Senior Fitness With Meredith

Hello again and thanks for joining us for this week’s podcast!For today’s discussion we’re diving into the best cardio based exercises for seniors ages 65+. Cardio exercise has many benefits and should always be included into your weekly routines. The good news is that there are many ways to get cardio exercise in and in some ways may be much easier than you think.No matter what age you are, ability, limitation or flexibility, cardio health can be achieved with simple movements and modifications. Being in great cardio shape helps greatly with things like going up and down stairs, walking, carrying grandbabies, swimming and many more daily routine type activities.In This Podcast You Will Learn:1). The definition of great cardio health and why it’s so important to us at any age. So many activities we do everyday are affected by our cardio shape.2). Why walking is one of the best exercises for seniors and how you can vary your speed and or incline to get a great workout with just a simple activity.3). The benefits of riding a recumbent bike and how it’s great for folks who may have issues with knees and joints. It’s a great way to get a low impact cardio work out in even if you have physical limitations.4). Why working out in water or “aqua” workouts are a great way to get your cardio exercise in due to it’s supportive and low impact nature. There are many moves and routines you can do in water which may be difficult on land,5). Some great examples of easy cardio workouts that you can do in the comfort of your own home, in a chair or in any room of your house. Cardio exercises can be done anywhere!6). How adding light resistance to your cardio workouts (hand weights etc) can help with building up your cardio health much faster as well.///Thank you again for listening to us today. Hopefully this episode has inspired you to adopt some great cardio exercises into your weekly routines on a regular basis.Of course all of the activities mentioned here in this podcast are great for all ages. Good cardio health is the foundation for everyone to build an active lifestyle on and will give you the energy you need to conquer your day!See you at the next episode!Team MeredithSupport the showSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello and thanks for joining us on this week's episode!This podcast is all about working out in the water or "aqua workouts". This could mean many things but primarily we are referring to exercising in some kind of pool or could also be at a beach setting.There are many benefits to getting your exercise in a pool. Being in water is easier on your joints and muscles because of the buoyancy of the water, not to mention helping with balance and control of your movements.Of course if you choose a beach setting, the open ocean behave differently than a pool but still has great opportunities for strengthening your balance as well.Swimming laps is good for your cardio health and also provides great resistance training at the same time.If you've never considered working out in a pool then hopefully this episode opens you up to the idea. Especially if you already have existing join or muscle issues.In This Podcast You Will Learn:1). A few reasons and benefits you gain from working out or exercising in the water like less pressure on your joints and knees.2). How joining a good water exercise class can make a big difference in teaching you new movements and workouts that you might not have been able to do in normal land based classes.3). Why safety should always be taken into consideration first when entering the water for a workout and the importance of either working out in a group or letting someone know you are exercising in the water in case of emergency.4). The benefits of getting a workout at the beach in the water and how it differs from exercising in a pool under more controlled circumstances.5). Why joining a water class can also be a social experience as well with other members that can make working out in a pool lots of fun!6). Learning about "Aqua Therapy" and the benefits of having physical therapy sessions in a pool setting. ///Thank you again for visiting us for this episode! Aqua workouts are a great way to mix up your exercising and keep things fresh! Doing simple laps, stretching, balancing, arm and leg movements all benefit your body in a low impact manner and helps ease the pressure your joints would feel during a normal workout.We hope you give water workouts a try if you haven't already!Til the next episode,Team MeredithSupport the showSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Greetings and thanks for swinging by for this week's podcast!For this episode we are wrapping up 2019 and talking about how you can establish new health goals for 2020 and also how to make sure you stick with them.Setting goals and following through to achieve them can be difficult to do. Everyone looks at things he or she wants to improve and a new year is always a popular time to try and do just that.But how do we stick to them?For our last podcast of the year, we wanted to discuss this idea of setting goals or "resolutions" and what that really means. It's not always easy to keep them going especially if your goals are health based.Lose weight, eat better, get more rest, more exercise etc. These are all common goals we all have at one point or another and hopefully this podcast will help you plan your goals and conquer them!In This Podcast You Will Learn:1). Why setting "goals" instead of "resolutions" is a better way to approach the things you'd like to accomplish in the new year.2). How  setting goals and looking to better yourself health wise isn't tied to age and how seniors still take advantage of setting health goals as any other generation would.3). Some great tips on how to get started on your fitness goals and some resources and ideas you can look into in your own communities.4). Ways that can help you stick to your goals and keep you motivated to work on them when the initial excitement phase has decreased.5). How healthcare workers or trainers can/should help motivate you to stay on track and hold you accountable for the goals you have by using positive feedback and progress meters.6). Some insight into the growth of the senior generation adopting better health habits like exercise and diet and how it's creating a healthier generation.