Category: fitness

Flexing Our Muscle at Any Age

Christina BruniLeave a comment

The book above received a ton of one- and two-star reviews on Amazon.

To be honest I checked the book out of the library and didn’t buy it. I thought it was an OK book and will read it again in my spare time to get inspired.

The reviewers who trashed Flex Your Age didn’t like that the guide offered no exercise routines and no eating plans.

In my humble blog here I’ve been reposting my workout routines for readers to use if you want.

What impressed me about Joan MacDonald the author is that she didn’t start lifting weights until she turned 70. By 71 she was lifting 175 pounds with a fully loaded barbell.

And I thought it was remarkable that I didn’t start lifting weights until I was 46. 3 years later I could lift 205 pounds with the trap bar at the gym.

Joan has me beat! Though this is not a competition. Nor should the two of us and what we’ve done intimidate readers or make you feel poorly if you can’t do these things.

The point to our stories is that change is possible at any age. Incremental change is always better to effect if you ask me.

Soon I will post my 2023 Fall Upper Body and Lower Body routines.

The Science of Fitness

Christina BruniLeave a comment

Funny how a magazine with an article about how you can be Healthy at Every Size does not feature a full-bodied person on the cover? Cue the sarcasm emoji.

Regardless. There are key takeaways in the featured articles that make buying the issue justified.

In the special edition magazine above an expert advanced what I’ve always thought: a 200-pound woman can be fit. An R.D. in New York City counsels with a HAES (healthy at every size) and intuitive eating approach.

The goal should not be to diet yourself down to skin-and-bones. Food should be viewed as “fuel and fun” as The Pleasure of Food article states.

Another article focuses on the Body Neutral movement which upholds what a person’s body can do not your body’s appearance.

To keep healthy at every size the central tenet of the special edition should be taken to heart: reframe your perception of the habit of keeping fit. Calling it “exercise” can repel a person when they think it’s something you have to do and is not enjoyable.

Seeing a workout routine as the gateway to achieving a goal is the difference. Maybe you want to walk up the subway stairs without huffing and puffing. Or you want to be able to walk your dog around the block.

Why not call it a play-out instead of a workout when what you’re doing is a fun fitness habit?

Sadly, feeling fit is hard when you buy into the impossible idea that you need to exercise to lose weight. In a research study women who exercised felt better even when they didn’t lose weight.

Feeling great is the goal.

My purpose in lifting weights is to maintain “functional fitness” as I get older. What I hope to be able to do is continue to carry 25-pound tote bags of groceries in my sixties and beyond.

The Science of Fitness special edition is the one special edition magazine I will refer to over and over.

In this book there’s also recipes for Smoothies that Taste like Milkshakes.

Well worth the $12.99.

Sparking Joy to Live Longer

Christina BruniLeave a comment

I had COVID for exactly two weeks. Though a mild form it was terrible to live through. A friend told me that because I exercise and eat well this was most likely why I had only a mild form.

What got me mentally energized when my body was slowed-down was binge-watching Sparking Joy with Marie Kondo on Netflix.

In a burst I tidied up my desktop and desk drawers. I placed in a donation bag a small wooden box that hung out atop my desk for 11 years.

The tidying up was life-changing. It led me to want to adopt atomic habits like James Clear wrote about in his book Atomic Habits.

The trick is to tidy up every evening instead of letting tasks and objects pile up in your household.

If you ask me Marie Kondo’s clutter-control method is the only one a person should use. This Japanese tidying-up guru is not only transforming her clients lives and relationships. She might be improving their health.

A Health magazine special edition titled Living Longer the Science of Longevity has an article titled Fastidious Forever.

The mortality risk drops 35% for highly meticulous people according to research.

To wit from the article written by Marta Zaraska:

Fastidious people also have a better relationship with stress. They often thrive when life feels controlled and stable–think structured days and a relatively predictable future.

Science reveals that people who are good at meeting deadlines and maintaining tidy surroundings can have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which has been linked to a litany of afflictions from diabetes to cancer to heart disease.

When hardships do happen, neat freaks tend to cope better.

Inflammation may also play a role. “People who are more conscientious have healthier inflammatory profiles.” According to Angelina Sutin, PhD.

They tend to have lower levels of interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein, common markers of inflammation.

Interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein have also been associated with severe cases of COVID-19.

Did I have a mild form of COVID because I’m a neat freak 🙂

I rest my case: Marie Kondo is actually improving the health of her clients.

Watching Kondo’s clients pile mounds of clothing on their beds to assess what to keep and what to toss I felt better.

It’s because though I’m a Fashionista I own nowhere near half the amount of clothing Kondo’s clients had clogging their numerous closets.

In the coming blog entry I’m going to talk about adopting atomic habits.

