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Is It Aging Or What We Do While Getting Older?

By Johanna Leave a Comment

Aging Fitness

For years both experts and lay-people believed that fractures, bone and muscle loss, osteoarthritis and weakness, typically observed in seniors, were simply the result of aging.

However, with the help of research, this belief is changing.

Studies of senior athletes and “super-agers” show, when there is focus on fitness and nutrition the typical age-related conditions move to the background.  Additionally, more active seniors seem to enjoy a significant boost in health and wellness through their golden years.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise, should it?

All throughout life, we benefit from physical activity. Regular exercise benefits bone density, ligament, and tendon function; it builds lean muscle mass and sustains cartilage health.

So why would it be any different when we’re getting older?

While you can’t turn back the hands of time, there is a lot you can do to age better and with more success.

As we age, eventually we will experience some decline in function. Most of us first notice that we become less flexible. A decrease in flexibility also means that our balance won’t be as good as it once was.

When you get older and don’t exercise regularly, you’ll experience a more rapid decline in muscle mass; your ligaments and tendons lose elasticity, and your bones become weaker.

Typically all of the above leads to compromised flexibility and balance. That’s why it’s so important to keep exercising and to stay active.

The name of the game is “Use it or Lose it!” It’s that simple.

Let me share a BBC video clip with you, featuring Irene Obera. Without a doubt, she is in great shape; probably better than many younger than herself.

If she can do it, so can you and I!

So, are you inspired to get back in shape?

Great… As you’re finding the best exercises for yourself, here are two types you want to include.

Balance And Resistance Training

Safety is an important consideration, particularly as we’re getting older. When it comes to exercising or working out, your objective is to move better with fewer restrictions and have more confidence. This means you need to include exercises with this goal in mind.

A good approach is to work on moves that are similar to daily life, but, add an element of balance to them. You need to do activities every day, such as tie your shoes, put your pants on, place cans in a cupboard overhead and reach down to pick up your grandchild. Think about that when working out, but do moves on one foot.

Here is an example:

  • Hold a dumbbell in your right hand and lift your right foot off the floor.
  • Bend forward at the hips and bend your left knee slightly as you lower the weight toward your left foot.
  • Pick it up as you stand back up to a straightened position and press the weight overhead until your arm is fully extended.
  • Repeat the entire drill for a series of reps and switch sides.

You just worked a high percentage of muscle while also targeting your balance. !

Another thing you could do is simply standing on one foot several times a day while doing normal activities like brushing your teeth, cooking and talking on the phone.  This alone will improve your balance, but when you add load, it will work twofold because of the added resistance. 

Flexibility Exercises

Flexibility is another ballgame altogether. The balance training helps to a certain degree, but you’ll be better off working directly on flexibility.

And that isn’t that complicated. Ideally, you’ll do a combination of dynamic and static stretches.

Dynamic stretches are performed in motion.  They will serve you well before weight training workouts because they get your connective tissue in tune with movement patterns.

Include stretches like

  • arm circles
  • arm crossovers
  • spinal rotations
  • alternating toe touches
  • leg swings and
  • knee bends

Static stretches are performed by moving a limb to an endpoint range of motion and holding it there for an extended period. These stretches are better left for the end of a weight training workout.

An example would be a quad stretch where you grab your ankle and pull your heel up toward your butt as far as you can and hold.  Aim for at least 20 seconds with each stretch, but the longer, the better.

Alternatively, you could sign up for a Yoga class or buy a Yoga DVD and start working out at home. When doing Yoga, you can expect to get all of your major muscles stretched well.

The most important factor with flexibility and balance training is never to do anything that is going to cause you pain or discomfort.  Only work to your threshold of limitations, and you will not go wrong.

In summary, whatever exercise you decide to do doesn’t matter; you could even start by walking just a few minutes each day. The important thing is to get started and to keep moving.

So, pull out your sneakers and let’s get going!

 

Filed Under: Wiser Body Tagged With: aging, fitness, health

Tap Into Acupuncture To Cool Down Hot Flashes And Night Sweats

By Johanna

Acupuncture for MenopauseIf you’ve been putting up with annoying hot flashes and night sweats going through menopause, here’s something you may want to consider… Acupuncture.

A recent study tells us about the potential benefits of acupuncture for menopausal women. They’re finding acupuncture reduces hot flashes and night sweats.

Is this something new? Not at all… it’s just that alternate forms of medicine are getting a well-deserved, second look today.

