Functional Fitness with Suzanne Andrews

Ease Arthritis Pain

by Suzanne Andrews

 5 Ways Water Aerobics Eases Arthritis Pain

Water aerobics are one of the best ways to ease arthritis pain with benefits lasting long after you’ve completed your water aerobics session. If exercising on land is difficult for you due to joint pain, water aerobics are the perfect way to gain muscle strength without having to worry about excess pressure on hurting joints. Listed below are five ways that water aerobics ease arthritis pain.

1. Water Provides a Cushion

   Simply being in water for Water Aerobics provides a cushion for fragile bones and joints affected by arthritis. Most water aerobics are done when you are immersed in water to your waist and at that level of water your body will be bearing only 50% of its weight. The buoyancy of water allows movement with less pain than traditional out-of-the-water exercise for joints and muscles stiffened from arthritis.

2. Water Decreases Swelling and Soothes Stiff Joints

   Nothing feels as good as something warm on stiff joints and water not only provides that soothing relief but it can also relax sore muscles, decrease joint swelling and provide comfort when exercising is difficult and painful. Pools heated from the summer sun are an enjoyable way to ease arthritis pain as you can experience immediate relief in the water. Performing water exercise in a pool that is between approximately 82 and 88 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal for pain relief. Heated pools can do for your whole body what other forms of heat can only do for specific areas to which it is applied. Warm water provides the ideal environment to do exercises that a person with arthritis might not normally do.

3. Water Is Less Stressful

   Water Aerobics provides an environment for exercise that decreases the stress on painful joints compromised by arthritis. Some people have referred to water aerobics as "floating traction" as it stretches, loosens and flexes joints in ways that would be impossible if they were not in water. During water aerobics, painful joints are relieved and their range of motion and flexibility are increased. All these difficulties make living with arthritis painful but with water aerobics they can be dealt with in an environment that accommodates each individual's fitness and health.

4. Water Builds Up

   Water Aerobic exercise works all the muscles at the same time and increases the cardiovascular endurance without the impact on your body of traditional aerobic exercises on land. Being immersed to your waist, upper torso or neck increases the return of blood flow to the heart from the extremities. Increased blood circulation to the joints and muscles facilitates recovery and strength-building, all of which can lead to a less painful life with arthritis.

5. Water Workouts Burns Calories

   Swimming, water aerobics, and water walking all contribute to weight loss. Losing weight can help reduce the impact of daily living on painful joints due to arthritis and lead to less pain. Water aerobics reduces swelling due to increased circulation from the low-impact movements that exercising in water allows, leaving the painful areas free of stiffness and swelling, which in turn relieves the friction that causes pain in joints.

If you have arthritis, what are you waiting for?  Make a dash to splash in a pool and start relieving your arthritis pain!

Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series. Feel free to send Suzanne a message here.

Keep those letters coming!

by Suzanne Andrews

I'm filming my 4th series for PBS TV this week and just wanted to share why I do it. With 12 hour days and doing the exercises over and over, filming can be exhausting. But I get a letter and - instant energy! Here's a letter that motivates me. Keep those letters coming!

"I saw your show yesterday for the first time on PBS in Daytona Beach, Florida. WOW!  You are like an vision of hope and EXCITEMENT for me! Thank you! I used to be trim and thin and something happened called stress and life! (giggle) and I hit 52 very lethargic, very over weight, out of shape and yet I have goals of riding mountain bikes and have such a worry about being able to "lift my leg up and over!"...so obviously I need to get into shape to ease my mind and ease my body. I tried Jazzercise and killed my knees and felt VERY OLD with the newer music - I loved it when I was 30 and 40 years old but something happened to the music since! (another giggle)...so thank you. You brought LIFE back into me, I feel wonderful today.  What great results!  You EVEN got me and my husband off the couch on a SUNDAY AFTERNOON!  I was so proud of myself. Can't wait for my Yoga Chi for Energy DVD to arrive.  You are like Sunshine in our lives!!!  Thank you!  Mrs. TJ G, Palm Coast, Florida."

