Welcome to Small Steps to Health where we do not take orders from a cookie!

This post is a discussion of common medication prescribed for PMS and how they do not address the underlining problem of balancing your hormones to prevent PMS.

As discussed in my last post, the four categories of PMS is often caused by an imbalance in our hormones. Common PMS medication include birth control pills, Valium, Prozac, and Naproxen. The problem with these medication is that they only mask the symptoms, getting us through the month, but we will have to rinse and repeat for months afterward. Do you really want to rely on drugs to get you through your period?

Using birth control pills to treat PMS

The problem with birth control pills is that it often depletes the same vitamins and nutrients needed in our bodies that help minimize PMS. For example, women with high estrogen and low progesterone often have low B6 (a vitamin used in the manufacturing of serotonin). And serotonin is important because it is our natural antidepressant.

This is not to say that birth control pills are to be avoided at all cause. But to understand that if you have out of control PMS, your birth control pills might be the culprit.

Using Valium to treat PMS

Valium is an addictive drug and not designed for long term use, but it is a commonly prescribed medication for PMS. Valium is used to correct anxiety and relief pain. The problem with Valium is the severe side effects of drowsiness, nausea, confusion, irritability, blurred vision, hallucinations, panic, and insomnia.

If you are looking for long term treatment of PMS, Valium is not the answer.

Using Prozac to treat PMS

Prozac is a drug used for the treatment of depression. But the root cause of PMS is often high estrogen and low progesterone. This hormone imbalance leads to low serotonin. Using Prozac will mask the depression we might be feeling from PMS.

However, the most frightening side effects of Prozac is the destructive outbursts and suicidal reactions that a lot of women experience while on this drug. Supposedly I am taking Prozac to get relief from my PMS, but I might end up feeling so bad about myself that I throw myself off a bridge (exaggerating here, but you get the idea).

Using Naproxen to treat PMS

Naproxen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAIDS) that acts like aspirin for pain relief.  As with most pain medication, we have to worry about stomach ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding, kidney dysnfuction, and liver damage.  NSAIDs erode the cartilage around joints and prevent joint repair, which can lead to joint damage like arthritis.  Naproxen will only provide temporary relief from PMS.

If not these common PMS medication, what else is there?

I will talk about the dietary changes and the natural herbs and supplements that will help you manage your PMS during my next post.  In the meantime, if you are already taking PMS medication, do not go cold turkey.  You need to slowly wean your body off these drugs with the care of a qualified natural practitioner.

Until next time and thanks for stopping by.

Photo by:  yananine.

Similar Posts:

• Supplements and Natural Herbs Commonly Used to Treat PMS
• Is PMS a sign of Hormonal Imbalance?
• Women’s Hormonal Phases – Your Early 40s Through Your Early 50s
• Weight and Early Puberty in Girls
• Women’s Hormonal Phases – After Menopause
• Womens Hormonal Phases – Your Late 20s Through Your Early 40

This post is the first of a series of posts about our periods and other womanly issues that are related to our reproductive system. Men, you can stop here and wonder off for a while.

With dread or excitement, most of us get a visit every month from our periods.  But how much do you know about your period?

We know what it means when we have one and when we don’t.  We know that an egg is released.  We know that at some point in the distant future we stop having them.  But what is a “normal period?”  How does one have a “happy” period?  And is it normal to have pain and bloating?

What is a “normal” period?

Our monthly menstrual cycle is regulated mainly by two sex hormones – estrogen and progesterone.  They ensure that our ovaries release an egg, the lining of our uterus is ready to house the egg, and breaks down the lining when the egg is not fertilized.  There is a very delicate balance between when estrogen and progesterone levels at any given time.  The estrogen-progesterone balance impacts our entire life from our PMS symptoms and menopause symptoms. I will discuss menopause in follow-up posts.

Our menstrual cycle is broken up into three phases – follicular, ovulatory, and luteal – that last for approximately 28 days, give or take a few days.

