Mat Pilates for Women over 50? In our talk with Coach Adina O’Neill, Adina mentioned the value of doing Pilates as a cross training exercise.  That motivated me to return to the Mat Pilates class at my gym.  The first class I attended this time was a real eye opener. I could tell I was working my abs. I also really felt my hips moving in ways that I don’t do much anymore. Nothing really hurt but I was sore afterwards ..read more

DownloadPlay in New Window Jill and Chris talk with Henry Howard who found running in his early 40s when he set out to achieve a bucket-list goal: run a marathon. Since then he has finished more than 40 marathons and ultras, including four 100-milers. Along the way, he has qualified for the Boston Marathon twice, become a running coach and launched his RunSpirited website. As a running coach, he guides awesome runners of all experience levels, backgrounds and fitness to achieve their amazing goals ..read more

I know there are benefits to doing squats. I end up doing a lot of squats though I don’t really enjoy them. They’re just not a fun exercise, at least I don’t think so.  I find them to be challenging and it’s hard to see progress. If you’re lifting weights, you can tell when you’re getting stronger but that isn’t as evident with squats. So why do squats? One of the biggest advantages of squats is their ability to build lower body strength ..read more

My doctor told me to make sure I’m eating enough calcium to keep my bones strong. There may have been some grumbling because I’ve been trying to make sure I eat enough protein and fiber and now I have to think about calcium. I know I can use supplements but I’ve heard concerns about heart health from calcium supplements. When I discussed this with my doctor, she recommended that I try to get as much calcium through my food as I can ..read more

#165-Life After Menopause with Nicki Williams DownloadPlay in New Window In episode 165, Jill and Chris speak with award-winning nutritionist and author, Nicki Williams. She is the founder of Happy Hormones for Life, helping women of all ages to rebalance their hormones, reclaim their health and feel better than ever. After failing to find any medical help for her health issues in your early 40’s, she discovered that she could turn things around using diet, lifestyle and natural supplements ..read more

164 – Strengthening Mental Skills with Pat Spencer DownloadPlay in New Window In episode 164, Jill and Chris talk with Pat Spencer, owner of Getting Your Mind in Gear, who helps endurance athletes hone the mental skills needed to achieve their endurance sports goals. Pat is an avid gravel cyclist, former long course triathlete, marathoner, and open water swimmer. A licensed clinical social worker and a therapist with a private practice in central New Jersey, she has worked in mental health for 25+ years in a variety of settings, including directly with clients, as a supervisor, as a adjunct p ..read more

Have you ever tried to lower your cholesterol through diet and exercise? Is it possible? Perhaps it isn’t something that you have struggled with, but I know for myself when I lost weight, increased my muscle mass and started eating right I was able to lower some of my high cholesterol numbers. Remaining vigilant is more difficult some times than others. Finding ways to keep lowering cholesterol through diet and exercise (and trying to stay off statins) is one of my health and fitness goals ..read more

163 – Pelvic Floor Health with Kim Vopni DownloadPlay in New Window In episode 163, Jill and Chris talk with Kim Vopni, a leading authority in health & fitness coaching for women with pelvic floor dysfunction and is known as The Vagina Coach. She has helped thousands of women learn how to do pelvic floor exercises, ditch the incontinence pads,  eliminate their prolapse symptoms and get back to living life to the fullest ..read more

Chris recently posted about how eating more vegetables helps her maintain her weight and included some information about roasting zucchini. For some reason that made me think about some of our earlier posts about vegetables so I decided it was time for looking back at our veggie challenges. If you enter Veggie Challenge in the search field, a lot of entries come up. Scrolling through the search results, I realized we have a lot of great ideas on how to get more vegetables onto our plates ..read more

Just Lift with Jackie Errico #163 DownloadPlay in New Window Jill and Chris talk with Jackie Errico, a nationally certified strength and conditioning coach, a certified personal trainer, and co-owner of Just Lift Fitness training studios located in the Chicago area. Jackie focuses on helping women gain confidence in their bodies. She educates women on the physical and mental benefits of strength training and how to fuel bodies with the right food; teach them how to lift weights properly and safely; and help them create a fitness and nutrition game plan so that they can achieve the results the ..read more