Functional Fitness with Suzanne Andrews

How to Overcome Barriers

by Suzanne Andrews

How to Overcome the Top 5 Barriers to Your Best Health

“Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.”

We all have areas of our lives that could use some improvement but we often put it off, make excuses, or can't make the time to address them. In the process of living our lives to build a career, raise a family, compete to acquire it all, we overlook the vital need to relax, eat sensibly and understand our limitations. Don't wait until your first heart attack, DUI accident, or other shocking event to realize your lifestyle may be destroying you from the inside.

Here’s five barriers and more importantly how to overcome them for your best health ever!

1. Your Own Psychology  

This one of the most formidable barriers. We place limits on our ability to become healthy. Rather than trust that change can happen, we talk down or highlight the impossible aspect of the changes we want to make. Believing that we can't lose weight because both our parents and grandparents were overweight is a false comfort and a method to avoid accepting a challenge. As long as you don't even try, you won't fail. 

2. Society

Changes in society is another barrier. Smoking used to be fashionable, now it’s a primary health hazard. Butter and cream sauces are considered gourmet but now are known to be fattening and increase cholesterol in blood. Don't allow society to sway you with its criticisms, traditions and paradoxes.

3. Fear

This is a tough one because it comes from within and without.
What will changing be like?
Will I be different?
Will my spouse, family, and friends still love me?

Many fears are deeply rooted in childhood, an event when discipline, accidents, or unhappiness set limits on imagination and exploration. These events place limits on our life potential and individual performance without even realizing it.

4. Rationalizations

Denial...hides the reality of your situation
Blame...can't or won't accept responsibility
Procrastination...today is the tomorrow you said you'd start. Get going.
Fear of loss...why fear sleeping better, fitting new clothes, more energy, saving money, fewer pills and doctor visits, improved health and self-esteem?

5. Fear of Failure 

Set realistic goals...lose 1 lbs. this week and do it. Next week, 2 lbs. and do it. Then each week after go for 3lbs. and do it.

If you begin a health plan by promising yourself that "I'll look like an Olympic athlete in one month", you already know how that's going to turn out. Persistent baby steps become leaps and bounds.

Functional Fitness Wisdom for You

Time is the most used excuse to not do something.  How much time do you spend watching TV?  (Honestly). The average person watches 3.5 hours of TV a night. That's 105 hours of television in a month. So all those people would rather watch somebody else live their dreams rather than pursuing their own? Turn it off!

Knowledge...use all the extra time you just discovered to research and educate yourself on what it will take to find out how to remedy all those fears, denials, and pressures in your life.

Energy...you will quickly realize that a healthy diet, regular exercise, lots of water (no sugary drinks) and even just a daily vitamin will give you the energy you've always wanted.

Support System...get your family, friends and co-workers involved. In most cases, you will have overwhelming support and even be considered a role model for those around you that have always wondered what it would be like to become what you are doing.

Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series. Feel free to send Suzanne a message here.

Urinary Incontinence Treatments

by Suzanne Andrews

Which One is Right for You?

I was just interviewed for Prevention Magazine about my natural treatment for Urinary Incontinence and they asked why I produced 30 Day Bladder Fix.  Well, have you seen those advertisements promising women to “take charge of bladder leaks.” There’s photo’s of women dancing, laughing and smiling. The message is that you can enjoy life once again if you use their products.  And exactly what products are we talking about?

1. Pads or adult diapers:

Now I don’t know about you, but I’d be very self-conscious walking around with pads catching leaks that make me smell like pee.  And did you know that urine rubbing against your skin causes rashes?  How do I know this?  Aside from the fact that I’m an Occupational Therapy Clinician who treats this all to-common problem, I too once suffered from it and looked into every possible solution.  Here’s the other “solutions.”

