Sunset at the Edison Bridge - Fort Myers, Florida - Aug 14, 2024. Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II.

(The Edison Bridge is open again, now with an eight-foot sidewalk on the west side of the southbound bridge to enhance pedestrian safety & allow us to walk, run & bike safely on the bridge!)

Over the years, society has increasingly understood the importance of maintaining physical well-being throughout life, and the fitness industry has responded with tailored programs to meet the unique needs of older adults.

In the mid-20th century, the perception of aging began to shift.

Previously, older age was often associated with frailty and inactivity, but this perspective started to change.

Thanks to pioneers like Jack LaLanne, older adults began to understand they could remain physically active and vibrant well into their senior years.

The 1990s witnessed a boom in fitness programs designed for older adults.

Gyms and community centers started offering specialized classes, such...

A Beautiful Run in Lakes Park - July 2024!  Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II.

When life gets busy, it can be easy forget to take care of yourself.

This is especially true during the holidays. End of year deadlines can make work stressful, plus there are more family commitments and personal goals you are working to achieve.

You can be so focused on the end result that you don’t notice you’re burning your candle at both ends until the wick runs out.

Self-care refers to supporting your physical, mental, and emotional health through activities and practices.

These activities don’t have to be over-the-top or costly.

Some are simply nothing more than a few moments of your time.

However, these simple practices can help to keep you happy and healthy, through the holidays and beyond.

1. Take a moment to stop and reset.

The first step toward prioritizing self-care can be as easy as taking a few moments each day to pause. Take a few slow, deep breaths – being...

Beautiful Plumeria on the Naples Botanical Garden Walking Trail - April 2024.
Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

Is it fair to say that when you feel better, you perform better?

And is it also fair to say that when you feel better, you treat other people better?

If you agree, it should come as no surprise that our physical health and performance are directly related to our mental well-being.

This means keeping your focus in the right direction and being mentally aware of sabotaging behaviors that can negatively affect your body. If your head isn’t in the right place, your body certainly won’t be either.

After all, as Tony Robbins says -> “Where focus goes, energy flows.”

1. Spreading gossip is one of the top poor behaviors that can sabotage your fitness.
   We’ve all been there – dealing with rude customers or irritating employees. But talking about them behind their backs is asking for trouble. This kind of behavior becomes a habit, and you soon...

A Beautiful Walk through the Children's Garden in Lakes Park, Fort Myers, Florida - March 2024. Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

It’s not uncommon to see people in fitness centers laboring away, sweating out every pour on the cardio equipment for up to an hour at a time.

There certainly is nothing wrong with this sort of cardiovascular exercise, to each their own, and at least they are exercising. 

However, one of the most common excuses people give for not exercising is ‘’lack of time’.

There is a misconception that if they don’t have an hour to spare, then they don’t feel there is enough time or that exercise is worth their effort.

They couldn’t be more wrong!  

Research shows that short periods of exercise but at a higher intensity is just as beneficial as the longer sessions, and sometimes more, depending on your goals.

A recent study from the mayo clinic followed a group of men for 2 weeks.

They measured the fitness...

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,...

A beautiful early March sunset in Lakes Park, Fort Myers, Florida. Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

It’s 5 a.m. and your alarm goes off. You immediately begin the battle of whether to get up and exercise or not.

You know you’ll feel better if you do, but why?

This is your brain on exercise.

The reason that we feel so good when we exercise and get our blood pumping and our muscles firing is that it makes our brain feel good.

Essentially, building muscles and conditioning the heart and lungs are bi-products or side effects from exercise as there is a biological relationship between the body, the brain, and the mind.

It can be said that a key point of exercise is to build and condition the brain.

The relationship between food, physical activity, and learning is hardwired into the brain’s circuitry and therefore to keep our brains at peak performance, our bodies need to work hard.

Fitness: What to do when your workout stops working

The reason physical activity is...

A beautiful Florida winter early evening run in Lakes Park, Fort Myers, Florida. Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II.

There are so many misconceptions surrounding exercise and the best ways to lose fat.

Some you may know and some may be new.

Let’s debunk these myths once and for all...

Myth #1 — You can spot reduce fat from certain body parts.

Spot reducing fat from your stomach or thighs, for example, is impossible. The concept of targeted fat loss or spot reduction is false.

The best way to explain this is to understand that the only thing exercises target are muscles, not the fat that is covering those muscles. 

The only way to lose fat in a specific area is to lose overall body fat.

Myth #2 — Doing loads of cardio is the best way to lose fat.

If your goal is fat loss, doing cardio for hours a day isn’t the best way to achieve it.

Yes, cardio workouts will help increase your calorie deficit but the most effective way to burn fat, increase your...

A beautiful summer sunset walk on Naples Beach, walking off a delightful dinner on 5th Ave South. Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II.

Have you ever felt that you are up against a brick wall when it comes to weight loss?

You are not alone.

Many people struggle with the weight loss dilemma daily. Metabolism is a complex subject with a plethora of variables but we are going to break down a few basics to help you. 

First, understand that you need a certain amount of energy (calories) to stay alive, as well as to move around.

You can get this energy from food, or you can retrieve it from stored energy (fat reserves) in the body.

If you consume less energy than you expend, you will lose weight – and if you consume more energy than you expend, you will gain weight. 

This relationship between ‘energy in’ and ‘energy out’ is called the Energy Balance Equation, and it’s the most commonly accepted model for calculating how much weight you...

Enjoy miles of brisk walking (even running) on our beautiful beaches in Southwest Florida! Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II.

Southwest Florida is packed with runners and beaches!

And sometimes, the beaches are packed with runners! But while navigating the streets and sidewalks has its own kind of challenges, running on sand is definitely a step up when it comes to intensity.

With all the beauty and natural resources of the beach surrounding us when we run, we might forget we're working out if it wasn't for the increased effort required.

There are three important aspects of running on the sand:

• aerobic fitness,
• muscular endurance, and
• specific technique.

Obviously, you need to have a good aerobic capacity to run in the sand --

On a basic level, running requires your body to burn a lot of energy or calories, and the body functions best and can go longer when it gets plenty of oxygen into the lungs, blood stream and muscles.

So you need an aerobic fitness base to tackle the...