Suzanne Andrews Response:

Thank you much TJ!  You are exactly the kind of person who I developed Functional Fitness for.  I was once overweight and can relate. Plus I'm not in my 30's or 40's so I REALLY relate. People actually google, "Suzanne Andrews age."  Functional Fitness keeps you ageless!  Now I just strive to be a healthy weight and leave the unattainable size teeny to the younger crowd. Be proud of your curves! Glad you like the music. We spend hours combing through music to find beats that motivate.  

Healthiest Blessings,

Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series. Feel free to send Suzanne a message here.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

by Suzanne Andrews

Why Slow and Steady Wins the Race: The Secret to Getting Fit Faster

In my travels, I often run into women who think that to be really fit, they have to jump up and down, and do the moves real fast. While this train of thought is common, it is also a guaranteed way to injure yourself and not get the results you seek.  You ever see the same person at the gym who never looks any fitter?  Watch how they work-out, I’ll bet they lift the weights really fast. In order to achieve extraordinary health, you've got to get outside of what everyone else is doing and find successful methods that work without making you feel like you have do insane extreme workouts.

One of my favorite examples is from a Functional Fitness fan who wrote me. “A few months ago while flipping through the TV stations, I came across “Functional Fitness with Suzanne Andrews.” I had just finished eight weeks of an exercise program to try to help me walk without hip pain and all that hard work didn’t help at all.  My doctor told me I needed a hip replacement. But I wasn’t ready to try surgery and so I pulled up a chair and did your workout.  At first I thought, this is too easy, it’s not going to do anything! But I trudged along and by the time I was able to do the standing level my hip pain was gone, I am more flexible and best of all I no longer need a hip replacement.”  Elizabeth from Maine.

For the uninitiated, working out at a slower pace looks easy but since you are contracting your muscles longer, you get FASTER results. As a rehabilitation clinician, I (and my colleagues) spend much of our day instructing our patients to slow down. Not only will you build strength quicker, you’ll burn more calories–even after you’ve stopped working out. If you’re a mid-life or older person like myself, it sure beats the “beat yourself up workouts” where you feel like you’re going to die!  Which, by the way, is the fastest way to not wanting to workout anymore.

Which brings me back to Elizabeth. If she hadn't taken the time to try a different method and really give it the time it deserves, she never would have experienced the amazing results she got.  No it wasn’t instant, but it was worth the results.

Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series. Feel free to send Suzanne a message here.

Ever wonder how I get my inspiration?

by Suzanne Andrews

Ever wonder how I get my inspiration? From my wonderful fans! This letter is what inspired me to write last week's blog and it really touched me so I'm sharing it with you.  (She said it was OK to share). 

Do you have something to share?  Email me (contact info below) and don't worry, I won't divulge your email address.

Love and healthiest blessings, Suzanne Andrews

Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series. Feel free to send Suzanne a message here.

Don’t Hate Me Because I’m a 10

by Suzanne Andrews

Size 10 that is!

Don’t you despise the prejudice against fat in the United States?

Spending my young adult years in New York City, I was surrounded by the fashion industry bombarding me with media images of women who looked like their last meal was served in a starvation camp. Working in television, I knew many young models who starved themselves regularly. I don’t blame them.  It was either conform to the expected size or don’t work.

So my question is: why idealize a size that can cause osteoporosis, heart attacks and in some cases- death?  Do you know women are actually having their ribs removed to be thinner?  That’s crazy!!

As the host of a national series on PBS TV, Functional Fitness, I feel it is my duty to help you become ALL that you can be without the numbers on the scale dictating what kind of day you’re going to have. 

Stop comparing yourself to those photo-shopped images of anorexic waifs. You are so much more than your size.  For example, I’m a wife, a mother, grandmother, an occupational therapist, and producer. What are you? You’re a unique individual and yes -  you are BEAUTIFUL!   

Starving yourself is insane. I should know, I’m an expert at it.  I struggled with my weight for years.  Turns out I have Hashimoto’s disease which really slows down metabolism. 

I used to be a size 18 and dieted down to a size 4.  That’s impossible to keep and I’m just not going to do that to myself anymore.  Yet because I’m 5 foot 2, being a size 10 is larger than what the media considers attractive.  Well I don’t need to be a size 0.  I want to be a size healthy!  

