Lets consider the following:

· For age > 65 y/o, falls are the leading cause of fatal injury and responsible for approximately 2 million ER visits per year.

· Most falls are not truly accidents rather represent affects of physical deficits related to diminished vision, strength and/or balance.

· Ankle strength and range of motion accounts for approximately 50 percent of our balance.

· Hip strength accounts for approximately 20 percent of our balance.

· Numerous muscles of the trunk accounts for the remaining 30 percent of our balance.

· Decreased flexibility of musculature and ligaments away from the ankle also contributes to imbalance.

· Improved visual contrasts in the home and work environments, and keeping floors tidy (free from slip/trip hazards) lessens risk of injury.

Come on Baby-boomers, avoid the injuries. Contact us for additional recommendations.

When considering personal and national healthcare plans we need to define healthcare. While much of western medicine is focused upon diagnosis and treatment of disease and injury, we should actually consider healthcare as the compound word that it is, health and care. As such, the objective should be that of caring for your health. To focus upon health, consider the following to motivate yourself to get healthy and fit.

1.    Describe your objective. How will you look when you are healthy? Write your description detailing your future appearance including hair (color, amount, style), face (with or without wrinkles, acne, scars, etc.), skin (tone, lesions), posture, height, weight, body measures (e.g., chest, waist, hip circumference), and clothing sizes.

2.    Create an initial plan. Create a plan for reaching your objectives. Of course, we all have different resources. So, your plan will need to fit your budget and resources. Plan elements may include: exercise plan, dietary plan, social habits plan (e.g., related to alcohol, cigarettes, pharmaceutical products, sleep, etc.), describing a support network (e.g., physician, nutritionist/dietician, trainer, software resource, books, newsletters, blog information, family, friends, etc.).

3.    Create a calendar. Create a skeleton calendar noting endpoint objectives and intermediate targets. The skeletal nature will allow for updating the plan, with the most detailed aspects of the plan being the current month.

4.    Sign up for events. Participate in contests and competitions for which the primary expense is your time and effort. These physical events should be consistent with your level of fitness. The contests may be a 1-day event for a charity where the primary benefactors are others or may be a fitness competition that is performed over the course of months, sponsored by nutritional supplement companies, with prizes for the high performers. Participation in these events and contests will be complementary motivation.

5.    Share you goals. Tells others who will encourage you if nothing else. The term “support” in “support network” will be defined in many ways. Sharing enhances your accountability.

6.    Visualize your objectives often. Type your goals and post them where you will see them frequently and where you need the reminders and encouragement. These locations might be on your bath mirror, in the bedroom closet, on food cabinets, on your refrigerator, and in the car. If you are sophisticated enough to scan a picture a picture of yourself into a computer, digitally manipulate it and print the image of the anticipated “new you”, do so.

Formulate your plan, get healthy and stay fit.

March 5, 2009 — Children born with a gene linked to obesity don’t have to get fat. A healthy diet and exercise will win over the obesity gene’s unhealthy effects.

People who inherit a variant version of the FTO gene tend to need to eat more to satisfy their appetites, so they may gain more weight than others. As such, the FTO gene has been labeled the ” obesity gene.”

However, the gene does not specific food selection or exercise habits. As such, your fate is not sealed. See more details regarding this work performed at the University College of London.

For full article CLICK HERE

For diet and exercise information CLICK HERE

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March 5, 2009 — “It ain’t over ’til it’s over,” is what Yogi Berra would say. Now many health scientists are agreeing that a bit of exercise and simply quitting bad habits such as  the couch-potato habit and smoking can have a demonstrable effect on your lifespan, even at middle age. See detailed results from a recent study by researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden.

For full article CLICK HERE

For fitness information CLICK HERE

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The heavy scents of spices waft from ethnic cuisine towards the waterline. Gazing down the paths at the edge of the marina, antique lamps glowing along the tree-lined route, the enticing laughter and soft music reach out to me as I stroll briskly towards you.

Active again, investing in hearty play, great food and healthy behaviors once more. Socially active again because I am taking care of myself, preventively, regularly, finding natural tools to keep me moving. Welcome to living a contemporary, healthy, good nutrition-filled, fit and enjoyable life.

If you want an alternative perspectives on contemporary health, nutrition and fitness, we are here.

The Funalt III Group

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Has your treadmill been gathering dust while you eat donuts and drink more coffee? Have you recently fallen victim to some new bad health habits? Surgery or pharmaceutical products can be very risky approaches by which to pursue your return to a svelte figure. Many weight loss surgery participants slowly regain their former shape because they do not develop new, post-operative behaviors. Moreover, some have post-surgical side effects that are as bad as living with obesity (ask me about them). Fortunately, there are home exercises for beginners and numerous natural weight loss plans that may be employed very effectively to yield the trimmer, shapelier, more fit person that you wish to become.

Before starting your new fitness planning, recognize that you will need to get off the couch. You may start with walking, burning increasingly more calories without developing any new skills. You need little equipment, so the transition will seem natural. Aerobic fitness can start by just adding a few more yards to your travel pathway via a few extra zigs and zags on the way to the restroom, the drinking fountain or copier. Eventually, you will increase your endurance and speed, finding ways to burn the calories, feeling better as you improve.

Walking is just the start. Your upper body musculature needs a bit of work as well. Try adding a little weight (no more than 1 to 5 pounds per hand) and you will build up your arms simultaneously. You will soon discover the merits of weight lifting if not having already done so. Using your body weight, you can perform push-ups, sit-ups, leg raises, pull-ups and many other exercises to kick off your resistance exercise program at home. Exercises for beginners are frequently performed with your own body weight. You will improve your general body tone and prepare yourself for a future, more comfortable transition to using heavier weights. However, even these basic exercises may be a bit challenging if you are grossly weight-challenged. If so, you may need to use other weights just to be able to progress gradually.  Regular performance of some type of fitness-strength resistance training improves muscle tone, burns calories, increases calcium absorption into your bones, and improves your overall health including reducing risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and risk for injury.

As you become stronger and more flexible you will undoubtedly improve your dexterity. Steppers, jump ropes, and exercise balls are very inexpensive tools that you can bring into your natural aerobic fitness and core muscle strengthening regimens. A floor exercise wheel is a very inexpensive and outstanding home exercise tool for beginners that will address core abdominal, upper and lower back, lateral chest and arms simultaneously. It is deceptively easy to use, deceptive in that you will progressively tone yourself significantly if you start with 3×6 reps and add one additional rep every other day. “Stepping” can be performed in front of the television in a small room. Moreover, just walking and these few natural workout, home exercises can be the starter kit for beginners that gets you exercising regularly. Moreover, do not underestimate these recommendations, they will get you fit fast.

I hope that you are excited. I know that you can do it. Just get started.