Fitness Fun for 55 & Over

Exercise, Just the word is tiring! I work in a senior living center and the word Exercise isn't even used or I would receive a guaranteed "no" vote on that activity instantly. Instead I ask someone if they want to have some fun? "why yes" and Lets Go! You see, its all about perception. If you tell yourself you are going to go have fun and spent some quality time on yourself, then you would go every day!

For my fitness class I put in a tropical beach party CD. First we start doing some stretches, then we work the major muscle groups, quads biceps, triceps,calf raises, ankle and foot rotations, leg lifts and chair dancing. We actually do have lots of fun. These 70-100 year old folks come every morning. I have two centenarians in my class! The place is packed. I say a few jokes and we laugh too. Did you know that by laughing you release endorphines and that help you to be happy. Plus if you laugh for several minutes a day its like doing 30 sit -ups. At our fitness class we also do some deep breathing and namaste, I also incorporate the ancient Chinese technique called palming. I love to mix and match things up, so its new every day, some days I put a Cajun CD on . I have about 15 different Cds we use. 1950s, Beach Boys,Big Band Era, Country Western, ETC. My class is called "Fitness Fun".

I hope this encourages you to have a better outlook on how you can stay fit. I will be writing more on fitness and health, as its one of my favorite subjects, I did attended Lane Community College for physical therapy/ nursing an am always keeping up with what's going on in the medical field. Please send me your questions about fitness and health.