Don't be old-fashioned about getting fit. Rose Marie Cleese finds high-quality sites to check out.
Don’t be old-fashioned about getting fit. Rose Marie Cleese finds high-quality sites to check out.

Wading Through the Web For The Best, Most Reliable Health and Fitness Info.

You can find anything on the internet: the good, the rad…and the untruthful! So how do you know that what you’re reading on any given website is solid, current information? When you’re embarking on a fitness journey and decide to do some internet research, you’ll find a lot of contradictory information. And you can’t just google something and assume that the top five listings that come up are the latest and greatest. Ever heard of SEO? It stands for “search engine optimization” and there’s a whole army of specialists companies can hire who know the ever-changing ins and outs of getting one’s website to or near the top of a google list.

So what’s a web surfer to do? During my ongoing fitness journey that started six months ago, I developed a short list of criteria in deciding which sites could be trusted and would be genuinely useful:

  1. they are well-established and highly respected in their area of expertise,
  2. the contributors are proven experts in their field, and
  3. the sites are up to speed on the latest findings and trends.

Here are my “Top 10”—websites I think you’ll find helpful for getting your fitness journey off on the right foot. (And of course we’d like to hear from you about your favorite tried-and-true senior fitness websites!)

National Institutes Of Health

The U.S government’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) is an excellent place to start for general health information; the link above provides a lot of information about exercise for seniors.

WebMd/Fitness-Health

This site has been around for a long time and is one of the most popular “go to” sites whenever one has a general medical question and wants answers fast. The exercise information you’ll find at the link above is for adults of all ages.

UC Berkeley Wellness Letter

Over the years, I’ve gotten many free samples of newsletters from some of the most-esteemed medical schools in the country. Hands down, the one that provides issue after issue of articles on health, nutrition, fitness, and the day’s hottest health topics that I actually want to read and are relevant to me is the UC-Berkeley Wellness Letter. Its website gives you a taste of what’s in the monthly newsletters, but I highly recommend you subscribe to the actual hard copy newsletter. You won’t be disappointed!

AARP Newsletters

Although this website is geared toward getting visitors to the site to sign up for AARP, there are usually several articles posted that are chock full of good advice for seniors wanting to get or stay fit.

Elder Gym Free Exercises

This site has a wealth of exercises, exercise videos, and lots of other fitness advice specifically for seniors.

National Institute for Fitness and Sport/Balance Training

The National Institute for Fitness and Sport develops wellness programs for companies and individuals, but there are also posts that visitors to the site can access; the article at the link above focuses on developing better balance, a key fitness issue with seniors and especially important in skiing and snowboarding!

American Heart Association/Cardio, Strength Training For Seniors

The American Heart Association’s website has a lot of solid, up-to-the-minute information and advice about being heart-healthy, an essential when embarking on a fitness program. The site has many useful articles, such as the one at the link above.

Nutrition For Seniors

The U.S. government has a site, nutrition.gov, that provides a compendium of articles on the latest news and most reliable information on senior nutrition.

SeniorsSkiing.com

You already know about this great site!!

…and since Thanksgiving and the holidays are just around the corner, what better site to end my list with than my favorite “healthy recipes” site that was started by a freelance photographer who wanted to offer weight watchers the tastiest healthy dishes possible. She more than delivers…happy, healthy eating!

Healthy Recipes From Skinny Taste

 

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