RESISTANCE BANDS —THE GO ANYWHERE FITNESS TOOL I keep a resistance band slung over a hook in my bedroom closet. Two or three times a week I grab it down and use it in my strength training exercises. It’s perfect for performing a seated row, lat pulldown or a side leg lift. Resistance bands come in a couple of types. I use the strong but lightweight tubular band kind with two handles. The other choice is a large flat loop without hand grips that looks like a giant rubber band. Both types offer tensions anywhere from 15 pounds to 200...
EASE INTO GETTING IN SHAPE Let’s say it’s been “forever” since you exercised. And now you want to get back into it again. It’s never too late to start a workout program. But before you begin, consult with your doctor. Your heart and joint health may influence what types of exercises are safe for you. For most older adults, probably the best way to ease into getting in shape is through regular walking followed by a minimum amount of strength training. Walking For the walking portion, here are excerpts from the Mayo Clinic Staff in their online article Get walking...
YOU CAN BUILD MUSCLE AT ANY AGE You’ve probably discovered that it’s not as easy to build up muscle as an older adult as it was when you were young. However, whether you’re woman or man, keeping up and even increasing your muscle mass is still essential for healthy living. That’s because less muscle means greater weakness and less mobility, both of which may increase your risk of falls. If you want to successfully build muscle, it’s crucial to focus on one particular kind of exercise—strength training. And it’s also important to get plenty of protein in your diet. The...
STRENGTH TRAINING MADE EASY Often enough, you’ve heard that us older adults need to engage ourselves in both aerobic (cardio) activities and strength (resistance) training workouts. For me the aerobic activities such as walking, jogging, biking, and swimming are more fun and I look forward to doing at least one of these every day. Strength training, on the other hand, is more of a challenge and I have to make myself perform a dose of these exercises a couple of times a week. On that note, I began looking around for a simple at-home routine that most of us could...
STRENGTH TRAINING—GROWING STRONG & LOOKING GOOD I’m certain you know that as us seniors put on the years, we need both aerobic (cardio) activity and strength training. With aerobic exercise you breathe faster and deeper and your heart beats at a higher rate. The better your aerobic fitness, the more efficiently your heart, lungs and blood vessels transport oxygen throughout your body. Aerobic activities include walking, running, jogging, biking, dancing, swimming (and other aqua exercises). It’s recommended we get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week. Strength training is the...
BODYPUMP STRENGTH TRAINING Even though I was either running, biking or swimming daily I knew, as a senior, that I also needed regular strength training for muscle power, coordination and balance. In the past I’d used machines at gyms to increase strength but found them rather boring. Then, a couple of months ago, I began attending BodyPump™ classes at the Ventura YMCA. The 60-minute classes are performed to music using free weights, barbells and aerobic steps. The focus is towards muscle endurance by moving comparatively light weights and high repetition movements. It’s fast moving, with some 800 total reps...
