A gorgeous Florida summer day in Lakes Park to enjoy a walk, run or bike ride!  Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

Bruce Springsteen was right in 1975 when he released his best selling song ‘Born to Run.’

The human body is designed to run.

An individual's running form impacts not only his or her run, but nearly all other fitness pursuits as well.
It is an inherent trait passed down from our ancestors.

It’s a method of transportation, a means for hunting and gathering and a natural weight management system.

Some people just do it better than others. An individual's running form impacts not only his or her run, but nearly all other fitness pursuits as well.

When we talk about running form, we’re referring to our posture, or more simply, the way we hold ourselves placing one foot in front of the other.

This sounds simple enough, but poor alignment or inconsistencies in form can lead to injury and inefficiency of movement.

While there is no one magic...

Enjoy this beautiful walk along the bay in St. Augustine, Florida, getting outside, standing up right, moving your body & enjoying life... (It is literally what your body needs!)  Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II

The 2020's, or as I like to call it ~ the longest decade in history, has seen many of us working from home, sitting in front of computer screens, and spending more time in one place.

Whether it’s at your home or office desk, driving your car or watching television, long periods of sitting can have adverse effects on your health.

Scientists have identified a new threat from people’s sedentary lifestyles that they call ‘muscular inactivity’.

Sitting has always been regarded as bad for your posture.

Here’s why — 

It is physically impossible to maintain perfect posture for your entire seated day.

Sitting invokes what is known as the ’double flexed’ position.

Your body is flexed at the hip and the knee. Flexion...

"You can't change what you don't measure." and it's never been easier to measure success than today (through wearable tech)! (Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II)

If you own a Fitbit, Apple Watch or another kind of wearable technology to track your fitness, you’re already following the number-one predicted fitness trend for the next decade - wearable technology. 

Wearable tech has topped the list 4 times in the last 5 years and we don’t expect it to be slowing down any time soon!

More people than ever are wearing 'wearable technology' to track their daily steps, calories burnt and time spent sitting vs standing —

All with the goal to be their best, healthiest self! (YES!)

The recently published fitness trends survey, now in its 16^th year, surveys more than 3,000 health and fitness professionals worldwide, and was designed to reveal trends in various fitness environments. 36 potential trends were given as choices, and the top 20 were ranked and published by...

Be sure to enjoy everything nature has to offer - including smelling this delight - Sweet Almond! (This particular tree is in the Children's Garden in Lakes Park - Fort Myers, FL).

The management of shoulder injuries is one of the most challenging in physiotherapy.

With the complexity of the shoulder joint and the wide variety of injuries and conditions associated with the shoulder, it can make diagnosing shoulder pain tricky.

The shoulder joint is one of the most mobile joints in the body, which, unfortunately, also makes it one of the most unstable joints and therefore highly susceptible to injury.

Shoulder injuries make up a large proportion of the musculoskeletal injuries, with nearly everyone between the ages of 18-88 experiencing at least one shoulder injury in their lifetime. 

Regardless of whether the pain is felt directly in the shoulder, there are several different anatomical structures that can trigger pain.

In some cases, the source of pain may be referred from...

Practically every Sunday morning, our GearedUp Family runs in beautiful Lakes Park... Join us!

Whether you are just beginning or are a more advanced enthusiast, there is nothing more satisfying than reaching your training goals.

However, to do this, you must be training efficiently.

If you’re part of the population working out non-stop yet seeing little results, this article is for you.

First, always include mobility and activation warmups.

Warmups are typically done haphazardly, if at all.

How often do you see people wander into the gym, walk immediately up to a squat rack, and start pumping out reps?

If you’re doing this, you’re not only drastically increasing the risk of seriously injuring yourself, but are also not able to exercise to your full potential.

On the other hand, those who do warm up may be doing some cardio and a few stretches, but current research suggests that including mobility and activation work within your warmup is the way to get results.

...

A gorgeous start to Summer 2022 - Sunset on the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers, Florida - June 21, 2022. Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II.

