>> if you have a ball like this, get it ready. if you don't, you'll benefit from the movements by using an imaginary ball. so let's get started. keepdriving.com is dedicated to helping older adults maintain their driving independence using cognitive training, exercise, nutrition, and community. explore keepdriving.com today. "sit and be fit" is a creation of mary ann wilson, registered nurse, teacher and recognized leader in the field of fitness and healthy aging. mary ann consults with a team of medical and exercise specialists to bring you a fun and effective way to maintain functional fitness.

>> mary ann: the exercise program you are about to do is effective for any age, but it was specially designed for anyone needing slow, gentle movement. all you need is a chair that touches your back while your feet are flat on the floor. if your back doesn't touch, put a pillow behind for that necessary back support. if you have your exercise band and towel, put them on the back of your chair. now, get ready to "sit and be fit." >> hi. i'm mary ann wilson. we'll be working on some of our driving skills and using our eye exercises to help us with that. there will be times that we'll separate the eye and head movements. there will be other times when we keep them both together. all right. are you ready? sit up tall. lift up the shoulder. roll it forward. and now, all around. lift up this shoulder. roll it forward and back and then all around.

now, squeeze those shoulder blades. and push down. one more time... a quick squeeze here, and push. now in you're pretty good alignment. just push that chin back. look to the side and to this side. now, on this next movement, the head does not move. eyes only. you're going to look up slowly and down. up and down. and now side to side. side to side. now, can you do that faster? up, down. up, down. okay. side to side fast. all right. close your eyes for just a second. hold your ball here. now, this time, i want you to focus on the ball, and your head can turn. it's side to side.

now we're going to speed it up. keep your eyes on the ball. this is a movement you should be doing about 20 seconds every day, three to five times a day. okay. almost finished. good work! all right. now, you're going to hold the ball right here. we're going to work on your scapula, releasing it. roll forward. now, this time i want you to hold it there and then see if you can roll just a little bit more. try this side now. roll. and roll. there we go. now, a little bit more. good job. now we're going to talk the ball overhead. i want you to watch with your head and your eyes, keeping movements together. now in front.

overhead again. and in front again. whew! good work. okay. we're going to work a little bit more with the ball, and we'll be working some more on your driving skills and upper body flexibility. so, here we go. push hard. that's an isometric exercise. all right. now, just roll that ball from one side to the other. and catch. get ready to throw it. catch. this is help young your reaction time. ready? throw and catch.

throw and catch. okay. we're going to roll down, round that spine, and back up. roll it, get a nice stretch in your back, and again. one more time. okay. let's take that ball overhead and make a right angle with your other arm on top. look at that ball as it goes from side to side. one more to this side and one more to this side. now, i want you to make a figure eight with that ball keeping it close to your head. and reverse.

nice upper body flexibility here. put the ball over your knee, lift the heel, and press, press. and change. press down. press. and change again. change one last time. okay. bring it around. circle. and, you're finished! that was great. you can put your ball aside now. this is a fun routine. we will be doing a lot of body tapping. it will improve circulation and circulation to the brain as well. every time you pat an area of the body, a corresponding part of the brain is stimulated. what great news is that? so, let's get started. start by patting your shoulders.

pull it forward. and then cross. now, we're going to start some fast pats. the other arm. start with the palm down. and then turn it up. okay. ready for your tarzan move. belly pats. under this rib. and this side. okay. let's trace a circle. keep your back straight. tummy is pulled in. and reverse direction. and now slip away from the back of your chair and pat those kidneys.

alternate. pat. together. alternate. pat. and alternate. okay. here we go. you're going to lift up your knee. point and flex. and change. point and flex. okay. coming up is a fun move. you're going to stomp four. one, two, three, four. one, two, three, four. change. one, two, three, four. okay. let's work those hips. take it out, slide your foot back in. out again, and slide. now, slide out, bring it in. slide, and in. let's try this leg. slide it out first. then lift.

slide, and lift. now, lift, and slide it back in. lift up, and slide. now, nice straight backs. now, cross the wrists. i want you to interlace your fingers. bring it in and out. easy. interlace. and one more. okay. a few more claps here. change. all the way back up. whew... we did it!