During the follicular phase (approximately 10-14 days), estrogen level is progressively rising to help mature the egg in the ovaries.  At the peak of estrogen level, the egg is release.  As soon as the matured egg is released from the follicle in the ovaries, the empty follicle starts making progesterone.  While the egg is traveling in the fallopian tube to our uterus, progesterone is building up the lining to house the egg.

The ovulatory phase is only 36 hours long.  It is a very small window to get pregnant!  But sperm can live in the uterus for up to 7 days, waiting for that 36 hours window.  This must be enough time when you consider that there are over 5 billion people in this planet.

The luteal phase is approximately 7 days long.  When the egg is not fertilized, progesterone production goes down and your period begins shortly after.  This cycle begins again and continues until we reach menopause.

The four categories of PMS

According to the alternative medicine books I am reading, when our hormones (particularly estrogen and progesterone) are balanced, we should only experience mild discomfort during our periods (aka. a “happy” period) instead of the cramping, bloating, moodiness, acne, and food cravings known as premenstrual symptom (PMS).

PMS falls into four different categories depending on the hormonal imbalance.  But most women often experience 2 or 3 categories.

PMS Category 1:  high estrogen, low progesterone

High estrogen and low progesterone’s main symptoms include anxiety, tension, irritability, and craving for sweets and carbohydrates.  High estrogen can result in low serotonin levels which can cause depression.  This occurs when the empty follicle in the ovaries do not produce enough progesterone.  PMS category 1 is most common in women.

PMS Category 2:  excessive aldosterone (a hormone produced by our adrenal glands)

Excessive aldosterone’s symptoms include water and sodium retention, bloating, breast pain, and weight gain.

PMS Category 3:  low magnesium

Low magnesium’s symptoms include cravings for sweets, a racing heart, an increase in appetite, fatigue, headaches, mood swings, and fainting.

PMS Category 4:  low estrogen, high progesterone

Low estrogen and high progesterone’s symptoms include sleep disturbances, lack of coordination, and loss of concentration, confusion, and depression.  This is least common in women.

Why is high estrogen a problem?

Higher estrogen and low progesterone hormone levels produce multitude of health problems for women, both during our fertile years and afterward in menopause.  As mentioned under PMS category 1, this hormone imbalance can result in lower serotonin levels in our bodies.

Serotonin is our brain’s version of an anti-depressant drug.  As mentioned in Gender Matters when it comes to Sugar Addiction, low serotonin means we will have a hard time saying no to a cookie.

The pharmaceuticals solution to our depression from low serotonin level?  Prozac and painkillers.  More than 80% of the 12 million Americans on Prozac are women between 25 and 50 years old.  A coincidence that so many women are on Prozac during their fertile years when it is likely for them to experience PMS?  I think not.

Drugs prescribed for PMS do not correct the hormone imbalance

Historically, PMS is not recognized by the medical community as an actual physical problem.  Doctors believe that it is all in our heads and prescribe antidepressants or other drugs that mask the problems of hormonal imbalance with possible side effects.  Sadly that is still common practice today.

Until next time and thanks for stopping by.

Photo by:  K?vanç Ni?.

Similar Posts:

• Supplements and Natural Herbs Commonly Used to Treat PMS
• Common PMS Medication do not Work!
• Women’s Hormonal Phases – After Menopause
• Is Soy Isoflavones Good for You? – Part 2
• The Smart Woman’s Guide to Midlife & Beyond – Book Review
• Women’s Hormonal Phases – Your Early 40s Through Your Early 50s

Welcome to Small Steps to Health where we do not take orders from a cookie!

How much is quality of life worth to you?

Before my car accident a few years ago, the question of “quality of life” bears no meaning.  All that matters was that I could fit into my skinny jeans.  My body did not protest when I put it into motion after hours of inactivity without a proper warm-up.  It could be that I am getting older.

Why is quality of life important?

