Tag: Excercise

5 Things you can do now to deal with Anxiety

Posted on by Karac Avalron

It’s crucial to recognize that what works for someone else’s anxiety may not work for yours. I have been producing anxiety blog posts here for years now and I can attest to the fact that everyone has unique triggers and a unique situation. The purpose of today’s post is to give some general advice on things you can do right now to help with anxiety. Generally, these should work for everyone.

Keep a journal of your moods so you can recognize patterns. You can also write about your thoughts to figure out what’s really bothering you. I do this, I suffer from invasive thoughts. There are days when I am back in 1987 and reliving horrible things I may have said or done.

Exercise three to five times a week for 30 minutes to help relieve your anxiety. This is just overall good for you, the buildup of positive outcomes from consistent exercise is unbelievable.

Avoid drinking too much caffeine such as soft drinks or coffee, which is known to exacerbate anxiety. I drink coffee everyday so this is hypocritical to a degree. I’ve cut down, and so should you.

Limit alcohol, which can increase anxiety and panic attacks. Booze can really affect you emotionally and chemically. Go ahead and have a cocktail from time to time but getting loaded regularly is a really bad sign.

Count to 10 slowly. Repeat and count to 20 if necessary. Slow controlled breathing can be an instant anxiety reliever, try it.

Honorable mention here is sleep. Your body heals itself when it is at rest and that includes your mental and spiritual self as well. These are basic advices I understand. Sometimes it’s important to get back to basics and refresh on those before we get into the more complex issues of medications, therapy, family.

Even if one of them work for you then it’s a resounding success. One day at a time, you are doing awesome!

Thank you so much for coming by and supporting my blog I really appreciate it. Want to see another post like this one? Click here.  

5 Things you can do now to deal with Anxiety

Posted on by Karac Avalron

It’s crucial to recognize that what works for someone else’s anxiety may not work for yours. I have been producing anxiety blog posts here for years now and I can attest to the fact that everyone has unique triggers and a unique situation. The purpose of today’s post is to give some general advice on things you can do right now to help with anxiety. Generally, these should work for everyone.

Keep a journal of your moods so you can recognize patterns. You can also write about your thoughts to figure out what’s really bothering you. I do this, I suffer from invasive thoughts. There are days when I am back in 1987 and reliving horrible things I may have said or done.

Exercise three to five times a week for 30 minutes to help relieve your anxiety. This is just overall good for you, the buildup of positive outcomes from consistent exercise is unbelievable.

Avoid drinking too much caffeine such as soft drinks or coffee, which is known to exacerbate anxiety. I drink coffee everyday so this is hypocritical to a degree. I’ve cut down, and so should you.

Limit alcohol, which can increase anxiety and panic attacks. Booze can really affect you emotionally and chemically. Go ahead and have a cocktail from time to time but getting loaded regularly is a really bad sign.

Count to 10 slowly. Repeat and count to 20 if necessary. Slow controlled breathing can be an instant anxiety reliever, try it.

Honorable mention here is sleep. Your body heals itself when it is at rest and that includes your mental and spiritual self as well. These are basic advices I understand. Sometimes it’s important to get back to basics and refresh on those before we get into the more complex issues of medications, therapy, family.

Even if one of them work for you then it’s a resounding success. One day at a time, you are doing awesome!

Thank you so much for coming by and supporting my blog I really appreciate it. Want to see another post like this one? Click here.  

Over 50 Fitness: What I can tell you about the early 50’s

Posted on by Karac Avalron

So I will be turning 53 this year, the last year of my early 50’s (mid 54-56, late 57-59). Like many of you my fitness journey has occurred over decades of my life. Each one presenting its own unique challenges. I peaked at 26 honestly, I had a renaissance in my late 30’s and my 40’s was probably the worst period of time for me health wise. I got my moxxy back and lost 25 pounds at 50 and I have been enjoying my second renaissance.

Things are much different now, I have atrophied. So yes I have lost muscle mass it’s just the reality of not being able to naturally sustain testosterone levels 800+ daily like I could in my 20’s. I’ve gotten over this, although to be blunt, fitness is challenging as you age when you have been fit before. I still remember my 26-year-old self, with abs, good bulk and really at the top of my game.

