Brain fitness

Older people who maintain their mental acuity tend to be both physically healthy and physically active. They are usually socially connected and they tend to be engaged in stimulating or intellectually challenging activities.

I heard that cardio exercise for six months will buy you 15 to 20 % improvement in memory, decision making ability and attention and I strongly believe that.

I believe that regular physical activity improves brain function, both by increasing blood flow to the brain and stimulating the production of hormones and nerve growth factors in building nerve connections.

Exercise also pays a role in countering diseases like Type 2 diabetes, which increases the risk of dementia.

Stimulation through interesting work, continuing education, reading, traveling, taking up new language or learning to play a musical instrument is also very beneficial.

Exercise or any intesive physical activity has also effect on decreasing stress, anxiety, depression and helps with improving memory and decision-making.

Try to maintain flexible attitude and be willing to try new things. And if you are older, you have to expect that things will shift over time and won’t be the same as when you were young. Those who manage to roll with punches, and enjoy change rather than fighting it, tend to do well.

Here are some examples of physical activities to learn, that have big stimulating effect on your brain:

• play table tennis - ping-pong
• play tennis
• jump rope - forward, backward, on left and right leg
• learn how to juggle with 3 balls - takes about 1 month to learn this
• if you are swimmer, try backstroke
• brush your teeth with left hand
• learn to roller blade, skate
• play games like volleyball, soccer, basketball, or any kind of new fun challenging game

You will get great cardiovascular exercise with most of these activities, plus you will stimulate your brain to build new nerve connections to make your brain perform better.

Posted in Active lifestyle | No Comments »

Stress reduction through fitness

If you have a lot of problems, you are stressed and you need a break, you should focus on fitness. Intensive circuit training where you incorporate various exercises targeting all muscle groups will free you from stress. Cardio workout outside like running, biking, kayaking will make you happy again too.

Workouts that make you breathe harder help ease anxiety and tension long after you’ve finished your workout. This also applies to environment. Being outside in the nature, where trees or water is around, makes you relax faster.

Regular cardio and strength exercise, deactivates symptoms of stress by helping lower your resting heart rate and blood pressure. It downshifts your brain into low-anxiety gear.

Being active helps reduce stress, so when you feel anxious or stressed, get out for a quick run or walk and you will feel better. Guarantied!

Posted in Active lifestyle | No Comments »

Osteoporosis, who develops it?

Not everyone develops osteoporosis. The following factors influence how likely it is that you will develop osteoporosis:

• Bone mass falls on average approximately 5 % every five years after age 65

• Women are more likely to develop osteoporosis than men, because their bone loss begins earlier and menopause brings on a period of rapid bone loss

• Small-bone, thin women tend to have lover bone density

• Personal and family history of fractures after the age of 50; especially mothers of women

• Caucasian and Asian women are more likely to develop osteoporosis

• Women who are past menopause

• Lack of calcium in your diet - as well as conditions that may interfere with calcium absorption from the intestines

• Inactivity; when bones are at rest, formation stops

• Smokers tend to loose bone faster than nonsmokers

Posted in Osteoporosis | No Comments »

Muscle health is vital to overall well-being

Healthy muscles are those that have been worked, stressed and pushed to their limit so that they have enough power and strength to get you through life, especially as you grow older.

Why does muscle matter? Muscle is the absolute centerpiece for being healthy, vital, and independent as we grow older. It keeps us strong and mobile. It tugs on bone to help bone stay strong. It burns more calories. Muscle and lean body mass are the metabolic engine in you body. More muscle means that your metabolic rate goes up, which makes it easier to stay lean.

Your muscles don’t have to be big, they just need to be fit. Some people have genetic inability to build muscles. Women can’t build muscles, due to low levels of hormones that men have. Healthy muscles are those that are worked, stressed and pushed to their limits so that they are strong and fit.

Here are some facts about muscles, strength training and their importance for overall health:

• Starting in their late 30s or early 40s, most people lose about a quarter pound of muscle every year. Beside aging process, much of these is caused by physical inactivity.

• Building muscle means lower blood sugar, which means less chance to develop type 2 diabetes. When muscles aren’t used, their cells become resistant to the insulin. If your muscle cells are resistant to insulin, you have a higher risk of heart disease.

• Doctors say, that even if you already have diabetes, strength training which brings muscle gain and body fat loss will improve your blood sugar control and will lover your blood pressure.

• Strength training lowers the risk of osteoporosis. Each year after menopause, a woman typically loses one percent of her bone mass. Over time, the bone loss can lead to osteoporosis, when bones are so porous that they can easily break.

• More muscle/strong muscle also mean better prevention against bone fractures because of better bone density. The odds are high that 70-year old woman will break her hip if she lives to 90. Depending on the age of the person, many will need care and many will die within year.