Like most women, keeping my eye on the ball in my youth means making sure the scale is not ticking upwards.  I was not obsessive nor did the number that shows up on the scale a reflection of my self esteem.

But nothing ages your body faster than an accident that limits your mobility.  Emotionally I was not ready to be old and yet my body felt like it aged decades.

It is like trying to get over that mental block of driving a mini-van.  How sexy can you feel driving a mini-van?  You can still be a sexy mom driving a sedan because a sedan means one child.  Your body can bounce back after one child?  But a mini-van?  All of a sudden you are a baby making machine pumping out multiple children.  Your body is not going to retain any youthfulness after multiple births.  Sexy and mini-van do not go together just like quality of life and poor health do not go together.

My body no longer feels invincible where I can prance with the grace of gazelle at the drop of a hat.  Let me warm up first, throw in some light stretching; now I am ready to prance with the grace of a drunken sow suffering from food-coma after a celebratory feast.  But guess what?  I am moving.  I am trying.  Who cares if there is nothing graceful in my movements.

How is exercise going to improve my quality of life?

Exercise and healthy eating are the only means we have to improve our quality of life.  If you ever get a chance to observe a toddler, notice how much joy she derive from just moving her body and playing.  I am a firm believer that unless you move it, you are going to lose it.  A body in motion stays in motion.

I am afraid that once I stop moving, it will become more difficult to start moving again.  Everyone hates stop and go traffic because it is a waste of time and a source of stress to be sitting traffic.  What make you think stop and go exercising is not a waste of time and a source of stress?  Stop and go exercising means you are never going to be constant enough to see results which will add stress to your already plummeting body image.

When I think about quality of life, I think about being able to shop for groceries or taking a stroll through my neighborhood after dinner no matter what age I am.  No matter how much others love and are willing to help you, there will be moments when you are alone.  Can you take care of your most basic need such as a trip to the post office without assistance?

Until next time and thanks for stopping by Small Steps to Health.

Photo by:  Southern Foodways Alliance.

Similar Posts:

• Hawaiian Hula Dancers
• Should I Workout When I am Sick?
• New Life as a Mom
• The Exercise Benefits of Gardening
• Mini post: I Want a New Heart Rate Monitor
• When Life Interferes with Your Best Effort to Exercise and Eat Healthy

Since moving to our new house, my husband’s eczema is getting worst.  Usually I do not pay too much attention to my husband’s skin condition, other than to remind him to apply his prescribed skin cream occasionally.  But like most men, unless he is dying, I cannot get my husband to take his skin condition seriously.

This post is a discussion of some adult eczema treatment tips to help manage this skin condition. Being the shopper for household products, I hope to indirectly improve my husband’s eczema by changing some household products that are known to cause skin irritation.

What are the symptoms of Eczema?

My husband has a form of eczema also known as atopic dermatitis.  Symptoms vary from person to person, but the most common symptom are dry and itchy skin.  There are often cracks behind the ears and rashes on the cheeks, arms, and legs.  Scratching and rubbing make the symptoms worst.

95% of patients develop eczema before the age of five.  This disease may go into remission for months or even years at a time.  It is rare for adults to suddenly develop eczema.

Common causes of eczema flare-ups?

Like the symptoms of eczema, causes of eczema flare-ups also vary from person to person.  But the most causes are:

• skin infections
• wool or synthetic fibers in clothing or sheets
• detergents
• some perfumes and cosmetics
• dust or sand
• substances such as chlorine, mineral oil, or solvents
• pollen
• cigarette smoke
• dust mites
• animal dander
• foods (eggs, peanuts, milk, fish, soy, or wheat)
• temperature (hot baths/showers, sweating, becoming chilled)
• climate (low humidity)

Practice proper skin care to prevent eczema flare-ups

The main goals of adult eczema skin treatment include:

