HOW’S YOUR FUNCTIONAL FITNESS? There are a variety of different workouts in which you can partake. Some are for strength training, some for aerobic (cardio), others for flexibility and balance like yoga & tai chi. And then there are workouts for what is called functional fitness. These exercises focus on your ability to perform everyday-life activities such as carrying groceries, getting up from the floor, walking up and down stairs, or opening heavy doors. Functional fitness exercises train your muscles to work together as in daily tasks at home or work or play. Examples of these are: A Squat, because...
TAI CHI MIGHT BE THE PERFECT SENIOR EXERCISE While traveling around China four years ago, we often came upon groups of people in public parks practicing tai chi. This was usually early in the morning and was mostly older adults who all looked like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. A couple of times I was beckoned to join in but I’ve never tried this form of exercise and, honestly, it looked difficult with all the different moves these folks were flowing through. I likened it to learning a new many-movements slow-motion dance. I’ve meant to take tai chi classes since...
CBD—SHOULD YOU TRY IT? CBD or cannabidiol has become the hottest thing on the market. I attended the Fit Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center in January and there must have been 15 booths selling CBD in one or more forms including creams, oils, tinctures, roll-ons and pills. It’s in shampoos, foot creams, hand lotions, even special mixes for pets. I ended up buying a CBD cream to see if it would soothe the hip pain I have now and again. I’ve been trying it at home and it seems to work—although there’s always the placebo effect. In fact,...
FIT IN FITNESS IN YOUR TRAVELS You just might be planning some fun trips over the next few months. Or you might be traveling for business. In either case, there’s no reason you can’t keep up on your fitness. A combination of planning ahead and determination to put in some workout or exercise time into your travels should do it. Here are some tips: Pack for Workouts Before your travels, research to see if your hotel has a fitness facility. Also, if your trip is in the US and you belong to a fitness organization like 24 Hour Fitness or...
ALMONDS — THE CLOSE-TO-PERFECT NUT Almonds are terrific! They taste great, are perfectly portable, can be used in so many ways, and are extra healthy. I buy Trader Joe’s “Just a handful of Raw Almonds” packets, which contain thirteen 1.25 oz bags. And then, every day, one-by-one I pop these crunchy and tasty nuts as my mid-morning snack. Researching almonds for this post, I found a number of things I didn’t know about them including: We call them nuts, but an almond is actually the edible seed of a drupe, a fruit in which the outer layers are usually not...
AEROBIC VS. ANAEROBIC EXERCISE Aerobic and anaerobic describe the two methods your body uses to provide energy during your workouts. I think that many of us prefer one kind of exercise over the other. I know that I’d rather jog or bike (aerobic exercise) than lift a heavy barbell (anaerobic exercise), while you may rather lift weights than head out on foot or wheels. In aerobic exercise, also called cardio exercise, your body stays in a moderate to somewhat difficult exertion zone for a sustained period of time. In this zone your body fuels activity by utilizing inhaled oxygen to...
WHOLE GRAINS—WHOLESOME YET FLAVORFUL I keep reading that we should eat three or more servings of whole grains daily as part of a healthy diet. So, I began looking into what is considered a “serving” and also what exactly is considered whole grain. Well, I found that I haven’t been eating 3 servings daily. Have you? Here are examples of just 1 serving: ½ cup cooked brown rice or other cooked grain ½ cup cooked whole-grain pasta ½ cup cooked oatmeal 1 slice whole grain bread 1 cup whole grain ready-to-eat cereal Here’s the skinny on what is considered...
HIP HIP HOORAY—TIPS FOR BANISHING HIP PAIN I’ve had pain in my hips during and after running for years but always just took it as part of the game. Yet, now I’m also waking in the morning to hip pain (in addition to my lower back pain!) and I thought it about time to find out how to get rid of it. I’ve been searching online for answers. But it seems each article or site I land on has it’s own “reason” for the pain and its own solution. So I’m distilling all this into what I can see are...
DIABETES—A CHANGE OF LIFESTYLE CAN PREVENT OR EVEN REVERSE IT Today I’ve been reading the statistics on diabetes in this country. I had no idea that it and its precondition were so darn prevalent: More than 100 million U.S. adults are now living with diabetes or prediabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in their press release in July 2017. The report found that as of 2015 more than 30 million American adults have diabetes and another 84 million have prediabetes, a condition that if not treated often leads to type 2 diabetes within 5 years....
FIGHTING ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE I’m seeing more and more news on how antibiotic resistance has become a serious public health problem. Antibiotic resistance happens when bacteria develop the ability to withstand the drugs designed to kill them. When bacteria become resistant, antibiotics cannot fight them and the bacteria multiply. Antibiotics are ultra-important to modern medicine. Think of penicillin, tetracycline and erythromycin and all the more recently discovered antibiotics. These drugs fight infections caused by bacteria in both humans and animals by killing the bacteria or making it difficult for the bacteria to grow and multiply. Bacteria are single-celled organisms found both...
