Try this beginner leg workout video when it gets too hot to exercise outdoors. Stretch and tone your inner and outer thighs with this easy to do leg workout. Alternate every other day.
When it gets too easy add resistance bands or ankle weights.
For more information on at home exercise programs for women visit www.mirabaiholland.com
Fashion Flash
Today’s Fashion Flash is hosted by nationally recognized author Barbara Hannah Grufferman. Her website and book The Best of Everything After 50 is filled with fabulous resources to help women make informed choices so we can continue to live a healthy and vital life.
This week’s Fashion Flash will give you the latest in beauty, fashion, well-being and fitness for women over 40. Let us know what you think!
Flab is one of those things we all really hate. What’s worse than wearing something that will reveal that little wiggle?
Studies show that if we do nothing we will steadily increase body fat as we get older.
So an inactive 25 year old woman may be at 23% (normal range of %body fat) but if she stays inactive by the time she is in her 60’s she can be as high as 43%.
The good news is this is completely reversible by adding some strength training exercises. And it doesn’t take much: just twice a week for 30 minutes or so.
Make sure you leave 24-48 hours in between for muscles to recover and grow.
Modified Squat
Use your own body weight with push-ups (beginners can do them against a wall and modified squats or lunges. Start with a few and build up to 15 reps.
Or use resistance bands or hand and ankle weights. For this, you may need some professional help like purchasing an exercise video by a certified instructor, joining a gym or working with a certified personal trainer. Once you learn a simple routine, you can slowly increase the weight as you get stronger. Start with 8 reps for each exercise. If you can’t finish the set the weight is too heavy. And if you can do a few more, you need more resistance. The key is
to listen to your body!
For more information about fitness and health and at home exercise for women visit www.mirabaiholland.com
This week’s Fashion Flash host is Deb Chase from the No-Nonsense Beauty Blog. Anyone can say no-nonsense but Deb really walks the walk. Her research is through, sometimes trying stuff on herself, her insights are keen and her writing is pithy and straight up. Click in for the real deal on beauty, health and aging for women over 40.
While you’re at it, have a look at the latest summer ideas we Fashion Flashers have put together for you.
As for me, I’m on a project in Florida where it’s hot with a capital H! I’ve given up on trying to run or bike. I’ve taken my workouts to the pool where it’s cool.
I’m getting my cardio by swimming as fast as I can for 3 laps. Then doing 1 slow one.
I’ve built up to 60 laps now. Try it yourself. Remember to ease in, stop when you are tired and build up at your own pace. It’s a terrific workout to maintain health for women over 40.
With this summer’s heat wave in full sizzle, it’s time to jump in the water and cool off as best you can. And it’s also the time for your arms to look fabulous in sleeveless or short sleeved blouses. Here is an Arm Workout you can do at the beach, the lake or the pool.
Arm Workout Exercises: Stand in water shoulder height with your feet at least hip width apart and knees slightly bent, breathing normally. For all exercises keep water weights or air filled water bottles submerged. If you are just getting started you can use your hands as paddles for less resistance than aqua weights or plastic bottles.
Weights with water for less resistance. Less water for more resistance.
Rows:Arms and Back
Keep weights just below the surface and using the broad side for resistance, push one water weight straight out in front of you while pulling the other straight back behind you. Then switch directions keeping the weights in the water the whole time.
Shoulders/arms/triceps
Extend arms in front of chest, palms down. Move arms straight down and extend in back of your hips.
Biceps: Upper arms/forearms
Arms are at sides palms up. As you hold the weights. Slowly pull arms as you bend elbows and bring weights up to your shoulders. Then lower them back down.
Do this arm workout every other day. You need at least 24-48 hours between so your muscles have a chance to adapt and grow. It should take you only about 10-15 minutes so this arm workout is easy to fit into any busy schedule.
And of course it will help you look and feel Fabulous Forever!
Send your Moving Free with Mirabai questions to: askmirabai@movingfree.com
For more info visit www.mirabaiholland.com
Moving Free With Mirabai is pleased to be hosting Fashion Flash this week because we have such fabulous tips for you to look and feel your best this summer. They’re just a click away.
.
Enjoy the 4th of July with a Strawberry Kiss! This pink cocktail delight has less calories and sugar than a strawberry daiquiri. It’s so refreshing and Menopause Makeover approved
.
