Aging Gracefully Part II

You don't need fancy equipment to start an exercise program. In fact, you can start by doing calisthenics, which is body weight exercises. For example, push-ups can help build your chest, shoulders, triceps, back and abdominal muscles. Also, add squats. This is a great exercise that will help strengthen and tone your legs. You can start by placing your feet shoulder-width apart, toes facing straight ahead or angled slightly outward. Place your hands on your hips and slowly bend your knees and lower your hips towards the floor, keeping your abs tight and torso straight. Be sure to keep your knees behind your toes and don’t bend pass 90 degrees (doing so can cause added stress to your knees). In addition, you can add some core training by doing planks. This is a personal favorite but most hated by my clients. Planks are an isometric exercise, which means it’s held in a static position. Isometric exercises are great because they don’t create friction on joints like isotonic movements. Planks are done by lying face down on the floor with forearms and hands resting on the floor next to your chest. Next, push your body off the floor in a pushup position (using your hands, forearms and toes) while keeping your abs tight, your body straight and parallel to the floor. Lastly, hold the position for several seconds (be sure to breath) and return to starting position. If you’re new to exercise, consider using a personal trainer to help assist with proper lifting techniques and forms. This will help reduce your risk of injury. Strength training is a great way to increase lean muscle mass that will in turn burn more fat, elevate your mood and increase your energy level.

Breathe! That’s something we all have to do but don’t do it properly when we’re under stress. When you’re up against a deadline or in a stressful situation your blood pressure increases and an unhealthy stress hormone called cortisol and overtime, this can harm your immune system and contribute to chronic stress. You can control this by allowing yourself 5-10 minutes of deep breathing and mentally verbalizing a proverb or reflecting on a positive image.