Functional Fitness relates to the basic human movements of daily living. All day long we bend, lift, push, pull and twist.

 Young people do it as part of playing and they enjoy all of it. However; too many older people have an increasing amount of difficulty with the basic functional movements of daily living.

 Most gyms and fitness programs are based on body building programs with which we all grew up. We were sold all kinds of exercise equipment and training programs that claimed to help us become more fit. That has meant “build bigger muscles”, with the body builder image in mind.

 Did it work?

 I often wonder how many millions of pieces of equipment are sitting unused in basements, closets, and under beds, completely useless. Most of it owned by people that are overweight and unhealthy.

 In spite of all that equipment, many of those people are still experiencing:

1. A loss of muscle mass
2. A loss of strength
3. An increase in body fat percentage
4. A loss of aerobic capacity
5. An in
...

If Your Lifestyle Does Not Control Your Body, .......

Then Your Body Will Control Your Lifestyle!

 Living independently is not something we ever think about until we are faced with losing it...then it becomes a monstrous problem!

 You know what you think when you see or hear about someone being moved into a seniors home? Or having to give up their drivers license?

 That's not going to happen to me!

 Keeping your independence means if you take care of your body, you will maintain control and enjoy the benefit of living independently as long as possible. That is what you get from exercising and eating well. This site is intended for baby boomers and seniors, that is people born between 1946 and 1964. I was born in 1946 and I know that exercising is different now than when I was younger.

 Just being able to do the normal daily tasks becomes harder. Keeping your ability to function on your own becomes quite a challenge. Energy levels are nowhere near the same.

 Reaching up in the ki...

 

This is an illustration I developed over several years.

The Aging Curve is a graph showing our lifeline from dependence in our early years through the acquisition of functional abilities and the loss of these same functional abilities later in life. 

The black arrows (rising from birth on the left in the graph and declining on the right) show a normal Aging Curve and how it may sink below the dependency threshold later in life. 

We age in two ways: Primary Aging, which is the number of years lived and Secondary Aging, which is the impact of diseases, accidents, injuries and our environment. These secondary impacts all push downward on our Aging Curve. I work hard to push back upward. I want my Aging Curve to remain as high as possible, as long as possible. 

I am doing that with my Lifestyle. My tools are exercise 🏃🏻‍♂️and nutrition🍓. These are the two components of Fitness.  I insist on my lifestyle controlling my body; I will not let a body, that I am able  control, take con...

Fitness components are just as important as we age as when we were 30 years old. As we age our attitudes often change and we become more concerned with 'just getting through the day' and forget that each of the fitness components below add critical value to our day to day lives.

Each of the fitness components listed below contributes to overall fitness and health. As a result, if we want to be healthy we need to work on all of them. Most activities will have you working on one or more of the components at the same time. The more active you are, and the more varied your activities, the better off you will be. The one component usually ignored is 'nutrition'.  

• Cardio -getting the energy needed from your heart and lungs. Ever see someone get winded from going up a flight of stairs, or just walking a bit? 
• Strength - maintaining your muscle mass and the ability to open a jar, pick up a bag groceries or your grandchild.
• Flexibility - being able to easily move through a full range of
...

How to Exercise with Heart Disease

By Ron La Fournie

If you’ve been told you have heart disease, your first instinct may be to slow down or stop altogether. Many people do. They avoid walking, lifting, and even basic movement out of fear of making things worse.

That reaction is understandable — but in many cases, it’s exactly the wrong response.

When done properly, exercise is not something to fear with heart disease. It becomes one of the most important tools you have to protect your health, improve your quality of life, and regain confidence in your body.

This is not about pushing hard or training like an athlete. It’s about learning how to move safely, progressively, and intelligently.

Get Medical Clearance First

If you have been diagnosed with heart disease, or you’ve had a heart event or surgery, you must start with medical guidance. Ask clear, direct questions:

• What types of exercise are safe for me right now?
  • Are there movements or intensities I should avoid?
  • Is ther
...

The biological Markers of Aging appear in our bodies in a very logical order and we all experience them. The markers of aging are the things we see changing in our bodies as we get older.  Logic says you and I cannot stop these Aging signs. But I will show you how to slow them down. Then you can join me and age gracefully and well. The list below has things we see and feel happening every day of our lives. I think you will agree they are like dominos.

Top 10 Biological Markers of Aging

1. Decrease in Muscle Mass
   
    If you are less active than you used to be, you’re probably experiencing a loss of muscle mass. This does not happen because you are getting older. It happens due to lack of activity. Remember the expression..."If you don't use it, you lose it!
   
   
2. Decrease in Strength
   
    Less muscle mass will lead you to experience a decrease in your strength. I lost most of my strength in few short months just prior to having open heart surgery due to a lack of activity.
   
   
3. Slowing of Metabolic Rate...

Knowing your exercise intensity is the difference between accomplishing your goals or just reading a magazine while you are on a treadmill. If you are trying to improve your fitness, you need to work a little harder than you normally do over a period of time.

We are all very unique in this and we need to have a method of measuring our exercise intensity that suits each one of us. The fitness industry tries to fit everyone into the same category.

Almost every major piece of fitness equipment has a heart range set according to age. It tells you that if you are 60 years old, then you should exercise at a certain heart rate depending on what you are trying to do.

Well, not every 60 or 70 year-old fits in the same mold. At 73 years old today, I know I exercise at rates far above where the ranges say I should be. 

 So, we need to know our own bodies a bit better. Check your own exercise intensity below and then get yourself a heart monitor or a Fitbit. You need something to measure your ...