Binge-watching Sparking Joy with Marie Kondo I realized the solution is to not let things get out of hand to the point of being overwhelming.

Dumping clothes everywhere could cause a person to feel “down in the dumps.”

As I can attest when I tidied up my desktop and desk drawers I was energized and had more hope for recovering from COVID.

Eat Move Sleep

Christina BruniLeave a comment

The Tom Rath book Eat Move Sleep has to be the best health book I’ve ever read.

The other 2 books I recommend are How to Be Well and The New Rules of Aging Well by Frank Lipman, M.D.

In Eat Move Sleep Rath asserts that sitting in a chair without getting up to move frequently is thought to be as unhealthy as smoking.

Not only is “sitting the new smoking” the reality is that loneliness is as harmful as smoking too.

Not getting enough sleep is often the root of modern-day ailments as well.

I would say if you read only one health book make it Eat Move Sleep. It’s a short book that can be read in two or three days depending on how long you read it for each day.

According to Rath most common diseases can be prevented with lifestyle changes like the ones recommended in the book.

No one should be popping Xanax as a rule or taking Ambien to fall asleep.

That said fitness should not be a “blame game” played against people who don’t exercise and eat right.

If you ask me what happens to a lot of people is “the luck of the draw.”

We cannot hold others responsible for their ill health. Not when they have a genetic mutation for cancer. Or develop leukemia when they’re 65 like a friend of mine.

Yes I firmly believe that lifestyle choices are under our control. Only so much of what happens is not within our reach to prevent.

Lastly I will say that it’s my contention that a person should take The Long View.

Not exercising for a week or two doesn’t matter. Getting back into exercising is what counts.

Hitting a plateau or having a fallow period in your life with your goals or with any kind of mental physical or emotional setback is to be expected.

I will remind readers that I might have talked in this blog about my “little bites” philosophy of not biting off more than you can chew. Of being consistent.

The beauty of following the Eat Move Sleep plan is that small changes can make a big difference.

Expecting or wanting quick-and-easy dramatic results is foolish and dangerous.

We all of us have our whole lives to live.

Giving up hope is a mistake. Having a concrete plan with clear specific SMART goals is the solution.

Come to think of it as I’m typing this I think it’s time to devote a blog entry to setting long-term goals.

So this will be coming up after I talk about The Myth of Buying Organic Food.

New Fitness Book

Christina BruniLeave a comment

Alysia Montano the author and athlete of this book is an Olympic champion. She is an activist who endorses clean sport. By using the word clean I take it she is against the use of steroids.

Though she is a runner I zoomed in on the exercises in this book to use in my own fitness practice.

My personal trainer incorporated one of the movements into the new routine he gave me.

In coming weeks I will supply the 2021 Early Summer Upper and Lower Body workout sheets.

This book I was able to find at a public library. It’s sold in bookstores as well. I was able to take this book home for free. You could check it out of the library should you want to save money.

I recommend buying the book.

It does feature strength training exercises which is what pulled me into taking this book home.

Trusting Your Intuition

Christina BruniLeave a comment

Trusting your intuition is key when making changes to improve your health.

Over the years I’ve decided to do things long before I read that an expert said to do these things.

A lot of times it comes down to common sense. In the coming blog entry I’ll talk about a book that has cutting-edge health information for those of us over 40.

Some of the changes I figured out to make were these:

  1. Only have yogurt 2 to 3 times a week. Make it full-fat plain Fage yogurt mixed in with organic blueberries.
  2. Eat mostly vegetables and make most of them organic.
  3. Cook my own dinners more often every week.
  4. Change how often and how long I work out. After I turned 53 I started to lift weights at home 2x per week for 30 to 40 minutes. Instead of using machines at the gym 3 days a week for 50 minutes each session.
  5. Rarely drink milk.
  6. Have a pastry or other “treat” every so often. Progress not perfection is the goal.
  7. Scramble organic eggs and veggies for breakfast.

After making these changes I lost 12 pounds in one year. I’m also fitter today than I was 7 years ago dead lifting 205 pounds at the gym.

My trainer gave me new Upper and Lower Body routines to do. I’ll post them here in a couple of weeks.

Coming up soon a few recipes as well.

Getting Fitter After 50

Christina BruniLeave a comment

So much of getting fitter after 50 if you ask me is about the mental and emotional and spiritual. Not solely the physical.

The mistake is setting a condition that you have to achieve in life before you’ll become happy.

Like: “I’ll buy that new skirt when I lose 10 pounds.” Buy the skirt now!

Getting fitter after 50 requires having the courage to make these kinds of changes.

It’s the mental game that has an impact now.

In my life I’ve decided that I can’t rely on other people to tell me what’s right or wrong or what I should do and how I should live.

