Apparently, what’s most critical in evaluating whether you’re really fit or just acceptable is not your BMI score, the traditional measure for obesity,  but how much body fat you’re carrying around. If you don’t have access to a gym that has equipment for measuring your body composition, a simple way to estimate if you are really fit is to measure your waist or use a metric called the waist-to-hip ratio (are you an apple or pear?).  Many research studies have proven that fat stored around the middle (a particular problem for post-menopausal women) doubles the risk of death from stroke, cancer and cardiovascular disease. Why? Dr. Joann Manson, a Harvard endocrinologist explained in an NPR interview that “abdominal fat cells tend to be more active in producing hormones and chemical  messengers that cause inflammation throughout the body.”

So, if you’re on a weight loss diet, be sure to include exercise, particularly weight training, to ensure that you’re building lean muscle as you lose weight. And don’t think you’re sitting pretty just because you’ve reached your ideal weight. If your percentage of body fat is still high, you’re not fit, you’re just at a (barely) acceptable level.

For one thing, there’s so much available on the web to help us plan our workouts and monitor how we’re doing.  Here are just a few examples.

To begin with write down your goals. Becky Williamson, who calls herself “America’s #1 Fitness Coach for Boomer Women”, says this is your secret weapon for success.   You can download the goal sheet that she provides to her private clients and watch her video that explains how to create “smart, specific and time-based goals.:

Visit the website of the American Council on Exercise and click on “Get Fit” to view their exercise library and illustrated workouts.  You can indicate your target body part, experience level, equipment needed and workout type. This is the website for the organization that certifies fitness trainers, so you’ll find good instructions here.  While you there, try out their handy fitness tools and calculators for estimating percent body fat, daily caloric needs, heart rate zone and BMI (Body Mass Index).

If you’re into Pilates, download a free 15-minute Power Pilates Beginner Mat Class with Dana Eisenstein. If you find that you enjoy it and want to do more, you can purchase 30 -minute Pilates Mat Class videos (for beginners and advanced, in Spanish and English) for only $15.00.

If you enjoy working out with an exercise ball, you’ll find tips and workout ideas in a series of free videos on this website. For core exercises using the fitness ball, watch these slide show demonstrations produced by the Mayo Clinic.

You’ll also find dozens of free mini and full-length workout  videos that you can follow at Exercise TV. If Comcast or Time Warner is your cable service provider, you’ll be able to view many of these videos on the on-demand exercise channel.  (I bet you didn’t even know you had it!)

Finally, if you want to monitor your progress, check out the “trackers” at The Carrot. Their exercise database includes thousands of activities so you can see how many calories you’re burning. It’s free to register.

If you know of other no-cost or low-cost online resources for workout support, please let me (and other readers) know in the comment box below.

I often write about the findings of research studies of interest to women in mid-life. However, I’ve recently learned about an opportunity to actually participate in one and I’m passing this information to you so you can sign up too.

It’s an internet study that is being funded by the NIH to explore ethnic differences in midlife women’s attitudes towards physical activity.  The goal is to “reduce health disparities in physical activity programs that serve ethnic minority women through the internet.”

The researchers at the University of Texas at Austin are seeking a total of 500 participants, 125 for each ethnic category (White, Hispanic, Black, Asian). To participate, visit their website  to learn more and see if you qualify. If you are eligible, you’ll receive a gift certificate of $10 per internet survey and an additional gift certificate of $50 for participating in an online forum for six months.

“Regular activity can also help to relieve mild to moderate depression,” the site explains.  “During exercise, hormones flood your body, causing you to relax and the depression-fighting neurotransmitters in the brain surge.”

Read the entire article to learn how exercise can combat hot flashes, osteoporosis, and the vaginal and bladder problems that result from declining estrogen levels.

Medpedia describes the site as a “repository of up-to-date, unbiased, medical information contributed and maintained by health experts around the world and freely available to everyone.

Can diet and exercise really eliminate belly fat? Recent research has shown that eating fewer calories, no matter what program you sign up for, will contribute to weight loss and thus, a smaller paunch.  But what about exercise?  Will just burning calories help eliminate the “muffin top” that a lot of middle-aged women (and men!) carry around?  Or do we need to target ab muscles with 100 crunches every day to do the trick?

I asked fitness expert Joan Pagano, whose newest book, “15 Minute Abs Workout” has recently been published.  As in her earlier books, Strength Training for Women and 15 Minute Total Body Workout (+DVD), Joan lays out specific routines with excellent photos (and a CD-ROM) that show proper form and execution.  They’re well organized and very easy to follow.