So that’s the first hurdle you have in your early 50’s you have to let go of what you once were. The effort it would take to remotely approach where I used to be would require fitness to be a full time occupation I can’t do that. So if you can get past that you get to the point where you reimagine what you should be looking like. In your early 50’s? you’re probably going to have a little pouch and some love handles. Now they don’t have to be huge of course but short of cosmetic surgery or nothing but protein in your diet, they are here to stay.

The Importance of Sleep
The Importance of Sleep can’t be understated.

Sleep becomes a precious commodity. It’s not that you can’t go to sleep, hell you might be going to bed super early, its STAYING asleep that’s an issue. I sleep for 6 hours, so if I go to bed at 11, I’m getting up at 5. Doesn’t mean I can’t fall back to sleep by its not the same. I compensate, I take naps when I can but honestly its challenging not to feel drained if not tired a lot. Nutrition helps, so do crutches like caffeine and sugar but in the end it’s the ability to sleep for 6+ hours that is the heart of the problem.

Okay so now there is training, no not working out, training.  I know that sounds like a semantics play but here is how I make the distinction. Working out is something you do as part of your life to make other parts better, training is a workout that results from you changing the rest of your life to accommodate the workout. Simply put, you start prepping for training that day the minute you get up. Working out is something you do as an additional activity for your day. In my early 50’s I am transitioning between the two. I “Train” for 3 months on and then “work out” for 1 month.

This helps me stay fit but not break down. Constant training requires mental, physical, emotional commitments that affect a great deal of your life. It can be exhausting and can shape your day. As an example you may decide to eat at 3PM on training day instead of 12 so you can time the glucose and carb release with your digestion. I know this all seems technical doesn’t it? Well by the time you are in your early 50’s you know the drill its actually all rather easy. You’ve made it to 53, there isn’t a whole lot you haven’t seen.

Over 50 fitness has been a mixed bag for me. As I approach 53 I am in good health but I have aches and pains, I have to be very careful what I eat and I can’t recover as fast. It’s harder to pull it all off but the good news is I know HOW to pull it off now. You’ll get there someday or maybe you are already there too?

Thanks for coming by and supporting my blog I really appreciate it. Want to see another post like this one? Click here.

How I stay in shape over 50 – Upper Body (in Detail)

Posted on by Karac Avalron

So this is part two of how I stay in shape over 50. The first post, which is the most important one can be found here That post is the centerpiece of how I stay in shape. Squats are the priority for me, it gives me cardio and engages my endocrine system, its critical. That lower body (squat) routine is paramount to my success, however there is a “Workout B” and that’s upper body.

To reiterate the basis for my workouts lets recap:

What I do:

3 Months I do a basic 5×5 split. So what does that mean?

  1. 3 Months start date: Any day you want, but its 3 months so say 6/1/22 – 8/31/22.
  2. 3 workouts per week: Mon-Wed-Fri or Tues-Thurs-Sat

There are only 2 workouts. Workout A is the squat day. Warm up stretch and then get to the free weight squat rack. You start with the bar, if that is to heavy you start with a 25-pound weight. You do 5 sets of 5 reps. That’s the workout. Your next workout day (48 hours later) you do workout B, then next workout you are back to work out A.

Workout B is what we are talking about today. Now this workout has 2 exercise groupings. Meaning each workout B you are doing two movements but each workout B can be different depending on your preference. So let’s get the exercise groupings out of the way first.

  1. Bench Press & Rows
  2. Military Press & Dips

Now you pick one of these groups for the 3-month period paired with Workout A (squats). So if you pick Bench Press & Pull Up’s that’s your workout B for 3 months. The point of the 3-month cycle is to build strength in that specific range of motion, with that specific group. The first set of exercises (bench press and pull ups) will hit every major group in your upper body. You never really need to do Military press or Dips. That exercise group serves a different purpose here but the process is the same.

Men over 50 = Eat right, Lift weights, Sleep.

That process is true for all exercises. 5X5, so for workout B you are doing 10 sets. This is a heavy day, it’s not going to be easy, it’s going to be very hard but it’s not nearly the same cardio work you’ll get from workout A and squats. So you stretch warm up do all your prep and then you hit the bench press. Start with 100 pounds, that’s the bar (45 pounds) and 55 pounds on each side.

