Hitting 50? Work out tips for the middle-aged

By Tarek Yacoub 

The older you get, the more susceptible your metabolism is to slowing down, making it difficult to lose weight or gain any muscle.

According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, we enter the premises of being called “middle-aged” when we begin to lose lean muscle mass from the body – this condition is called Sarcopenia.

However, what if you were told there is a way to reverse this peculiar reaction? Hollywood heavyweights Dwayne Johnson, Terry Crews and Hugh Jackman are prime examples of breaking the mold.

Hypertrophies

There are two types of muscle hypertrophies: Myofibrillar and Sarcoplasmic. The objective here is to concentrate on Myofibrillar exercises because it focuses on increasing fiber mass that is responsible for giving you that “pump” sensation when you finish training.

To delve more into it, you need continuously stimulate tension on the muscles so, when cellular fatigue happens, your fibers gets damaged. This ultimately results with it repairing itself to withstand bigger and tougher sets.

This is how most celebrities in their 40s and 50s stay in shape.

If you’re fairly new to the lifting scene, incorporate 10 to 12 repetition per set for the first week (regardless of the exercise executed) - just enough to get you warmed up. Then move into isometric, slightly heavier sets with 6 to 8 repetitions over a span of 4 weeks. Then repeat for another regimen (e.g. squatting, Barbell Row or Deadlift).

The whole point for this is to get your body out of that futile mode and into hefty training.

Rest Periods

Why is it important? As part of self-development, your body requires the adequate time to completely heal from the pounding that you’re putting it through day in, day out. Muscles become thicker when your growth hormone multiplies and it tends to be at its highest during resting periods.

Another reason would be to relax your nervous system. You don’t want to wake up feeling sleep deprived as this will consequently lower your Leptin (hormone) level. We don’t want your body to feel ravenous for fatty food, that’s not what we are after – unless it is a cheat day.

Nutrition

You will have to start eating fat. The good kind of course. So, what better way to take in raw omega-3 nutrients than from salmon and sardines. Aside from that, you’ll need to garnish your plate with vegetables. Every fitness enthusiast is big on consuming protein and carbohydrates, but what a majority of them fail to notice is having a considerable amount of Antioxidants post-working out. This is because Antioxidants minimize collateral damage that surrounds the tissues – oh, those fiber healing Samaritans. 

Source: http://english.alarabiya.net

Calories for Weight Loss for Women Over 50 Years

By Lynne Sheldon

No matter what your age, you have to cut calories in order to lose weight. However, as a woman over 50, you may find that you need to scale back on your caloric intake even more than you did in your 30s and 40s. This is because as you age, your metabolism slows down, and you also begin to lose muscle mass. Fight off the middle-age spread by eating a low-calorie diet and choosing nutritious foods.

Body Changes, Metabolism and Calories
As you get older, the amount of fat in your body may increase by up to 30 percent, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. When this occurs, you also lose lean muscle mass, which in turn slows down the rate at which you burn calories). This makes maintaining your weight more difficult and makes losing weight more difficult still. To compensate for your slower metabolism, you will need to eat about 200 calories a day fewer than you did when you were younger. However, don't eat fewer than 1,100 calories a day, as this can pose risks to your health and deprive you of essential nutrients.

Caloric Needs
You can get a rough idea of your daily caloric needs with a simple mathematical formula: multiply your goal weight by 12 to 15 calories. A person’s caloric needs will depend on her age, gender and activity level. In general, a woman who is older and not as active will need fewer calories than a man who is younger and more active. For example, if you are a 55-year-old woman who is mildly active and wants to weigh 140 pounds, you would multiply this goal weight by 12 for a daily caloric need of 1680 calories.

Healthy Food Choices
When you are cutting calories, do not skimp on nutrition. Following a balanced diet that is rich in vitamins and minerals is essential for your health, especially as you age. Rather than skipping meals or cutting out carbohydrates or dairy, eat four or five smaller meals throughout the day, and choose whole-grain carbs and low-fat dairy products. Load up your plate with fruits and vegetables, which are full of nutrients and fiber, and choose plant-based proteins like beans and soy products. Limit items with empty calories like cakes, chips and other processed foods, since these have little to no nutritional value and are often high in calories.

