Researchers have found that exercising seems to trigger this messenger, and they believe that this could have health benefits. Irisin is a protein that seems to “talk to” various tissues in the body. Irisin levels can rise through exercising, and when irisin levels rise, it seems to have a powerful effect on fat tissue deposits called adipose. These deposits have white fat, and white fat stores excess calories.

Increasing irisin levels seems to switch on a gene that converts white fat into brown fat. Brown fat is “good”; brown fat burns off more excess calories than exercise by itself. Adults don’t have too much brown fat, but the benefits from brown fat seem to be getting more apparent, so researchers are thinking about ways to increase brown fat in adults. Irisin seems to stimulate brown fat development, but it also improves glucose tolerance.

This doesn’t mean that you can go to the gym once a week and magically have brown fat deposits instead of white fat deposits. From the studies, they found that the increase in irisin levels actually is a result of doing repeated amounts of long exercise. The researchers found that doing short-term exercising does not seem to have the same effect on irisin levels.

The researchers are now doing tests to see if they can inject irisin into people and have its effects work without the exercise. They don’t expect to see that people will be able to start skipping the gym in order to get the same effect as they currently are getting from irisin, but they think that they might be on their way to a cure for many diseases.

For now, keep exercising and eating healthy. The goal is to get brown fat cells and not white!

The very young and the very old should stay away from strength training. Strength training is believed to be detrimental to children’s growth, while it is deemed too strenuous for senior citizens. Growing children actually benefit from strength training due to the strength their bones and muscles develop as a result. At the other end of the age spectrum, older athletes reap greater bone density and muscle strength from regular strength training sessions. This helps them stay mobile and flexible, and prevents frequent falls in old age.

A common misconception is that strength training will make you bigger, despite the true connotation of the term, i.e., to build strength and become stronger. The physical activity that makes a person bigger and bulkier is bodybuilding, which requires a different approach compared to mere strength training. Similarly, women have nothing to fear from strength training, as it would take a great deal of dedication and some external assistance to achieve the highly sculpted, somewhat masculine, and yes, rather bulky form of a female bodybuilder.

It is also believed that strength training will hamper a person’s efforts to lose weight due to the muscle that is built. While it’s true that strength training won’t help a person lose as much fat as aerobic/cardiovascular activity would, it will intensify the fat-burning process that aerobics initiates. It does so by increasing muscle strength, which in turn increases a person’s resting metabolic rate. This means that the person will “burn” more fat even while they are at rest.

Strength training is also considered exclusive because many people believe that specific (pricey) equipment is required to undergo strength training. In fact, you don’t need expensive equipment for strength training, or even any equipment at all sometimes. All that needs to be done is to provide some form of resistance to the body. Equipment-free examples are push-ups and leg raises. If you want to increase your workload, try free weights or barbells. Likewise, a resistance band can provide the necessary challenge for a strength training session.

One of the most enduring myths about strength training is that it must hurt in order effective. Build-up of lactic acid during training and muscle soreness after that is certainly normal, but soreness that lasts over 3 days after a strength training session indicates you should reduce the intensity or duration of the workout. Sharp pain during the activity is indicative of injury, meaning that the activity should be halted and remedial measures taken.

It’s kind of like riding a bicycle. Once you learned how to ride one, you will forever be a cyclist. You learned what pace, distance, endurance, and stride was, and fundamentally you were trained how to properly race on foot. How about that, pretty impressive for us runners with wrinkles, don’t you agree?

I played basketball in school, and we would run up and down the court during practice. I didn’t conventionally hit the pavement, I did, however, run in my first organized race this year at the age of 58, and now I’m recognized as a runner (well in my mind really a jogger, but that’s close enough). Any e-mail or publication that I receive that reads Dear Runner, designates me as bona fide ambler.

Even if you consider yourself too old (which you never are), and are still mobile in fairly decent shape, you can certainly run (be sure to ask your physician for his or her approval). There are no excuses for you not to, especially since you will be able to reap the rewards. Here is a list of benefits of running for active, over 50 adults:

1) Lowers blood pressure, as well as improve your cardiovascular system
2) Helps maximize your lungs potential
3) Burns calories (typically 100 calories for every mile you run)
4) Improves sleep, eating, and relaxation
5) Releases endorphins (runner’s high)
6) Helps eliminate stress
7) Strengthens bones

There are other pluses related to running which include a thumbs up to consume carbs (that’s a big plus in my book, love that pasta!), muscle development (sorry no six packs here, only great legs), and also an increased level of self-esteem. Don’t be fearful of damaging your knees. If your knees are going to fail, they would regardless of whether you run or not, according to studies from the Stanford University Medical Center. The studies also showed there were 50% less cases of fatal diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and stroke in those over 50 who were runners.

Just like riding a bicycle, we all know how to run; just put one foot in front of the other, and you’re off (perhaps to a new lifestyle). If it’s a youthful hobby you are thinking of, try running again. You may just become addicted to something healthy and enjoyable that will in all probability prolong your life!

While reading about weight gain and menopause, it appears the stage is set to undermine our “middle” before the process actually begins. During perimenopause, we tend to gain weight around the midsection because our metabolism is changing; it is harder to work off our caloric intake as we age. Throughout this phase, women should become proactive and start a routine to stave off their impending weight gain.

Unfortunately, sometimes our good intentions don’t always coincide with good timing. There are many factors that determine why our “middle” expands. Did our mother and grandmothers have large girths? Are we habitual couch potatoes, or are we consuming more processed and fast foods? You can stop the middle age spread quite easily by eating less and becoming more active. Easier said than done right?