>> it's time to pay special attention to the finger joints. remember, if you have arthritis, pace the number of repetitions that you do and stay in your comfort range. >> time to work those finger joints. let's be gentle. turn your palm up. and you're going to slide the finger down, bring it in, just that last digit. bend. and bend. try your other hand now. just slide it down to the very end, and then bend gently. very gentle. no pain.

okay. let's get a little movement in your thumb. slide your fingers up the thumb and press it back. slide it again, press. and now, just let that thumb bend right there. slide up the thumb. get a nice strch. one more time, sliding up the thumb, gently pressing back, and then just letting it bend. okay. now, i want you just to trace between the fingers and back. try to spread them as wide apart as you can. let's start here. start at the tip of the pinkie, go all the way around, and then let's go back.

stretch the fingers as wide apart as you can. okay. wiggle it out. now, i want you to pretend that you have just a roll of dough right here, or putty, or any other thing that just stretches. there it is. a nice ball, and you're pulling it apart. bring the hands together. pull apart. one more. and now, let's bring your hands right here on your knees, just on your thighs. and you're going to flick, and flick. try your other hand. keep the fingers stretched out. bend and give it a little flip.

one last one here. and now make a fist and circle and reverse your circle. take a deep breath in and breathe out. that was wonderful. >> exercising with weights helps strengthen muscles and bones. correct form is important. keep your wrists straight and breathe throughout the exercise. you can benefit from the movements even without using weights. if you have pain or can't maintain good form, do the exercises without them. if you have high blood pressure, check with your doctor before using weights. >> let me get you set up for this next routine. you want to rest your heel on the floor. make sure you're forward enough in your chair. your leg is straight. you're going to pull in that abdominal muscle, all of them, and reach forward,

keep them nice and tight, and then pull back and squeeze your shoulder blades. okay. nice posture. start by reaching forward. pull it back. and squeeze. reach. okay. ready to change. nice straight back. we have about two more here. okay. here we go. we're going to turn and do a bicep curl. turn. bicep curl. one more to each side. good job! now, stack those weights. tighten the belly. up and down. okay, on this one, kick out and in twice.

change. up and down. okay. ready to kick? out and in. there you go. now we're working the tricep muscle. try to relax your shoulder. let's do it together. out and in. now together. okay. pretend these are water jugs. you're going to tilt them over and dump them out. tilt. over. follow with your eyes. tilt. and over. tilt. and over. super. now, bring those fists together, and you're going to open up the windows, and then push them up. do it again. open.

push up. and close. one more time. open. push. and close. bring it down here. bicep curl. just one more. whew! you've finished. >> for leg strengthening and stretching exercises, stand directly behind your chair, placing your hand on the center of the chair for balance. if you prefer to stay seated, follow gretchen. she'll be turning during the leg exercises for demonstration purposes only. you should stay facing forward in your chair for a solid base of support. >> you're going to have a lot of fun with this. this is going to help your reaction time when you're driving. you're going to get into a good alignment first, feet slightly apart,

and you're just going to pass the ball from one hand to the other to begin with. keep your eye on the ball. okay. shift your weight. all right. now, we're going to first of all throw it low. now throw it a little higher. okay. now, walk forward and back and throw and catch at the same time. walk first. and walk back. okay. are you ready to add those ball tosses? >> ready. >> here we go! one, two, three, four. walk back. two, three, and four. walk forward again.

walk back. how are you doing? okay. now we're going to shift the weight side to side. and then we're going to bounce in the center right here. bounce. now, bounce here, and here, working your balance. one more to each side. okay. now, this is a little bit tricky. i want you to be right here by your chair, and you're going to bounce the ball and have your toe on the floor. now, we're going to take that foot off the floor. ready? whew! okay.

good job. make sure you're behind your chair. this toe is touching. bounce. whew! take your foot off the floor. super job. okay. let's just walk right here. you're going to bounce and then toss it up. bounce, toss. whew, let's get rid of those. all right. this routine is going to work on your balance. we're doing still a lot of things for safe driving. you will be closing your eyes at one point, so i want you to really be careful. make sure you are behind your chair. we will be going around the chair also. so make sure everything is cleared away. here we go. my feet are about, oh, just about shoulder width or a little

closer together, and i want you to pretend you're standing on two clocks and you're going around the soles of your shoes. and let's reverse the direction. go slow. don't try to do this too fast because you'll really lose your balance, and you won't really get the effect. now, be behind your chair, or close to it. let's walk on the tightrope. shift your weight. and go back. one more. now go forward again. and go back. and now get into that tightrope

stance. this is the part where i want you to close your eyes only if you feel safe or if someone else is in the room. even if you think you have good balance, i want you to have a chair beside you. close your eyes, come up on your toes, and come down. can you do it again? up. keep the eyes closed. come down and open your eyes. and now put the other foot behind. get yr balance. your weight is not on the back leg nor the front. it's kind of right in between. close your eyes. up on the toes. and down. again, up. and down. now open your eyes. adjust to the room now. now we're going to walk backwards in a circle. i'm going to walk around my chair.

