If Not Now, When?

THIS ISSUE: 6 Guidelines for Senior Fitness

Table of Contents:

1) Editor's Note
2) Food for Thought
3) Feature Article: 6 Guidelines for Senior Fitness
4) Teleclasses
5) Question & Answer
6) Our Services

Editor's Note

Hi,

May was a quiet month. No travel, other than a quick trip up to Prescott. I will be traveling in June and July. By the time you read this, my wife and I will be in Chicago for our oldest grandson, Dalton's, grammar school graduation and 14th birthday party. Boy, they sure do grow up fast!

I also have a trip up to Las Vegas planned for the end of June to spend some time with a close friend I've known since grammar school. He has end stage colon cancer, so this may be the last time we will able to get together. I just lost a friend of 28 years to a cerebral hemorrhage two weeks ago. I guess I'm getting to the age where losing friends becomes more a part of life than it has been in the past. That's not a pleasant thought, but it does help keep me more focused on trying to make healthy choices so I can keep the "preventable" illnesses from making me a statistic.

Back to traveling. I am also planning a trip to Denver in July for my martial arts organization's national championship. That's always a fun trip because I know so many of the other senior black belts that it's like a big family reunion.

This is also the time of year when we head up to the high country (Prescott, Jerome, or Sedona) once or twice a month to get away from the heat. And, I spend a lot of time getting some sun while riding my Harley.

I am starting to do my exercise walking earlier and earlier in the day. We will be breaking 100 degrees on a regular basis for the next few months, and it isn't uncommon for temperatures to be in the 90's before 9AM.

Reminder - I still have a few spots open in my on line fitness coaching group.  Just go to  my coaching site to check things out.

Good luck, keep exercising, and remember – "If not now, when?".

Best Wishes,

Tom Manfredi


Send any comments you may have to tom@fitness-after-50.com

My site fitness-after-50.com

Food for Thought

Feature Article - 6 Guidelines for Senior Fitness

The benefits of being physically fit are so numerous that it makes no sense not to attempt to develop a reasonable level of fitness. As we age, keeping fit can become more of a challenge, but the benefits are even more numerous and rewarding. Here are six guidelines that seniors should keep in mind as they are pursuing a fitness program:

1. Frequency – How often you exercise is an important factor in a successful fitness program. For someone pursuing health related fitness rather than sports specific fitness, you don’t have to exercise all that often. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) says that excellent results can be achieved by seniors with 2 sessions per week of strength training and at least 3 days a week of aerobic exercise (walking, etc.).

2. Intensity – How hard you push yourself is also important. Seniors looking for health related fitness don’t have to push too hard though. For aerobic exercise you should aim to work at a heart rate of about 60 -70% of your target heart rate (220 minus your age). Strength training requires enough weight to challenge your muscles, but not so much that it makes you really uncomfortable. The “no pain, no gain” mentality is definitely not necessary for good results.

3. Duration – This refers to how long your exercise session lasts. For good health, the requirements are very reasonable. A good target for aerobic exercise is 30 minutes per day. But, sessions of as little as 10 minutes each (if you do 3 per day) have been found to create good results. For strength training, duration is not too important. It’s more important that you make sure you do a variety of exercises that target all of your major muscle groups.

4. Stretching – As we get older, most of us lose some of the flexibility in our joints. Regaining as much of this flexibility as we can is extremely beneficial. I recommend to my clients that they try to do some stretching exercises every day. Even a few minutes a day can make a big difference.

5. Warm-up – Everyone should include at least a few minutes of warm-ups before they start their regular exercises. Your goal with a warm-up is to simply loosen up the muscles you’re about to use and get some extra blood flowing to them. For strength training a warm-up might include a set of your exercises with little or no weight. For aerobic exercise, doing the exercise at a slower rate at the beginning works well. A warm-up before stretching is also a good idea. A few calisthenics that gently move the joints you’re going to stretch is all that’s needed.

6. Cool Down – This is overlooked by many people. The principle is pretty much the opposite of a warm-up. When you are through exercising and increasing your heart rate and the blood flow to your muscles, you need to slow everything down again. Make sure you do some movements to slowly bring your body back down to a more normal level before you stop completely.

Using these guideliness will help you to develop an exercise program that is both beneficial and easy for you to follow. The results that you will start to feel in just a few short months will make the effort well worth it. Keep in mind that an exercise program to improve your health is something you must plan on doing the rest of your life. And you are worth it.

(c)2005 - 2008 Thomas D. Manfredi, MS

Teleclasses

I will be announcing upcoming teleclasses in this section in the future.

If you have a topic that you would be interested in hearing about in a teleclass, send an e-mail to teleclasses@fitness-after-50.com

Questions and Answers

Answer - Electrolytes are minerals in the form of ions that help control the flow of fluids in and out of the cells of the body. The main ones inside our cells are sodium and potassium, while chloride is outside the cells. It is very important that we have the right balance of these minerals in order for our bodies to function efficiently. During exercise we lose some of these minerals in our sweat, which can cause problems if the loss becomes excessive or if we have certain illnesses.

To get more information on various fitness and health issues, please go to my site – www.fitness-after-50.com


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If you have a fitness or nutrition question you would like me to consider answering here in the newsletter, just send your question, along with your first name and city, in an e-mail to quesandansw@fitness-after-50.com

Obviously, I can't answer every question submitted. I will choose one question each month to answer here.

About Our Services

On line fitness coach Tom Manfredi is the creator of the site "fitness-after-50". This site is designed with the mature adult in mind. There is a lot of information available on the site for anyone looking to start or restart a sensible exercise program. Learn more by going to www.fitness-after-50.com


Tom also offers on line fitness coaching for people interested in getting expert guidance with their fitness plans. Check out Tom's coaching services and get a F.R.E.E. fitness analysis too.

Benefits of Fitness Coaching On Line:

I am now offering on line fitness coaching to my readers. Below are some of the reasons you may want to check in with me about having me be your coach. I will only be accepting a limited number of people to coach so that I can give each of them the attention they deserve.