1. Joints Your joints and connective tissue could be the most important areas to focus on as we age. Mobility, or being able to move a joint through it’s full range of motion will allow these connections to move smoothly and absorb stress in a balanced manner throughout the body. A big part of your movement practice should include a joint mobility program!

2. Weight Loss?? First, we should think “Fat” loss, not “weight” loss. Losing weight is usually accompanied by losing muscle mass as well, which we should work to keep! In addition, you CAN NOT spot reduce fat…. Don’t like the fat under your upper arms? Or on your thighs?? The strategies are the same for all of our stubborn areas:

• Eat right and at a caloric deficit. (this is broad of course but covers WAY more than a few sentences here)
• Incorporate resistance training into your program. Muscles help burn fat. Also the stress on your bones and connective tissue will serve you well in the long run. (Supplement to number 1)
• Add some high intensity training to your day to raise your metabolic rate and burn more calories.
• Move, move……. MOVE your body!
• Sleep well and balance stress in your life.

3. The Core of it To help stabilize the spine, (on a basic level), think recruiting Internal and External Obliques, Transverse Abdominis and Rectus Abdominis (six pack), all together for the job. One analogy is to imagine bracing yourself for a punch in the gut. In addition, think about those 4 muscles as an internal corset, which draws inward from all directions to squeeze, or support. For a simple tactile cue, raise your arms overhead as high as you can reach, then keeping the length in the torso, lower arms and shoulders.

4. Wrists In a full plank or top of a push up position, create more stability and increase range of dorsiflexion in the wrist by pushing the underside of your forefinger joint, (where the finger meets the hand), or Metacarpophalangeal joint, down to the floor. And don’t get in the habit of rolling to outer edge of pinky side Metacarpal, (outer edge of hand below pinky finger).

5. Sir Isaac Newton This brilliant man’s 1st law of motion basically says that there is a natural tendency of objects to keep doing what they’re doing. In this case, A body at rest will tend to stay at rest. A body in motion will maintain motion. (Technically speaking, at a constant in either case unless acted upon by an outside force). So move your body daily and challenge your balance!