Workout and Diet Advice for Women over 45

“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.

It had to happen.  We were just discussing the Tabata high intensity workout regime  in these pages –  and what did I see on late night TV  “The 20Second Fitness” workout Infomercial.   Could  hardly believe it.  (I was traveling and the hotel TV is usually background noise when I am getting ready for bed.  This background caught my attention.)

Made some notes to check it out later.  And of course the ubiquitous UTube video clips made that task easier.

4 minute Workout??  In 4 minutes you can burn fat, increase power and endurance, and improve your fitness level.   No this is not another one of those ‘all you need is 10 minutes a day to get in bikini shape’ article.  This workout is definitely not for people just starting to exercise.  The regimen of Tabata training is for people who work out already, are in good condition, know their bodies and abilities and perhaps are looking for something to break through a plateau, reach the next level of athletic  fitness  or break up the boredom of a routine.

  Looking for something a little different this week I found a set of poses (courtesy of Self.com online magazine) that make you work your core.  Nothing revolutionary, but useful and it came with some nice illustrations.  I have edited where I thought a little more explanation was needed.  Remember, tighten your abs to hold your body aligned, and blow the air out of your stomach and lungs as you tighten.

Yoga for abs and core

In the first part of this three part article, I introduced the concept that too much of a good thing like exercise is not always a good thing.  In part 2, I outlined the signs of the addiction associated with the “runner’s high” – much like a high associated with a drug.  In case you are still asking “so what?”; still wondering what the problem is with being addicted to something as wholesome as exercise, then read on.  Working out hard will let you see results quickly, but continually overloading the body will eventually lead to negative consequences.  Whilst working out hard is good for bones, going at high levels of intensity all the time puts enormous stress on bones, joints and muscles.  

Following on from last week’s post – I don’t want to give the idea that I see lots of exercise as a negative.  I am all for lots of exercise, just as I am all for healthy eating.  However, becoming obsessed with what you do and do not eat, or becoming obsessed with exercising are still obsessions, still addictions.

  “…it can become a compulsion, an obsessive need to work out multiple times a day, hours at a time at the  utmost intensity your body allows”, says Susan Moore, the program coordinator at the Renfrew Center, a treatment facility  for eating disorders in Philadelphia.