Importance of Exercise
Cutting calories is only part of a successful weight-loss plan -- especially as you enter your 50s, you need to get regular exercise. Not only does working out burn calories, thereby allowing you to eat a little more, it also builds lean muscle mass. This can rev up your metabolism, as well as keep postmenopausal fat at bay. Ask your doctor if you are healthy enough to incorporate exercise into your weight-loss plan, and then aim to get about 30 minutes of exercise every day.

Source: http://www.livestrong.com

Simple exercise tips and guidelines for senior citizens

By Kevin Vizcarra 

Participating in a regular exercise program is an effective way to reduce and prevent functional declines associated with aging. Both endurance and strength exercises are encouraged to improve your overall health status. For many of seniors, squeezing in an exercise routine in their daily schedule isn’t always easy. With the help of a caregiver, you can work together to find easy ways to make the time for it and stay safe while exercising.

Brisk Walking

Endurance is a fitness component that is important to maintain as you age. Both aerobic and endurance exercises can help maintain various aspects of heart and lung function as well as cardiac output.

Seniors should build up to at least 30 minutes of endurance exercises. Walking is a great way to start. Try taking a slow walk for about 20 minutes each day. It’s a great way to be outdoors and enjoy the weather.

Weight Lifts

Strength and resistance training is a realistic strategy that can also help offset the loss of muscle mass typically associated with aging. It will also help improve your functional capacity and independence. Risk factors can be reduced that are associated with diseases prevalent in seniors such as hypertension, diabetes and osteoporosis.

Using your body weight with sit-ups and pull-ups is the least expensive option. But for minimal cost, you can also purchase dumbbells and elastic bands to provide better resistance. Strength training two to three days a week, with a day of rest between workouts, is recommended to maintain bone and muscle strength.

There are the usually concerns about what would be the exercise goals and whether it would be safe. Here are some easy guidelines to begin an exercise program:

How hard should you work?

• Monitor the intensity and duration.
• Monitor heart rate. Your HomeHero caregiver can help you with this.
• If you are on medications that affect your heart rate, talk to your doctor.
• You should never be in pain or be unable to speak.
• Start each session slowly and give yourself time to warm up.

Where should I exercise?

• A health club is a good place for self-help, but if you’re not comfortable outdoors, you may do it at home. It’s important, however, not to overwork yourself too quickly. Be sure to get advice about any exercise program you take on and have someone, ideally your caregiver, to watch after you.

• Selecting exercise equipment is an important decision, both in terms of function and finance. It can be a treadmill, stationary bike or even walking shoes. Make sure they’re comfortable and safe.

How long should I exercise for?

• Duration may be five minutes at the beginning of your program. Plan to gradually increase your progress to at least 20 minutes of continuous exercise each day. 30 to 45 minutes is ideal.

How often should I exercise?

• Endurance exercises are recommended three to five days each week. You can also do strength exercises to switch up your routine.

Safety

• It is better to exercise with a partner or in a supervised facility.
• Consider seeing an exercise professional and your doctor before starting your exercise program.

After you go through this list, you should be ready to start your exercise program. Keep in mind to always avoid strain and exhaustion. Don’t be afraid to stop exercising as soon as you feel tired and long before you feel exhausted. Be sure to seek the advice of a doctor before you undertake a new form of exercise.

Take part in physical activities you enjoy most. Walking, stretching, dancing, gardening, hiking and cycling are all excellent activities that you may have not tried or thought about yet.

Source: http://www.homehero.org

Exercise Tips For People Above 60

A little of exercise and physical strain is like a medicine to keep away body ailments for a person of any age. As you grow older, the need of some physical strain becomes of more importance to remain fit. The only difference is the extent and intensity of the exercise changes as you grow older and one should adopt exercises which are a little mild. 

How to exercise over 60 is a big question may senior citizens have. So here we are with fitness tips for over 60 people who can use these tips and stay fit and slender. For any exercise, it is the will power which is needed and not the age. Many young people do not or rather cannot exercise as much as the over 60′s can. Never make age as a factor interfere with your fitness. These are simple answers on how to exercise over 60!