2. Pills:

Did you know pills only work in less than 20% of women and according to Web MD, “the most commonly reported side effect of the drugs are dry mouth, dry skin, dry eyes, and upset stomach. By the way, constipation makes urinary incontinence worse.  And in older people, “complications from urinary incontinence medications are heart rhythms problems and sudden death.”  I’m amazed how many of my patients are taking 12 – 13 pills a day under the care of a physician.  “You leak, here’s a pill, is the all too common answer.” Many patients arrive in rehab due to hip and wrist fractures received from rushing to the bathroom in the middle of the night and tripping on the wet spots.

3. Insertable Objects:

Really who invented this? There’s an exercise device that cost $249.00 and this device hurts. (I tried it). Who thinks we ladies like to go around and insert objects into our private area as a form of exercise. There’s the other insertable objects supposed to help you control the problem but it still doesn’t SOLVE the problem and how healthy can it be to insert foreign objects anyway?

4. Surgery:

As of early 2015, an estimated 70,000 women filed lawsuits against mesh manufacturers after suffering serious injuries from the products.  During my search for treatment, a urologist told me to undergo mesh surgery and I’m so glad I didn’t because problems from mesh surgery can include:

• Severe pelvic, genital or groin pain
• Recurrence of prolapse or incontinence
• Nerve damage
• Vaginal scarring
• Degrading of the mesh
• Infection, including urinary tract infections (UTIs)
• Neuro-muscular problems
• Vaginal shrinkage or shortening
• Vaginal bleeding
• Blood in the stool or urine

5. Kegels:

You’ve probably heard about Kegels. Well kegels are not the total answer either.  And it can be hard to know if you’re doing them right.

It is because of all these products that I produced 30 Day Bladder Fix.  I wanted to give women (and men) a natural way to eliminate Urinary Incontinence without pills, surgery, inserting foreign objects or expensive pads.  If I can help you not have to go through the embarrassment that I went through, it will be worth it. And you don’t have to pay the expensive three times a week co-pay for the therapeutic pelvic floor exercises I teach all across the United States. You can sit in the comfort of your own home and do the program in privacy and you don’t even have to get on the floor!  It’s all done sitting on a chair and lying in bed. 

You know what the best thing is?  Hearing from you all about how 30 Day Bladder Fix is helping you!  I’m so happy because you’re all my sisters in wellness! Here’s some reviews.  Keep them coming and share this post on your social media. Together we can let women know how to SOLVE the problem, not mask it.

Frances P.
Verified Buyer
05/28/16
Hip on Functional fitness.
I have been using the 30 Bladder Fix for two weeks and have improvement with bladder control when I sneeze. The sneezing was my main concern.

Happy C.
Verified Buyer
04/15/16
This Works!
I can't say enough about this DVD. I tried the medicine to stop bladder leaks and it didn't work. I was even thinking of surgery but I heard of all the complications including a friend that private part perforated from the surgery. I have to say I was skeptical about this but tried anyway and am so glad!!! I can finally go on long car rides without having to stop at a rest stop every hour and I can also sneeze without the floodgates opening up. Thank you so much. I hope you don't mind that I don't use my name as this was a very a very embarrassing problem to have.

Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series. Feel free to send Suzanne a message here.

3 Worst Exercise Mistakes

by Suzanne Andrews

That saying, "bite your tongue" means to not say anything. That can be very difficult for many of us at times. If that were a literal statement, I would come back from the gym with a swollen tongue! (LOL),

Why? Not any everyone appreciates advice and some people get downright mad so I keep my mouth shut. It doesn't matter that I'm giving free medically proven advice medical insurance pays physical/occupational therapy agencies a hefty fee for.

I see so many people doing exercises that can either hurt them or not help them. If you're doing your workout and wondering why you're not getting the results you need, today's tips can help you reach your desired goal.

1. MOVING TOO FAST

When strength training you must move through the movement slowly. This means a slow controlled movement when lifting and lowering weights. You will get fitter FASTER! Medical insurance wants us rehab therapists to get our patients off caseload quickly and in most cases in 30 Days. And our patients come in very weak. So we have to get them strong quickly and safely. Science proves that lifting slower is more effective. (I'll spare you the science details, but if you want to know email me!)