How about you? Do you want to be a size healthy?  No starvation diets, no crazy insane high impact exercise moves that leave you feeling like you got hit by a truck.  If the answer is yes, Functional Fitness is for YOU! 

Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series. Feel free to send Suzanne a message here.

Overcoming Death Defying Odds

by Suzanne Andrews

Overcoming Death Defying Odds: A True Story

This is a fairly personal blog. But I hope it inspires you to keep going, to never give up on your dreams.
You might know me from my DVDs like 30 Day Bladder Fix or from my PBS TV series, Functional Fitness with Suzanne Andrews®.
But today I'd like to share something that you might not know about me...

Twenty years ago, I left a safe great paying job to start this crazy dream of producing a fitness show. I wanted to inspire people and help them improve their lives. I didn't really know how, but as I always say 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.' Even if that first step has some pretty big bumps that included:

• A car accident that injured my neck and back (that’s where the Back and Neck DVD came from).

• Surgery complications that resulted in eerily similar circumstances like the late Joan Rivers surgery gone wrong- a lady I had worked with while at CBS studios in New York City. (died on the operating table)!

• A work accident while treating a patient that made my left shoulder totally useless – I couldn’t lift it one inch! (the patient lost control of her power wheelchair and the force from holding back her chair so she wouldn’t get crushed tore up my shoulder). It took me a year to regain function of my left shoulder and just one week later, my right shoulder tore while working with another patient. Another year that included surgery and lots of therapy. The most painful recovery you could ever go through.  Worse than child birth.

At that time, no one knew me. TV studios turned down three of my proposals, hordes of potential sponsors didn’t return phone calls. Many were kind. Some were cold. None believed. Imagine the frustration of everyone telling you NO. For some reason, I just didn't let their opinions dictate my potential.

My first DVD, Beginners Dynamic Yoga was a DVD about releasing stress and accomplishing your goal and I knew I would accomplish my goal to help women over 40 regain their health with programs that were not like anything you see anywhere else. While Beginners Dynamic Yoga was the first yoga video that you didn’t have to be a contortionist or require you to get on the floor, I still wanted to add another dimension to my workouts.

At that time, there weren’t other programs that offered two to three fitness levels for specific health conditions.  And degreed medical professionals showing exercises in both sitting and standing was simply unheard of! Other fitness programs didn’t have doctors giving health tips and again I was the first.  Being the first is not all it’s cracked up to be because you have to convince the powers that be that there is a strong need for your idea. People who sit in offices and despise exercise.

Yet I knew there was a need for a corrective exercise program that helped people overcome health challenges like overactive bladder, arthritis and osteoporosis in the comfort of their home and so I persevered.

Finally an executive saw the wisdom in my proposal.  But it didn’t come easy: I volunteered numerous hours working 7 days a week and risked my finances to achieve my dream. The show became a success with PBS, and broadcast on 159 stations.
The reality is it's okay that those professionals doubted me. My past didn't reveal anything about me becoming a #1 Best Selling DVD producer with 30 Day Bladder Fix DVD, COPD DVD and the award winning Arthritis DVD. (I've designed from conception to completion 35 shows with 10 more not yet released).

Nothing about my circumstances back then would indicate my series would reach an area of 49 million on Public Television. No one imagined my DVDs would be on Collage Video, my favorite fitness DVD site.

I simply BELIEVED that if my intention was to serve and I demanded the best of myself every day then things would turn out well.

Luckily, they did. And so I say this to you my friend... Never let rejection, ridicule or doubt from others slow you down. Wake up each day and follow your heart and dream. When you're starting out - they'll reject you. When you're successful, they'll reject you. So what's going to keep you going? When you find the answer to that question – don’t let go of your dream.  BELIEVE in YOURSELF. I believe in you!

Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series. Feel free to send Suzanne a message here.

4 FABULOUS WALK MOVES for STRONGER BONES!

by Suzanne Andrews

Do you know that Osteoporosis is known as the silent disease because women don't know they have it until they get a bone density test which is usually done after they fracture a bone!  As important as it is to work out when you have osteoporosis, it's equally important to know what movements are safe for thinning bones. 

