Fitness & Wellness

Whether you hate the cold weather and overcast skies or just want longer days, here are some hacks for surviving the winter that can make it easier and may even have you looking forward to the winter months…although, that may be stretching it a bit. If you’re tired of cold wet feet, a candle and a hair dryer are perfect hacks to make your winter better. Rub the candle on your shoe and ensure it’s all coated then put your hairdryer on high and melt the wax. When it’s cool, it will be an imperceptible thin layer that will aid in keeping the moisture out and your feet dryer. Of course, boots are better, but sometimes with changing weather, we all get a surprise and this will help you stay dry and warm.

How and what you cook can keep you warm.

Winter is the best time to make roasts, cakes and soups. When you use your oven for cooking, it can do double duty. Just make sure that you leave the door to the oven open a bit after you’ve taken out your dinner and turned it off. It allows the excess heat to warm the rest of the house…and may even become a favorite spot for family members on cold days. When the weather turned icy cold, my mother used to make the family’s favorite soup. It was normally a vegetable soup packed with all the leftovers from the refrigerator. She also made bone broth, which is a super healthy option that I heartily recommend. Not only did the smell of the cooking soup add a delicious scent to the air, it also added warm moisture that kept the house feeling warmer.

Socks can make your drive easier.

You’re probably thinking that I’m telling you to wear an extra pair of socks in the winter, which isn’t a bad idea, but not it. If you have a few old socks missing mates they can help you get a good start in the morning if you don’t park in a garage. A sock filled with new kitty litter left on the dashboard prevents a foggy window in the morning. Keep a heavy pair of socks in your glove box to put over your shoes or boots in case you get stuck. The socks will provide extra traction if you have to push your car in the snow.

Chase a cold away by making shower pellets.

Mix a spoon of Vicks Vaporub with a cup of boiling water. Slowly add that mixture to baking soda, until you have a toothpaste consistency. Pour in a mold or ice tray, let dry for 18 to 24 hours and store in an airtight container. Take one in the shower with you when you have a cold. Allow the hot water to hit it to create steam that will break up congestion and help you sleep better at night.

• Soak a cloth with alcohol and thoroughly wipe your windshield wiper blades to help prevent sticking to the windshield or spray the windshield with a mixture of three parts rubbing alcohol and one part water to remove the ice.
• Shave the pills off sweaters. Keep an inexpensive disposable razor on hand just for this purpose and you’ll always look well groomed.
• Keep warmer by adding an extra layer of clothing. Panty hose under slim jeans won’t add bulk but do add warmth. Layering lighter weight sweaters and tops keeps you warmer than one heavier sweater.
• Keep warmer with the help of a dryer or hair dryer. Start your day right by throwing your socks, work clothes and undergarments in the dryer before your put them on and you’ll be toasty warm to start the day.

One of the biggest problems in fitness training is discouragement. Even though people may be doing the right things to achieve their goals, they’ve made their goal way too big to achieve quickly and after a few months, find themselves discouraged and ready to quit. Rather than create a big goal that takes a long time to achieve, start with small goals so you can get success more quickly and build toward the bigger, ultimate goal.

Goal setting requires a specific goal with a specific time frame and a plan to achieve that goal.

You can still have the ultimate goal set, but you need to break it down into smaller bites. Use the SMART technique. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time bound. Breaking that 50 pounds into 10 pound goals, and setting the time frame for a month creates a specific goal that’s relevant, measurable, attainable and has a time frame. It also creates a goal you can achieve before you become discouraged.

The goal should be exciting.

Setting a goal too short term, such as losing two pounds a week, simply isn’t as exciting as setting a goal for ten pounds a week. There’s also another reason for monthly goals over weekly goals. Sometimes the body plays tricks and seems to take on weight from nowhere. If you have a different type of fitness goal, such as one for strength, a weekly goal doesn’t allow for physical fluctuation of strength based on health and work load.

Smaller goals are stair steps to achieve the ultimate fitness goal.

You’re not going to run a marathon after working out for a month if your only previous marathon was marathon watching the first season of “Game of Thrones.” Neither will you lose fifty pounds in a month. That doesn’t mean you can’t set them as long term goals. Everyone needs an ultimate goal to strive toward with short term goals leading the way.

• Don’t expect the first few weeks of working out will be smooth as silk. Everyone feels a little awkward and intimidated initially.
• Once you achieve your fitness goals, you’ll start to realize you can do anything as long as you have a goal and a plan to achieve that goal.
• You need to make sure you know your starting point, which is one reason trainers take so long finding your present fitness level. Even Mapquest won’t give you directions if you only input your ultimate destination but not your starting point.
• Short term, smaller goals are important because they help people identify where they need to make changes in their plan to achieve them before too much time elapses.

Dating can be a challenge. There’s always that awkward silence over dinner in the early stages and that deep rut you’ve ingrained in your dating after doing the same thing repeatedly after months of dating. It’s time to start looking for alternatives that are fun and different from the norm. It would be a double bonus if they could make you healthier in the process. Here are some ideas for flirty fitness dates that will break the ice and make dating less awkward early in a relationship, while jazzing up a longer one.

Whether it’s a first date or a date night after years of marriage, a paint ball date is fun and active.

You won’t have to worry about what to say or feeling awkward and uncomfortable, you’ll be too busy dodging paintballs and running to do that. There’s bonding when you and your date are a team against another couple or stalking each other to see who’s the best if there’s only the two of you. This is the perfect activity for a first date that lets you get together without forced intimacy. It also breaks the monotony of a more seasoned relationship, even if it’s after 25 years of marriage. Make sure that the place you go rents equipment if you don’t own any.

