Fitness Tips

Gravity’s Last Stand

If your back aches and your joints feel stiff, you’re not alone. Aches, pains and inflexibility are common complaints for adults over 50. But it doesn’t have to be that way! This week, Coach Mark shares five simple stretches you can use to alleviate pain, regain flexibility and extend range of motion on everything from your golf swing to your dance-floor boogie.

Studies Show Strength Training Prevents Age-Related Decline

For aging adults, strength training can make the difference between a life of frailty, pain and decline, and decades of health and vitality. While that’s not news to Welcyon members, it’s making big news in the Wall Street Journal. Check out this inspiring story about how adults over 50 are using strength training to overcome health challenges and gain a new lease on life. And remember, you can do the same at Welcyon!

Introducing Coach Mark—Welcyon’s Fitness Guru

This week, Mark Richards joins our lineup with a new blog about fitness. An expert in athletic training, and physical and occupational therapy, Mark is the mastermind behind Welcyon’s strength-building program. He developed the protocols that help members double their strength within a year. He also trains our coaching staff and provides ongoing guidance for developing new classes and activities.

Just in time for spring, Mark’s first blog, Cardio Training in the Zone, shows you an easy way to use target-heart-rate training to improve cardiac health, and get abundant energy for all the activities you love. If you can breathe, you can follow his simple guidelines. No apps, devices or math required! ​

Turn Your Walk into a Workout

As a form of exercise, walking has long played second-fiddle to running. Now, with a boost from intense, interval-style workouts, walking has become a great way to improve aerobic fitness and leg strength while lowering blood pressure. And it’s much easier on the body than running. Read more in the New York Times.

Work Out. Eat Right. Lose Weight.

​You work out hard in the club. Why doesn’t it show on the bathroom scale? Although the benefits of exercise are innumerable, weight loss isn’t one of them. Shedding pounds requires a smart nutrition plan to go with your workouts. And that means more than counting calories. Learn the latest findings on exercise, nutrition and weight loss in this article by Dr. Jonny Bowden, renowned nutrition expert.

Skip Breakfast. Train Hard. Lose Weight.

Trying to shed a few pounds? Forget about the breakfast of champions! Exercising in the early morning before breakfast primes your body to burn baby burn!

Sitting More Deadly than Obesity

You might want to sit down for this. On second thought, stand up! Research shows that “being sedentary may be twice as deadly as being obese.” The good news is that doing as little as 20 minutes of brisk walking a day can significantly decrease the chances of an early death. This is true whether you’re normal weight, overweight or obese.

Turn Back the Clock with Exercise

Exercising keeps us young! Though this isn’t headline news to most Welcyon members, yet another study shows that people who stay physically active can slow—or even reverse—the impact of aging. The Journal of Physiology, a British publication, reports that older adults who regularly engage in vigorous exercise are stronger, have better bone density, reflexes, metabolic and memory function than their sedentary peers. In fact, many members of the study group enjoy the same level of fitness as healthy young adults. Read the rest of the story in the New York Times.

New Year’s Resolutions: Five Tips for Getting Fit and Healthy in 2015

In the wake of all the holiday feasting and toasting, it’s tempting to crank the heat, sink into the couch and binge on Netflix until spring. While hibernating the winter away might be appealing, atrophy can lead to a host of health problems—this is especially true as we age. You’ll feel a whole lot better if you trade in the corn chips and the remote for healthy eating and a vigorous workout routine. Here are a five tips to get you on track to a healthier, fitter New Year.

Bust the Blues with Winter Workouts

A Guide for Staying Healthy, Happy and Fit During the Winter Months

With the snow flying and the mercury plunging, it’s time to build a little heat with a winter workout program! From boosting your energy to beating the blues, winter exercise creates year-round benefits. Check out our guide for practical tips on making the most of your indoor and outdoor workouts during the cold months.