The Santa Maria Pony Club teens assisted Chris from Safety 1st Seminars in creating a Happy Holiday for the Residents at Ingleside Assisted Living in Atascadero.

A great Holiday experience was had by both the residents and the teens helping.

Making Holiday stockings for the Seniors

Chris enjoyed her time this afternoon.

Happy Holidays from Safety 1st at Ingleside Assisted Living

Click here for more info about Ingleside Assisted Living

Guidelines for healthy adults under age 65

Basic recommendations from ACSM and AHA:

Do moderately intense cardio 30 minutes a day, five days a week
Or
Do vigorously intense cardio 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week
And
Do eight to 10 strength-training exercises, eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise twice a week.

Moderate-intensity physical activity means working hard enough to raise your heart rate and break a sweat, yet still being able to carry on a conversation. It should be noted that to lose weight or maintain weight loss, 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity may be necessary. The 30-minute recommendation is for the average healthy adult to maintain health and reduce the risk for chronic disease.

Use the links below to learn more about the guidelines and to make physical activity a regular part of your life.

Tips for meeting the guidelines

Starting an exercise program

Improvements from the 1995 recommendation

Exercise is Medicine^TM

Frequently Asked Questions

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Tips for meeting the guidelines

With busy work schedules, family obligations, and packed weekends, it can often be difficult to get the recommended amount of physical activity. Try these tips for incorporating exercise into your life:

• Do it in short bouts. Research shows that moderate-intensity physical activity can be accumulated throughout the day in 10-minute bouts, which can be just as effective as exercising for 30 minutes straight. This can be useful when trying to fit physical activity into a busy schedule.
• Mix it up. Combinations of moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity can be used to meet the guidelines. For example, you can walk briskly for 30 minutes twice per week and jog at a higher intensity on two other days.
• Set your schedule. Maybe it’s easier for you to walk during your lunch hour, or perhaps hitting the pavement right after dinner is best for you. The key is to set aside specific days and times for exercise, making it just as much a regular part of your schedule as everything else.
• The gym isn’t a necessity. It doesn’t take an expensive gym membership to get the daily recommended amount of physical activity. A pair of athletic shoes and a little motivation are all you need to live a more active, healthier life.

• Make it a family affair. Take your spouse, your children, or a friend with you during exercise to add some fun to your routine. This is also a good way to encourage your kids to be physically active and get them committed early to a lifetime of health.

Physical activity can be accumulated through a variety of activities, not just running. Walking is a great way to do moderate-intensity physical activity. This issue of ACSM’s Fit Society Page® Newsletter contains an article on walking for health, as well as other features on getting active.

Watch these videos, courtesy of ACSM’s Exercise is Medicine^TM program, to learn about types of exercise, strength training, flexibility and more.

Exercise While Traveling
Women’s Heart Health and a Physically Active Lifestyle
Energy Expenditure in Different Modes of Exercise
Exercise and Age-Related Weight Gain

From the “Selecting and Effectively Using” brochure series:
Heart Rate Monitors
Pedometers
Rubber Band Resistance Exercise
Health/Fitness Facilities
Home Treadmills
Stability Balls
Free Weights
Home Weights
Elliptical Trainers
Personal Trainers
Stair Steppers/Climbers
Stationary Bicycles

ACSM produces the Fit Society Page® Newsletter for the public on a quarterly basis. Each issue contains helpful articles on health and fitness. To view the latest issues, click here.

Guidelines for adults over age 65
(or adults 50-64 with chronic conditions, such as arthritis)

Basic recommendations from ACSM and AHA:

Do moderately intense aerobic exercise 30 minutes a day, five days a week
Or
Do vigorously intense aerobic exercise 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week
And
Do eight to 10 strength-training exercises, 10-15 repetitions of each exercise twice to three times per week
And
If you are at risk of falling, perform balance exercises
And
Have a physical activity plan.

Both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity is critical for healthy aging. Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise means working hard at about a level-six intensity on a scale of 10. You should still be able to carry on a conversation during exercise.

