Workout and Diet Advice for Women over 45

A few days ago, I wrote about some observations from a recent spate of trips where I wasn’t able to keep to my preferred workout routine.  And the point I made was to be ‘flexible’ – go with the flow and allow you to be open to alternative ways of working out.

I listed 7 items that had come to mind as worth sharing, and if you each find one or two of interest then great.  Else chalk it up to me looking for ways to make the business trips more exciting.

Was thinking about all the “little” things I observed or experienced while on the road; and how to write about them in a way that would be interesting.  It occurred to me that while the observations were really interesting to me – they may fall in the category of ‘you had to be there’  or the category of ‘so what’!  Thus my initial procrastination. 

As a change of pace I thought I would share and comment on some interesting items I read this week.

First a really positive topic – the value of dried apples.  If you are like most people, dried fruit in general is not part of your daily intake of fruit  –  we have been warned over the years about the high sugar content of dried fruit and of course fresh is always better.  Then there comes an interesting study on dried apples…….. who thinks of these things and more important did studies of dried peaches and apricots not “bear fruit” (so to speak)?   One has to wonder about all the studies on the other dried fruits that didn’t give these unexpected and positive results.

This is the second in the series of posts I call “Tips from the Road”.   They were inspired by my extended travel during July, when one business trip started just as another finished.  And while my regular workout schedule and time were disrupted, I got ideas for exercise and or diet, which I thought would be great to share.

There are occasions when I just could not get to a gym (time or circumstance left me feeling a little frustrated in my hotel room).  Perhaps I had only 15 to 30 minutes – which is not long enough to drive to a nearby gym – and the alternative is to use the bike/stairstepper/treadmill in what passes for a “fitness center” at the hotel, and then do some abs in my room.

Background:   When I am on the road for business I tend not to eat in restaurants – just a current personal preference and no complex reason.  My go-to place is usually a local or national health food store, where I might pick up a soup and salad or a hot dish (the latter only if I can eat it on site and if it still looks ‘fresh’).  Keeping it “raw” means I am getting the most from the nutrients, but there are times when a salad just doesn’t seem sufficient.

“You’re used to putting in hard work to get a hard body—and that’s a good thing. You have to be committed to health and fitness to see lasting results. But occasionally “cheating” during your workout won’t mess with your fitness goals—in fact, it can even help. The trick is to cheat wisely so that your shortcuts never turn into setbacks.”

This is a recent article from Women’s health Magazine.   Actually, the  article is more about guidelines that can help your workout (or you) – and what can hurt.  Not all the items  are about shortcuts.   It asks and answers 8 questions regarding actions one might take to help get through a workout and mentions what “cheats” to avoid with workouts.    A fun read.

 Build muscular endurance with yoga moves like this one, called “plank pose into chaturanga dandasana.”  Practiced correctly on a regular basis, you will strengthen your chest, shoulders and arms as well as your core muscles.

Begin in a straight-arm plank position.  This is more difficult than the regular plan we’ve spoken about in other posts.  In this position your hands are directly under your shoulders, your arms are straight, (without “locking out” your elbows) and your fingers pointed forward.   As with the regular plank push back with your heels and draw the crown of your head forward to create a long line throughout your body.   Most important is not to let your hips sag.  It may help to think of your butt as being slight “up”, rather than feeling yourself tightening your hips and “thrusting forward” – which is definitely not the position.  Pull in your abdominal muscles to support your spine.

If you having trouble motivating yourself to eat right for your body, how about eating right for your brain?  How you eat can affect your mind at a fundamental level. Our minds are profoundly affected by what we eat.  Often the effect is within minutes, hours or a couple of days, (whereas our bodies may not show the extra pounds for a few weeks, right? – when suddenly it appears “overnight”).

 If the effect occurs soon after we eat, (such as lack of concentration, fuzzy head, fatigue etc) then we are more likely to pay attention to it.

You’ve now moved beyond the basic plank from previous posts (or you were already doing the Plank anyway).  Here are some more interesting and more advanced Core exercises.

These will help you to flatten your abs; work the core beyond your sixpack – such as the obliques (see the side plank); and also make you focus on balance (see the lunge in 1.)

1.        Lunge with Rotation

lunge rotation

The recent post discussed the difference between Dynamic and Static Stretching.  Dynamic stretching does  a great job of improving dynamic flexibility for your workout.

I said I would follow up with a  set of Dynamic Stretching exercises that you can use before your workouts.  I also mentioned that the Dynamic stretch is much like our “warm-ups” from high school gym class; so if you recall those days, and haven’t suppressed the memories (with good reason), you should recognize some of the movements.    And don’t neglect your Static Stretching after the workout – forgetting to stretch very easy to do; just ask me!!