2. THINKING YOU SHOULDN'T USE WEIGHTS with ARTHRITIS or OSTEOPOROSIS.

I just had a DVD reviewed and while it got 4 out of 5 stars, I know if it was reviewed by a Physical or Occupational Therapist it would have gotten 5 stars. The reviewer was not aware that using hand and leg weights with arthritis helps to [decrease pain] in the joints or that weights improve bone health. I don't blame her as she does not have the training that physical or occupational therapy professionals have.

This brings me to mistake number 3. Of course if you have arthritis and you're having a flare up, common sense, which I know you have, tells you to lay low.

3. FITNESS ADVICE FROM SOMEONE OUTSIDE SCOPE OF PRACTICE

This one is going to surprise you. Many people think that MDs know everything about exercise. While very knowledgeable about diseases, medications and diagnoses, MD's get very little exercise training. Physical and Occupational Therapy practitioners get 3 - 6 years of training, depending on the degree. On top of that they have ongoing training requirements and teach exercise all day to people with all kinds of medical complications.

Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series. Feel free to send Suzanne a message here.

How To Age Proof Your Brain – Part 2

by Suzanne Andrews

Read Part I to Age Proof Your Brain!

"How was breakfast today?" I reluctantly asked my patient, a 69 year old women who complains about everything. You can't please this women. She is 100 pounds overweight and despite educating her that she needs to move more and eat less, the only response I get is a sharp look of daggers in her eyes. She finds every excuse not to participate. If getting stronger was as easy as taking a pill, we'd all be super-fit in body and mind. It's no surprise her brain strength is declining as well.

On the other end of the spectrum, I'm working with a wonderful 93 year old patient whose goal is to go back home.  She remembers everything we did the day before and always has a smile on her face ready to tackle her therapy with gusto.

To develop a better memory, start working the abilities you've got, but don't use. You can strengthen your memory by changing your thinking and your habits. Changing habits and thinking differently improves brain circulation and encourages the use of both sides of the brain. This helps to improve not only memory, but other brain functions as well.

The problem is that we become so comfortable with the familiar that we stay in the same routines. This does nothing to help the brain stay fit. To exercise your brain on a regular basis, make it a point to change your routine in small but meaningful ways every day. This will bring different areas of the brain into play, improve cranial blood flow, and strengthen neural connections between different areas of the brain. The regular practice of brain fitness exercises can even help to stave off dementia and Alzheimer's disease. 

Think about your daily routine and change it up a bit.  Take a different route, learn a different recipe or walk a different route.  If you're right handed, use your left hand more to do daily tasks like brushing your teeth, combing your hair, etc.  As far as your thinking, if you're a normally down person, try smiling more and see how many people smile back! You'll not only improve your brain power, you'll improve your social life.

Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series. Feel free to send Suzanne a message here.

Age Proof Your Brain

by Suzanne Andrews

How to Age Proof Your Brain: Part 1

Are you a victim of forgetfulness? Do you find yourself going through the same "where are my keys" routine every morning? Do you search for your vehicle when you exit the mall because you can't remember where you've parked it? Do you write things down like directions, reminders, and shopping lists -- and then can't find the information when you need it? Forgetting where we've stashed essential items can be frustrating and slow us down considerably.

 What about names? Do you forget someone's name as soon as you hear it? This can be embarrassing, especially in business. Do you leave the house without everything you need, and then remember what you've forgotten after you're halfway to your destination? Do you misplace your cell phone and then have to call yourself in order to locate it?

You're not alone! Forgetfulness is a common problem for many of us, and it doesn't always  mean you’re getting the dreaded Alzheimer’s. While studies indicate that memory, response time, and attention span tend to diminish with age, the losses are more often due to a lack of exercising the brain than to diminished brain capacity. How do I know?  While I work with many patients who are 40 plus in age,  I also get the opportunity to work with people over 90. I remember one particular man, Henry, a 99 year old man who needed generalized strengthening and conditioning therapy after a fall.