Recent studies from the National Health Research Institutes in Taiwan show by merely being active with some form of exercise for 15 minutes daily or 90 minutes a week can prolong your life expectancy by three years. I also discovered by simply cutting 200 calories from our daily menu can mean the difference of a few extra pounds. Less fat, more fresh fruits and vegetables, and whole grains will be an excellent start to any healthy eating plan.

When I started my journey at the age of 56, I was on a destructive path towards heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, which was discovered from a routine blood test by my doctor. I decided to work out at home with Wii Fit, a walking video, and a weighted hula-hoop. These were my choices for living a non-sedentary life. I worked out every 12 hours, before and after work, for approximately 1-hour sessions each. I began my healthy eating choices by adding more fiber (vegetables and fruit), whole grains, lean protein, and reducing my sodium and fat intake.

I never even considered age or menopause as a deterrent. I was more focused on getting healthy and fit, and being older was never an obstacle for me. In my mind I was still that young schoolgirl who unfortunately was not going to enjoy her next school reunion if she didn’t take action to overcome her health issues. I worked slowly and steadily to win my race, and I gained so much more on my journey. Fortunately for me it was not the large waistline that I was doomed to inherit. Shouldn’t we be enjoying our old”er” age by acting and feeling younger? We should all live by a quote of Douglas MacArthur, “Age wrinkles the body, quitting wrinkles the soul”.

1. A bike is good for your heart. This form of exercise uses your largest muscle group, the legs, which naturally leads to a raised heart rate and a healthy heart. Studies have shown that those who ride bikes regularly improve their cardiovascular fitness by 3-7%. A British Medical Association study confirmed that riding a bike just 20 miles per week helps reduce coronary heart disease risk by a whopping 50%.

2. Biking burns calories without much effort. A leisurely ride at under ten miles per hour will burn 250-500 calories, depending on your weight. That’s comparable to low-impact aerobics, water aerobics, and weight-lifting. If you want to burn more calories, just step it up, riding faster and taking advantage of hills in your neighborhood.

3. Bicycling is a simple way to build stamina for exercise beginners and anyone who lacks motivation. If you are just using a treadmill at home or at the gym, you can easily quit anytime you begin to feel tired and your motivation wanes. With biking, things are different. If you’re biking across town and get worn out half way through your planned route, you’re still stuck riding back to your starting point, whether you like it or not. This might not be enjoyable, but it will guarantee that you get a full workout.

4. Cycling is gentle on the body. Biking regularly gradually builds the muscles of your legs without posing risks of strain or over-exercise. It’s also low-impact, so your joints are much less likely to be damaged than with other cardio workouts like running.

5. Riding a bike saves money. With gas prices continually on the rise, anything you can do to reduce your automobile usage is helpful. A bike can improve your health significantly while simultaneously getting you from point A to B without costing you a dime. There are no energy costs other than what you need to eat, nor do you need to buy expensive insurance or pay registration, taxes, or parking fees to use your bike as transportation. Even more, if you’re commuting in an area with heavy traffic, a bike may get you where you need to go faster than a car.

1. Skating – Moderate skating is a leisurely activity, and consequently it only burns about 230 calories per 45 minutes. On the other hand, if you find a rink where you can take skating to the next level, you maybe be able to burn upwards of 400 calories for that same amount of time.
2. Snowboarding and Skiing (moderate) – Moderate snowboarding or downhill skiing burns about 290 calories during an exercise period of 45 minutes. This is definitely on the low end for winter activities, but most of us typically ski for hours on end, and the used calories rack up quite quickly.
3. Snowshoeing – Snowshoeing burns about 340 calories for 45 minutes of the activity. This is about twice as much as standard walking at a brisk pace would burn.
4. Cross Country Skiing – At a slow pace cross country burns at the same rate as snowshoeing. However, at a moderate pace you can burn about 385 calories in 45 minutes, 435 during 45 minutes at a vigorous pace. Cross country skiing has the added bonus of being quite scenic.
5. Snowboarding and Skiing (vigorous) – If you are planning on racing down the mountain and hitting some moguls, you also can plan to expend more calories. Vigorous snowboarding or downhill skiing burns about 385 calories for 45 minutes of activities.

On a winter vacation it’s easy to spend hours involved in any of these activities. As always, it is important to stay hydrated. (Simply being surrounded by snow doesn’t do anything for you, though it might have that illusion!) Also, if you’re curious, shoveling fits in at number 2 (according to healthstatus.com) burning about 280 calories for 45 minutes. (I get the feeling it’s actually more than that based on how much it tires me.)

Calories obviously are needed to make our bodies function.  Every body type and person vary in the quantity of calories they need to consume daily.  Calorie consumption is imperative when attempting to maintain, gain or lose weight.  In fact, there is not a single one of you that does not fit one of those three categories.

The three ways we ingest calories are from protein, carbohydrates, and fats.  Proteins and carbohydrates each provide 4 calories per gram.  Fats more than double that with 9 calories per gram.  This is very important to know when planning your diet and while monitoring your calorie intake.

Now you need to discover how many calories that you need on a daily basis.  The national average for females is 2000 calories per day. However, each woman has a different need.  To get a more personalized count use the formulas below, but remember this is only a guide:

The first is to determine your Basal Metabolic Rate.  This formula tells you how many calories you need based on your height, weight and age.

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) – ( 4.7 x age in years )

Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) – ( 6.8 x age in year )

The next formula will help you take it a step further and give an even better estimate based on your activity level.  This requires the use of the Harris Benedict Equation.

Sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
Lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
Moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
Very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
Extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

Knowing what a calorie is and how many you need is only the beginning.  You now need to determine your goals of maintaining, gaining or losing weight.  Working your diet to meet your health and fitness goals will expedite your results.