Your Walking Speed Predicts Your Longevity!

 

That’s right – walking speed and gait has been referred to as the sixth vital sign.   Research has shown that decreases in walking speed have been directly linked to changes in quality of life, reduced independence, isolation, and cognitive decline.

Why Does Walking Speed Slow Down?

1.     Balance – can be measured in your ability to stand on one foot.

2.     Mobility – range of motion

3.     Tissue flexibility – ability of connective tissue to move

Balance Exercise

To maintain or improve balance work on single leg balance exercise.   To keep safe start by standing next to a firm counter that you can reach out to hold if you feel like you may fall.     Progress to being to hold a single leg balance on each leg without holding on for at least a minute. 

If this gets easy you can try closing your eyes – but be careful and be near a counter again or other solid object you can hover your hands over in the event you feel you may fall.   If you master this exercise you have really trained your balance systems well!

Ideally do this exercise in bare feet – shoes reduce ground feel which is critical to learning to balance.   

Mobility Exercise

Key area to focus on are the ankle as we tend to lose mobility here and this directly prevents proper walking and balance!    To train this you can incorporate foot/ankle circles during your one leg stance – try to draw a large circle with your toes on the foot that is held in the air.    Go 10 – 20 times in one directly and then repeat in the other direction and do both ankles!

Elevate the front of the ball of your foot against a vertical surface of a step or wall and then lean the whole body forward slightly keeping your heel on the ground.    You should feel a nice stretch in the calf and Achilles Tendon – hold for 30 seconds and do not push into pain.    Repeat with knee of stretching leg bent and repeat on both sides.

Tissue Flexibility

Doing foam roller exercises for foot and calf to help maintain tissue flexibility.     Vibrating foam rollers like the Therabody Wave Roller work best.    Here is a quick video showing how to foam roll your calves:  https://youtu.be/nZZe9ai7Vvw .     Here is a great video on how to use a bar or golf or lacrosse ball on the bottom of your feet:  https://youtu.be/wOqsGsvJu6M

The other fantastic way to improve tissue mobility is the using the Theragun Massage Gun on your feet and calves – see here:  https://youtu.be/o8lD95grrus  and WOW does this feel great!

Last but not least, it is very important to maintain good hydration by drinking plenty of water – your connective tissue is mostly made up of water so drink up!

Using the 21/90 Principle for Maximum Results

 

If you have ever struggled with maintaining weight loss or other goals - you need to understand the 21/90 Principle.    The 21/90 Principle states that it takes 21 days of committed daily action to change a habit and 90 days of committed daily action to create a lifestyle.

They key is daily committed action – that means EVERY day!    Commitment and consistency matter a lot.    You have to commit to an everyday plan for at least 21 days and preferably 90 days.   

This is an ideal way to start an exercise and nutrition program.   You commit to do some form of exercise every single day for a minimum of 20 minutes everyday come hell or high water.   This can be as simple as taking a 20-minute walk everyday (even if it is raining – have an indoor plan like treadmill walking or be prepared to wear a raincoat!)

On the nutrition front commit to one or more simple changes such as no fast food and no sodas or sugared beverages.    Less is more when you stick to it.

Write down your commitment and plan and share it with friends and family – you are much more likely to succeed in making a lifestyle change by taking these simple steps.

Do Collagen Supplements Help Your Skin?

 

It depends – Collagen is required for the support of the skin, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments, cartilage and bone.    In addition, collagen production declines with age which leads to increase in wrinkles.    So, Collagen is very important, but does that mean a supplement will help?

It is not that simple because any protein you eat – including collagen – is broken down into individual amino acids.      In addition, your body can manufacture certain amino acids but must be supplied with key essential amino acids.

In order to boost collagen levels the cells that make collagen must be working optimally.    This requires more than just amino acids.    There are several key micronutrients required for collagen synthesis including vitamin C, B Vitamins, zinc, magnesium, and copper.      This is why taking a high-quality multi-vitamin and mineral formula is a good insurance policy.

Beyond these nutrients collagen synthesis requires silica which can increase levels of Hydroxyproline – which is a key amino acid required for the production of collagen and elastin which is another connective tissue compound that decreases with age.

Clinical Studies with BioSil® - a patented form of highly bioavailable silica - have shown impressive results including:

Glowing Skin – reduced fine lines and wrinkles by replenishing and protecting collagen in the body.    Activated the production of elastin as well as collagen resulting in tighter, more elastic skin.

Thicker Hair – nourishes hair roots for healthier, stronger and noticeably thicker hair.

Stronger Nails – longer, smoother nails with less peeling, breaking, and splitting.

Stronger Bones and Healthier Joints – help improve bone density, joint flexibility, and reduced joint discomfort.

To learn more about the research on bioSil® click here:   https://www.biosilusa.com/us-en/clinical-trials/

Video on Demand Workouts for Every Goal, Exercise Preference, and Ability Level

Video on Demand can be a powerful tool to increase the number of workouts you complete each week!     The Workout Anytime App provides over 1,000 video on demand workouts that can be accessed directly from the app that can easily be streamed to your flat screen TV for an amazing workout experience.

There are workouts for everybody including 

Dance (such as Zumba)

Martial arts (including kick-boxing)

Indoor Cycling Classes

High Intensity Interval Training

Core Training

Booty Sculpting

Yoga

Pilates

There is literally something for everyone and every ability level.    Accessing video on demand is as simple as tapping on the Red Stronger Together Upgrade Tile and doing a free 30 day trial.     The upgrade also includes many other powerful features you can see here:  https://workoutanytime.com/app/upgrade/ 

Can Stretching Increase Muscle Size?

 

The short answer is YES – if done correctly for this purpose.   Muscle fibers increase in size primarily from mechanical tension.    This tension can come from force production where a muscle is producing force such as performing a resistance training exercise or from passive tension that occurs when stretching the structural elements of the muscle fiber itself.

To make things even more interesting muscle growth from mechanical tension from these two different methods is additive – meaning that when a muscle produces tension and is stretched at the same time more growth is triggered than from just producing tension or just stretching.

So the very best results come from making sure we use a full range of motion when performing resistance training and emphasize loading the target muscle at longer muscle lengths.

For example a review of 26 studies found that isometric exercises done in a position where our muscles are elongated (like the bottom of a bicep curl or the bottom position of a dumbbell fly) stimulate nearly 3 times as much muscle growth!

How to Incorporate Stretching Into a Muscle Building Routine

Incorporating stretching into your resistance training is actually pretty simple – choose exercises that challenge your muscle in a deep stretch position at the bottom of the lift and keep constant tension on the target muscle throughout the range of motion – including lowering slowly and smoothly.   This means never unloading like resting a bar on your chest when doing a bench press. 

Make sure to fully stretch the target muscle at the bottom of the movement – the key is challenging our muscles in that stretched position!