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Sharon Altig
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In this issue…
♦ How to get “functional” today! ♦ Benefits of functional fitness
♦ How functional exercise can benefit you… ♦ Try these functional exercises
♦ Essential components of functional workouts
♦ The role of Pure Performance… ♦ Seniors and Physique…
♦ Plug energy drains with B vitamins ♦ It’s “spring tonic” time!
♦ Liqui-Lea versatility
Most doctors realize that any disease a vitamin will cure, it will also prevent. WHY, then, should anyone wait till after a disease has developed before he starts taking vitamins? It doesn’t make sense, does it?
But don’t expect your doctor to do your thinking for you. It’s YOUR body you’re supposed to protect, so start thinking for yourself.
~ Dr. Forrest C. Shaklee, Sr.
How to get “functional” today!
Do you know what functional fitness is? Do you know why it’s important?
Functional training, also referred to as functional exercise is any workout that adapts or develops exercises that allow individuals to perform activities of everyday life more easily and without risk of injury.
The truth is that just because you can lift heavy at the gym and do 20 minutes of HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) every other day, does not mean that the next time you lift your 65 pound suitcase on your way to the airport that you won’t throw your back out.
Functional fitness focuses on training the body in such a way that it can handle day to day real life activities, like lugging groceries, picking up kids and others.
So, instead of focusing on lifting a certain amount of weight, or the proper form of a particular exercise, functional fitness trains us to become better at real life positions and to perform every day activities that we are all tasked with.
Benefits of functional fitness
Muscles work together
Functional exercise integrates different muscles and through proper form and motion teaches them to work together.
This yields an overall fitness with the entire body working in unison.
Balance
While many people focus on weights, weight machines and compound exercises, they neglect to address… balance.
Balance is an integral part of everyday life… regular tasks of walking, using the stairs and reaching for something.
How functional exercise can benefit you…
Did you know that a balance system that functions properly can help you to see clearly while moving, orient yourself in terms of gravity, assess direction and speed of movement, and allows you to make posture and stability adjustments while doing daily activities?
Training your body to control and balance its own weight can serve you when you are young and as you age. It makes you stronger, more stable and therefore allows you to avo
id falls… the most common injury in seniors.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 3 adults age 65 or older suffer a fall that results in moderate to severe injuries, including debilitating hip fractures or serious head trauma, both of which increase the risk of early death.
Avoiding compensation
One of the drawbacks of typical strength training workouts is that they leave isolated weakness in the body that then becomes detrimental in day to day movement. While you strengthen certain muscles, like the arms and shoulders, you may neglect to train others, creating a pattern of compensation, i.e., when you use them together to perform daily activities one works harder than the other, causing strain can result in injury.
Functional exercises teach isolated muscles to work together. Thus, when you pick up that 
suitcase, your child… or reach for something on a high shelf… you won’t tweak a weak muscle that is not properly trained.
Workouts that include bending, pushing, pulling, lifting, sitting, reaching, balance and twisting, and those that mimic day to day life engage the core muscles, while at the same time targeting other muscles of the body, thus providing an overall “functional” state of fitness.
Other Benefits
Functional training also mitigates bone loss through movements that support body weight and help to prevent osteoporosis.
Multi-joint, multi-plane movements engage the body’s stabilizers, improving coordination, challenging the brain and helping you become more functional.
Essential components of functional workouts
There are several elements to functional workouts that make them that much more effective:
⇒⇒ They need to be adapted to each individual’s goals and needs.
⇒⇒ The workouts should be directed toward one’s specific everyday life activities. For example, specific exercises that are made for someone age 60 who wants to avoid falls, an adult looking to improve their daily performance, an athlete training in a specific sport, or someone who is in physical therapy to retrain their body. No matter the circumstance, workouts should focus on meaningful tasks.
⇒⇒ The overall state of health of the individual should be considered when assessing the types of exercises to use and the overall training load.
⇒⇒ There should be a well-integrated program that includes power, strength, balance, and core exercises that focus on multiple movement planes.
⇒⇒ The training should increase in difficulty.
⇒⇒ The training should include varying tasks.
⇒⇒ Functional training should be repeated regularly on an ongoing basis.
⇒⇒ Feedback as to progression is needed either through self-assessment or the assessment of a trainer or physical therapist.
Try these functional exercises
Any exercise that involves standing on two feet and supporting yourself while lifting any type of weight is typically a functional exercise.
>> Balance Exercises: Various balance exercises without weights that teach the body to stabilize itself.
>> Exercise Ball: The greatest benefit to training using ball exercises is that they target the core muscles that are vital for stability and good posture. There are many different moves you can do with the ball.
>> BOSU Ball: As opposed to the exercise ball, a BOSU has a round 
side and a flat side. The BOSU makes any exercise a lot more challenging because it adds an element of instability to each workout as it forces you to use the core to remain steady. BOSU workouts also work to improve strength and help muscles learn to work together that prevents injury in real life.
