How Retired Professionals Can Stay Fit

September 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment

When you’re working, it’s easy to maintain a fitness routine. As gyms become common fixtures in corporate buildings, a busy professional can stop off after work for a quick workout. It’s easy to get out of the habit, but working out regularly is even more important once you have retired.

Retired professionals need to pay attention to their diet to maintain a proper fitness level. While it may be tempting to spend the newfound free time going out to eat and snacking, that is a quick path to weight gain. Instead, retirees should focus on cooking at home and using lots of vegetables in their cooking. After working hard for 40 years, they have earned the right to eat out once in a while! However, it’s important to eat more home-cooked healthy meals than meals at a restaurant.

The second part of staying fit is maintaining an exercise routine. Sometimes, retired professionals lose out on exercise just by leaving the workplace. For instance, people who work in careers in physical therapy spend their working days helping people overcome physical disabilities. When they leave those careers, they need to work hard to maintain that same level of physical activity. Retired professionals may want to visit a personal trainer at a local gym. A personal trainer can put together an appropriate workout routine for anyone’s age, fitness level, and physical abilities. By setting specific times and dates to work out, retirees can stick to a schedule that makes it easy to stay fit and healthy.

By maintaining a proper diet and sticking to an exercise routine, retired professionals will have no trouble staying healthy. Both aspects of a healthy lifestyle will make a retiree’s time away from work even more enjoyable.

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A Healthy Heart for a Healthy Life

July 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Maintaining good heart health is one of the most basic ways a person can care for themselves. While some people must deal with bad genes or heart defects from birth, most people can ensure a strong heart by just eating well and spending some of their spare time exercising. The internet is a good resource for people interested in learning more about heart professionals, nutrition, exercises, risk factors, and the different types of heart disease.

The heart is a muscle and needs to be exercised as well and as often as the biceps or abdomen muscles. While no one will ever see the heart built up in the way that bulging biceps ripple under a tight t-shirt, the heart needs to be cared for because it keeps the rest of the body moving. How does one exercise this hidden muscle? It cannot be flexed with weights. It can not be stretched with yoga or Pilates. Cardio is what works for the heart, and Canada 411 lists some exercise resources to try.

As important as exercise is, it can only go so far without proper nutrition. A good, heart-healthy diet does not have to be complicated. A good start is to reduce the amount of white sugar and white flour in the diet. Adding more fiber will help more than just the heart. One idea to consider is starting a garden. A garden will help make vegetables available while at the same time increase the amount of cardio exercise you do.

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Benefits of Exercising

March 9, 2011 by Leave a Comment

If you want more energy in your life, to live longer, and feel better, all you need is some good physical exercise. It doesn’t need to be drudgery, find an activity that you enjoy doing, as long as you move is what counts. Exercising can improve sex life, give your mood a boost, prevents health conditions, better sleeping habits, and promotes loss of weight. You can take advantage of these benefits no matter what your physical ability, sex, or age. Here are some ways of improving your life.

1. Improving your mood

After having a stress filled day, a brisk walk for 30 minutes or a gym workout will get you in a calmer state of mind. Physical activities prevent depression; improve self-esteem, and boosts confidence, leaving you relaxed and happier.

2. Managing weight

If you need to shed some extra pounds, trade in couch sessions for physical activity or try some walking. Every one knows that doing physical exercises burn up calories. The more strenuous your activity, more calories are burnt. Learn to use stairs instead of taking an elevator, during commercials do sit-ups to jumping jacks, and walk on a lunch breaks.

3. Combating chronic disease

Doing physical exercises can manage or help prevent many chronic diseases such as, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and helps benefit cholesterol.

4. Giving your energy level a boost

If you get winded by simple household chores or just going shopping for groceries, you can breathe easier by doing some physical exercises. Nutrients and oxygen are delivered to tissues and the whole cardiovascular system is benefited. When lungs and heart are working efficiently, you can enjoy your life because of the energy you have.

5. Putting the romance back in your sex lives

Physical exercise helps enhance arousal in women, and the men that regularly exercise are less apt to suffer erectile dysfunction, especially as they age.

6. Promoting better sleep with exercise

Getting a good restful sleep at night improves concentration, mood, productivity, and exercising is vital to sleeping better.

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Exercise Made Easy

February 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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If your middle name isn’t tae-bo, relax. You don’t have to be like Billy Blanks (although he’s very motivating) to get the body shape you want. Exercise exists however we choose to burn substantial calories. So get creative and start moving!

Instead of hiring someone to clean the entire house each week, try cleaning one room a day. Your home will not only thank you but your body will benefit too. Although scrubbing the toilet seems less than appealing and gross at the very least you’ll give your triceps and forearms a workout (if it’s done in the proper way). When your wood furniture is crying for attention, give it back its luster and polish it. Whether you polish or scrub an item you’ve just burnt about 30 calories. Cleaning the entire bathroom or dining room will shave off approximately 150 calories for an hour’s worth of exercise.

