Functional Fitness with Suzanne Andrews

Help! I Want to Wear Short Sleeves ‘BUT’ I’m too Embarrassed

by Suzanne Andrews

Banish Bat Wings with These Top

Bat Wing Banishers!

If you find the underside of your arms getting flabby, here’s your younger arm muscles in 30 days plan.

As seen in Suzanne Andrews Younger in 30 Days DVD

1. Lean forward, hinging at the hips, making sure to keep your back flat, not rounded. Place your hand on a bench or a chair.  Can’t lean forward because you have osteoporosis or back problems? Do the modified version by leaning forward just a bit. Slowly lift the weight up and down 12x.

  Stabilize your elbow at your waist and slowly raise the weight back and down.  Do 12 times. Another great reason to keep your triceps strong…

Functionally speaking, your tricep muscles are the primary upper extremity (arm) muscles you use when pushing up from a chair and getting in and out of a car.  By getting them strong and staying functional, you make these daily tasks easier!

Because Functional Fitness with Suzanne Andrews® also focuses on injury prevention, this blog wouldn’t be complete without telling you another very important tip. If you focus solely on your triceps and don’t counter-balance by strengthening your bicep muscles, you have a greater risk of injury because the stronger muscles are forced to do all the work and that causes a strain. Here’s your functional fitness move to counter balance the triceps.

Elbow Flexion/Extension

Keep your elbows at your waist. Raise and lower your weight 12X.  (TIP: You’ll know you’re lifting the right amount of weight when the last repetition is a struggle). Studies suggest that you don’t need to do countless repetitions to get results.  Just lift the heaviest weight you can tolerate.

We asked Suzanne Andrews What’s Unique about Functional Fitness with Suzanne Andrews ® DVDs?

As a rehabilitation clinician, I am required to teach evidenced based (medically proven) exercises that get the fastest results in the shortest time for specific health conditions. Simply put, insurance pays only when a client makes progress with their rehab and it’s up to me, the therapist, to be aware of any contraindications (unsafe) for that specific condition and exactly what exercises to prescribe for a variety of health conditions.  It’s like to going to your general practitioner and she/he knows what pills to prescribe for a variety of conditions. You don’t have to be in rehab to benefit from the safe, medically proven exercises that cost $400.00 a month in co-pays or for those that are not insured, $280.00 an hour.

All the exercises in Suzanne Andrews Functional Fitness DVDs demonstrate evidenced based editions for specific health conditions including arthritis, osteoporosis, copd, and since I was once very overweight, all the workouts are compatible for people 50 lbs or more overweight:  giving you the opportunity to take charge of your health in the comfort of your own home.

I Want to Wear Shorts, BUT I’m too Embarrassed Because of Varicose Veins.

by Suzanne Andrews

Get Beautiful Legs This Summer by Doing This!

Walking increases circulation and helps eliminate and protect from varicose veins.  Make sure to follow these tips for best results!

Start Off Slow and Increase as Tolerated

If you’re just beginning a walking workout start with a 15 minute walk and increase by 5 minutes every week.  As the walk becomes easier, add light hand weights and you’ll strengthen muscles that support your joints and increase circulation to your legs which helps to reduce varicose veins.

Wear Good Fitting Shoes

Wear good fitting shoes with solid support that allow you to walk from heel to toe.  Stiff shoes or old worn out shoes can cause you to have improper gait and that can cause head to toe joint pain.  As a general rule, replace your shoes every 6 months.

Integrate Breathing Exercises into Your Walk

Your body loves oxygen. The more oxygen you take in the healthier you get. Your heart is a muscle and pumps nourishing blood to your legs. When you put your heart to work it gets larger and stronger just like a bicep in your arm when lifting weights. Arthritis Walking Workout specially designed moves makes your heart pump more oxygen enriched blood to your legs even when you are at rest.

Elevate Your Legs

When you’re resting make sure to elevate your legs above your heart by placing a pillow under them.

Compression Stockings

Wear compression stockings to help reduce edema (swelling).

Make sure to check back next Thursday to learn the best exercises to get rid of flabby bat wing arms! 

Feel and look fabulous with Suzanne Andrews Arthritis Relief Walking Workout. Reap the benefits of weight loss, stronger shapelier legs and a firmer belly in just 30 days.  Excellent workout for middle age to seniors that can be done sitting or standing with the most beautiful scenery in a walking DVD ever!

*(This is not intended as a replacement for medical guidance. Any advice given here does not constitute a patient - practitioner relationship with Suzanne Andrews. See your doctor for medical advice). 

I Heard Water Can Help Me Lose Weight, “BUT”

by Suzanne Andrews

How Much Weight Can I Really Lose and How Much Should I Drink to Lose Weight?

