Bristles Down

Posted by on April 6, 2012 No comments

A couple of weeks ago my good friend told me a story about her boyfriend’s arguably OCD behavior that made us both laugh.  The story went that when she arrived home from a fabulous 6am class to get ready for work she noticed his brand new toothbrush in the trash barrel.  With a sparked curiosity as to what could have possibly happened that prompted him to throw away a barely used toothbrush, she texted him that very question.  After all, it may be something she needed to know; what if whatever contaminated his new toothbrush could have possibly affected hers too?  From here we learned that the reason for the disposal was the toothbrush was dropped into the sink, not only was it dropped into the sink, but it landed bristles down.  The two of us laughed pretty hard about this story because, let’s be honest, it’s a little ridiculous.  My toothbrush falls all over the place and I’ve never even thought to give it a tossing, a nice rinse in hot water maybe, but just toss it?

I agreed to blog about this instance due to its comedic nature, but I needed to find a way to tie it all in to the Fortunes & Misfortunes theme that this blog represents.  The landing of bristles down was truly a misfortune for him which became a fortune for us to enjoy later on in the day.  But how would my readers enjoy this story?  Surely I need to make a life lesson out of it and so I present you with this:

I think that we as people are quick to disregard certain things when the easy way out presents itself.  For instance, you have to break your good eating habits because of a holiday, or you have to miss your workouts because you are just too busy.  When life’s bristles down moments arrive, we tend to take full advantage.  The one time is not going to hurt, but it then becomes, “well I’ve already broken my diet”, or “I’ve already missed one day of my workouts this week so what’s the big deal if I take the rest of the week off?”  There have been many times when I found myself taking the bristles down approach.  I’m sorry to say that it only snowballs into a place where you find yourself having to start all over again.  Remember that when you choose to make health and fitness a part of your life, it needs to remain a part of your life and not something that you dread having to be a part of.  Pick things that you enjoy doing and enjoy eating.  Not all healthy foods are blah, get creative and stick to natural, unprocessed foods and seasonings.  Your body will thank you for this!  You don’t want to do things that you will find yourself looking for a justifiable way out of.  And when you do miss a day, pick right back up the next day and it will be like it never happened!  You’re not going to get anywhere with only ONE day of healthy eating and exercise just as much as you won’t get anywhere with only ONE day of bad eating and no exercise!

Bottom line, when you find yourself bristles down, don’t just throw it away!  Run it under some hot water and get brushing!

A Surprise for You, From You

Posted by on March 20, 2012 No comments

What a beautiful day to welcome Spring!!  The sun is out, there is a warm breeze in the air, and its a feeling of new beginnings!  Last evening Brett and I attended a Hot Power Yoga class at Yoga Sakti.  It’s not too often that you’ll hear me say I NEED YOGA… but after a very hectic and emotionally draining winter, we both NEEDED yoga.  I didn’t even think to myself how it was the evening before the first day of spring and how much this 75-minute yoga session would really come to symbolize.

The truth is we were both nervous.  While we both consider each other to be in decent-shape, yoga is not necessarily a determining factor of “shape”, so to speak.  I knew this going into it and I’ll be honest, my last yoga class was probably over a year ago.  As we walked into the 95-degree room, we both looked at each other with an “oh boy” face.  Within three minutes of start time, the sweat was already dripping down my back and off my shoulders, I was a wet down-dog from the get go.  The side braid only lasted about 15-minutes before it was quickly whipped up into a top of the head, tight, messy bun.  Whenever I take yoga I am always amazed at how all judgement of other people is gone.  It didn’t matter if my hair was in a cute side braid with strategically placed whispys alongside my face.  What mattered was that I was there and for 75-minutes it was me, my body, and my mat (and water and towels of course) and my hair could be shaved off for all anyone there cared.  It’s an interesting place, a yoga room.  You have your yogis who you know are there nearly everyday perfecting their practice.  You have your first time yogis, who look around the room when the instructor says thing like “bring your right leg forward into warrior 1″.  Then there are the people like myself who try to portray themselves as an expert yogi, but the mask only lasts 20 minutes into the practice.  Needless to say, it is a room that I can appreciate.  It is so different from any other “fitness” or “mind/body” class in that you are pushing yourself without a care and without a standard.  You really don’t have much thought at all, which is what makes it what it is I guess.  Your goal is really just to get through it.  Which is where your body can surprise you.

