Are You Too Old to Exercise?

Too many people think that exercise is only for younger people. That's simply not true. In fact, exercise is actually more important for people over 60.

Your body needs movement.

When you're young, you get that movement in your daily life by playing sports, doing yard work, playing with kids, etc.

As you get older, movement-based activities decrease. Then it becomes necessary to consciously schedule your daily movement. That's what exercise is - regimented, scheduled movement.

So you see that the older you get, and the less movement your daily life involves, the more important it becomes to exercise.

You're not too old to exercise. You're too old not to exercise.

You can learn more about this by reading the full article here.

Top 5 Senior Fitness Mistakes

I've posted a special Fitness for Seniors report that talks about the five biggest mistakes I've seen seniors make. They are:

• Inconsistency - no exercising on a regular basis.
  
• Not doing balance exercises - you've got to do balance exercises if you're over 60.
  
• Using the wrong weight - men usually use too much weight, women usually use too little.
  
• No variety - too many people do the same exercises with the same intensity for years on end.
  
• Starting too late - if you're not exercising, the best time to start is now, not next year.
  

If you're making any of the mistakes listed above, click on the link below to read the report:

Fitness for Seniors - Click it. Read it. Do it!

Ping-Pong and Balance

I was playing some serious ping-pong while at my parents' for the holidays. I must say that ping-pong is probably my favorite sport.

But while I was playing I was thinking that it's a pretty great sport to keep your balance and coordination in good working order. You've got the ball coming at you, your brain has to identify the ball, notice where it's going, and then tell the muscles of your arm where to move the paddle.

At the same time, it also has to control your legs and torso to move you into the right position and keep you balanced. That's a whole lot of stuff going on! This is just what the brain is doing when you're walking down the street. Survey, process, act.

So in addition to being a fun game, it's also a great coordination workout. Try and see if you can find a ping-pong table in your area and start playing.

3 Steps to Better Balance

In order for a person to really improve their balance, there are 3 essential things that must happen:

1. You have to understand that your balance can be improved with the right program. Many people mistakenly believe that their poor balance is solely due to old age, and therefore, they can't do anything about it.

2. You have to have the right program. Doing one or two exercises you find in a magazine will not make an impact on your balance. You need a detailed program with a variety of exercises that can be customized to your unique ability level. My book, The Balance Manual, is one such program.

3. You have to do the exercises consistently. Even if you believe your balance can be improved, and you have a good program, it won't make a bit of difference if you only do the exercises once or twice a week. Practice makes perfect. Frequent practice, as in four or more days per week. That sounds like a lot, but balance exercises take less than ten minutes a day.

Click here to learn more about senior balance exercises.