The role of Pure Performance…
If you want to get or stay functionally fit, one of the keys is to become nutritionally fit first.
Anyone embarking on a fitness program should begin with Life Strip, Vitalizer or Vita-Lea and a Pure Performance Fitness Pack.
The Performance Fitness Pack is designed for lifestyle athletes including those in spinning, strength, and cross training classes or anyone looking to tone their body and live a more active lifestyle.
Benefits
⇒⇒ Enhance performance with less sugar and calories
⇒⇒ Burn more fat and build lean muscle mass during your regular exercise routine
⇒⇒ Recover faster to help you stay on track
The pac
k includes:
___ Zero Calorie Energy Drink… Delivers clean energy without the artificial ingredients found in traditional energy drinks. Improves physical performance and mental alertness. Convenient stick packs are great for on-the-go.
___ Low-Calorie Electrolyte Drink… Clinically tested to hydrate better than water. Replenishes electrolytes lost during physical activity. Convenient stick packs.
___ Advanced Physique 100% Grass Fed Whey Protein… Recover, repair, and build lean muscle faster. Fast-absorbing and easy to digest. Proprietary cold filtration process to preserve bio-actives.
___ PM Recovery Complex… Ultra-pure tart cherry extract is clinically tested to reduce post-workout muscle soreness and optimize recovery, which helps improve sleep quality. Also contains Shaklee’s patented Pain Relief blend.
Seniors and Physique…
One of the devastating effects of aging is a loss of muscle mass, a condition known as age-related sarcopenia. Any loss of muscle mass is of consequence, because loss of muscle means loss of strength and mobility and is a factor in the occurrence of frailty and the likelihood of falls and fractures in older adults.
In a University of Texas study, researchers supplemented low-protein meals of seniors with leucine. In just two weeks, the group taking the supplements showed an improved rate of muscle synthesis. While exercising is the best way to combat sarcopenia, supplementing with Advanced Physique… powered by leucine… will improve the strength and mobility of seniors.
Advanced Physique contains 50% more leucine than traditional whey protein, the key branched-chain amino acid proven to help preserve and build lean muscle. Take within 30 minutes after a workout.
Plug energy drains with B vitamins
Shaklee supplements are the quickest, healthiest and simplest way to plug an energy drain that is sapping your vitality. As long as you replace the nutrients your body needs quicker than you expend them, you should have plenty of energy. These vitamins will keep your energy level high:
Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)… strengthens immunity and feeds the brain and nervous system; supports healthy skin and blood vessel growth, and proper food metabolism.
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)… a great natural energy provider, it helps your cells function efficiently
and increases the flow of oxygen through your body.
Vitamin B3 (Niacin)… an effective cholesterol treatment; works best when taken with other B vitamins for healthy energy production.
Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid)… strengthens your immune system along with your energy.
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)… oxygenates cells more efficiently, improving circulation.
Vitamin B9 (Folic Acid)… promotes healthy red blood cell formation and improves oxygenation.
Vitamin B12 (Cyanoco-balamin)… helps your digestive system absorb food and transfer it to energy more efficiently.
Biotin… helps your body convert food, fat and protein into energy more effectively.
All of these “Bs” can be found in natural balance in Shaklee B-Complex.
It’s “spring tonic” time!
Do you ever have a day when it’s all you can do to drag yourself out of bed? Have you ever felt like all you want to do is sit on the couch or… take a 10-hour nap?
If you’re all out of sorts and so tired you can’t think, Shaklee has a remarkable “pick-me-up” called… Liqui-Lea!
Liqui-Lea was the original Vita-Lea (known as Vitalized Minerals)… you just take it from a spoon! Liqui-Lea gets into the bloodstream fast and literally floods your cells with energy-producing nutrients. Just one teaspoon daily provides between 50 and 150 percent of the Daily Value for vitamins A, D, and E, as well as seven B vitamins and iron.
While young children, adolescent girls and women of childbearing age are more at risk of iron deficiency than the rest of the population, anyone can experience fatigue due to lack of this vital mineral. Iron deficiency can affect you physically, but you may not notice any symptoms until you have reached the point of anemia. Those symptoms include fatigue, weakness, decreased performance at school or work, low body temperature normal, cognitive impairment, pale skin, dizziness, irregular heartbeat, decreased immunity to illness and infections, and an inflamed or sore tongue.
So… the next time you need more energy, try supplementing with Shaklee’s pick-me-up “spring tonic”… Liqui-Lea!
Liqui-Lea versatility
Liqui-Lea has a natural fruit flavor that tastes great by itself, mixed with milk or juice, stirred into yogurt or oatmeal, or sprinkled over cereal.
With a vegetarian, gluten-free formula. Liqui-Lea is also a great children’s liquid multivitamin for kids that can’t swallow a pill yet.