Fountain of Youth....really!!!

I always thought the expression "Fountain of Youth" was a dream of Ponce de Leon, the Spanish  explorer, who in 1535 was looking to cure his aging!! We all know there's really no such fountain, so when a friend recommended I read a book with that title I was inclined to say no, but I agreed. As a 76 year old I know without a doubt there's no cure for aging. I also know that worrying about aging is a waste of time. The best thing to do is keep yourself as healthy and vital as possible as you age by developing good eating habits and plenty of exercise.

Back to the book which I read. It basically suggest 5 exercises that will help you stay fit and vital into eternity, yeah!!! There's a lot of silly information out there about how to live longer on vegan diet, or low caloric diet, etc., of which none of them have any research to back it up. How could they since these studies only began thirty years ago or so.

Again back to the book. Much to my surprise these so called 5 great exercises are really very good and can be done anywhere, the park, your living room and even when traveling. If your interested in the pictures go to the book 'Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth' written by Peter Kelder.

I'm not suggesting you'll live forever but if you do them on a regular basis it will in my opinion fill all your exercise needs for the day.


Keep it Simple, Consistent and Fun.

Watch for my website, aprimelife.com coming soon.

Less Quantity and More Quality

The quantity and quality of the foods we eat are so essential to a healthy life and becomes even more important as we pass the age of 50.

Why is that? Well my experience as an active 76 years old, by that I mean I travel a lot, exercise daily, play tennis and bike whenever and were ever I can, I've have found that I need considerable less food than when I was 35 years old. After I passed 50 I slowly began to eat more of a mediterranean diet consisting of less meat and process foods (potato chips, etc) and more fruits and vegetables. I love bread  especially baguettes covered with extra virgin olive oil with a touch of vinegar while eating sliced tomatoes, garbanzo beans, scallions again all drenched in olive oil.  Yes!!!

Now 25 pounds lighter than at 35 years old I eat very differently. I eat simple whole foods and drink only water and coffee in moderation. I avoid process foods whenever possible. There is nothing difficult about eating that kind of a diet which allows me to feel good and still have plenty of energy to do all the physical stuff I love to do.

Keep It Simple Consistent and Fun.

Watch for my website aprimelife.com, coming soon.

Start your day with exercise not news!!

I can't tell you how many times I've sat down at my computer first thing in the morning to check the weather, now does that make sense, no of course not when I can just look out the window or walk out the door. Duh!! Once on the computer I'm hooked. The NYTimes appears first and I think, what the hell I just give it a quick glance. Yeah sure! After reading the headlines I find myself scrolling down the page and hour later I'm still reading things that really don't have any bearing on my life like fashion on the streets of NYC!!

So to get out of that bad habit I now grab a cup of coffee and a banana and head out the door to check the weather and while I'm out there I take a quick brisk walk finish my coffee and banana and start my exercise. Depending on how I feel I begin to jog then run for 10 minutes. If I really feel good I do a couple of 20 second sprints. Then I find some grass and do my sit-ups, push-ups and squats. Now an hour has passed since I checked "the weather"and I head back home for a light breakfast.

Starting my day with exercise is far more important than starting my day on the computer.

Keep it Simple, Consistent and Fun.

Watch for my website aprimelife.com, coming soon.

Mix it Up!!

All parts of your body need exercise so I strongly recommend doing lots of different exercises. Sounds difficult? It's not! Let me show you with a sample workout (pictures attached) and you'll see what I mean.

Start with a short brisk walk, jog or run depending on your fitness. During this aerobic exercise pick up your pace for about 15 seconds then slow to a walk. Do this 2 or 3 times.

If your exercise period is for 45 minutes stop 4 times and do some push ups, dips, squats and at the end some simple sit ups. Now this is what I mean by mixing it up, not hard, huh! This gives your body everything it needs for this sessions. Now you can have a nice light meal and start your day.

There are a myriad of approaches to "mixing it up" this is only one. I'll
show you many more when we launch our website.

Keep it Simple, Consistent and Fun.

Watch for my website, aprimelife.com, coming soon.

Keep your Exercises Simple!!

In my opinion giving an exotic name like "core strengthener"or adding some unnecessary tool to do this  exercise is silly....a sit up is a sit up!!! 

Let me give you an example: when doing a sit up you don't need a large ball laying on your back to do the sit up. Not only is it unnecessary it can be dangerous.

Just lie on the the grass, rug, mat, bench or anything that makes you comfortable is all you need. Then do the exercise. Simple huh!!

The goal of a sit up is to strengthen your stomach muscles that's all. Yes your obliques will be helped in that effort not to mention the endurance that can be garnered from this exercise.

Using some contraption to do any exercise that can be done without that contraption will discourage you from continuing that exercise.

Keep It Simple, Consistent and Fun.

Watch for my website, aprimelife.com coming soon

A Penalty for bad health?

Should there be the some type of a penalty for unhealthy eating habits and lack of exercise as there is for a bad driving record? Possibly higher insurance premium?

Now that may sound radical but let me explain my reasoning. If you are of average weight, don't have a genetic propensity for obesity and come from a line of lean relatives there is no reason for you to become obese. If you become overweight due to lifestyle and or environmental exposures you may change your genetic make up and pass on obesity to your offsprings. Now that's a problem. We used to believe that genes don't change but today we know they do so unhealthy behavior can start a new generation of obesity.

So having said all the above it is the individuals responsibility, when possible, to live a healthy life style. The reason for the skyrocketing costs of health care is due in great part to overweight and obesity causing so many chronic diseases. Much of this can be avoided thru a healthy life style. If you choose to disregard your health then unfortunately you should pay the price of higher premiums.

All the information is out there to help you stay healthy fit and vital all you have to do is use it?

Keep it Simple, Consistent and Fun.

Watch for my website aprimelife.com coming soon.

Exercise and the smarter brain....a myth?

"According to many studies over thousands of years, movement shapes the human body. Today humans have a brain that is about three times larger than would be expected given our body size. Our brains were shaped and sharpened by movement and we continue to require exercise in order for our brains to function optimally. It is generally agreed that the brain was driven by need to think but some scientists are now suggesting that exercise played a critical role in making our brains larger."

Now here is what I think. As a 76 year old guy my experience after working out either by running, weights, swimming, biking or whatever I do, my little brain clearly functions better than before the workout. Why does this happen, well again in my opinion working out forces you to have to breathe harder and take in a lot more oxygen than when your just sitting. The oxygen and greater blood flow to the brain during a work out is what does the trick.

Try it and you'll see how much better you feel and think after a good workout.

Keep it Simple, Consistent and Fun.