits and starts
People in my field of research talk a lot about “sarcopenia”: the age-related loss of muscle mass and function that begins in your 30s and can accelerate as you age.
Traditionally, we’ve thought of sarcopenia as occurring in a largely linear fashion.
However, a newer idea suggests this decline may not be so linear after all. Perhaps it happens in fits and starts, where acute episodes of sedentary behaviour (often due to illness or hospitalisation) result in repeated short but severe declines in muscle mass. Researchers call this a “catabolic crisis model”.
According to this idea, muscle mass recovers at the end of each acute episode, but never quite returns to its initial quantity. Over time, an accumulation of episodes results in substantial muscle loss and severely compromised physical function.
Of course, some people may be exercising more than usual during lockdown. That’s great! But sedentary behaviour can easily creep in. One study of people under lockdown found increases in walking and moderate physical activity were only around 10 minutes per day, whereas sedentary behaviour increased by around 75 minutes per day.
And of 64 studies exploring changes in activity related to COVID-19 lockdowns, most observed decreases in physical activity and increases in sedentary behaviour.
Anything you can do to find ways to maintain activity and reduce sedentary time during lockdowns is likely to limit or prevent significant muscle loss.
How to build and maintain muscle at home
Resistance training is unequivocally the best way to build and strengthen muscle. This is any type of exercise that causes your muscles to contract against an external resistance.
The classic example of resistance training is using a weights machine but there are plenty of resistance exercises you can do at home with little or no equipment, including:
- “equipment-free” strengthening exercises such as push-ups, planks, triceps dips, lunges, squats, calf raises and sit-ups
- exercises using dumbbells or resistance bands if you’ve got them. If you don’t, try lifting bricks, full milk bottles, or any heavy household item
- functional “power” exercises like climbing a flight of stairs as quickly (and safely) as you can or seeing how many times you can get up and sit down in a chair in 30 seconds. Try deadlifts with a heavy item, or pushing a loaded wheelbarrow outside.
Aim for at least 30 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous activity. Brisk walking, jogging, cycling or swimming is great. However, at least two days a week you should be doing resistance exercises to build and maintain muscle mass.
If time is an issue, try splitting your exercise into short 5-10 minute “snacks” across the day. This “exercise snacking” is a great way to break up long periods of sedentary time during lockdown.
Try to integrate resistance exercises into your daily chores. If you need something from a lower drawer, for example, don’t bend down to get it — do a squat. Do some single-legged squats and calf raises while washing up.
Need a video for guidance? This one and this one are pretty good for younger and fitter people. If you’re older, or just getting into fitness, try this one or this one.
Start ‘banking’ muscle early in life
Through regular exercise, children, adolescents and young adults can accumulate and maintain higher amounts of muscle mass. In doing so, they can likely avoid significant loss of independence in older age.
Just like superannuation, we need to start making “muscle deposits” early and often throughout life.
David Scott, Associate Professor (Research) and NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow, Deakin University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
You’re only human – support during COVID-19
“People who aren’t healthcare workers don’t understand what we’ve been through.” – a nurse
Nurses, midwives and AINs have shared their experiences about working within the COVID-19 pandemic in new posters and videos aimed at encouraging others to develop a self-care plan and seek support with Nurse Midwife Support.
“25 of the staff and almost all of the residents contracted COVID. It’s been very hard, very stressful.” – an assistant in nursing
The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association has partnered with Nurse Midwife Support in the ‘I’m only human’ campaign.
The message to nurses, midwives and personal care workers is that while you’ve been doing an amazing job working within COVID-19, you’re only human. The stress of working and living within a health pandemic has been ongoing for months – and long-term stress can have serious impacts on our physical and mental health.
Seeking out support and developing a care plan with Nurse Midwife Support before you hit crisis point is a practical approach to living and working within a health pandemic.
“It’s taking even more from us than usual. Not only are we coping with our own lives at home but trying to give 100% at work. It’s a difficult time.” – a midwife
Nurse Midwife Support is available to nurses, midwives, nursing and midwifery students, and personal care workers working in residential aged care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The service offers free, independent and confidential support and counselling. Nurse Midwife Support is staffed mainly by mental health nurses, and midwives with additional qualifications in counselling.
You can contact Nurse Midwife Support through their website, or by calling 1800 667 877.
