Hiking

Walking gets a bit more challenging when you take it on trails, especially uphill, but the trails are often in beautiful settings. I like to use hiking poles because it keeps some of the impact from my hips when going downhill. It also makes me, a naturally clumsy person and prone to ankle sprains in … Continue reading Hiking →

Other Aspects of Fitness -Meditation

This is a continuation of a post the other day about the “Four Pillars” of Healthy Aging, specifically about stress management. Sitting meditation is the most powerful method of stress relief I have found. Think of a time when you have spontaneously relaxed completely and gotten lost in the moment, your thoughts fading away as … Continue reading Other Aspects of Fitness -Meditation →

Tips For Those That Need a Heart Valve Replacement

Heart valve replacement is even more intimidating than hip replacement. Again, the first step is to find a good surgeon you have confidence in. For the heart, I did not have a good word of mouth referral, but I had good luck with Adam Pick’s heart valve website. Just stick your zip code in his … Continue reading Tips For Those That Need a Heart Valve Replacement →

Still Moving- A lot- Despite Osteoarthritis and a Hip Replacement

Yvette chronicles her journey in "Expedition out the backdoor". Among other things, she went on foot from Shropshire, England to Knoydart in Scotland ("sleeping rough" along the way) despite chronic osteoarthritis. Her ostoearthritis progressed to necrosis of the hip, and led to a total hip replacement. She and her family have since moved to an … Continue reading Still Moving- A lot- Despite Osteoarthritis and a Hip Replacement →

Tips For Those That Need a Hip Replacement

Thinking about what it’s like when you find out you need a hip replacement made me decide to write up some advice based on my experience. This is pretty daunting, especially if you’ve never had major surgery before. The first step is to find a good surgeon you have confidence in. I was lucky enough … Continue reading Tips For Those That Need a Hip Replacement →

Challenge Yourself (But Choose Your Challenge Wisely)

I got this idea from Clarence Bass, in his book Challenge Yourself. It can be much easier to motivate yourself to be physically active if there is some challenge you’re pointing towards. But we can tend to have a “bigger is better” mentality and choose tests like marathons, century rides, or climbing Mt. Whitney. These … Continue reading Challenge Yourself (But Choose Your Challenge Wisely) →

Biking

Biking is another activity that takes us back to being kids. The feeling when you were first able to ride a bike on your own, and the freedom of how far you could go under your own power. A lot of our cities our getting more bike friendly now, with good bike lanes or car-free … Continue reading Biking →

Other Aspects of Fitness- The “Four Pillars” of Healthy Aging

In my opinion, there are four components or “pillars” of healthy aging. Staying active is one of them, healthy eating is the second, and the others are social support and stress management. There is a lot of emphasis on the first two on this site but I consider the others equally important. In this post … Continue reading Other Aspects of Fitness- The “Four Pillars” of Healthy Aging →

Physical Activity and Weight Loss

One of the big debates you’ll see is whether physical activity is beneficial for weight loss. The reasoning is usually based on calories in vs. calories out: “if you walk for half an hour you might burn 150 calories. You take in more than that by eating one doughnut”. My first thought is “Uh, don’t … Continue reading Physical Activity and Weight Loss →

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