• keeping the skin healthy
• treating skin flare-ups as they occur

Preventing eczema flare-ups by keeping the skin healthy

• Avoid long or hot baths and showers (limit to 15 minutes).
• Use a mild bar soap or non soap cleanser such as Dove, Basis, Johnson & Johnson baby wash, or Oil of Olay.
• Avoid personal hygiene products that contain alcohol.
• Keep fingernails short and clean to prevent spreading the bacteria.  Apply a cold compress to the irritated area to reduce inflammation.
• Bath oils are usually not helpful.
• Consider wearing moisture wicking or loose-fitting cotton clothing.  Sweat and synthetic fabrics often irritate the skin and trigger eczema flare-ups.
• Double rinse your clothes to fully get rid of laundry detergents.  Use a fragrance free and neutral pH detergent.

Treating eczema flare-ups as they occur

Learn to recognize the initial signs of eczema skin infections.  Initial signs may include tiny pustules (pus-filled bumps) on arms and legs, crusty yellow blisters, and oozing areas.  If symptoms of a skin infection develop, consult with your doctor and begin treatment as soon as possible.  Treatments that your doctor could prescribe include:

• topical corticosteroids creams

Steroid creams and ointments are the most common prescribed medication for eczema.  Over the counter corticosteroids creams are not as strong as the prescribed steroid creams and ointments (which is true in every medication).  The frequency and strength of the medication depends on the severity of symptoms, areas to be treated, and the patient’s age.

Side effects from long term use include thinning and stretch marks on the skin.

• systemic corticosteroids

When topical corticosteroids creams are ineffective, your doctor may prescribe corticosteroids taken orally or injected into the muscle.  Typically these systemic corticosteroids are used only in severe cases and given for a short time.

Side effects include skin damage, thinned or weakened bones, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, infections, and cataracts.  It is dangerous to suddenly stop taking steroids, so it is important to work closely with your doctor while taking these medications.

• phototherapy

Another treatment include ultraviolet A or B light (or both together) for mild to moderate eczema.  Sometimes when eczema do not respond to light therapy alone, then a combination of ultraviolet light therapy and a drug called psoralen (also known as photochemotherapy) may be helpful.

Side effects from long term use include premature aging of the skin and skin cancer.

• immunosuppressive drugs

Severe cases of skin eczema that failed to respond to other forms of medication, immunosuppressive drugs such as cyclosporine may be used.

Side effects from long term use of cyclosporine include high blood pressure, vomiting, nausea, headaches, kidney problems, tingling or numbness, and a possible increase in cancer risk.

Antibiotics and antihistamines may also be used to treat eczema skin infections.  Though medication is useful, trying to eliminate the skin irritant in the first place might be worth trying beforehand.  In the meantime, I will be doing more research about using soap flakes as an alternative to laundry detergent and switching my husband over to Johnson & Johnson baby wash.

Until next time and thanks for stopping by Small Steps to Health.

Photo by:  Per Ola Wiberg.

Similar Posts:

• Update on Adult Eczema Treatment
• Common PMS Medication do not Work!
• Reduce Caffeine Withdrawal Symptoms With This Treatment Plan
• Generic Drug Substitution at the Pharmacy
• Get Relief from Your Pet Allergies Symptoms
• How Severe is Your Caffeine Withdrawal Symptoms?

Recently I got a couple of comments from readers asking about how to start exercising in their 60s. One feel that most gyms are not made for sedentary people in their age group. And the other reader, though active, feels that she needs to add some strength training and flexibility to her walking. They both understand that they need to exercise, but the “how to exercise” in their 60s remains a mystery to them.

This post is a discussion on why physical mobility is important and how to start excising in your 50s and 60s in order to maintain your physical mobility when you become a senior, specific examples includes my mom’s exercise routine and recommendations for our two readers that includes a Total Gym and a Bullworker.

I am lucky to be surrounded by physically active seniors in their 70s and 80s (I love being the “kid” in my bowling league). But I am also surrounded by inactive older adults in their 50s and 60s at work who often injured themselves because they want to “get healthy.” Often times these injuries are a result of bad form, bad advice, and confusion about exercising.