Before I tell you more about the results of the study, [Read more…]

Filed Under: Wiser Body Tagged With: Acupuncture, Hot Flashes, Menopause, Night Sweats

Older Women and HIV

By Barbara

Womens-SymbolThis article may be graphic to some of our readers; however this topic demands full understanding.

HIV infections are on the rise. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of Americans over 50 who are infected with HIV have grown over 5 times (16,300 people in 1995, to 90,600 in 2003).

While seniors represent about 14% of people with HIV, senior women represent 18%. The numbers of women with infections are even higher for American women of color, and come in at a staggering 47% when looking at world HIV infection rates. That means that just under half of all HIV infections are found in women worldwide.

Knowledge of Transmission found to be poor!

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Wiser Body Tagged With: HIV

46 Reason To Stop Smoking Today

By Johanna

health signSomeone you know, perhaps even you, needs to quit smoking.

Here are 46 good reasons to quit today! – (Original Source www.4women.gov)

  1. 1 year after quitting smoking: you reduce your risk for heart disease by 50 percent.
  2. 10 years after quitting smoking: your risk for dying from lung cancer is about half that of a continuing smoker’s; and your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas also decrease.
  3. 15 years after quitting smoking: your risk of heart disease is now the same as someone who has never smoked.
  4. 2 weeks to 3 months after quitting smoking: you have better circulation and your lung function increases up to 30 percent.
  5. 20 minutes after quitting smoking: your blood pressure drops to a level close to that before your last cigarette. The temperature of your hands and feet increases, returning to normal.
  6. 24 hours after quitting smoking: your chances of having a heart attack decrease.
  7. 5-15 years after quitting smoking: your risk of having a stroke is the same as someone who has never smoked.
    8 hours after quitting smoking: the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
  8. A one pack-a-day smoker, who pays at least $3 per pack, can expect to save more than $1,000 per year. The cost of cigarettes only continues to rise, making the financial rewards of quitting even better.
  9. If all pregnant women quit smoking, about 4,000 new babies would not die every year.
  10. When you quit smoking, you help prevent your children from smoking.
  11. In the long term, quitting smoking reduces your risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and lung diseases like emphysema or bronchitis.
  12. In the short term, quitting smoking reduces respiratory problems, dental problems, nervousness and depression, and a tendency toward health-damaging behavior.
  13. Mothers who quit smoking during pregnancy, then start smoking again once their babies are born, increase their children’s chances of developing asthma and raises the risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
  14. People who quit, no matter what their age, live longer than people who continue to smoke.
  15. Quitting smoking reduces your risk for heart disease.
  16. Quitting smoking now is one of the most powerful steps you can take to improve your overall health. Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.
  17. Quitting smoking cleanses your body of harmful substances. More than 4,000 individual compounds have been identified in tobacco and tobacco smoke. Among these are about 60 compounds that cause cancer.
  18. Quitting smoking could lower the amount of cholesterol in your blood.
  19. Quitting smoking during pregnancy lowers the risk of birth defects to your unborn child.
  20. Quitting smoking during pregnancy lowers the risk of having a stillborn baby, a baby born too early or prematurely, or an infant with low birth weight.
  21. Quitting smoking during pregnancy reduces health risks for your unborn child.
  22. Smoking during and after pregnancy has been linked to asthma among infants and young children.
  23. Quitting smoking gets rid of your dependence on a very powerful substance. Did you know that nicotine is as addictive as heroin or cocaine?
  24. Quitting smoking helps protect the health of your baby during pregnancy; Quitting smoking helps protect your baby when you’re breastfeeding.
  25. Women who smoke and breast feed their babies can expose their infants to harmful chemicals from tobacco.
  26. Women smokers who use birth control pills have a higher risk of heart attack and stroke than nonsmokers who use birth control pills.
  27. Women who smoke generally experience menopause (stopping of menstrual periods) earlier.
  28. Quitting smoking may increase your level of self-confidence when doing physical activities.
  29. Quitting smoking protects your heart. Women who smoke are 2 to 6 times more likely to suffer a heart attack, and the risk increases with the number of cigarettes you smoke each day.
  30. Smoking and breastfeeding do not mix. Heavy smoking can reduce a mother’s milk supply and can cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea in her baby.
  31. Quitting smoking reduces wrinkles and yellow spots on your fingers, and gives you a better sense of taste and smell.
  32. Quitting smoking reduces your risk for developing cancer of the cervix.
  33. Quitting smoking reduces your risk for infertility (not being able to get pregnant), pregnancy problems, earlier onset of menopause, and osteoporosis (thinning and weakening of bones).
  34. Quitting smoking substantially decreases the risk of lung, laryngeal, esophageal, oral, pancreatic, bladder, and cervical cancers.
  35. Smokers who quit before age 50 have half the risk of dying in the next 15 years compared to those who continue to smoke.
  36. Tobacco use by pregnant women has been linked with increased risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and mental retardation; secondhand smoke worsens the health of children with asthma.
  37. When you quit smoking, you stop hurting those around you. The secondhand smoke from your cigarettes can make your family and friends have more colds and asthma attacks. It can also put them at risk for heart and lung diseases, and even lung cancer.
  38. When you stop smoking you have fresher and better smelling clothes, hair, and breath.
  39. When you stop smoking, you improve your chances for a longer and healthier life.
  40. When you stop smoking, you save a lot of money that can be spent on more important things for yourself and your loved ones.
  41. When you stop smoking, things will taste and smell better.
  42. When you stop smoking, you’ll spend less time, energy, and money cleaning your curtains, walls, windows, and mirrors.
  43. When you stop smoking, your pets will be happier. Did you know that secondhand smoke increases the risk of lung cancer in dogs?
  44. When your home is smoke-free, it will smell much better.
  45. 1 to 9 months after quitting smoking: coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue, and shortness of breath decrease and your lungs start to function better, lowering your risk of lung infections.
  46. Immediately after quitting smoking: you never again have to deal with the hassle of leaving your workplace, someone’s home, your own home, a restaurant, or other places to smoke.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Wiser Body Tagged With: Stop Smoking

