Here’s to your Independence this July 4th! Exercise, Your Fountain of Youth

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Reduce your biological age and prolong your independence by starting and staying on a regular exercise program.

Engaging in a consistent exercise program has been shown to assist with losing weight, decreasing body fat, lower stress and increasing energy but…reduce our biological age? Yes! This July 4th let’s celebrate our independence and find our fountain of youth by staying consistent on a regular aerobic fitness program.

fitness-stress

Here are the facts:

  • It was reviewed in studies and concluded that aerobic fitness matters – particularly if you want to live independently for all your years!
  • Studies show that overall mortality is cut by as much as 70% among the “highly fit” older adults.
  • It is also well documented that maximal oxygen intake decreases between 20 to 60 years old and is projected to deteriorate at a similar rate into retirement.
  • Starting at age 50, people begin to lose 12% of their muscle strength and 6% of their muscle mass every decade resulting in a decrease in your metabolism

Our Fountain of Youth:

  • To attain the associated health benefits for the fountain of youth, it only takes “moderate levels of physical activity 30 minutes a day, five days a week.”
  • Progressive aerobic training can boost your aerobic power and potentially delay the loss of dependence by as much as 10-12 years.
  • A regular exercise program can slow or reverse the loss of aerobic fitness, reducing the individual’s biological age and prolonging independence.
  • Two to three months of weight training three times a week can increase muscle strength and mass by one-third, making up for three decades of loss of muscle strength and muscle mass.

You have the facts and the solution. It’s time to get moving this July 4th!

Some tips!

  • Plan your week ahead and schedule your times for some form of movement at least 5 days a week, 30 -60minutes.
  • Taking group classes that mix things up and keep it fun are a great way to keep your weekly movement scheduled. Look for Group Exercise Schedules that keep it fun! REV/SPINNING, Dance, Pilates, and Yoga and Definitions classes.
  • Brisk walks or runs, bike riding, taking the stairs at your lunchtime.
  • Scheduling time to workout with a personal trainer is also a great way to keep your movement scheduled weekly.
  • Work with a trainer that is certified in Target Zone Training. This trainer can take you through a sub-max VO2 test that will allow them to design an individualized aerobic program for you. You will get pre- printed workout cards knowing exactly what to do each day you come in to the club for your aerobic fitness program.

There are always ways to fit movement in to your daily routine.  If I told you we could give you the fountain of youth and all you needed to do was make a conscious effort to move each week, would you do it?

IMAGINE

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I just got back from Las Vegas where for my birthday I was treated to The Beatles LOVE, Cirque Du Soleil show featuring the music of The Beatles. As I watched the show with the utmost amazement and awe I began to think about the message we heard from one of the most famous Beatles (as if they were all not famous?) – IMAGINE. Lennon was asking us to imagine a place where things that divide people (religion, possessions, etc.) did not exist. This song was written during the height of the war in viet nam, the first nixon administration and the peace movement. Much of the popular culture of the time was centered around these factors. However, in the spirit of this message it had me thinking( as I do every now and then)…

What if we imagined a place where our behaviors matched our stated goals for fitness and wellness?  A place where our day to day actions and decisions did not divide us leaving for an unrealized fitness and wellness goal. Have you heard yourself say you want to lose weight, get healthier or increase energy yet continue to not change or add the behaviors needed to achieve this? What if I asked you to IMAGINE a place where your behaviors did fall in line to assist you in achieving your goals? Where your actions matched the VISION you have for your fitness and wellness. How many times have we found ourselves taking actions or making decisions during our week, which do not align with our goals yet to find ourselves at the end of the week pondering as to why we are not moving closer to reaching our them? Not making it to the gym for cardio, eating that extra serving for dinner, not reading food labels before eating?

IMAGINE, urges us to create a compelling VISION for ourselves in regards to our fitness and wellness. It asks us to paint a picture of what you would look and feel like at your ideal level of wellness. It asks, what kind of person do you want to be when it comes to your health, fitness and wellness? Our vision is what we want, rather than what we do not want. “It’s hard to see and feel the absence of something; in contrast, it’s hard to ignore and resist the presence of something.” Taking this first step in creating your VISION will assist you in aligning your actions with your desired goals. Your VISION is your dream while your goals are the plans or design you make to reach your VISION.

Your VISION can be something like, “ My wellness vision in the next six months is that I have reversed my trend of steady weight gain and I look better, feel younger and wear stylish clothes.”

First steps to reaching your VISION-

1)    IMAGINE IT, create your vision and write it down. Make it in present tense as if it is already happening. “It is a compelling statement of who you are and what healthy promoting, life giving behaviors you want to do consistently.”

2)   Revisit your VISION for your fitness and wellness each week.

3)   Every time you find yourself in a situation where your actions can determine whether you are on the path to reach your vision, ask yourself “ Does this move me closer to my VISION or farther away?”

Creating your vision of finess or wellness is taking the first step in realizing  your goals. It creates the pathway for you to see where you want to be, it provides the energy needed to move you forward towards your goals.

so I ask…IMAGINE?

You may say I’m a dreamer, But I’m not the only one,I hope someday you’ll join us

Over and Out-