Pumping Iron Over 60

07/20/2013 Leave a comment

Shustov CC-BY-SA-3.0

If you’re over 60 and you’ve decided to start lifting weights, you’ll enjoy many health benefits, including stronger muscles and bones. You can strengthen your body using free weights, such as dumbbells, barbells and kettlebells. Beginners, no matter your age, should start slowly with light weights and focus on proper form to reduce your risk of injury. You should seek instruction by a qualified fitness trainer if you decide not to use a gym. See your doctor for a complete checkup before you start any exercise program. Always warm-up before working out and cool-down afterward.

Beginners should design a workout routine that works all your muscle groups in 2 workouts each week. Don’t lift weights on consecutive days because your muscles need at least one day to rest and recover. Train a different muscle group at each workout to avoid overuse injuries. Work your upper body one day and your core and lower body at the next workout. Lift slowly and focus on your form. Improper form or lifting too quickly can cause injuries. Begin by doing 8 repetitions of each exercise followed by 1 minute of rest. Do another set of 8 repetitions after you rest. Increase the number of repetitions, the number of sets, or the amount of weight when you can do 3 sets without becoming fatigued.

You can use dumbbells to work your upper and lower body. Dumbbell squats work your core, hips, quadriceps and calves. Shoulder shrugs work your arms, shoulders and upper back. Biceps curls are easy for beginners to perform and work your biceps and forearms. If you really want to focus on your upper body and chest, do dumbbell overhead press exercises. Simply holding a set of dumbbells when you do exercise, such as lunges and crunches, adds extra weight resistance.

Barbells are versatile free weights that train the most muscle tissue in the shortest amount of time. People over age 60 should start working with barbell weights slowly with light weights and focus intently on form. Never hold your breath when lifting weights because holding your breath can cause your blood pressure to increase rapidly. Squats, deadlifts and presses are functional lifts that mimic the movements you make when you reach, lift, bend over, sit down and stand up. You can easily add and remove weight to a barbell to suit your fitness and strength level.

Kettlebells are large, heavy weights with a handle. These weights can be used in a number of ways to help strengthen your entire body. Begin with the lightest kettlebells available and gradually work your way up to heavier weights. Kettlebells can be used to work your entire body. Exercises that beginners can do include the half Turkish get up, kettlebell squats, deadlifts, and two-arm swings. Do 8 repetitions of each exercise, rest for as long as you need to and repeat the set.

 

Filed under age, aging, dumbbells, exercise equipment, healthy body, men's health, older adults, strength, strength training, weights

Core Strengthening with a Fitness Ball

06/17/2013 Leave a comment

Credit: LocalFitness.com.au

Your core muscles are important for stabilization of your body, especially your lower back and pelvis. Your core muscles help maintain proper posture which can help prevent back pain and fatigue. A strong core helps improve your overall fitness and endurance. If you have a strong core, everyday activities, such as climbing stairs, walking long distances or sitting for hours at a desk, becomes easier to tolerate. Incorporate an exercise ball into your abdominal strength training exercises to improve the effectiveness of your workout and add some variety.

Crunches are the bread and butter of abdominal exercises. You can do crunches on an exercise ball by sitting on the ball. Place your feet flat on the floor with your knees bent at 90 degrees. Your thighs should be parallel with the floor. Lean back and then pull your body to return to a sitting position using your ab muscles. Cross your arms over your chest to help maintain your balance.

Follow a set of crunches with the bridge exercise on a fitness ball. Lie on your back and rest your calves on top of the exercise ball. Keep your feet together. Squeeze your abs tight and then lift your buttocks off the floor until your body forms a straight line from your shoulders to your heels. Hold this position for 5 seconds and then relax. Try to do 10 repetitions of this exercise. Make this exercise more effective by resting only your heels on the ball.

Choose a ball that is big enough so that when you sit on it your thighs are parallel with the floor. You can reduce the air pressure to more fully engage all of your ab muscles.

Beachbody

Filed under WELLNESS

Cool-Down and Get Fit with Water Aerobics

05/25/2013 Leave a comment

U S Army Public Domain

Swimming is a fun way to get a good workout for your whole body and improve your strength and endurance. You can strengthen and tone all the muscles in your body, increase your flexibility and improve your posture. Swimming is also virtually no impact so even if you have arthritis or an injury, you can do water exercises, with your doctor’s approval. Water aerobics is a good choice for people who have joint problems and overweight people because the water supports your weight.

