Happy Halloween!

ghouls and goblins! ghosts, witches and skeletons! maybe now is a great time to give some thought to your own skeleton-especially your spine. look at where the arrow is pointing-your lumbar or lower spine. 80% of the population has reported some type of lower back pain. but just look at it-what do you think is supporting it, all those vertebra stacked one on top of each other? plus there's gravity at work. it's no wonder so many people have issues with their backs and if they also sit during the day at work, have poor posture and/or are overweight then the problems are compounded. this is where your "core" comes in but that talk can wait for now.

so have some fun on halloween and meanwhile give your skeleton some thought and respect for all that it does. 

Walking, cont.

here i am at a younger age and a heavier weight-although not my heaviest which was about 180 pounds. what woke me up to the benefits of walking was when i spent a month in florence, walked everywhere and ate 3 large meals a day plus wine and molto gelato. didn't gain an ounce. i promised myself i would keep up the walking once i got back home and for awhile i did. then other things got in the way, didn't have time, excuses. the result-i gained weight, even without the gelato!
these days i walk as much as possible. the best way to increase your energy output* (especially if time is an issue and you're not a runner) is to wear a weighted vest. holding weight in your hands like many people do does not compare. if you can't walk fast, wear weight to boost the benefits.vests that you can add weight to are the best type so over time you can increase the weight. the other easy solution is to do hills or add incline if you are walking on a treadmill.
you may look like a character from "homeland" but a weight vest is an easy way to increase the benefits from your walk.

*calories burned

Walking

october is breast cancer awareness month. the most recent studies have found that, especially for post menopausal women, that a minimum of 150 minutes of walking and exercise a week lowers breast cancer rates by 25% and if one only  walks by 14%. walking also reduces the risk of re-occurrence in breast cancer survivors. something to think about.
of course there are many proven benefits to walking and exercise such as building stronger bones, reducing blood pressure, heart disease and stress and of course obesity.
but back to walking. outside is great, with a friend even better. strolling is not "walking" in this context. you need to be walking at a pace of about 100 steps per minute which is about 3.5 miles per hour to be considered of enough intensity (moderate) to garner the benefits.
more on walking to come.

Support Yourself

ok, perhaps i am being too critical of machine based workouts, i.e. the laying down as you work your legs. these are usually considered "open chain" exercises where your body is supported by the piece of equipment. this means that during the exercise only a single muscle group or joint is being worked on and you are not supporting yourself. there are a few situations where this might be recommended. but at studio 65 the emphasis is on functional fitness-exercises that will improve one's ability to handle the "activities of our daily lives" and improve overall health. these workouts focus on "closed-chain" exercises that work multiple muscle groups and/or joints while you support yourself. you are using more muscles so that your strength and endurance improves as well as burning more calories. also, when done in specific ways, you also get a cardio workout at the same time. and for most, time is the major excuse for not following an exercise program. so if you can get a better, more complete workout in less time, wouldn't that be your choice?

Coming soon-studio 65 functional fitness for women

if you're like me the thought of working out in a large gym filled with heavy metal equipment and that often smells of sweat and chlorine is not your cup of (green) tea. and how about that muscular, young man-think he has any idea-even though he should be certified-how it feels to be a woman whose body is changing as time passes. my short story is that these changes, as well as becoming more aware of general health and nutrition has led me to become a certified personal trainer. the long version will appear in various blog posts.
one other thing for you to consider-does it really make sense to lay down on a machine to work out your legs?

 more about studio 65 to come-opening, philosophy, location, etc. and please forward to anyone you think may be interested.