Joan: You need to do strengthening exercises as well as cardio to get results.  Abs exercises flatten and tone the abdominal muscles underneath the belly, while cardio exercise reduces the size of fat cells in that area.  If your abs are toned, but you have a layer of fat over them, do at least 30 minutes of cardio most days of the week to burn calories and reduce fat.  If you do not have excess belly fat, but lack of muscle tone causes your belly to hang, concentrate on the abs routines to firm up.  If you are both lacking muscle tone and carry excess fat, step up both cardio and abs routines.

Wendy: You state in your book that the classic crunch is one of the most effect ab exercises.  Can you explain why? How many and how often do you recommend?

Joan: The crunch is a versatile exercise, suitable for beginners and adaptable to many advanced modifications.  It targets the rectus abdominis, best known as the coveted “six pack” muscle, which describes the sections that develop when this muscle is toned.  It is the most superficial abdominal muscle, running from the sternum to the pubic bone, and is easy to isolate with the crunch.   Quality is more important than quantity: do three sets of 20 crunches in perfect form every other day.

Wendy: Your book includes “core training.” Can you explain why this is so important and how it contributes to overall abdominal strength and toning?

Joan: Core training is an integrated approach to working the muscles in the anatomical center of the body – the core – and training them to function as a unit (as in a plank) instead of in isolation (as in the crunch).  The abdominals and spinal extensors are key players in core conditioning, working together as a team to provide support for the spine and maintain its proper alignment.  Core strength enhances the overall appearance of the torso, improves posture and provides a foundation for quality of movement in the whole body.

Question to readers….Are you seeing results from doing ab exercises?  What’s helped you?   Do tell!

Update 3/27/09-  If you’d like to read more about Joan’s book read “Fab abs in 15 Minutes” at the “She Knows”website.

Not only is it fun to find innovative ways to shake up your normal routine, but all the body’s systems need to be surprised with diverse patterns of stress in order to continue to improve.  When I’m out for a run, I automatically look for inclines to run up, stairs to hop down and places to throw in 20 jumping jacks.  One man out for his morning walk said to me in passing recently, “You look like a kid with nothing better to do.”  Little did he suspect I was working on building bone, tuning up my cardiovascular system and burning off extra calories. Be creative about fitting exercise into your day-to-day.  If life intervenes and you can’t do your normal weight training session, at least do some exercises using your body weight, like push ups, squats, crunches and planks.  I make it a habit to do two sets of push ups after my run, as well as a full-body stretch.  I do extra leg stretches at night while I’m brushing my teeth for two minutes.  At my desk, I sit on a stability ball to improve my posture and get a little core training as the muscles of the trunk work to keep me upright.

If your program is stale and needs rejuvenating, try something new.   Intervals of high intensity work can be adapted to resistance training as well as to cardio activity.  Try interspersing one minute of heart-pumping cardio into your strength training exercises.  You can use exercises like jumping rope, step-ups or running in place to keep your heart rate elevated.

The routines in my book, 15 Minute Total Body Workout (+DVD) follow a format of a 3-minute warm up, 10 minutes of standing, weight bearing work combining cardio and weights, and a 2 minute cool-down using full-body stretches similar to Yoga.  By using compound movements, combining upper and lower body, the exercises target 8-10 muscle groups for efficient toning and calorie expenditure.  I’ve been doing them myself, and last night when my husband gave me a hug, he said, “You’re redistributing” – music to any woman’s ears!

Note from Wendy:   Please click on this link to download a PDF of Joan’s five blog posts this week:  Joan Pagano on Menopause the Blog  Joan will respond to your questions or comments left below. Be sure to visit her website and check out her books too!

Copyright 2008 Joan Pagano. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Even though stretching is the third pillar of a well-rounded exercise program (along with cardio and strength training),  it is often the one we skip….until we become aware that we’re feeling a bit stiffer in the mornings, less agile as we go about our day, and not quite as straight in our posture as we thought we were.

A buoyant, youthful demeanor depends on our ability to stretch out the muscles and maintain range of motion in the joints.  Stretching can counteract the stressors of daily life, reduce pain and discharge tension from the muscles.  By correcting the tendency of certain muscles to shorten and tighten, it can improve posture.

Good posture is a state of muscular and skeletal balance where the segments of the body are stacked over the feet:  knees, hips, ribs, shoulders, head.  The natural curves of the spine counteract the constant force of gravity and produce an efficient balance of the body over its base of support.  These curves in the neck, mid-back and lower back region form an S-shape and act as shock absorbers; when they are out of alignment they can lead to joint pain and discomfort.

