In my experience, nobody really talks about balance until they are seniors. You would think at some point a senior would warn the younger generation to work on their balance!! Unfortunately they don't, but I am happy to educate you on the importance of balance.

I have had clients come to me after taking major falls from teens to seniors and the aftermath is never pretty. I have seen concussions, brain injuries, broken ankles that needed to be screwed together, dislocated knees and torn tendons. Falling can do major damage that can not only stick with you for a lifetime but can even be deadly.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• One in four Americans aged 65+ falls each year.

• Every 11 seconds, an older adult is treated in the emergency room for a fall; every 19 minutes, an older adult dies from a fall.

• Falls are the leading cause of fatal injury and the most common cause of nonfatal trauma-related hospital admissions among older adults.

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The online world is FULL of fitness and wellness professionals that all have varying degrees of qualifications. Some people's only qualification is that they look the part by living the lifestyle or have good genetics. Some people may have gone to college for a health related career but some may have just taken a one-day online course and now because they look the part and say there are qualified - you trust them. I would recommend you look into the qualifications of anyone you are trusting with your body and health.

From my personal experience, one certification isn't nearly enough. It doesn't quite prepare you for the real world and the wide variety of human bodies and their issues.

Now, I have to be honest - I am horrified by all the people working out, unsupervised at home, following...

The first personal training certification that I took about 18 years ago taught us that the average American spends about 18 hours a day or more in a seated position. Think about it - let's say 8 hours sleeping in the fetal position, 8 hours sitting at a desk - that side sleeper is already at 16 hours and we haven't included any Netflix time, meals, or commutes!

Also, if spinning is your exercise - you are in a seated position with your hips flexed once again. The one opportunity to do something in a standing, upright position and you opted to contribute to your issues instead.

Our lifestyle has several different factors that contribute to whether we are flexible or tight. It is important to know the contributing factors so you can do you best to build a healthier lifestyle. Even diet and dehydration has an effect on your flexibility levels so that may be why you feel tighter some days more than others.

Other factors include: lack of movement, injury, scar tissue, poor workout...

By skipping the assessment process, most practitioners are simply "winging it". We have to trust the information you have given us to be true and that you haven't left anything out of your history. I often forget to inform a practitioner I am working with of ALL the issues going on in my body so I have to assume my clients forget too. I think we can all get in that excited mindset of starting a new program and just wanting to get to work immediately!...

Mindset is more than a popular gym buzz word. It is has been studied in the fields of cognitive and positive psychology since about 1920, and that has provided a scientific foundation to help trainers like me understand how our beliefs influence our behaviors.

People in the wellness world are coming from two different mindsets, promotion or prevention. The promotion focused person may exercise with a focus on the improvements associated with living a healthier lifestyle. The prevention focused mindset might focus on avoiding medical issues and joint replacements. As a trainer, it is important for me to understand my client's mindset because I am able to encourage them in different ways. People with a...

A Short & Sweet workout…well maybe not sweet, let’s replace that with sweaty! Make sure you get warmed up for a few minutes before you get started but that is also why the first exercise is high knees because that will finish off your warm up quite nicely.

Tabata training is performed in intervals working as hard as you possibly can for twenty seconds and resting for ten seconds. During your rest period try to take a couple deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth to help slow your heart rate down and prepare for the next round. You repeat this eight times to total four minutes. Take a one minute break in between each exercise. Don’t hold back! You should not be able to work as hard/fast on your last round as you do on your first. If you can that means you are not giving each round 100% effort or perhaps you are a super hero.

 

High Knees

Low Impact: March in place with high knees as quickly as you can bringing your knee as close to...

As a personal trainer I learned to hold a stretch for 20-60 seconds. As a yoga instructor I learned you may hold a stretch for 5 minutes to gain the maximum benefit and you haven't mastered a pose until you can maintain it for three hours!

Through teaching and practice I have learned it takes most people at least a minute for their body to actually relax into the stretch. I believe that is the goal. Our body has a couple defense mechanisms built in to protect us against tearing the muscles and tendons so our first reflex when stretching is for the body to resist a little.

You should hold a stretch as long as it takes to feel your body let go of that resistance, notice a release, and gently take it a bit further. If you don't allow your body...

I have provided you with ten different exercises so you could stop right there with a quick workout or you can keep repeating as many rounds as you would like for a longer, more challenging workout. Every time will be a slightly different workout which will help keep you from boredom and keep your body challenged in different ways.

If you want a longer workout, another option would be to do this entire workout tabata style instead of counting repetitions. Since tabata rounds take four minutes each, that would make this a 40...

Mountain climbers are a complex exercise. You are in plank position so your arms and shoulders are holding you up while your core and legs are also engaged. Your cardiovascular system is working as you are alternating pulling your knees in towards your chest. The entire body is working hard which is why it is very challenging to do for the full eight rounds that tabata training entails. This is why I have most of my clients alternate just holding plank position with mountain climbers…and even this can be challenging!

While holding plank position remember to flex your feet and push through your heels while lifting the belly button up towards your spine to engage the abdominals and avoid lower back pain. 

No matter what your schedule today entails I am sure you can fit four minutes into your day for this four minutes of tabata training!

20 second forearm plank

10 second rest

20 second mountain climber

10 second rest

20 second forearm...