Canoeing the rapids or paddling a two person kayak on serene waters.

Before you decide whether you want a more adventurous outing, such as tackling the rapids or one that’s more relaxing like canoeing or kayaking a placid lake. One will give you more of a chance to talk while the other will let you work more closely together to stay upright. Both require co-operation and communication and make you feel more at ease, focusing much of the attention on the kayaking.

Decide on a healthy meal and then go to the local farmer’s market to get the freshest ingredients.

Shopping together in an outdoor market provides a little exercise, but the biggest benefit is seeing all the great produce and fresh foods the market has to offer. It’s fun to find the fresh herbs and maybe sample the cheese from the local farm that raises grass fed cows or try an exotic fruit or vegetable you’ve never heard of previously. Eating healthy is part of fitness and this type of date could start a trend for your next meals.

• Pack a picnic lunch and go for a hike. Enjoy Mother Nature and find a quiet spot along the way for a romantic picnic. Make something healthy and special for the hike.
• Try indoor skydiving. It’s fun and will leave you feeling light as a feather, while still getting great exercise.
• Try rock climbing. Start with a local climbing wall and learn the “ropes” so to speak.
• Sign up for a boot camp and make this a continuous date night that leaves you fabulously fit.

The older you are, the more you need exercise. The body loses muscle mass faster the more you age. However, there are also some precautions you need to take, particularly if you have health issues. Here are some exercise tips for seniors that can help you get fitter faster and exercise in a safer manner. The first is more of a requirement, than a tip. Always check with your health care professional first and let your personal trainer know of any special needs. You may want to have your trainer discuss any serious conditions with your doctor or health care professional.

Include all types of exercise in your workout.

You have four different types of fitness; endurance, flexibility, strength and balance. As you age, you lose lean muscle mass. That reduces your strength. The aging process, particularly if you don’t exercise, takes its toll on your endurance and flexibility as well. Balance decreases and that can lead to falls with serious complications. To be your healthiest, you need to have a well rounded program that addresses all areas. A personal trainer can help you do this, but you also can do it on your own with a little research.

Walking, bike riding and swimming can build endurance.

You don’t have to have a sophisticated program to build endurance, walking every day can do the trick and be a gentle way to start your workout. Swimming is also good and doesn’t place undue pressure on joints. Strength training is important to help reduce not only muscle loss, but the bone loss of osteoporosis. It can improve balance in the process. Besides a program of strength training that can involve weights or resistance bands, seniors can use every day activities to build up their arm strength. Carry grocery bags, use soup cans as weights and do a set of curls or other strength building exercises when you think of it. Everything is a weight when you lift it…but make sure it’s not too heavy for you and you’re using proper form.

Take dance classes, yoga or do a stretching routine for flexibility.

Dancing can provide endurance training and some types of dancing add to flexibility fitness. Yoga is known for improving flexibility, just as stretching is. If you’re unable to go to a gym or other type of flexibility training, doing a routine of stretches at home can help. We have online training with routines to help you in every area so you can start working out at home.
– Enjoy your fitness program. It doesn’t have to be all sweating and grueling workouts. Getting exercise can be any activity that’s both fun and physical.
– Workout with others to get both social benefits and physical ones. Studies show that a healthy social life can improve your health. When you workout with others, you’re more apt to stick with the program.
– Combine a program of exercise with healthy eating to maximize the benefits.
– Go slowly. You can’t reverse years of inactivity all at once. Start your program slowly and increase little by little. You can break up your workout to several sessions, too. Instead of one long 40 minute workout, four short ten minute ones may be more reasonable, at least until you get fitter.

If you’ve fallen off the workout wagon, getting started again can be scary, but it’s even worse if you’re starting to workout again after surgery. The type of surgery you had also makes a difference. The first thing you must do is make sure you have your health care professionals okay to begin working out. Even if you feel good, there are many factors to consider. Your doctor is your best source of information for when to begin your program of exercise.

You’ve got the okay, now what?

Muscles atrophy from lack of use. Smaller muscle groups may take as little as 72 hours to start the process. Larger ones take longer. You’ll probably have at least a little atrophy and the older you are, the more you can expect. When you do go back to the gym, it’s time to take it slowly. You might want to rush right back where you left off before the surgery, but your body probably won’t be ready.

Realize that you may need to make some adjustments in form.

Depending on the location or type of surgery, you may have to modify the form you use for each exercise. If there’s injury to one side of the body, such as a torn ligament in one arm or leg, cross education may help build that side while it heals. There is research showing that exercising the uninjured side can actually help build up the side that’s injured or at least slow atrophy.

Work with a personal trainer or physical therapist.

Physical therapists may be the first place to start, particularly if you’ve been in a cast or had surgery that impedes the workout a great deal. However, once they give the okay, the next step to getting back to prime is to work with a personal trainer. The trainer will work closely with our health care professional and create a program that will get you back on path, but at a pace that’s right for you.
– See if you can take walks to help stay in shape while you’re on the mend. It helps slow the muscle atrophy, but is a gentle exercise.
– Don’t ignore pain. Pain is our body’s way of messaging us that something is wrong. More than ever, after surgery you need to listen to the message.
– Make sure you eat healthy. You’ll need all the nutrients you can get to help put you on the road to recover, but don’t want to gain excess weight that will take a time to
lose once you’re back on your feet.
– Stay hydrated. Flushing the toxins out of your system and keeping your body hydrated is important. Make sure you drink plenty of water.