midlifejourney.com

Guest author and fitness expert, Kathy Ekdahl shares her secrets to loosing that extra weight and staying fit and healthy.

. . . . .

Q- How do I know whether I am fit enough? Are there standards for fitness that I should try to adhere to?

When we us the term “fit” we  are talking in very general terms about someone who looks strong and healthy and exercises consistently. But the definition of good fitness really has several components. They are: cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and body composition (fat versus muscle tissue). To be truly “fit”, we do need to address all aspects of fitness. For example, if you can run 10 miles, but can’t do 10 push-ups- then you are not truly fit.  Or, conversely, if you can do 400 pound leg press, but can’t run a mile, then again, your fitness is not complete. So, it is very important to make sure your exercise regimen addresses all aspects of fitness.

As a strength and conditioning coach, I test my clients in all aspects of fitness to discover where their fitness is adequate, and where it is not. Addressing weaknesses in fitness is very important! Most people focus only on what they are good at, and ignore what they are not good at (or do not like to do). This will lead to imbalances in fitness, which will eventually lead to injuries.

For the average exercise enthusiast (not an athlete) some basic standards I use for good fitness are:

• The ability to do at least 10 straight leg push ups
• The ability to touch your toes when standing or sitting on the floor
• The ability to get your heart rate high in its training zone for short periods of time and then recover within one minute
• The ability to run longer distances, 1-2 miles, without stopping
• The ability to perform a deep squat with perfect technique
• The ability to balance on one foot for greater than 20 seconds
• The ability to perform a prone plank hold for one minute
• Normal body fat measurements- neither too high, nor too low

Of course, genetically we may be predisposed to being good at one aspect of fitness versus another, so it is normal to excel at some aspects of fitness and struggle with others. But- that’s no reason to ignore the ones we are not good at! Make sure your program addresses all aspects of fitness by stretching daily,  performing  heavy weight training 2-3 days a week, doing cardiovascular endurance activities such as biking, jogging, walking 3 days a week- including some high intensity interval training – and eating well and keeping bodyweight and body fat in normal parameters.

Kathy Ekdahl, ACE cPT, CSCS, is a nationally certified personal trainer and strength and conditioning coach, who lives in Hudson, Mass. Kathy has  worked for over 20 years in the fitness industry, and is the coach of the Hudson High School Women’s Varsity Lacrosse and Field Hockey teams. She will be answering your fitness questions each week in this column, and welcomes your questions. To send a question, email Kathy at: kathy@personalbestpersonaltraining.com.

Guest author and fitness expert, Kathy Ekdahl shares her secrets to loosing that extra weight.

. . . . .

Q-    Which weight loss programs and/or diets do you recommend?

A- There is no one weight loss program that I recommend to my clients, and in fact, for some clients, I do not recommend any specific diet or weight loss program at all! The research is quite clear: close to 85-90% of the people who lose weight via a diet or “weight loss program”, gain all the weight back, and more. This is a pretty sad statement about the efficacy of the programs and diets that are out there.

In comparative research studies, it has been shown that Weight Watcher’s is the most successful, not because of any specific nutrition or diet recommendations, but because of its well known support system. It is the support system which is an absolute must for those of you trying to lose significant amounts of weight- so this is where Weight Watcher’s really wins! But, amazingly, the average weight loss per year of Weight Watchers is less than 10 pounds, and this is the most successful? Cleary, we are not getting things right here!

I generally do not recommend weight loss programs that have pre- packaged foods. These are often preservative and salt filled, and I personally believe that preservatives, salt, extra sugar, and other processed foods must be eliminated from the diet to achieve permanent weight loss.  Also, what tempts people to try these diets- being told what to eat and when- is also the downfall of these programs. We need to learn to make proper choices for ourselves rather than relying on someone else telling us what to eat. I also do not recommend high protein/high saturated fat/ low carb programs (Atkin’s) either.  I do think that it is too restrictive, not enough healthy foods, and the research is still not conclusive about whether it raises or lowers  cholesterol and lipids. But, having said that, I do believe that for some people, beginning a healthy diet may need to be jumpstarted with a specific diet/ program.

The one diet I do recommend is the South Beach Diet. It is closest to the principles that I ask my clients to adhere to:
-    healthy fats
-    low refined carbohydrates
-    plenty of lean protein
-    lots of vegetables, some fruits
-    Multiple small meals with snacks in between

But even the SB diet goes too low in calories initially, and recipes are a bit cumbersome- so nothing is perfect! And, no matter what “diet” or “program” you go on-  you must be able to maintain that type of eating forever- or you’ll gain the weight back.
The final answer- choose a program you can stick with and is easy to plan and cook for. Avoid diets that restrict one food group or go too low in calories- inevitably these backfire. And, allow yourself a cheat meal each week. This can help you get over the boredom of dieting.

