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As you age, your life changes. So does your fitness and your fitness priorities. In your twenties, people are concerned about how they look. And while being attractive should always be a goal, health and your well-being become priorities as we age. I see the difference every day when I talk to people in the gym. Call it the wisdom of age if you will. Younger people are hesitant to work on fitness that does not give immediate, obvious results. Older people want to feel good, prevent injury, and improve vital body systems (such as their bone health, heart health and back!).

I would like to challenge all people to consider the factors that our older populations focus on. It is great to look good, but if you blow out your back lifting your kids, you are not going to feel good.

Some younger people think that osteoporosis and bone health are issues for older women. Men and women need to focus on maintaining their bone density IN THEIR TWENTIES. Wait too long and your happiness and health will suffer.

Cardiovascular health is another topic that is very important to seniors. And guess what, if you start when you are young, it will be EASY to ensure you have a healthy heart as you age.
Preventing and controlling chronic diseases is often a focus for older people. It is also a major expense for our seniors as they struggle with the costs of prescriptions. While not all chronic conditions can be controlled or eliminated with fitness, the severity of many of these chronic conditions can be reduced by living a healthy lifestyle. This does not mean starting to worry about these when you enter your golden years. It means thinking about diabetes, hypertension and other chronic conditions when you are young.

Fitness that improves the quality of life is generally a focus for seniors. Younger people focus on body parts and short-term goals such as weight loss. Maintaining a healthy weight is a critical goal, regardless of your age. However, you may end up being a thin senior who is in constant pain if you don’t also consider core strength, balance and stability. Falls are one of the major causes of injury among seniors. Working on your stabilization muscles will help to improve your balance and prevent falls.

I hope this helps you to find a new focus and plan for a healthy future.

Tags: Fitness, Injury Prevention, Senior Fitness, Sports Fitness by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
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Football can be a grueling sport. It requires a serious training regimen in the off-season so that you are not injured when game-time comes.
It is critical for anyone considering playing football (or anyone who is struggling to avoid injury or improve their performance) to review their training.
All football positions require great stopping and starting skills. This means that your training regimen must consist of three things to help with this:
- Reactive Training to help you have more power and speed on your start.
- Stabilization Training to ensure stability so you are not injured.
- SAQ – Speed, Agility and Quickness. You should ensure that you work on sports-specific drills to improve.
Certain positions also have additional risks and training requirements that are specific to the position that you play. Are you a quarterback? You need to review stabilization training on elbow and shoulder joints. Are you a running back? You need to review strength and power training as well as stabilization training to support your explosive movements. These are only some examples, but most positions have their own demands in addition to the general demands of playing football.
Football players, especially children, need to review their hydration requirements as well. Due to the physical demands of training, as well as the season, many football players are taken to the hospital with severe dehydration. You should never feel dizzy or vomit from training. These are serious symptoms that require medical attention.
And while we are on the topic, anyone considering playing football should consult their doctor on their goals. Your doctor can give you a physical and determine any extra tests you may require to play safely. He can also point out critical physical issues that are unique to you that should be addressed in your training. An example of this would be if you are overweight, underweight, diabetic, etc. Good luck with your game!

Tags: Fitness, Flexibility, Injury Prevention, Kids and Sports, Off Season Training, SAQ, Sports Fitness by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
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There are MANY different ailments and conditions and diseases that affect the back. Your spine is CRITICALLY important to your entire life! Back pain is exhausting and can be extremely painful. If you have a healthy back, you should do everything you can to stay that way. If you have issues with your back, there are a few things that you should do:
1) Go to the doctor and get a diagnosis. Once you have this, ask your doctor to help you develop a plan for getting better.
2) Follow the plan. Did your doctor tell you that you would feel better if you took some of the weight load off your back (by losing weight)? Then, do it!

Some general things that can help you feel better (and prevent pain in the first place) :
• Get active. Just like your car doesn’t fix itself in the driveway, your back won’t fix itself when you are in bed!
• Strengthen the muscles that support your back. If you only do crunches, your abs are not properly developed to support your spine. You need to work on your core.
• Consider losing weight if you are overweight. Additional weight on your body causes more stress on all of your muscles and joints as well as your back. You may find that not only does your back pain go away, but also so does your knee pain and your foot pain!
• Drink water. Studies by the Jack M. Blount Foundation found that chronic dehydration is a contributing factor in muscle spasms. It also makes spasms more painful. You know all the other good reasons to drink water, so if you aren’t doing it yet, make it an easy resolution that you can keep!

Tags: Fitness, Flexibility, Injury Prevention, Sports Fitness by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
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Did you know that there were 3.5 million visits by children to the doctor for sports-related injuries according to a survey by the Consumer Products Safety Commission?
Sometimes, when it comes to kids, we think they are tougher than perhaps they really are. Their bones (and the rest of their bodies) are still growing.

The American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine recommends the following to prevent Childhood and Adolescent sports injuries:
1) Be in condition to play a sport (kids can’t just get off the couch and play football – they need to be in shape for their specific sport)
2) Warm up before playing
3) Always wear protective equipment (and make sure it fits and is properly adjusted)
4) Avoid playing when tired and stop if you experience pain.

Tags: Fitness, Injury Prevention, Kids and Sports, Sports Fitness, Youth Sports Fitness by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
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Have you ever taught a kid to hit a baseball? What do you keep repeating? Keep your eye on the ball, follow through, stay relaxed, etc. These are the same basic concepts for a great swing. However, your body could be holding you back.
How flexible are you? Do you think that improving your flexibility would improve your golf game? OF COURSE IT WILL. Here is why. When you are more flexible, you improve multiple things that improve your game.
You will hit longer. When you are more flexible, you are able to achieve a loaded position at the top of your backswing. What that means is that the muscles that produce your clubhead speed are stretched. And by stretching, your body is able to transfer more power to your clubhead.
You will give your arms some relief. Many golfers lack the flexibility and core strength to control their swing so they compensate by overusing their arms. Have you looked at the guys on the PGA tour?? I was at East Lake in November and I had a good hard look at the pros on practice day and game day (in case you have never been, go on both, since you can get very close and even get tips from the pros on the practice days). My point here is that these guys don’t look like bodybuilders.
Your swing will become more consistent when you are more flexible. When you aren’t flexible, you compensate your swing. And that makes your swing more erratic.
Your teacher will find you a better student. A golf pro can teach you the proper mechanics when your body is not holding you back. My father-in-law would not agree with this analysis because he believes retraining can ruin your game. However, he ISN’T flexible. So whatever the pro tries to show him will need to be modified (and that modification may be worse than what he is currently doing). If you have the flexibility, you are more able to properly apply the teachings to your game.

Tags: Flexibility, Injury Prevention, Sports Fitness, golf by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
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