Photo courtesy of Healthwise Exercise LLC

Yes, water can help you lose weight! Here’s some surprising ways to sneak it in your day without even realizing it.   

Four Foods That Contain Water:

One cup of milk or orange juice contains 88% water. 

One half of a cup of broccoli has 92% of water.

There is 85% of water content in yogurt!

How Water Burns More Calories

One of the functions of the liver is to convert stored fat to energy.  Another function of your liver is to aid the kidneys. Without enough water, your kidneys can’t metabolize fat as quickly. 

How Much Do I Need to Lose Weight?

Water is a life sustaining necessity and your blood is 90% water.   A person can only live 3 days without water.  Drink water throughout the day and start with a glass first thing in the morning.  Your body will adjust and your waist line will thank you for it. By drinking the recommended 6-8 cups a day, you burn 100 extra calories a day leading to 10 pounds weight loss in a year just by drinking water.

Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Water?

Water intake affects your body’s electrolytes balance – your body salt - so more is definitely not better.  Drinking too much water will off-set your electrolytes and can cause a heart attack. But most of us don’t have to worry about drinking too much water.  The majority of the population doesn’t get enough.

Stick to the recommended amount of 6 - 8 cups a day to keep your electrolytes functioning safely.  Water cushions your joints, maintains your body tone and aids in sustaining energy releasing oxygen to your cells.

*(This is not intended as a replacement for medical guidance. If your doctor has you on water restrictions, you need to listen to her/his advice).

Walk off the weight with Suzanne Andrews new DVD, Arthritis Walking Workout

You don’t need to have arthritis or be a senior to lose weight from this fantastic new two and four mile walk DVD. Since this is the first walking workout that can be done sitting or standing by a medical professional, Arthritis Walking Workout is perfect for the plus sized set who wants a workout that’s safe for your joints.  You choose the pace that’s right for you as you trim down and tone up walking in the most beautiful garden in North America! See a preview now.

I Want To Exercise BUT I Don’t Have Money for a Gym or DVD

by Suzanne Andrews

What is Your Health Really Costing You?

We often think of medical expenses at a time when we are least capable of coping with them - when we're sick. With healthcare costs increasing as we age, the sooner we plan for our health, the sooner we'll start saving more money.  According to the National Foundation for anti-aging, "most aging is premature." Poor posture, low energy, brittle bones are not aging, but a disease.  Most of my patients with complex medical problems end up needing care as a result of an actual medical diagnoses called, “Generalized Weakness,” leading to frailness and aging at a much faster rate.

According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, a woman retiring at 65 and living until 85 means she'll need $88k to $146k for insurance premiums and out of pocket expenses.  So what does this have to do with you if you’re younger than retirement age? 

Nearly 70% of what is wrong with us can be avoided by changing daily habits!

By incorporating healthy lifestyle choices, you will save hours, days and months in the doctor’s office, hospital and/or operating room. 

By 2030, 40.5% of the US population is projected to have some form of Cardio Vascular Disease. Between 2010 and 2030, total direct medical costs of Cardio Vascular Disease are projected to triple, from $273 billion to $818 billion. Real indirect costs (due to lost productivity) are estimated to increase from $172 billion in 2010 to $276 billion in 2030, an increase of 61%. 

My patients often say they can’t afford a $45.00 a month gym membership, more expensive but leaner cut of meat or a $19.99 Functional Fitness DVD.  These same people think nothing about spending $200.00 – $400.00 a month eating out.  All that money literally flushed down the toilet!    I’m not saying it’s all totally avoidable, but nearly 70% of what is wrong with us can be avoided by changing daily habits. Your daily actions are your best health care plan.  

Health is accumulative.  How you treat your body today affects your life tomorrow.  You are working long and hard for your retirement and you can't afford to lose it all to overeating and a sedentary lifestyle.  So next time you are thinking you can’t afford it, change your mindset to, “I can’t afford not to workout.”

In her newest DVD, Arthritis Relief Walking Workout, licensed Occupational Therapy Clinician, Suzanne Andrews, guides you to make the change and live the richness of life as it was intended:  one of balance, joy, pleasure and the new exquisite awareness of who you truly are – a fully functioning adult with a life of abundant energy, functional strength and restored balance ahead of you.  

Start today, save the $105.00 weekly co-pay with a Functional Fitness DVD and Suzanne Andrews will be with you every step of the way!

I Want to Work Out "BUT" I Have Osteoporosis

I Want to Exercise, BUT How Can I With Arthritis Pain?

by Suzanne Andrews

We all know exercise is good for us. It allows us to feel younger, sleep better, and control our weight. Unfortunately joint pain as we age can leave you asking “I want to exercise, but how can I with arthritis pain?”

