Bernadette Harris knew she needed to make some changes in her lifestyle. “I was working 15, 16 hours a day. I wasn’t eating right. I wasn’t exercising,” she recalls now. Her high blood pressure scared her. “I don’t want to be the grandma on a walker,” Bernadette says. “If I didn’t make some changes, I
Here’s a gift from the world of science to anyone thinking about whether exercise and aging go together. If you’re afraid to try strength training, or if you think you’re too old or too banged up or too fragile… well, think again. A new study found that people in their 60s, 70s and beyond can
Confidence comes with age sometimes. It’s one of the great rewards of this time of life. Maybe you’ve raised a beautiful family and enjoyed a successful career, and rightfully feel strong about your achievements and standing. But for some, it’s easy to feel insecure about our bodies and physical activity – to feel “less than”
Too many myths cloud the topics of aging and fitness. They keep people from living a healthy lifestyle, and most come from younger people and society at large. But there’s one super-persistent myth that people over 50 perpetuate themselves. To be more precise, women over 50 use this falsehood too often to avoid the most
How much time do you spend on one foot? About 80 percent of the time when you’re walking! It’s a good fact to keep in mind when thinking about balance training and how important it is to help prevent falls later in life. About 36 million older adults fall every year, resulting in more than
You know it’s important to get a good cardio workout regularly. Some people like the treadmill, stationary bikes, or elliptical machines, and that’s great. These are all excellent choices. But a dark horse is gaining popularity lately with active adults, and that’s the rowing machine. It’s easy to see why. Rowers are readily available in
What does it mean to have muscle? When we were kids, we probably thought of athletes and superheroes. In our 20s, we might have associated muscle with lots of weightlifting in the gym and young men with bulging physiques. But later in life, we need to realize that muscle means more than big biceps. We
Mary Frances Benton, 59, knows it will take some time to lose 40 pounds. But she’s already down 15 since February, so her spirit is strong. She’s also done this before. About 10 years ago, Mary Frances noticed that she was gaining weight. There wasn’t a main reason she could cite, so she went to
Women and men over 50 who want to avoid obesity should be lifting weights regularly. That’s the finding of a large new study of how resistance training (weights, bodyweights, yoga, resistance bands, etc.) can improve and lengthen lives. We tend to think of cardio exercise, like jogging, to fight fat. The researchers followed 12,000
Quick question: What’s the biggest muscle in your body? Chest? Biceps? Brain? Nope. It’s the gluteus maximum, also known as the glutes, also known as: Your Butt. If you think you’re stuck with the tush you have, then you’re not only mistaken – you’re also asking for all kinds of mobility issues. Exercising the glutes