Struggling With Belly Fat?

By Johanna

scale_wrapped-smallFrustrated because you’re putting on your bathing suit and see belly fat around your middle? Do you see a lumpy, bumpy silhouette when trying on a new dress? Or worse yet, do you see something resembling a spare tire around your abdomen?

Are you frustrated with your body putting on the extra pounds? If you’ve been there, if you know what I’m talking about, you just may be ready to lose your belly fat!

Ask yourself why you want to lose the fat around your abdomen? After all, don’t all or most older women have some degree of belly fat?

Do you simply want to lose fat around your middle so you feel great wearing that new bathing suit this summer, your clothes will fit better once again or so you can stay healthy?

If you’ve been wondering how to lose some fat around your midline, it’s time to take the next step; it’s time to take action.

Start with gathering information so you can craft a plan of attack.

Needless to say, there are a variety of sources out there: books, the internet and weight loss centers all ready to help you in the battle. And of course there are the first hand experiences from friends and family members you might find helpful in finding the approach that’s right for you.

Go over all the information you have found and decide which approach will work best for you. Set a goal for yourself including how much you would like to lose in pounds or inches, how you will do it, and by what date you will accomplish your goal.

And this one is important, write down your goal. Remember the saying: “A goal not written is just a wish”?

Write your goal out clearly! Include the steps you will take and the date/dates by when your goal will be accomplished.

When you have all the information you need, it’s time to put your plan into action. This might just be the hardest part of losing the inches around your middle.

You’ll need to arrange your life so that you can begin losing weight! Chances are you need to do the following:

  1. Adjust what you eat, how you eat and when you eat
  2. Make sure you have specific foods in your pantry
  3.  Avoid the foods you know trigger fat accumulation
  4. Have your “Plan B” ready before going out to eat
  5. Arrange your schedule so you can get enough sleep, because it will help you losing the weight and
  6. Remove as much stress as possible so you’re not tempted to “stress eat’

Losing weight in general is not an easy task for most of us and tends to be more difficult for us women over 50. Losing belly fat can be even more challenging (but can be done…). Put the odds of success in you favor by planning ahead.

When you have identified what changes you’ll need to make to lose the fat, stick to your plan until you reach your goals.

Don’t get discouraged if things take a bit longer… stick to the plan! As a matter of fact, plan on getting derailed a few times while on course to lose abdominal fat.

Once you have reached your goal, you have a critical decision to make – maintaining your success.

This part of your plan will allow you to continue keeping your body in good shape after you’ve lost the fat around your waistline. Decide to stick with the new habits that allowed you to shed the extra inches.

After all, if you go back to your old habits, fat will find its way back to your middle in no time at all.

Filed Under: Wiser Body Tagged With: Weight

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