While in some parts of the country it feels like summer simply won’t let up, in other parts the cooler temperatures are really starting to set in.

As you make adventurous plans to exercise outdoors this fall, whether it’s hiking, cycling, jogging, you name it, keep these four important cold weather fitness tips in mind.

Hydrate

Exercising in cooler temperatures is different than exercising in the heat – that can’t be denied. When you’re working out, and it is hot or humid outside, you might feel thirstier and sweat more. That doesn’t mean that you don’t need to hydrate just as much during fall and winter workouts though.

Women over 50 will sweat out between 25 and 50 oz. of fluid during an hour of moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise. However, it is critical that you replace not just the water you lose during exercise but the electrolytes too, even in cooler weather months.

Cold, dry outdoor air is also less humid and tends to leach moisture from your body more than warm, humid air. That means your skin, nasal passages, and even your throat could pay the price if you are not staying hydrated.

Wear Protection

In addition to wearing layers to protect yourself from cold wind chills, you’ll want to be mindful of the rising and setting sun too. Don’t let the cooler weather fool you – the sun is shining just as bright as it always does which means that UV rays are making it to your skin, even through fluffy, fall clouds.

If you are ever spending more than 10 minutes outside at a time, plan on applying sunblock or covering any open skin with light layers of clothing and accessories, i.e., sunglasses, hat, etc.

Autumn also signals the time when the sun starts setting earlier and days become shorter and shorter. Don’t get caught off-guard in the evening with a setting sun and dark, camouflaged clothing.

If you ever plan on exercising outdoors around dusk or early in the morning, find bright-colored or reflective clothing that will ensure you can be seen, especially by cars on the street.

Address Pain

Does your arthritis pain seem to flare up during cold or damp weather? You’re not alone. Low-pressure systems and sudden changes in temperature can oftentimes lead to painful joint inflammation and stiffness – whether it’s in your hands, knees, back, feet, you name it.

If cold-weather pain flare-ups are keeping you from getting your regular exercise, that could be having a more negative effect on your health than you realize.

In your 60s, exercise helps you avoid weight gain that can exacerbate arthritis and promotes strength and flexibility to offset joint stress. Pain that prohibits even low-impact exercise, especially knee and leg pain, should be addressed by you and your physician.

You never know, a knee ache could be cartilage degeneration that requires arthritis medication or it could be IT band syndrome that is simply aided by an IT band strap to reduce knee strain and friction.

Using cooler weather as an excuse to avoid physical activity outside will only hinder your physical fitness in the long-term.

Monitor the Weather

While a crisp, sunny fall day might seem like a dream environment for your afternoon hike, a fast-moving thunderstorm can quickly endanger your plans for outdoor fun. Monitoring your local weather is critical to safe cool-weather fitness and may take a little more foresight than quickly scanning a daily forecast.

In addition to keeping an eye on the local radar, as the weather cools off, you’ll want to monitor the wind chill. Make sure that you are prepared for temperatures that suddenly drop because of strong winds or which bring in inclement conditions like ice, sleet, snow or freezing rain.

If you need weather info on the go, use apps on your smartphone like DarkSky or Weather.com to track the forecast and make outdoor fitness plans accordingly.

If it is going to be pretty cool outside, don’t forget to layer up. Exercising in heavy clothing will only make you sweat more which in turn can make you colder as you cool off and your damp clothes stick to your skin.

Wearing light layers, on the other hand, allows you to remove and replace pieces of clothing as you heat up and cool off.

What are some of your favorite cool weather outdoor exercises? Do you have additional tips for exercising outside during the fall? Let’s chat about it in the comments below.

People
everywhere are fascinated by sex. I am not the first to say so. We wonder what other
people do and when and what it means to them. And some wonder how long it
continues.

When
I was in my 20s, I naively thought that sex was only for the young. It simply
did not occur to me that people over 40 continued with such activities.

This
was nothing to do with any connection to child-bearing, but simply to the
assumption that only the young had an appetite for – or interest in – sexual
relationships.

As
we age, we learn more – about this as well as everything else. There is, of
course, much more research now.

Surveys
will tell you about the extent of sexual activity at different ages. But few of
these involve people over 70. And we are often reluctant to raise the issue
with people we know.