He always came to therapy with a smile on his face and a great laugh. His mind was sharp as a tack!  I found that out by asking him to demonstrate all the exercises I taught him for home therapy.  He showed me exactly how to do each and every one – perfectly.  All 15 of them in the exact order they were supposed to be done and with the correct amount of repetitions and pacing. (Because I teach evidenced based exercises, all the exercises must be done in a specific order, timing and repetitions, as research shows medically proven results).  With all the Functional Fitness DVDs, you’re not just getting an exercise class, you’re getting evidenced based medically proven moves for specific conditions!

Back to Henry, I was intrigued because his mind was so sharp and he had such a great attitude, despite the pain he was in.  I asked him, “what’s you secret?”  He replied, “I meditate every day.”  I have to agree that meditation is an excellent way to increase your Brain Power.

Get your copy for $9.99!

So there you have it!  Of course that’s only the beginning of age proofing your brain. Come back next week for part two where you’ll learn surprising evidenced based tip to age proof your brain!

Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series. Feel free to send Suzanne a message here.

Can You Walk Sitting?

by Suzanne Andrews

Can You Walk While Sitting? Now You Can!

Walking workouts continue to increase in popularity but what if you're one of the millions who have mobility issues or what if you’re just too tired after a long day’s work to walk the traditional way?

Walking, one of the best exercises for arthritis, can be challenging when you’re having knee and hip pain. Yet doctors encourage their patients to walk five days a week for improved joint function.  So what do you do when walking the traditional way is not an option?

Having treated 1000’s of patients with arthritis over the years, I answered the strong need for a walking workout with therapeutic moves to ease joint pain that you can do sitting (or standing). But designing just a seated walk wasn’t enough because walking and sitting in the same spot can get boring. So, after 6 months of negotiating, we flew to the Butchart Gardens - the most beautiful gardens in North America. Now instead of a boring studio walk, you are treated to a plethora of spectacular flowers while easing joint pain with medically proven walk moves for improving arthritis health naturally.

The Butchart Gardens is one of my absolute favorite gardens and I’m not the only one.  They get one million visitors a year who stroll the gardens either on foot or on wheelchair. Filming in the famous Sunken Gardens section and the spectacular rose gardens was amazing! Even more amazing is seeing and doing the workout on DVD. I have to confess, I’m a bit of a garden enthusiast. While I don’t have a green thumb, I can appreciate the beauty and stress releasing effects of a beautiful garden. 

In doing the six months of research for the Arthritis Walking Workout DVD, a doctor told me how stress release slows down aging. Looking at the thousands of spectacular flowers while you work is a definite stress releaser and can help you look younger!

 Whether you’ve been to the gardens or not, you'll love the results of the two walks.  Arthritis Walking Workout one makes you feel like you’re in the midst of the greatest rose garden ever developed. Arthritis Walking Workout two was filmed in the Sunken Garden, one of the most famous spots in Butchart Gardens. The moves of each walk are equivalent to a two mile walk and give you the option to use an exercise band which is included in your Arthritis Walking Workout DVD.

So what are you waiting for? Have a seat and let’s take a garden walk! 

Sale Price: $16.99!!! BUY NOW!

Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series. Feel free to send Suzanne a message here.

Three Life Lessons

by Suzanne Andrews

What You Must Know to Get Through the Tough Times

I wrote this when my youngest son was little. It stemmed from a patient responding to my coaxing her to exercise, "what would you know, you've probably never been sick a day in your life!"  (Nothing could be furthest from the truth). 

My son is in college now, but the message is timeless and it can help you get through tough times...

The teacher who influenced me the most didn't produce a scholarly curriculum or carry out formal daily lesson plans. Even though he often wishes to, he is unable to assist me with my day to day operations. Yet, he motivates me day after day to reach beyond what I thought I was capable of and surpass it. Every new day, he continues to teach, to inspire and to influence my life in a way I never thought was humanly possible. He weighs a mere 68 lbs and proudly stands 4 feet 3 inches tall. He is my son, the child that several doctors predicted I would not be able to conceive.

