boomerhealthandfitness.com

It’s Weekly Roundup time!!

I’m starting off first with this article from the Boston Globe entitled Baby boomer deaths could fuel funeral industry. As a Boomer, that headline pisses me off.  Funeral directors expect us to be a windfall for their industry.  I know that everyone has to make a living and funeral directors provide a valuable service, but it feels a little ghoulish knowing that they’re waiting for us to die off.  I don’t know about you, but I intend to make them wait as long as I possibly can.  That means eating right, exercising, reducing stress and having fun.  So take that you funeral directors!

On a more positive note, there’s this article from MedicineNet.com, Aerobics Can Reverse Mental Decline in Older Adults.

“As people age, a deterioration of white and gray matter in certain areas of the brain can cause cognitive decline, Kramer explained. He reviewed published research and found that several studies showed that regular moderate exercise that makes a person breathless increases the speed and sharpness of thought, the actual volume of brain tissue, and the way in which the brain functions.

These benefits have been noted in people with Alzheimer’s disease as well as in those with no signs of progressive brain disease, Kramer wrote in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Some studies found that six months of aerobic exercise reversed age-related decline and that older adults’ brains retained plasticity — the capacity to grow and develop. Other studies showed that adults with higher levels of physical fitness had less evidence of deterioration in gray matter (involved in thinking) than less fit peers.”

So if you needed another excuse to get and stay fit, there it is. Continue Reading »

Baby boomers represent a huge and fast growing segment of our population. For the next 20 years someone will turn 50 every 8 seconds. The current generation of middle aged and senior citizens is the most active in history. The combination of longevity, labor saving devices, medical breakthroughs, and disposable income have contributed to a unique opportunity allowing us to pursue fitness goals into advanced age. Additionally, the general sedentary nature of our lives forces us to become active in some way if we wish to preserve our health and independence into our golden years. This situation is one that was certainly not available to our grandparents and, only in more limited ways, to our parents.

Increasingly, fitness clubs geared toward seniors and the boomer generation are springing up around the country. Although fitness centers often intimidate older adults who aren’t accustomed to exercising, senior fitness programs are specifically designed for this age group and fitness professionals can now be certified as senior fitness instructors or senior personal fitness trainers.

Senior fitness programs provide classes that focus on improving strength, flexibility, balance and coordination. They are targeted to accommodate a wide range of physical abilities, fitness levels, physical limitations and conditions such as arthritis, loss of strength and loss of flexibility. Study after study has shown that seniors are not only capable of strenuous exercise, but can vastly improve their health, strength, mobility and independence, using exercise as a tool. Continue Reading »