Even your bones have gotten weaker with age and now your latest DXA shows some density loss. You’ve entered a category that increases your fracture risk because your bone test shows more porous pockets than normal bone.

Hang on to your wig, I’ve got a fantastic exercise option for your osteopenia diagnosis.

Let’s back up a moment, how did you wind up with porous bones anyway?

We’ve got  5 major contributors to bones becoming weaker as we age.

• Smoking
• Too much alcohol
• Not enough Vitamin D and Calcium
• Certain medications
• Skimping out on weight bearing exercises on a regular basis

It’s that fifth one that we’re going to showcase for you with some really good options.

You see, weight bearing exercises help build bone. Everyday options include: walking, dancing, free weights, hiking, Pilates, and resistance bands.

How’s it do that?

Your muscles are attached to your bones, muscles pull on those bones. This is how we move. Physiologically, this pull stimulates your bones to build on themselves. Most weight bearing exercises, where your feet are in contact with the ground, are considered excellent for improving your bone density. Denser bones, especially in your hips and spine, will give you a better frame to actively move about.

Regular exercise can help you prevent falls/fractures in 3 ways.

First, it’s that pull on the bones that stimulates more bone. Better bone is stronger bone. Stronger, denser bone is less susceptible to easy breakage.

Secondly, these exercises are not limited to only physical improvement. Any of these trains your body awareness. That means it hones in on improving your balance and coordination simply because you have to pay attention. Attention and awareness form a great partnership.

And lastly, the effects of your exercise infiltrate every other system in your body. You’ll improve your cardiovascular, digestive, nervous, and immune system too. Improving your fitness is also improving your health for a fully integrated body.

Let’s make this real simple to get you moving.

Use Resistance Bands.

Period.

Your first clue is in the name ‘resistance’, that’s weight bearing.

Resistance bands are one of the easiest, safest, and best ways to start doing weight bearing exercises today. They serve on several fronts. Bands will not only help you build bone, they’ll engage your core; train balance and coordination; and will improve your mood because they are so fun! That sounds a bit corny, but I’m serious on that- you’ll see soon.

New bone is made by responding to the increased stress from the weight bearing exercises. So, if it’s the increased stress on our bones that makes new bone, it makes sense to vary the type of exercise, not just repeat the same old. Change it up, right? Or… add in a variation. Believe it or not, bone growth is subject to boredom too.

Resistance bands can stand alone beautifully as a solid workout. But the boon of bands is that they can also be combined with your walking routine, weight program, gardening gig, and even your unchoreographed, homemade dance skit.

Resistance bands are a fantastic exercise option for osteopenia. Let’s get you going on using bands as part of your new workout.

To get started you’ll need 3 things:

• a pair of bands
• a basic lesson on usage of bands
• an easy place at home to get started

I’m going to give you that basic basic beginner lesson in the video below.

For now, the simplest place to attach your bands is at the top of a doorway. Make sure that doorway has about 8 feet of space from which you can move out and have clearance on your sides about the width of your arm span.

Okay, ready?

Here’s where I’ll show you 3 ways to attach your bands in your house.

And then go => Here for your Bands 101 lesson.

You’ll need:

1. Pair of resistance bands- I prefer the premium band Slastix.

2. Pair of 5 lbs. weights

It’s non-stop, invigorating, fun and refreshing!

Give it a whirl.

=> Watch out for the white guy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I recently received an e-mail from a regular here at the studio. She comes in once a week and her program is a mix of Pilates, resistance bands, light weights, play based fitness and small circuits that we set up. 

For the last few months I’ve encouraged Elizabeth to think about how she could fit in another movement session or 2 for herself at home.

We had gone thorough variations of what it could look like. I shared some short videos to teach her ideas, and even wrote up a worksheet for her to follow. 

She was hesitant on doing anything at home because she’s never motivated enough to begin, let alone complete something on her own.

I understand that completely.

This is why so many people like to be accountable for their exercise/workouts and ‘report’ somewhere.

Elizabeth always enjoyed walking. For a good 25 years she was an avid runner/walker, but some injuries changed the scenario and walking sort of lost its swirl.

I want to share with you the e-mail that she recently sent.  It addresses the inquiry that we always talked about, but that she never followed up with: 

What kind of stuff can I do at home that’s not boring?

