When Fear Fuels Fitness, It Can Be Helpful

Fear can be a powerful motivator. Forget about the entertaining scares from ghosts, aliens and the supernatural. Think about how fear – blind TERROR – can cause us to take action. It’s the classic  “fight or flight” response that’s hard-wired into human behavior, right? For Rocky Eilerston, it was simple, powerful and effective fear that drove…

Muscle after 50: What It Means and Why You Need It

What does it mean to have muscle after 50? When we were kids, we probably thought of athletes and superheroes. In our 20s, we might have associated muscle with lots of weightlifting in the gym and young men with bulging physiques. But later in life, we need to realize that muscle means more than big…

Exercise against Obesity: Success at the Gym

exercise against obesity

In her battle of exercise against obesity, Mary Frances Benton, 59, knows it will take some time to lose 40 pounds. But she’s already down 15 since February, so her spirit is strong. She’s also done this before. About 10 years ago, Mary Frances noticed that she was gaining weight. There wasn’t a main reason…

Health and Strength​ for a Balanced Life after 50

Balanced Life After 50

Throughout your life, you’ve probably had periods where you felt like you were leading a balanced life. You were healthy. Your relationships were strong. Your career was going well… And, if you’re like most people, you’ve also had those moments when you felt unbalanced – like something wasn’t right, and it was dragging you down…

10 Tips to Keep Exercise from Becoming Boring

Making exercise fun

Let’s talk about a few things that are boring. Just for a minute. There’s a long, pointless lecture about an obscure subject, right? And, say, an endless game of Monopoly no one can seem to win. But do you know what’s NOT boring? Taking care of yourself through regular exercise and eating right as an…

Exercise and Menopause: How Fitness Helps

menopause and exercise

Selene Yeager, an expert on exercise and menopause, was in her late 40s when she started noticing strange changes in her body and mood. A lifelong competitive athlete, Selene noticed that her training wasn’t having its usual effect. She had night sweats and anxiety, but she brushed it all off. She learned later that she…

Weightlifting Works for This ‘Little Old Lady’

Weightlifting works for Barb DeAngelis, 76, a self-described “little old lady.” She sees the stereotypes against older people exercising to stay strong, and she shatters them every chance she gets. Not only does Barb love lifting weights and setting records, but she sees herself as a quality-of-life ambassador for other “little old ladies.” Barb crushes…

Running at 83: Health Is Our Individual Responsibility

running

Vince Obsitnik is an 83-year-old marathoner who didn’t let heart surgery keep him from running. And Vince, a former US Ambassador to his native Slovenia, has a message: You are the ultimate arbiter of your personal health. “It’s a mental frame of mind on how you want to live and how you believe in living,”…