Monterey, CA Even Small Amount Of Exercise Can Improve A Senior’s Health

A paper published in Nature Magazine showed that tiny spurts of exercise throughout the day are associated with significant reductions in disease risk.  The researchers used data from fitness trackers collected by the UK company Biobank.  They looked at the records of 25K people who did not regularly exercise, with an average age of 60 years old.  They followed them over the course of almost seven years.  Those who engaged in one or two-minute burst of exercise three times a day like speed-walking or rapidly climbing stairs showed a nearly 50% reduction in cardiovascular mortality risk and about a 40% reduction in the risk of dying from cancer as well as all causes of mortality.  This shows that it’s not necessary to do vigorous workouts—every little bit of exercise helps.

Take Online Classes with AARP Online Classes

AARP has partnered with Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) to take advantage of the power of online learning.  Senior Planet has hundreds of online classes in multiple languages including English and Spanish which can help you broaden your horizons.  Among the classes are weekly fitness and health classes, all taught by a live instructor on Zoom and can be found at www.seniorplanet.org/fitness

AARP Program Can Help You Get In Shape

AARP has an online fitness program powered by LIFT (an industry leader in quality online fitness) session which can help you achieve your fitness goals.  You will receive access to expert webinars and personalized workouts for all fitness levels.  They also offer live small-group and one-on-one coaching classes.  Check it out at www.AARP.org/onlinefitness.

 

AARP Program Can Help You Get In Shape

AARP has an online fitness program powered by LIFT (an industry leader in quality online fitness) session which can help you achieve your fitness goals.  You will receive access to expert webinars and personalized workouts for all fitness levels.  They also offer live small-group and one-on-one coaching classes.  Check it out at www.AARP.org/onlinefitness.

 

Take Online Classes with AARP Online Classes

AARP has partnered with Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) to take advantage of the power of online learning.  Senior Planet has hundreds of online classes in multiple languages including English and Spanish which can help you broaden your horizons.  Among the classes are weekly fitness and health classes, all taught by a live instructor on Zoom and can be found at www.seniorplanet.org/fitness

Taking Care Of Yourself After A Heart Attack

The odds of getting cardiovascular disease in our 60’s are 77.5% for males (females are lower with 75.4% between the ages of 60-79), according to the American Heart Association.  Taking care of your heart means reducing obesity, high blood pressure and cholesterol, managing diabetes if you have it, and limiting alcohol.  Common symptoms of a heart attack are chest pain or discomfort, shortness of breath, feeling faint or weak, and pain in your jaw, neck, back, arms or shoulder.  You also need a good exercise regimen to stimulate blood flow.  “Even as little as a 5-10 percent decrease in your body weight can have a huge effect on your blood pressure and other risk factors,” Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones, president of the American Heart Association, or AHA, told AARP Bulletin.

Carmel, CA Alzheimer’s Risk Lower With Aerobics, Stretching

caregiver buttoning seniors - Pebble Beach home personal care

If you are a senior citizen at risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, you should do more aerobics and stretching, according to a new study from Wake Forest School of Medicine.  “There’s just more understanding of the underlying biology and what potential treatments can impact the disease, which actually includes exercise,” Maria Carillo, Chief Science Officer of the Alzheimer’s Association, told USA Today.  For the study, researchers recruited those with a sedentary lifestyle and assigned them to two groups.  One group regularly engaged in moderate to high intensity aerobics while the other group did less rigorous exercise.  All participants had mild cognitive impairment, but not enough to be diagnosed with dementia.  This is great news for a disease which researchers have had little success in finding drug treatments for.  Regular readers of my blog know that both my father and my grandmother had this terrible disease when they passed away.  There is a wonderful group of people at the Alzheimer’s Association in Monterey.  They also have a 24-hour hotline if you just need some support at 800-272-3900.

A senior couple sitting and doing a workout with dumbbells

In a 2021 review of 16 studies, researchers found that just 30 to 60 minutes per week of muscle-strengthening or “resistance” exercise increased life expectancy by 10-17%.  These activities range from calisthenics, to Pilates or yoga and can even include carrying the groceries or your grandchild!  Eating protein can also help strengthen your muscles.  Women 50 and older need at least 25 grams of protein per day (30 grams for men).  Studies have shown that seniors combining this style of eating with resistance exercise, their bodies responded like they were in their 20’s.

 

 

Ready To Travel Again? Get Great Road Trip Advice From AARP : By Derek Baine

Senior couples doing cardio exercises on the yoga mat

There are so many national parks and other  beautiful places in America that you can visit for little to no cost (ignoring the outrageous cost of gas now, of course).  For ideas on taking a road trip, turn to the AARP who just posted a great video on this topic at www.aarp.org/roadtrips.

Monterey, CA Exercise, Good Nutrition And Social Interaction Key For Seniors

Senior couples doing cardio exercises on the yoga mat

At Family inHome Caregiving, we stress the fact that exercise, social interaction and a good diet are keys to longevity for our senior clients, most of which are in their 90’s or even 100’s.  The most difficult of the three in the current COVID-19 environment is social interaction, but this doesn’t have to be in person.  Keep in touch with your friends and family with a zoom or facetime call.  A good diet isn’t hard to do either.  Do a google search on the Mediterranean diet—it is delicious.  There are a number of quick and healthy ways to cook salmon, which is very good for you.  Paired up with some vegetables and a nice salad and you will enjoy it.  Exercise is not that hard to keep up with either.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week which means taking a brisk walk of 20-30 minutes per day.  Some physicians suggest that you mix it up so that you don’t get bored and you use different muscle groups.  That means doing a bit of biking, swimming or yoga.