“I have so time before I have to go to church and my fingers are telling me to do some writing, so here I am.  I’ve become lax in my walking lately.  

No real reason for this, except that I get involved with other things and then I never go about walking.  

When I do walk, I like to go out when the sun is shining so that I can get some Vitamin D.

My days of walking in the dark at the crack of dawn are not for me anymore.  

So, this morning I have a lot of energy and went down the basement to do my stretches on the resistance bands.  Before I did them, I put on some sort of classical, nice music and I began to “move” my own way to the music, just like you’ve been encouraging me to do.  

There’s a vertical pole in the center of the basement, so I used that to do not only my stretching, but also to do some of my own “moves”.  

I  recalled the “jitterbug” or “fast dance” from my day which involved all kinds of upper body stretches.  I slowed that down, but continued to do the moves with my arms, etc.

What a nice surprise!  

I guess I will have to show you what I mean, but for someone my age (68) who is not as flexible as others, this made me feel great.  

I worked up a sweat for 15 minutes and then went on to do the resistance bands that you gave me.

Although I didn’t spend a long time doing it, I feel better than if I had walked for an hour probably because I used all of my body in doing this.

Anyway, just thought I would share this with you with my ramblings.  

It’s all the same concept that you teach about getting up and moving.  

However, this (the pole) gives one the availability of something to balance with while stretching, bending, moving, etc.”

So, there’s a short little story on a big movement breakthrough that someone experienced on their own.

There are many, many ways to move your body that have nothing to do with a structured workout.  

If you can open your mind to a new experience you may be just as surprised as Elizabeth was in being present with what comes up.

I’m not sure if Elizabeth realized that some may look at that vertical pole reference and say “ah, Pole Dancing!”….but it didn’t matter, she was grooving.

Use what you have, use all of your body and make up your own moves. 

You really can do that. 

You’ll feel refreshed because you not only moved your physical body, but you opened the creative circuitry in your brain to put improvised moves together.

What a way to stay young!

Are you tired of cheerleaders and self righteous people telling you over and over how much better you’ll feel when the only thing you want to do is pull the covers over your head when you’re depressed?

Depressed people don’t sleep well nor eat well.

They don’t feel refreshed and many don’t like exercise.

All the romantic fantasies of how much better you’re going to feel sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard for the 79th time.

In his recent article in RetireNet, Dr. Matthew Edlund says this about depression:

“Depression represents a global failure of adaptation. (This kind) of body does not regenerate the way healthy bodies do. When you’re depressed, remember this: almost everybody gets better. And there are many ways- more than we imagine today- to get better”.

When you’re depressed or anxious, heck even after you’ve had an argument with your spouse or a really stressful day at the office, you just want to feel okay.

You want to feel better than you do right now.

Dr. Edlund reminds us that the engagement of friends, family, nature, and community can help us regenerate out from the abyss.

Sure, physical activity can help quell depression, but not for everyone.

How about you?

For many ‘just do it’, doesn’t.

If you had 2 ton weight of a bad mood dragging you down, the mere suggestion of a 30 minute walk can simply paralyze you. And this isn’t anything like depression. It’s merely an expression of feeling like crap.

It may behold 1/100th of the feeling of true depression. It gives you a faint idea.

One gal even remarked that slow walks provided the perfect time to ruminate and engage in the negative thinking that caused her downward spiral.

Okay, now what?

If going for a walk, traipsing to Zumba class or even cycling at the beach doesn’t blow your skirt in the air, consider an easy, stay at home possibility.

If you were able to step away from all that you’ve been told to do; all those guidelines that tell you ‘find something you enjoy’ (you don’t enjoy any exercise), and meet up with movement that’s a far cry from “boring exercise” would you entertain a look?

I’ve made a real simple video to show you what I mean. There a couple of reasons you might like it:

• it can be used as a starter pack to feeling better than you do right now
• do it where you are right now.
• there’s nobody to meet up with and nobody’s watching
• do as little or as much as you like= stop whenever you want
• you can move in increments: 3 min, 5 min. stop. heck try all 8 min.

Use it as a movement experiment to feeling better than you do right now.

Put yourself in a safe, personal space.

