Hot in Cleveland

I'm just back from Cleveland where I gave two interactive presentations for Judson Services, a forward-thinking continuing care community that promotes health and fitness for its residents and for the community at large.  The audiences gave me a warm reception and were thoroughly engaged in learning about new developments regarding exercise and aging. Experts in the field of aging and gerontology have determined that while genes can play an important role in health in the early years, your behaviors and lifestyle account for a full 70% of how well you age in the adult years. They've also found that exercise, and specifically strength training, is the key lifestyle factor in active aging.  In other words, in terms of preserving vitality, exercise is more significant than nutrition, stress management, sleep, etc. (although of course these are all important, too).

My presentation, "Exercise Trumps Aging," focused on how strength training keeps you young by making you stronger, more stable, more active and energetic.  It allows you to be more self-sufficient and independent as you age.  And most encouraging of all, muscle mass and strength can be regained no matter what your age and fitness level. In fact, you can literally rejuvenate your cells and "get younger" with strength training even into advanced age.

We took lots of pictures, which will be posted as soon as they're available.  So please come back and visit to see them and to hear more details about the exciting news in the field of aging.

Women's Fitnessjoan