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Category: exercise

Quick Hack for Improving Your Blood Sugars

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Functional Medicine Doctor, Dr. Mark Hyman shared this quick tip for improving your blood sugars: Sitting for hours at a time doesn’t just affect your energy—it can seriously disrupt blood sugar control.

A recent study reveals that interrupting prolonged sitting with short bursts of movement can significantly improve glycemic control.

In the study, participants who performed three minutes of walking or 10 bodyweight squats every 45 minutes had better blood sugar regulation compared to those who stayed seated or even those who took a single 30-minute walk.
These frequent, targeted bursts of activity were shown to activate key muscle groups like the quadriceps and glutes, leading to better glucose management throughout the day.

Working out at the gym is great, but if you are pressed for time, remember….. get up and move!

Exercises for Our Eyes?

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We often take our eyesight for granted. 

One of the meds I take has a side effect: it can lead to blindness. My mother had macular degeneration and had to take painful injections monthly for that. So given that history, I take a specific supplement to strengthen my eyes.

Now I plan to add in an exercise regimen — for my eyes. 
Just like many other muscles in the body, the muscles of the eye, including those responsible for changing the focal length of your vision—can atrophy without exercise.

Here are nice exercises that will help you keep your eyes in the best shape they can be:

Strengthen near and far focusing. Focus on your thumb 10 inches away for 10–15 seconds, then switch focus to an object 10–20 feet away. Repeat five times to improve focus adjustment ability.

Blink for a minute. Blink rapidly for 30–60 seconds to regulate blood circulation, lubricate your eyes, and prevent dryness.

Rotate your head while staring ahead. Turn your head in a circular motion while keeping your gaze straight ahead. This improves blood circulation to your eyes.

Look to your right and left. Slowly move your gaze from right to left while breathing. This one relaxes and stretches the eye muscles.

Close your eyes and relax. Close your eyes for at least 30 seconds to relax and strengthen your photoreceptor cells.

Move your gaze in different directions. Shift your gaze right-left, up-down, in circular motions, and trace a figure eight with your eyes. This improves visual perception for both near- and far-sightedness.

Close and open your eyes. Tighten your eyes shut for 3–5 seconds, then open them. Repeat seven times to improve blood circulation and relax your eye muscles.

Push against your temples with your fingers. Gently press your temples with your fingers for two seconds, then release. Repeat 4–5 times to improve fluid circulation in your eyes.

Draw geometric figures with your gaze. Use your eyes to trace shapes such as triangles, squares, and circles to enhance your eye coordination and muscle strength.

Access Bars

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I love having the Access Bar for a pre-workout “snack” because of the fat burning technology the bar offers. They help me with my workouts too.
If I et one 15 – 20 minutes before a workout, my performance is improved and I am using a good source of energy as I am not exercising on an empty stomach.

Because they taste so good, I love cutting the Access bars into slivers when I’m having a sweet-tooth craving. A few slivers of the Access Bar always seems to do the trick and it help prevent binging on not-so-great snacks. These two flavors pictured are ling-time favorites!

How do you Access?

Defense on the go

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Germs are everywhere! Most germs are spread by hands.
With a good workout, you leave it all on the floor. You should also leave the germs behind.
How many surfaces at the gym get touched by sweaty hands? And those sweaty germs?
Germ-free hands mean a worry-free workout!
Clear Defense kills more than 99.99% of illness-causing germs and leaves your hands feeling smooth and moisturized.
That’s why it’s important to regularly use Clear Defense Soothing Hand Sanitizer.in travel size, for your convenience on-the-go!


The perfect workout team

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Meet my post workout team!

Access for pre-workout. Recovery AI and Pain-A-Trate for post-workout.

They definitely make my workouts better and the results show it!

Risk Factors for Diabetes

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They say knowing is half the battle. 

Lately, many of my friends have been telling me their doctors are telling them, “You need to be concerned about Diabetes” after review their latest lab work. 

Many of these individuals are being told they are Pre-Diabetic. With one in every three people being diagnoses as Pre–Diabetic, it’s not a surprise.

Once your doctor mentions Pre-Diabetes be prepared for lab work that contains tests for glucose, A1C, Homocysteines, C Reactive Protein, D3, cholesterol and liver tests. All tests to ascertain Type II Diabetes. 

If we know what to look for, we can help prevent it or at the very least hold it off from developing quicker. It really does help to stay in front of this disease! The best way to start is to know the risk factors.

Risk factors for Type II Diabetes:

  • Weight. Being overweight or obese is a main risk.
  • Fat distribution. Storing fat mainly in the abdomen, rather than the hips and thighs, indicates a greater risk. The risk of Type II diabetes is higher in men with a waist circumference above 40 inches and in women with a waist measurement above 35 inches.
  • Inactivity. The less active a person is, the greater the risk. Physical activity helps control weight, uses up glucose as energy and makes cells more sensitive to insulin.
  • Family history. An individual’s risk of Type II diabetes increases if a parent or sibling has Type II diabetes.
  • Blood lipid levels. An increased risk is associated with low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol) and high levels of triglycerides.
  • Pregnancy-related risks. The risk of developing Type II diabetes is higher in people who had gestational diabetes when they were pregnant and in those who gave birth to a baby weighing more than nine pounds.
  • Polycystic ovary syndrome. Having polycystic ovary syndrome, a condition characterized by irregular menstrual periods, excess hair growth and obesity, increases the risk of diabetes.

