The Benefits of Water Aerobics: Not Just for the Elderly
Posted: June 28, 2012 at 3:22 pm
There is a misconception that water aerobics is only suitable for pregnant women and the elderly. But water aerobics is quite intense, providing significant cardiovascular and strength training benefits. This is a workout that is appropriate for all ages and fitness levels -- even for professional athletes who are cross-training. This summer, trade in your land-based aerobics class for one in the water for a cool, intense workout.
Before You Begin
Water aerobics is essentially performing aerobic exercises in chest-deep water. For those who want a more intense workout, they can opt for deep water aerobics. This workout is performed in water where the participant is unable to touch the bottom floor with his or her feet. In such a class, participants wear flotation devices and paddles; kickboards and buoys are used for added resistance.
When engaging in water aerobics, it is best to wear a comfortable and modest swimsuit to prevent unexpected wardrobe malfunctions and old sneakers or aqua shoes to prevent foot abrasions. Before engaging in any aerobic activity it is important to do basic stretches above water or in. Don't forget to hydrate. Just because you are in the water it doesn't mean that you aren't sweating as much.
Health Benefits
According to the American Council on Exercise, water buoyancy reduces the "weight" of a person to 90 percent. This reduces the burden on stress-bearing joints and muscles. For this reason, water aerobics will less likely cause injury and muscle soreness. If you are having difficulty performing certain body movements on land, you may find relief when performing them underwater. That is why water aerobics is excellent for those with arthritic joints or those recovering from painful injuries.
Your heart rate when exercising in water will be 17 beats per minute less than land-based workouts. Though your heart rate may indicate that your workout is too low, you will actually be working out quite intensely. Pay attention to your body and not your heart rate when engaging in water fitness.
Water aerobics also increases muscle strength. Instead of weights, the water provides a natural resistance to your movements. Being in the water also increases your lung capacity since your lungs are forced to work harder from the pressure of the water. Increase your long-term flexibility by performing difficult stretches. Being underwater will give you a wider-range of motion.
Balance Is Key
Despite the numerous benefits of water aerobics, it does not help in bone strengthening to combat osteoporosis. It is important to combine water aerobics with some land-based exercises weekly to achieve a complete workout.
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The Benefits of Water Aerobics: Not Just for the Elderly
My Fitness Pal,30 Day Shred, Losing weight without excercise – Video
Posted: at 3:21 pm
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Outdoor yoga class sees explosive growth
Posted: at 3:21 pm
Outdoor yoga class sees explosive growth
On Saturday mornings in Des Moines, people find themselves rolling out of bed to do more than just watch TV. They come to do yoga in the park.
"I love it. I think it is just so fun," said Lyn Marie Cunningham.
The Parks and Recreation Department was hoping to get 30 to 40 people when Yoga in The Park started. The event is at Grays Lake. But, with ever increasing attendance, it gets anywhere from 300 to 350 people every Saturday in the summer.
"People can come out if you've never tried yoga before. You can give it a chance without having any skin in the game, so to speak, just come up if you like it. You can just pick up and walk away. You don't have to worry about losing any investment," said Ben Page.
Yoga in the Park offers a different yoga experience each week because of the always-changing instructors. The 16 yoga teachers involved means it is like 16 different yoga studios.
"We went out, and we contacted all the yoga studios in the community, and we just got a tremendous response from them. And everyone wanted to be part of the program," Denny Kelly said.
"It's a nice way to start a Saturday, especially if you do a little yoga and go to the farmers market. It's a great Saturday," said Laura Jontz, who was there with John Hardy, who agreed.
Yoga at Gray's Lake started about four years ago. It is on the southeast part of the park. It starts the first Saturday in June and runs through the last Saturday in September.
Gray's Lake has its own Facebook page with nearly 10,000 likes.
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Outdoor yoga class sees explosive growth
Health and Fitness Truth – Video
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Health and Wellness calendar for the week beginning Thursday, June 28, 2012
Posted: at 5:27 am
Today
Be Well Chiropractic & Wellness Care Center open house, 4-7 p.m. 11260 Wilbur Ave., Porter Ranch. 818-400-9704; 818-217-7091. http://www.bewellchiro.com
Tai chi for cancer patients, survivors and their families: 10 a.m. Thursdays. Jennifer Diamond Cancer Foundation, 9410 Owensmouth Ave., Chatsworth. 818-700-6900.
Overeaters Anonymous: 6:30 p.m. Thursdays. Chevy Chase Baptist Church, 1209 E. Garfield Ave., Glendale. 626-568-7511. http://www.oafoothill.org
Meditation as Medicine - Yogic Meditation for Health and Healing: Weekly class, 7-8 p.m. Thursdays. Cost $17 per class; $150 series of 10. Reservations required. The Healing Compass Acupuncture Clinic and Qi Center, 22440 Clarendon St., No. 101, Woodland Hills. 818-591-8600.
