Healthy Super Bowl Watching Experience

Here we are: the NFL Super Bowl is here. This usually means that my couch game is in full swing, with me parked on the couch watching other people being active. However, this year will be different. I’ve developed a five-pronged approach to a healthy Super Bowl watching experience, based on increased activity, healthier snacking options and better football watching mechanics (seriously). As always, consult with your physician before trying any new exercise or eating routine.

Check out These 5 Tips for a Healthy Super Bowl Watching Experience

Points and Penalties

The first step towards a healthy Super Bowl watching experience is to be more active. I’ve decided that this year, I’ll be doing a burpee every time a team scores, or penalty yards a team receives. This means that for every touchdown, I’m doing six burpees, every false start is another five burpees, etc. I chose burpees because they’re a great full body exercise that, when done properly, offer a challenge to every major muscle group in the body. If burpees aren’t your thing, pick another exercise you like or rotate exercises with each score or penalty.

Stretch During Commercials

Look at any physical therapy guidelines for stretching, and you’ll see that the general consensus on time to hold a stretch is 30 seconds. That means that 30 second commercial break during a game is the perfect opportunity to get a few stretches in. Some of the big areas to hit would be to try our hamstring, child’s pose, hero stretch, high lunge, and chest stretches.

Check Your Sitting Posture

When you’re not doing burpees after a score or stretching during commercials, you may want to take a look at your posture. Couches aren’t ideal for keeping your spine in line, so take a minute and find your neutral spine. After a few times correcting yourself, you’ll quickly get a feel for the correct sitting position.

Check Your Tweeting Posture

If you’re like me, you may find yourself checking Twitter or Facebook between plays. If that’s the case, remember that the typical head-forward “text neck” position is horrible for your body. Take a moment and review some of our ideas to correct this.

Healthy Snacks

Finally, it’s time to discuss the breaded and deep fried elephant in the room – food. Super Bowl time can be heavy on nutrient sparse snacks and light on the higher quality food options. Whatever way you choose to eat for your health, there are some options for you to try a twist on a classic. Whether you’re vegan, paleo, low fat, or low carb, there are options for you to up the quality of your playoff smorgasbord. Also be sure that you are drinking plenty of water alongside any other beverages of choice!

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The Athletico blog is an educational resource written by Athletico employees. Athletico bloggers are licensed professionals who abide by the code of ethics outlined by their respective professional associations. The content published in blog posts represents the opinion of the individual author based on their expertise and experience. The content provided in this blog is for informational purposes only, does not constitute medical advice and should not be relied on for making personal health decisions.