Lesson One: A Ray of Light From Darkness

At the age of 10, I was placed in the terminally ill section of the children's hospital.  At the age of 20, I again overcame odds and beat a severe infection in my right ovary that affected my reproductive system. At the age of 24, my left ovary was removed and for the third time, emergency surgery saved my life. However, there would be one more emergency surgery and this one would bring great joy. My son's triumphant arrival by C-section on a memorable day in spring taught me to believe in the unexpected and to never give up hope.

Lesson Two: Appreciate the Little Things

To this very day, I marvel at my son's accomplishments and realize how important it is to praise not only his efforts, but also other people who come across my path in life. My son has taught me that the simplest joys in life; laughing, listening and loving are the best gifts we can give and receive. As he continues to discover life's daily events with sheer fascination, I feel privileged to have the opportunity to reflect on his newly acquired knowledge and see the sparkle in his beautiful innocent eyes. Each fresh new moment I spend with him offers the most enriching learning experience I have ever had. He's taught me to believe that I can be a compassionate mother, a loving wife, an inquisitive student of life and a better person who has the ability to make wise choices.

Lesson Three: Choose Healthcare, Not Sick Care

One of those choices is keeping off those extra sixty pounds that once wore on me like a backpack full of rocks adding stress to every joint in my oversized body. Now I'm not talking about being a size 2, I'm talking about being a size healthy. My dear son made me realize that "love thyself' is not just a cliché. By getting in shape, you are essentially saying to all those that love you, "I love myself enough to take care of my health and I want to be around a long time to share my life with you." When we commit to love our body, we make wholesome choices and feel free to discover the restorative powers of good health. From the moment you realize you love yourself enough - a paradise lost is regained. Those seeds of wholeness - given to you at creation are within you. When you are discouraged, just look at your creation, your little miracle, and know the motivation to make healthcare a priority is within you!

Keep those letters coming as you motivate me!

Healthiest Blessings,

Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series. Feel free to send Suzanne a message here.

10 Ways to Look 10 Years Younger

by Suzanne Andrews

Here are Top 10 Exercise Moves to Make You 10 Years Younger

Prevention is always the best cure, and by adopting 10 simple anti-aging exercises into a functional fitness routine to increase your strength, flexibility and heart health, you can reverse your age by ten years. These exercises target areas of the body that frequently suffer painful and debilitating degeneration if not properly stimulated -- especially knees, hips and shoulders.

A recent study conducted at the Lausanne University in Switzerland entitled "The Exercise -- Anti-Aging Connection" firmly concludes that "Regular physical exercise is a cornerstone in the anti-aging game."  Other studies prove that your cells actually get younger with exercise and it's a lot less expensive than plastic surgery!

1. Toe Touches - Lift your arms above your head and slowly bring them down in a graceful arc until you touch your toes. Hold for 10 seconds. This helps you to increase and maintain your range of motion so you continue to bend down without pain. Repeat this exercise to increase the range of motion in your spine and legs.
2. Balance Exercises - Lift your arms above your head again, but this time rise up on your tip toes and stretch up as far as possible. Hold for 5 seconds. Gradually lower your arms to shoulder level while finding your center of balance. Then slowly lower your arms as you sink down on your heels. Repeat until you feel centered. This will help you maintain your inner balance and avoid accidental falls.
3. Shoulder Stretches - Stand up straight and extend your arms behind your back. Clasp your hands behind your back. By 'unlocking' the muscles in your shoulders, you have more flexibility to reach high shelves and remove objects without causing strain.
4. Hip Circumduction - Put your hands behind your back and stand on one foot while you raise the other a few inches and point it forward. Slowly rotate your foot in a circular motion. Stand on both feet again, then repeat the motion with the other foot. This strengthens the muscles that surround your hips to help protect against hip fractures.
5. Squats - With your hands extended straight out, do some simple squats to strengthen your torso muscles and improve your balance so you can easily get in and out of cars.
6. Resistance - Place your hands against a wall and lean your body at an angle while on your tip toes. Feel your calf muscles and your upper body strengthen. This resistance helps to strengthens bones against osteoporosis.
7. Shoulder Stretch - Rotate your shoulders in a circular motion to increase lubricant in your joints and decrease joint pain.
8. Tricep Extensions - Sit up straight in a chair, place your hands on the arm rests lift yourself up 15x to increase your upper body strength.
9. Plyometric exercises - Stand on one leg with arms slightly behind your body. Propel your body up as high as possible, reaching up your arms and springing from your legs. Perform 3 times in rapid succession, then lower your foot and repeat on the other side. This "Michael Jordan" move creates the kind of explosive energy boost that maintains the muscle power that we lose as we age and is good for carrying suitcases.
10. Core muscles - Now that all the outer muscles are warmed up and flexible, it is important to set the 'core muscles' that support your body's framework. Stand up very straight with your feel planted firmly on the ground. Contract your abdomen by imagining you are drawing your belly button down to the base of your spine. Once you have the bottom muscles set, imagine there is a cord coming from the center of your chest pulling your breastbone up. Naturally allow your shoulders to fall back as you look up. Breathe normally while you hold this position and tighten all of your outer muscles around your core muscles. Maintain full body tension as long as possible, then relax them all at once. Repeat numerous times, noticing how your body tightens a little more with each repetition.

