So Baby Boomer: Life Tips

Boomers looking forward to what's next.

Lying in a hammock or perfecting the old golf game for 20 years might seem the ideal retirement to Baby Boomers at 3 p.m. on a hectic workday, but it will likely lose its luster after a few years.

Unlike their parents, Baby Boomers have plenty of healthy years ahead of them once they reach 65, thanks to modern medicine.  Add to that the shortage of skilled employees in the workforce, and boomers have the option of working through what was once considered the traditional retirement years.

Ideally, the workplace will be flexible and boomers will work on a project basis as opposed to five days a week from 9 to 5.  Or it will be a time when they can explore a second or even third career.

You can't sit in a cubicle and think up something you want to do next.  The way to find this second path is by trying different things.  If you're a few years away from making a transition, start now to experiment with your hobby, volunteer organization or some other interest.  Start doing more and explore if can turn it into a commercial activity.  Learn by doing.  Work with personal business coach to prepave your road to a successful new venture...doing what you have always wanted to do.

These are the best days of your life.  Enjoy them.  After all, life is not a dress rehearsal.

Source: Plan Now for a Boomer Retirement, www.Forbes.com February 28, 2008

Come to the Carnival!

As a Blogging Boomer, I invite you to visit our Blogging Boomer Carnival #60 for this week!

Junk Junk Food

If you are living on junk food, it will be much harder to the get the results you deserve in your life.

Everyone knows that we live in a world filled with toxic chemicals that can increase our stress levels and cause a host of diseases.  These toxins and chemicals interfere with your body's natural ability to heal disease and cope effectively with stress.  For some body types, the gradual accumulation of toxins means increasing obesity, cancer, and heart disease, while for others it means osteoporosis, sleeplessness, and anxiety disorders.  It would be naive to think that this stress doesn't take a toll on our relationships as well.

Just as we need to let go of old roles and strategies for relating that don't work anymore, we also need to assist our bodies in letting go of toxins that we have accumulated throughout our lives.  It can be very powerful to let go of limiting and sometimes toxic beliefs and attitudes while also cleansing your body at the same time.

Relationship skills and behaviors can only stimulate the body to make healthy hormones and brain chemicals if the raw materials are available to you.  Just as we need good relationship skills for stimulating healthy hormones and brain chemicals to lower stress, we also need to eat nutritious foods and take healthy supplements.

Source: Why Mars & Venus Collide by John Gray, Ph.D.

John Gray: Why Mars and Venus Collide: Improving Relationships by Understanding How Men and Women Cope Differently with Stress

Boomer Retirement Trendsetters

Baby Boomers are becoming aware that they are experiencing a different type of retirement than the previous generation.

Compared to other generations, these confident and independent Baby Boomers admit that:

+ They need more money than their parents' generation to live comfortably.

+ Their generation is more self-indulgent than their parents'.

+ They will be healthier and live longer.

Each day, on average, almost 8,000 people in the U.S. turn 60.  Now the first of 78 million Baby Boomers has reached 62 and became eligible for Social Security.  How will boomers live, work and play in later life?  Here are some individuals who are designing some to the answers to this question.

William Bengen, the numbers guy, is working on how big a nest egg boomers will need and how to make it last.  Mr. Bengen, a certified financial planner in El Cajon, CA, has already achieved what amounts to rock-star status in the retirement-planning business.  His pioneering research in the 1990s gave rise to the "4% rule": Withdraw no more than about 4% a year from your nest egg, and it's highly likely that your savings will last 30 years.

Charles Feeney recognizes that all boomers should live a life of purpose.  If you find yourself, in your 60s and 70s, immersed in a new career and a new passion--teaching children to read, for instance, or helping an environmental organization--you may have Charles Feeney to thank.

Mr. Feeney, 76, is the founding chairman of Atlantic Philanthropies, an international foundation that is committed to disbursing its entire $4 billion endowment by 2020.  A large chunk will go to help older adults "live healthier, independent lives with dignity, purpose and meaning," says Brian Hofland, director of Atlantic's international aging program.

