Healthy Walking to Stay Fit

Walking, walking, walking... The great thing about it is that no matter what your fitness level is, most people can do it. But how can you get more out of your walking?

I get out to walk most days because I am motivated by my two little dogs who LOVE their morning jaunt around the neighborhood. I usually fit it after my other workouts, either spin class or swimming. However, if all you are doing is the walk, I recommend supercharging it to get the most out of your exercise. Adding Nordic walking sticks will allow you burn 33 percent more calories and get re-energized about your walking.


Walking with Nordic walking sticks:

• Origin: Created for cross-country skiers to train in the summer months.
  
• Equipment: Nordic walking sticks are lightweight poles that have wrist straps and pointed ends. And of course, a good pair of walking / running shoes with good support.
• How to: After donning your walking sticks (straps firmly around your wrists), with each stride swing the opposite arm forward and push against the ground with the pole, engaging the muscles in your arms, shoulders and core.
• Benefits: Since you are targeting more muscles than you would on an ordinary walk, you will burn 20 to 46 percent more calories.

Click here to learn more about the benefits of walking with Nordic walking poles.

Get out there, find your rhythm and start burning calories!

Multiple Benifits from Good Posture

Who could have guessed that there could be so many benefits from having good posture. I never wanted to look like so many older women who have the slumped forward look, but it is more than just an outward appearance to have total health and a youthful presence. Start by straightening up to stave off neck and back pain, and to boost overall health. Here are some of the benefits from having good posture:

• Better Digestion. Good posture tones your core muscles, which support your digestive organs. "if your core musculature is slack, your body stabilizes abdominal organs by packing fat around them, which heats the organs and reduces their function." says biomechanist Katy Santiago, director of the Restorative Exercise Institute in Ventura, CA
• Fewer Headaches. In a recent study, Italian researchers found that office workers who were instructed to correct the position of their heads and necks every two hours reported having 40% fewer headaches each month.
  
• Enhanced Detox. "Posture dictates how well blood and lymphatic fluid flow," Santiago says. If you have fewer kinks, your body releases toxins efficiently.
• Stronger Bones. When you are properly aligned, your bones support your mass and weight bearing keeps them strong. When you have poor posture, your muscles and connective tissue end up doing some of the supportive work.

A helpful tip for aging baby boomers to try that will help get your back and neck properly aligned is the Rhomboid crunch. This exercise will strengthen the rhomboids (the muscles that connect the shoulder blades to the spine), which corrects the tendency to round the upper spine forward. It opens the chest and promotes deeper breathing.

Rhomboid Crunch - 1. Stand up straight with your feet directly under your hips. Hold a broomstick under your buttocks with your arms straight, hands shoulder-width apart, palms facing forward, and thumbs facing out. To avoid puffing our your ribs, pull your rib cage toward your spine.

2. Slowly lift the bar as high as you can without moving your hands wider than shoulder-width apart. Don't lift your shoulders up toward your ears, concentrate on opening up your chest and bringing your shoulder blades together behind you. Hold for ten seconds, then release.

How To Get Great Work-Out In The Pool

I recently made the jump... into the pool! It has been YEARS since I last did a swim work-out, but I have been hearing about the great results people are getting from their swim routine. This also a great way for aging baby boomers to stay young increase fitness and cardiovascular health. No jarring on the bones and joints, and it can be quite a stress relief as you get into your zone. If you want an even better work-out, try the following helpful tips by Mark Schubert, head of the U.S. National Team and seven-time Olympic swimming coach.

• Keep Your Heart Rate Up - to around 80% of your maximum heart rate for as much of your work out as you can. To ensure you are staying in the "zone" stop after every 10 to 15 laps to count your pulse, using the pool clock, counting for six seconds then tack a zero onto the number. Vigorous swimming can burn up to 680 calories, based on a 150 pound woman.
• Play with Pool Toys - by incorporating kick boards, hand paddles, swim fins or those foam buoys you place between your legs. Not only will you burn more calories, but it these toys will help you tone arm and leg muscles, too.
• Change it up - by breaking up your laps into what pros call a ladder. Start with one lap, then two laps, three laps, four laps, five laps, six laps, and back down with, five laps, four laps, three laps, two laps, and finally one lap. Give yourself a rest of 15 to 30 seconds between each segment.
  