Once you have completed your routine, rest for a moment and allow your heart rate to return to normal. Also drink a glass of water to help remove any toxins that your body naturally releases when exercising to further enhance the anti-aging effects of your functional fitness.

Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series. Feel free to send Suzanne a message here.

How to Stop Diabetes Now!

by Suzanne Andrews

Do you ever feel like you're the main character of a country and western song? Your rent is overdue, you hate your job, the truck broke down and now your doctor says you've got diabetes. Yee-Haw! No wonder we are stressed to the max.

Just to clarify- bear with me here - your body communicates with itself using chemical messengers called hormones. Several organs in the brain and body produce hormones that flow to other organs through the blood where these messages are received and the corresponding organ responds by producing another hormone that fixes a problem detected by sensors in your nervous system that alerted the brain in the first place.

Insulin is a hormone. It chemically dissolves sugar molecules in the blood so that they can be converted into the energy that powers the heart, organs and muscles.
Diabetes comes in two types. Type one is usually hereditary. The autoimmune system in your body goes haywire and attacks the cells in your pancreas that produce a hormone called insulin. Without the sugars being broken down you won't have much energy.

Type two diabetes is caused by the pancreas not producing enough insulin hormone even though the brain keeps signaling it to. If you have a faulty pancreas you are at a higher risk of type two diabetes and need to take steps now to not aggravate the situation. It is unfortunate to have either type one or type 2 diabetes, but if you have type 2, you are at an advantage because you can actually stop diabetes from attacking your body by implementing your own plan of attack. But first I'll explain why it is so vital that you pledge to take charge of your health from this day forward.  And because this is a serious disease that I treat in rehab therapy on a daily basis, I'm not going to beat around the bush because lives are at stake!  If I can help you know the facts, maybe I can help you.

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of blood vessel disease and heart disease giving you two to four times higher a chance of dying from heart disease. Another shocking fact is that people with diabetes have a sixty percent higher chance of having one or both limbs amputated!

Thirty minutes of exercise a day is vital for your health and survival. Exercising with diabetes literally gives your body physical medicine as working out with diabetes actually helps to stabilize your blood sugar. Your body also has receptors in them and if you are overweight, the receptors that help normalize your blood sugars don't work properly. So weight loss and increased activity is a must. 

Own Your Copy of Stop Diabetes Now!

Side effects include more energy, stable blood sugar, improved circulation, longer lifespan and you get to keep your legs. In the case of diabetes, it really is use it or lose it. As an occupational therapy practitioner, I often find the biggest challenge is motivating my patients with diabetes to exercise. Sadly some don't take the advice and eventually I am called upon to teach them how to use a sliding board transfer from their wheelchair to their bed because they no longer have legs. Use your arms, use your legs, and get your circulation going!  I know this may not sound pretty, but it is heart breaking to see people who could have saved their legs if only they used them while they still had them.

