As you probably know, a weak core impacts everyday life…but maybe more than you think. 

If basic functional movements like getting out of bed or walking to the car and getting in and out of the car are becoming a challenge or feeling nearly impossible for you, it may be a sign that your core is too weak.

In order to remain mobile and independent, you cannot ignore your core. And crunches are not the only answer. After all, your core is much more than just your abdominal muscles. It includes the gluteal muscles in the butt and hips, the lats and traps in the middle and upper back, and the erector spinal muscles around the spine. Your core is responsible for keeping you upright and this is why poor balance is one of the more obvious signs that your core is weak.

Here are some less obvious signs that you need to watch for:

1. Do you need to use your arms to get out to a chair or bed? If so, it is likely that your core strength is lacking. To transition from lying or sitting to standing, your abdominals and deep core muscles must be able to brace, while your glutes must be strong enough to propel you to your feet. (“4 Sneaky Signs You Have a Weak Core – Silver Sneakers”) (Michelle Barnett, D.P.T.at TRIA Orthopaedic Center)

2. Have you ever caught yourself standing or walking with your lower back arched and your pelvis jutting forward? This is a signal that your core lacks the stability and control to keep your spine in a neutral position. If your core is weak, other muscles will compensate to hold you up, but the overarched position will eventually lead to lower back pain.

3. Tilting and swaying while walking is a sure sign that your core is weak. If your obliques are not strong enough to control your torso, your pelvis ends up dropping to one side.

4. Do you hold your breath while performing core exercises? If so, this could be due to a weakness in your diaphragm, which works closely with the surrounding core muscles to control movement and breath. Holding your breath increases abdominal pressure while not engaging those muscles for stability.

To help avoid these problems, try including the Pelvic Tilt, the Bridge, the Squat, and the Clamshell exercises in your weekly routine. 

Susan Covey is the Acts Baleigh Chase Fitness Director in Easton.

Looking for something new and different? Do you want to get outside and walk but do not feel quite comfortable even when using your cane or walker? Want to learn a new exercise that engages more muscles and burns more calories?

Pole walking could be it! Also called Nordic walking, this exercise program provides a total body workout by combining fitness walking with cross-country skiing using specially designed poles. Pole walking provides strength training and core conditioning while enhancing your posture, balance, and overall stability.  By walking with poles, you can reduce the risk of falling and be able to look around more while walking.  You will also notice a marked reduction on knee, hip and spine stress and you can achieve a more even, fluid, and rhythmic gait using the poles.

Pole walking enhances weight management by burning 40-70% more calories and using 90% of all your muscles than walking without poles! Curious yet? Well, after much research, I purchased a pair of $40 poles for myself, and they really do enhance my walking speed and posture! They are also a must-have for hiking on rocks or other uneven terrain.

Why not step out of your norm? I think you will find that you too can achieve, maintain, even regain mobility and independence with a 30-minute pole walk!

Susan Covey is the Acts Bayleigh Chase Fitness Program Manager in Easton. 

Check out this prescription:  If you have high blood pressure, treat yourself to a few squares of dark chocolate.  How do you like that?  Admittedly, it is rare that chocolate is considered a nutritious food (though it is a plant-based food also called phytonutrient, derived from the cocoa bean.)  In recent years researchers analyzed 15 studies investigating the effect of cocoa on blood pressure and concluded that dark chocolate is rich in chemical compounds called flavanols.  These flavanols have the power to cause blood vessels to dilate, which can significantly reduce blood pressure for people with hypertension.

The researchers even concluded that eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate can lower blood pressure approximately as much as 30 minutes exercise, and that it may reduce the risk of heart attack by about 20 percent over 5 years. Wow!  And guess what else is high in flavanols…Red Wine!  There are other foods containing the mighty compound too, such as cranberries, apples and peanuts that you should add to your diet as well.

Indulge yourself, for your heart, and reap the tasty benefits!

Susan Covey is the Fitness Program Manager at Acts Bayleigh Chase

You may think of stretching as something only necessary for runners or gymnasts. Truth is we all need to stretch to protect our mobility and independence.

Stretching keeps our muscles flexible, strong, and healthy. We need that flexibility to maintain the optimal range of motion in our joints. Without it, the muscles shorten and become tight. Then when you need them for an activity, they are weak and unable to extend. That in turn puts you at risk for joint pain and strain. Healthy muscles also help us with balance problems and prevention of falls.

You do not have to stretch all 600+ muscles in your body. The most critical areas for maintaining mobility are in your lower extremities: calves, hamstrings, hip flexors, and quadriceps. Stretching your shoulders, neck and low back is also beneficial. It is recommended that you stretch, if not every day, then at least 3 times a week for the best results. You may never achieve perfect flexibility as it is a process. It could take months to get tight muscles therefore it could take months to loosen them.