You don’t have to know how to swim to enjoy the benefits of water aerobics. Swimming alone is an aerobic exercise that helps to improve your cardiovascular health, burns calories which contributes to weight loss, and firms and tones muscles in your whole body. Aerobic activity, such as water aerobics, can help reduce your risk of a number of chronic illnesses, including heart disease and diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (cdc.gov), sater-based exercise is good for people who suffer from arthritis because movement lessens the pain. The water supports your body while you exercise which virtually eliminates stress on the joints.

Resistance exercises will help firm and tone your muscles, but if your taunt muscles are hidden under a layer of fat, no one can see them. Water aerobics is a great way to burn calories for weight loss while you firm and tone your muscles. According to the Mayo Clinic (mayoclinic.com), a 160 pound person can burn more than 400 calories per hour doing water aerobics. A 240 pound person can burn as much as 600 calories during 1 hour of water aerobics. If you do nothing but tread water you can burn 11 calories per minute. Resistance exercise is a good way to strengthen your muscles and build muscle. Water-based exercise is not only aerobic for fat burning, it is also a form of resistance exercise that can build muscle. The water pushes back against your body even as it supports your weight. When doing water aerobics you can use devices, such as hand paddles, water dumbbells and flotation devices to help add more resistance to your exercise routine.

There is a very low risk of injury when you do water aerobics. The buoyancy of the water protects and supports your bones and joints. You don’t have to worry about impact as water aerobics, and water-based exercise generally, causes virtually no impact on your bones. If you are pregnant or if you suffer from any chronic condition, such as high blood pressure or osteoporosis, see your doctor before you begin any exercise program.

Beachbody

Filed under WELLNESS

Is Weight Training For You?

05/18/2013 Leave a comment

Maybe you watch people at the gym, huffing, puffing, grunting and sweating at the weight machines or free weights and think, “No way I want to do that!” You’re not sure you would benefit from lifting weights, especially since you have no desire to look like a body builder.

Credit: LocalFitness.com.au

You can benefit from lifting weights even if you do it only a couple of times each week. Weight training can help improve your muscle tone, build lean muscle mass and help you lose weight. No matter how old or young you are, weight training is good for you.

As we age, we lose muscle mass. Lost muscle will be replaced by flabby fat if you don’t do something to rebuild lost muscle. Muscle tissue requires more energy to function than other tissues, therefore it uses more calories. Your metabolism will increase slightly as you gain muscle and burn fat. Increased muscle mass also means your endurance will improve. You will be able to work your muscles harder for a longer period of time. Weight training stresses your muscles causing them to adapt, which makes them grow stronger.

Start with a weight that you can lift, but tires your muscles after 10 to 12 repetitions. Beginners should start with one set of 8 to 10 repetitions of any lifting exercise. You should be barely able to lift the weight on the last repetition.  When you can do 12 repetitions without fatigue, increase the weight by adding 2 to 5 pounds.

Learn proper lifting technique before you grab the dumbbells. A fitness trainer can help you learn the correct way to lift so that you enjoy the benefits of weight training while reducing your risk of injury. Don’t forget to warm-up before lifting. Do some light exercise, such as brisk walking or calisthenics.

Rest one full day between weight training workouts. Your muscles need at least one full day to repair and recover. You can work your core, legs and thighs one day, and then your arms, chest, shoulders and upper back on the next day. Your workout can be as long as you feel comfortable exercising. You can exercise for 15 minutes, 20 minutes or longer. Adjust your workout to suit your strength, overall level of fitness and your time schedule.

 

Filed under exercise, exercise equipment, metabolism, muscles, smart workouts, strength, strength training, strengthen, weight training, weights, workouts

Outdoor Summer Exercise: Avoid Heat Related Illness

05/14/2013 Leave a comment

Photo Credit: Bibikoff CC-BY-2.0

Summer is just around the corner! Warm weather draws people out of the indoors and into the sunshine. Exercising outdoors can be enjoyable, but don’t let heat cause you injury or illness. Exercising in high summer temperatures requires that you take a few extra precautions. You can avoid heat-related illness by exercising outdoors in the morning or evening before the day heats up. Drink plenty of water before, during and after exercise. Wear loose fitting clothing that does not trap heat. Stop exercising if you experience any symptoms of heat-related illness.

