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.

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.

Your friend says:  “I am addicted to cardio” – and you think Wow, that is a good thing to be addicted to, as you think of Belgium chocolate as the something you would normally associate with “addiction” – or worse, alcohol or drugs!

First let’s look at the definition of addiction. 

                        Addiction is doing something you know is detrimental to your mental, physical, or emotional well-being, yet you do it anyway.

Last week, my guest spot topic on Carl Lenore’s Super Human Radio Show was about Women and Personal trainers.  (The link to the show is posted at the end of this blog post.)  The topic is so broad and deep, and on the show we covered a small part, so I have this pent up need to share more.   And specifically, cover some things that women have spoken to me about or asked me about.

Figured I would break it into three parts:

1. Choosing a Personal Trainer
2. Getting the Most out of your Personal Trainer

It is just what it sounds like  –  a grueling run through mud (not by accident) and a variety of obstacles.  The annual Mud Runs take place all over the US in Summer and Fall.  Here is a link to the search I just completed using Bing.  Google brings up a similar result.  Some are 5 miles or 10K (just over 6 miles).

Every year Camp Pendleton (in San Diego)  holds a variety of fitness activities that are open to the general public.  This includes Mud Runs –  more than one each year.  Below are some tips posted  on www.crossfitweekendwarriors.com earlier this year right before a Mud Run (June 10^th ).  The tips are attributed to Ken Davis and give one a flavor of the challenge. Read on:

Of course our objective in working out and bodybuilding is to stay healthy  –  but who are we kidding, it is also to stay looking and feeling young ( well at least a good deal younger than our chronological age).  So it seems ironic that  we give ourselves away, by acting old in oh so many ways.  In fact Pamela Redmond Satran has written a book “How Not to Act Old” and excerpts have been reproduced in More magazine http://tiny.cc/uF2rq,  and even the Wall Street Journal took time to give an excerpt http://tiny.cc/jDTot.   I tweeted a couple of excerpts that I found funny  (one regarding Twitter and one regarding exercise).  I figure there is something for everyone even though a few women commented in More that they were insulted.

Today I am sore. I am excited. I used muscles I had been avoiding; and at least I am admitting that here.

When it comes to body-building, I love sharing, and I love learning – and this week it was learning.

Seems we are a fit lot in general  –  and many of us making great strides to get there. (Us being the Baby Boomers.  My goal:  “Buffed-Boomer Queen”).  How about a few quotes from posts/articles I recently came across:

“68 yr old female bodybuilder – definitely not a senior” – from a woman asking for advice to reach her goal of “being ripped by 70”.  I love it!
“ A group of nursing home residents ranging in age from 87 to 96 recently improved their muscle strength by almost 180 percent after just eight weeks of weightlifting”  –  from an article on the Blue Cross Blue Shield ‘Healthy Me’ website.
There is a recent story about a 73 year old power lifter  –  OK a male, but I thought I would acknowledge him.  http://tinyurl.com/dmj56s