At about 6:45 (class began at 6), Brett looked up at me while upside down in three-legged dog pose, face beat red and looking like he was escaping from a swimming pool, and asked what time class was over.  I laughed a little because he took the words right out of my mouth, when is this over!  I knew we still had 30 minutes left and quite frankly, I didn’t know that I could do it.  The thoughts about dropping myself down into child’s pose for the remaining 30 were getting brighter and brighter.  The best part about it was that if I wanted to do that, I could and it wouldn’t matter to me or to anyone else.  Technically, I could have sat in child’s pose all 75 minutes.  Mentally, I was damning myself for being there, but a small voice said that I would be so happy when it was all over.  In the final moments of the class, I truthfully did not think I could go on any further, and it was then that my body took over.  It was like my mind came out from within me, looked down and watched as my body just gave everything it had in the last 15 minutes.  There was no stopping, there wasn’t really any thinking.  It was just breathing and going and I was done.

I got to thinking how great yoga is at cleansing the soul and gaining confidence in the body.  I woke up today refreshed and with a proud feeling of what I accomplished last evening.  Some might say it was just a yoga class, but for anyone who witnesses themselves accomplish what they think they can’t, it can be appreciated.  It was just a yoga class, but it was a moment that took on accomplishment.  My winter blues were flushed away, gone.  My body, rejuvenated.  I thought about this in terms of some of my classes and trainings.  Sometimes, one more push up is impossible,  but we have to ease our minds of these thoughts – the body will take over.  Something I have always said is that you can always do one more of anything.  This is how we get better at what we want to achieve.  One more push up, one more crunch, one more mile, one more minute.  This Spring, as the winter and all of its components die away – let your body surprise you.

 

My Triceps Are Better Than Yours

Posted by on March 12, 2012 No comments

Let me start by saying I LOVE the tricep muscle.  Not only is a defined tricep incredibly sexy on both man and woman, but it is also a challenge to get it that way!  Whenever I hear the word tricep I always think of this one time when I was in high school.  Yup, I’m going there.  I was in history class, and this class just so happened to be full of football players, AND the teacher just so happened to be one of the football coaches.  And, it just so happened to be the day before a game so they were all wearing their football jerseys to school. None of these “football”-related references have much to do with the story other than the fact the football players probably had the largest triceps of anyone in the school if I were to guess.  So, I was having a conversation with one of them who sat next to me before the class started and we got on the topic of triceps.  He was telling me how he had been lifting a lot and how his tricep muscle was becoming more “defined”.  Being the captain of the cheering team and lifting actual people on a daily basis, I challenged that my tricep muscle was probably more defined than his.  And there we were, in the middle of the classroom, with the teacher/football coach ready to start class, flexing and comparing triceps.  In a moment where we were in our own world of triceps, a voice came over the room “Are you guys ready or should I bring in the bench?”.  Busted.  The whole class had been listening and watching our entire competition.  It was a moment, I still say I won.

So back to triceps.  These muscles are incredibly difficult to tone and define, and even some of the most in-shape women have trouble getting to this muscle.  It burns when you work it, and the burn result is minimal, but we still try!  In a recent article on Well+Good NYC, the opening line refers to the tricep in a pretty accurate way:

Weak triceps are the fit woman’s dirty little secret.

Here’s the dirt on the triceps – they are a “small” muscle, as opposed to large muscles like the bicep.  We forget about them.  We think if we’re working our arms, such as in bicep curls, we’re targeting the whole arm.  Wrong, we are only working on the main, large group and forgetting our small little triceps in the back.  This results in questions like “Danielle, what do I do about THIS?” as you point to the loose skin that hangs and shakes as you wave your hand.