///Thanks again for joining us today. Setting goals and sticking to them isn't easy. We all want to improve ourselves and if your goals are to get healthier with exercise and diet this next year then hopefully you found this episode useful to you.No matter what your goals are, being able to focus on what you want to achieve and doing the things necessary to stick to them is key in being successful.Happy New Year and we will see you at the next episode!Team MeredithSupport the showSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello and thanks for joining us on this episode of the Senior Fitness Podcast with Meredith.Today's discussion focuses around "High Intensity Interval Training" or "HIIT" workouts for short. If you exercise regularly or keep up with workout trends then you may have heard of this term before.But what it is it?Hit workouts can pretty much be summed up in their name... high intensity movements that get your heart rate up for short bursts of time followed by a small rest period and then repeated over multiple sets.However, the moves you do and the exercises you fit into those "work" periods can vary greatly depending on your age, level and condition. The good news is that anyone can do them, including seniors!In This Podcast You Will Learn:1). The detailed definition of a HIIT workout is and how it compares to a normal workout routine when it comes to your cardio health.2). How HIIT workouts still apply to seniors and how they can help your lung capacity, mobility and everyday activities.3). Some great examples of doing a seated HIIT workout that applies to anyone who may prefer sitting while working out. You can still reap the benefits of HIIT training!4). More examples of a full body HIIT workout that incorporates cardio and weights (resistance) but also without weights. The movements will still benefit your health.5). How often HIIT workouts should be included into your weekly exercise routines and why you should always go at your own pace. ///Thanks again for swinging by the podcast today and joining us for our HIIT workout discussion. These type of workouts can be useful to anyone if done correctly and with the right up front preparation.The benefits of incorporating HIIT workouts into your own routine can help jump start your cardio and strength conditioning and improve your overall health.Researching before you start is important especially if you have limitations or are new to exercising in general. We highly recommend you do a little bit of research on what movements would work best for you first before diving in.Once you have a plan for what you'd like to try for your HIIT workout, give it a go and try to stick with it a few times a week. You'll definitely start to feel a difference in your overall health.Thanks again and we'll see you at the next episode!Team MeredithSupport the showSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello and thank you for joining us on today’s podcast!For this episode, we are talking about one of the more popular health and fitness topics, how to trim belly fat.Fat around the waist (Or wherever you feel you have it) is something we all have and that we all either love it, don’t mind it or aren’t a fan. If you fall into the category of “not a fan” then perhaps this podcast can help clear some things up about how to help lower it.Belly fat is an area that can be misunderstood in fitness and not everyone will go about losing this weight the right way.If your attempts at trimming your belly fat or problem areas aren’t giving you the kind of results you’re looking for then we hope this podcast can help get you back on track!In This Podcast You Will Learn:1). Why there is a misunderstanding about belly fat and why people think that doing crunches or sit ups are supposed to be the solution to getting rid of it.2). How your diet, portion size and what you eat has a big effect on fat not only around your waistline but throughout your whole body and why you’ll need to look at your eating habits if you want a slimmer waist.3). Why sometimes losing weight or belly fat can be difficult to do because it requires both consistent regular exercise and healthy eating habits which can mean lifestyle changes for some.4). A few examples of exercising that you can start today or incorporate into your own workouts to focus on burning more fat consistently.5). How getting proper rest can also directly affect your weight and why incorporating restful hours of sleep is important when it comes to losing weight around your belly and overall. ///Thanks again for listening to this episode! We hope that it helps clear up some of the misunderstandings that exist about how to lower fat not just around the belly but overall. Belly fat can be troublesome for some people though and having clear knowledge about what you can do to feel better about lowering it (if you feel you want to) can help get you going in the right direction so that you see results over time and stay inspired to keep healthy habits.Til the next episode!Team MeredithSupport the showSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of our podcast we're discussing a topic that affects many people of all ages but specifically in our senior population. Depression is a serious mental health