Kathy Ekdahl, ACE cPT, CSCS, is a nationally certified personal trainer and strength and conditioning coach, who lives in Hudson, Mass. Kathy has  worked for over 20 years in the fitness industry, and is the coach of the Hudson High School Women’s Varsity Lacrosse and Field Hockey teams. She will be answering your fitness questions each week in this column, and welcomes your questions. To send a question, email Kathy at: kathy@personalbestpersonaltraining.com.

Guest author and fitness expert, Kathy Ekdahl shares her secrets to loosing that extra weight.

. . . . .

Q: Why do we gain weight when we age? I exercise and eat the same as I always have, but I am still gaining weight?

There are many factors involved in why we gain weight in our middle age and, in many cases, we can control these factors. What we can not control, is that we all will age. We can slow things down, or accelerate them with our lifestyle choices, but aging is a major factor for weight gain. One primary reason is that, as we age, we lose muscle tissue through a normal (but not optimal) process called sarcopenia. Since muscle tissue drives our metabolism (as we talked about last week), sarcopenia results in a slow down of our metabolism and hence a gain of body fat.  With this loss of muscle tissue, since our metabolisms are slowed, we can eat the same amount of food as when we were younger, but unfortunately now gain weight. This is complicated by the fact that many middle age exercisers rely only on cardiovascular exercise like walking or biking for fitness. Unfortunately, cardiovascular exercise does not add muscle tissue, so this is no longer enough to keep body fat at bay.

Another factor to consider is that aging also causes us to lose other aspects of fitness as well as joint health, so our exercise programs tend to diminish and become less intense out of fear of injury, or fear that “we are too old” to be exercising vigorously. Yet, this is what many of us need to add back lost muscle tissue!

The bottom line is that we need to be doing strength training exercises 2-3 days a week. Strength training is appropriate for almost everybody in some form, and with proper training and progression, all ages can add muscle tissue and resulting strength and power, while reducing risk of injuries. Oh yeah… and lose body fat in the process.

Lastly, take note of what I mentioned above; that we can choose to speed the aging process up, or slow it down, through our lifestyle choices. Exercise, eating well, not smoking, drinking in moderation, taking the proper supplements, will all help you age gracefully.

Kathy Ekdahl, ACE cPT, CSCS, is a nationally certified personal trainer and strength and conditioning coach, who lives in Hudson, Mass. Kathy has  worked for over 20 years in the fitness industry, and is the coach of the Hudson High School Women’s Varsity Lacrosse and Field Hockey teams. She will be answering your fitness questions each week in this column, and welcomes your questions. To send a question, email Kathy at: kathy@personalbestpersonaltraining.com.

We all want to stay healthy. I used to run when I was younger and even though I never finished a marathon, I managed a few 10K races. But then life got busier and I stopped running. A few years later when I tried to begin again, my knees started complaining. Guest author and nationally certified personal trainer Kathy Ekdahl has some sound advice for the boomer who wants to start again.

. . . . .

Running to get in shape – But my knees hurt. Is it too late to start again?

Q- I want to start running to get in shape, but every time I try, I get knee and hip pain. Is this inevitable, and does running cause arthritis?

A-Large research studies have shown that runners do not have a greater incidence of osteoarthritis than other populations, so, no, running does not cause arthritis. But, running is a very repetitive form of exercise, and to run without musculoskeletal pain and overuse injuries takes some knowledge and planning. You can’t just throw on a pair of old sneakers and head out the door and expect to be able to run well and run far unless you’ve done your homework!

First, I’d invest in a good pair of sneakers. There are stores that will choose sneakers for you based on your specific foot and gait patterns. Large sporting goods stores may not have personnel who are knowledgeable about gait patterns, so look for a store that caters to runners.

Secondly, there is a great saying about running: “Get fit to run, don’t run to get fit.” To a large degree, I agree with this. If you are not physically prepared for running, it can cause injuries due to its repetitive nature. Running requires healthy strong muscles, good flexibility, and a comprehensive warm-up and cool down to prevent injury. I recommend that you work on your core strength including the muscles of the hips, to prevent the type of nagging foot, back and knee pain many runners experience. Weak, tight hip muscles are a major cause of knee pain!

Make sure that you have a good flexibility program in place as well, stretching the major muscles of the legs including hip flexors, glutes, hamstrings and calves. You should always perform static stretches after you run, not before. Holding stretches statically before you run can cause injuries, not prevent them, as it decreases neuromuscular activation, which is not good if we want the muscles to work for us during running! Instead of static stretches, perform dynamic movements which warm up muscles and joints and help the joints move smoothly. I also highly recommend the use of foam rollers as a way to keep muscle tissue healthy.