The Story of My Parents

Of
all the stories I tell about my family, the one which always gains immediate
attention is one about my father.

My
parents lived in an independent apartment in a retirement community in central
Pennsylvania. They moved in when they were both roughly 80 and died within
three months of each other, 10 years later. That was nearly 20 years ago.

After
about five years, my mother developed vascular dementia. This is, of course,
every married person’s worst fear. The husband or wife is no longer what they
once were, but you are still married. And it is harder and harder to cope with
the sheer physical demands.

My
mother remained in the family apartment for well over a year, with a caretaker having
been hired to help with her daily needs.

But eventually, it was too much for my father to manage, and it was agreed that she would move to the Assisted Living section of the community. She was looked after, but he could pop in several times a day to see her.

He
rarely complained, at least to me. It was just something that had happened.

An Affair Begins at 90

In
the meantime, his eyesight had worsened, and he was losing one of his great
pleasures – reading. He listened to a lot of audiobooks (and complained that
there was no easy way to find the place where you fell asleep).

He
had a friend, a somewhat younger woman, who came in to read to him. He was
terribly pleased about this and talked about it – and her – quite frequently in
our regular phone calls.

I
should have seen it coming. When a man starts mentioning a woman (or vice
versa) quite often, it tends to mean that something more than friendship is
involved. But it just didn’t occur to me.

My
daughter suggested that it was a possibility and I thought, no, that is
unlikely. Not because the thought upset me, but they just seemed too old.

I
went to visit around the time of his 90^th birthday, when we were
holding a party for him. Soon after I arrived, he sat down and clearly wanted
to communicate something to me.

He
had never sought very intimate discussions, but this time was different. He
mentioned the name of the woman, who I had not yet met, and said he wanted me
to know that they had become ‘an item’. I remember thinking the word was odd.

He
was very clear. This was not ‘simply kissing and cuddling’, it was the real
thing. Indeed, he said his doctor thought it was terrific for his health. There
was no mention of love, but that did not seem important. The key thing was that
he was happy. And he was. He was then 90 and she was 83.

I
was surprised, but also delighted. Whatever my views about fidelity in
marriage, they do not extend to the time when one partner is effectively no
longer there. I made this very clear and could see him visibly relax.

He
had wanted me to know but had been frightened of my reaction. He said his worst
fear was that some other resident would tell my mother, but it did not look
like that had happened. He still continued to visit her as before.

My father and his lady friend never moved in together, although perhaps they stayed in each other’s apartments when I was not there. I did not press for such details.

She
continued to be a regular presence in his life until he died. Indeed, the night
he died, she went to the hospital and sat with his body for a long time.

When Do People Stop Having Sex?

I
don’t know when – and if – people stop having sex. I suspect there is a lot of
it about. Certainly, in the retirement community, it was common for couples to
spring up quite quickly after the death of a partner.

But
I do know about my father. And when I tell this story, I have never heard a
reaction other than “what a wonderful story” or “so, there’s hope then”. I’m
sure he would be delighted for you to know.

What
do you think about having sex in the decades after 60? Why do you think this is
a taboo topic? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

It’s always gratifying when the book you happen to pick up off the shelf is *exactly* the book you need to be reading. So it was with Dorie Clark’s The Long Game: How to be a Long Term Thinker in a Short-Term World.

Allow me to set the scene. I’d just gotten back from a month off. After castles in Edinburgh, long walks in Manhattan, and a seemingly endless stream of pale ales, I arrived home to a veritable mountain of work. And within 24 hours, I was back to waking up at 5, working weekends, and fitting my friends into “windows.”

Enter Dorie Clark. The Long Game is about how to lay the foundation for long-term, strategic thinking and professional success. I’ve read all of Clark’s books on career change and entrepreneurship. They’re insightful, filled with practical tips and eminently readable. And while some of the ideas in The Long Game were already familiar to me, the concept that really rocked my world was that of “white space.”

White Space

The book begins with an indictment of the “busy culture.” Many of us (*raises hand*) not only live life at a gallop, we consider that busyness to be a marker of success. And the danger of that way of thinking, according to Clark, is that “if we venerate busyness, even subconsciously,” we will inevitably make decisions that lead us in that direction.