How to stay fit and active at home during the coronavirus self-isolation
The extensive social distancing policies put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19 mean most people will have to spend much, if not all, their time at home.
Self-isolation means far fewer opportunities to be physically active if you are used to walking or cycling for transportation and doing leisure time sports.
But equally worryingly, the home environment also offers abundant opportunity to be sedentary (sitting or reclining).
While self-isolation measures are necessary, our bodies and minds still need exercise to function well, prevent weight gain and keep the spirits up during these challenging times.
Exercise can help keep our immune system become strong, less susceptible to infections and their most severe consequences, and better able to recover from them.
Even before the restrictive conditions were announced, physical inactivity cost 5.3 million lives a year globally.
So we should consider ways to limit the effects of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, as well as its wider impact of contributing to the long-term chronic disease crisis.
How much physical activity?
Global recommendations are for all adults to accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week, as well as muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days a week.
Any activity is better than none, and more activity provides more physical and mental health benefits.
As several countries are already under lockdown, it is uncertain for how long you can go outside for a walk, run or cycle. The key question is how can people meet these guidelines when restricted to the home environment?
Sitting, standing and movement
Take regular breaks from continuous sitting in front of your computer, tablet, or smartphone every 20 to 30 minutes.
For example, you could take a few minutes break to walk around the house, take some fresh air on the balcony, in the garden or yard, or play with your dog for a few moments.
Alternate periods of standing while working/studying with sitting by creating your own stand-up desk area.
Make stairs your best friend
Using the stairs is an extremely time-efficient way to maintain fitness. As little as three 20-second fast stair climbs a day can improve fitness in only six weeks.
If you live in an apartment, avoid uncomfortable lift encounters with other self-isolating neighbours by using the staircase for any necessary outdoor journeys. Take care to avoid much contact with handrails.
Internal stairs also offer more stairclimbing and strength exercise opportunities.
Use your own bodyweight
A 2017 British study found home based strength exercises that utilise your own bodyweight – such as press-ups, sit-ups and planks – are as important for health as aerobic exercise.
There are many great resources for such indoor bodyweight exercises for people of all ages online.
Aim for at least a couple of own bodyweight sessions per week, with each session involving two to four sets of eight to 15 repetitions of each strength-promoting exercise. Make sure you take a two to three minutes rest between sets.
Dance the COVID-19 blues away!
An increasing number of live concerts are streamed online. Use the stress-releasing magic of music and dance at home like nobody’s watching (which is not unlikely).
Dancing is an excellent way to protect the heart and maintain fitness as it can reach moderate and vigorous intensity and can even imitate high-intensity interval training.
Dancing also has established mental health benefits to help us cope with the coronavirus-imposed solitude.
Whether it’s electronic beats, rock or traditional Irish music that floats your boat, it will not be difficult to turn up the volume of your stereo a little higher and turn your lounge or kitchen into a little dance hall every now and again.
Give them the play time they’ve always wanted
Social-distancing is a good opportunity to bond more with the little two and four legged members of your family through active play. Both children and dogs will love you replacing some of your online media and sitting time with playing in and around the house with them.
Dogs thrive on human attention and, given the opportunity, they would keep you on your feet 24/7. Take advantage of the extra time you will be in and around the house. There are many great indoor games to keep you active and improve your dog’s well-being.
No matter how young or how old your children are, there are many fun activities you can do together indoors and in the garden.
Just do something!
Left unattended, the self-isolation imposed by COVID-19 will likely skyrocket sedentary time and will drastically reduce the physical activity levels for many. Our suggestions are only a few examples of ideas that need no special equipment and can be done within limited space.
For more ideas take a look at the online resources of reputable organisations such as the World Health Organisation, the American College of Sports Medicine, Sport England and the American Heart Association.
The end goal during self-isolation is to prevent long term physical and mental health damage by sitting less, moving as often as possible, and aiming to maintain fitness by huffing and puffing a few times a day.
Emmanuel Stamatakis, Professor of Physical Activity, Lifestyle, and Population Health, University of Sydney; Andrew Murray, Consultant, Sports and Exercise Medicine, University of Edinburgh; Fiona Bull, Professor, School of Human Sciences, The University of Western Australia, and Kate Edwards, Associate Professor, Sydney School of Health Sciences, University of Sydney
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Tax time tips for nurses and midwives
Tax time can be a tricky time for nurses and midwives, especially when figuring out what you can and cannot claim as a tax deduction. Here’s a quick guide specifically for you.
