11 Reasons to lift weights

Resistance training with weights or body weight is a key component of one’s fitness routine. This involves taxing the muscles through a range of motion so they are pushed to a point where they will regrow stronger and bigger. Here are 11 great reasons why you should lift weights:

1. Strength – As we age, we lose strength. If you don’t have the strength to perform basic functions, you may lose your independence. Lifting weights builds this strength.
2. Mass – Lifting weights will allow you to maintain and build back any muscle lost over time. Don’t worry, you won’t get bulky!
3. Body composition – Building muscle mass through lifting weights will protect you from building body fat, which will lead to a better body composition.
4. Makes you better at other things – Lifting weights could make you a better runner, athlete, or it may simply give you the ability to play with your grandkids.
5. Resilience – You will build the right muscles, leading to appropriate muscle balance. Make sure you have a balanced program through a full range of motion.
6. Can boost testosterone – This will help maintain lean muscle and promote a healthy libido.
7. Satisfaction – Lifting weights makes you feel that you have done something good for yourself and boosts your confidence.
8. Community – You may form lasting bonds with others at the gym. This is a great support network to learn from and encourage.
9. Longevity – Studies have shown that the more muscle mass you have, the longer you may live.
10. Stress reduction – Vent some frustration, relieve stress, and get rid of some of that cortisol.
11. Variety – Mix weight lifting with modalities such as speed or cardio. This will allow you to work your muscles in different ways.

Lifting weights offers many benefits throughout your health and fitness journey. Get started today!

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11 best weight lifting tips

11 Best weight loss lessons

Throughout my own journey with health and fitness, I learned a number of weight loss lessons that I want to share in today’s podcast:

My best weight loss lessons

1. Exercise is important, but not for weight loss – You can’t exercise yourself out of a bad diet. The food you eat is key to your weight loss.
2. Insulin – To lose weight, reduce your total insulin load so the body can burn fat for energy. Do this by limiting your sugars and simple carbs.
3. Ghellin – This is a hunger hormone that tends to be cyclical, usually highest in the evening and lowest in the morning.
4. Leptin – This hormone signals to the brain that you’ve had enough food. Slow down on your eating so you allow time for this signaling to occur. This will prevent overeating.
5. Cortisol – When your body is in a stress mode, it produces the hormone cortisol, which leads to storing body fat in your mid-section. Manage your stress levels to avoid this.
6. Sleep – Get quality sleep and your hormones will balance out and work in harmony, promoting a good Circadian rhythm.
7. Out of sight out mind – Don’t buy unhealthy foods. If you must, keep them in a separate space from the healthy food you are consuming.
8. The decision isn't enough – Make a commitment to be healthier for the right reasons, perhaps an emotional one.
9. Love yourself – Have internal self-love and make a commitment to yourself to be healthier.
10. Scale movement doesn't equal health – Don’t let the scale define you. Focus on how you look and feel.
11. Don't go it alone – Find an accountability partner or support network.

Perhaps you have some of your own weight loss tips. Share them in the comments!

11 Best time management tips

Don't have time to work out?  Cooking your own food just takes too much time?  These 11 time management tips will help you free up the time to both work out and eat right.

Best Time Management Tips

1. Go to bed 30 minutes earlier

   This may seem odd.  But going to bed earlier will help allow you to get more sleep.  Being well rested will help you be more productive.  Let's face it, you were just going to watch television that half hour that you can now apply to something much better for your help, sleep.

2. Time style of work

   Don't want to work out during your lunch hour because you'll be sweaty all afternoon? Then schedule your work for times where it makes more sense. I prefer a moderate pace walk during my lunch hour. I do my more sweat inducing work in the morning (I was going to shower anyway). This way, I maximize my workout time based on my existing schedule/activities.

3. Multitask

   Multitasking can allow you to get things done while you're doing something else.  For example, I'll often do my squats (Forever Fitness 30-Day Squat Challenge) while I'm brushing my teeth or cooking breakfast.  I'll go for a walk while I'm on a conference call.

