Are You Proactive or Reactive?

I meet a lot of people who have recently had a health scare and have decided to start exercising because of it. They are being Reactive.

I also talk to a lot of people who started exercising long ago because they wanted to delay or prevent health problems. They are being Proactive.

Which of these types of people do you think tend to live longer and better? My money's on the Proactive people.

Let's talk about this in the context of fall prevention. Most people only start to think about training their balance after they experience a fall. Wouldn't it be a better idea to start training your balance before you fall in order to delay or prevent that fall?

Whether you've fallen before or not, if you want to be proactive with your balance, start doing exercises for balance today to give yourself the best chance of preventing more falls.

2 Exercises for Better Balance

Recent research out of Portugal revealed that training two key muscle groups helped seniors improve their scores in balance tests.

The study involved exercising these muscles 3 times per week for 5 minutes.

I made a video that will show you how to train those muscle groups that you can view by clicking below:

Lower Leg Strength for Seniors Video

Watch it. Try it.

Top 3 Diet Tips

There's so much information out there about what to eat, how much to eat, and when to eat it, it's easy to get lost in the mix. Every month there's a new diet book on the shelves.

A lot of this information is just the same old stuff recycled and repackaged again to sell some books. Come up with a new variation of a diet rule that everyone knows works, give it a gimmicky title, and put some skinny people on the cover and watch the money roll in.

If you've been thinking about dieting, let me just save you the time and tell you the top 3 healthy eating tips. They're simple and effective.

1. Eat less.

2. Eat better food.

3. Spread the calories you eat more evenly throughout the day.

If you decrease your intake by about 10%, eat higher quality food (fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, fiber, protein, etc.), and distribute your calories more evenly, you'll can make a big difference.

To get more details on the 3 steps, read the full healthy eating article here.

The Basics of Fitness

I've just posted a few new articles that cover the basics of the four main areas of fitness:

Cardio - Exercises for the heart

Strength - Exercises for the muscles

Flexibility - Stretching to keep you limber

Balance - To help prevent falls

You can click on any of the links above to get the basics. For each area you'll learn:

Why to do it.

What it is.

How often to do it.

How much to do.

Hard difficult to make it.

If you're not currently doing something for cardio, strength, flexibility, and balance, check out these short articles and get started today!

Why You're Getting Stronger

When starting a strength training program, many people notice that it seems like they are getting stronger very quickly. Most people assume this is because their muscles are getting bigger.

There are three other mechanisms at work that are more likely to be responsible for perceived strength gains:

1. You started too easy at first because you were being safe. Then the following week you remembered it was too easy and decided to use a heavier weight.

2. Your brain is recruiting more muscle fibers to do the job. It only activates enough fibers to do the job, so as you use more weight, your brain just uses more fibers.

3. You are getting better at the movement. Your brain learns how to best do the exercise as you do it more.

Because of these three things, it may seem like you're getting stronger every week for the first month or so of strength training. Just realize that this isn't going to last very long.

You won't be able to increase your weights at that pace forever. If that were true, anyone who had been strength training for a couple years would be using 80 pound dumbbells.

To learn more about these mechanisms and learn how to tell if you're using too much weight, read the full Getting Stronger article here.

Great Athletic Achievements by People Over 55

Society and the media like to portray older adults as weak, grumpy, and always complaining about the weather or arthritis.

If you get bombarded with these images on TV for long enough, pretty soon you start to expect that that's what you will become as you get older.

But that doesn't have to be the case. You can be strong and full of life and energy at any age. To prove my point, I put together a Hall of Fame of great athletic achievements by people over 55.

Check out the Hall of Fame here

Seeing what others have accomplished will open your mind up to better possibilities. If they can do these amazing things, why can't you?

Wow! I'm Getting Stronger! Why?

Many people find that in the first month or two of strength training, they make great gains in their strength. This isn't because your muscles are getting huge, though.

A lot of it is just your brain figuring out (learning) how to do the exercise better. It's learning which muscles to activate and which muscles to relax in order to accomplish the task more effeciently.

As you do something more, you get better at it. It's not unusual for a person to add weight to their exercises every time they work out in the first month.

The problem is that sometimes this breeds a false confidence. Eventually, you won't be able to increase your weights any longer at that pace. If you could, they everyone who had been strength training for a while would be using 100 pound dumbbells.

If you want to learn more about why you get stronger, and make sure you're not using too much weight, read the full article here => Weight Training - Why You're Getting Stronger.

Are Treadmills Better Than Just Walking?

I often get asked if walking on a treadmill is any better than just walking outside or on a track. I've just put up a 3-part article series called "Treadmill vs. Walking" on the website. It compares using a treadmill versus walking outside or on a track in three areas:

1. Body mechanics

2. Quantification of workout parameters

3. Balance

Whether you're using a treadmill or just walking outside, it worth a look. Read the article here.