issue and we wanted to dedicate an episode to shining the light on ways to cope and heal from it.Depression can affect anyone and there are many reasons why it can occur. What's more important though is how to overcome it. The difficulty of dealing with depression is that most people who are depressed don't know it and therefore it can go un-diagnosed and un-treated.This can easily lead to isolation and declining health both mentally and physically. This is what we want to avoid especially for our seniors.In This Podcast You Will Learn:1). Why depression doesn't get enough attention or isn't talked about enough in our senior population and how we can better address it to help.2). The correlation between depression, mental health and physical health and why they are tightly related to each other. Feelings of depression can physically wear you down and how to overcome it.  3). Some examples that can trigger depression in our seniors and identifying the signs of someone who could be depressed.4). Ways to help someone who may be depressed including support groups, therapy, daily check ins, physical exercise and communication to name a few.5). How simple physical activities like walking or swimming can help someone who may be depressed and allow them to begin the process of healing.///Thank you for listening to this episode. We wanted to make sure that we took time to address this side of mental health that not only affects one person, but everyone around them.Finding ways overcome depression should always be number one priority if you know a loved one who may shows signs. Physical activity should also be a part of recovery as it helps the body heal from the weight of depressed feelingsWe hope this episode helps those out there who are dealing with depression themselves or know someone who is. Always try to seek help and stay active.Til next episode,Team MeredithSupport the showSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's podcast we'll be looking at some common misconceptions about exercise and how they can affect motivation or stifle physical activity all together.Getting regular exercise is healthy for the body no matter what age you are. But if you have certain doubts or misconceptions about how exercise is good for your body (or how it isn't) then this could lead to adopting unhealthy habits or unproductive workouts that show little to no results.This can be frustrating for some, especially if you're not a big fan of exercising and getting regular physical activity to begin with.We wanted to dedicate this episode to tackling some of these myths in hopes to help you better understand why exercising is good for your body and help clear out any misconceptions you may have.In This Podcast You Will Learn:1). How having misconceptions about exercising can sometimes prevent someone from not wanting to workout at all thus missing great health benefits that they may not be aware of.2). Why having the fear of getting too many "muscles" or getting too big with lifting weights isn't necessarily a truth and how using resistance with weights can be a good thing.3). Common misconceptions about back related injuries and how this affects many people where they might think exercise will cause more problems for them and why this isn't necessarily the case.4). How implementing a slow and steady workout pace to start will help your confidence when either just starting out or returning from injury. This will help calm a lot of fears that we can have when exercising.5). Why there is a misconception about exercising but not necessarily maintaining a healthy diet and how that can lead to little results with your workouts. Both diet and exercise are important///Thanks again for joining us on this episode. We hope this helps clarify the role that exercise can play in your life and why we shouldn't be afraid to adopt a healthy lifestyle.Defining true exercise routines and educating ourselves on how they really help us is important, especially if you're just starting out.Here's to a long and healthy life!Team MeredithSupport the showSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Greetings and thank you for tuning in to this episode of the Senior Fitness Podcast with Meredith.Not getting enough sleep is a problem for many people and especially can be true for our senior demographic. Surprisingly the older we get, the less sleep we seem to achieve.There are many reasons that could contribute to less than restful sleeping habits like dealing with medical conditions, frequent trips to the bathroom, restless legs etc. Some of these can be helped with proper advice from your doctor there are also many other things we can take a look at that don't necessarily require medication.In This Podcast You Will Learn:1). The overall reason why getting good sleep is important and how it helps your body both physically and mentally, also some of the side effects we can experience from lack of good rest.2). How sticking to a consistent schedule every night when it's time to get your rest can help your body slow down and prepare for sleep. This can help improve your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. 3). Why checking with your doctor if any combination of medications that you could be taking can have the side effects of keeping you up at night or not allowing you to fall asleep naturally. 4). How sleeping with your pets on your bed can have negative effects on your sleeping consistency by their movement or attentiveness which can keep you awake without you even knowing it.5). How frequent bathroom visits during the night disturbs your sleeping habits and how important it is to do your best to empty your bladder before you got to bed starting at least 2 hours ahead of time.  Or if you need to, consider wearing an adult diaper to help with the frequency of your bathroom visits. Your sleep is most important!