Physical mobility is important!

We start planning our retirement decades before we need the money.  The same concept holds true for our physical mobility in our 70s and 80s.  We need to start exercising regularly decades before we truly need it.  And if you have not start by your 50s and 60s, be prepare to lose some of your physical independence when you become a senior.

I am 30 years old and I think about my physical mobility all the time.  But I know that I am some what unique in that aspect.

After my car accident a few years ago, I had some difficulties with my physical mobility. It took me 20 minutes the first time I tried walking to the church a block away.  By the time I made it to the church steps, I was sweating and panting a little bit.  I had to rest for 30 minutes before I made that return trip back to my house.  At one point, the Comcast guy stopped what he was doing and asked me if I need a ride back to my house.  I remember thinking on those church steps – “this is what it must feel like to be a senior with mobility problems.”

My husband freaked out when he came home from work when I told him about my little excursion.  “What if you slip and fall?  What if you cannot make it back to the house?”

I replied that “I had all day.  Eventually I would have made it back to the house.  And if I lie on the sidewalk long enough, someone will eventually ask if I am okay.”

But I was terrified by the idea and understand why some seniors are afraid of traveling some distance from their home.

Physical mobility impacts our quality of life in every aspect.  When we cannot move, it difficult to enjoy life.  What is the point of accumulating all this wealth for retirement when we do not have the health to enjoy it?

What happens to our physical mobility when we become older?

I touch on this subject in my hormonal phases series.  I have written about what to do the decade before menopause and  happens to our bodies after menopause.

Exercise Requirements in our 60s

The results we want from exercising remain the same no matter what our age group. We want strength, endurance, and flexibility. And if exercising in our 60s helps with weight control, that is even better.

But there is a difference between exercising in our 60s compare to exercising in our 30s, especially if we have been sedentary for the last 3 decades. Cnn.com has a decade to decade guide to exercise, but it still does not address the issue of how to exercise in your 60s. There will always be people who are in better shape in their 60s than a 30 year old. But that is a small percentage of the population. For the rest of us, we are either out of shape or overweight when we reach our 60s.

So our approach to exercise in our 60s is slow and steady.  Our first priority is to prevent injuring ourselves when starting a new exercise routine. Think low impact cardio, strength training with weights or tubes, and core and flexibility training with pilates/yoga. We want exercise that are gentle on our joints, but still make us feel like we did something good for our bodies.

If you are new to strength training, proper form and using the appropriate weight are really important. An older co-worker injured her rotator cuff lifting 5 pounds dumbbells doing lateral raises, thinking that she is strengthening her triceps (the back of the arms). Lateral raises are for strengthening your shoulders and 2-3 pounds are probably more appropriate for a sedentary older woman in her 50s.

What is your workout personality?

The key to establishing an exercise routine is to make it fit your personality. I exercise at home with workout dvds. I am not anti-social, but when I am exercising I am concentrating on my body or listening to my podcasts. I am just not interested in the distraction of conversation. So exercise videos at home “fit” my workout personality. Any advice I give to specific exercises would revolve around workout videos.

For exercise newbies who are intimated by the gym environment, exercise videos are a good way to get started – if you know which ones to use that is. Just like dating, there are plenty of duds in the exercise videos arena. One of my favorite places to find reviews on exercise videos is video fitness and they have a very active forum.

My mom, on the other hand, loves the social aspects of exercising in her walking club. She likes her regularly scheduled get-together with my aunts in the mornings. She would give up exercising with her dvds first before she quits her walking club. So her walking club “fits” her workout personality.

Exercise where you feel the most comfortable

Even though we know that nobody really cares if we look like an idiot at a new piece of equipment at the gym, secretly we cannot but worry that the “regulars” are watching.

My mom (56) also uses a combination of outdoor walking, walking on her treadmill, and exercise dvds.