4. Batch cooking

   I love batch cooking as a time saver.  Cooking large batch meals on the weekend and packaging them up in single servings frees up time during the week, when all that's left is to warm up the meal.

5. TV Exercises

   We all find ourselves in front of the television from time to time.  Consider doing some squats or better yet, burpees during commercial breaks.  Or set up a treadmill or stationary bike and walk/ride during your show.

6. Circuit training

   Circuit training is where you go through a series of exercise, one right after the other.  This can allow you to get a series of strength training exercises done in a short period of time.  And you get a metabolic boost.

7. Minimum effective dose

   Many people go much harder and longer than they need to get results.  To improve fitness you need challenge, feeding and recovery.  There is an upper limit to how fast you can improve.  More of a good thing isn't always a good thing.

8. Go faster

   Seems simple, just go faster and you get the work done in less time. This strategy works, but you have to be careful.  As you get more fit, you may be able to move faster, for example adding a jog to your daily walk.

9. Single focus/goal

   When I go into the gym, I have one thing on my mind, get the work done and get out.  Having a plan and focusing on the work will keep you working at pace and not wasting time.

10. Raw/quick prep food

    Choosing foods that require minimal preparation can save time. I'm not talking about microwave meals, but rather pre-washed salads, single serve nuts, etc.

11. Eliminate low value non-exercise activities

    If you sat and wrote down what you do in a day, I imagine you'd find many low value activities. Could you eliminate them?

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11 Things you should know about macros

I asked members of the 40+ Fitness Podcast Group what topics I could cover and one of them was about macros (macronutrients).  Having a good general understanding of macros is important for maintaining good health and fitness.

 

11 things you should know about macros

Protein

1) Building block – This macro is something you must have in order to rebuild.  But this is not a “more of a good thing” is good macro.  You need to get just enough protein to allow your body to rebuild.
2) Essential amino acids – Amino acids are the building blocks of protein.  There are some amino acids that our body cannot make.  We must eat them to have what we need.
3) Complete proteins – A complete protein is one that has all of the amino acids.  An egg is often referred to as the perfect protein because it is a complete protein.  Vegetarians should be very diligent in their food choices to ensure the way they mix and match their protein sources gives them all of the amino acids.

Fats

4) Mono/Poly/Saturated – Saturated fat has been demonized and recent science seems to show this to be unfair.
5) Omega 3 / Omega 6 – When animals are permitted to live their lives the way they choose, their meat tends to have a 1 to 1 ration of omega 3 to omega 6.  This is a healthy ratio.  When animals are feed grains, their omega 6 goes up, breaking this ratio.  As a result, we are not getting enough omega 3.  Eating fish or taking fish or kreel oil can help you rebalance if you're not able to get grass fed and finished beef.
6) MCT – This is a medium chain triglyceride.  Your body cannot use MCT for anything but energy.
7) Bad fats and oils – Fats and oils can go rancid.  Make sure you're properly storing fats and oils to avoid this.  You should also be sure you're avoiding partially hydrogenated oil.  This man-made oil is very bad for us.

Carbs

8) Simple carbs and sugar – These carbs are turned to blood sugar (glucose) very quickly.  Where there is more than you need, your body produces insulin to protect the brain from excess glucose.  It stores the glucose as body fat.
9) Soluble fiber – This fiber is digested very slowly.  It is also referred to as a slow carb.  These are good sources of energy and should be focus of your consumption of this macro.
10) Non-soluble fiber – This fiber cannot be used by your body so it just passes through you.  This can help you keep regular.
11) There are no essential carbs – While our body needs protein and oil, it does not need this macro.  Carbs can be part of a healthy diet, but they are not essential.

 

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https://40plusfitnesspodcast.com/shop-good-food/

11 best nutrition tips

In this episode, I share my best nutrition tips.  Most people approach weight loss from an exercise perspective.  Unfortunately, when you're over 40, it is nearly impossible to out-exercise a poor diet.

My best nutrition tips

Cut sugar

Sugar is the number one reason most of us are overweight.  When we eat more sugar that we need for current energy, our insulin spikes to take up the sugar and store it as fat.  Over time, this can lead to obesity and diabetes.

