Hydrotherapy is one of the most effective and therapeutic ways to exercise and rehabilitate from an injury in a cool and relaxing atmosphere.

The water’s buoyancy decreases the load which passes through weight-bearing joints by up to 90%, allowing for more activities and movement with less stress and bearing on the joints.

Exercising in water can be just as intense as an on-land workout, without the physical impact on our bodies.

Bringing your workout or rehab session into the pool has an array of health and therapeutic benefits. These include:

Improving muscular strength, stability and balance. 

The resistance of the water challenges your body’s strength and stability through a natural, constant resistance. Studies have shown significant gains in strength, flexibly and agility after 12 weeks of regular aquatic exercises. 

Relief from pain, swelling and muscle tension.

The warmth and support of the water helps to stimulate blood circulation, reduce muscle...

Summer 2023 is coming up fast - Lakes Park, Fort Myers, Florida. Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II.

With schools letting out in a few weeks and the official start to summer not too far away, summer vacation trips are in full planning mode!

However, remember while you are planning, that we are creatures of habit and as such we rely on the force of habit to support our healthful lifestyles.

Our routines get us to the gym each morning, help us choose low-fat nutritious meals and enable us to effectively cope with stress. Anything that disrupts our routines, such as:

• travel,
• vacations and
• holidays

can send our habits into a tailspin.

Instead of abandoning your hard-earned fitness gains, why not plan to take advantage of the change in routine to reaffirm your commitment to yourself and a healthy lifestyle?

PLAN AHEAD — 

It’s not enough to say “I’ll try to exercise” or I’ll try to health healthfully”.

Everyone KNOWS what they should do,...

Create time to walk, hike, run or bike, each day, outside.  Here's Friday, April 14's trail in Lakes Park, Fort Myers, Florida.  Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II.

Is there ever enough time in a single day?

Like the U2 song from 1987, “ Race Against Time,” each day is a constant effort to get as much done in 24 hours and still find time for sleep.

When we become overburdened, our health and well-being get pushed to the back burner.

The trick isn’t needing more time, but rather being able to get the most out of time you do have without burning yourself out so you can maintain your health and well-being.

First, create a to-do list.

If something needs to get done, write it down.

The stress of carrying chores around in your head will only keep you awake at night and there is a good probability that you will forget them while focusing on other tasks.

Keeping a notebook handy is a great way to track and prioritize tasks so they get done, leaving more time...

An incredible walk on beautiful Naples Beach - November 2022. Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II.

If you haven’t exercised in a while, or are looking for something easy you can do every single day, give walking a try.

It’s easy to do, there is no equipment required and anyone can start regardless of their fitness level.

If it’s been a while since you exercised, start by going for a 10-minute walk around the neighborhood and gradually build from there.

Maybe your doctor suggested that you move more, or maybe you just want to be proactive about your health and well-being. In either case, walking is the perfect way to start.

Begin by finding a pair of comfortable shoes, put them on and go for a stroll through your neighborhood.

You could also find a local park with a nice path or head to the beach. If the weather doesn’t permit walking outside, head to the mall to walk or hop on a treadmill.

No treadmill? No problem.

You can even walk in place at home in front...

Plumeria (above) and Gardenia's are in bloom in Lakes Park (Fort Myers), right now, for you to enjoy! They're smelling SOOO good!  Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II.

Most people have suffered the excruciatingly painful experience of a leg cramp at least once in their life, often in bed at night.

A cramp is a painful spasm or contraction (shortening) of the muscle, usually in the calf, but sometimes in the foot or thigh muscles.

Cramps are involuntary – you have no control over the muscle spasm.

Fortunately, cramps usually only last a few seconds or minutes and usually get better when you stretch the affected muscles.

Walking around often helps relieve foot cramps.

After a cramp, the affected muscles may be sore and tender for a few hours.

Sometimes there is even mild swelling afterwards. Although they are extremely painful, ordinary leg cramps are more of a nuisance than anything else and are not usually a sign of anything seriously wrong.

Leg cramps (especially night...