• More muscle/strong muscle means independence, less falls. The frail elderly aren’t strong enough to do instrumental activities of daily living like grocery shopping, walking up and down the stairs. That’s why strength training is so important for them.

• Strength training helps people regain their confidence which also helps fight depression. they become more active because they’re stronger and feel more energetic. Depression is common in older people, and disproportionately affects older people and especially older women.

• With strength training, people sleep better, they sleep deeper, they sleep longer, and they have fewer awakenings.

• Muscle strength reduces arthritis pain. It works with both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Many people with moderate to severe arthritis have weak muscles. It’s very important to keep muscles around the joint strong and in balance. When the muscles are stronger and in balance, they absorb more shock coming from walking, and other daily life activities.

• Strength training reduces risk of heart disease.

• People who do strength training look better. Weight control becomes easier because their metabolism is better. With strength training people get firmness that they love.

• Strength training curbs back pain. Many people sit at their desks all day, than they have weak abdominal and lower back muscles, short hamstrings, which are risk factors for lower-back pain. Strengthening those muscles will reduce the pain.

• Having fit muscles turns back the clock. At any age, if you’re exercising you’re going to be like a younger person who has not been exercising that much.

If you don’t work your muscles, they will atrophy. Older people often fall, because they are too weak, their muscles are week and therefore their balance is bad, and they have trouble with climbing stairs and opening jars because their muscles have lost so much strength.

There are 3 aspects to healthy muscles:

1. Endurance
2. Strength
3. Flexibility

The most effective way to stimulate muscles is with a system known as progressive resistance. You’re strength training all body 2 or 3 times per week.

• Once a week you lift weights so heavy that you can do only 5 - 7 repetitions before your muscles are too tired to lift again.

• Other day is devoted to moderate resistance, with weights you can lift 8 - 13 times.

• Than you should have some light days, with weight you can lift 15 - 20 times before your muscles tire.

You should stretch your muscle parts in breaks between sets when you weight train.

Women often don’t want to lift heavy enough weights because they’re afraid they will bulk up. But they won’t. Acquiring muscle mass requires testosterone levels that women don’t have. Especially women should not be afraid to lift heavy enough weight to fully stimulate their muscles.

Here are some tips, how to start weight training program:

• You should strength train all major muscle parts of your body 2 to 3 nonconsecutive days per week . If you’re consistent with it, you will see results soon.

• You should do 2 to 5 sets of each major muscle part with 7 to 15 repetition.

• It should be done in moderate to high intensity. No 1 or 2 pound dumbbells. In the case of gaining strength, the weight should be such that you can lift it 9 - 13 times in good form, but after that it feels heavy and you can’t lift it correctly.Than you need to rest before you do another set.

• Lift weights at this pace: 2 sec. lift - 4 sec. slowly lover the load.

• You can weight train at home.

• Stretch between sets.

• You need to do 7 to 10 exercises to do all body workout.

Posted in Weight training | No Comments »

Increase your immune system with regular exercise

Regular exercise boosts the immune system………unless you overdo it.

In moderate amounts, physical activity reduces the risk of upper respiratory tract infection.

It works in opposite if you go to extremes. Marathon runners have higher risk of colds after a race, because immune function goes down after a prolonged intense exercise.

It is similar with inflammation, which can be a sign of weakened immune system. Regular exercise decreases inflammation. On the other hand, playing a hard game of soccer or basketball only once in a month or once in 2 weeks can boost inflammation if that’s all you do.

The weekend athlete who does something strenuous once in a while can do more harm than good to a lot of systems. You should perform vigorous activity at least two or three times a week to avoid making things worst.

Build up to it with regular exercise - weight training, cardio workout, flexibility training for at least 6 weeks before you start doing vigorous activity like playing soccer. And than, when you start, don’t stop and do it at least 2 times per week. Your body will get use to a work load and you can push it even further without any harm.

Posted in Active lifestyle | No Comments »

Don’t drink your calories!

If you drink soda, commercial fruit juices and other sweet drinks (like Gatorade) and energy drinks, and you want to improve your health, loose weight and generally feel good, than:

Don’t drink your calories!

How to do that? Switch to water, unsweetened mineral water and herbal teas. They are best for your thirst and health.

The only time you should drink fruit juice is when you freshly squeeze it from real fruit, like oranges, grapefruit, pineapple and other fruits and vegetables.

Posted in Nutrition | No Comments »

Forever young with these foods

Nuts

They contain mono unsaturated fats to keep your arteries clear. They also contain levels of precursors of serotonin to boost mood.

Eat 1-2 ounces a day; an ounce is about 11 walnuts or 23 almonds.