I reviewed some discouraging statistics in an article from The American College of Sports Medicine.

Did you know that only 1 out of every 10 Americans over 50 exercises enough to gain any cardiovascular benefit?

For the past decade, research has estimated that about half of the physical decline associated with aging may be because of inactivity.

Furthermore, people over 65 in particular require adequate fitness levels to help maintain an independent lifestyle, recover from illness and reduce their risks of injury and disease.

It's also been well documented that it is never too late to get fit.

The human body responds to exercise, no matter what its age, and there are many health benefits.

Conversely, without regular exercise, people over 50 can experience a range of health problems including:

• Decreased muscle mass, strength and physical...

Cooling down after a summer 2022 run in beautiful Lakes Park. Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II.

Summer… Beaches… Picnic’s… There are many things that make a quintessential summer but swimming in the beautiful gulf waters is top of my list.

Not only does swimming cool you down, but it also exercises nearly every muscle in your body. 

Of course, while swimming is a fantastic exercise, as with any activity, if you do too much too soon, it is possible that injuries can occur.

Swim injuries vary depending on how the injury occurred, what stroke you were using, and where on your body you feel the pain.

Swimmers shoulder - the classic — 

Every style of swimming uses the arms, and therefore uses the rotator cuff muscle group. This is one of the reasons swimming can be such great exercise.

However, if you ask your rotator cuff to do more than it is ready for at a given time, injury is almost guaranteed.

Injury to the rotator cuff can feel...

A Beautiful Early June 'Walking, Running or Biking' Day in Lakes Park.  Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II.

The amount of water you need to drink on a daily basis is often the subject of widespread confusion and debate.

We all know that proper hydration is important but how essential is it to your fitness?

More specifically, how does hydration status affect athletic performance, recovery between workouts and is it sport specific?

First, it is widely accepted and understood that water is a medium for numerous physiological process in the body.

Therefore, it makes sense that exercising in even a mildly dehydrated state puts extra strain on the body and in turn affects exercise performance, outcomes and recovery.

Also, being poorly or inadequately hydrated impairs the body’s cooling system. If we cannot effectively cool our bodies, our core temperature, heart rate and perceived exertion all rise as well.

This means that exercising at any given intensity will feel more...

Enjoy miles of brisk walking (even running) on our beautiful beaches in Southwest Florida! Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II.

Southwest Florida is packed with runners and beaches!

And sometimes, the beaches are packed with runners! But while navigating the streets and sidewalks has its own kind of challenges, running on sand is definitely a step up when it comes to intensity.

With all the beauty and natural resources of the beach surrounding us when we run, we might forget we're working out if it wasn't for the increased effort required.

There are three important aspects of running on the sand:

• aerobic fitness,
• muscular endurance, and
• specific technique.

Obviously, you need to have a good aerobic capacity to run in the sand --

On a basic level, running requires your body to burn a lot of energy or calories, and the body functions best and can go longer when it gets plenty of oxygen into the lungs, blood stream and muscles.

So you need an aerobic fitness base to tackle the...

Plumeria (above) and Gardenia's are in bloom in Lakes Park (Fort Myers), right now, for you to enjoy! They're smelling SOOO good!  Photo Courtesy of Charly Caldwell II.

Most people have suffered the excruciatingly painful experience of a leg cramp at least once in their life, often in bed at night.

A cramp is a painful spasm or contraction (shortening) of the muscle, usually in the calf, but sometimes in the foot or thigh muscles.

Cramps are involuntary – you have no control over the muscle spasm.

Fortunately, cramps usually only last a few seconds or minutes and usually get better when you stretch the affected muscles.

Walking around often helps relieve foot cramps.

After a cramp, the affected muscles may be sore and tender for a few hours.

Sometimes there is even mild swelling afterwards. Although they are extremely painful, ordinary leg cramps are more of a nuisance than anything else and are not usually a sign of anything seriously wrong.

Leg cramps (especially night...