Guitar strapped to his back, enjoying a nice December evening in beautiful Lakes Park (Fort Myers, Florida). Walk every day for 30 minutes to increase the quality of your sleep. Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

Ring in the New Year with Better Sleep — well, here’s an oxymoron:

An article about sleeping on New Year’s Eve.

While it may see counterintuitive to talk about sleeping on the one night most of the world doesn’t sleep enough, it’s worth a conversation.

The health costs that arise from sleep deprivation include over $2+ billion spent treating conditions associated with sleep deprivation including:

• sleep apnea,
• narcolepsy,
• restless leg syndrome and
• seizures.

Accidents result in the loss of a further $3.5 billion, and economic inefficiency costs more than $400 billion.

The study titled ‘Why sleep matters..’ as reported in Fortune magazine determined that lack of sleep or poor sleep habits is costing the US workforce...

A brisk walk in the park on a beautiful Florida fall day is an awesome aerobic exercise! Photo courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

‘Aerobic’ exercise refers to exercise that requires an uptake and consumption of substantially more oxygen than at rest.

It involves repeated movements of the large muscles of your body for a minimum of 20 minutes.

Examples of aerobic exercise include:

• Brisk walking,
• Jogging,
• Swimming
• Cycling
• Dancing
• Ice Skating
• Kayaking
• Roller-blading

Because you need more oxygen to do aerobic exercise, you breathe more rapidly and more deeply to get extra oxygen into your lungs.

Your heart also beats faster to deliver more oxygen-carrying blood from your lungs to your muscles.

How fast your heart beats and how rapidly you breathe will depend on how intense the exercise is.

For general health and fitness benefits, such as reducing your risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancers and improving your stamina, it is recommended that you do some form of moderate...

What would your self talk look like as you walked or ran on this beautiful path in Lakes Park?  Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

It’s been said that life begins at the end of your comfort zone and that certainly resonates in athletic and fitness pursuits.

Have you ever purposefully listened and been mindful of the messages you send yourself during a training session?  

Our brains are more powerful than any muscle in our body and our thoughts can impact the effectiveness and enjoyment of our workouts.

To get the most out of each training session, negate any negative thoughts and put yourself in the optimal mindset for performance.

“I can’t do it!”

It is natural for our mind to tell us to back off when we are experiencing discomfort, fatigue or pain. It’s a survival mechanism the body uses to protect itself.

The challenge becomes recognizing which thoughts come from credible physical threats and which thoughts are simply there as we are...

Lakes Park, Fort Myers, Florida - Tues, Sept 28, 2021.  Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

I’m sure you’ve heard the adage:

“life is a journey, not a destination”.

The same is true for fitness as well.

Often we see enthusiasts work towards a fitness or health goal, achieve it and then slowly slide back to where they started. Sound familiar?

This cycle is easy to break If you shift your thinking and training to cultivate long-term habits, rather than just ‘short-term fix goals’.  

First, understand there are several reasons why maintaining a change in behavior is often more difficult than making the initial change itself.

These include:

• Starting with a ‘race to the finish’ mentality (common in fitness challenges), where there is a ‘start’ and ‘end’. This approach doesn’t work long-term because you fail to enjoy the journey and get burnt out.
• Failing to plan to maintain your goals once you've...

Enjoy the cool water of a pool, while you exercise, even on the hottest of Florida summer days...   Photo courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

I recently found myself in a conversation with someone who believed his wife’s hydrotherapy was the equivalent of a water aerobics class.

I quickly set him straight by pointing out:

• hydrotherapy offers so many benefits to both seasoned athletes and recreational warriors,
• water aerobics or water exercise classes are an excellent form of exercise for both men and women of all ages ...

and he should give it a try.

Hydrotherapy is one of the most effective and therapeutic ways to exercise (and rehabilitate) in a calm and relaxing environment.

The water’s buoyancy decreases the load or impact which passes through weight-bearing joints by up to 90% allowing for more activities and movement with less stress and load on the joints.

Exercising in water can be just as intense as exercising on land but without the physical impact on your...