My previous landlady (mid-70s) uses a combination of outdoor jogging (yes – she still jogs, though it might be mistaken for a fast walk by some people), bowling, and tai chi.

My bowling partner (84) bowls three times a week.

My mom’s neighbor (late 60s) uses a combination of tai chi and outdoor walking with my mom.

My point is that there is no limit to what we can do as exercise outside the gym.  The key is to just get started.

How often do I need to exercise in my 60s?

A well balance exercise routine includes a little of everything – resistance training for your muscles, cardio for your heart, and flexibility. It is recommended that we include 30 – 60 minutes of exercise every day for weight maintenance and general good health. Crank that number up to 90 minutes if you are trying to lose weight.That sounds like a lot, but small chunks of daily physical activity counts as well such as gardening or housework.

However, I would not recommend having less than 3 scheduled 30 minute block of time devoted to exercising each week. It is much easier to stick with a scheduled exercise routine than to try and squeeze it in when we have time.

If we schedule a block of time to exercise every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, it gives us structure. And structure becomes routine. And routine becomes a habit. And a habit becomes a lifestyle. And at 60, that should be your goal – to remain physically active in your 70s and 80s.

A sample bare bones beginner exercise routine might look something like this:

Think of this bare bones exercise routine as a “warmup” to an exercise routine. After 2-3 months you will be ready for more. I will give you an example of what my mom’s workout schedule is like later on.

What specific exercises should a woman in her 60s do?

I believe that the most important area to work on in your fitness as you age is your balance. Most of the seniors in my life were physically active, but due to a fall or a slip ends up losing much of their mobility. Once that happens, their health goes downhill really fast. Hence, I always recommend that older adults start adding a pilates/yoga fusion style of exercise into their routine to strengthen their core and balance.

Tai chi also works on your balance. However, from my experience when I was trying to get my mom to exercise regularly, she did not tai chi. My mom thinks it is for “really old people” because of how slowly you flow from one pose to the next. At that time she was in her early 50s.

She even had problems with yoga, unless it is power yoga where change poses at a brisker pace. So a pilates/yoga fusion style works best for her.

It is understandable. My mom is still young. She does not like to be put into the same health category as someone in their 70s – 80s. And 50s – 60s are still pretty young to be lump in the same category as my 84 year old bowling partner.

For my mom, once her scheduled workouts became routine, she started adding more exercise time (hence increasing the intensity). She started a walking club with my aunts where they would walk 4 miles every other day. But it took her almost 2 years to build up to the level of exercise she is getting now.

My mom’s exercise routine:

It might seem like my mom does not do enough strength training. Two days of resistance training is usually recommended. But my mom does not like resistance training. So I “sneak it in” with the pilates workout dvds that she is using. Also, notice how “gentle” her exercise routine is to her body.

Hence the bare bones sample exercise routine I mentioned early is a “warmup.” You might find that after 2-3 months, it might be time to increase the intensity.

Specific Exercise DVDs My Mom is Using

I love the “Dummies” series of books when I want to learn anything new. The Dummies series also make a “Dummies series” of exercise videos geared towards the beginner. I find the dummies workout dvds to be really helpful in giving proper techniques and information to newbie exercisers, but they can be boring after a few weeks of use.

I would recommend checking the following titles from Netflix or the library first to gauge whether it is a title that you want to keep.

If you do not have weights initially, use filled water bottles or canned soups until you understand the proper form. You can follow the amazon links to view clips of the exercise videos and see what others are saying about them.

15 Minute Workouts for Dummies (4 segments, 15 minutes each)

Shape Up with Weights for Dummies (45 minutes)

Pilates Workout for Dummies (35 minutes. Both standing and mat work)

My mom loves Ellen Barrett and Leslie Sansone exercise videos. The videos she uses most often are:

The Firm Power Yoga (35 minutes. You burn more calories with power yoga because you move more quickly through each pose compared to regular yoga.)

