A delicious appetizer with celery, curried cauliflower, carrots, sesamed seeds and more - Sternewirth Tavern - Hotel Emma - San Antonio.  Photo courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

There are so many benefits to a diet that is rich in vegetables.

It doesn’t matter if you are vegetarian, pescatarian, vegan, paleo, or a person who eats anything and everything - it is important for good health and vital for strong performance to eat a wide variety of vegetables every day.

If fat loss is your goal, bulking up your meals with low calorie, high volume veggies is a great way to stay full longer.

If hiding veggies in your kid’s food who simply refuses to eat them is your goal, sneaky veggies is the way to go.

Regardless of your current health and fitness goals or situation, learning more ways to incorporate different vegetables is beneficial for all.

How to sneak veggies into your meals:

Add them to your daily oats.

Adding either grated carrot or zucchini to your oats is a...

Enjoy a brisk, moderately paced walk, or run, in beautiful Lakes Park in Fort Myers, Florida.  Photo courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

The last 18 months have been very different for everyone, with so many struggles and upheaval.

I spoke with a client last week who was just now permitted to leave her home for exercising.

With lots of other things to focus on and the closure of gyms for months on end, fitness and training may not be at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

Now that things ‘seem to be’ slowly going back to normal, personal goals and fitness can start to become a focus again.

It’s important however not to go from 0-100. These 5 tips will help you get back to your best while ensuring that you don’t burn out.

Have a Structured Plan

Set your goals and make them realistic, keeping in mind that your body might have changed in the past months. It is always important to have a major goal that you are always focused on but you can also tick off...

Fresh off of a 5k run, enjoying nature at its finest in Lakes Park, Florida.  Photo courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

As life expectancies continue to rise, quality of life in our later years is becoming increasingly important. Therefore, keeping our minds as well as our bodies healthy is a priority.

Here are 3 strategies you can start today to keep your brain sharp:

1) Exercise your brain.

Like the body, the brain benefits from being used and challenged — from being ‘kept in shape’.

Challenging the brain with new activities can create new pathways within the brain that can act as alternate routes if some neurons (nerve cells) are damaged.

You could try:

• playing games that involve planning and memory such as chess and bridge,
• trying activities that test your vocabulary such as crosswords and Scrabble,
• learning a new skill — perhaps a language or a musical instrument, and
• doing sums in your head rather than automatically reaching for a calculator.

2) Keep...

Getting fit outside, more and more parks, and even hotels offer outside fitness (this photo taken at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida).  Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned veteran, there is nothing more satisfying than reaching your training goals.

However, to do this, you must be training efficiently.

If you’re part of the population who are working out non-stop yet seeing little results, this article is for you.

First, begin every training session or workout with mobility and activation drills.

Warm-ups are typically done haphazardly, if at all. 

More often, we see people wander into the gym, walk immediately up to a squat rack and start pumping out sets.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not only drastically increasing the risk of serious injury but are also not exercising to your fullest potential.

Conversely, those who do warm-up, may be doing some cardio and a few stretches, but current...

Aim for 10,000 steps a day, make it fun - like walking the beautiful beach in Naples, Florida at sunset! Photo courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

It’s easy to assume that all the changes happening in your body are due to aging.

But, some are not inevitable.

There are measures you can take to ensure you’re fit in your 50’s and well beyond.

First, build some muscle.

Loss of muscle mass starts around age 30 and by the time the average person reaches 70, they could have lost 25 per cent of their muscle mass.

Scientists know that not all loss of muscle mass as people age (known as sarcopenia) is due to aging, some is due to inactivity and disuse.

The good news is that older adults who strength train regularly can regain a substantial amount of this muscle loss, function and strength.

Strong muscles are not just beneficial for carrying groceries, they serve many other functions as well.

Lean muscle burn 10 times more calories than fat tissue, even when you’re at rest.

Enjoying a beautiful sunset in Lakes Park, Fort Myers, Florida, after a 2 mile run on a beautiful April Florida evening. Photo courtesy of Charly Caldwell II.

Undeniably, we have had to deal with a lot of changes over the last few year.

Looking forward, it is likely that these changes will resonate for weeks, months or even years, changing the way we operate.

Navigating the lifestyle changes can be difficult and disruptive and keeping up with good habits can fall to the wayside.

Many may even have given up on the idea of trying to exercise at home entirely due to lack of equipment, space, time or motivation.

Some experienced the “quarantine 15”.

Whatever your status, it is especially important during times like these to look after our health and well-being and to consider the role of physical activity in managing various health risks.

Exercise is a mainstay in preventative management of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity.

Physical activity is also essential for...

Take a walk in beautiful Lakes Park to reflect, connect to source, renew, rejuvenate and train your brain. Photo courtesy of Charly Caldwell II.

Some people think that a strong body is the biggest strongest asset we have.

I beg to differ.

You can have the strongest body, the healthiest heart or the biggest biceps BUT if you don’t have a strong mind, you will fall short every time.

If you want to make positive changes in your life, your fitness and/or take your training to the next level, you need to think about training your brain.

Training the brain does not involve any Jedi mind tricks. It does however require a desire to change, the right beliefs and a solid plan of action.

First, decide what’s holding you back?

Decide what needs to change.

• What about your subconscious is holding you back?
• The idea of success?
• Self-worth or a lack of belief that you deserve to be successful?
• Lack of skills?
• Do you need to learn a new skill to compete at a higher level?

Determine...

Take the extra time to reflect on what's real - do the research & learn.  Enjoy & reflect on this beautiful February sunset on Naples Beach.  Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

With so much information available on the Internet and social media, it can be hard to decipher what's real from what’s … not.

Qualified personal trainers hold professional degrees in fitness-related fields, including exercise science and kinesiology, plus years of experience training clients to reach their fitness goals.

When you’re seeking answers, seek out a professional. Don’t be fooled by misinformation.

Get quality information from a qualified professional so you may realize your goals.

MYTH #1: You need to be in the 'fat-burning zone' to burn fat.

You might have heard about the 'fat burning zone' and how you need to run for long durations in this zone to burn fat.

Though there is truth to this, the same desired outcome can be achieved through a...

Get out and walk, concentrate on your posture, and flow.  Take elongated steps, and breath!  A beautiful day for a walk in January, in Lakes Park, Fort Myers.  Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

Having adequate mobility and stability is essential for your health and function.

This is especially true when it comes to avoiding injury. When your joint mobility is restricted, your movement is impaired, meaning the risk of injury is increased.

Therefore, you need full mobility when strength training or performing any other form of exercise.

When we are born, we are generally graced with full mobility but as life progresses, our mobility slowly deteriorates due in part to injuries and our lifestyle choices.

A perfect example being sitting for long periods of time.

On the other hand, we are born with no stability. Stability is developed as me mature throughout our childhood and enhanced through exercise and lifestyle choices later in life.

Therefore, placing a large focus...

Enjoy the mesmerizing waves of Naples Beach (Southwest Florida) as a way to calm your mind, and prepare your body for sleep.  Video courtesy of Charly Caldwell II.

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 approximately 411 Billion dollars is lost productivity and 1.2 million work days annually.  

It is...