What happens to flexibility as we age?

Yes, that would be a question for someone my age. Here's what I read at one site on-line.

"You guessed it. It decreases. The good news is that some studies, but not all, show improvements in function when individuals engage in exercise programs that involve stretching exercises. Unfortunately, the studies on flexibility in the aging population aren't as complete as they are for studies of strength and endurance, but the studies do suggest that significant improvements in the range of motion of various joints (neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, and ankle) can occur when stretching exercises are prescribed. It's just that it isn't clear how much flexibility training older adults should do to maintain good range of motion, function, and health."

My dear husband and I like to save money and so every 2 years we take a defensive driving class on-line for a discount on our car insurance. This year about an hour of that class dealt with the importance of flexibility when you drive and they went through a variety of stretching exercises old people (or soon-to-be-old in my case :) should do every day. I have my good days when I do some good stretching but  then I can go weeks without doing any stretching at all. So  this month's competition has been good for me. My goal is about 10 minutes a day--not enough to stretch all those body parts listed above--but I get to all of them over the course of a week. 

I'd love to hear how some of you fit stretching into your busy days and what your favorite stretches are to do.

February Winner

Congrats to Jean for awesome self control! Jean is the winner of February's calorie consumption competition. Add an extra 20 points to your running total score.

Warm Weather!

Don't get me wrong. I've really enjoyed the snow we've gotten lately. But today was the first day of warm, non-windy, dry weather that we've had in quite some time. So we took advantage and had a wonderful Sunday family stroll. Benjamin got out on his bike and showed marked improvement from the last time, which is a little amusing considering it has been a couple months since the last time he touched it. Boy is he growing up fast.

I was pretty happy to get out for a walk to test out my new FitBit as well. With some extra money from trading in unused electronics, I was able to get the FitBit that I've been wanting. I even got a fun pink with some nice colors to occasionally trade it out with. And with the walk today, I got most of my steps in for the day just during that time frame. Side note about my FitBit--apparently I am so restless during the night, it never figured out that I was sleeping. I knew I was a poor sleeper, but I suppose I never actually realized how poorly I actually sleep.

So Happy Spring Everyone! Get out and enjoy some family time and wonderful warm weather.