Why Functional Exercise Fights Joint Pain 

Joint pain can make everyday activities difficult. This may tempt you to sit still, but the throbbing, aches, and hurting can actually be reduced by movement. Lack of movement weakens supportive muscle and tissue surrounding your joints. As these weaken, stress is created on the joint. This stress causes more pain.
In addition, movement and exercise triggers a response by the synovial membranes to produce more synovial fluid. This oil-like substance keeps joints healthy through lubrication. Synovial fluid keeps the cartilage, the cushion between joints, from drying out so that they aren’t as achy. I tell my patients to imagine a raisin – all dried up and no moisture.  That’s what cartilage looks like in people who don’t exercise.  Now imagine a juicy plum, that’s your cartilage when you move. Age is not the only deciding factor to having younger joints – movement is.  As a rehab therapist, I’ve seen 40 year olds walk older than 90 year olds – all due to lack of movement. As a grandmother to a 16, 11 and 1 year old, I know exercise keeps you moving.   

How Walking and Strengthening Exercise Decreases Joint Pain

Even though painful and stiff joints make the thought of walking or enjoying moderate exercise seem impossible, these activities ease joint pain. Your first thought may be that exercise will only aggravate the joints that are already painful. In reality, a lack of walking and strengthening exercise will lead to more pain and stiffness. Functional Exercise makes you feel younger by allowing you to postpone or even eliminate surgical relief. As the strength builds and pain lessons, you’ll find you can once again do many activities you had removed from your life due to pain. You’ll end up looking and feeling much younger!

Check Out Suzanne Andrews Arthritis Workouts Available at Collage Video!

The Best Weight Loss Food to Stop Hunger

by Suzanne Andrews

Does your stomach call out to you with hunger pangs late at night making yesterday’s leftovers look like a five star meal for two eagerly awaiting to be devoured - alone? Does the whisper from your pantry turn into a loud-mouthed echo in your head repeatedly crying out for you to “just go take a little peak and see what’s in there” because you’re just so darned hungry? Stop a second before you have seconds and eat this to quiet the ‘but’ that can’t be ignored: ‘But’ I’m so hungry, I just have to eat!

Since the television adds ten pounds, I always look for ways to get rid of those ‘extra’ pounds before we begin taping my PBS TV series, Functional Fitness with Suzanne Andrews ®. Since being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Disease, (a thyroid disorder that slows the metabolism) getting the weight off has become quite a challenge. The hardest part is at night when I’ve eaten all of the allotted daily calories and I’m still hungry. Therefore, I always make sure to keep plenty of this filling, delicious and nutritious fruit in my fridge to stop hunger pangs.

Watermelon: Weight Loss Superfood!

1. One Cup = 46 Calories

2. Excellent source of Vitamin C and Potassium

3. Helps boost your immune system

4. Helps protects your body from harmful free radicals

5. Helps protect from heart disease

How to Lose Your Big Bad But!

Sometimes we become our own worst enemies when it comes to changing our lifestyles, eating healthy and losing weight. Consequently we accelerate our body’s internal clock aging us before our time. We start down an earnest path to achieve our fitness goals, and succumb to our big - bad – BUT! As time goes by our waistline and our ‘BUT’ gets bigger and bigger: I want to exercise ‘But’… I want to lose weight ‘But.’ I want to lose these love handles ‘But.’

Suzanne Andrews, PBS star of Functional Fitness, shares motivational tips in this sometimes funny and always factual blog with a no more excuses guide on cutting edge, non-surgical techniques to put passion back into your mind, youth back into your body, and vitality back into your spirit by reversing the effects of aging with medically proven techniques for middle age to seniors. Feel free to ask questions and comment!

Occupational Therapy Practitioner/L and creator of PBS TV’s popular Functional Fitness series, Suzanne Andrews specializes in increasing mid-life to senior’s quality of life through evidenced based functional fitness techniques with two to three fitness levels. Whether you need to decrease stiffness and pain caused from arthritis, improve your balance, increase bone density due to osteoporosis, Suzanne Andrews vast therapeutic exercise knowledge supercharges your health with a special consideration on safety and injury prevention in all of her DVDs offered right here at Collage Video!

New Exclusive: Functional Fitness Blog with Suzanne Andrews

Suzanne Andrews is the President at  Healthwise Exercise, LLC. Licensed Occupational Therapy Clinician, Suzanne Andrews is the founder of Functional Fitness airing to over 49 million on Public Television. Originally created in 2008 with it's first run on WDSC TV, the series has aired on over 113 Public Television stations. After sustaining back and neck injuries from a major car accident and bilateral shoulder injuries from a work accident, Suzanne regained full function through an integrative health plan that included functional fitness and sound nutrition. Now a rehab professional herself, Suzanne Andrews is constantly updating her medical knowledge to insure each exercise program demonstrates carefully researched and medically proven techniques. She has also contributed to numerous books, major magazines and written over 200 health and wellness articles for midlife to older adults.