Maybe that’s your den, or close the door to your office, perhaps the basement, away from everyone. You don’t have to get any weights to use.

Don’t change your clothing. Just go.

Maybe after you’ve done this a couple of times, begin to sense how you feel.

Leave the judgment of doing anything right or wrong alone.

There’s no right way. The right way is your way.

It’s a simple way to build self accountability.

That’s not to confuse simple with easy. Even though the movements are simple, they may still not be easy for you.

Give it a try, let me know what you think.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Cursed by Your iPhone?

How to tell:

You take more sick days cause you just don’t feel good.

Your capacity to work at anything has diminished.

You have to take frequent breaks because your shoulders, back and head are screaming at you.

Your iPhone has become part of your identity.

• Head down
• Hunched shoulders
• Wildly tapping thumbs and fingers. 

On the go, walking through airports, train stations, shopping malls.

In between commercial breaks of Grey’s Anatomy.

Sitting and waiting in offices, ballparks, grocery lines.

Mothers, teens, execs, nurses, coaches and personal trainers to name a few.

You’re addicted.

Continuous, over long periods of time, stuck in one position.

“Tech(nology) – Neck”, it’s a big pain.

And big pains bleed into your lifestyle. 

Don’t notice it right now? Just wait.

What to do?

Tip #1

Bring it to a better level. 

If you’re not going to stop the incessant teching, at least shift the level from which you operate.

When you constantly focus down, gravity listens. It pulls you. That pull creates an avalanche of unnecessary strain in both the front and back of you.

Tip #2

Do this simple exercise:

Put your iPhone down.

Stand tall.

Imagine you are standing in front of a bookshelf with 2 of the books needing to be pushed back in. Your job is to push them back onto the shelf with the back of your head. Yes, dead center back of your head. Sort of like pulling your chin into your throat.

This is the complete opposite of your familiar tech neck move. And remember, lift your chest, expand your ribcage, and open up those shoulders.

You’ll feel a little bit better balanced in comparison to your constant forward head posture.

Tip # 3

Watch this quick video below.

It will not only get you out of this toxic position but also will:

• refresh your sluggish feeling
• pump blood everywhere to rejuvenate your whole body
• restore power to your suffocating spine. 

Here it is => Open Up & Restore!

Every single thing we do in life is about finding balance.

If you’re over the top, you’re maniacal. 

If you do nothing, you’re a sloth.

In between all of that are 1,000 choices that could lead to having a good day.

Everyday.

You seek balance in every aspect of your life:

• work
• play
• vacation
• entertainment
• dog walks

• sweets
• alcohol
• diet
• exercise
• self care

Constantly, you return to that desire to feel okay - that’s all you want.

You could restore your sanity, peace of mind, and be okay if you could just find balance.

Ready for an easy way to find balance everyday?

It is closely tied to Discipline.

I know just seeing that word conjures up such synonyms as control, curbing, limiting, strictness, and restraint.

Can you shift that perspective for this conversation here?

Okay, here’s something adapted from a book I recently read, which I truly cannot recall the name. 

Discipline is about removing the choices.

Yes, remove the choices and the answer is clear, right?

You can’t walk down the microwave popcorn aisle without being bombarded with 27 choices.

Pick one even if it’s not the cheapest, lowest in fat, best tasting.

Next time, try another.

It’s that simple for popcorn.

Same with exercise.

If you’ve been inactive for 3 years, and own a couch potato button, pick one activity and do it.

For 15 minutes, that’s it. For now.

Sweets?

Don’t eat M & M’s, Twizzlers, Snickers, Chunky Monkey, or Carmel creams.

Eat an ice cream sandwich.

You get the pattern.

It’s Simplified Decisions 101.

Remove the choices.

You’re inundated, overwhelmed and you’re not getting anything done.

Forget about moving forward, you’re stuck in 87 choices.

Pick one.

Balance.

Bring in the harmony.

You’ll have peace of mind, be okay, and feel sane.

In today’s world that’s a bundle.

Getting ready to workout is about loosening, warming, and opening up. So when I saw my Mother in the studio getting ready by doing 2 bad stretches, I had to yell “STOP“….why are you doing those?

“Well, this is what I always do”, she said.

