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09 May 2009 02:27 PM

According to fitness experts, yes, you can--provided you keep working out well past retirement.

No one enjoys living with the aches, pains and overall discomfort that come with aging, so to avoid the lower back spasms and stiff joints, fitness experts advise to stick with a well-rounded exercise routine as you get on in years.

Backing up the experts' advice is a new study, which found that fitness, strength and flexibility do not simply fade away with age, as long as you make the right lifestyle choices. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that individuals who partake in aerobic activity, strength training and stretching can offset the effects of aging.

The study shows that regular exercise can also lower the risks of chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and heart disease. In addition, researchers say following an effective exercise regime can boost immune function, alleviate fatigue and cut the risk of disability in older adults.

The study also offers good news for individuals who have never followed a regular exercise routine. According to researchers, people of any age can start exercising, and reap the same health benefits. However, researchers warn that sedentary people should talk with their doctors first, particularly if they have medical conditions.

To achieve the best fitness results, researchers at the Mayo Clinic recommend participating in the following:

Aerobic Exercise--Any type of movement, like walking, jogging, swimming or riding a bike, that raises the heart rate and gets you breathing harder. Aim for 30 to 60 minutes of cardio activity three to five times per week.

Strengthening Exercises--Such as lifting weights, doing push-ups or pull-ups, or working with weight machines. These types of exercises are important to maintain muscle mass and strength.

Stretching--Experts maintain that it is important to fit in stretching to boost flexibility. Also, consider balancing exercises to improve coordination and to lower your risk of injury.

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07 May 2009 04:12 PM

Here's some food for thought the next time you decide to lace up your sneakers and head out to burn calories in the fresh spring air: Fitness experts say walking is a good form of exercise... provided you take 100 steps per minute.

A new study shows that the 100 steps per minute pace is vital for those who want to reap the most benefits while hitting the pavement. Experts say, ideally, the pace should be intense enough to produce sweat.

While some walkers use a pedometer to keep track of how many steps they take, experts say the device gives no information on how intensely they're exercising. In order to get in a moderately intense workout, a person's heart rate must increase to a level that improves physical fitness. According to researchers, for that to happen, most men need to walk at a pace of 92 to 102 steps per minute, while women must complete between 91 and 115 steps per minute.

In addition to walking at least 100 steps in 60 seconds, experts recommend that adults complete at least 30 minutes of moderate activity, five times per week. This can be achieved in two ways. The first option is to complete all 30 minutes in one session, which means taking a minimum of 3,000 steps per session. The other option is to break those steps down into several shorter exercise sessions throughout the day.

"Because health benefits can be achieved with bouts of exercise lasting at least 10 minutes, a useful starting point is to try and accumulate 1,000 steps in 10 minutes, before building up to 3,000 steps in 30 minutes," the study's lead researcher noted.

Researchers say the best way to achieve 100 steps per minute is to purchase a simple pedometer and a wristwatch.

Related Articles:

Walking May Not Be Good Enough

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Creating an Affordable Fitness Plan

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How Often Do You Use Your Home Gym?

Bad Things Happen When You Stop Going to the Gym

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06 May 2009 03:38 PM

She famously shed 75 pounds from her 5'8" frame two years ago, and then infamously gained back 83 pounds. Now, actress Kirstie Alley says she is ready to get fit the old fashioned way--by exercising like a "woman possessed."

Or obsessed. The former "Cheers" star says she is ready to slim down without taking shortcuts. This time she insists that her weight loss regime will include daily cardio exercise and weight training.

This new promise comes a few months after Alley stepped on the scale for the first time in more than a year.

"I started screaming," Alley tells PEOPLE Magazine in its latest issue. "It said 228 pounds, which is my highest weight ever. I was so much more disgusting than I thought!"

But, Alley says she is determined to turn that disgust into results. The 58-year-old former Jenny Craig spokeswoman (she famously trimmed down to 145 pounds while with the company) confesses that she banished her gym equipment to the garage and hasn't worked out in more than 15 months. In addition, to eliminating aerobic activity from her life, Alley reveals that she also gave up eating small, low-calorie meals and spent the last year gorging on Chinese takeout and buttery pasta dishes.