That’s the bottom line after 50:

Having the confidence to go against the grain of what’s popular in the mainstream.

To do what you know is right for you regardless of whether others think it’s right.

So much of success after 50 lies in trusting yourself.

More in the coming blog entry about trusting your gut or trusting your intuition.

Exercising After 50

Christina BruniLeave a comment

In the last 4 years it has been challenging.

Things changed after I turned 52. That’s when my personal trainer at the gym had the foresight to create next-level workout routines for me.

With her help I started lifting weights for 30 to 40 minutes 2x per week.

I could no longer workout at the gym for 50 minutes 3x per week.

I’m the proudest of this achievement:

In January 2014 I could dead lift with the trap bar 205 pounds.

That was impressive considering I’m only 5 feet tall and weighed 120 pounds at the time.

After I turned 52 my former female trainer took a different approach to create workout routines I could do in my living room.

See the Home Gym category for information and sample exercise plans.

My current trainer is a guy I’ve worked with for over one year so far. He’s an exceptional trainer just like the old trainer was.

For the holidays I gave my trainer a $50 bill.

The gym I go to attracts hardcore fitness buffs. The trainers I work with create Upper and Lower Body routines for me to do that I can do on my own. Every 6 or 7 weeks I meet with the trainer to get a new routine.

The trainers respect and are impressed that I have the ability to lift weights on my own every week.

No trainer has been upset that I don’t pay them to train me in one-on-one sessions every week.

It’s not only that I couldn’t afford to do that. It’s that the gym gets crowded. You’re crunched together sweating. It can be hard to find room on the mat or a machine that is free.

It was auspicious that I hard started exercising at home in May 2019.

In March 2020 when New York City shut down the gyms closed. My gym didn’t open again until early September.

Since September I have lifted weights every week. Either 1x per week or 2x per week. I haven’t missed a week of exercising.

In the coming blog entry I want to give readers a shot in the arm of confidence about getting fitter as you get older.

My experience could be empowering.

Using My Experience to Empower Readers

Christina BruniLeave a comment

It’s January and too often people join a gym exercise madly for 2 months then quit when they don’t see progress.

The fixation on weight loss disturbs me. The fact is that when a person adopts consistent healthy habits permanently they will naturally lose weight.

Without having to go on a restrictive diet or any kind of “diet” written about in the plethora of diet books published every year like clockwork.

I’m compelled to write about my experience to empower readers. I lost 15 pounds and that hadn’t been my goal.

My goal was to eat more healthful food and continue to lift weights 2x per week as often as I could.

Would you like to know how I lost 15 pounds without even trying to?

I’m 55 years old and living in menopause. Yet I haven’t gained weight.

What I propose is a simple plan. It might not be easy to adopt at first if a person is totally out of shape.

Only it will work especially for those of us who are older.

Should you want to dive right into the details you can buy the Frank Lipman, M.D. book The New Rules of Aging Well.

Before I checked out of the library this book I had already been doing the things Dr. Lipman advised us older folk to do.

A preview of what I’ve done over the years:

Have yogurt only 2 or 3 times a week.

Stop eating meat of any kind that comes from a CAFO.

Not eat a lot of food every day.

Engage in intermittent fasting: have dinner between 6:00-7:30 p.m. Wait 16 hours to eat again when I’m at home the next day. Scramble eggs for breakfast after this fast.

Have only 2 meals a day every so often.

Make my “3 square meals” small ones.

Cut out eating granola and grains.

Cook my own dinners more often every week.

Change the frequency and duration of my workout routines. Lift weights in my living room. Use lower weight and higher reps for each exercise.

Have the cannoli on New Year’s Eve because I’m not perfect : )

Well

Christina BruniLeave a comment

It’s Autumn again in New York City.

The time when I scout around for produce at the Greenmarket.

This fall I intend to focus on eating well and breaking a sweat.

In a couple of weeks I should be able to post a new workout routine.

I ordinarily do the Upper Body and Lower Body workouts for 12 sessions each.

For over one year I have done something unusual. Not that it is uncommon for me to do something unusual:

I’ve been exercising on the hardwood floor in my living room. Every 12 weeks I meet my personal trainer at the gym to be given a new workout routine to do. This routine I do at home as I’ve talked about before.

As I got older I could no longer exercise at the gym ferociously like I used to.

The year ends in just over 2 months. I think everyone could benefit from revising and reviewing their routine while Mercury is retrograde this month and through early November.

This is my plan: to eat well and break a sweat. To not get hung up over the times when I don’t do what you’re supposed to do.

A reappearance of COVID-19 is expected in November.

This is why now is the time to take care of our mental and physical health.

I expect in 2 or 3 weeks to post another workout routine.

Stay tuned.