Older adults or adults with chronic conditions should develop an activity plan with a health professional to manage risks and take therapeutic needs into account. This will maximize the benefits of physical activity and ensure your safety. ACSM’s Exercise is Medicine^TM program focuses on working with your physician or health care professional to develop a successful activity plan.

Use the links below to learn more about the guidelines and to make physical activity a regular part of your life.

Key points to the guidelines for older adults

Starting an exercise program

Key points to the guidelines for older adults

Although the guidelines for older adults and adults with chronic conditions are similar to those for younger adults, there are a few key differences and points to consider.

• Start, and get help if you need it. The general recommendation is that older adults should meet or exceed 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most days of the week; however, it is also recognized that goals below this threshold may be necessary for older adults who have physical impairments or functional limitations.

• Functional health is an important benefit of physical activity for older adults. Physical activity contributes to the ease of doing everyday activities, such as gardening, walking or cleaning the house.
• Strength training is extremely important. Strength training is important for all adults, but especially so for older adults, as it prevents loss of muscle mass and bone, and is beneficial for functional health.
• If you can exceed the minimum recommendations, do it! The minimum recommendations are just that: the minimum needed to maintain health and see fitness benefits. If you can exceed the minimum, you can improve your personal fitness, improve management of an existing disease or condition, and reduce your risk for health conditions and mortality.
• Flexibility is also important. Each day you perform aerobic or strength-training activities, take an extra 10 minutes to stretch the major muscle and tendon groups, with 10-30 seconds for each stretch. Repeat each stretch three to four times. Flexibility training will promote the ease of performing everyday activities.

Starting an exercise program

Starting an exercise program can sound like a daunting task, but just remember that your main goal is to meet the basic physical activity recommendations: 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity at least five days per week, or vigorous-intensity activity at least three days per week, and strength training two to three times per week.

Choose activities that appeal to you and will make exercise fun. Walking is a great, easy way to do moderate-intensity physical activity. This issue of ACSM’s Fit Society Page® Newsletter contains an article on walking for health, as well as other features on getting active.

Here are Current Comments and brochures from the American College of Sports Medicine to help you get started, gather ideas for your exercise program, and inform you:

Exercise and the Older Adult
Strength, Power, and the Baby Boomer
Resistance Training and the Older Adult
Exercise Your Way to Lower Blood Pressure
Exercise for Persons with Cardiovascular Disease

From the “Selecting and Effectively Using” brochure series:
Heart Rate Monitors
Pedometers
Rubber Band Resistance Exercise
Health/Fitness Facilities
Home Treadmills
Stability Balls
Free Weights
Home Weights
Elliptical Trainers
Personal Trainers
Stair Steppers/Climbers
Stationary Bicycles

ACSM produces the Fit Society Page® Newsletter for the public on a quarterly basis. Two issues of the newsletter specifically relate to older adults:
Nutrition and Fitness for the Older Adult
Exercise and the Older Adult

SOURCE: exercise.about.com

Click here to read the article

Why Watching TV Sports Increases Heart Attacks

Nov. 16 (HealthDay News) — Reduced blood flow to the heart may help explain why men who’ve had a heart attack are at increased risk for another while watching exciting sporting events, Chinese researchers report.

The study included 38 male heart attack survivors who watched live broadcasts of Olympic Games competitions or entertainment television programs. While the men watched the shows, their coronary artery blood flow to the heart was assessed by ST-segment analysis using continuous 12-lead electrocardiography, blood pressure monitoring and heart rate measurement.

Overall, blood flow to the heart was generally stable. But when the men watched an exciting sporting event, blood pressure increased, heart rate variability decreased, and platelet aggregation (the building blocks of blood clots) increased. All these factors increase the risk of heart attack, the study authors noted.

The study was to be presented Monday at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting in Orlando, FL
SORUCE: yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com -American Heart Association, news release, Nov. 16, 2009

Click here to read the article

Five of the top myths regarding women and heart disease are as follows:
Myth No. 1: Risk factors for heart disease are the same, regardless of gender. Studies show that certain illnesses and conditions are more likely to cause heart disease in women than in men. For example, metabolic syndrome is more likely to trigger heart disease in women. This condition is marked by obesity around the abdomen, high blood pressure, and high levels of blood glucose and triglycerides.