There is a natural tendency to muscular imbalance caused by ingrained habits.  For example, the muscles in front of the chest tend to tighten and pull the shoulders forward since we perform many of our daily activities to the front:  sitting at a desk or in a car, working at a computer, bending over a stroller or crib, doing housework.  Over time these muscles shorten and the opposing muscles of the neck and upper back weaken and lengthen.  A combination of stretching the tight muscles and strengthening the weak ones re-establishes proper alignment.

Follow these simple steps to improve your posture when standing or sitting:

• Draw your belly button in and up

• Lengthen through the spine, lifting the top of your head to the ceiling

• Lift the rib cage

• Activate the muscles between your shoulder blades, pulling them down and together.

• Keep your chin parallel to the floor, ears aligned over shoulders

Tomorrow, I’ll wrap it up with advice on how to “shake up” your normal routine and be creative about fitting exercise into your daily life, even if you only have 15 minutes to spare.

Above Image  From “Strength Training for Women” Copyright 2008 DK Publishing

Copyright 2008 Joan Pagano. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Note from Wendy – Because I receive so much feedback from women complaining about menopausal weight gain, I asked the “trainer of trainers,” Joan Pagano, to offer perspective and advice on keeping fit and healthy as we age.  This is her third of five blog posts this week.  Joan is the author of three books that I highly recommend: “Strength Training for Women,” “8 Weeks to a Younger Body,”  and “15 Minute Total Body Workout.” Her latest book and DVD, “15-Minute Abs,” will be in bookstores in early December. Visit her website to learn more about her and to preview her books.

Cardio exercise has been the focus of fitness programs for many years, and now strength training has emerged as an equally important component of a well rounded exercise regime.  Study after study reveals its beneficial effect on weight control, energy level, bone density, posture, balance and the ability to resist diseases like osteoporosis, hypertension and diabetes.

Strength training is the technique of applying resistance to the muscles and bones to stimulate growth.  It is also called resistance training or weight lifting.  There are many different types of resistance, all of which are effective, including using your own body weight:

• free weights or dumb bell
• machines
• stretch bands and tubes
• weighted balls and bars

Strength training keeps you lean by building muscle.  As early as age twenty-five, you may begin to lose muscle mass and strength without being aware of it.  Even if you maintain your weight perfectly, your lean body mass begins to decline and your body fat increases.  Strength training defends against this process by maintaining lean body mass and boosting your metabolism to burn more calories even at rest.

As muscles respond to resistance they become more defined or sculpted.    Core training, for example, strengthens the muscles of the trunk to firm your torso, flatten your belly and trim your waistline.  For best results, perform a variety of exercises that target your core from all angles. And, of course, do regular cardio exercise to reduce any overlying fat.

Without strength training, your body ages faster than necessary.  Aging causes a decrease in fast twitch muscle fibers, causing you to slow down.  Strength training restores these fibers, reviving your energy levels.  Strong people are more active and stable, less likely to suffer a fall.  As muscles develop, they provide more support for the skeleton, improving posture.

Strength training delivers a bonus for the bones!   As a muscle contracts against resistance, it pulls on the bone, causing bone deposition at the site of stress. Because it is site-specific, it is important to do strength training exercises for all major muscle groups to maintain bone density throughout the skeleton.

A full-body strength training program should include:

• 8-10 separate exercises that work the major muscle groups -  hips and thighs, back, chest, shoulders, arms and abdominals
• 8-12 repetitions (the number of times you lift and lower the weight) of each exercise in good form (the last few should be somewhat difficult)
• 1-3 sets of each exercise (one set is enough to see improvement in strength)
• A minimum of two full-body weight-training sessions per week on non-consecutive days.

My blog post tomorrow will focus on stretching, the third pillar of a well-rounded exercise program and a key factor in maintaining a youthful appearance and active lifestyle.

Copyright 2008 Joan Pagano. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Are you dedicated to your cardio routine….and not seeing results?  Stuck in a metabolic rut or on a weight plateau?  At any level of fitness, your body will eventually adapt to a consistent level of exercise and stop improving because it doesn’t have to.

Ramp up your program by varying the length, intensity and frequency of what you’re doing. No matter what your starting level, you can improve your results – lose weight, grow stronger, build heart health – by creating a mix of workouts.

The U.S. Surgeon General’s 30-minute recommendation of moderate cardiovascular activity most days of the week is the minimum to reduce an inactive person’s risk of heart disease, diabetes and other serious conditions.   If you are just beginning to get with the program, this is a good way to build a base.

