The Balance Board For Fitness And Health

We are learning more and more about the importance of developing and maintaining balance fitness and core strength, and the balance board or the wobble board may be a useful implementation to help to achieve these fitness goals.

A balance board is basically a plank atop a roller or a ball. The board could be rectangular or it could be round.

Not only is the balance fun, it can improve posture and increase range of motion of several important joints of the body.

Standing on the balance board requires the body to constantly keep adjusting its weight which uses many muscle groups, particularly the core muscles of the lower back and the abs. It also trains the brain to be more efficient at balancing. The balance board can help to:

• Strengthen the core muscles of the back and the abs
• Make working out or lifting more challenging
• Improves physical coordination and balance
• Keeps joint movement healthy, improves core strength and can therefore be useful for seniors
• It can also help to avoid sport related injuries

You can do exercises such as:

• No Motion, just balance
• Back and forth motion
• Squats
• Pushups

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Intentional Weight Loss Is Not Harmful To Seniors, Finds Study

A new study debunks a belief held hitherto, that intentional weight loss in senior people could be detrimental to their health by increasing risk of death.

Rather a study conducted by the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center found that those seniors who actively aimed for weight loss were only half as likely to die within 8 years when compared with their peers who made no such attempt.

The study examined 318 seniors with knee arthritis, half of whom underwent a weight loss intervention and half of whom did not. The first group, who worked towards intentional weight loss, lost an average of 10.5 pounds over a period of time.

The other group lost about 3.1 pounds naturally which could have been the result of loss of muscle mass or bone loss that occurs as a result of old age.

When researchers checked with the subjects 8 years after this intervention, it was found that the group who had intentionally worked towards weight loss had had fewer deaths than the other group who had made no attempts to lose weight.

Earlier it was thought that seniors who lost weight intentionally were more likely to die; however this study has shown otherwise.

Now health practitioners need not be concerned about recommending weight loss to address problems related to obesity in older adults.

Source: EurekAlert

Syndicated via RSS From: http://www.fitnesshealthzone.com

Intentional Weight Loss Is Not Harmful To Seniors, Finds Study

A new study debunks a belief held hitherto, that intentional weight loss in senior people could be detrimental to their health by increasing risk of death.

Rather a study conducted by the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center found that those seniors who actively aimed for weight loss were only half as likely to die within 8 years when compared with their peers who made no such attempt.

The study examined 318 seniors with knee arthritis, half of whom underwent a weight loss intervention and half of whom did not. The first group, who worked towards intentional weight loss, lost an average of 10.5 pounds over a period of time.

The other group lost about 3.1 pounds naturally which could have been the result of loss of muscle mass or bone loss that occurs as a result of old age.

When researchers checked with the subjects 8 years after this intervention, it was found that the group who had intentionally worked towards weight loss had had fewer deaths than the other group who had made no attempts to lose weight.

Earlier it was thought that seniors who lost weight intentionally were more likely to die; however this study has shown otherwise.

Now health practitioners need not be concerned about recommending weight loss to address problems related to obesity in older adults.

Source: EurekAlert

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The Graying Of The Gym?

Graying of the gym is a growing trend that can only mean good news for women’s health and particularly older women’s health.

Increasingly it is the older demographic of the country that is to be seen sweating it out at the gyms and fitness centers of the country.

Exercising and staying fit; earlier seen as the bastions of the young, are now seen as being breached by the seniors and the retirees.

The article talks about how the atmosphere changes when the retired or semi retired women troop into a patio gym: the Black eyed Peas tracks give way to the Beatles and the oldies; and the trendy, hop exercise clothes give way to loose and comfy things.

The women get together not just to lose the pounds but also to socialize. Exercising together with others is a great motivator and may well keep you on track when in an ‘exercising alone’ scenario one may have thrown in the towel.

The senior ladies find it fun to talk about old times, old TV shows and are able to realize fitness goals in an atmosphere of conviviality. The focus also has shifted to more appropriate concepts such as balance training etc.

This ‘graying of the gym’ could only mean positive fall outs for health and fitness of the elderly; and elderly women in particular.

Source: nytimes

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