Katherine Freund understands that for millions of people, driving at some point will become impractical.  The Independent Transportation Network offers rides--around the clock, seven days a week--to older adults in the Portland, ME area.  Fees average $8 a trip.  Riders can trade in their cars and get credit for travel; volunteer drivers can bank their hours on the road to use later for themselves or family.  The Portland program provides nearly 17,000 rides a year to about 1,000 members age 65 and older.

Ms. Freund, 57, serves as president and executive director of ITNAmerica, which has grown into a national organization.  ITNAmerica now has nine affiliates which provided almost 26,000 rides last year and expects to have 40 affiliates by 2010.

Michael Merzenich is working to make "brain exercise" as much a part of your routine in retirement as walking or jogging.  Dr. Merzenich, a neuroscience professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and an inventor with more than 50 patents, is working on exercises that support decision making, fine motor control (playing musical instruments, for example), and gross motor control (to help restore balance).

Biernard Osher s helping to build classrooms and programs for those boomers returning to school in retirement.  The Bernard Osher Foundation is pouring nearly $200 million into what has become known as lifelong learning.  The foundation has donated $73 million to nearly 120 lifelong learning institutes on university campuses from Maine to Hawaii.  Future grants will be used primarily to augment those programs.

John P. Stewart is working on a blueprint for making city services receptive to all of the needs of older Americans--whether in health care, transportation, safety, employment or continuing education.  To date, 16 cities have joined in the effort, including Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Atlanta.

More than 25% of the U.S. workforce is over 60 and living healthier lives, Mr. Stewart says.  "A lot of people are going to have to work longer."  "This 'declinist' theory that people get old and should be put away is insane," says Mr. Stewart, 63.  "We can be an asset."

The spark for William Thomas's work came in 1991 while treating a patient in an upstate New York nursing home.  "She grabbed my arm, pulled me down over the bed, looked into my eyes and said, 'I'm so lonely,'" he recalls.

To revitalize the place, he opened the doors to children, brought in parakeets, cats and dogs, and plowed up the grounds for a garden.  The effort grew into the Eden Alternative, a nonprofit that has helped more than 500 nursing homes across the country shift their focus to their residents' emotional well-being and away from institutional scheduling.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, February 16, 2008

Generational Conflict: Boomers and Gen X

Some 77.5 million Baby Boomers will begin exiting the workforce at an accelerating pace over the next five years.  Over 15 years, workplaces will shift to a new generation of leaders.  This poses a profound management problem....as Generation X succeeds the Boomer Generation.

Gen X managers have been poorly mentored by their organizations to assume the responsibilities they will inherit.  The boomers have not been good about sharing their knowledge and experience; Gen X has not been good about tapping into it.  Here is what one Gen Xer has to say:

"The major reason why many Gen Xers are not in line for leadership opportunities is because of the absolute selfishness and short-sightedness of boomers who have dominated the workforce for the past two decades.  Boomers have refused to share their knowledge, mentor and develop us while we were in the early years of our career development.  The lack of Gen X leaders in many of the organizations today is the direct result of boomers' refusal to support us in the first place."

Source: www.cio.com February 1, 2008

Lose Weight Singing

In a society where looking young and fit is a way of life — it's no surprise that more and more “Baby Boomers” are lacing up their sneakers and heading to the gym. But boomer workouts have gone way beyond basic aerobics and running on the treadmill.

Back injuries are a common theme among Baby Boomers, who make up an estimated 78 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964.

"A lot of people in their 50's and 60's have arthritic changes in their back and neck," said Dr. Sean McCance, co-director of spinal surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. "This includes disc degeneration and spinal arthritis or disc herniations. If you stress those body parts they say ouch."  Often times, these injuries are a result of someone trying to do too much. "People have stressful jobs and they try to make up for a sedentary lifestyle in one afternoon," he said. "They often try to jam too much into one session."

Here's Five Boomer Workouts recommended by Mirabai Holland, director of fitness and wellness program at the 92nd street Y in Manhattan:

1. Cardio

"Basically anything that uses your full body to get your heart pumping." said Holland.

— At least 30 minutes of moderate cardio exercise a day

— This includes brisk walking, running, swimming, biking, or exercise videos

— If you don't have time in your day for the full 30 minutes, try three 10 minute bouts of exercise throughout the day

2. Strength training

"As we get older the muscles are getting smaller and losing the ability to contract," said Holland. "We can change this by strength training. The other thing we see is that mature adults have higher fat content. There is more diabetes due to lower muscle mass, so strength training is essential to regulate glucose metabolism."

