Real Age

Doctors say that we actually have two ages. Our calendar age, and our real age. Your real age takes into account your current health standings combined with your family history to form a better perspective of how old you really are. There are plenty of online questionnaires that can help you determine the age of your body. Of course seeing a doctor and getting the results from real testing would be most beneficial, if you're looking for a general idea of where you stand, taking time out for one of these is a good plan. Below are links to my two favorite real age tests.

Real Age is a website dedicated to the results of this test. Their daily health tips always come with a keynote of how many years each specific change in your lifestyle can take off your life. Their test has been featured on many prominent news programs and has been formulated with the help of doctors. It does take a bit of time to fill out, and has quite a few questions. If you have free time, I would suggest filing it out in spurts while completing another project. It also requires that you know about your family's medical history and your own medical history fairly in depth, although there are always options to skip questions if you are unsure.

Real Age Test Link

This next link is one for those who may not have as much time, or may not know their family history or their own medical history with detail. It allows you to move a dial on a scale to the general area you think you may stand for each question. It goes much faster than the other link, at about 34 questions in total. However, I could not find any research that linked this site to any doctor or personal with medical knowledge.

Life Expectancy Calculator

After taking both, I personally prefer the Real Age test. I think it's a bit more accurate and asks deeper questions. Even though I didn't know the answers to all of them, they were thought provoking and opened my eyes to what key issues effect health. Checking your real age is a good way to look at where you are with your health choices.

Workout playlists

No matter what your workout routine is like, having the perfect music to go along with it makes it all seem better. I found a cool link on one of my favorite sites that gives some great workout play list ideas. Better yet, if you don’t have the time to look at other’s suggestions, the Itunes link at the bottom allows you to create your own to share with others or to send to your Ipod.

Here’s my playlist, click the Itunes text at the bottom of it to make your own!

Top 10 tips from trainers

Attention Readers-
Please check yesterday's post, my message to readers!

I always enjoy finding articles about with insight from trainers. Usually I find that I prefer my workout routine to their suggestions, but sometimes I pick up some interesting tips. Also, it saves the money you might have otherwise wasted on hiring a trainer for a few hours.

So when Women’s Health Magazine came out with the top 10 tips from trainers, I couldn’t resist taking a look to see if any of them had come out with a breakthrough technique that beats the traditional exercises and healthy diet we all know and love. Here’s the best tips I found-

Increase flexibility-
One trainer boasts a resume of studying with several Pilates greats. She says that extended flexibility mimics motions you use in other activities, making those easier for you when you increase your range of motion.

Strengthen your core-
For anything and everything you have ever wondered about your core, check the last 3 posts. No wonder trainers are trying to get you to strengthen your mid section!

Connecting mind and body-
Focus on other areas of your life besides just your physical workout. If you’re stressed, tired or mentally not fit, you won’t be able to get the physique you’re after either.

Mix it up-
Try different classes, expand what you know. Including martial art moves, yoga, stretching, and other aspects into your workout helps keep you interested and increases what you’re able to do.

Work your total body-
You may not think you need to work on certain areas of your body, but you could spend considerably less time in the gym if you focused your exercises on targeting multiple muscle groups of your body at once. (Think about weights on an incline or the balance of a stability ball.)

Improve you agility-
Keep yourself moving with fun and exciting workouts. Things like jumping rope as fast as you can or completing tasks that challenge your endurance and agility are fun ways to compete with yourself day after day to see progress. Think about joining high energy classes, the atmosphere will keep you motivated.

Attention Readers-

I'm now entering about my third month with A Sizable Apple. So far I've really enjoyed reader feedback and finding new tips and tricks to help women of all lifestyles to live healthier lives. I'm always looking for new ideas and feedback. If you have any ideas, questions, or comments, please do not hesitate to email me or comment on posts. (Even if you comment on a past post, I will receive an email update to make sure no comments go unnoticed!)

I'm considering including random guest reviews to A Sizable Apple as well. If you are particularly fond of a nutritious recipe, a new workout tape, a favorite exercise, specific sports drink or energy bar, or have any helpful hints, please email me and upon review, I will post your tip for the readers of A Sizable Apple. (Feel free to submit questions to me and readers, as I will also consider posting those as well!)

For submitions, please email asizableapple@gmail.com!

Thanks for all your reading!

Core workouts- trying your stability ball

As promised, here are some good exercises to start with for core work and stability balls-

• Crunches- Moving off the ground and onto a ball supports your back a bit more, and gives you a better range of motion for your crunch. Experiment with moving the ball between your lower back to high back for different ranges of balance.
• Push ups- Again, experiment with having the ball only on your toes, at your knees, and at hips for a variety of balance.
• Free weights- You can lay with legs bent or sit on the ball and use free weights like a typical gym bench plus the core benefits.

For more ideas, here is a great site with several ways to use your ball, description and pictures on how to complete each exercise as well as a section describing which muscles groups are mostly used in each workout.

Stability Balls

Stability balls have been a hit since they rolled their way into the health scene a few years ago. The benefits for using the ball regularly are undeniable to your health. You can complete hundreds of different exercises with it; while it increases your core (flexibility, balance, and overall weight loss). Working with the ball makes every exercise full body related.

Working with a stability ball is a great way to double up on your core workout while completing other favorite workouts. Most of the exercises completed on the ball require some balance while combining other (mostly free weight) motion. This balance comes from your middle muscles (core) and by focusing on staying still on the ball your core muscles will benefit.

For those starting with a ball, the idea of balancing on a large ball with weights in both hands can be daunting. For beginners, start off with simple balancing exercises, laying on the ball and trying to lift your legs and arms off the ground while focusing on tightening your midsection on the ball.

Because of the stability and balance work, it's said that stability balls are more beneficial than mat work. And, they can be used in other aspects of your day after workout. Replace your desk chair at home or the office with a resistance ball and strengthen your core (and posture!) while completing other tasks. Watch TV on it, or use it to stretch by rolling your spine along it.

If you're looking at using or buying a ball, make sure you buy one for your correct size. Generally speaking you want to be able to sit on the ball and have your knees at a 90-degree angle. Check the size of your ball against your height as well, this will help choose a correct size-

Ball size/Height
- 45 cm diameter: Under 4'8''
- 55 cm diameter: 4'8'' to 5'4''
- 65 cm diameter: 5'4'' to 5'10''
- 75 cm diameter: 5'10'' to 6'4''

There are hundreds of articles, videos and exercises only dedicated to the stability ball. I'll look for some favorites and post them in an upcoming core/stability ball workout post in the next few days.

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