Water

Many people will question why I put water in my nutrition tips when water isn't a nutrient.  Water is essential for good health but is even more important when we're exercising and losing weight.

Simple carbs

Sugar is a simple carbohydrate, but there are more simple carbs that make up our daily intake. And these raise our insulin and are stored as fat when we take in more than our body needs at the point we eat them.

Protein

Protein is an essential building block for our body.  But in excess, our body breaks it down to glucose for energy use and/or storage as fat.

Whole foods

I'm a strong believer that we should primarily eat real, whole foods.  Processing strips the food of nutrients.  Foods that are “fortified” to make up for this don't necessarily serve us well.  Whole foods are things your great-grandmother would have recognized as food.

Read labels

If you find yourself eating something from a package, take the time to read the nutrition label.  You might be surprised at the chemicals that are used to keep that product shelf stable and the other additives to make it taste the way it does.

Portion size

We have been conditioned by restaurants and food companies to eat far more than a single portion at a meal.  Break this conditioning by requesting a takeaway box for the excess.

Logging

Take the time to log the food you're eating.  This can help you learn more about what's in the food (calories, carbohydrates, protein, fat, etc.) and makes it easier to manage your food.

Slow down

Eat slower to eat less.  Your body needs time to process the hormone signaling to know your full.  Slowing down also helps you enjoy the food more.

Be prepared

Many times, we make poor choices because we haven't taken the time to plan and prepare.  If you know you're going to out, pack a healthy snack.  I will often pre-log my food for the day and make sure to carry that with me in an insulated container.

Try new foods

Most of us stick to foods we know and like.  This can lead to nutritional deficiencies in certain vitamins or minerals.  Varying your diet can help you get the nutrients you need.

 

I hope you enjoyed this post.  Do you have any nutrition tips I missed?  If so, please let me know in the comments below.

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Health and Fitness Foundations

 

11 best bodyweight exercises

Today I will share my favorite bodyweight exercises.  I picked these exercises because they cover the most of the fitness modalities depending on how you use them.

Advantages of Bodyweight Exercises

1. They require no equipment.
2. You can do them practically anywhere.
3. Easy to scale to your fitness level.
4. Doing these can give you the confidence when you're ready step up to free weights.
5. Most are low injury risk.
6. Adaptable to hit multiple fitness modalities.

Precautions

• Always check with your doctor before starting an exercise program.
• Warm up completely before doing an exercise.
• Know how to perform good form.
• Keep good form during the exercise.

11 Best Bodyweight Exercises

Note: There is no sound in the bodyweight exercise videos to facilitate you watching the video while you listen to the podcast.

1. Bodyweight Squat

This is my favorite bodyweight exercise. It builds strength and mass in the thighs and butt. Hold on to something if you have issues with balance or squat depth. Add a jump to the end to add intensity and power.

2. Push Up

This works the chest and triceps. Start with your knees on the ground and progress to a full push up. Elevate your feet for intensity or add a clap at the top to work on power.

3. Sprints

Sprints are a great exercise to build metabolic capacity and endurance.  Sprints should go for 20 – 30 seconds.  Note: This was hard to demonstrate in my yard, but I hope you got the gist.

4. Hollow Hold

This is a great, low risk-high reward core exercise. Be sure to breathe during the hold. Go longer for more intensity or add a rocking motion, which would make it a hollow rock.

5. Bear Crawl

The bear crawl works your shoulders for strength and improves mobility in the hips (both great for us desk jockeys).

6. Burpee

Anyone that has done burpees, hates burpees. But they keep doing them because they work. A full body exercise that helps build endurance and strength.

7. Bicycle Crunch

This is another core exercise that allows you to work core strength more dynamically across multiple core areas (front and sides). The abs are a set of muscles, so hitting them from multiple directions helps keep them strong and balanced.

8. Carioka

One of the main reasons elderly people lose independence is from a fall that results in a broken hip. Many times the fall is to the side and they are unable to respond in time to stop it.  The carioka forces you to maintain balance as you move sideways.  It does provide some endurance benefits as well (especially when part of a circuit where you're already metabolically taxed).

