Senior Fitness With Meredith

Regular exercise is an important part of living a healthy lifestyle no matter your age. However, sometimes busy schedules, emergencies or last minute changes can cause us to lose out on time during our day which can affect our ability to exercise. In these cases a shorter workout might be a good alternative when you’re short on time. But just how effective are shorter length workouts and are they worth it? In This Episode You Will Learn: 1). Why there is a perception that shorter workouts (5 – 10 minutes) don’t have benefits such as exercising for a longer period of time. 2). Meredith’s thoughts on why shorter workouts can be an important part of a healthy lifestyle especially for a wider range of people (limited mobility, limited range of motion etc). 3). How shorter workouts can still be modified “up” to a more intense experience if you are able to stand, hold heavier weights or even up the intensity safely and appropriately thus still benefiting from a shorter workout time. 4). Why shorter workouts are a great way to “build up” to longer exercises especially if you are just getting started with regular exercise or are coming back from taking time off. 5). How shorter exercise times are great for home workouts as most gyms and classes don’t offer shorter routines. /// Keeping a regular exercise schedule at “top of mind” is an important aspect of accepting a healthier lifestyle. But as we see and know, we don’t always get the time to exercise which sometimes makes shorter workouts our only option. We hope the information we’ve shared in this episode helps you decide whether short workouts are helpful to you during your life’s schedule and that knowing the important habit of staying active no matter how short or long is always key to a longer, healthier life:) Team MeredithSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.”-Edmund Burke This motivation is a reminder that even only doing “a little” adds up, especially if each of us just did “a little”. MeredithSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Regular exercise should be an important part of our daily lives and in most cases, we can exercise regularly without worry of it affecting our future selves. However, we sometimes have moments where we may have to receive surgery and the question of if it is a good idea to exercise prior to operating may arise. Depending on what kind of surgery you may be having, the level of concern on whether you should be exercising before your surgery is a common question and one that we receive often. Because of this, we wanted to to dedicate this podcast episode to hopefully addressing these concerns. In This Episode You Will Learn: 1). Some of Meredith’s personal experiences in working with clients over the years and their feedback/stories of their surgeries and their thoughts about exercising before hand. 2). Why we feel that pre-surgery advice from the medical community is lacking and what more can be done to educate patients on pre-surgery prep as well as post op planning. 3). Some examples of resistance and cardio training exercises you should consider when preparing for surgery to help get your body ready. 4). How strengthening your body (resistance and cardio) before hand will help you recover faster after surgery. 5). Meredith’s advice to anyone who will be having surgery soon and is just starting out with exercise or hasn’t had any physical activity in a long time. /// Having surgery is not a life event that we can always predict and it can cause concern especially if it is serious. We hope the information we’ve shared in the episode helps you determine your level of activity before you enter surgery. Knowing how it can actually help you in the long run/post op world is something to consider. Making sure we give our bodies the best chance to recover after surgery is key and something that we can control ourselves. Team MeredithSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“I’m in love with the potential of miracles. For me, the safest place is out on a limb.”-Shirley MacLaine This motivation is about knowing miracles happen out of our comfort zones; remember to go out on a limb and feel safe there! MeredithSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cognitive disabilities affect many people especially in our later years. This refers to the effects of those who suffer from Alzheimer’s, dementia, stroke or other similar cognitive limitations. The challenges involved in every day care and managing health can be difficult. Maintaining physical health is also just as challenging which is why we wanted to shed more light on this topic and also announce our limited “Cognitive Disability Exercises” series which promotes physical and mental wellness for those who suffer from the effects of cognitive diseases. In This Episode You Will Learn: 1). An introduction to our new  Cognitive Disability Exercises series that we will slowly be rolling out on our website and YouTube channel and why we though it was important do add these types of workouts to our library. 2). The difference between “Cognitive Fitness” (mental) and “Cognitive Disability Fitness” which focuses on the physical side of health issues in those that have cognitive challenges. 3). Some of Meredith’s personal experiences in working with patients who suffer from cognitive disabilities and the challenges she faced when doing physical training sessions with them. 4). How we hope our new cognitive exercises will help those who care for people with disabilities and the realization in the value in physical health along with mental health. 5). Meredith’s personal advice for those who care for people with cognitive disabilities and her suggestions on how to approach physical fitness in using our exercise exercise videos. /// We hope you find this episode helpful and informative especially if you care for and or have loved ones that may suffer from cognitive disabilities. We are dedicated to helping those in need when it comes to making exercise accessible to all. Physical, mental and emotional health is so important in all stages in life and caring for those who have these challenges should always be a priority in all aspects as we journey through life. Team MeredithSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Pressure is a privilege.”-Billie Jean King This motivation is about remembering that some pressures are a good thing, and we are privileged to be pushed in our lives. MeredithSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we have a special podcast as we celebrate reaching out 200th episode Wow! We’ve learned so much from you and our senior fitness community around the globe since starting our podcast and this week we wanted to celebrate with you and share some of what we’ve learned. In This Episode You Will Learn: 1). How we are inspired by our audience (you!) through comments and feedback to come up with new topics each week and how surprised we are to have made it this far! 2). How our podcast is designed to be a compliment to our exercise videos and how this gives us a chance to dive further into topics that we don’t get to discuss in out workout videos. 3). Also highlighting Meredith’s “Motivation With Meredith” mini podcast series in which she shares inspiring stories and ideas to help motivate you through your life journey. 4). Why Meredith draws upon her years of experience in working with senior communities and clients of all ages when sharing her knowledge and also how she researches topics that are important when it comes to factual based information. 5). Our plans for the future and the things we hope to continue to achieve as we serve our senior fitness community through this podcast. /// Thank you for listening to our podcast and supporting us through the years. We truly appreciate getting the chance to share important topics with you and listening to your feedback which inspires us to continue putting out our best content. We hope to continue on and bring light to more topics that are important to our senior fitness community. Here’s to the next 200 episodes! Team MeredithSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Whenever you take a step forward, you are bound to disturb something.”-Indira Gandhi This motivation is about knowing when you grow, change, and move forward, things do not stay the same…and that is okay and good! MeredithSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When we think about aging, one of the first things we think about is how to live a long, healthy and happy life. This is the crown jewel of enjoying a life well lived and full of happiness. However as we know this isn’t always easy to achieve especially when it comes to our physical health. Sometimes there are opportunities that we can take advantage of that will help us age safely in place and maintain our independence well into our later years. In This Episode You Will Learn: 1). How little things that we can do around our homes and outside of the home can help with things like falls prevention and promote stability when staying physically healthy. 2). Some of Meredith’s personal experiences in working in assisted living homes and some of her concerns she has about the living conditions and safety measures that could be improved. 3). How going through the transition of living our lives interdependently to having to depend on others can be a difficult adjustment especially if we are physically limited in our abilities. 4). Why preventing falls is so important in our later years as a simple fall can affect you not only physically but mentally as well. 5). Some of Meredith’s suggestions regarding eating a healthy diet and how it can help contribute to a longer life. /// Making sure we take steps to support our lives as we age can make a big difference down the road. Installing helpful habits that will allow us to stay independent for as long as possible is key to promoting a longer, healthier life. We hope our suggestions in this episode help you decide what modifications you can make now or down the road that will you stay strong, independent and happy into your later years. Team MeredithSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly.”- Thomas Paine This motivation is the reminder that as much as we want things handed to us, it is in the hard work that we see the true value. MeredithSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.