Brain Health

BrainNutrition, exercise and general health is important to maintining a healthy brain and good memory. When people think about staying fit, they generally think from the neck down. But the health of your brain plays a critical role in almost everything you do: thinking, feeling, remembering, working, playing — and even sleeping. The good news is that emerging evidence suggests there are steps you can take to help keep your brain healthier as you age. These steps might also reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. More

MyFitnessPal.com

Losing weight isn’t easy – we know. But with a membership to MyFitnessPal.com, you’ll get the tools you need to successfully take weight off – and keep it off. And best of all, everything on our site is 100% FREE. So put away your credit card – you’ll never have to pay a cent.

At MyFitnessPal.com, we focus on making sure you can log your meals as quickly and easily as possible. Because the easier we make it for you, the more likely you are to stay on track, and the more likely you are to succeed in your weight loss goals.

Yoga

If you thought yoga was only for skinny hippies who sit and contemplate their naval while listening to sitar music then think again. It is alive and well and has something for everyone.

Yoga dates back more than 5,000 years with origins in northern India. Yoga masters began to travel to the west in the late 1800. In 1947 a yoga studio opened in Hollywood and, go figure, Hatha Yoga spread throughout the United States. The practice became wildly popular during the counterculture movement of the 1960s with “hippies” embracing many aspects of Eastern teaching and philosophy as they searched for ways to distance themselves from the “establishment” and the traditional American values they so actively rejected.

More recently yoga in the United States has been more for exercise than as part of a spiritual quest for enlightenment. Even though yoga has been around for ages, a new type of yoga focusing on toning and slimming the body down.

In its purer for yoga represents a complete system of social, physical, mental and spiritual development. The eight aspects of the practice of traditional yoga include: self-restraint; commitment to practice; integration of the mind and body through physical activity; regulation of breathing; abstraction of the senses; concentration; meditation; and blissful awareness or super-consciousness.

Yoga positions for beginners are not the same positions that are used by experienced yoga practitioners. Yoga for beginners must start with simple moves, then move to more complex moves as they gain more experience. Beginning yoga positions are simple positions that most people young and old will be able to do without difficulty. Yoga music is soothing and relaxing music that can be of assistance to people while they are doing yoga. The basic yoga session should consist of the following exercises:

  • Warm up session. Includes simple, basic moves. Beginning yoga session may start with just the warm up session moves.
  • Standing poses. These align the feet and the body. They also aid digestion and blood circulation.
  • Sitting poses. Sitting poses usually focus on the breath. They help shape the buttocks and legs and improve vitality and flexibility in the spine.
  • Twists. These relieve backaches and increase flexibility in the shoulders.
  • Supine and prone poses. These poses release tension in the abdomen and increase the spine’s mobility.
  • Balance poses. Balance poses help develop coordination and increase stamina, strength, grace and agility. They also help improve concentration.
  • Backbends. Backbends release tension in the front body and shoulders.
  • Finishing poses. You will need to finish your yoga session with cooling-down exercises.

Some examples of poses and exercises include things like Mountain PoseStand tall with your arms by your sides. Breathe gently and deeply. Can’t get much easier than that. Then there is the Extended Mountain Pose Up on Your Toes – Interlock your fingers together and extend your hands up towards the ceiling as you slowly lift your heels off the floor and come up on to your toes. Give yourself time to become balanced, then breathe. Other simple yoga exercises include the Half Dog Pose, Wide Leg Bent Knee with Dog and Cat Tilts and the Warrior Pose. These are also quite simple and easy to master.

There are lots of fun and instructional demonstrations in the web. The viral guys might like Yoga4dudes while basic or advanced yoga workouts can be found at numerous other locations on the web.

Fitness Testing

Here is the complete listing of all fitness tests in the Topend Sports database, listed in alphabetical order with also the top 10 most popular tests for your convenience. There are over 250 individual tests, with a few tests listed more than once in the list below to make them easier to find (e.g. the 20m multi-stage shuttle run test can also be found listed under beep test). You can also browse the alternative listing of tests under categories of fitness which you may find easier to locate specific types of tests, or use the search page to search the whole of this website.