To see improvement, vary your routine by creating a cycle of 3 workouts of different length and intensity.  Do each of the workouts twice a week using any cardio activity. Be sure to include at least 5 minutes easy pace for both the warm up and cool-down.   Use the “talk test” to gauge the intensity.  During the warm-up and cool-down, you should be able to converse comfortably.

• High Gear:  30 minutes total, sustaining the fastest pace you can for 20 minutes during which conversation requires quite a bit of effort.  Starting off too fast may leave you breathless, so find a pace that you can maintain.

• Intervals:  45 minutes total, alternating between high intensity and recovery periods. Allow 10 minutes for the warm up and 5 for the cool-down.  For thirty minutes, do 5 intervals of 2 minutes each at high intensity (conversation requires a lot of effort) alternating with 4 minutes of recovery (converse with little effort).

• Long, slow distance:  Sixty minutes total.  Use a steady moderate pace for the entire time, able to converse with some effort.  If you can’t do it all at once, break it up into ten or fifteen minute segments throughout the day – you’ll still get the same benefits.

Always remember to check with your doctor before becoming much more physically active.

Tomorrow, I’ll introduce strength training – the new star of anti-aging strategies- and explain how to structure a full-body routine.

Copyright 2008 Joan Pagano. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Note from Wendy – Because I receive so much feedback from women complaining about menopausal weight gain, I asked the “trainer of trainers,” Joan Pagano, to offer perspective and advice on keeping fit and healthy as we age.   Joan is the author of three books that I highly recommend: “Strength Training for Women,” “8 Weeks to a Younger Body,”  and “15 Minute Total Body Workout.” Her latest book and DVD, “15-Minute Abs,” will be in bookstores in early December. Visit her website to learn more about her and to preview her books.

Joan will be offering advice every day this week, so I hope you’ll check back daily.  She will gladly answer your questions posted in the comment section.

I call the decade of the 20’s “The Body Prime” when all physiological systems are peaking.  We can exert ourselves in a daily high-intensity workout or sport, feel great and have a trim body to show for it! 

The decade of the 30’s is when we need to “Keep our Edge!”  It’s when a very subtle decline beings to occur throughout the body, causing a decrease in bone mass/strength, muscle mass/strength and resting metabolic rate.  Usually these changes don’t fully manifest until later, but they are occurring with each year of aging and can be offset with appropriate exercise.

The 40’s serve as a “Wake up Call!” for many women who notice real changes in their bodies, hormonal changes for one, but also creeping weight gain, loss of flexibility and changes in posture.

The 50’s are “Years of Change” as more pronounced hormonal changes occur. Due to the loss of the protective effect of estrogen, women become more exposed to the risk of chronic diseases, like osteoporosis and heart disease.  As estrogen declines, the male hormone testosterone becomes more prominent, causing fat to migrate to the gut.  Yet another risk factor for heart disease, this “toxic fat” settles in the belly and may stubbornly resist efforts to reduce.

Once we’ve reached our 60’s we must “Stay Strong!” as the age-related loss of muscle mass and strength can cause a generalized slow-down.  The real issue here is how exercise can help maintain a young functional age and manage chronic diseases. This is a crucial stage of our well-being.  We begin to see the repercussions of ignoring exercise or not taking care of ourselves such as osteoporosis, loss of strength, joint pain, and flabbiness.

At every stage of the life span, a well-rounded fitness program can improve our quality of life.  We’re never too old to start exercising, and the earlier we start, the longer we benefit. There are three “pillars” of exercise:

• cardiovascular/ aerobic exercise such as running, brisk walking, dancing and swimming can improve body compositionand abdominal fat distribution. Weight loss from exercise is primarily fat loss. Cardio exercise reduces fat stores from the whole body and develops leaner, toned muscles instead.  Research shows that exercise reduces the size of fat cells in the belly more effectively than dieting alone.

• strength/resistance training  can help improve strength, stability, body composition and bone density.  Different types of resistance include using body weight, as in a push up or squat, and using external resistance such as free weights, machines and stretch bands or tubing.  As we build muscle mass, we create a “power hungry” body, revving up the metabolism to burn more calories even while at rest.
• stretching and joint mobility help to maintain flexibility, relieve muscle tension and improve posture.  Stretching prevents us from getting stiff, which is something we associate with old age, as it affects how we look, feel and move.  There are many ways to increase flexibility, including holding targeted stretch positions to lengthen the muscles and following dedicated programs of Yoga or Pilates.

In my blogpost tomorrow, I’ll talk more about cardiovascular exercise and offer tips for getting the most out of your workout.

Copyright 2008 Joan Pagano. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.