If you have osteoporosis, one of the things to remember is to make sure you don't round your back. Some of my patients that I have on my caseload fractured their back bending down in the shower.  Yes, if you have thinning bones, fractures are not always caused from a fall.  Fractures can be caused from the wrong move. You're better off investing in a $10.00 reacher so you can pick up items without rounding your back.  In the mean time, bone building exercises are vital for bone strength.

Since walking for bone strength is easy and fun, it's a good option for bone health. Sometimes those Spring showers can stop the best of intentions of going for a walk outdoors so if you don't have much space in your home, here's four fabulous walk moves for you to get stronger bones in a small space.  Enjoy!

Healthiest blessings,

Suzanne Andrews 

Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series. Feel free to send Suzanne a message here.

Tips To Stay Young

by Suzanne Andrews

1. After age 50, you lose 1 -2% of muscle strength per year.  After 60, you lose 3% a year, which comes out to about 4.5 pounds of muscle strength a year. 

2. Your legs get weaker three years before your arms start becoming weak and that's why you'll notice it's becoming difficult to walk like you used to. 

3. Your bicep muscles in your arms help you lift stuff and your triceps help you push up to a stand. 

4. Not all the muscles that are important to move your arms are located in your arms: your latissimus dorsi (located in your back) pulls your shoulders back and your arms to your sides.)  

While strong legs are important, strong arms are also vital for a fully functional life.  With strong arms you can lift your baby/grand-baby out of a car seat with ease, carry in groceries, get items of the top shelf and get in and out of the tub without injuring yourself. 
You don't have to let nature take it course. With Functional Fitness, one day longer is one day stronger! Fight Back with this Functional Fitness move...  

• Arm and Leg Strengthen and Stretch 

Place one leg forward as shown.  Place back leg on an angle as shown.  Bend your knees and make sure not to allow your knee to go past your toes. Raise your arms to shoulder level.  Hold this position for 5 seconds.  Release the position, stand up straight for 2 seconds and repeat 12x.  

• Suzanne Andrews Functional Fitness Tip 

Holding the position for 5 seconds recruits your muscle power and increases your strength quicker.  When you do exercises quickly, you work momentum instead of muscle. 

• Functional Fitness Challenge 

Too Easy?  Hold a dumbbell.  Start with 1 lb and workout your way up in increments of 1 lb per week as tolerated until you've reached 5 lbs. Bonus! This move will also increase your bone strength and is osteoporosis safe.  54 million people over the age of 50 have thinning bones (Osteoporosis)!  

Healthiest blessings,
Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series. Feel free to send Suzanne a message here.

Surprising Fitness Facts after 50

by Suzanne Andrews

One surprising aspect of practicing fitness after 50 is how it affects your endocrine system. That's the system of organs in your body that produce and regulates hormones in your bloodstream. Just like a thermostat signals your heating and air conditioning system when to turn on and off, so does your body. If you're going through menopause, you feel how important it is to regulate your hormones every time you get a hot flash. So what can you do besides stripping and throwing a bucket of ice water on you? First, and bear with me, I need to explain how your body works…

The pituitary gland in your brain produces growth hormone (GH) and that production is increased during aerobic exercise. This is vital for muscle tone and bone density and also helps strengthen your tendons, cartilage and ligaments which literally holds you together. So if you're having a mood swing that even chocolate can't fix and someone says, "Get it together," if you exercise, you can proudly claim, "I'm being held together quite nicely, thank you".

Growth hormone also communicates fat deposits to be used as fuel instead of blood glucose which helps you to stay energized longer while exercising, which is also why exercise is vital for people who have diabetes and why it helps to keep your metabolism running smoothly during menopause.

You've probably heard that the longer you exercise, the easier or less painful it gets. The pituitary gland also produces endorphins. This is one of my favorites because it sends a chemical signal to the brain to reduce anxiety, tension, decreases your appetite, blocks pain and gives you sense of euphoria known as "runners high" where you can exercise for longer periods of time with less pain. Now, you don't have to be a runner to experience this. An increased sensitivity to endorphins can be achieved if you've exercised for several months because it winds up staying in your blood for longer periods causing that "runners high" to last longer as well. Good stuff.