But as she so wisely puts it, “Being so busy may seem like the path to success. But without time to reflect, an ominous possibility looms: What if we’re optimizing for the wrong things?”

So if we want to make smart choices about how we spend our time, we need to set aside time to think… and plan.

Strategic Thinking at Work

I’ve gotten better about planning my time, and in particular, about setting aside a few hours a week for “admin time.” But that’s just about keeping my head above water. It’s not the sort of strategic thinking Clark has in mind.

She’s talking about the big-picture, blue sky thinking: deciding you’ll become a Master Gardener, or start that social enterprise you’ve been dreaming of, or join that community theater troupe down the road. (If only!)

In my own case, I’ve put so much time into launching my own business over the past three years, that I’ve never really stopped to think about where I want it to go. How big do I want to get? Do I need to start contracting out work to other freelancers when I have too much to do? Do I want to get certified as a coach?

These are the sorts of big-ticket questions I simply don’t have time – or rather, make time – to ask myself. But I need to. Otherwise, I’ll just keep on living day-to-day, and lose track of where I ultimately want to be.

Strategic Thinking at Home

This lack of strategic thinking is also true in my personal life.

Take our house, which we love. When we moved in seven years ago, we knew it had a huge “damp” problem, as they say in the UK. And we know we need to fix it. But have we? No. Instead, there is literally moss growing *in* our kitchen, and on occasion water pours out of the light fixture. I’m no architect, but this strikes me as something we need to get on top of.

And speaking of houses, as I get older, my friends increasingly ask me if I’ve thought about where I will retire. I have no idea. Part of it is that my husband and I are not “forever house” sorts of people. And that’s fine. But we really need to get started on serious financial planning to make whatever we’re going to do doable as we get older. Instead, we just keep putting that off.

Mindset

The sad part of all of this is, I know how to fix this. Some of it is practical: learning to say “no.” (Even to good things, as Clark helpfully adds!) It’s also about identifying your priorities and cordoning off time in advance to address them.

But like most things, it’s also about mindset. It’s about ceasing to view busyness as “I’m in demand,” and re-framing it as “I don’t have control over my own schedule.”

Watch me go…

Have you heard of the concept of ‘white space’? Do you need to create white space in your life, or have you already done it? Is there a difference in your life when you make space for reflection?

Just when we thought‚ that Dyson couldn’t do any better than its iconic hair tools, the brand proved us wrong. Today, they launched a dreamy new color combo of its hair dryer, straightener, and curling iron, and we’re ready to buy each of them.

The Prussian Blue and Copper tools are everything you could possible want in a hair appliance. They’re good looking enough to display on top of your bathroom sink or front-and-center in you cabinets, plus they work like an absolute charm.

If you aren’t familiar with Dyson’s hair products, here’s a quick synopsis of them all: They’re known for being the best around. Period. Practically every celebrity hair stylist uses them, and for good reason. The hot tools use the power of heated airflow to style and dry your hair all at once—and with less damage. Because they use such advanced technology, I’m going to give it to you straight. They’re pricey AF. But, the majority of these tools have multiple uses. For example, its Airwrap curling tool comes with a whopping six attachments and its Supersonic hair dryer now has a smoothing device that can prevent stubborn flyaways and frizz from occurring.

Basically, they give you salon-quality hair without having to make a trip out to the salon, and without having to exert a ton of effort yourself throughout the styling process. Below, shop the newest Dyson hair tools collection before it sells out (and we’re sure it will). They’re the perfect early holiday gifts for you from you.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

Courtesy: Dyson.

Dyson Corrale Straightener

Welcome to 2021. In this fine year, we don’t need cords. They’re useless and tacky and suck to untangle. With this straightener, you can avoid all of the annoyance and give your locks a well-deserved break. It flattens and straightens by contouring to your hair’s shape to gently smooth everything out. This way, you’ll use less heat and get less breakage.

Courtesy: Dyson.

Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer

You know how it’s so hard to achieve bouncy and light hair when you use a hair dryer on yourself at home? This hair dryer basically ensures that you get beautiful locks every time it’s used. And, by buying one of these dryers, you also get a flyaway, styling, diffuser, comb, and gentle air attachment. Each of these helps you achieve a number of looks, from curly to pin-straight.

