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6A Daily News – Tuesday, September 3, 2013 Vitality health & fitness Do these exercises for balance as you age By William Porter The Denver Post Life is all about attaining balance, we are told. That becomes literally true as we age. Balance can begin eroding in our 50s. Sometimes that's a result of losing strength in our legs and core, the muscles controlling much of our "getting around" movements. Equilibrium tends to decline as we age, and so does our eyesight, leaving our sense of visual markers less acute. Health experts estimate that about one-third of all seniors slip and fall each year. Sometimes they stand up and brush themselves off with nothing but a red face and perhaps a bruise to show for it. Other times, the consequences are far more severe, including broken bones and concussions. Beyond that, a decreasing lack of confidence in their own mobility can be just as debilitating. Dare I climb these stairs? Will I stumble stepping off the curb or getting into my car? But exercises that focus on balance can help keep this at bay. Starting in middle age, it pays to work on balance, building a baseline that will serve you in good stead as you enter retirement and beyond. "When people retire, that's often when they become more sedentary," says Mary Schiavono, health and wellness coordinator at the Central YMCA in downtown Denver. "Balance starts to go. You just have to educate them to keep moving." Schiavono says it doesn't take a big investment of time or equipment. "They need to find a routine and do it three times a week, but it's only 15 minutes," she says. "It's simple, a short duration and has great benefits. You can always get your balance back." At 63, Denver resident David Martinez is an active guy. He hikes, climbs and bicycles, but also officiates at high school baseball and basketball games in central Colorado. He understands how important balance is to these pursuits and wants to preserve his own. So 18 months ago he began doing simple workouts on a Bosu ball, the hemispherical ball with a squishy half-moon bottom and rigid plastic platform topping it. (Actually, top and bottom can be reversed, depending on the exercise.) "At first I struggled just to stand on top of it," Martinez says. "Then I started doing more advanced movements, like squatting with my hands held out in front of me holding a wooden bar or towel. "It's paid off. For one thing, it's helped my hiking in rough terrain." Like so much in life, PHYSICIAN REFERRAL Amazing Finds A FREE SERVICE PROVIDED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE 50% Red Tag 1-888-628-1948 NEW & USED FURNITURE & MUCH, MUCH MORE! SALE Two Locations - 30,000 square feet RED BLUFF 530-917-1138 REDDING 530-917-7797 22660 Antelope Blvd. 3351 S. Market St. amazingfindsredbluff.com amazingfindshome.com 9am – 8pm (closed Saturdays) 9am – 6:30pm daily www.redbluff.mercy.org Summer Sale! RANDAL S. ELLOWAY DDS IMPLANT DENTISTRY 2426 SO. 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Have you ever been embarrassed by a denture or a bridge? If you answered "yes" to one or more of these questions, call us today at (530) 527-6777 to schedule an evaluation appointment. We would be pleased to evaluate your oral health and discuss treatment options with you. improved balance involves practice. No, you won't be doing gymnastic floor exercises at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. But with a modest, three-times-aweek investment, you can boost your balance to a new level. Schiavono offers four basic exercises to start improving your balance. All of them can be made easier to accommodate skill levels, including outright beginners. A couple of tips: Don't do these with your eyes closed, and it's wise to have something at hand to grab, such as a chair. Also, use slowly controlled movements. Many other exercises can also help, even something as simple as heel raises that get you up on your tiptoes. You can find more routines at eldergym.com. Schiavono knows how tough it is to stick with a program. "You have to pick exercises that can be finished in a short time." 1. Step Up This exercise involves using a step-stool or bench of a comfortable height. Do 8-12 repetitions for each leg. The prop is optional, especially for beginners. If you're not comfortable holding an object, just extend your hands. How to: Stand on the stool. Holding a small ball or pillow, extend your arms up at a 45degree angle while lift- ing and extending a leg behind you. After your 8-12 repetitions, switch legs."You can start out holding nothing — no weight, no prop," Schiavono says. "You can add weight as you get more proficient." 2. One-Legged Dead Lift How to: Standing upright with a light weight in your right hand at your side, bend from the waist and extend your left leg behind you, lowering the weight to the ground. Then return to the upright position and lift the weight over your head and bend your left leg into a right angle, as pictured, with your thigh parallel to the floor. Do this for 8-12 reps. Switch the weight to your left hand and repeat the exercise with your right leg."You don't want to go to fast with this one," Schiavono says. "Don't whip it along. It's actually easier to do them when you do them fast, but It's actually easier to do them when you do them fast, but a dynamic motion doesn't really help improve your balance." 