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In Exercise & Nutrition, Part I, I was remiss not to have mentioned the brain-related benefits of exercise. This affects everyone, but it’s more noticeable when you’re over forty. At least, I’ve noticed it much more since I passed forty.A recent study showed that with aging and/or impaired mental abilities (like Alzheimer’s Disease), new brain cells still develop, but they die almost instantly. However, the study also showed that with exercise pumping more oxygen and glucose into the brain, new brain cells thrive, new synapses are formed and memory & cognitive ability are as sharp as ever! Another study proved that even very mild exercise stimulates the internal organs as well as the brain through the nerves. Also, walking literally oxygenates your brain. Who knew that taking a walk to clear your head was really the best thing you could do? They also proved that running increases the number of brain cells as well as the quality of those cells and their functioning. The participants included “normal” - those that appear to be in the prime of life and fully functioning, senior citizens and people who are considered (genetically and by standard testing) to be ”slow learners.” Running significantly improved the number of brain cells and the functioning of the brain equally in all three groups.In another study, cognitive abilities were tested in four areas: executive functioning, memory, psychomotor speed and attention/concentration. All participants were senior citizens and retired. Compared to a medicated group, exercisers displayed remarkable improvements in higher mental processes of memory and in “executive functioning” involving organization, planning and jumping from one intellectual task to another and back again quickly.  What made the researchers sit up and take notice was that exercise had beneficial effects in specific areas of cognitive functioning … ones in the frontal & prefrontal parts of the brain. The study results imply that we might be able to offset mental decline (associated with old age) with exercise.The cognitive abilities of 6,000 women over 65 were compared and those who walked on a regular basis were much more likely not to experience memory loss or declines in mental functioning.

University of California researchers tested a group of women’s brain functions over an eight year period. Taken into account was each woman’s normal activity level, which included stair-climbing and their normal patterns of walking.

In the higher energy groups, there was much less cognitive decline. The women walking the most (17 miles/week) had much higher test scores and less decline in test scores (17%) compared with women who walked the least (one half-mile/week), who had 24% decline in test scores. But it was not all or nothing. For every extra mile walked/week, the testing showed a 13% less chance of decline in cognitive functions. Evidently, you don’t have to run marathons to see an improvement … in this case, more is better, but a little is still good.

All this, plus, as you may have noticed, exercise can do wonders for your emotions. Sometimes I work myself into a bad mood, cursing everything under the sun. But after 30 or 40 minutes of exercise, I’ve usually forgotten about it … or, at least, forgotten the bad mood.

Before we go any further, I have to get some basic information off my chest.

To look and feel good, you absolutely must have good posture. For better posture, while standing, align your ears over your shoulders, shoulders over hips, hips over knees, and knees over ankles. Keep the fronts of the shoulders open like a shirt on a hanger, instead of a shirt on a peg. Draw your navel to your spine (without stooping your shoulders) with your hips tucked under and keep your weight even on the balls and heels.

I won’t dwell on food. There are just a few basics that everyone should know.

1. Get enough quality protein in your daily diet - not only does it have a higher thermic effect than carbs and fat (so you burn more calories digesting it), but it also creates satiety so your hunger is satisfied longer. Plus it’s a building block for maintaining and building lean muscle… And remember that the amount of lean muscle you carry is one of the main factors for controlling your metabolism.

2. Think fiber while you shop! When it comes to carbs, make sure that almost all of your carbohydrate intake is from higher fiber sources like vegetables, fruits, and high fiber unrefined grains. As much as possible, avoid refined sugars and refined grains as that is one of the main reasons so many people struggle with body fat. I don’t eat many grains as I prefer to get most of my carbs from veggies and fruits, but I do use sprouted or whole grain breads as a treat with sugar free preserves and nut butter (made with just the nuts and possible a little added good oil). This can also be a great mid-afternoon snack.

3. I recommend looking for carbohydrate sources that have at least 2-3 grams of fiber per each 10 grams of total carbs. Remember that fiber helps fill you up and also slows down the glycemic response of the foods you eat (their “glycemic index”), all beneficial for getting lean. BTW, some “good” foods, like carrots and rice cakes, when eaten alone, can cause negative consequences. I used to eat each of those exclusively as snacks (during different periods) for days at a time and it made my blood sugar very erratic because they burn so fast, which means they have a high glycemic index.

4. Fat: Don’t be afraid to eat fat! Many people try to go way too low on their fat intake and this can negatively affect hormone levels in your body as well as causing more cravings. Try to eat enough healthy fats daily. And remember: Good fats, like everything else should be consumed in MODERATION.