If you can’t walk and chew gum simultaneously, try. A brisk walk an hour a day will take off about 200 to 300 calories for an average-sized adult. Chewing gum for the same amount of time will burn 11 calories. If you’d like to try jogging instead of a walk, this activity burns off the equivalent of one sensible meal at approximately 400 calories.

When you’re planning to move into a new place nearby consider that packing all of your boxes will take up energy and may shed a few unwanted pounds. Many people wrap their valuables in newspaper and pack their boxes that way. Preparing to move (and depending on how many items you have) it can burn over 400 calories.

The next time your siblings need a babysitter for the kids, it might be fun and you’ll be burning the same number of calories in a small, non-fat milk chai latte beverage (about 170 calories). However if the children are more active and want to play outside, you’ll be burning 500 calories.

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Reasons to Exercise

February 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Unless we’re extremely forgetful, there should be no need to avoid engaging in an exercise routine each week. Perhaps some of us dread our morning run because we’d like a quick surge of energy by drinking a cup of coffee. Since the early 1990’s, many people have been fighting an ongoing skirmish with their clothing because it seems to be getting tighter. Exercise is one of the ways we can attempt to combat the extra pounds. Additionally, it also has other merits to keep in mind.

As we age metabolism can decrease dramatically and that 17-year-old figure many of us once had in high school can disappear. Although being active doesn’t guarantee maintaining our adolescent figures for a lifetime, we can maintain good physical health and refrain from gaining weight at the mere sight of food.

Weekend plans may be around the corner but if we can’t find our keys, we’ll have to walk or (somehow) boost our internal filing cabinet. Does this sound familiar?  If your brain’s memory has gone haywire since your last job, consider physical activity the antidote.

The heart has a big job to pump blood from the brain to our feet. This is especially cumbersome if the body mass index is more than 24 percent and blood pressure will likely be much higher as obesity increases. It’s more ideal to be about five percent underweight according to some physicians, since the heart is a muscle that won’t have to work as hard.

If Mr. Sandman hasn’t visited much lately, exercise can help you reach dreamland more quickly and minimize tossing and turning through the night. We’ll most likely wake up feeling refreshed, and we won’t necessarily need a special mattress to rest soundly. If these aren’t good enough reasons to alter your physical fitness regimen, your body can look better and clothing will fit more comfortably.

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Keep The Ticker Ticking

December 23, 2010 by Leave a Comment
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While all the muscles in the body work together to keep us moving and shaking, one of the most important muscles is the heart. The heart works hard to keep the body fueled, and we need to take care of it. Exercise is wonderful. A good brisk walk not only clears the mind, it makes us feel good. At the same time, we are exercising that very important muscle in the middle of the chest, the heart. Keeping stress down is important to a healthy heart, and hence, a healthier life. An extremely important part of heart health is obviously, the diet.

Eating the right foods, in the right combination, at the right time of day, is a huge step towards a healthy heart, and a healthier you. The truth is that healthier choices can please the palate as well as the heart. While a breakfast of bacon and eggs is fine sometimes, substituting that breakfast meal with some whole grain cereal and fresh fruit will make your heart very happy, and you will be healthier. Substitute a healthy breakfast more often during the week, say four to six times a week, and your heart is a happy little muscle.

Keep yourself active. One does not have to run the Boston Marathon on a monthly basis to keep the heart healthy. A nice brisk walk a couple of times a week makes a huge difference. Not only will you be exercising your heart, you will be exercising your body, which will also reap the benefits. Tighter muscles work better, make us less tired, and we will be less likely to sit on the couch and grab a bag of chips.

Our hearts will hopefully keep us living for a very long time. If we take good care of it, the chances are that the heart will take care of us well into our golden years.

Filed Under: Heart Care, Heart Surgeons, Surgery Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Do What You Are Told

December 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment
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Heart conditions and heart surgeries are serious business. When chest pain hits, you never know what is causing it. It can be as simple as a bad case of indigestion, or as serious as one or more blocked heart valves. When the heart valves are blocked, the heart cannot do its job. There are as many reasons for heart disease as there are people who have heart disease. Finding out you have a heart condition is only the first step. The next step is yours.

We all know that eating right, exercising, staying away from cigarettes, drugs and alcohol are all ways to stay heart healthy. Everyone has a vice. When your heart is at stake, there are seriously important decisions to be made. Once the doctors determine what the problem is, they will take steps to fix said problem. This may include just diet and exercise. It may be that you need medication. Or in more serious cases, surgery might be the answer. Whatever the treatment for your problem, your doctor will tell you to take better care of yourself. Start eating right, exercise regularly, and absolutely stay away from cigarettes, alcohol or illicit drugs.