“Why? Do you realize they are doing nothing to get you ready? They’re useless and are not helping you warm-up”,  I said.

“Okay, then show me what I could do instead”.

My pleasure.

My Mother was an avid runner until the age of 59.

One afternoon at her house our family was gathered for a birthday celebration.  It had been raining all day.  Whenever it rained the back steps from the house down to the porch became slippery.

I believe it was an accident waiting to happen, but until something did happen nobody was going to change it.  Unfortunately, mi madre was the recipient.

Coming out of the house down those 3 back steps her foot hit the third step on an angle, and there went Mom.

This fierce fall with her body going one way, foot heading another direction, forced her ankle to decide where to go. Unsure which way it decided. We all just know that she was in emergency surgery 1 hour later on that Sunday.

Mom now would have pins and plates holding things together on an ankle that previously had her running through the neighborhoods for 27 years at 4:30 am. 

Life was about to change for Mom.

That was 9 years ago.  Somehow that specific event changed the way my Mom handled physical activity. I’m sure there are a lot of factors that went into the change, some that played mentally, heavy emotionally, while battling the physical. 

In those last 9 years she has incurred other injuries that seem unrelated to the ankle that was blown out.

“Seem unrelated.”

Those are the key words.

I always wonder what happens to a person after that ONE fall, or ONE accident, or ONE mishap.  Is there some hidden susceptibility that preys on a vulnerable mind and body?

We all have an idea of how we would be IF something happened to us.  Until it actually does and it’s staring at you, you truly are clueless.

I am uncertain what happened to Mom emotionally and mentally.  I just know that I have a seen a whole lot of changes in the last 9 years.

She’s come through things wonderfully.  Great health, good genes and a positive outlook have carried her through the challenges of healing and moving forward.

Life, your life, is largely about being able to get around, right?

As a Boomer, imagine how dramatic a statement it would make about your future with a loss of movement. 

You can’t imagine walkers and wheelchairs, they contain you!

Hospitals? Forget it, they surely will inhibit your movement. Tubes, machines, bad gowns- who can walk around?

When you’re sick and down and out, depending on someone is one of the last things that you want. But, it has to happen as part of the healing process.  Eventually, you’ll get back on your own.

It’s just that idea of losing your independence is so frightening.

Here’s a mini solution to getting proactive about choosing a better way, a better outlook.

Begin today with a pledge to yourself by deciding that your future mission in this world is about staying in the game, fully alive and feeling good.

You’ve got a lot of people that want that for you too.

If there’s something that can make you feel better than you do right now, what’s stopping you?

Maybe you haven’t been out for a walk in a really long time. Give up on the ‘perfect’ weather excuse.

Or you’ve been thinking about bicycling around the small town at the beach one weekend. Plan on it the next time you’re there. That new Zumba class sounds like a hit, you should try it.

Want to feel young again?  Put on some good 60’s music and dance around the kitchen.   You don’t need a lot of room. Four feet by four feet will do just fine.

Think you’ve lost your swing because you’re outta practice?  Who cares, you’re not competing for any prize.  This is about feeling good. One of the best ways to feel good is to just improvise. Self judgement loosens once you get going. Inhibitions gently fade because you’re getting out of your head and into your body.

Movement has a really cool way of motivating you all on its own.

You just have to get out of your own way.

Think about it.  Active aging is a much better alternative than just watching it all go by.

That’s no fun!

Sure, accidents happen, things change that you have no control over, and bumps in the road can stop you dead in your path.

Get up. Get Active.

Don’t be daunted by future possibilities and don’t be haunted by past calamities.

Movement makes you feel healthy, it confirms you’re alive.

Remember that line in “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles”…

“YOU’RE GOING THE WRONG WAY”.

That’s an accident waiting to happen.

Change your life before the accident happens.

Sorry, obese.

Okay, overweight.

But it’s really fat.

These aren’t my words.

They are from the latest AP- LifeGoesStrong Poll in June, 2011.

Boomers are saying they do some sort of cardio work once a week, but that’s not cutting it. Why should it?

That’s like increasing your water intake by drinking an extra glass per week. Big whoop.

Boomer you knows that a measly 60 minutes/week is pale in comparison to the ideal 150 minutes/week you should be getting.