Good sources are all nuts (especially almonds, the least allergenic of nuts) and seeds, nut butters, avocados, olive oil (a study published a few years ago said that the inhabitants of the island of Crete were the healthiest people in the world, proably because of their high intake of olive oil), organic meats and eggs, coconuts and virgin coconut oil. On that note, saturated fats from tropical oils are VERY misunderstood, even by many nutritionists and other health professionals. Yes they are composed highly of saturated fats, but are actually beneficial (but that’s way beyond the scope of this post). Since I have a reaction to vinegar, my favorite salad dressing is olive oil, Herby (a seasoning you can buy in health food stores) and avocado. Since avocado won’t keep, I mix it together on the salad. Yum!

Avoid the two worst things in our food supply at ALL COSTS:

• artificial trans fats from margarines, shortening, and hydrogenated oils that are in most processed foods and deep fried foods (I know they taste yummy, but once you learn what they do to your body, you can’t enjoy them)
• high fructose corn syrup, which is in almost all sweetened products on the market

OK, that’s your nutrition lesson. Now back to exercise!

I am often asked, “What’s the best way to start exercising,” or “How do I start an exercise regimen?” Unless the person is already in excellent shape, I answer, “Start with Calisthenics.”

Calisthenics refer to those exercises that are comprised of very easy and simple body movements, which are conducted with the view of increasing the strength, flexibility and resistance of the body. Calisthenics are conducted without any weights. The roots of Calisthenics are linked to gymnastics and are based mainly on that discipline. The most important advantage of Calisthenics is the vibrations and thermal difference that the exercise creates which causes loosening up of the constitutional encumbrances within the body. Calisthenics are divided into two main categories — namely, aerobic (literally, “with air”) and anaerobic exercises.

Some of the most popular forms of Calisthenics include sit-ups or crunches, push-ups and squats. These exercises are meant for giving a perfect work out to most of the body parts. Calisthenics are the best way to naturally strengthen the body and using them with stretching can help you develop flexibility.    

Calisthenics and Natural Health
Physical activity (and proper diet) throughout life is very important for achieving better cognitive ability. It is proven that physically active people are less likely to develop diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, and the heart diseases as well. There is also less chance of suffering from stroke that effects the blood flow to the brain and causing a type of dementia. Hence for an over all sense of well being, it is important to remain physically active.

Calisthenics can be the perfect way for the attainment of good health both physically and mentally. Since Calisthenics involves only the body for exercising, it is absolutely natural. Calisthenics is an effective means to increase the body’s resistance (to disease and everyone’s enemy, gravity) and flexibility. Exercising with weights can be a more effective method of increasing body strength (as long as you continue using the weights), but for most people, Calisthenics is more attainable and will serve them better over their lifetime.

Aerobic Calisthenics
The Aerobic Calisthenics refer to those exercises that are conducted with a constant supply of oxygen. This supply of oxygen ensures that the individual can carry out the exercises for a longer period of time. The main focus of the aerobic exercises is to increase the overall strength of the body, enhance its flexibility and develop a greater endurance power in the body. The aerobic Calisthenics also help greatly in toning the body and maintaining it in proper shape and figure. There are various aerobic Calisthenics, which are popularly conducted by people. The prominent aerobic Calisthenics include jogging, swimming, running, walking and even dancing. During these Calisthenics the individual can maintain a fixed heart rate while conducting the exercises.These are ideal cardiovascular exercises and are suitable for people of all ages. Hence, youngsters, middle-aged people as well as older individuals follow aerobic Calisthenics. This makes aerobic Calisthenics have a very large appeal and has the greatest following among all the exercises.

FYI, Calisthenics is linked to gymnastics.  The word Calisthenics is derived from the Greek word ““Kallos” meaning beauty and “Thenos” meaning weight.  The exercises are intense and physically demanding even at the core levels.

What is Aesthetics Calisthenics?

Aesthetics is a ballet-influenced discipline showing one’s ability to interpret the music in graceful movements and is performed by an individual or a team of 8-16 pupils. This is a graceful flowing performance to interpret music with feeling and softness, as reflected throughout a variety of facial and body expressions. Music chosen is often classical. You’ve probably seen Aesthetics Calisthenics during Gymnastics competitions.

Over the next few days, I’ll be adding instructions on developing your body (in general) and specific body parts naturally with Calisthenics. In the near future, I will also be covering psychological problems and ways that we often try to defeat ourselves and how to overcome them. In the meantime, here’s to your health!

I’m thrilled that you found this site! I’m here to supply what you need in the way of exercise instruction and/or nutritional information.

 Tell me what you want to know about and If I don’t have the answer, I have lots of friends who are experts and I can get the information.