Workout and Diet Advice for Women over 45

I love the Health and Fitness Industry because things are always changing and (mostly) improving.  Guidelines that we took as gospel in the early days of fitness and weight-training were blown away a few years later with a new theory, only to be refuted itself with new research a few years after that; and so the cycle goes.  

• The best way to do sit-ups (straight back and legs) became the surefire way to hurt one’s back, and we found out about better “core” exercises;
• The perfect way to stretch (bouncing) turned into a guaranteed way to pull a muscle, and we learned about safe stretching.

—–   The Reality of the Radiation Threat and Ways of dealing with it. 

There are as many opinions about the radiation threat from the Japan Tsunami/Nuclear Disaster as there are Experts and Pseudo-experts vying for some airtime.   The official guideline is that the amount of radioactive material coming across from Japan is minute and not a threat.  

I have spent much of the last week reading and researching as much as possible on the topic.  And whilst I don’t advocate any remedies, I present you with the results of my research and leave you to make your own best decisions. 

 Now that I have heard from my readers that the regular “plank” was either fairly easy or a good challenge ‘that made my legs shake’, it is time for the next level.

This time, after stabilizing your position you will lift up one leg while maintaining that stable posture.  Hold for a count of 10 or twenty and lower the leg.  Repeat this with the other leg.  The pictures below are really good to follow.

 First review the Basic Plank

Going back to basics.  I thought it would be a good idea to present some basic exercises – and the best place to start is with the Core.  Building a strong core is indispensible – for weight training and all other forms of physical activity.

I will do periodic posts in this series of basic exercises, and each time I will make sure to note that it is the “next in the series” so anyone interested can build their own set of exercises from the posts.   Some will come from outside sources (where I find just the perfect photo to demonstrate) and some I will develop with my own photos.

Increasing Human Growth Hormone may help halt effects of aging

“By increasing the levels of HGH through growth hormone therapy in our bodies, we can slow, or even reverse, many of the manifestations of aging. Ideally, this HGH replacement should begin at about the age of 30 years, but HGH replacement therapy can be beneficial at any age above 30. In fact, for older people, Human Growth Hormone therapy can reverse the manifestations of aging by 5 to 15 years or more. There is no other single therapy currently available that can have the impact on aging that HGH Therapy can have.  HGH therapy is very effective for both men and women in correcting hormone imbalance.  HGH Therapy has been used to cure various hormonal imbalance diseases like menopause, breast cancer, aging, body fat and low sexual performance.

Doesn’t it seem that every year we are asked to believe that “researchers” have uncovered THE superfood? And this year really does seem to be the year of the Chia seed.

The Chia seed, as an excellent source of nutrition may well retain its reputation beyond that of many of its predecessors – is anyone still sprinkling oat bran on their cereal?

In the previous blog post on Chia, I summarized the main characteristics of Chia seeds and also detailed the nutritional components of the seed.    This time we look at claims associated with these characteristics.

Did you ever look at the cute Chia Pets and wonder of the sprouting vegetation was edible…. Me neither.  In fact I think the closest I came to a Chia Pet was the commercial on TV – and I never thought of them as food.  The seed on the other hand IS food.

We are led to believe these two options are mutually exclusive – that good/organic/sustainably produced food cannot be inexpensive as well! 

However, reform advocates say it’s possible to make delicious, nutritious, safe food available to all people of all income levels.  I read that sentence twice  –  slowly, to make sure I had read it correctly!

And the article says “it is a false choice forced on consumers by government policies that favor big agriculture.  So are we really talking agribusiness vs. the sustainable food movement?  Or is organic farming really cost effective on a large scale?  Perhaps the suggested approach is outside-the-box thinking.

It’s January,  the highs of Christmas and New Year have given way to the inevitable doldrums, aided by having to return to the office, perhaps deal with blizzards and freezing weather or floods ,  or just that general feeling of anxiety.   So it was timely that I came across an article that offers relief from stress and anxiety, as well as from the usual medications.

What may once have seemed like a fad, or a touch “New-Agey”, in a field of medicine prone to fads (the field of psychology), is moving strongly into the mainstream.  Mindfulness Therapy  now has the results of numerous studies and solid evidence to show it really can help. 

(I rarely get on a soapbox – but this is important.)   A while back I wrote about – and linked to – an article in the LA Times that raised the alarm on  a specific clinic with dubious credentials that offered (and offers) Lap Band surgery.   February 22nd 2010.   Sadly someone had died.