3. Bosu Squat This exercise uses a Bosu ball, a hemispherically shaped exercise device available at most athletic stores. How to: Place the flat side of the ball on the floor. Steadying yourself with a chair if needed, step onto the ball and balance on both feet. Slowly lower yourself into a squat, with your hands extended in front of you parallel to the floor. Hold for five seconds. As you improve, try holding a light weight and extend the time you're in the squat position. 4. Seated Leg Lift The best benefits for this exercise will come using a Versaball, a round, bounceable ball you can sit on. These are available at most sporting-goods stores, but you can also use a chair. How to: Sit on the ball or chair and stabilize yourself, then lift one of your feet up from the floor, keeping your knees bent. If you're comfortable doing so, perform bicep curls and overhead presses using whatever weight you are comfortable with. Do this with both legs for a combined workout time of 5 minutes. "This workout automatically fires up your core," Schiavono says. A Retirement Community for the Active Senior Citizens EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY Tehama Estates provides the best living environment available to active seniors in Red Bluff, CA. We will show you ways to stay involved in the care of loved ones, and work with you to maintain the highest quality of life. 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Each alcoholic drink a woman takes daily from when her menstrual periods start until her first full-term pregnancy ups her lifetime risk of breast cancer by 13 percent, said the study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The findings were based on a survey of 91,005 mothers in a major US health study from 1989 to 2009. The researchers also found that each additional daily drink -- whether beer, wine or hard liquor -- raised the risk of proliferative benign breast disease by 15 percent. The presence of these noncancerous lesions also contributes to raising breast cancer risk, according to experts at the Washington University School of Medicine. Breast tissue cells are particularly susceptible to cancercausing changes in youth because they grow rapidly and proliferate during adolescence and beyond, researchers said. Another factor is the lengthening time period between the first menstrual period and the first childbirth, a trend which is likely to continue. "Reducing drinking to less than one drink per day, especially during this time period, is a key strategy to reducing lifetime risk of breast cancer," said study author Graham Colditz, associate director for cancer prevention at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. Previous research has found a link between drinking alcohol in adulthood and higher breast cancer risk. "More and more heavy drinking is occurring on college campuses and during adolescence, and not enough people are considering future risk," said Colditz. Health authorities say about one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. Risk factors include advancing age, family history of breast cancer, having dense breasts, early menstruation, late onset menopause, having a first child after age 30 or never having children, obesity and alcohol use. Why some people dislike everything By Relaxnews Why do some people just seem to hate everything, while others relish everything with gusto? A new study explores what drives those differing personalities. Researchers from the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign and the University of Pennsylvania say it boils down to what's called "dispositional attitude," or a personality trait that drives whether or not you're a Debbie Downer or someone who loves everything. "Optimists tend to have generalized beliefs usually about the future, such as 'Things are going to turn out well,'" study author Justin Hepler told LiveScience. "We were interested in whether people liked or disliked things, in general, and had people report their attitude about different things." The study involved 2,000 subjects, who read a list of 200 items, anything from sea salt to T-shirts, and rated them 1 to 7, with 1 representing "extremely unfavorable" and 7 representing "extremely favorable." Subjects also completed surveys that tested for potentially overlapping traits, such as optimism/pessimism and extroversion/introversion. While the subject's dispositional attitudes did often correlate with other traits, they were also statistically different, in that some pessimists like a lot of things while some optimists are more discriminating. Although there isn't much someone can do to radically alter a personality trait, the results of the study, announced this week, can help people become more aware of their attitudes toward certain things. "For example, a person with a negative disposition might read reviews before watching a movie, focus only on negative reviews, and end up not enjoying the movie either because they were influenced by the negative reviews or simply see themselves as contrary people," LiveScience writes. "If you like something, you are more likely to do it - there's no surprise there," Hepler said. 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