Looking for a great summer lipstick? Fab Over Forty’s series Summer Lip Look has a week long list of looks from Giorgio Armani, Sonia Kashuk, Lancome, Dior and Tom Ford. Which one will you choose?
TV show House of Curves defies critics and promotes a positive body image for plus size women
Want a flawless complexion AND sun protection? Cindy from Prime Beauty introduces us to Avene High Protection Tinted Compact SPF50–your skin will love it and no sun damage! Your welcome.
There’s a new kind of dress in town and it’s a huge hit, especially with us gals over 40. Style expert Deborah Boland from Fabulous After 40 shows us why women over 40 are loving high-low maxi dresses.
Deb of No-Nonsense Beauty Blog finds a low glycemic alternative for high glycemic rice
Holidays make we wax philosophic.And thinking about this independence day reminded me not only of our founding fathers and our present men and women in uniform, it also brought to mind another kind of independence. I’m talking about independence into our old age. The kind that health and fitness can bring. Remember Fitness=Longevity.
So when you drink that toast to independence, add health to that toast and think of how you’re going to get back to exercising on the 5th of July.
We Fashion Flashers wish you a Joyous and Festive Independence Day. And as independent women, we all know how important that is!
Our Fashion Flash host today is Kari Solyntjes from FabOver40. Her well researched info and budget friendly tips help women solve their skin and beauty concerns while still looking and feeling fabulous. As for the rest of us, this week’s Fashion Flash is full of fitness, fashion, forward thinking, fab beauty tips and fun!
Summer brings all sorts of great healthy treats. My fab rav is berries berries and more berries. On my yogurt, in my cereal, and alone. A healthy fabulous snack. Below is my post about all the health benefits. I’d love to hear about your own berry concoctions.
Here’s a Harvard study that says women who eat three or more servings of strawberries or blueberries a week can lower their risk of heart attack by 32 percent. The study also said grapes, eggplant and blackberries may work too. It’s those flavonoids again. The antioxidants you find in red wine, dark chocolate, green tea, apple skin, etc. Rule of thumb: The darker the color, the more flavonoid content. They slow down your aging clock and prevent disease by keeping free radicals from damaging cells in your body.
Free radicals are incomplete molecules looking for an electron so they can complete and stabilize themselves. Sounds like something you’d hear in therapy. They steal an electron from a neighboring molecule, turning it into a free radical and setting off a chain reaction. They contribute to the aging process and a wide range of diseases.
We form them naturally when we breathe and metabolize. Free radicals don’t wreak havoc with your body until you have too many of them. They can be formed by oxidative stress, like intense exercise, smoking and exposure to environmental toxins.
Enter the flavonoids. They give the free radicals one of their electrons and stop them in their tracks. They help prevent heart disease by stopping LDLs (bad cholesterol) from breaking down and forming plaque in your arteries.
Nowadays, you can get berries year round, and they are a perfect low-calorie food, alone, in yogurt, or sprinkled on your cereal. So let’s have a few servings of berries, some eggplant, a glass of cabernet and maybe a square of dark chocolate for dessert. Not such a major lifestyle change.
Since we are talking about prevention, how about stress?
A series of studies by Columbia University Medical Center says whether or not we perceive ourselves as stressed can be a measure of whether or not we’ll have a heart attack in the future. So from now on, I’m not going to perceive myself as stressed. Yeah. Good luck with that.
Seriously: My clients who exercise regularly, particularly aerobic exercise, tend to think of themselves as being more relaxed. And they are more relaxed. Aerobic exercise releases endorphins, the body’s natural tranquilizer, and they know they’re getting the heart benefits of all that cardio. To get the maximum benefit from cardio exercise, most people should build up to 45 or more minutes at 60 to 80 percent of your max heart rate. If you’re just starting out, you can ease in with a few minutes a day at a comfortable pace and add more as it gets too easy. But here’s the rub: Aerobic exercise, because it requires so much oxygen, is an oxidative stressor. It produces free radicals.
People who exercise once in a while or really hard only on the weekend are more at risk for producing harmful levels of free radicals. But studies have found that people who exercise regularly tend to adapt and produce enzymes that create antioxidants minimizing free radicals’ negative effect.
