The holidays are an excellent opportunity for “quality time” between grandparents and grandkids. And that includes physical activity. In fact, all year long, people over 50 say that being strong for their grandchildren is their No. 1 reason for staying fit – or for wanting to get fit in the first place.

Being an active grandparent requires physical ability – strength, endurance, and flexibility – that you can build in a gym or studio. You want to be able to enjoy each other and make memories together. And playtime, exercise, and other activities can do all that while showing them that even “older” people are fun and engaged in life.

When the grandchild is an infant, you’ll want to get down on the floor and back up again. As the kids grow and get heavier, you’ll pick them up and carry them around. By the time they can run, they want Grandma and Grandpa to play outside.

Be a loving leader and get them away from screens to engage in creative play. You don’t even have to tell them it’s exercise, although it’s suitable for older ones and teens.

We’ll help you gain confidence with strong legs, back, core, glutes, and more. We’re here to help, so come tell us about your special little ones, and we’ll get you in shape for all kinds of things like:

• Visiting a playground to swing, climb and explore.
• Hiking in a neighborhood or out of town on a trail. Look for certain wildlife or birds. Play “I Spy with My Little Eye” or scavenger hunt games.
• Bicycling – As they keep growing, think of the special times you’ll have riding together.
• Snowshoeing, skiing, snowmobiling – Don’t let winter keep you inside. Bundle up, stay safe, and have fun.
• Skating – Roller-skating at a rink or on your sidewalk, plus ice skating in the winter.
• Working out – If you’ve walked them to gymnastics practice, sneak in your workout if possible. If they’re old enough, bring them with you here.
• Running in a local 5k “turkey trot.”
• Tossing the football or frisbee in the backyard or park.
• Playing sports with them, whether it’s tennis, golf, basketball or anything. Introduce them to yoga; even little ones will be intrigued with the fun names like “downward dog,” “cat pose,” and “warrior pose.”
• Dancing around the house.
• Volunteering in the community. It’s good for your physical and emotional health and will help the child learn about civic responsibility and generosity.
• Reading might not be a physical activity, but it reduces stress, helps us calm down and focus, and improves early learning, vocabulary, empathy, and connections. Who doesn’t want to snuggle on the couch with a book and a kid?

With so many fun, healthy activities to share, it’s no wonder that our grandchildren are our No. 1 reason for wanting to be fit after 50. And even if you don’t have any, these are all good things to do alone or with anyone of any age. If you want to continue to enjoy your time with your grandchildren and stay active, try our 21-day strength and longevity program and see results guaranteed!

Summer Living – Healthy Tips for the Season

Everybody loves summer, right?

Even this year, with so much of our routines disrupted, the sunshine and warm weather can lift our spirits and get us engaging in healthy living. Jogging, gardening, hiking, outdoor swimming… the options are endless with the longer days.

Summer is also a good time to remind ourselves about some healthy lifestyle choices. So, let’s review how to make the most of the season.

Hydrate yourself.

That’s right – warmer weather means we need to be even more vigilant about drinking plenty of water. Among the many benefits: It keeps us cooler.

Getting the right amount of water each day also helps increase our metabolism, which helps us lose weight and keep it off. Plus, drinking a glass before a meal helps us feel full faster, so we’re less likely to overeat.

Water is also good for digestion, healthy skin – and just about everything related to a healthy body.

Add cucumber slices or fruit to a pitcher to give a refreshing, light flavor.

Drink water even when you’re not thirsty. A good rule of thumb is to drink between a half-ounce and 1 ounce of water for every pound of body weight, according to WebMD.

Avoid the heat.

Enjoy your outdoor activities before the highest heat of the day. If you like to garden, for instance, get your digging done around breakfast time rather than in the afternoon. An evening walk or jog can be much more pleasurable than taking one in the hot middle of the day.

Wear sunscreen and hats.

Too much exposure ages the skin and can lead to skin cancers. Consumer Reports says 61 percent of people over 60 don’t use sunscreen. And skin cancers are up among Baby Boomers.

So, get something with an SPF between 30 and 50. Look for UVA and UVB protection. Reapply frequently, and don’t be stingy. If you’re concerned about allergies or toxicity, review labels carefully and discuss with your doctor.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends sunscreen and hats – along with staying in the shade, wearing clothing to the ankles, and wearing a long-sleeved shirt.

For a natural, do-it-yourself sunburn treatment, consider essential oils: peppermint, chamomile, tea tree and lavender; or oatmeal baths. Men’s Health recommends a spray made from 1 ounce pure aloe, 1 ounce coconut oil, 2 ounces of witch hazel, 5 drops of peppermint oil and 5 drops of lavender oil.

Win the Mosquito Wars.

Be sure to empty flower pots, buckets, and other water containers to prevent mosquitoes from breeding. Use outdoor repellents around the yard. Use yellow-hued outdoor lightbulbs, since they attract fewer pests.

To keep the bugs off your body, the CDC recommends mosquito repellent with 5 percent to 50 percent DEET as the best insect repellent. VeryWellFit.com recommends Off! Deep Woods Insect Repellent Avon Skin So Soft, Repel Tick Defense and other easily found items.