• Get Racy - Swimming fast burns calories better, but you don't have to speed through your whole workout to get the benefits. Try doing one length easy, then one length fast, two easy then two fast and so on. This is also a good way to work up your stamina.
  
• No Rest For the Weary - No more than 10% of your water time should be spent loitering in your lane. Try cutting your rests in half or limit your rest to 10 second pauses between laps or intervals.
  

Staying Fit & Having Fun - A Healthy Spin on Things!

About Three years ago I decided that jogging was going to do my knees in and it just wasn't so enjoyable for me anymore. That's when I started evaluating my choices based on my age, my location and my exercise time constraints

I live in California (I'm lucky to have decent weather most of the time), in a small town with beautiful rolling hills and lots of horse ranches and vineyards. I looked around at what people who came to visit did, (besides all the touristy things like wine tasting and eating pastries), and realized that a majority of them cycled. Turns out there are an amazing amount of great cycling routes right outside my front door.

I started my cycle fitness by taking spin classes. It may not be necessary for everyone to start this way, but it gave me the confidence to know that I had built up the stamina for staying out for an hour or two on my bike. Another way to do this, is to purchase a "trainer" for your road bike. It is a stationary device in which you place your bike and do your work out without leaving your house, garage or where ever you place your trainer and bike combo. This is also a good way to get to know your bike, how to shift the gears, where to place your hands, etc.

Now it was time to do some serious cycling, so I signed up for a few local events. I started with the 50 mile rides and worked up to the 100 miles rides. Now I am hooked! What a great way to get out, see the beautiful countryside and get invigorated.

Burn calories and boost your cardiovascular health. Biking is a low-impact way to accomplish both of these. It's an idea activity if you have lower-back or knee problems.

Before exercising, Stretch out. Do gentle movement-based stretches like arm circles and walking lunges to increase your range of motion. After your ride, when your body is sufficiently warm, switch to held stretches, like hip flexor stretch (good for hips tight from sitting at a desk).

When considering which bike to purchase...
First, decide what type of riding fits your lifestyle and agenda. For trail riding, choose a rugged mountain bike. For riding long distances on paved roads, choose a lightweight, speedy road bike. For commuting to work or running errands (a great way to burn calories while you accomplish daily tasks) consider a hybrid bike, which combines some features of mountain and road bikes.

Does your bike fit you properly?
As a general guideline, you should be able to stand over the bike, with your feet on the ground, with an inch or two of clearance between your tailbone and the top bar of the bike. The saddle should be sized to support your sit bones but not your entire rear-end.

Choose a bike based on how comfortable you feel on it, how easy it is to switch gears and whether you feel confident on it.

The Road to Aging Healthy

This is the beginning of a journey I hope will inspire all, especially those of a certain age, shall I say "baby boomers", you know who you are! I am excited at the prospect of learning as much as I am able to share. In this blog I hope to excite and enlighten those individuals who want to live a full youthful life as they aspire to age healthy and well. Staying young in body and mind is not only a dream, it is a reality if only we learn healthy habits.
Join me as we travel the road to healthy aging together. Share your stories, your battles, your triumphs with other baby boomers as we navigate the road to staying young together.

Stay tuned for Tons of Great Inspiration and Information!!

I intend to share all my tips for staying young:

• Eating healthy delicious foods
• Sharing Easy Healthy Recipes
  
• Simple Menu Plans
• Diet Plans and Helpful hhints
  
• Exercise ideas that are easy to stick with
• How to keep it all together while traveling
• Medical back-up on Why it's so important to stay healthy
• Loads of other helpful tid-bits