So here’s the formula: Eat berries, drink wine and get regular cardio so you don’t perceive yourself as stressed. It’s an eclectic concoction, but I think it’s tastier than one of those midnight vegetable smoothies. Don’t you?
For more info on fitness and wellness for women over 50 please visit www.mirabaiholland.com
Weather is getting warmer and it’s a perfect time to take the plunge. Grab some empty water bottles and join me for some fat burning water exercises to sculpt and tone your upper body.
For more easy exercise videos and women over 50 exercise, fitness and health info click on MirabaiHolland.com
Any questions or comments please email me at askmirabai@movingfree.com
Today’s Fashion Flash host is Staness from www.menopausemakeover.com
She has created a 12-week plan to help women regain their equilibrium and take their lives as they go through pre and post menopause.
Also this week in Fashion Flash get the latest in beauty, health, fitness and fashion. Let us know your thoughts!
Take a water walk to help you stay cool while improving core strength and balance.
For more easy exercise videos and workouts for women over 50 visit www.mirabaiholland.com
For me, maintaining my proper weight is a constant struggle but it is one I embrace and so can you. Remember, the real reason for food is to keep us alive and well. It is not the enemy.
The key elements of maintaining a proper weight are learning to control portion size, eating a balanced diet, getting in touch with your hunger and exercising on a regular basis. Though exercise has always helped to burn calories, lose body fat and keep muscle tone, exercise alone will not keep your weight in check. Eating only when you are truly hungry can help you stay on track. Many of us engage in emotional eating: we eat when bored, depressed angry or even happy. To curb this tendency we must reckon with our inner selves. This can be getting on a scale, putting on a pair of pants that used to fit, and writing down what we are putting into our mouths.
Choosing healthful foods is integral to feeling good and possibly preventing diabetes, cancer and heart disease and numerous other health problems. Between fast food and vending machines, it’s often a challenge to eat basic foods that are not prepared or processed with too much salt, sugar and preservatives. Yet a wealth of fresh vegetables, fruits, dried beans, whole grains and nuts are available if you just know what to look for and make time to prepare nutritious meals.
As we age, our immune systems become more vulnerable – especially if we are recovering from illness. The food and agriculture industries are allowed by the FDA to use a multitude of pesticides, antibiotics, hormones and even insect-based dyes to produce as much food as cheaply, and therefore profitably, as possible.
The movement toward organic foods and support for local farming in the U.S. has grown as more people become aware and concerned about the untested and unlabeled additives in our food supply. Although organic foods are often more expensive, the cost can be balanced by avoiding non-nutritious prepared foods – such as snack items, candy, sugary sodas and frozen meals – while choosing fresh produce, dried beans, whole grains and a limited amount of low fat dairy and lean meat and poultry.
Here is an important meal tip; eat a healthy breakfast. Why? It will give you energy to last through the morning so that you are not ravenous and prone to overeating at lunch. For the longest-lasting energy, balance three types of food in your breakfast: A serving of whole grains (a piece of whole wheat toast, a half-cup of oatmeal or a serving of whole-grain cereal per size listed on the package); two servings of fruits (which can include a glass of 100 percent juice) and a bit of low fat protein – such as yogurt, an egg, reduced-fat cheese, or skim milk on whole grain cereal. In calories and nutrition, it will beat a sugary, fatty pastry any day. Studies show that women who eat a healthy breakfast each day have an easier time maintaining a healthy weight.
Informative food-related web sites are:
Center for Science in the Public Interest (www.cspinet.org)
American Institute for Cancer Research (www.aicr.org)
USDA Food and Drug Administration (www.nutrition.gov)
Organic Consumers Association (www.organicconsumers.org)
More info on exercise and health issues for women over 50 visit www.mirabaiholland.com
Our Fashion Flash host is Shawna Kaminski from femalefatlossoverforty fitness expert who helps women over 40 lose weight and shape up. Her products are now available for download.
This week our brilliant Fashion Flashers have a terrific mix of essential information for you. Tune in and stay in touch!
Water jogging is one of my favorite summertime exercises to do. Easy on the joints as well as an effective aerobic program to build stamina and lose weight! Take a look.
For more info on Mirabai Holland Videos visit www.mirabaiholland.com