Work those muscles twice a week for 30 to 45 minutes by doing exercises such as:

— Pushups (if you're a beginner, do them against a wall to start)

— Using a resistance band which is light weight and inexpensive

— Bicep curls and tricep extensions

— Modified squats and lunges which works many muscles at once

And make sure you leave 24 to 48 hours between strength training because your muscles need time to bounce back and rest. You don't want overuse injuries.

3. Flexibility training

"With reduced flexibility people tend to lose their ability to balance because there are changes in connective tissues in the body," said Holland. "Regular stretching can help, even as little as five to 10 minutes a day."

— To start the day, try some head circles and stretching in the shower

— At the end of day, stretch calf muscles and hamstrings

4. Balance training

"Because we see in older adults a loss of balance, which results in more falls," noted Holland.

— You can do this standing in line at the grocery store

— Stand on one leg and see if you can let go of the shopping cart

— Hold for about 10 seconds

— Also try standing on your tippy-toes and holding for a few seconds

— Balance should be done everyday — all you need is two to three minutes

5. Core training

"We see so many people as they get older avoiding their abs, which results in a bad back," said Holland. "They're not really supporting upper torso."

— Try a few minutes of abdominal exercises

— Reverse curl while you're lying on your back and pull your knees into you

— Hold for five seconds and release

— Start with 10 reps a day and work your way higher

— Crunches are key — not full sit-ups — because some people can do more damage than good

— Really concentrate so you can feel you're abdominal wall contracting

— This will help support your back

Music Can Make Exercise More Meaningful and Enjoyable

If you have decided to lose weight and get in shape...and...like to sing along to a song at the top of your lungs because it really meant something to you, "SkinnySongs" is made for you.  You can listen to this CD in your car, on your walk, at the gym, on the dance floor, or even in the kitchen.  This isn't self help or preachy stuff but fantastic, radio-hit-quality music that helps you win your battle with the bulge. 

Sources: Heidi Roizen, founder and lyricist of SkinnySongs and www.FoxNews.com Health on December 31, 2007   

Get the lyrics, find out about the artists, order copies for you or your friends at:

  Heidi Roizen: SkinnySongs

Take Time for Your Valentine

In our 24/7 lifestyle, allowing technology in the bedroom is sure to result in love lost.

Boomer women today have less time for sex than their 1950s counterparts.  And it's estimated that 40 million Americans have what experts call a sexless marriage (having sex less than 10 times a year). 

A regular sex life is good for your health. It can satisfy all sorts of emotional and physical intimacy needs and help partners stay close, says Anita H. Clayton, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at the University of Virginia and author of "Satisfaction: Women, Sex, and the Quest for Intimacy."  So why the dry spell?  You can chalk it up to a sheer lack of time, but there are a slew of other reasons, too -- from weight gain and perimenopause to technology overload (stop texting now) in the bedroom.

Valentine's Day is a big day for Baby Boomers.

Any other day of the year, an ugly sweater or a cheap-looking pair of earrings is just further evidence of your poor shopping skills.  On Valentine's Day, it becomes a "symbol of our relationship."   Get it wrong, and it may be your last.

Aging Boomers are facing the ‘use it or lose it’ proposition when it comes to their sexual health.  So they’re getting pumped up to re-invent their sexuality...and...Valentine's Day is the most pumped up day of the year for Boomers to show their stuff. 

The bed should be used for sex and sleep only.  So why do so many of us insist on bringing third parties -- laptops, PDAs, "Law & Order" -- into the boudoir?  Perhaps it's time to make the bedroom a no-technology zone and give sex the priority it deserves.  If you have to schedule sex as you would a meeting, just do it!

Emotion is the messenger of love; it is the vehicle that carries every signal from one brimming heart to another.

• For more Valentine's Day tips, visit these sites:
• • www.WhatisLove.info
  • www.LawofLove.com
  • www.LawofReciprocity.com
  • www.TestforLove.com 

Source: Surprising reasons you're not having sex, February 12, 2008 www.CNN.com