///Thanks again for joining us on this episode. Getting good sleep is something that we all would like to have more of. Aside from using safe and prescribed medications, as you can see by this episode there are many other options to try that could help improve your sleeping habits.We hope that after listening to this podcast you are able to try some of these tips mentioned here to help you focus on your sleeping routine. Getting better sleep not only helps the body recover but also helps rest the mind.A good's night rest is the best way to be prepared for the daily challenges we face at any age and especially in our senior generation.Til next episode.Team MeredithSupport the showSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Greetings and thank you again for joining us on this episode of the Senior Fitness Podcast with Meredith.In this episode, we’re discussing ways you can still stay active even if you have physical limitations either from a past injury or any kind of limited movement.Being able to stay active is important to maintaining not only physical health but mental health as well.  Sometime we may feel like we can’t exercise because of pain or limits that we feel our bodies have.This is not always true and we are most likely capable of doing a little more than we think we can. Of course everyone is different and what may work for one person may not work for someone else.However, with some important research, dedication and practice, there are ways to find movements that can help you body stay healthy and strong even with physical limitations.In This Podcast You Will Learn:1). Why we sometimes think having a physical limitation or injury has to sideline us from doing any kind of physical activity and why doctors should be more proactive in encouraging activity even with limitations. 2). Why learning about the human body and it’s capabilities is important when teaching classes or exercising on your own so you have the knowledge on when to stress certain areas of movement and when to modify safely for limitations.3). How knowing the correlation between physical activity and mental health is important and how fear of exercising can stifle physical activity which then affects mental state. There are ways to build up confidence to get back into an exercise routine.4). What “Range Of Motion” exercising is and why it might be the best way to get back into a schedule of working out especially if you’ve been away from it for a while.5). The important notion that you should always consider some kind of exercise and motion even if you have an injury or a limitation. Being able to stay motivated to move will get you through challenging times and allow you to learn that you can still exercise and work with you limitations instead of letting them sideline you.///Thanks again for joining us today on this episode. Dealing with physical limitations and working through injuries is not always easy. We may want to exercise but our bodies can make us feel like we are limited which can lead to feeling un-motivated and un-inspired.But hopefully in this podcast you can take away some value as to how you can still remain active even while having some sort of physical limitation.There are always ways we can stay happy and healthy and our hopes are that this helps inspire if you’re struggling with exercise or if you are a healthcare industry worker and would like to help inspire your clients.Til the next episode!Team MeredithSupport the showSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Greetings and thanks again for joining us on the Senior Fitness with Meredith podcastToday's topic dives into the relation between physical health and mental health and how they closely affect each other.Staying in great physical health has many benefits, a lot of which keep the body feeling great and in top shape. But there is also a strong correlation between physical health and mental health that affects things like your mood, attitude and emotions. This affects all of us but can also be detrimental to our seniors especially if there is not enough physical activity.Staying in a positive state of mind at any age is important as it keeps us mentally able to handle the ins and outs of our daily lives. Stress can easily add up as we go through the week and adding exercise to our daily routines can help combat mental exhaustionIn This Episode You Will Learn:1). Why people who stay physically active tend to be in better moods, have positive attitudes, feel more independent and overall have a positive outlook on life especially in the senior population. 2). Why being physically active doesn't just mean working out or going to the gym. This also means easily doing things like walking regularly or stretching. Staying mobile and keeping yourself active also matters.3). The reason mental health is important especially in the senior community and how good health leads to feeling more independent and feeling more confidant to overcome everyday challenges.   4). Some great easy workouts that you can try at home to help get you started which will help you feel better not only physically but mentally as well.5). Why it's important to keep track of you mood, stay in check, and how you can embrace easy regular physical activity to help stay mentally well overall and improve your quality of life personally and socially.Thanks again for listening to this episode. We hope that it helps you better understand why it's important to stay physically active especially for seniors. Being in a healthy state of mind comes from many things in our lives and being in great physical health with weekly exercise is a major contributor to our mental wellness.Til the next episode!Team MeredithSupport the showSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.