"I fell off the horse," admits the indulgent star.

Still, Alley says she is set to begin a new fitness plan, which includes a professional trainer. She'll need the extra help. As incentive to lose the weight, the TV star has vowed to enter a triathlon and sculpt her "schlumpy" figure back down to a bikini-ready 140 pounds.

"I'm going to have to work harder than last time," she says, but "I'm way excited."

Alley is hoping her excitement can help get her through the daily workouts and restricted diet she knows she must endure to get fit.

We'll see what happens.

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In some instances, it's hard to tell when reality is for real. It may confuse you when your friends utter varying opinions on how you look. Some say you are healthy-looking which can be a subtle means of telling how you've gained pounds. Others say straightforwardly that you are getting chunkier. Upon hearing these comments, will they get you to join any weight loss program?

Feedbacks can either be understatement or overstatement. You know, most people comment to please rather than hurt feelings. To reach a decision of doing any weight loss routines would depend on whether you are beyond calorie count based on your gender, body form, height and bone structure. Alignment of your body parts can shape up your physique, and when you see there's something off like excess bulges on the waist and fatty legs and arms, then you might have to drop pounds and body mass.

In some cases, people could be psychologically thinking that they actually need to lose weight. They see themselves as bulging and buffed although they aren't. Others are even scared of taking extra bites to indulge because the mind says it's too much to feed your stomach. If you are any of these, you can either be bulimic or anorexic. Being anorexic, you experience a persistent loss of appetite that tends to deprive and suppress your eating at all. Being bulimic is a serious condition that makes you feel guilty about eating so you tend to under-eat or perhaps force yourself to vomit. Bulimic and anorexic individuals need not undertake any weight loss program. Unless the situation results to weight gain, these health issues are to be resolved first or else they could go worse.

Ask yourself if you need any weight loss program after you are tip yourself on the scale and determine your ideal weight. If your idealism in weight aims for 120 pounds in accordance with your height and age, then go for it. If you currently weigh 140 pounds, then you surely need to lose those extra calories before you could be obese and prone to diabetes, heart troubles and high blood pressure.

The healthiest fitness thought you can decide on whether you should be doing weight loss program is that you pay attention to how you really manage your food intake, how you measure and weight, and how your reflections project for real. To make sure you would be dealing with the appropriate approach, you can seek advice from the experts.

05 May 2009 10:34 AM

The next time you brush off an invitation to attend a yoga class because you think you're too old to twist your body into a pretzel, think about Bette Calman. The Australian yoga instructor is 83 years old and is able to contort her body into positions that people more than half her age would have difficulty executing.

London's Daily Mail recently featured the flexible grandma in a multi-page spread. And boy, can this lady spread her limbs. At an age when most people are retiring to their rocking chairs, Calman is bending over backwards, striking challenging "lotus" poses and extending her arms over her head and around her neck, all in an effort to promote the benefits of the ancient Indian fitness option.

What's more, she strikes her pretzel-like poses wearing her trademark pink jumpsuit and pearl earrings. The nimble Australian says that despite her age, she doesn't have chronic aches or pains. Rather, Calman credits her nearly four decades worth of daily yoga classes to keeping her fit and happy.

"I'm proof that if you keep at it, you'll get there," Calman told the paper. "I can do more now than I could 50 years ago."

Doing more includes executing tough balancing maneuvers, such as the extremely tough "peacock" pose where the body is held in a horizontal position using just the arms. Calman has also mastered the tricky raised "lotus" and "bridge" poses and can complete headstands with ease.

The normally reserved Calman says she is speaking out about the benefits of yoga now because she wants people to realize that the age is just a number.

"Forget age," said Calman, the author of three yoga books including one called Yoga for Arthritis. "Even a basic posture, or just going to a window and breathing deeply, can have big benefits."

Calman is a fitness legend in Melbourne where she teaches 11 yoga classes a week.

Her motto: "Yoga keeps you young."

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