Allowances
Include all allowances shown on your income statement or payment summary as income in your tax return.
You may receive an allowance to:
- compensate you for an aspect of your work, for example, carrying out unpleasant or dangerous tasks
- help you to pay for certain expenses such as meals when you travel for work.
If your employer pays you:
- an amount based on an estimate of what you might spend, such as paying cents per kilometre if you use your car for work, then it’s an allowance
- for the actual amount of the expense (either before or after you incur the expense), such as paying for the petrol you use if you use your car for work, it’s a reimbursement.
Allowances on your income statement or payment summary
You may receive allowances:
- for work that may be unpleasant, special or dangerous
- in recognition of holding special skills, such as a first-aid certificate
- to compensate for industry peculiarities, such as for weekend or holiday shifts.
These payments don’t cover you for expenses you might incur. Include these allowances as income in your tax return.
If you receive an allowance from your employer, you aren’t always entitled to a deduction – it depends on the situation. See Deductions.
Allowances not on your income statement or payment summary
Your employer may not include some allowances on your income statement or payment summary. This can apply to travel allowances and overtime meal allowances paid under an industrial law, award or agreement. You can see these allowances on your payslips.
If the allowance isn’t on your income statement or payment summary, and you:
- spent the whole amount on deductible expenses, you
- don’t include it as income in your tax return
- can’t claim any deductions for these expenses
- spent more than your allowance, you
- include the allowance as income in your tax return
- can claim a deduction for your expense, if you’re eligible – see Deductions.
Work-related expenses
To claim a deduction for work-related expenses:
- you must have spent the money yourself and weren’t reimbursed
- it must be directly related to earning your income
- you must have a record to prove it.
You can use the ATO app myDeductions tool to keep track of your expenses and receipts throughout the year.
You can only claim the work-related part of expenses. You can’t claim a deduction for any part of the expense that relates to personal use.
Professional Expenses
You can claim a deduction for the work-related portion of the following expenses, as long as they relate to your employment:
- Union and professional association fees. This includes your membership fees to the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association;
- Annual practicing certificate fees;
- Calculators;
- Agency commissions and agency fees;
- Technical or professional publications, including a subscription to the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Journal.
Car expenses
You can claim a deduction when you:
- drive between separate jobs on the same day – for example, travelling from your job as a carer to a second job as a musician
- drive to and from an alternate workplace for the same employer on the same day – for example, driving from your usual clinic to another clinic to work for the same employer.
You generally can’t claim the cost of trips between home and work, even if you live a long way from your usual workplace or have to work outside normal business hours – for example, public holiday shifts.
In limited circumstances you can claim the cost of trips between home and work, where you were required to carry bulky tools or equipment for work and you met all of the following conditions:
- the tools or equipment were essential for you to perform your employment duties and you didn’t carry them merely as a matter of choice
- the tools or equipment were bulky – meaning that because of their size and weight they were awkward to transport and could only be transported conveniently by the use of a motor vehicle
- there was no secure storage for the items at the workplace.
If you claim car expenses, you need to keep a logbook to determine the work-related percentage, or be able to demonstrate to the ATO a reasonable calculation if you use the cents per kilometre method to claim.
Phone and internet expenses
You can claim phone and internet usage if your employer needs you to use your personal devices for work.
You can only claim the work-related portion of the use of your personal device.
Clothing expenses
You can claim a deduction for the cost of buying, hiring, mending or cleaning certain uniforms that are unique and distinctive to your job, or protective clothing, for example, non-slip nursing shoes or support stockings, that your employer requires you to wear.
You can’t claim a deduction for the cost of buying or cleaning plain clothing worn at work, even if your employer tells you to wear it, and even if you only wear it for work, for example, black pants and a white shirt.
Self-education expenses
You can claim a deduction for self-education expenses if your course relates directly to your current job (e.g. a wound care course).
You cannot claim a deduction if your study is only related in a general way or is designed to help you get a new job (e.g. the cost of a Bachelor of Nursing if you are currently an enrolled nurse).
NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association members can find free and affordable education courses here. These are all tax deductible.