Your body temperature increases when you are exposed to high summer temperatures. Exercising increases your body temperature, too. To cool down, your body sends more blood to your skin, which leaves less blood available for your muscles. Exercise increases your heart rate. To compensate for less blood flow to your muscles when you exercise, your heart rate increases. High humidity prevents your sweat from evaporating, which increases your body temperature even more. You see how you can push your body into a heat spiral that can leave you suffering heat cramps to heat exhaustion or even heat stroke?

Pay attention to your body and learn to recognize the warning signs of heat-related illness. Heat cramps are muscle contractions that typically affect your legs and your abdominal muscles. You may experience heat cramps, even if your body temperature is normal. Heat exhaustion is evidence by a body temperature of 104 degrees Fahrenheight (40 degrees C) accompanied by nausea, vomiting, weakness, headache and clammy skin. Heat exhaustion is a serious medical condition and must be treated right away or you could suffer heat stroke. Heat stroke is life threatening. You could suffer brain and organ damage. You can die as a result of heat stroke.

Seek immediate medical attention if you experience muscle cramps, vomiting or nausea, confusion or dizziness. Stop exercising immediately and take steps to hydrate and cool your body. Drink water and sports drinks that contain electrolytes, remove excess clothing and pour water over your body and fan yourself to cool down.

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Filed under body, exercise, fitness, heat, summer

Kettlebell Workout for Your Back

05/08/2013 Leave a comment

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Heavy weights are not just for the fellows. Women can definitely benefit from weight exercises without worrying about growing bulging muscles. Kettlebells are easier to use than you might think. Momentum is the key to a successful kettlebell workout. Grab a pair and swing your way to a firmer, stronger body by the time Spring is over. You can snatch, press, swing and row your way to a firm, toned back with kettlebells. A good kettlebell workout will include 8 to 12 repetitions of each exercise. Kettlebell swings can be done with one arm or two. You should start with a two-arm swing and move up to a one-arm swing when your upper back and arms are stronger. Kettlebell rows are similar to dumbbell rows. The kettlebell clean is an advanced movement that requires a degree of coordination that can come only with training and practice. Deadlifts are easy but effective to strengthen your arms, shoulders, back and legs. The Turkish get-up exercises improves your functional strength, while emphasizing load balance as you lie down on the floor and then stand up again while holding a kettlebell over your head.

 Kettlebell exercises are generally whole body workouts, but some exercises work your back muscles more than others. Alternating kettlebell rows, renegade rows, one-arm and two-arm rows target your back muscles. Grab a couple of kettlebells and bend over at the waist until your back is parallel to the floor. To do alternating kettlebells, lift one kettlebell upward toward your chest by bending your left elbow and extend your right arm toward the floor. Alternate by lowering your left arm and lifting the kettlebell with your right arm. Renegade rows are more advanced. Extend your body in a push-up position. Place your hands on the handles of two kettlebells. Alternate lifting one kettlebell up toward your shoulder and then lowering it back to the floor. Remember to exercise both arms by switching sides when doing one-arm swings or rows.

Kettlebells aren’t just for the hulks in the gym. The uninitiated can definitely benefit from kettlebell exercises. You will get a better core and back workout with kettlebells than with any other type of free weight because the kettlebell weight is off center. This makes your core work harder and it challenges every muscle in your body. According to the American Council on Exercise (ace.org), you will burn up to 272 calories in a mere 20 minutes while strengthening your muscles. Swings, cleans and snatches are easy, but effective exercises that beginners can do on the first day. Overhead presses, rows and windmills are also an option for beginners. Start with a lighter weight, about 5 to 10 pounds and gradually add more weight or do more repetitions.

 Warm-up your muscles before you grab a 25-pound kettlebell and start swinging. A thorough warm-up will reduce your risk of injuring your cold muscles and joints. Five to 10 minutes of light cardio should be enough to get your heart rate up and start you sweating. Stretch your muscles before you start doing kettlebell workouts to increase your flexibility and improve your range of motion. After your cardio and stretching warm-up make sure your shoulders, arms, neck and back are ready for the weights. Do some kettlebell exercises using a light weight to get your muscles ready for a more vigorous workout with the heavy weights.

Filed under lower back, physical, spine, strength, strength training, strengthen

Pilates Mat Work Got You Down? Do It Standing Up!