That’s 21 minutes a day of movement.

Can you fit that in?

To top it off 37% of those Boomers polled say they don’t do any strength training.

An obese Boomer furthers an unhealthy future with that extra risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and joint problems.

Stats, studies, testing simply continue to show us the pit that we’ve put ourselves into.

The bottom line is you have to do the Work.

But you already know that.

Yes, work with a capital “W”.

Move More, Eat  Less.

Move More, Eat Healthier.

Move. Move. Move.

That urging will not disappear in any study, poll, research or focus group.

Physical activity is a must.

I don’t care if you count points, and can shed pounds without moving a finger.

In the end, intertwined in the middle, sewed into the very fabric of us as beings, it comes back to the question:

How can you get regular, daily movement embroidered into the orbit of your existence?

Your life is about movement.

Life is not dieting.

It never will be.

Your health and wellness is about being able to complete your mission in life, whatever that may look like.

7 diseases that are heart related to sedentary ways:

• Heart attacks
• Strokes
• Blood clots
• Coronary Artery Disease
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Crazy cholesterol

And these are just heart related illnesses.

Can you take this seriously enough to at least get up and get moving away from your sedentary lifestyle?

Movement makes us feel healthy and confirms we’re alive.

Would you agree?

Remember counting calories, tallying points, going gluten-free, and saying ‘No’ is all worthwhile; AND the best service you can do right now is break the sedentary cycle you have created.

Here’s a great share from the AP Poll that was conducted.

One of those interviewed expressed a huge concern for the movement that he does now at 63:

“If you allow your mobility to decline, you pay for it in terms of the quality of your own life.”

Fast forward to your future with a possible loss of movement.

How devastating can you imagine that feeling?

That loss of movement, especially when you know very well you are in a position of prevention NOW, makes a very dramatic statement about your health.

A change like this, towards a less mobile state, suggests that your present health and the health that you know you could have will never return.

Okay… get back to the present.

It is here that you now have the abundant opportunities to begin inserting simple movement.

What is simple movement?

The easiest form of simple movement is walking.

Or playing.

Play as a Boomer, you say?

Sure.

Rewind your tapes 40-50 years ago.

What was the simple movement then?

You did it then.

And you can do it again- in a more mature body.

Nonetheless, your body remembers this stuff even if it was way before you got all caught up in yourself.

Step outside of that entanglement and step into action.

Need an idea?

I compiled 3 short episodes on video to help you.

Check it out.

The best part, the easiest part and the most simple part is:

You need nothing but you.

Save yourself now by acting better in the body that needs you.

Here’s the video clip: 

The NEAT way must include Non Exercise Activity that is Thermogenic.

That 4 word phrase means 2 things: 

1. Non Exercise activity is everything that isn’t sports related.

2. Thermogenic is about increasing energy expenditure, a significant component of your metabolic rate.

Which basically boils down to this…

How you play, dance, improvise, work in garden, stretch in kitchen, grocery shop, and hang your laundry matters cumulatively.

The impact of all that that has nothing to do with eating and sleeping.

This is what NEAT is all about.

NEAT is not your visits to the gym, Zumba, or your daily driven walk.

That is all so good.

NEAT considers all those inconveniences that add up and rack up some serious caloric burn just by getting up, moving around and cutting the excuses.

No, NEAT will not help you lose 15 lbs. in 21 days.

Nor will it torch and blast those last 5 lbs.

But IF you sit on your a$$ for a large part of the day,  it will add to your activity level.

It may even tip you towards the desire for more activity.

Wow, imagine that!

Stop making your daily routine so damn convenient.

It’s not doing you any good in the long or short run.

Convenience costs you calories, pounds and unwanted flab. 

Get out of your car at the bank, climb the stairs, and walk to the mailbox to drive up your NEAT factor.

Waiting for those eggs to boil, coffee to brew or cous cous to simmer you bet you can get some activity in that will contribute to your daily moves.

Sit a lot?

Here’s a really cool Infographic on the damages from sitting =>Sitting Is Killing You

Or check this out => The Chair Is Your Enemy

And lastly, the research defined => Idle Muscles

Oh, if you need some simple moves, go here=> 5 Moves in 90 seconds