Other expenses
As long as the expense relates to your employment, you can claim a deduction for the work-related portion of the cost of:
- calculators
- union and professional association fees
- agency commissions and agency fees, and annual practising certificate fees
- technical or professional publications.
Working from home
Nurses and midwives who have worked from home can claim a deduction of 80 cents for each hour worked from home for the period between:
- 1 March 2020 to 30 June 2020 in your 2019–20 tax return
- 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021 in your 2020–21 tax return.
If you:
- were working from home to fulfil your employment duties and not just carrying out minimal tasks such as occasionally checking emails or taking calls
- incurred additional running expenses as a result of working from home.
The shortcut method doesn’t require you to have a dedicated work area, such as a private study.
The shortcut method covers all additional deductible running expenses, including:
- electricity for lighting, cooling or heating and running electronic items used for work (for example, your computer), and gas heating expenses
- the decline in value and repair of capital items, such as home office furniture and furnishings including capital items that cost less than $300
- cleaning expenses
- your phone costs, including the decline in value of the handset
- your internet costs
- computer consumables, such as printer ink and stationery
- the decline in value of a computer, laptop or similar device.
You don’t have to incur all these expenses to use the shortcut method, but you must have incurred additional running expenses in some of these categories when working from home.
If you use this method, you can’t claim any other expenses for working from home for that period.
When you are calculating the number of hours you worked from home, you need to exclude any time you took a break from working.
You can calculate your working from home deduction using the shortcut method, with this formula:
- total number of hours worked from home from 1 March 2020 to 30 June 2020 × 80 cents (for the 2019–20 income year)
- total number of hours worked from home from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021 × 80 cents (for the 2020–21 income year).
If you use the shortcut method to claim a deduction, include the amount at the other work-related expenses question in your tax return and include ‘COVID-hourly rate’ as the description.
This is a general summary only. For more information, go to ato.gov.au/occupations
Resources:
- Nurses and midwives poster – This downloadable poster provides helpful information and a summary on which expenses nurses and midwives can and cannot claim at tax time.
- Health workers Toolkit – This toolkit contains practical and tailored information and tips to help anyone in the health care industry including doctors, nurses, carers and cleaners to understand what they can and can’t claim in their tax return.
How to start setting good habits
Karl from Vitruvian Health shares what he thinks is the best way to start setting good habits.
Setting a habit can be as easy as 1, 2, 3.
It’s just about working out what the 1,2,3 means. The way we look at it is: what is the one thing you can do today to have a domino effect on other areas of your life? For example, feeling tired could be a symptom of dehydration. Drink an extra litre of water for the next three days and see what happens! This could give you more energy to do more tasks at home or work – wherever you need!
Understand that whatever point you’re at now is a great place to start. In order to begin setting habits, you need to accept your state, but also analyse it fully. It’s important to understand that if we want to improve in whichever area of our lives, the most efficient, and easiest way to do so is by introducing new habits into our everyday life.
But how?
Start by asking yourself the question ‘What can I start doing today that contributes to reaching my goal in a certain period of time?’. This, more often than not, leads you to the right answer. One of the most common reasons for failure is the unreasonable need of over doing everything at once, as it leads to getting overwhelmed and then giving up. It’s all about the little steps taken consistently and therefore turned into our new habits.
When it comes to setting a habit, you need to understand that the process is very much so ‘trial and error’. Just because you were unable to stick with one habit, doesn’t mean you’ve failed! It most likely means you’ve over-complicated your changes, asking yourself to alter too many aspects of your life at once. It’s important to note, you can change your habit journey at any point of time, just make sure it works for you.
At Vitruvian Health, we do weekly reflections with our team via our check-in forms, to help one another with keeping ourselves accountable. This is translatable to your own team, or even on your own.
The question you should always ask yourself is, ‘How does introducing these small changes into my life work for me?’. An example we give to many of our clients is drinking 2-3L of water each day. This small change is not difficult to implement, but has serious benefits to the mood and wellbeing of the client.
If the client is able to stick with this goal, we advise them to keep doing it and slowly add another change (such as incorporating protein into each meal). If it didn’t, we find out why, simplify the goal and start implementing again.
At the end, hopefully you will learn more things about your body functions than previously to help you understand which habits serve you well and which don’t.
This article was provided by Vitruvian Health.