Lastly, if you begin to develop nagging pain during or after running, don’t ignore it.  Go see your Doctor. Ignoring injuries always makes them get worse and last longer- and runners have a bad habit of doing this.

Running can be a part of a well rounded fitness program, and while not everyone can or should run, many of us can manage shorter distances (3-4 miles) several days a week without injury.  Remember that running every day is not necessary, so be conservative and run 3 days a week instead of more. And, always start with short distances or run/walks and build up.

Kathy Ekdahl, ACE cPT, CSCS, is a nationally certified personal trainer and strength and conditioning coach, who lives in Hudson, Mass. Kathy has  worked for over 20 years in the fitness industry, and is the coach of the Hudson High School Women’s Varsity Lacrosse and Field Hockey teams. She will be answering your fitness questions each week in this column, and welcomes your questions. To send a question, email Kathy at:kathy@personalbestpersonaltraining.com or visit her website.

Are you a Baby Boomer thinking about jumping back into the dating game? I’m sure you’ve heard all the reasons not to. Well, the heck with that. In this guest post, personal love coach, author Sandra Rohr, debunks all those myths about being too old, fear of getting your heart broken, you’re sure to be disappointed!

If you want to get back out there – go for it. It’s never too late to follow your heart.

. . . . .

Tool Old for Love? 5 Myths About Starting Over Again After 50 Debunked

Guest Author: Sandra Rohr

Recently, I met with a woman who has an interesting story. It seems that she and her husband have been separated for many years. They have gone through almost all the steps of the divorce, and there remains only one step to finalize the divorce: taking the signed documents to the judge to pronounce the divorce final. And the interesting thing is that she has held onto those documents for 2 ½ years! She – and her husband – have lived in limbo for 2 ½ years!

As she told her story, she began to sort out the reasons for not completing the divorce, which is that she is 59 and fearful about re-entering the dating/mating scene.

“I’m just too old! And I don’t know anything about dating anymore – it’s just been too long! Everything has changed!” She was nearly in tears as she told her story.

She was stuck in one of the 5 deadly myths about being a mature age and starting over in love.

Myth #1: It just can’t happen.

It’s not true that a life of love and intimacy is only for the young and beautiful. All it takes is that one person, and using the laws of attraction, you can draw that person to you.

Myth #2: I don’t know enough.

Sure, the dating scene has changed since you were a teen, but the people you are likely to want to date – people of your own age – were born and raised in your era. This means that they learned to date for the first time just when you did, so they will have the same understanding of how to date and relate as you do.

Myth #3: I’m too old to start again.

And as for those things that are different now, in spite of the tired cliché “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” you can learn all you need to know about dating in this decade. In fact, your maturity and life experience will help you to learn all you need to know – and very quickly.

Myth #4: I will just get my heart broken.

Actually, I can’t promise that this won’t happen, but I can promise that you will recover, and that you will learn from the experience. Life is risky, and when we put ourselves out there with the intent to love, we are vulnerable. But the alternative is to live a shriveled half-life. And you can learn how to date consciously so that you can balance your head with your heart in your relationships.

Myth #5: Love now could never be as sweet as it once was.

This is surely one of the biggest myths. Falling in love at any age feels just the same as it did when we were 16. Humans never get too old to feel that zing! And the sex, even with our aging bodies, can actually be far better, far more fulfilling than when we were young.

Like a fine wine, life and – more importantly – love can become more wonderful because of – not in spite of – aging. There is a desert wine known as late harvest wine. This wine is created from select grapes that are left to hang on the vine late into the season; the grapes are affected by Botrytis – the “noble rot” – that causes them to become dry and shriveled on the vine – and highly concentrated with sugar. When harvested by hand, pressed, and fermented, these grapes produce a sweet, luscious, honeyed, nectar-like wine. Late harvest love can be as delicious and satisfying as this wonderful late harvest wine.

So go for life. Go for love. Drink deep from that sweet, luscious, honeyed, nectar-like cup! It’s never too late for love, and it’s worth any risk!

And when you’re ready to go for the joys of late harvest love, you’re invited to visit http://YourPersonalLoveCoach.com – from singles and relationship coach Sandra Rohr. You can also sign up for my free 5-day e-course, Posting a Winning Profile to the Internet.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sandra_Rohr
http://EzineArticles.com/?Tool-Old-for-Love?–5-Myths-About-Starting-Over-Again-After-50-Debunked&id=592527