Gentle yoga: 8:15-9:45 a.m.; and tai chi, 10-11:15 a.m. Thursdays. Free. OneGeneration Senior Center, 18255 Victory Blvd., Reseda. 818-702-8693.
Breast-feeding support group: 10-11:30 a.m. Thursdays. Reservations requested. Northridge Hospital Medical Center, 18300 Roscoe Blvd. 818-885-8500, Ext. 2289. http://www.NorthridgeHospital.org/BabiesFirst
Arthritis Foundation exercise program: For adults 50 and older, 10-11 a.m. Thursdays. Fee $10 per month. Agoura
Yoga With Wendy for cancer patients, survivors and their families: 11 a.m.-noon Thursdays. Reservations required. The Granada Pavilion, 11128 Balboa Blvd., Granada Hills. 818-407-1695. http://www.TwcVv.org
Gentle yoga for cancer patients, survivors and their families: 1-2 p.m. Thursdays and Tuesdays. Free but reservations required. Jennifer Diamond Cancer Foundation, 9410 Owensmouth Ave., Chatsworth. 818-700-6900. http://www.jenniferdiamond foundation.org
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Health and Wellness calendar for the week beginning Thursday, June 28, 2012
7 Equations for a Secure Retirement
Posted: at 5:27 am
By ROBERT POWELL
The Judeo-Christian world has its 10 commandments. Newton has his three laws of motion. And now retirement has its seven equations.
Actually, the world of retirement has had these equations for a while, in some cases for hundreds of years. But Moshe Milevsky, a York University professor, has put all these equations into one readable and, truth be told, highly accessible book, "The 7 Most Important Equations for Your Retirement."
In his book, Milevsky reveals not just the equations, but he also provides portraits of the people and ideas that are behind all our retirement planning. Here's a look at the equations that both students of retirement and would-be students need to know if they want to build a bulletproof retirement plan.
If you want to know how long your nest egg might last, consider equation No. 1, which was developed by Italian mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci some 800 years ago, back in the early part of the 13th century.
Fibonacci, who is best known for introducing and popularizing the Hindu-Arabic number system in the Western world (we dare you to use Roman numerals to perform long division) and a number sequence that bears his name, also gets credit for this one: the present value analysis.
That right, credit Fibonacci--who Milevsky calls the first financial engineer or quant--when you want the answer to this question: How long will your nest egg last in retirement if you were to stop contributing today and instead withdraw a fixed amount each year while earning a fixed interest rate each year for the rest of your life?
So, for instance, if you have $250,000 set aside for retirement earning 4% per year and you plan to withdraw $12,000 per year, your money would last 45 years. If, however, you decide to withdraw $24,000 per year, your money would last just 13 years.
Today, there are sophisticated ways of figuring out how long your nest egg will last, but this equation, wrote Milevsky, "provides a quick and sobering assessment of whether you can maintain your standard of living, or when the money will run out if you can't."
And oh by the way, Milevsky thinks Fibonacci likely retired wealthy and didn't outlive his assets. The city of Pisa gave Fibonacci an annual pension of 20 Pisan pounds for life for service to the city.
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7 Equations for a Secure Retirement
What Will The Maximum Retirement Age Be?
Posted: at 5:27 am
The recession in America has caused many people to asses retirement ages. Although the recession is technically over, that doesn't mean much for the job market. As the U.S. deals with ongoing financial instability, the impact on future retirees in the U.S. is becoming clear. People will have to work longer than they used to. It might not come as a shock to most Americans that this is the case, but for younger workers the question isn't if they'll have to work longer, it's how much longer will they have to work than their parents and grandparents did?
The Current Retirement Picture Currently, the early retirement age for Americans is 62; full retirement starts at 66. The government plans to raise the retirement age incrementally. By 2022 this age will reach 67, but some experts are expecting a much more dramatic increase in the retirement age than most have anticipated previously.
Robert Benmosche, Chairman of American International Group (AIG), recently said the retirement age will "have to move to 70, 80 years old," according to an article on Bloomberg. He was speaking generally about Western countries in light of the economic problems Greece and the rest of Europe are facing. Aside from economic problems in the world, retirement is an expensive endeavor. Fidelity Investments recently released a report that said a newly retired couple can expect to pay 4% more for medical bills over the course of retirement than a couple who retired last year. They went on to say that a couple who retires now will need about $240,000 for medical expenses over the course of retirement. Unfortunately, medical costs are going up, not down. Future retirees can expect even more costs in this area. Even if the Supreme Court upholds President Obama's health care law, the impact on retirees may not be enough to offset the growing costs of medical care.
