Hello 52!

August 8, 2021 / healthbuddymelissa / Leave a comment

Yep, today is my 52nd birthday! It was a beautiful day and I finally was able to get in my pool after getting all sweaty and gross with the treadmill, yardwork, and gardening. Then some family fun! We went to my favorite Japanese Steakhouse and I had Filet Mignon. It was 4 ounces of pure perfection. I only eat steak once or twice a year. So I really enjoyed it. It is way too hot to bake a cake, and I didn’t want all that anyways. We picked up some fresh deli chocolate chip cookies, and they were perfect. I may even have some vanilla ice cream later. Dairy is another thing I do not have very often, but I do love ice cream every now and then. If you read here then you know my reasoning for the eating lifestyle I have chosen. It is not body shaming, fat shaming, or any other negative self image. I am on a weight loss journey, but I also am on a fat loss journey, and journey to end CKD.

Since Sunday is the day I typically talk about exercise I thought I would discuss it in relation to age. Keep reading.

All this month, to celebrate my birthday month, I will be talking about fitness after 50. It is perfectly possible to get and stay fit after age 50. Granted there are more things to consider as we age, namely injury, but it is very doable. Most importantly to prevent injury is to warm up properly, cool down properly, and listen to your body. It will tell you if you are over-working it.

If you read here a lot, then you know I had a goal to do a 15 minute mile on the treadmill. I achieved that some time ago, and do it regularly. But, now to increase my endurance I want to do a 10 minute mile on the treadmill. This will mean I will have to jog, or run, I am sure, rather than speed-walk. I tried it this morning. I was speed-walking, but could only get 3/4 of a mile in 10 minutes, though I can not say that is bad. Having goals is good! As long as my heart rate stays in the moderate target zone, I am good. I do go over a bit sometimes when it is really intense, but as long as I can talk and breath, and keep it short lived I am ok with it. My blood pressure has not been effected by it. According to a fitness test I looked at, it was for men, not women, if you can run a mile in less than 7 minutes and 20 seconds, then your fitness age is 25. Wow! So, maybe once I can walk it in 10 minutes I will go for the run. It is really fast, trust me, and intense. I couldn’t find an age fitness test, like the men’s one, but on average a woman age 50-54 would run 1 mile in 13 minutes and 20 seconds. So, any time faster than that would make your fitness age younger.

I do not particularly like exercise, at least not long, boring, intense exercise. I quite enjoy walking, swimming around in my pool, gardening, yardwork, and I love dancing. But, these shorter, more intense workouts get me results in a quick amount of time. I also do not enjoy long weight training routines. Weight training is vital as we age, however. More on that in a future post.

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How fast can you walk, and or fun a mile? Share in the comments. Use the contact form at the end of the post if you would like to ask about my Walking Plan, or any other Health Coaching services.

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Are you physically fit for your age?

August 5, 2020 / healthbuddymelissa / Leave a comment

First, what is the definition of being physically fit? If you are “Physically Fit“s you have a balance of cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, balance, flexibility, muscular strength, and % body fat As you can see it isn’t just about how strong you are, or how fast you can run. Physical fitness is different for all age groups and between the genders. As you get older the joints naturally start to lose some of their range of motion, muscle mass become less, and strength decreases. I will be 51 in a few days, and I can tell you even with CKD, I have worked hard to be more physically fit for my age group. Some of them I have mastered, and can do better than some in their 30’s, some I am not even close to mastering, such as a pull up. I can’t do a pull up to save my life. But, I can do 20 push ups in a minute. I have mentioned before that I homeschool my children. I only have one left, and she has decided to go into Law Enforcement. She has to be able to pass a physical fitness test to even get into the academy. I am determined to do this with her. However, she is 16 and as I mentioned I am soon to be 51. A daunting challenge, but I am up for it. I would love to work with you to help you meet your physical fitness goals. I started out 2020 wanting to walk 5 miles a day. I have reached that goal and it is time to move on to the next.

Would you like to learn your physical fitness score? Would you like to make a plan to help improve it? Email me at melissa@healthbuddymelissa.coach or use the contact form under the images to message me for a free meet and greet. You can then decide if you want to take the free physical fitness test.

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Sweating on Sunday: The Road to 12,500 Daily Steps

September 8, 2019April 4, 2021 / healthbuddymelissa / 4 Comments

Updated 4/4/2021: I am no doing 12,500 steps every day with ease. I now am working towards building up to 1.5 mile run in 15 minutes. If you follow this blog, then you know my ultimate step goal is 12,500 steps per day. I was at 9,500 per day and just increased to 10,000 per day. That is 5 miles walking every single day. I do take off one day a week, most weeks, sometimes two. How do I get that many steps in a day?

1- I make sure I walk at least 250 steps every hour. My back yard is exactly 100 steps around the area. I walk that 3 times every hour, sometimes more if it isn’t so hot out.

2- When I work out of the home it is very easy to walk 250 plus steps per hour. Matter of fact when I work I average 14-16,000 steps per day,

3- Purchase a good wrist fitness tracker. I have a Fitbit. I was using Samsung app, but it was not consistent enough because I always had to have my phone on me. That was unfeasible for me. In the near future, I will be getting a waterproof Fitbit for when I am in the pool. For now, I have to estimate how many steps I am taking in the pool when I do water aerobics.

5- I walk every morning, at least a mile, before doing my regular exercise routine.

Some other tips that help: take the stairs, park farther away from any businesses you visit, walk in the morning, and evening, remember to get up and walk at work if you have a desk job. Turn on music at home when cleaning, washing dishes, or folding laundry. I can get in at least 1200 extra steps doing this for a 15-minute cleaning session, just by marching in place. Same with cooking dinner.

Don’t get discouraged. I got my Fitbit in February and started at 6,000 steps per day. That seemed like a lot, except for when I was working, and impossible. It is not impossible, and it will just become a habit after a while.

With cooler weather coming I can not wait to get out and onto the many hiking trails in my area. If you would like help in meeting your step goal use the contact form below to message me about my Walking Buddy plan.

I just finished my Reiki training, level 2. I am undecided about the Master level class. I will be practicing and once I have reached at least 200 hours I will make Reiki an option for customers. I will do a later post on that.

If you would like to use my Health Coaching services to increase your walking stamina, use the contact form to message me. Or, you can read about my Walking Buddy plan, here.

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