Author Archives: sfransila

I usually stick to fitness-related posts and keep my opinions to myself because everyone has one and social media is full of enough.  However, as much as we are all taught to not believe everything we hear and seeing is believing, technology has effectively stripped us of those “truths.”  Like underwear, the truth can beContinue reading “Uncomfortable Truths”

According to the World Health Organization, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”  The traditional vital signs (temperature, pulse rate, blood pressure, and rate of breathing) measure physical functioning and are indicators of the presence or absence of disease or infirmity.  So, ifContinue reading “The New Vital Sign”

“So, so what?  I’m still a rock star.  I got my rock moves.” [“So What,” P!nk]  Don’t play the game, change it.  So often as older adults we are presumed to be past our “best before” date, so much so that we believe it too; and that’s not okay because we are accepting the limitationsContinue reading “Game Changer”

Absolutely everything.  After months of trying to create choreography for songs I like, I have come to the not-surprising conclusion that I can’t.  I start, I re-start, I re-do, I procrastinate, I re-start, I re-do, I don’t do.  Working with a bank of songs which I have, for the most part, never danced to beforeContinue reading “What’s love got to do with it?”

Last week I talked about the importance of knowing your HRmax and being aware of its relationship to age.  This week I’m here to explain how to factor your HRmax into an optimal workout for you and being “in the zone.” What is the zone?  The zone is where you want to be when workingContinue reading “Being in the Zone”

Simply put, HRmax is the upper safe limit you should push your heart rate to during exercise; and knowing your HRmax is important to ensure you meet your workout goals without putting your body at risk of a potentially catastrophic failure.  The old (standby) formula for calculating HRmax is “220 minus age.”  However, studies byContinue reading “Why HRmax is important”

Hi, it’s been a while. LocoMotion Fitness is now Kiwa Dance Fitness; and the newsletter formerly known as Los Locoz is now “Hol-A-loha,” a play on hola (Spanish for hello) and aloha (Hawaiian for living in harmony). So “hello harmony.” My end of the year confession is that back in the Spring, I thought we’dContinue reading “Hol-A-loha”

What’s in a name?  When I first conceptualized LocoMotion Fitness it was based on my need for dance fitness classes that were low impact with smooth transitions and no twisting of the knees; i.e. safe for a knee replacement.  The name came from how I saw myself in the mirror during classes; the joy andContinue reading “What’s in a name?”

We know we have to move forward, and we will do so one step at a time.  Three months ago the fitness world shut down and we were left to do our own thing at home.  That worked for some and not so much for others.  Now, fitness and dance facilities are opening up, carefullyContinue reading “The Next Step”

If nothing eases suffering like the human touch, the big squishy grandma hug is the gold standard of human touching; and no matter how old you are, getting lost in a grandma hug soothes the body and the spirit. Why are hugs so valuable to us?  Hugs stimulate our happy hormones (dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, andContinue reading “Big Squishy Grandma Hugs”