SEE: 20 Ways to Save On Medical Bills
Where the Retirement Age Is Going According to Gallup, the actual average retirement age in 1991 was 57 and the current average has stayed around 60 since 2004. In a recent poll by Gallup, most people indicated that they expected to retire at 67. So, although people are expecting to retire later, the actual statistics show that the average age at which retirees actually retired is only three years higher now than it was over 20 years ago, from 57 in 1991 to 60 today. That may change soon. If the current downturn keeps people from entering retirement, and it looks like it will, then that average may go up quickly. Many people are choosing encore careers. Encore careers are jobs people move into after their previous jobs, and work at least part time to add more money to their nest eggs.
Aside from economic woes, America is facing an aging population that is expected to drain resources in Social Security and Medicare. According to a study completed by Medill Reports, the population of those older than 65 will go from 39 million today to 89 million by 2050. An increase in the retired population may overload America's health systems and cause the retirement age to be pushed even higher.
The Bottom Line It's impossible to calculate exactly how high the retirement age could be pushed to, but many experts expect an increase. According to a New York Times article, when Social Security was first introduced life expectancy was only 63 and there were 40 workers to support each retiree. We currently have about three workers per one retiree now.
SEE: Life Expectancy: It's More Than Just A Number Because everyone's financial situation is different, retirement ages will vary among the population. An increased retirement population, a down economy and problems with government programs may all contribute to future delayed retirement for Americans.
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Miss. 1 of 2 states where personal income shrinks
Posted: at 5:26 am
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) In another bad sign for Mississippi's economy, the state was one of only two where personal income shrank in the first three months of 2012.
Personal income fell 0.3 percent, the worst performance among the states, the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis said Wednesday. Kansas was the only other state where personal income shrank.
The announcement comes less than a month after the same agency concluded that Mississippi's overall economy dipped back into recession in 2011, shrinking more than all states but Wyoming.
Personal income is all of the income received by everyone from every source, including wages, business owner profits, interest, dividends, rent and government transfers. It's not the same as a measure of the size of the overall economy, but can be a rough proxy.
Shrinking personal income in the first quarter could mean that Mississippi remains in recession, a possibility reinforced by a stagnant job market.
Nationwide, personal income grew 0.8 percent in the quarter, outstripping estimated inflation of 0.6 percent during the period. North Dakota performed strongest, with personal income rising 2.3 percent.
The three major categories of personal income work-related earnings, investment income and government transfer payments all fell in the state.
Of the 0.3 percent decline, 0.1 percent was caused by falling work income and 0.2 percent was caused by falling transfer receipts.
Mississippi was one of only four states where work-related earnings fell, one of only three states where transfer receipts fell, and the only state that saw a drop in investment income.
Sectors that shrank in the state's work-related earnings included farming, real estate, forestry and fishing, utilities, federal civilian agencies and the military. Of those, farming was by far the biggest contributor to the decline.
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Miss. 1 of 2 states where personal income shrinks
Research and Markets: Personal Accident and Health Insurance in the UK, Trends and Opportunities to 2016 Features …
Posted: at 5:26 am
DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/5sn5ts/personal_accident) has announced the addition of the "Personal Accident and Health Insurance in the UK, Trends and Opportunities to 2016" report to their offering.
The UK personal accident and health insurance segment accounted for the lowest premiums share in the UK insurance industry in 2011. During the review period (2007-2011), the country's increasing overall healthcare expenditure and deficiencies related to the provision of care by the National Health Service (NHS) stimulated the growth of the health insurance category. Furthermore, due to initiatives enacted by the UK Competition Commission, private healthcare companies in the country are expected to be forced to provide comparable quality and cost information in order to ensure fair competition.
This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the personal accident and health insurance market in the UK:
- It provides historical values for the UK personal accident and health insurance market for the report's 2007-2011 review period and forecast figures for the 2012-2016 forecast period
- It analyses the various distribution channels for personal accident and health insurance products in the UK
- It provides a detailed analysis of the reinsurance market in the UK and its growth prospects
Key Highlights
- Due to the dramatic impact of the global financial crisis on the UK's overall economic performance, the UK's public healthcare system, the NHS, was forced to reduce its spending during the review period.
- The changing lifestyle patterns and improving health awareness of the UK population, coupled with the falling quality of care from the NHS, resulted in an increase in UK healthcare expenditure during the review period.
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Research and Markets: Personal Accident and Health Insurance in the UK, Trends and Opportunities to 2016 Features ...