1. Yoga
Yoga has no age limitations and can be done by all at any age. Yoga helps in keeping the body flexible and improving the muscle and bone health. Doing mild yoga postures is one way of exercise on how to exercise over 60. Yoga helps in keeping the internal organs strong and healthy. Yoga can be performed by people over 60 everyday for half an hour or so.

2. Laughing workshops
When a person reaches the age of 60, being happy always is very important to remain fit and healthy. Laughter is one of the best ways on how to exercise over 60. Laughing is a medicine for all ailments and laughing helps to release the feel good hormones and make you feel energized and happy. Every morning if you start with laughing exercises, ut will be one great kick start to your day.

3. Walk
Morning and evening strolls in gardens and natural scenery is very good for people over 60 to relax and rejuvenate themselves. It is a good way to exercise and is included in every fitness tip for over 60. Walking is the simplest of all exercises and dies nit need a lot of strain or stress. Early morning is the et time to go for a walk or jog as the body gets the required oxygen.

4. Follow a diet
Over 60 if you feel like you need to keep a control on your weight, you must exercise. But along with a bit of exercise there are things like a diet that can help you to remain fit. Fitness tips over 60 includes a healthy diet with food that will help you to reduce your weight. Along with the right food, the correct amount of water intake also helps in keeping you fit.

5. Aerobics
Another light but peppy workout for all age groups is aerobics. You can do this exercise according to your speed and comfort and it does not require a lot of energy. Aerobics is one way on how to exercise over 60. The stretching and cardio exercises helps in keeping the body flexible along with improving the health of the heart. 

Source: http://medicmagic.net

Exercise Tips for Seniors

Here are some great healthy exercise tips for seniors…

Moving at all time, not just when you feel like it 

Exercise improves your metabolism. When you get moving several times a day it keeps that internal calorie burner amped up. Try two 15-minute cardio sessions daily, the improvement will be more noticeable than if you did one 30-minute session once a day.

Push your muscles to the limit
Next time you strength (resistance) train, try not to rest more than 15 seconds after the last repetition. Instead, pick up a lighter weight and do three to five more reps. You have fast and slow twitch muscle fibers. The fast ones will tire quickly, and the slow ones can endure longer. Switching over to lighter weights and continuing to fatigue all the muscle fibers will help build strength and tone faster.

Stretching will help.

As an essential part of everyday life, from driving to dressing, cleaning to gardening, lack of flexibility can limit a person’s lifestyle. Stretching will surely to complement an activity program and add to your functional fitness, helping you stay agile and independent as long as possible at any age, improving your general health safely and effectively.

*** Keep in mind not all exercise tips will apply to your particular situation. These tips are for more active and agile adults. Be sure to warm up prior to starting and give yourself time to cool down and stretch. Many exercises require supervision to avoid injury.***

Source: http://selecthomecare.com

Simple Exercise tips for senior citizens

Participating in a regular exercise program is an effective way to reduce and prevent functional declines associated with aging. Both endurance and strength exercises are encouraged to improve your overall health status. For many of seniors, squeezing in an exercise routine in their daily schedule isn’t always easy. With the help of a HomeHero caregiver, you can work together to find easy ways to make the time for it and stay safe while exercising.

Brisk Walking

Endurance is a fitness component that is important to maintain as you age. Both aerobic and endurance exercises can help maintain various aspects of heart and lung function as well as cardiac output.

Seniors should build up to at least 30 minutes of endurance exercises. Walking is a great way to start. Try taking a slow walk for about 20 minutes each day. It’s a great way to be outdoors and enjoy the weather.

Weight Lifts

Strength and resistance training is a realistic strategy that can also help offset the loss of muscle mass typically associated with aging. It will also help improve your functional capacity and independence. Risk factors can be reduced that are associated with diseases prevalent in seniors such as hypertension, diabetes and osteoporosis.

Using your body weight with sit-ups and pull-ups is the least expensive option. But for minimal cost, you can also purchase dumbbells and elastic bands to provide better resistance. Strength training two to three days a week, with a day of rest between workouts, is recommended to maintain bone and muscle strength.

There are the usually concerns about what would be the exercise goals and whether it would be safe. Here are some easy guidelines to begin an exercise program:

How hard should you work?