Diabetes is a silent killer and slowly attacks your body without you even realizing it. When diabetes advances even further, you can lose your eyesight. The choice is so simple. Eat right and exercise. Make sure to choose exercises that don't involve isometric movement - these are exercises where you tense up a muscle and don't move your joint. Whether you have diabetes or pre-diabetes, a fitness and nutrition plan is crucial.

If you have pre-diabetes you can make the right choice now to to not be one of the 800,000 new cases diagnosed in the US each year. That's 91 people every hour. The more you exercise with diabetes, the less dependent your muscles are on insulin, so even if your pancreas isn't producing much, that's OK, it doesn't need to. Working out when you have diabetes keeps your blood sugar and body in balance. Since exercise controls diabetes from attacking your body, exercise is a must when you have diabetes. I've never had a patient tell me they enjoy their blindness or amputation. But after you work out, you feel good!  And you deserve to feel good. Just make sure that your blood sugar isn't under 100 when you workout. 

So keep your mind on the bright side of things and don't become the subject of a sad country and western tune. You can live a full and active life after all. Yee haw! 

Healthiest blessings,   

Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series. Feel free to send Suzanne a message here.

Ease Arthritis Pain

by Suzanne Andrews

 5 Ways Water Aerobics Eases Arthritis Pain

Water aerobics are one of the best ways to ease arthritis pain with benefits lasting long after you’ve completed your water aerobics session. If exercising on land is difficult for you due to joint pain, water aerobics are the perfect way to gain muscle strength without having to worry about excess pressure on hurting joints. Listed below are five ways that water aerobics ease arthritis pain.

1. Water Provides a Cushion

   Simply being in water for Water Aerobics provides a cushion for fragile bones and joints affected by arthritis. Most water aerobics are done when you are immersed in water to your waist and at that level of water your body will be bearing only 50% of its weight. The buoyancy of water allows movement with less pain than traditional out-of-the-water exercise for joints and muscles stiffened from arthritis.

2. Water Decreases Swelling and Soothes Stiff Joints

   Nothing feels as good as something warm on stiff joints and water not only provides that soothing relief but it can also relax sore muscles, decrease joint swelling and provide comfort when exercising is difficult and painful. Pools heated from the summer sun are an enjoyable way to ease arthritis pain as you can experience immediate relief in the water. Performing water exercise in a pool that is between approximately 82 and 88 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal for pain relief. Heated pools can do for your whole body what other forms of heat can only do for specific areas to which it is applied. Warm water provides the ideal environment to do exercises that a person with arthritis might not normally do.

3. Water Is Less Stressful

   Water Aerobics provides an environment for exercise that decreases the stress on painful joints compromised by arthritis. Some people have referred to water aerobics as "floating traction" as it stretches, loosens and flexes joints in ways that would be impossible if they were not in water. During water aerobics, painful joints are relieved and their range of motion and flexibility are increased. All these difficulties make living with arthritis painful but with water aerobics they can be dealt with in an environment that accommodates each individual's fitness and health.

4. Water Builds Up

   Water Aerobic exercise works all the muscles at the same time and increases the cardiovascular endurance without the impact on your body of traditional aerobic exercises on land. Being immersed to your waist, upper torso or neck increases the return of blood flow to the heart from the extremities. Increased blood circulation to the joints and muscles facilitates recovery and strength-building, all of which can lead to a less painful life with arthritis.

5. Water Workouts Burns Calories

   Swimming, water aerobics, and water walking all contribute to weight loss. Losing weight can help reduce the impact of daily living on painful joints due to arthritis and lead to less pain. Water aerobics reduces swelling due to increased circulation from the low-impact movements that exercising in water allows, leaving the painful areas free of stiffness and swelling, which in turn relieves the friction that causes pain in joints.

If you have arthritis, what are you waiting for?  Make a dash to splash in a pool and start relieving your arthritis pain!

Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series. Feel free to send Suzanne a message here.