When it comes to your health and your heart, do what you are told. Make the decision to have a healthier life. Put down the cigarettes, cut out the happy hours, take a walk, eat an apple instead of a doughnut. These can be very difficult steps for some people. People who have smoked for many years find it near impossible to quit. Many people who have heart issues still continue to smoke. Those who have issues with alcohol find it just as difficult to put the bottle down.

Stop and think. What is important to you? Can those cigarettes or that drink possibly be more important than what you have left to live for? Take a good look at your family, the answer is right there.

Filed Under: Heart Care, Heart Surgeons, Surgery Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Walk Yourself Healthy

December 9, 2010 by Leave a Comment
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You have been diagnosed with heart disease. The cardiology professionals have told you what you need to do. If you have had surgery, you need to let your body heal. If you are taking medicine, you should be taking it properly, as directed. After the major event and the healing has occurred, you now are more aware than ever that you have to take better care of yourself. There are the obvious things, no smoking, keep drinking to a minimum, get your weight under control. You know that these things need to be done. In taking care of your heart remember one thing, the heart is a muscle.

If your leg muscles were sore, you would rest them and then you would exercise them, so that the next time you overdid it a little, there would be no pain. You can exercise your heart in really much the same way. Walking is one of the best ways to exercise your heart. Nobody loves exercise, well maybe Richard Simmons loves exercise. Most of us do it because there is a goal. A goal of a healthy heart should be more than enough motivation to want to exercise more.

It is said that a home walking program can be as beneficial as hospital directed cardiac rehabilitation. Have a check-up to make sure walking for exercise is safe. Start out slow, pick up the pace as you go along and slow it down at the end. Use a pedometer and try adding 2,000 steps to your daily walk, gradually increasing as you go. Walk with friends, walk on your lunch break, or put on your trusty MP3 player and walk to your favorite tunes. Doing this just 30 minutes a day five times a week will be of great benefit to your heart. You will feel so much better, it might even make you want to make other changes to better your health.

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The Importance of Exercise and a Healthy Heart

November 30, 2010 by Leave a Comment
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Did you know that exercise can be good for you? By just adding a 30-minute walk, five times a week a person can lessen their chance of a heart attack, obesity and stroke. However the most important part of your body, the heart, gets the most benefit from exercise. Exercise gets the blood flowing throughout the body, clears out bad substances in the body that could surround the heart and lowers blood pressure and cholesterol.

There has been a massive amount of information aimed at the ability to inform the public about the importance of adding exercise to a person’s daily routine. There are public service ads, announcements on the radio, Internet and TV as stories from celebrities talking about how they got fit, as well as reality shows showing the benefits of exercise. It is all done in an effort to get people excited about working out.

Surprisingly with all these media and medical campaigns going on the public is listening. Gym memberships are on the rise, apartment complexes and assisted living facilities are being encouraged to add gyms and people are being rewarded for walking and exercising on their own free time by employers and corporations all over.

It might appear to some that all of these efforts are a way to get people geared up to spend more money on gym memberships, and to promote businesses that focus on exercise and fitness. But the truth is that exercise can really help save a person’s life and the media and medical community is simply trying to spread the word about exercise and the importance of a healthy heart. If it takes a little bit of encouragement and inspiration to save a person’s life by getting them to start exercising, it is well worth it because exercise really could add 10 years to a person’s life.

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Get Heart Healthy

November 14, 2010 by Leave a Comment
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There’s a lot of talk nowadays about healthy hearts. We live in a day and age where technology is increasing and we know more and more about our health. It’s time to take advantage of all of this technology and information at our fingertips and get heart healthy. Here are some tips for keeping your heart going strong for years to come.

1. Get a checkup. Before you can start any real healthy living routine, you need a check up from your doctor. Make sure your heart is strong enough to exercise and live a healthy life. Once you get the sign-off from the doctor, you’re good to go.

2. Take any medications. It’s true, many of us have to take medications daily. Some of these medications actually help our hearts. If you are on any kind of heart medication, don’t skip it. You could even look into getting a prescription discount card to help pay for your medicine.

3. Start exercising. If you’re just beginning, start slow. Take the stairs, park farther away, or go for a walk around the neighborhood. If you’re a seasoned exerciser, kick up your routine a bit. Run an extra mile, add on some weights, or try yoga. The important thing is to move and keep moving.

4. Eat healthy. You are what you eat, right? For a healthy heart, cut back on red meat, eat lots of leafy greens, don’t forget some fruits, and enjoy lean meats. The less fat you take into your body, the less that will reside around your heart.

You’ve only got one heart so make sure you take care of it. The heart is our most vital organ. It keeps our bodies and our minds moving. Follow these few simple tips here to start getting in heart-healthy shape.

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