Rows are the same approach, on this you start with the bar. Here is a good resource on rows as how you position yourself is very important.   These can be substituted with pull ups if you can pull off the rows. The goal with the back exercise if to engage the back as much as possible. This will be harder because you have tired your anterior deltoid (top of shoulder) so you start with the lighter weight.

You do 5 sets, 5 reps each. No, you don’t do a 6th rep if you feel good, you hit the 25 total reps. That is always our goal with these exercises. Once you get to the 25 reps you go up 5-10 pounds, rinse repeat go for the 25 total reps.  You stick with this for the 3 months, along with your work out A squats. Now once the 3 months are over you should have a noticeable gain in strength, muscle tone and confidence. I can’t promise you weight loss but its highly likely depending on what you are consuming.

Remember that somewhere in the middle you will hit a point where you can’t get the 5 sets for 5 reps. This is when you are making your real gains. Remember the weight doesn’t increase until you get that 25 total reps, and it never decreases. This resistance training and progressive load is excellent for men over 50. Your injury risk is lower here because your starting off light allowing your body to acclimate to the movements.

Disclaimer: Please make sure you are physically and medically able to work out before trying. If you exercise regularly you are probably fine but if you don’t consult your physician.

Thanks for coming by and supporting my blog I really appreciate it. Want to see another post like this one? Click here.

A simple weight loss tip (short post)

Posted on by Karac Avalron

This blog isn’t a health and fitness blog but having lost a lot of weight myself in the last few years (30 lbs +) the hardest thing for me is keeping it off. When I eat, I often find myself thinking about the next bite not enjoying the one I currently have in my mouth. I’m not going to get into the psychology of this everyone is different. I have read online a few tricks you can use to change the way you eat, and thus change your relationship with food.

The simple weight loss tip? Eat with your non dominant hand.

I tried this and I ended up eating much slower and thinking about actually eating the food and how the hell I was going to do it. It slowed me down, I ate less and well 100 calories here, a 100 calories there it adds up on a weight loss journey. I’m not suggesting this will be the winning strategy for your weight loss but thinking outside of the box and trying new things might help.

Thank you for coming by and supporting my blog I really appreciate it. Want to see another post like this one? Click here.

5 Things you can do now to deal with Anxiety

Posted on by Karac Avalron

It’s crucial to recognize that what works for someone else’s anxiety may not work for yours. I have been producing anxiety blog posts here for years now and I can attest to the fact that everyone has unique triggers and a unique situation. The purpose of today’s post is to give some general advice on things you can do right now to help with anxiety. Generally, these should work for everyone.

Keep a journal of your moods so you can recognize patterns. You can also write about your thoughts to figure out what’s really bothering you. I do this, I suffer from invasive thoughts. There are days when I am back in 1987 and reliving horrible things I may have said or done.

Exercise three to five times a week for 30 minutes to help relieve your anxiety. This is just overall good for you, the buildup of positive outcomes from consistent exercise is unbelievable.

Avoid drinking too much caffeine such as soft drinks or coffee, which is known to exacerbate anxiety. I drink coffee everyday so this is hypocritical to a degree. I’ve cut down, and so should you.

Limit alcohol, which can increase anxiety and panic attacks. Booze can really affect you emotionally and chemically. Go ahead and have a cocktail from time to time but getting loaded regularly is a really bad sign.

Count to 10 slowly. Repeat and count to 20 if necessary. Slow controlled breathing can be an instant anxiety reliever, try it.

Honorable mention here is sleep. Your body heals itself when it is at rest and that includes your mental and spiritual self as well. These are basic advices I understand. Sometimes it’s important to get back to basics and refresh on those before we get into the more complex issues of medications, therapy, family.

Even if one of them work for you then it’s a resounding success. One day at a time, you are doing awesome!

Thank you so much for coming by and supporting my blog I really appreciate it. Want to see another post like this one? Click here.  

