Thursday, August 27, 2009

How to tell if you're going to live a long life!

I was watching the Channel 9 Today show not so long ago and they had an interesting segment on that caught my attention. Lisa was interviewing a doctor on his expert view on longevity and he had 4 key points that will determine if we'll live well into our nineties of course not counting any unexpected accidents.



They were:

* Be the life of the party! It's been proven that extroverts or people who enjoy life and have no trouble mixing with others live longer. If you're the stay at home type who'd much prefer to curl up with a good book than connect with others (and you can be forgiven for that surely, many of us may prefer that) then it may be time to bring some balance into your life. It's our connection with others that lifts our spirits, encourages laughter and usually extroverts are born leaders.

* Embrace Technology! This is also a call to stay connected. The members of the older generation who show a willingness to learn how to text, to email, to surf the net and join social networks and not be afraid of the new techie world are also showing signs of serious longevity.

* Run 40 minutes a day! This is a crucial one. As we age and as illness creeps in, it can be very hard to actually run for 40 minutes a day and I'm not sure you'd want to take it literally. What he meant was, that at least for 40 minutes a day, we need to so something that will make us sweat and puff. A vigorous walk, a cross training session of jog and walk and some resistance training every day no matter what our age is key advice.

and finally....

* Have a flat belly after menopause! Too many of us believe that middle age brings middle aged spread. That is so the wrong way to think. Even the famous Dr Oz has told us that if women have an expanding waistline or one that's over 90cms it can have the same affect on her as if she had breast cancer. Girls, your waistline is so important. If it's on the expansion trail, shapewear will help us to a degree, but that'll only mask a spreading middle. It's vital to work on it and get it down.

So how did you go? Have you answered yes to all those points and feel confident you're heading into a healthy old age? If you've only managed to answer yes to one or two, then make it a goal to keep working on the rest.

More about longevity in future posts. Feel free to leave a comment, I'm always open to hear about what women find helpful as my mission is to help women to become empowered about ageing. I don't beleive for a minute that we have to age the way our mothers or grandparents seem to expect to age with disease as an inevitability. The way we age will be completely up to us as many diseases happen by choice.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

50+? Why it's a good idea to get a Personal Trainer

I've never in my life had a Personal Trainer. In fact I've never in my life joined a gym. I thought I did OK walking every morning, having the odd jog, joining an aerobics class in a school gym once a week many years ago, doing my own style of floor exercises on the mat in front of the telly. I even invested in the aerobics and exercise videos that Jane Fonda, Cher, Cindy Crawford goodness knows who else put out way back in the 80's when working out in your loungeroom in high cut leotards and leg warmers were the go.

Of course way back then, I had the body that just seemed to maintain itself through stress, lousy eating, a burning metabolism and a crazy schedule. But now that I've officially joined the 'over 50's', it's a whole new ballgame.

If you've hit the big 50 and allowed yourself to get soft and jiggly, then it's time to sit up and think about an exercise plan to make sure you see your 60th, 70th and beyond. As I mentioned, a Personal Trainer was never ever in my immediate sights. A young gorgeous buffed 25 year old male as my motivator was not exactly what I wanted and that, in my naive view, was the typical description of a PT. Nor was I turned on by the other thought of a young athlete or army bootcamp style of exercise guru turning up at my door at 6am and screaming at me to hit the floor and give them 20!!

Until I woke up and found one my age, and who had gone through some of my experiences. When you're 50+ you've no doubt had kids, had an operation or two, maybe done a knee joint, experienced back troubles and so an exercise plan is so not a matter of just hitting the gym and working the machines without a clue. Nor does it mean signing up for pump class and going at it for an hour thinking you've done great and expecting to see the body change after a few weeks.

Someone who is educated in what age means and will take the time to see what ravages your 50+ body has already experienced will design a plan that you can cope with and know that damage won't be done to sensitive joints or an ageing heart. I soon learned all the exercise I was doing, that I was also quite proud of myself for, was pretty much all wrong. I overdid some and used the wrong technique with others and wondered why it really wasnt' changing my body shape. The PT I found simplified things for me and just tweaked a few of my movements to show me the correct way to work certain muscles.

Strength and resistance work is key to keeping the 50+ body youthful. For the health of your bones, your muscles and your nervous system. And if you need to fatburn don't think you have to jog solidly for an hour. Now, after I've worked with her for a few weeks, I'm thankful and excited that I actually can see the results I've been dying to see for a lot of years.

Invest in yourself and your health. I wish I could say I was the person you could come and see to help get your body into shape, because it's a subject I'm passionate about - after all I truly believe 50 is the new 40. But I'm not a Personal Trainer, I'm a Stylist. So once you do get your body into shape, I can help you style it. I can even help you with the dietary program and the nutrition, but that's not going to help without a great exercise plan to go along with it. But as much as we can hate exercise, trust me your body really will thank you for it.

Check out more at www.ResetReshapeRestyle.com