It is recommended to hold each stretch for 30 seconds if possible. You will feel tension during a stretch, but you should not feel pain. Pain is an indication of injury or tissue damage. 

I particularly want to encourage our male friends as men are less likely to include stretching in their exercise routine and are much less flexible as a result.

Keep Moving!

Susan Covey is the Acts Bayleigh Chase Fitness Program Manager in Easton.

Everything we do in our daily lives involves balance.  The better our sense of balance, the better we perform.

Balance can best be defined as physical equilibrium or the ability to remain upright whether you are standing still or in motion; stability is your body’s ability to adjust to a disturbance by creating an opposing force equal to the disturbance, restoring you to your original position.  Underlying both balance and stability is proprioception, or the body’s ability to process information about its position at any given time.  (The Great Balance and Stability Handbook)

Nature endows us with both strength and balance when we are young, and we probably don’t give a thought until the day we start to lose those capacities.  Strength and balance may come naturally, but they have to be used consistently to be maintained AND must be challenged in order to be improved.  As we age we tend to lose neuromuscular strength and balance mostly due to inactivity.  This diminished awareness, combined with the loss of bone density caused by less muscle use, unfortunately leads to falls, fractures and a loss of confidence.  In general, a lower quality of active life.

Many people don’t realize that balance can be improved by simply retraining the brain with a simple routine of balance exercises. The types of exercise that are most beneficial are those that focus on progressive training for strength (force) and power (force plus speed.) Progressive means that your routine should become increasingly more challenging, because you won’t make any gains if you stay at the same level.

Give yourself a balance challenge and keep those reflexes sharp!

Susan Covey is the Acts Bayleigh Chase Fitness Program Manager

Do you remember when you last took the time to just have pure fun? To be social in a totally unstructured, creative way? Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, most of us stopped playing.

PLAY…it can be defined as simply goofing off with no practical purpose to the activity other than enjoying yourself. By giving yourself permission to play you are providing yourself with an important source of relaxation and stimulation. You can also reap many unexpected benefits.

Active play relieves stress, connects you to others, improves your brain function, stimulates creativity, keeps you energetic and will undoubtedly make you laugh! Laughter, as we have heard repeatedly, is the best medicine and will help you retain a positive attitude in the worst of times.

As autumn rolls in and temperatures and humidity levels drop, you can enjoy the perfect weather for such time-honored yard games as croquet, badminton, corn hole, bocce ball.

You are never too old to go out and play!

Susan Covey is the Bayleigh Chase Fitness Program Manager in Easton

As you probably know, a weak core impacts everyday life…but maybe more than you think.

If basic functional movements like getting out of bed or walking to the car and getting in and out of the car are becoming a challenge or feeling nearly impossible for you, it may be a sign that your core is too weak.

In order to remain mobile and independent, you cannot ignore your core. And crunches are not the only answer. After all, your core is much more than just your abdominal muscles. It includes the gluteal muscles in the butt and hips, the lats and traps in the middle and upper back, and the erector spinae muscles around the spine. Your core is responsible for keeping you upright and this is why poor balance is one of the more obvious signs that your core is weak.

Here are some less obvious signs that you need to watch for:

1. Do you need to use your arms to get out to a chair or bed? If so, it is likely that your core strength is lacking. To transition from lying or sitting to standing, your abdominals and deep core muscles must be able to brace, while your glutes must be strong enough to propel you to your feet. (“4 Sneaky Signs You Have a Weak Core – Silver Sneakers”) (Michelle Barnett, D.P.T.at TRIA Orthopaedic Center)
2. Have you ever caught yourself standing or walking with your lower back arched and your pelvis jutting forward? This is a signal that your core lacks the stability and control to keep your spine in a neutral position. If your core is weak, other muscles will compensate to hold you up but the overarched position will eventually lead to lower back pain.
3. Tilting and swaying while walking is a sure sign that your core is weak. If your obliques are not strong enough to control your torso, your pelvis ends up dropping to one side.
4. Do you hold your breath while performing core exercises? If so, this could be due to a weakness in your diaphragm which works closely with the surrounding core muscles to control movement and breath. Holding your breath increases abdominal pressure while not engaging those muscles for stability.

To help avoid these problems try including the Pelvic Tilt, the Bridge, the Squat, and the Clamshell exercises in your weekly routine. You can find descriptions of these exercises online at Silver Sneakers.

Susan Covey is the Acts Baleigh Chase Fitness Director