“Inactivity is the killer, and remember, it’s never too late.” Jack LaLanne

According to the National Institute on Aging, older adults lose the ability to physically perform tasks on their own as a result of becoming inactive and NOT as a result of aging.

Heart Disease:
Heart disease is America’s #1 killer and Heart disease doesn’t discriminate. Common myth is that heart disease is a disease of men when in fact it kills more women. 500,000 women die every year from heart disease. That’s twice as many deaths as all cancers combined yearly. Symptoms are often very subtle for women just like with Osteoporosis. The good news is that 80% of heart disease is preventable through proper diet, exercise and when necessary, medication.
Be ahead of the curve and take charge of your well-being.

“Regular exercise helps to prevent heart disease equally to taking medication for high blood pressure or cholesterol or quitting smoking.

Making exercise a part of one’s daily life often promotes many other heart healthy behaviors such as adopting a healthier diet, which adds to the benefits of exercise alone.

Noelle’s exercise programs help our beating heart beat stronger and help our loving heart feel happier.

“It has been shown that for those who suffer from anxiety or depression, symptoms are alleviated significantly by regular exercise.”

-Dr. Kimberly Griffin, MD
Cardiac Surgical Critical Care Specialist

Osteoporosis:
Understanding the difference between Osteoporosis and Osteopenia:
Osteopenia and osteoporosis are related; both indicate some degree of bone loss and both conditions are diagnosed after measuring your bone mineral density with a specialized x-ray scanning machine, then comparing your test results to a bone density standard. Because osteopenia and osteoporosis usually have no symptoms – until a bone breaks – doctors often recommend regular bone density screening.

But there are important differences between the two conditions:

Osteopenia literally means bone loss and is the first stage of bone loss. It is the presence of less than normal amount of bone and is the precursor to osteoporosis. It is a warning sign and does put you at higher risk of developing osteoporosis. However, osteopenia does not always progress to Osteoporosis and you can take steps to keep your bones stronger and lower your risk of developing the more-serious bone disease.

Osteoporosis is the more serious condition signaling that bone loss has progressed below a certain threshold. Osteoporosis is considered a disease that results in low bone mass leading to bone fragility and an increased risk of fractures. It can go undetected with no obvious symptoms for many years until an incident occurs. Osteoporosis is known as the “silent epidemic” because a person usually doesn’t know they have it until its too late. The loss of bone occurs silently and progressively and many times the first indication of osteoporosis is a fracture. Most of us hit our peak bone mass somewhere in our 30’s. After our 30’s, we start to drop bone mass. It is a systemic skeletal disease affecting 55% of women over the age of 50. But men can get it too. It is a more prevalent issue for women as they become high-risk post menopause. Men can have continued bone loss in their 70’s to 80’s. Osteoporosis related fractures are very common and are major health problems for millions of people over 40 years of age..

What is safe and effective when training people with bone loss?

Fear Factor:
Many people are anxious about becoming physically active. When diagnosed with Osteoporosis, they have fear of exercise doing more damage or falling and fear of getting a fracture. Many people have fear that exercise will cause the wear and tear of the disease to worsen. But there is so much research out there now which has shown and proven that just the opposite is true. An osteoporosis diagnosis should not mean the end of exercise. On the contrary, working out can strengthen the bones and the muscles connected to bones and minimize bone loss. Any bone can be affected, but of special concerns are the hip and spine.

Why Exercise is Good Bone Fitness:
Research in general has shown that weight bearing exercises often serve to maintain bone density, stimulate bone growth and build up bone mass. Being sedentary however, leads to bone loss. Weight bearing and weight training exercises aids in Osteoporosis prevention because it places stress on bones, which results in increased bone mass. Moreover, the stronger muscles, better balance and agility to which exercise contributes can also help in fall prevention.
It is safe to say that a sedentary lifestyle is much more damaging to anybody than almost anything a qualified trainer would do.

Exercise is an effective, inexpensive and healthy way to prevent and treat osteoporosis.

A great simple weight bearing exercise to do at home is:

Hold a Plank on the Kitchen Sink-

Place hand shoulder width apart on the edge of the sink.  Keep your abdominals contracted and your shoulders drawn down onto your back.  Squeeze your legs together for more support.  Hold plank for a few deep breaths.

Important Preventative Measures:

Keep up Calcium – Taking the right amount of calcium is important. 500 mg / 3x’s a day in dairy or a supplement is recommended.

Add Vitamin D – Taking vitamin D is important. 2,000 units / day is good.
Studies confirm that heart disease can be reduced by as much as 53% and cancer incidence slashed by up to 77% in those people with the highest levels of vitamin D in their blood.

Avoid too much Soda and Caffeine

Eat Healthy – Balance nutrition is essential for body and brain health.  Eat healthy and avoid processed foods and consume lots of color in your diet.  The Dietary Guidelines for Americans ( U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture 2010) recommend a diet that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fat-free or low-fat milk; include lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs and nuts; and is low in saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, salt and sugar.

Stay Hydrated – Water is also essential when you exercise.  It is important to say hydrated, so drink plenty of water

Limit Alcohol

Don’t Smoke