If you or a loved one display any of these symptoms, please get a physical and request the labs above it’s better t catch it early!

Diabetes and It’s Many Friends 

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Diabetes isn’t just about blood sugar levels 

Diabetes is a condition where the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or it doesn’t use insulin properly. This causes the blood sugars to become too high, known as hyperglycemia. 

Almost 10% of the population is diabetic, so there’s no wonder why pharmaceutical companies are marketing Ozempic, Mounjaro, Wegovey, etc in big ways. 

People with diabetes have a higher risk of developing serious complications including:

  • Heart Disease 
  • Kidney Disease 
  • Nerve Damage 
  • Dementia
  • Gum Disease 
  • Mood Disorders 
  • Eye Problems, including Blindness 

Type II Diabetes IS REVERSIBLE, but it takes effort. Even though it’s reversible, through diet, exercise and healthy life changes. Diabetes is a highly dangerous disease and it’s worth taking seriously. 

Eye-opening statistic about functional movement

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Here’s an eye-opening statistic for you! 

“The average person loses 30% of their muscle by the time they reach 60!
This can lead to many health issues including loss of balance, less mobility, as well as decreased bone density — all of which can lead to falls and fractures.

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, studies suggest that among those 50 and older, up to one in two women and up to one in four men will break a bone due to osteoporosis. Even a minor fall or bump can result in broken bones for those suffering from bone density loss. 

Strength training for the aging population — and by that, I mean anyone 50 and over — is tremendously important as it can help to reduce the risk of falls and bone breakage. The great news is that it’s never too late to start…and it doesn’t have to be complicated! 

We all are getting older. Exercises that combine functional strength skills with mobility exercises with help us move better and reduce the risk of injury! 

Here are just a few benefits of functional movement and strength training:

  • Reduced Fall Risk 
  • Better Balance and Stability
  • Improved Mobility
  • Decreased Pain and Stiffness
  • Increased Strength and Stamina
  • Greater Ease When Performing Daily Activities

By incorporating functional strength training two to three days a week and aerobic exercise (such as brisk walking) three to four days a week, you can experience greater control and improve the quality of your life!

Setting Boundaries

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The past year almost brought me to a dead stop. After decades of “doing it all” (and loving it), I had to learn to do almost none of it. But I still want to be useful and able to do so much more. So healthy living and healthy choices has to become my focus. It’s my response to “take care of yourself.”

Learning to make healthy choices in eating, exercising, sitting still and feeding my soul, sleeping enough, has become a necessity. That makes making those decisions so much easier! With the virus season upon us…those things are really important if we want to remain useful in the present.

My work with a wellness shopping club and hanging around on social media with healthy minded people motivates me and makes saying “no” to unhealthy choices a whole lot easier. But boundaries are not popular—saying “no” to friends never gets easier.

I owe a lot to the simple changes I made as well as eating healthier. Why not join me in this adventure?

Why 10,000 Steps?

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I used to think 10000 steps a day was more than I could handle—some days I barely logged a thousand steps. Really! I wasn’t walking a lot. I was going from my home to my car, then parking close to the door at work and to my sedentary desk job. At the end of the day the process would be done in reverse. I thought I was getting enough steps in —I swam at the pool and I rode my bike but that was about it. The health club I belonged to held a month-long 10,000 steps challenge for the members. I admired my friends who monitored their steps on their smart watches, and logged in impressive numbers of steps throughout the challenge. The concept was interesting, but with my schedule, I just couldn’t seem to bypass 5,000 steps in one day.

Then I got a new job. It required me to be on my feet most of the time working with customers. Suddenly, my feet hurt. I needed better shoes. I quickly found out shoe choices were a hot topic among my coworkers. The better the shoe for walking, the less you ached at the end of the day! I quickly found good sneakers. Soon I was logging more than 10,000 steps a day. A lot more. Most days I would log 22,000 steps.

I had always wondered why experts chose 10,000 steps. I discovered for me, 10,000 was equal to walking about five miles—so I became more active. Yay! But my research also shows there’s science behind the actual number.

  • A study in JAMA Neurology found a possible link between walking 10,000 steps per day and a reduced risk of developing cardiovascular disease, 13 types of cancer, stroke, and heart failure. 
  • Research indicates a link between walking and improved mental clarity and the creative flow of ideas.
  • A study of over 72,000 people found that walking 9,000–10,000 steps per day may reduce the risk of death by more than a third.
  • Walking an extra 10,000 steps per day can burn 2,000–3,500 calories per week, which could lead to weight loss depending on your weight and exercise intensity.

I still try to get in 10,000 steps per day, no longer for health reasons but because I enjoy it and my canine companion does too!