04/28/2013 Leave a comment

If you have difficulty doing Pilates mat exercises, you can try some common mat exercises while standing up. The Hundred is one of the fundamental Pilates exercises. It is normally performed lying on an exercise mat. The standing Hundred focuses on your core, shoulders and the back of your arms. To perform the standing Hundred exercise, stand with your feet about hip-width apart. Make sure your feet are flat on the floor. Hold your arms at your sides with your palms facing toward your back. Keep your arms rigid and straight. Pump your arms up and down 10 times. Inhale on the first five pumps and exhale of the last 5 arm pumps. Lift your right leg a few inches off the floor and point your toes and repeat 10 arm pumps. Lower your left leg, lift your right leg and repeat for another 10 arm pumps.

The side lift plie works your core, quadriceps and glutes. Stand up straight with your feet about hip-width apart. Hold your arms straight out from your shoulders. Turn your feet out about 45 degrees so that your toes are pointed out to the side. Bend your knees 90 degrees to lower your body but keep your back straight. Extend your left leg as you simultaneously straighten your right leg. Sweep your left leg out to the side of your body, hold for 2 seconds and then return to the plie position. Repeat with the other side. Do 8 repetitions on each side.

To do leg lifts, stand near a wall or hold onto the back of a chair if you needs balance support. Stand up straight and drop your shoulders a couple of inches to straighten your back. Place your feet flat on the floor about hip-width apart. Once you have your balance, squeeze your abdominal muscles and lift your right leg. Bend your knee and place your hands underneath your thigh to support your right leg. Inhale and exhale twice and then lower your right leg back to the floor. Repeat with your left leg.

Leg circles help strengthen your entire leg including your quadriceps, hamstrings and calves. Leg circles are also good for your hip stabilizer muscles. Stand up straight and place your feet about hip-width apart. Squeeze your abdominal muscles and squeeze your thighs together. Keep your arms at your sides with your palms facing your thighs. Inhale and lift your left leg straight out to your left side with your knee facing forward. Make a small circles clockwise with your leg and then counter-clockwise. Do 8 circles in each direction. Lower your left leg and repeat with your right leg.

Do not exercise without your doctor’s permission if you are pregnant, suffer from osteoporosis or have any condition that may be aggravated by exercise.

Filed under functional exercise, Pilates

Safe Weight Loss

04/08/2013 Leave a comment

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You can see television commercials for the next best weight loss pill every day on most every channel. The truth is there is no magic weight-loss pill. Some diet pills may even be dangerous to your health. Forget the fad diets. Don’t even think about starving yourself. Diet pills often have harmful side-effects. Most diet pills cause you to lose weight because they are a diuretic or have a laxative effect on your body, which can cause you to lose water weight. You will re-gain water weight as soon as you rehydrate your body. Dehydration can be dangerous, too. Other diet aids contain stimulants, such as caffeine, that speed up your heart and can increase your blood pressure. The safest way to lose weight is to see your doctor and ask her to help you design a weight loss program that includes sensible, healthy nutrition and exercise.

In order to lose weight, you have to create a calorie deficit. That is, you must burn more calories than you consume so that your body burns fat for energy. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, an eating plan that contains between 1,000 and 1,200 calories per day can help women lose weight safely. Cut back on simple carbohydrates and fats and replace those sugary fat foods with complex carbohydrates and fiber. Take cake, candy, cookies and white flour out of your diet. Replace those  calorie-laden foods with whole grains, such as bran, wheat, oats and brown rice. Eat more raw vegetables and drink water instead of soda. Eat a balanced diet with foods from all the food groups and keep track of your caloric intake if you want to safely lose weight.

Exercise is an essential part of any weight loss plan. As you use more fat for energy and start to lose weight, it’s important that you build muscle. Building muscle will also help you burn more calories since muscle tissue burns more calories than other tissues in your body. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you will burn. Your basal, or resting, metabolism will also increase when you build more muscles. This means you will burn more calories sitting on the sofa in front of your television if you increase your muscle mass.

