Walking in a Winter Wonderland:

On New Year's Day, I decided to take a walk, after spending too much time on the computer and watching football. It was a balmy 5 degrees out and with the windchill, probably a little cooler. I bundled up in layers and was fine.

I walked through a wooded area and saw a young deer running up ahead of me and some kids who were out sledding. I enjoy being outside as much as possible and take any possible opportunity to exercise outdoors.

If you are in the Midwest, as I am, this can be a challenging time for outdoor workouts. One point I would like to bring up is snow and ice that can make footing treacherous at times. While walking in the snow I wasn't worried too much, but I did slip briefly while on pavement.

Since I train my legs to be strong and do a lot of exercise while standing, balance isn't much of an issue. But for many, particularly older folks icy walkways can cause falls. In some occasions, this can result in a shoulder injury, as people place their arm out to break their fall.

I have come across a couple such cases in the last several years. Surely, there have been many who have suffered some type of injury in Winter time. Which brings up an important subject - lower body strength training. Especially for women looking to prevent osteoporosis as they age.

We tend to lose muscle tissue as we get older, particularly if you don't exercise. This muscle tissue is important to support your joints and to maintain your mobility. It is also important for trying to prevent falls. When you lose your balance, how quickly your muscles react can determine if you fall or not.

So it is important to keep your lower body strong, but also to do some type of training on your feet, to maintain your muscular coordination. Exercises done while sitting or lying down will not have as much effect on your balance as those done in a standing position.

This is another reason I believe that the Power Plate whole body vibration platforms can play an important role in anti-aging. When standing on the platform, the vibrations underneath you create a slight amount of instability, which can help with balance. At the same time, it is strengthening your muscles in a coordinated pattern, as several muscles and joints are working at the same time.

This type of training may help prevent falls while it is increasing your muscle and bone strength. Pretty efficient if you ask me - balance and strength at the same time. This is not the only way to do this, of course, but may be easier for those with certain physical challenges.

You may find my recent article interesting - Physical Activity and Anti-Aging.