Remember to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables, avoid drinking too much alcohol, and get plenty of rest.

And we can provide plenty of suggestions for safe, healthy exercise – with us or on your own – so, don’t hesitate to ask us for suggestions.

Here’s to a safe and happy season!

Hiking: Get Outside and Get Moving!

Martin Pazzani likes to recall a day that changed his life.

Three decades ago, when he was 34, Martin went hiking in the New Hampshire mountains. Coming down, he saw a remarkably fit man running up. As the man approached, Martin realized the runner was his grandfather’s age, and he asked how the senior citizen was able to do this.

“He said, ‘I’ve been running up this hill twice a week since I was a little kid. It’s the fountain of youth. See ya, Sonny!’ ”

Martin watched, dumbstruck, as the man kept climbing.

Today, Martin has hiked countless peaks on all seven continents. He has decades of experience as a leader in the fitness industry. And he wants more people over 50 to have the strength, agility and stamina to enjoy the outdoors more often. He has a book out in June called “Secrets of Aging Well: Get Outside.”

Exercise and Sunshine Are Vital

Martin stresses that being outdoors is good for our immune systems and mood, and hiking provides a vigorous workout, complete with endurance and high-intensity intervals. And, super-important for people later in life, it improves balance.

Gym and studio workouts make it more fun and safer — with squats, lunges, rope-jumping and more exercises. And it all combines to improve joint flexibility and more.

If you’re not sure how to begin, Martin keeps it simple: “Walking is where it all starts,” he says. So start with a short distance, then add to it, maybe carry a backpack and add some poles.

He has dozens of stories of mature people who took up hiking after health difficulties. Allan, 81, had both knees replaced, both hips replaced, and two heart surgeries. Susan started after a mastectomy and then formed a 10,000-member hiking club.

We realize most people aren’t going to reach such heights, and that’s great. We’re here to help you get or stay fit enough for fun activities like hiking, running, biking, and more that will keep you moving.

Other Wellbeing Tips

Exercise and being outdoors improve our wellbeing. Here, Martin shares other tips for a better quality of life (and less need for healthcare and medicine).

1. Unplug from technology. It’s getting harder to do all the time. But it’s important to set limits to how much time you stare at your phone or computer screen. It actually will lower your stress level and improve your attention span.
2. No music during your walk or hike. Martin says it can produce stress, tension and cortisol, the stress hormone that leads to weight gain, depression and worse. Plus, the silence is – you know – golden when it comes to heightening mindfulness and enjoying the moment. At the gym, too many people turn up their music so loud to cover up ambient noises. Let it go.
3. Go to the top of something, even a tall building, and enjoy the view. Most people focus their vision on screens or other up-close items, which affects eyesight and mood. With altitude you can take in the horizon and engage the full range of eye muscles, lowering stress levels. If no tall building or hill is available, try the beach or open field – anywhere with a long-distance view.

Getting in shape at a gym or fitness studio is a great way to spend time outside.

Wait– What?

It’s true. Getting fit or staying fit helps people over 50 enjoy tennis, golf, and gardening; playing with the grandkids; walking, jogging or bicycling the list goes on and on. Strength, endurance and flexibility are essential to enjoying all of that and more, while staying safe and preventing injury.

For active adults, the physical, mental and emotional health benefits of outdoors increases, even more, when they also are exercising, the National Institutes of Health found.

So, come on in, of course. Get fit with us, and then enjoy things like these eight fun outdoor activities.

Eight Fun Outdoor Activities

1. Visit a park. Just being outdoors, especially in green spaces, quickly improves our health and happiness, according to new research in the International Journal of Environmental Health Research.
2. George Bernard Shaw once said, “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” Grab a kid (or any friendly adult) and toss a frisbee in the back yard, have a snowball fight, go sledding, or even play tag.
3. Find a trail, go to the beach or walk around the neighborhood – it doesn’t matter. Just move your body. Walking is basic, great, and the first step to so much. (And yes, the pun was intended.)
4. Do that out of town a bit, especially where there are hills and such, and it’s called hiking. It’s also great for your body, mind, and spirit.
5. Sign up for a community run/walk or bike. It will give you a goal date and add a social element. Plus, many of these “races” are also fund-raisers for good causes.
6. Play your favorite sport. Time at the gym makes you stronger and more agile for tennis, golf, softball, skiing and just about every other outdoor sport you enjoy.
7. The same goes for gardening, which is a real workout and requires flexibility, strength, and endurance just the same as those other “more athletic” pursuits.
8. Meditate. It’s good for focus and stress reduction, and you don’t have to chant or burn any incense (unless you want to). Start by sitting outside and paying attention to your breathing. When your mind wanders, that’s OK – keep bringing your awareness back to your breath.

The main idea is to get out and enjoy life. However, you like. That research we mentioned above says spending just 20 minutes in a park improves your well-being.

And exercise indoors or outside does make you happy, just like sunshine on your shoulder.