Congratulations on taking the next step in your journey to greater health!
The following 5 steps will provide you a path to your ultimate wellness, function, independance, to name just a few of the benefits to following Troy Huggett’s “5 Steps to ULTIMATE Senior Fitness”
The Steps:
1. Strength – A CRITICAL piece of the puzzle is strength. Without strength, you are severly limited in your ability to handle the basics of daily activities. The ability to get out of a chair or carry groceries can be enough to limit your independance. The value of adding an appropriate strength training program cannot be overstated. There is a lot of information out there about the best approach to gaining strength. While many of those programs may have merit, many can also be dangerous. It is important to consider all factors before selecting a strength training philosophy to follow. I’d say one of the most important things to consider is your personal situation. While a powerlifting, explosive, or max repetition program may prove successful for the young athlete, it quite possibly is the exact WRONG program for a Senior looking to safely improve their ability to stay independant and free of injury. In addition, many programs promote 5-7 days per week of split routine strength training. Is this the best approach for you? Maybe, Maybe not. Great success has been seen over the last 40 years of benefits being achieved with as little as 1-2 strength training sessions per week. Consult a qualified exercise specialist to work through the best option for you.
2. Nutrition – This topic can be considered one of the most controversial and confusing issues known to man. One plan says eat whatever you want, just control the portions, while another says you can’t eat carbs, and another says don’t eat meat, and the exact opposite is taught by another group. Is vegetarianism the way to go or do you go all meat? How about organic vs non-organic? Some would have you eat based on your blood type, while others eat only raw foods. The options for the ‘best’ meal plan or diet are astronomical and who really can say what is best? With so many choices, the best first step seems to be starting wtih what you like, journal your progress and modify as you go. The biggest mistake seen in the world of nutrition involves bouncing from program to program with such frequency that no program has time to truly impact you. Instead of taking this approach, select the meal plan you’d like to follow, journal how you feel and give it a month or so before making a change. *obviously modify asap if you experience any negative impact of the meal plan. **consult a Registered Dietition for additional recommendations
Click here for a free copy of my nutrition book for weight loss (still effective if you don’t want to lose weight, just make a few modifications): The 500 Meal Plan
https://fitnessprosbattlecreek.com/the-ac-dc-meal-plan/
3. Water – The ELIXIR OF LIFE – The key here is to work on increasing the amount of daily water you intake. *consult your physician before increasing water levels, especially if you are on any medication that may be impacted by increased water volume. Click HERE for more info on water intake and daily water recommendations….https://fitnessprosbattlecreek.com/mega-hydration/
4. Flexibility/Balance – As we age, we lose flexibility and balance for many reasons. A few of those include: lose of strength, loss of joint hydration, shortening of the muscle. The first two – strength loss and joint hydration we addressed earier and by following the steps outlined you will reverse any negative issues associated with these losses. Now it’s time to look at increasing the length of the muscle through flexibility exercises and improving balance with specific exercises for that purpose. Go here (https://fitnessprosbattlecreek.com/1249-2/) for Flexibiilty and here (https://fitnessprosbattlecreek.com/balance-balance-and-more-balance/) for Balance.
5. Stress Reduction – STRESS KILLS – fight this deadly beast. Check out a favorite technique to control and eliminate stress here
(https://fitnessprosbattlecreek.com/progressive-relaxation-stress-reduction/)
For additional assistance with your training and wellness, contact Fitness Pros at: info@fitnessprosbattlecreek.com or call 269-967-6300.
Here’s to your success.