Testosterone is produced in both sexes, in the ovaries in women and the testes in men. Women have about one tenth the amounts of men but it still affects your metabolism by burning fat during exercise along with increasing muscle strength and tone, and producing a sense of self confidence. When you're healthy and strong you feel good! Testosterone can remain in your bloodstream at elevated levels up to three hours after exercise. In women it can also benefit the intensity of orgasms and that's never a bad thing.

Here's another reason to exercise. Another hormone that helps to breakdown unwanted body fat is estrogen. It increases your metabolism (burns fat as fuel), increases both your libido and your mood. The ovaries produce less of it as menopause is reached but exercising can elevate its levels in the blood for up to four hours after exercising so you feel sexier and happier. Now that's better than a valium and has much better side effects than any anti-depressant.

The thyroid gland produces thyroxine which again increases your metabolism in nearly all cells in your body. The increase induces a feeling of being more energetic, burns more calories which promotes weight loss. You get about 30% more thyroxine in the blood during exercise and it remains for several hours afterwards. The longer and harder you exercise the longer it flows through the blood even at rest. You can literally be burning fat stores long after exercising.

The adrenal medulla produces epinephrine (adrenaline) whose primary purpose is to signal the heart to pump harder and it also directs blood flow to the muscles being worked using the stored fat in those muscles as fuel/energy. While this chemical is flowing through your bloodstream it also activates the breakdown of carbohydrates (glycogen) in the liver and the active muscles. The higher the time and intensity of exercise the more epinephrine is released into the blood. But more is not always better. If you haven't exercises for a while it's best to start off with a beginner's fat burning program and progress as tolerated to avoid injury.

The human body is an amazing biological machine that isn't programmed so much as it responds to inputs we decide to place upon it. If you sit and eat, it responds by weakening, fattening and sickening. If you exercise and eat nutritious foods; it strengthens, tones and fights illness and disease. You ultimately choose the way your body reacts to the lifestyle you live. Exercising on a regular schedule causes the body to react with chemical signals that strengthen cells, burn fat deposits and increase blood flow to all the organs responsible for better bodily functions and health.

Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series. Feel free to send Suzanne a message here.

Celebrity Weight Loss Secrets

by Suzanne Andrews

Every time I see a magazine featuring a celebrity who lost weight quickly, I wonder how many people think that if they did whatever the celebrity is promoting, it would work for them too?

Let's face it, finding time to cook healthy and exercise is hard. If you're like the rest of us, you don't have a cook, a maid, a driver, a make-up artist, hair stylist and a personal assistant who takes care of your daily chores.

Because I've worked with numerous celebrities, traveled with them and been in their homes, I know the reason they can lose weight with greater ease is because they have employees take care of the day-to-day chores. All they have to do is focus on work. Can you imagine if you had someone taking care of everything for you and all you had to do was get up and go to work?  You wouldn't have to shop, cook, clean or run around doing errands on your lunch hour and after work.

You may be thinking, "Suzanne, you're on national television, don't you have a cook, a maid and a personal assistant?" Far from it. Functional Fitness with Suzanne Andrews® is a labor of love to help people like yourself get healthy, stay healthy and put the personal in personal training.  I designed the workouts to be quick and effective so people like us don't have to spend hours at the gym.  I mean really - who has time? Most of us have been trained to think we have to jump up and down and exert ourselves until we're in pain to lose weight.  I lost 60 pounds by working out to Functional Fitness and Yoga moves just 30 minutes a day.  Because the workouts were smart, not hard, I wasn't  sore the next day.  That meant I could work out every day if I wanted to and that's what you need to lose weight - consistency with your workout and your nutrition plan.  

Functional Fitness began as a public service to my community. Why would I sacrifice 12 hour days, often 7 days a week without pay to help others take charge of their health? Because as an Occupational Therapy practitioner I've seen countless preventable lifestyle diseases and it just breaks my heart to see people suffer needlessly. If I can help you avoid the pain and frustration of a preventable illness, than I know I've done something valuable with my life because your life is priceless!

Love and Healthiest blessings,

Suzanne Andrews

Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series. Feel free to send Suzanne a message here.