9. Side Lunge

I like the side lunge because it is one of the few bodyweight exercises that isn't front or back.  Like the squat, it builds strength and muscle mass in your thighs and butt, but from a different angle.

10. Mountain Climber

This exercise builds strength in the chest, shoulders, and triceps and is metabolically challenging (endurance).  Be sure to work through the full range of motion.

11. Sampson Lunge

This is another good exercise to help with hip mobility as you build strength, in your legs this time.  Do this slow and controlled to get a really good hip stretch during each lunge.

As you can see, my dogs had as much fun with this as I did.  For the dog lovers, the German Shepard is Angel, the Chihuahua is Joe Joe, and the Lhasa Apso/Poodle mix is Baby. Of note, I did all of these exercises in a circuit and it was quite taxing. I could see doing three rounds of this, with a short rest between each round as being a great workout for even the most fit individuals.

Are there any bodyweight exercises I missed that you think should have made the list?  If so, let me know in the comments below. 

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11 best getting started on health and fitness tips

Sometimes the hardest part is getting started.  Once you going, you have some wins, some momentum that can keep you going.  In this episode, I'm going to share my tips for getting started on health and fitness tips.

Here are my best getting started on health and fitness tips:

1. Know your why – Before you get started on anything, you should consider why it matters.  Having a solid why will give you a strong, emotional driver to get you moving and keep you moving.  I changed my life because of my wife and kids.  I want to be there for them and the path I was on wasn't going in that direction.  I changed direction.
2. Know your vision – Having a vision of what health and fitness is important to make sure the things you do are aimed toward getting you healthier and more fit.  Your vision can change as you go, but it is important to know where you're going.
3. Set goals – Think of goals as milestones on your path to your vision.  These goals should be SMART goals.  I'm sure you know what smart goals are and if you don't, you can go to episode 93, where I went over how to use them.  I also developed a guide to help you do this.
4. Focus on what matters – If you want to drive to the grocery store, you aren't getting there efficiently if you drive to the movie theatre (unless the movie theatre is on the way to the grocery store).  You very likely have limited time in your day.  Don't waste time doing things that aren't getting toward your goal.
5. Have fun – Yes, some people can tough it out, but you're much more likely to show up if you enjoy what your doing.  Make it fun, or at least something that will make you better at something fun.  For example, I enjoy volleyball.  I do not enjoy box jumps.  But I know box jumps will make me a better volleyball player, so I do box jumps.
6. Be prepared – I leave my gym bag by the door, packed with my workout clothes.  That way, when I get out the door to work, I can't help but grab it.  I also pack my food for the day and carry that with me.  I'm less likely to go to the fast food place if I have plenty of good food with me at my desk or in the breakroom fridge.I also encourage people to do bulk cooking and pack up servings for the rest of the week.  This makes it quick and easy to have a good, healthy meal in the evening when your willpower is weaker.
7. Schedule it – Scheduling your workouts is a great strategy for getting started.  Put an appointment on your calendar with an alarm.  This appointment is with your boss (you).  At work would you miss an appointment with your boss?  Nope?  Don't miss this one either.
8. Go Slow – Often, people will go all out when they first start.  If you overdo it, you are more likely to want to quit.  DOMS is one of the main reasons people drop out after their first workout or two.
9. Be good for yourself – In the podcast episode, “Is your inner voice a nice person?” I explained why it is important to be good to yourself.  This is even more important when you're first getting started.
10. Share it with friends – Friends do a few things for us when it comes to health and fitness.  For one, they can hold us accountable.  Second, they can make it much more fun to workout and cook good food (see #6).
11. Hire a trainer – A trainer, like a friend can help keep you accountable.  One of the best benefits of working with a trainer is that you'll get results faster.  Just make sure you find a trainer that suits you.  I made up a quick and easy guide to help you select the right trainer.If you'd like to learn more about working with me, you can go to Forever Fitness Personal Training.

We are 100! Best of the past.