Crunch – Burn & Firm Pilates (48 minutes). This exercise video uses light weights. See what I mean about “sneaking in strength training for my mom.”

Crunch – Fat Burning Pilates (43 minutes)

Self: Bikini Ready Fast (45 minutes). This exercise video by Ellen Barrett is a light strength training/pilates type of workout.

Pick Your Level: Weight Loss Pilates (35 minutes)

Leslie Sansone: Walk Away the Pounds – Walk Strong (33 minutes). In home walking workout with strength training intervals.

Like I mention before, checkout the video fitness website and forums for more ideas. The ladies at the forums are really helpful to any exercise newbies. I think the growth in my collection of exercise videos and the shrinking of my wallet in the last two years can all be attributed to their forum.

Reader #1 -Total Gym Example

Reader #1 currently walks 3-4 days a week (20 minute/mile) and owns a Total Gym. I cannot tell from her email whether she uses the Total Gym, but from the tone of the email, I am assuming that she does not. Her goal is increase in strength and flexibility.

Cardio: The cardio portion is great, though I would try to work up to a 15 minute/mile, hence completing 2 miles in a 30 minute block. Some people are tempted to strap on weights on their ankles or wrists when walking to increase the intensity. Please do not do that. Having weights so far from your center of gravity (the hip area) throws of your balance and gait when walking. This can lead to walking related injuries. If you feel that you must add intensity, consider a weighted vest instead.

Strength: You can get a complete full body workout from the Total Gym. Looking at the 100 exercises list, there appears to be a good amount to choose from. Just remember to work your front and back muscles group. For example, chest and back or biceps and triceps. You should have an instructions booklet or chart to teach you the exercises.

Pilates/yoga: Though there is a workout DVD that uses the Total Gym for pilates, after the purchase of accessories and the dvds, you are probably going to be out $150-$200. Being on the frugal side, I would rather spend less than $10 on a pilates workout dvd.

Recommended Workout Routine: 3 days of cardio (30 minutes, aiming for 2 miles), minimum 1 day pilates, 2 days of Total Gym (20-30 minutes on non-consecutive days). Of course, you can always combine them and make it a 60 minute block each time (30 minutes cardio + 30 minutes of Total Gym, etc). But I do not recommend it yet because your body might not be used to such a long exercise session.

Reader #2 -Bullworker Example

Reader #2 currently walks most days of the week for 30-40 minutes and owns a Bullworker. Her goal is general health and weight loss.

Cardio: Just like Reader #1, the cardio portion is great. Though I would try to work up to a 15 minute/mile, hence completing 3 miles in a 45 minute block since your goal is weight loss.

Strength: I never even hear of a Bullworker until you mentioned it. But I found a four week training chart of the Bullworker exercises. I am not sure if it might be the same exercise chart that came with the packaging. And there is even a Bullworker club on yahoo groups.

Pilates/yoga: N/A

Recommended Workout Routine: 3 days of cardio (45 minutes, aiming for 3 miles), minimum 1 day pilates, 1 day with the Bullworker (20-30 minutes).

If you are considering using exercise videos, consider videos that multi-task. All the videos my mom uses multi-task. The “Dummies” workout are to learn the proper form. Just space it so that you walk between the other two types of exercise. Consider adding in an extra day for either pilates or strength as you get use to this workout routine.

Physical mobility is important!

We start planning our retirement decades before we need the money. The same concept holds true for our physical mobility in our 70s and 80s. We need to start exercising regularly decades before we truly need it.  There is no limit to what we can do as exercise outside the gym. The key is to just get started.

Until next time and thanks for stopping by Small Steps to Health. If you like what you are reading, please share it with your friends.

Similar Posts:

• How to Exercise with a Staircase on a Two Story House
• Squeeze in a Workout – Divide and Conquer
• Disadvantages of Being a Sedentary Woman
• Exercise to Stop Back Pain
• Dance Dance Revolution – Hottest Party for the Wii
• The Merits of an All Women Gym