• Monitor the intensity and duration.
• Monitor heart rate. Your caregiver can help you with this.
• If you are on medications that affect your heart rate, talk to your doctor.
• You should never be in pain or be unable to speak.
• Start each session slowly and give yourself time to warm up.
  
  

Where should I exercise?

• A health club is a good place for self-help, but if you’re not comfortable outdoors, you may do it at home. It’s important, however, not to overwork yourself too quickly. Be sure to get advice about any exercise program you take on and have someone, ideally your caregiver, to watch after you.

• Selecting exercise equipment is an important decision, both in terms of function and finance. It can be a treadmill, stationary bike or even walking shoes. Make sure they’re comfortable and safe.
  
  

How long should I exercise for?

• Duration may be five minutes at the beginning of your program. Plan to gradually increase your progress to at least 20 minutes of continuous exercise each day. 30 to 45 minutes is ideal.
  
  

How often should I exercise?

• Endurance exercises are recommended three to five days each week. You can also do strength exercises to switch up your routine.
  
  

Safety

• It is better to exercise with a partner or in a supervised facility.
• Consider seeing an exercise professional and your doctor before starting your exercise program.

After you go through this list, you should be ready to start your exercise program. Keep in mind to always avoid strain and exhaustion. Don’t be afraid to stop exercising as soon as you feel tired and long before you feel exhausted. Be sure to seek the advice of a doctor before you undertake a new form of exercise.

Take part in physical activities you enjoy most. Walking, stretching, dancing, gardening, hiking and cycling are all excellent activities that you may have not tried or thought about yet.

Read more: homehero.org

Exercise for Women Over 50

by Susan DeFeo

Keeping active is a key to aging successfully. A regular routine of exercise not only burns fat but also supports your body and brain functions. Women over age 50 can look and feel years younger by performing exercises that burn calories, and tone and strengthen muscles and bones.

Stretches for Joints

Due to changes in tendons and ligaments, flexibility decreases and joint movement becomes restricted as you age. Poor flexibility and decreased joint range of motion can impede routine tasks such as walking, shopping, housekeeping and even breathing. Dr. Karl Knopf, author of "Stretching for 50+," recommends a range of simple stretches including head and shoulder rolls, wrist and ankle circles, twisting your torso from side to side and touching each of your fingertips to your thumb.

Cardiovascular Training for Weight Loss

Weight gain is a common occurrence for middle-aged women. In fact, the website WomenFitness.net claims that most women tend to gain about 10 pounds in the decade after reaching age 40. As women age, loss of muscle mass occurs, slowing down the body's metabolic rate, causing high cholesterol and adding unwanted pounds. Cardiovascular training revs up your heart rate and burns calories. If you haven't already, get the okay from your doctor and start with 30 minutes of any aerobic exercise such as swimming, brisk walking, jogging, tennis, dancing or biking.

Building Muscle Strength

Muscles take longer to respond in your 50s than in your 20s due to a reduction in size and loss of muscle fiber. As muscles shrink and lose mass, they lose tone and become stiff and sore. It becomes difficult to perform simple tasks such as lifting grocery bags or opening a jar. Strength training can replace lost muscle, increase your metabolism and deter obesity and diabetes -- significant health issues for women over age 50. The National Institute on Aging suggests low-impact exercises including repetitive arm raises, biceps curls with light dumbbells, standing from a sitting position, side leg raises and standing on your toes.

Basic Bone Building Exercises

Bones lose mineral content, density and mass, and become fragile as the aging process progresses. Additionally, menopause can cause a substantial drop in estrogen, accelerating the loss of bone mass by as much as 20 percent, according to Dr. Mitchell Krucoff, author of "Healing Moves." As bone mass decreases, osteoporosis can develop, leading to hip fractures and a dowager's hump in women. Resistance training utilizing resistance bands or light weights can help ward off bone deterioration. Dr. Krucoff recommends two to three 20- to 40-minute sessions per week of strength training exercises, including biceps curls, lunges, knee extensions and seated arm curls. He adds, "For the extra bone-building boost of vitamin D, exercise outdoors in the sunshine." Weight-bearing exercise such as dancing and walking also increases your bone density.

Source: http://getfit.jillianmichaels.com