Courtesy: Dyson.

Dyson Airwrap Styler

This is your sign to stop spending money at those blow-out places and invest it in the device that will give you equally as beautiful curls with just as little effort on your end. The Airwrap styler does all of the heavy-lifting for you. It literally wraps your hair around itself (in a v gentle way) to create the ideal blowout look. A warning: If you buy this, you’re going to get an absurd amount of inquiries about where you got your hair blown out. You’ll get so many of these questions that you might begin to think you’re a professional stylist yourself. Go on and live that alter ego.

Before you know it, the holidays will arrive and soon after, a brand new year. With the unprecedented change and upheaval our world has undergone in the last 24 months, it may feel natural to wish for things to get back to some semblance of normal.

Change, however, is an immutable law of nature.

As much as you may not enjoy the changes that have occurred, rather than fight against the ones you don’t like, what if you could gracefully step into 2022 by writing a new story for yourself?

Before your inner critic jumps in with all the reasons why you cannot write your desired story at this stage of your life, let me give you three reasons that will convince you why you can.

To begin, choose one or two important areas of your life you have been wanting to positively change, but until now, have not found the courage or inspiration to do so. Once you have those areas of your life clearly defined, now you are ready for step one.

STEP 1 – Be What It Is You Seek

To be what it is you seek goes beyond intellectually believing you are worthy of what you desire. It embodies all that you seek to be, do, and have, regardless of where you may be in your life.

So, how do you become what it is you seek? Reconnect with the unlimited power of your childhood imagination.

There’s a good chance when you restore your connection with your imagination you will feel joy but also some resistance. Recognize that the resistance is not based on what others think, but instead on what you believe is possible.

Give yourself permission to imagine a new way of being without any limits. Feel into that experience with excitement and watch as the resistance to change melts away.

STEP 2 – Take Responsibility for Your Choices

Contrary to what you may have been raised to believe, nothing in life is random or accidental. Life is not happening to you, life is happening for you. Believing otherwise is to give your power away, which leads you into a state of disempowerment and victimhood.

To reclaim that power requires taking responsibility for your choices. This dissolves obstacles, struggle, and suffering. But that is not all.

It also opens up a new world for you where sustainable joy and fulfillment are not fleeting but an everyday reality.

To take responsibility for your choices, it is essential you look into your emotional baggage and remove what no longer serves you.

Rewriting your life story, then, is not about how good of a writer you are. It means going inward for solutions and being willing to let go of the burden of emotional baggage, which is where your resistance to a new way of living resides.

STEP 3 – Adopt New, Empowering Beliefs

One of the first things you will see when you look inside your baggage is that a lot of the contents do not belong to you. While a lot of this stems from outside conditioning, most of which you did not ask for, you must own it as yours in order to let it all go.

This is where you take responsibility for your choices, which is one of the most liberating and life-sustaining ways to fully take back your power, and with it, reclaim control over writing your life story on your terms.

Once you have removed any toxic, limiting beliefs you will want to replace them with new, more empowering beliefs. There are many effective ways to do this, but they all have a non-negotiable starting point, which is: Knowing what it is you truly desire in your life.

You Are the Storyteller of Your Entire Life

If writing a new story for yourself feels daunting, realize you have been writing, producing, directing, and starring in the most beautiful story ever told. That’s right, you are the storyteller of your entire life.

Recognizing this, and accepting it as true for you, not only brings into awareness how worthy you are of your desires, but how well prepared you are to create a new, abundant reality on your own terms.

This expansion of inner awareness creates the space for you to enjoy the process of creating your dream life, without limits, and at any age. And if you are currently living your dream life, now you can enhance it!

To provide an extra boost of inspiration on your journey to rewrite your life story in 2022, I invite you to journal your responses to the following:

• Make a list of the innermost desires you wish to experience in 2022.
• Of these desires, which ones did you believe were once out of your reach, but now know you can transform into reality?
• What type of support do you require to nurture and fulfill these exciting, new opportunities you are calling into your life?

What is your personal experience with rewriting any area of your life? If you feel comfortable doing so, I also encourage you to share some of your innermost desires for 2022.