As a woman’s level of estrogen drops before and during menopause, her risk of damage to smaller blood vessels in the heart increases. Stress and depression are also more likely to damage the hearts of women than men.
Myth No. 2: Heart disease is likely to be milder in women. Damage to the heart is a serious health threat whether you are a woman or a man. In some ways, women are at greater risk of serious injury from heart problems than men. For example, statistics show that women are less likely to survive a heart attack than men. The reason for this is unknown, although some experts theorize that women do not seek out treatment early enough or that women’s smaller hearts and blood vessels may be more susceptible to damage.

Women also are more likely to experience different types of symptoms associated with their heart problems then men. For example, women are more likely to feel unusual fatigue, abdominal, neck, shoulder or upper back pain, nausea, vomiting and shortness of breath than men during a heart attack. In some cases, women initially ignore these symptoms, especially if they are not accompanied by severe chest pain. By the time they finally realize something is seriously wrong, significant heart damage may have occurred.

In addition, a standard diagnostic test for coronary artery disease, the coronary angiogram, may not display the different pattern of disease development that occurs in women. Men tend to have large, uneven plaques on the arteries, while women tend to have smaller and evenly spread plaques that can be more difficult to spot. These differences may also change the type of treatment that is preferred for women, such as medication type.

Myth No. 3: Younger women should not worry about heart disease. While heart disease is the chief killer of women over the age of 65, it is also the second-leading cause of death in women ages 45 to 64 and the third-leading cause of death in women 25 to 44.

Young women also should be aware that the choices they make now will have a big impact on their risk for heart disease later. Eating a well-balanced diet, exercising regularly and avoiding smoking throughout your life can significantly lower your risk of developing heart disease during the golden years.

Myth No. 4: Smoking is a greater heart-disease risk factor for men than for women. Technically, this is true – but probably not for long. Traditionally, men have been more likely to smoke than women. However, in recent years, there has been an alarming upward spike in the smoking rates of young women.

Only about 8 percent of women over the age of 65 smoke, according to the American Cancer Society. However, 22 percent of women ages 18 to 44 smoke. In fact, teenage girls are now as likely to smoke as teenage boys.

The risk of heart disease rises with both the number of cigarettes you smoke and the length of time elapsed since you first lit up. Research also suggests that smoking while using birth-control pills significantly escalates the risk of heart disease. Many of these risk factors can be reversed within 10 to 15 years of quitting. But as any smoker knows, that’s often easier said than done.

Myth No. 5: Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can lower heart-disease risk. In fact, menopausal women who participate in estrogen replacement therapy actually may be at increased risk for heart disease.

Women who are undergoing HRT therapy are urged not quit taking their medicine without first discussing their concerns with a physician. Although HRT may increase heart-disease risk, it also reduces symptoms associated with menopause (such as hot flashes) and can lower a woman’s risk of developing brittle bones that break easily, also known as osteoporosis.

It is important to weigh the benefits and risks of HRT therapy with your physician before making any final decisions.

SOURCE: yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com

Click here to read the article on 5 Myths for Women and Heart Disease

handrails on both sides of stairs

Falls Prevention
From the homesafetycouncil.org

According to The State of Home Safety in America™ (2004) conducted by the Home Safety Council, falls are by far the leading cause of unintentional home injury death. Falls account for an average of 5.1 million injuries and nearly 6,000 deaths each year. Walk through your home to identify and remedy potential fall hazards. What to look for:

Home Safety Prevent Falls
HANDRAILS

Have handrails on both sides of stairs and steps. Make sure handrails go from the top to the bottom of stairs.

Safely Light Stairs

STAIRS
Have lots of lights at the top and bottom of the stairs.

Keep the stairs clear of all trip hazards.

Keep stairs safe and clear

Photos Courtesy of Jake Pauls

Click here for More info from the Home Safety Council