Fitness for Seniors - 5 Common Mistakes

I've just posted a special report that you can read here: Fitness for Seniors

It covers the five most common fitness mistakes that I see seniors making. Those mistakes are:

1. No Variety
   
2. Inconsistency
   
3. Not doing balancing exercises
   
4. Using the wrong weight
   
5. Starting too late
   

This 6-page report will show why these mistakes can keep you from reaching your full potential. Then it gives you some ideas about how to fix things. Give it a read!

Three Pillars of Fitness

I've talked before about the four areas of fitness you need to be addressing - cardio, strength, balance, and flexibility. Here's three factors that should be incorporated so that you get the most out of your fitness program:

Variety - You should not be doing the exact same program day in day out for months or years on end. You might be overworking a certain muscle or using a certain joint to much in one movement pattern. You can add variety by trying new exercises every month or so. You can also change the reps, sets, time, weights, order, or rest periods.

Example: Your cardiovascular program at your health club consists of 1/2 hour on the treadmill three times per week. How about you do the treadmill one day, the bike on day, and walk some laps in the pool a third day?

Progression - After you do an exercise for a while, your body adapts to it. Then what? To see continued improvement you need to progress the exercise, or make it harder. This could be adding more time, more weight, more reps, more speed, etc.

Example: You always ride the bike at level 3 at around 70 rpms. Try doing level 4 for a couple minutes, then go back down to level 3 for a couple minutes, then back up to level 4 again. Systematically increase the time you spend on level 4.

Consistency - This is the most important one in my book. You can have the greatest program in the world, but if you only do it once a week, or you skip a month here and there when you get busy, you'll never see any real results. On the other hand, even a rudimentary program can produce positive results if you are consistent with it.

Example: You occasionally do exercises to improve balance when you think of it. Try to take a more structured approach and do balancing exercises on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, or whatever days suit you best. Once you make a plan of what you're going to do on what days, it's much easier to be consistent.

How do you rate? Do you need more variety? Are you progressing your program? Are you consistent? Take the suggestions above and make some changes if needed.

You're Never Too Old!

Today at the fitness center I was talking to a member when an old friend of his walked up. They hadn't seen each other in a while, and one said, "You're still working out!"

The other man answered, "I'm too old to quit exercising!" 

That phrase just about knocked me over due to the power of it's hidden wisdom. So many people think just the opposite of that. They think that once they reach a certain age, exercise is a lost cause. Certainly exercise can't help them at their age, they think.

Wrong!

Exercise can help at any age. In fact, I would even say that the older you get, the more important exercise is. As you get older and the activity of daily life decreases, it becomes necessary to schedule regimented movement (we call that exercise).

The same can be said for balance. The older you get, the less you use your balance. But that disuse allows your sense of balance to deteriorate. That is why it's so important to do exercises to improve balance after age 60.

Then when you're doing your balance exercises and someone asks you why you do them, just tell them you're too old not to.

Calculate How Much Water You Need Each Day

One of the foundations to good health is getting the right amount of water.  Here's a simple formula we use to determine how much water you need each day:

1 - Take your bodyweight.

2 - Divide it by 2. That's how many ounces of water you need each day.

3 - Divide that number by 8 to find out how many 8-ounce glasses of water you need each day.

Example: If you weigh 180 pounds, that's 90 ounces of water a day, about 11 8-ounce glasses.

So calculate your number and drink up!

Click here for more senior fitness tips.

Top 10 Healthy New Years Resolutions

Well 2008 is just about over. That means it's time to make your annual New Years Resolutions.

With that in mind, I put together a Top 10 List of things you can do to make 2009 a little healthier.

Here it is:

1. Exercise your heart 4 or 5 times a week for at least 20 minutes.

2. Strength train 2 or 3 times per week with machines, dumbbells, or bands.

3. Do balance exercises at least 4 days per week.  Click here to learn more.

4. Stretch at least 4 days per week for 5-10 minutes.

5. Breathe 5 or 10 slow breaths each day.

6. Eat a little dark chocolate every day.

7. Eat more healthy fats like nuts, avocados, and olive oil.

8. Add more vegetables and fruits to your diet.

9. Learn new things on a regular basis to keep your brain in shape.

10. Be optimistic.

For more details, check out the full Top 10 article here.

Have a happy and healthy 2009!

A Great New Way to Exercise at Home

If you don't go to a health club regularly, one of the best things you can do is buy an exercise video that you can follow along with at home.  The problem with most senior exercise videos is that most were made many years ago by somewhat unqualified people.

But there's a new series of videos I found called Take 5 to Exercise. I checked out the instructor's credentials, and she is definately highly qualified.

The idea behind these videos is that you have five days and you do certain kinds of exercises on each day.

Day 1 - Flexibility

Day 2 - Strength

Day 3 - Posture

Day 4 - Strength

Day 5 - Maintenance

This five-day plan looks like a great idea to me, and all of the exercises are done in a chair so they're very safe. To watch preview clips or to order, go to www.seniorexercisevideos.net

Give it a try!