Doing a physical fitness assessment is essential for making real progress with your fitness. Without it, you’re running blind. You can’t know for sure whether your training is helping or not.

Nutritional Therapies for Mental Disorders

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4 out of the 10 leading causes of disability in the US and other developed countries are mental disorders. Major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) are among the most common mental disorders that currently plague numerous countries and have varying incidence rates from 26 percent in America to 4 percent in China. Though some of this difference may be attributable to the manner in which individual healthcare providers diagnose mental disorders, this noticeable distribution can be also explained by studies which show that a lack of certain dietary nutrients contribute to the development of mental disorders.

Health Benefits of Exercise

The benefits of exercise extend far beyond weight management. Research shows that regular physical activity can help reduce your risk for several diseases and health conditions and improve your overall quality of life. Regular physical activity can help protect you from the following health problems.

The Influence of Exercise on Mental Health

“We now have evidence to support the claim that exercise is related to positive mental health as indicated by relief in symptoms of depression and anxiety.”

Senior Exercise and Fitness Tips

Senior Exercise and Fitness Tips

The whole-body benefits of exercise for seniElderly bikerors

  • Exercise helps seniors maintain or lose weight.
  • Exercise reduces the impact of illness and chronic disease. 
  • Exercise enhances mobility, flexibility, and balance in seniors
  • Exercise improves your sleep.
  • Exercise boosts mood and self-confidence. 
  • Exercise is good for the brain.

Senior exercise and fitness: Tips for getting started safely

Are you ready to begin an exercise program? Congratulations! Committing to a routine of physical activity is one of the healthiest decisions you can make. Before you get moving, consider how best to be safe.

  • Get medical clearance
  • Consider health concerns. Keep in mind how your ongoing health problems affect your workouts. For example, diabetics may need to adjust the timing of medication and meal plans when setting an exercise schedule. Above all, if something feels wrong, such as sharp pain or unusual shortness of breath, simply stop. You may need to scale back or try another activity.
  • Start slow.
  • Recognize problems. Exercise should never hurt or make you feel lousy. Stop exercising immediately and call your doctor if you feel dizzy or short of breath, develop chest pain or pressure, break out in a cold sweat, or experience pain. Also stop if a joint is red, swollen, or tender to touch. 

Senior fitness and exercise: Tips for building a balanced exercise plan

Staying active is not a science. Just remember that mixing different types of exercise helps both reduce monotony and improve your overall health. Here is an overview of the four building blocks of senior fitness and how they can help your body.

Cardio endurance exercise 

  • What is it: Uses large muscle groups in rhythmic motions over a period of time. This type of exercise increases your body’s ability to deliver oxygen and nutrients to tissues and to remove waste over sustained periods of time. Cardio workouts get your heart pumping and you may even feel a little short of breath.
  • Why it’s good for seniors: Helps lessen fatigue and shortness of breath. Promotes independence by improving endurance for daily activities such as walking, house cleaning, and errands. Cardio includes walking, stair climbing, swimming, hiking, cycling, rowing, tennis, and dancing.
  • What is it: Builds up muscle with repetitive motion using weight or external resistance from body weight, machines, or elastic bands.
  • Why it’s good for seniors: Helps elderly people prevent loss of bone mass, builds muscle, and improves balance—both important in staying active and preventing risk of falling. Building up strength will help seniors stay independent and make day-to-day activities easier such as opening a jar, getting in and out of a car, and lifting objects.
  • What is it: Challenges the joint’s ability to move freely through a full range of motion (ROM). Can be done through static stretches (stationary), and ballistic stretches (moving or bouncing) to keep muscles and joints supple so they are less prone to injury.
  • Why it’s good for seniors: Helps body stay limber and increases range of movement for ordinary physical activities such as looking behind you while driving, tying shoes, shampooing your hair, and playing with grandchildren.
  • What is it: Maintains standing and stability under a variety of conditions including static (stationary) and dynamic (moving) balance.
  • Why it’s good for seniors: Improves balance, posture, and quality of walking. Also reduces risk of falling and fear of falls. Try yoga, Tai Chi, and posture exercises to gain confidence with balance.
  • Walking. Walking is a perfect way to start exercising. It requires no special equipment, aside from a pair of comfortable walking shoes, and can be done anywhere.
  • Senior sports or fitness classes. Keeps motivation alive while also providing a source of fun, stress relief, and a place to meet friends.
  • Water aerobics and water sports. Working out in water is wonderful for seniors because water reduces stress and strain on the body’s joints.
  • Yoga. Combines a series of poses with breathing. Moving through the poses works on strength, flexibility and balance. Yoga can be adapted to any level.
  • Tai Chi and Qi Gong. Martial arts-inspired systems of movement that increase balance and strength. Classes for seniors are often available at your local YMCA or community center.