A very simple health tip

Posted on by Karac Avalron

If you read my blog regularly, first thank you, second you know that I have lost a lot of weight over the last year in a half. I am like millions; I was not obese I was overweight. What does that mean exactly? I had 30 pounds of extra weight. I dropped most of it. Do I have a visible 6 pack of abs? no, but I am more vascular, I have good definition now, I look normal. Not fat, not thin, not over muscled just normal.

The hardest part is keeping it off. One simple way to do that? 1000 steps a day. You have an app on your phone that should track it for you. That’s it! 1000 steps, it’s not a lot and its likely you can do more than that. However, the 1000 steps is every day, not 500 today and 1500 tomorrow. Everyday 1000 steps. You can do that.

Thank you for coming by and supporting my blog I really appreciate it. Want to see another post like this one? Click here.

Squats

Lower your anxiety with Exercise

Posted on by Karac Avalron

I know we have all seen plenty of articles on this subject. Well add another one to the list because a new year is around the corner and you should, once and for all, make exercise a priority. Notice I didn’t say lose weight, I didn’t say diet, I didn’t say train, EXERCISE.

Just exercise more, that’s it. I’m not saying change your eating habits, I mean if you want to down a pint of ice cream a day that’s cool. If you increase your exercise and everything else in your life remains the same you will lower your anxiety (and improve your health!).

I found a good article here that discusses this a little more in depth.

From the article: “More specifically, the follow-up analysis showed that “people with the lowest combined aerobic and muscular fitness had 98% higher odds of depression, 60% higher odds of anxiety, and 81% higher odds of having either one of the common mental health disorders, compared to those with high levels of overall fitness.”

Based on these findings, the authors speculate that aerobic and resistance training may offset the risk of experiencing depression, anxiety, and other common mental health disorders. “While broadly increasing physical activity will be beneficial, structured aerobic and resistance exercises with sufficient intensity to improve fitness may have a greater effect on risk reduction,” the authors note.”

Do something, anything ! GET MOVING !

Again this article isn’t pushing the fitness industry narratives we are all currently swarmed with. You know the super fit models doing some exercise and eating a handful of berries on one leaf of spinach? It’s creating an unobtainable goal for many people to pull you in, get your money, sell you products (fitness equipment, supplements, sleep aids, on and on) and keep you literally on a treadmill to extract as much money from you as possible.

Cynical enough? The point here is, and this study confirms that ANY increase in exercise is a net positive in combating anxiety and general mental health issues. This can be as little as once a day doing as many pushups as you can. Maybe increase your steps 2000 a day, jump rope for 5 min… you get the picture.

You don’t have to go on extreme diets, train like a professional athlete or be a genetic specimen to benefit from exercise. Small incremental increases in activity begin to translate into planned exercise. This can directly lead to anxiety relief and isn’t that what we are all looking for? This article supports that notion so go ahead, go out for a walk, every day.

Thanks so much for coming by and supporting my blog I really appreciate it. Want to see another post like this one? Click here.

New Years Resolutions?

Posted on by Karac Avalron

It’s a new year, a new decade  and as is tradition many of us set out resolutions/goals we want to achieve. Often this ends in failure and not because we don’t try, but because we stumble, get off track and or create resolutions that are too lofty for us to attain.

This will be a short post today, but I want to give you 3 New Years Resolutions that you can absolutely do that will benefit you.

  1. Resolve to sleep more: Naps, getting in bed 15 min earlier or getting up 15 min late it doesn’t matter. If you can increase your sleep, you will improve your overall health. I expand on sleep in a prior post here :
  2. Exercise more: Take the stairs, walk the dog, mow the lawn…. You don’t have to go to the gym (you can of course) but more exercise is good for you and it doesn’t take a monumental effort to increase your activity. Literally, TAKE THE STAIRS, if not maybe start weight training! I talk about some of the benefits here
  3. Keep a “to do” journal: No not a running narrative of what you did minute by minute, I mean a simple notebook where each day you write down the things you need to get done. Literally list them 1-2-3-4 etc. So, date, then 5-10 things you need to get done. Some days you will get 1 done some days 10, but you will always have a running list of notes you need. I talk about the benefits of this here:

Of course, you can set any resolutions/goals you want but when you start small, your chances of success are much higher. You are doing awesome ! one day at a time ! It would be wonderful if you would consider sharing this post with your network, I truly appreciate your support of my blog !