Fish(especially wild salmon, whitefish, catfish, flounder, mahi mahi)

They contain artery-clearing omega-3 fatty acids.

Eat 13 ounces a week(or 3 servings about the size of your fist).

Tomato juice

It contains folate, lycopene, and other nutrients to keep arteries young.

Get 7 ounces a day of it.

Olive oil, nut oils, fish oils, flaxseed, avocados

They contain heart-healthy mono-unsaturated fats.

25% of daily calories should be healthy fats.

Real cocoa-based chocolate

It increases dopamine release and provides flavonoids, which keep arteries young.

1 ounce a day of dark chocolate(to replace milk chocolate).

Fresh fruits and vegetables

They contain vitamins and antioxidants for healthy arteries.

Eat 7 servings of various colors vegetables and fruits every day.

Posted in Nutrition | No Comments »

Strength training - does yoga count?

What if your strength training comes in less traditional form than dumbbells or machines? Devotees of disciplines like yoga and Pilates say they get all the lean muscle they need from their chosen disciplines.

But I disagree. You will build some muscle with yoga asanas (poses) that have you supporting your body weight against gravity, but eventually you”ll reach plateau and will need to add weights or some other form of resistance. Pilates mat classes present the same limitations. You won’t get the same weight-bearing benefits of any poses than when lifting weights.

Body sculpting classes can be a great thing to do. If you do take sculpting classes, make sure you’re working at the right intensity, or you’ll stop seeing results. You need to be fully fatiguing muscles, it doesn’t matter what is providing resistance. Best way to do that is to use free weights and machines, but you can also use resistance bands, medicine balls or heavy bars.

Posted in Weight training | No Comments »

Women and weight lifting

Despite the universally acknowledged health benefits of resistance training, of the 12.7 million women who belong to health clubs, only about half use weight machines and only one-third lift free weights.

Weight training - just two times a week is an essential part of the total wellness package.

For optimal health and fitness benefits, especially women need to do a combination of aerobic and strength training on regular basis.

Weight training has a lot of benefits for womans body in any age.

What intensive, regular weight training does to woman body?

• reduces blood pressure
• strengthens bones, muscles and connective tissue
• changes body - body looks younger
• boosts mood
• fights aging process by maintaining lean muscle tissue
• burns fat
• improves muscle tone
• increases bone density
• increases athletic performance and strength
• women who regularly lift weighs have better self-esteem
• they get sick less often
• improves the way the body processes sugar, reducing the risk of diabetes
• it is key factor for loosing weight or preventing weight gain
• builds lean muscles - 2-4 pounds of muscle = extra 100 calories burned each day
• increases metabolism for several hours after workout
• decreases resting heart rate
• decreases body-fat %
• by keeping body strong, it prevents injury
• by strengthening body, it makes daily demands of life, like picking up a child, carrying groceries easier

Even with all these benefits, many women still resist strength training for one reason: fear of getting bulky.

The reality, however, is that it’s physically impossible to build bulky muscles like a guy. Women don’t have the hormonal makeup to get as muscular as men. In fact studies show that combining resistance training with regular cardio workout will only help you look leaner as you become stronger.

Women should do two full-body strength workouts a week. They should be done on two nonconsecutive days and you can do them in as little as 25 minutes.

Posted in Weight training | No Comments »

Anti-boredom cardio workout

Try to switch up the machines you use for a fly by workout.

To get the best results, pay attention to your rate of perceived exertion (RPE), or how hard you are working on scale of 1 to 10.

Bike

0:00-5:00 Warm up gradually (RPE - 5) ; RPE = Rate of perceived exertion

5:00-7:00 Pedal steadily at about 85 rpm (Level 7-10; RPE 6-8); rpm = Repetitions per minute

7:00-8:00 Speed up to 100 rpm (Level 7-10; RPE 7-9)

8:00-14:00 Repeat minutes 5 to 8 twice more, going 2 minutes moderate and 1 minute fast

14:00-15:00 Recover for 1 minute (RPE 5)

Elliptical

15:00-18:00 Move at the moderate level (Level 6-9; RPE 6-8)

18:00-20:00 Increase setting (Level 15-16; RPE 8-9)

20:00-25:00 Repeat minutes 15 to 20, gradually slowing in last 30 seconds to a moderate intensity (RPE 5)

Treadmill

25:00-27:00 Walk briskly or jog (4.0-5.8 mph; RPE 5-7); mph = miles per hour

27:00-29:00 Run at quick pace(5.8-7.0 mph; RPE 8-9)

29:00-33:00 Repeat minutes 25-29

33:00-35:00 Walk briskly or jog (4.0-5.8 mph; RPE 5-7)

35:00-40:00 Cool down (3.0-4.5 mph; RPE 4)

Posted in Workout plan | No Comments »