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. 

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.

“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.

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

 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

Continuing the review of the exercises I found in the BackPacker Magazine.   In the previous  blog post I commented on 6 of the 11 or so exercises.  So, starting in the left top corner and going clockwise we ended at the bottom of the page (Treating Muscle Cramps).  Moving on clockwise:

7.      Banishing Blisters.  Always good to read about the current thinking  – to pop or not to pop blisters?  I am sure this question has come up for most of you, even if it hasn’t exactly kept you up at night.  Seems it was settled in a much earlier BackPacker article.  And Yes you should pop blisters as long as:

 I found these exercises in the BackPacker Magazine.   It really seems to me that they are valuable regardless of the type of exercise/sport one engages in. 

Taking a look starting in the left top corner and going clockwise:

 1.   Building Lung Power.  The approach is to train using “Intervals” – three minutes all out then three minutes of recovery.   The article talks about jogging – running at high intensity then jogging at recovery rate.    And for many who no longer find jogging suitable, here are options:

• Speed walking and regular walking – outside or treadmill

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.

A few weeks ago I blogged about “mixing it up”  –  changing and adding variety to your fitness schedule.   I made mention of some ‘Butt’ exercises I had found and planned to try.  Amazingly I couldn’t find that great set of exercises again.  Found similar but not the ones I was so excited about when I blogged.  This has bugged me  –  and I am now working on building up my own list and finding individual exercises to include.   I was annoyed to ‘lose’ the list and it kept me from blogging ’till I could find it’.  Really silly how our minds work.  So I am moving on while I build the Butt List.