you know, this is good for your brain, being able to walk backwards. if you're ever having a day that's very confusing and things just don't seem to be turning out the way you want them to, walk backwards. now you're going to walk forward and look over this shoulder, and look over this shoulder. this is for your vestibular system. okay. now, we're going to shift your weight here, and shift it here. now, if your feet are pretty wide apart, you'll be getting a nice stretch right here. i'm going to get mine a little wider apart. and let's bend this knee. the stretch is on your straight leg. and now this side. okay. bring your feet together. i want you to lift up one heel

and arm. lift up the other heel and arm. great job. okay. let's move right into stretching. this is great music. i love it. makes me feel like i'm on a carousel. i'm going to start by sitting down and back up, almost as though you're sitting on a hot seat. pop right back up. it's down and up. and now hold onto that, that pull me. good job. now, i'm going to turn this way and do a calf stretch. we start right here, forward and back. forward and back. now, my feet are wide enough apart to get into a good calf stretch. and then with this hand we're going to pull down and up.

you have to use your imagination here. you're on the carousel, right? one more. okay. now, i'm shifting my weight. this leg is going to go forward. i'm doing a hamstring stretch. and your hand will reach out, pull back. reach, pull. reach. okay. ready to change legs? all right. rock forward and rock back. forward and back. and now i'm going to get into my calf stretch. gretchen is going to get into hers. looks totally, totally different. and reach for that pole. one more. and now, i'm going to shift the weight forward and then

back and do the hamstring stretch right here. this looks pretty much the same. now, reach forward with one arm and pull back. reach, pull. reach. one more. okay. just shift your weight forward and back. just kind of like a rocking motion. all right. we'll finish up with that inner thigh stretch. so i'm going to get my feet wide apart and bend this knee. stretch is here. and here. let's do a little more stretching, just some relaxing stretches. open up wide. feel the chest. and let's do one more. roll the shoulders.

i think you've had a great workout today. let's reach out for a better day. for information on dvds, videos and audio tapes, including specialty videos for chronic conditions such as arthritis, or for a complimentary copy of the "sit and be fit" newsletter, please write, call, or visit us on our website.

keepdriving.com is dedicated to helping older adults maintain their driving independence using cognitive training, exercise, nutrition and community. >> welcome to "skyweek." let's see what's happening in the sky from monday, july 15, to sunday, july 21. three spectacularly close approaches take place in the heavens this week. on monday evening, people in the u.s. see the moon extremely close to spica, the brightest star of the constellation virgo. on wednesday, people in asia see the moon equally close to zubenelgenubi, in the constellation libra. and people worldwide can look low in the west shortly after sunset to see venus near the

bright star regulus on sunday and the following monday, july 21 and 22. this is tony flanders from "sky & telescope" magazine, wishing you clear skies and great views. download our free "skyweek" app for more information. maybe you have some energy- saving appliances, like an energy star-rated washer and dryer. but what about your tv? chances are it's on more than your washer, dryer, and kitchen appliances combined. did you know that if half of us in the u.s. replaced our regular tvs with an energy star model, the change would be like shutting down a power plant? you can find the energy star on everything from standard to high def to the largest flat-screen your heart desires. ow that makes sense.

>> i'm all choked-up about california artichokes. stay with me for one of the most delicious soups you'll ever make! [ theme music playing ] [ lidia squeals ] >> man: you feel the shock? >> lidia: yeah, i feel the shock and the pinch. ah, feels good. say "chioggia." >> chioggia. >> ah, there you go, you're italian. can i just get into it? come and join me! made possible by buonitalia. established by the italian ministry for agriculture, food, and forestry policy, we promote and protect the italian agrifood system all over the world. we represent authentic, artisanal products from italy, buonitalia.