Filed under dieting, exercise, food, healthy body, weight loss

Weight Training Won’t Bulk You Up – Unless You Want It To

04/01/2013 Leave a comment

Photo Credit: roonb

Stop running from the weight bench and put down those girly pink dumbbells! Weight exercises are good for you and won’t turn you into the Hulk. Weight exercises won’t make your muscles bulky unless your goal is to bulk up and build bulging biceps. Weight exercises will help tone and firm your muscles, increase your ability to burn fat and improve your bone health. So, grab some weights and get strong. There is a difference between weight training to get stronger and weight training to build bulky muscles. To get stronger without building big muscles, lift light weights for many repetitions, roughly 12 to 15 repetitions. Build bulky muscles by lifting heavier weights for fewer repetitions. By changing the way you work out when doing weight exercises, you can target different types of muscle fibers. Heavy weight with few repetitions targets your type II muscle fibers for bulk, while lighter weights with more repetitions targets your type I muscles fibers for muscular endurance.

Weight exercises benefit your body, even if you aren’t trying to build muscle. Lifting weights, doing bodyweight exercises, such as push-ups, and resistance exercises help reduce the risk and symptoms of chronic illness and disease, including osteoporosis, arthritis and diabetes. Strong muscles, especially in your back and core, help improve your balance to prevent falls. Post-menopausal women are at risk for weakened bones due to loss of bone mass. Weight training can help reduce bone loss and can even improve bone mass. Muscle tissue is very efficient at using glucose for fuel to help keep your blood sugar levels under control and reduce your risk of diabetes.

You will have to spend hours in the gym, take supplements and eat high protein diet if you want to build bulky muscles. It’s difficult for women to build huge muscles like men because women lack sufficient testosterone to build muscle mass. Your lack of testosterone along with your DNA determine how you build muscles. Mesomorphs, or muscular body types, are more likely to build bulky muscles than endomorphs, or those with rounder, curvy bodies. Ectomorph body types are slimmer and leaner than either mesomorphs or endomorphs. No matter what your body type, you will benefit from weight training by becoming stronger.

In addition to exercise, your nutrition and body type will help determine whether you build muscle and how big your muscles will grow. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (eatright.org), you should eat 1.4 to 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day when lifting weights if you want to build muscle. This amounts to up to 20 percent of your daily caloric intake. Eating more protein won’t build bigger muscles. Even if you don’t want bulky muscles, your body still needs protein to repair and build new muscle after a workout.

Filed under abs, healthy body, muscle, muscles, physical, strength, strength training, training

Calorie Deficit + Cardio + Strength Training = Weight-Loss

03/24/2013 1 Comment

Photo Credit: ParentingPatch

If you’re like most of us, you would like to lose a few pounds. You’ve tried everything but you just can’t seem to drop those last 10 pounds, right? There is no magic pill and it’s not a big mystery why you can’t drop those last 10 pounds. Most people need to create a calorie deficit — burn more than you eat. Many fad diets are based on calorie restriction by limiting the types and amounts of food you eat. Dieting can help you lose weight initially, but in the long-run you will probably regain most of that weight-loss. Deprivation doesn’t last long and you will not be very happy if you have to continually deprive yourself of foods you love. The key to lasting weight-loss is to burn more calories than you consume and build muscle mass to increase your resting metabolism.

It’s pretty easy to gain one pound of fat but you have to burn 3,500 calories to lose it. You can lose 1 pound of fat each week by creating a calorie deficit of minus 500 calories each day. Your resting, or basal, metabolism is the amount of calories you burn just being alive. Lungs breathing, heart pumping blood, brain thinking, abdominal and spinal muscles holding your body upright, all burn calories. Your basil metabolism accounts for up to 75 percent of the calories you burn every day. Increasing your muscle mass by doing strength training exercises can increase your basal metabolic rate, so that you burn more calories when at rest. Muscle tissue also burns many more calories than other tissues in your body. Gain 1 pound of muscle and burn an extra 50 calories per day while resting. Gain 10 pounds of muscle and you will burn an extra 500 calories per day doing nothing at all.

For fast and lasting weight-loss, combine strength training with cardio. Do strength training 2 days each week and cardio 3 days each week. A typical week might be Monday, Wednesday and Friday doing cardio, and Tuesday and Thursday doing strength training. Cardio is any exercise that elevates your heart rate and makes you sweat. Running, jogging, bicycling, swimming and sports activities are good ways to get a cardio workout to burn fat. Strength training includes not only lifting weights and working out on cable and weight machines at the gym, but also includes bodyweight exercises, such as push-ups, crunches and planks.

Filed under aerobic exercise, cardiovascular, diet, fitness, obesity, weight gain, weight loss

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