Have a Healthy Thanksgiving

Between family, turkey, and football, Thanksgiving is always a fun day.  But I would bet the average person eats twice as many calories on Thanksgiving as they do on a normal day.

Here's some tips to help you eat healthier this Thanksgiving:

1. Don't have seconds. It's OK to have a big plate of turkey, potatoes, and other stuff(ing).  But it's the 2nd and 3rd plate that you should avoid.

2. Easy on the gravy. You don't have to drown your food in gravy just to make it taste good.  You can get all the taste you need by thinly spreading a little over your food. 

3. Choose a smart drink. Water is best. If you're going to eat 1000 calories, why drink another couple hundred?

4. One piece of dessert! I know there may be a couple things to choose from, but that doesn' t mean you should have one of each.

My final advice is to not judge the quality of your meal based on the amount of food you eat, which is what most people do. Instead, focus on the kind of food.  

Turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, etc. That should be what defines Thanksgiving for you. It's a day where you eat certain foods that you may not eat the rest of the year, foods that have been eaten on this day for many years. But please do not define Thanksgiving as the day where you eat as much as possible. Have a good one.

How to Control Your Eating

I had an idea the other day about how to control your eating when you're at a restaurant.

The problem with restaurants is that they give you way too much food.  So you say to yourself, "I'm only going to eat this much."  Then you get to that point and you stop eating.  Nice job.

But wait.  Five minutes later that food is still sitting in front of you.  So you take a nibble.  And another nibble.

Then the person you're dining with asks if you want to taste their food.  Sure!

Or someone you're with doesn't finish their food and you help them finish it.  Can't let if go to waste, right?

All the sudden you've eaten 200 calories more than you wanted to.  How can we prevent this?

Try this out.  Bring some gum with you and place a stick of gum next to your plate when your meal comes. Decide how much of that food you should eat.  After you finish that much food, immediately put the gum in your mouth.

Now you can't nibble anymore.  No more french fries.   No more samples from someone else's plate.  This way you can leave the restaurant without feeling stuffed.

Are you going to give this a try or what?  It may sound ridiculous, but a lot of these little diet tips do sound ridiculous until you try them and they work.

Avocados and Guacamole

Avocados get a bad rap because they are quite fatty, but that fat is actually the good kind. They're also a good source of potassium, folate, and antioxidants.

Maybe you should try to eat one per week. You can cut up avocados and put them in a salad or use them in guacamole.

Here's my simple guacamole recipe:

1 Avocado
1 small plum tomato (or any tomato)
Corn chips

Scoop out the avocado, put it in a bowl, and mash it. Dice the tomato and stir it in with the avocado. Shake some garlic salt and add a spritz of lime juice and it's ready to eat! Makes a hearty snack for two.

Don't be surprised if you feel quite full after eating some guacamole. Fat is known for producing a feeling of satiety. It's pretty much a small meal more than a snack. I like to eat it as a meal on a day where I'm not that hungry or if I had a big lunch earlier.

Senior Strength Training Tip

Here's a common strength training mistake I see a lot of people making. Let's say you're lifting weights, and you're doing a set of 15 reps, and you find it's too easy, what do you do next time?

A). Increase the weight.

B). Increase the reps.

Let's go over choice A. Let's say you increase the reps and do 20 reps. But eventually that's too easy.

Now what. 30 reps? If you continue on this road, you might be doing 50 reps or more in a couple months.

I actually see this a lot. People tell me they're doing 3 sets of 50!

If you're doing that many reps, you probably aren't even using your strength muscle fibers, you're using your endurance fibers.

But you already work your endurance fibers plenty when you're doing your cardiovascular exercise (you are doing cardio, right?).

Your strength fibers will only be used if the weight is heavy enough that the brain thinks they're needed. If you're using a weight that you can do 30 reps with, it will be too light to recruit your strength fibers.

The solution, of course, is to go with choice A - increase the weight. You should be doing sets of 20 or less reps if possible. Choose a weight that fatigues the muscle by the time you get to 20 reps.

Three Reasons to Eat Dark Chocolate

If you're not already eating dark chocolate on a regular basis, you're missing out. Here's three reasons you should start today:

1. Dark chocolate is packed with antioxidants that can help prevent heart disease, Alzheimer's, and arthritis.

2. It improves your mood because it contains serotonin and stimulates endorphin (your body's natural pain killer) release.

3. You can use it as a substitute for junk food. Instead of a candy bar or a cookie, have a few squares of dark chocolate. It tastes good, but it's low in sugar.

Try Ghirardelli Twilight Delight, which is delicious.

To learn more about dark chocolate click here.

Senior Exercise Video

Check out this senior exercise video.  It talks about 4 major components of senior exercise - cardiovascular training, strength training, balance training, and flexibility.  It also covers the basic parameters for each aspect, like how often and how much.