Mobility issues are a concern for many people as they age. In fact, about 30% of people over 70 years old have problems standing up, walking, and using stairs. The risk of injury from performing daily tasks increases also. This leads to higher rates of nursing home admissions, falls, and chronic disease. The biggest culprit for this decline in mobility and risk of injury? Loss of muscle mass. Typically, humans naturally gain the most muscle mass throughout their teens and 20s. For most people, muscle mass reaches its peak around their 30’s. After that, it declines slowly at first, but muscle mass rapidly declines once we are a little older (65 for women and 70 for men). While there is no way to stop the clock completely, there is a lot you can do to slow the decline of muscle mass (and gain some back!). The answer? Resistance training! What...Read more

Inactivity in children has become an epidemic. Children and teens in the United States are becoming more and more sedentary. Only 25% of kids today get enough physical activity. This comes with many possible physical problems that can follow them for the rest of their lives. Obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure can all be caused by a lack of activity. Plus, children who develop obesity early on are 5x more likely to be obese for the rest of their lives. In addition, if they do not strengthen their bones and muscles, it increases the risks of brittle bones, osteoporosis, and muscle atrophy when they are older.  So, what’s the recommended amount of physical activity for children? The CDC recommends that children 3-5 be active throughout the entire day. Yes, some screen time is fine, but in general, children of this age should not be sedentary for hours at a...Read more

The holidays have a bad reputation for derailing our health and fitness goals. While it is true that it seems all too easy to give in to all the treats and skip workouts, it’s 100% possible to stay on track!  Remember, it’s alllll about balance. Do not beat yourself up if you do indulge in moderation. Don’t beat yourself if you opt to spend time with friends or family and skip a workout or two along the way, either. After all, friends and family are what this time of year is all about! However, don’t make the holidays an excuse to deviate from your fitness goals completely.  Success all starts with making a plan. Maybe you know that you will spend all weekend with friends and family and will opt out of your regular weekend workout routine. Instead of just tossing it aside, plan other ways to move. Do a...Read more

Our gut microbiomes are pretty amazing. More and more research is being done to pinpoint exactly how these tiny organisms affect our health. In the past decade or so, we have learned a lot about our gut bacteria, and it’s pretty amazing. Probiotics, our gut bacteria,  have 250 to 800 times more genes than we have human genes, for example. We also know that they play a significant role in how we digest food, and research points to those bacteria potentially playing a big role in weight management. With this in mind, have you ever thought about how probiotics affect your ability to lose weight? According to the National Library of Medicine, there is an association between lower microbiota diversity and obesity, insulin resistance, and systematic inflammation. Higher diversity helps promote weight loss by helping us feel full for longer and causing our bodies to absorb more nutrients from food....Read more

No doubt about it, dancing is a fun way to shake up your workout routine! It’s a great way to add cardio; it allows you to use your whole body if you want to, and it can be done alone, with friends, or with your partner. But does dance affect your mental well-being, too?  Of course, like any form of exercise, dancing releases endorphins that promote stress relief and happy feelings, but there are some reasons why dance might positively impact your mental state a little more than other forms of cardio. I’m sure you’ve noticed one of the benefits of dance- feeling free! Dancing is a form of self-expression that allows you to physically express pent-up emotions and let go of stressors! Unlike a lot of other cardio activities, dancing lets you cut loose, which studies have shown actually promotes the release of more of those mood-boosting endorphins and...Read more