Strength training

  • What is it: Builds up muscle with repetitive motion using weight or external resistance from body weight, machines, or elastic bands.
  • Why it’s good for seniors: Helps elderly people prevent loss of bone mass, builds muscle, and improves balance—both important in staying active and preventing risk of falling. Building up strength will help seniors stay independent and make day-to-day activities easier such as opening a jar, getting in and out of a car, and lifting objects.

Flexibility

  • What is it: Challenges the joint’s ability to move freely through a full range of motion (ROM). Can be done through static stretches (stationary), and ballistic stretches (moving or bouncing) to keep muscles and joints supple so they are less prone to injury.
  • Why it’s good for seniors: Helps body stay limber and increases range of movement for ordinary physical activities such as looking behind you while driving, tying shoes, shampooing your hair, and playing with grandchildren.

Balance

  • What is it: Maintains standing and stability under a variety of conditions including static (stationary) and dynamic (moving) balance.
  • Why it’s good for seniors: Improves balance, posture, and quality of walking. Also reduces risk of falling and fear of falls. Try yoga, Tai Chi, and posture exercises to gain confidence with balance.

Types of activities that are beneficial to seniors:

Senior fitness and exercise: Tips for frail or chair-bound seniors

If you are chair-bound, movement matters even more, and fitness is entirely achievable. Chair-bound seniors can reap the benefits of exercise with strength training, flexibility, and even some endurance movements. If being chair-bound has prevented you from trying exercise in the past, take heart knowing that when you become more physically active, the results will amaze you. Like any exercise program, a chair-bound fitness routine takes a little creativity and personalization. Ready for a new you? Check out the following tips.

Chair-bound Fitness: So much is possible!

  • Strength: Use free weights (otherwise known as “dumbbells”) to do repetitive sets of lifting. Don’t have weights? Use anything that is weighted and fits in your hand, like soup cans.
  • Resistance: Resistance bands are like giant rubber bands designed to give your muscles a good workout when stretched and pulled.  Resistance bands can be attached to furniture, a doorknob, or even your chair.  Use these for pull-downs, shoulder rotations, and arm and leg-extensions.
  • Flexibility: By practicing mindful breathing and slowly stretching, bending, and twisting, you can limber up and improve your range of motion. Some of these exercises can also be done lying down! Ask your doctor or search online for chair-yoga possibilities.
  • Endurance: Check out pool-therapy programs designed for wheelchair bound seniors. Also, wheelchair-training machines make arm-bicycling and rowing possible. If you lack access to special machines or pools, repetitive movements (like rapid leg lifts or sitting pushups) work just as well to raise your heart rate. Your doctor will have more ideas.

Senior exercise and fitness: Tips for staying active for life

The more you exercise, the more you will reap the benefits, so it’s important to stay motivated when life’s challenges get in the way.

  • Keep a log. Writing down your activities in an exercise journal not only holds you accountable, but also is a reminder of accomplishments.
  • Stay inspiredReading health magazines or watching sports shows can help remind you how great it feels to take care of your body.
  • Get support.
  • Exercise safely. Nothing derails an exercise plan like an injury. Use common sense and don’t exercise if you are ill. Wear brightly colored clothing to be visible on the roads. When the weather brings slippery conditions, walk at a mall indoors to prevent falling.