Because I LOVE the appearance of the defined tricep, and because I know how much women HATE those bat wings, I make it a point to work the triceps to exhaustion in every arm series I do in my classes or personal fitness sessions.  But, you can also work them very easily at home.  Here are three easy ways to work those triceps.  Do these at my suggested 3 times per week and you’ll be winning those tricep contests with football players in no time! :-)

3 Easy Ways to Work Your Triceps

 

Just Keep Moving

Posted by on February 29, 2012 No comments

I am taking this blog entry from a great article I read via the NY Times by Gretchen Reynolds, I hope you enjoy!:

Hoping to learn more about how inactivity affects disease risk, researchers at the University of Missouri recently persuaded a group of healthy, active young adults to stop moving around so much. Scientists have known for some time that sedentary people are at increased risk of developing heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. But they haven’t fully understood why, in part because studying the effects of sedentary behavior isn’t easy. People who are inactive may also be obese, eat poorly or face other lifestyle or metabolic issues that make it impossible to tease out the specific role that inactivity, on its own, plays in ill health.

So, to combat the problem, researchers lately have embraced a novel approach to studying the effects of inactivity. They’ve imposed the condition on people who otherwise would be out happily exercising and moving about, in some cases by sentencing them to bed rest.

But in the current study, which was published this month in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the scientists created a more realistic version of inactivity by having their volunteers cut the number of steps they took each day by at least half.

They wanted to determine whether this physical languor would affect the body’s ability to control blood sugar levels. “It’s increasingly clear that blood sugar spikes, especially after a meal, are bad for you,” says John P. Thyfault, an associate professor of nutrition and exercise physiology at the University of Missouri, who conducted the study with his graduate student Catherine R. Mikus and others. “Spikes and swings in blood sugar after meals have been linked to the development of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.”

So the scientists fitted their volunteers with sophisticated glucose monitoring devices, which checked their blood sugar levels continuously throughout the day. They also gave the subjects pedometers and activity-measuring armbands, to track how many steps they took. Finally, they asked the volunteers to keep detailed food diaries.

Then they told them to just live normally for three days, walking and exercising as usual.

Exercise guidelines from the American Heart Association and other groups recommend that, for health purposes, people accumulate 10,000 steps or more a day, the equivalent of about 30 minutes of walking or easy jogging. Few people do, however. Repeated studies of American adults have shown that a majority take fewer than 5,000 steps per day.

The Missouri volunteers were atypical in that regard. Each exercised 30 minutes or so most days and easily completed more than 10,000 daily steps during the first three days of the experiment. The average was almost 13,000 steps.

During these three days, according to data from their glucose monitors, the volunteers’ blood sugar did not spike after they ate.

But that estimable condition changed during the second portion of the experiment, when the volunteers were told to cut back on activity so that their step counts would fall below 5,000 a day for the next three days. Achieving such indolence was easy enough. The volunteers stopped exercising and, at every opportunity, took the elevator, not the stairs, or had lunch delivered, instead of strolling to a cafe. They became, essentially, typical American adults.

Their average step counts fell to barely 4,300 during the three days, and the volunteers reported that they now “exercised,” on average, about three minutes a day.

Meanwhile, they ate exactly the same meals and snacks as they had in the preceding three days, so that any changes in blood sugar levels would not be a result of eating fattier or sweeter meals than before.

And there were changes. During the three days of inactivity, volunteers’ blood sugar levels spiked significantly after meals, with the peaks increasing by about 26 percent compared with when the volunteers were exercising and moving more. What’s more, the peaks grew slightly with each successive day.

This change in blood sugar control after meals “occurred well before we could see any changes in fitness or adiposity,” or fat buildup, due to the reduced activity, Dr. Thyfault says. So the blood sugar swings would seem to be a result, directly, of the volunteers not moving much.

Which is both distressing and encouraging news. “People immediately think, ‘So what happens if I get hurt or really busy, or for some other reason just can’t work out for awhile?’” Dr. Thyfault says. “The answer seems to be that it shouldn’t be a big problem.” Studies in both humans and animals have found that blood sugar regulation quickly returns to normal once activity resumes.

The spikes during inactivity are natural, after all, even inevitable, given that unused muscles need less fuel and so draw less sugar from the blood.

The condition becomes a serious concern, Dr. Thyfault says, only when inactivity is lingering, when it becomes the body’s default condition. “We hypothesize that, over time, inactivity creates the physiological conditions that produce chronic disease,” like Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, regardless of a person’s weight or diet.

To avoid that fate, he says, keep moving, even if in small doses. “When I’m really busy, I make sure to get up and walk around the office or jog in place every hour or so,” he says. Wear a pedometer if it will nudge you to move more. “You don’t have to run marathons,” he says. “But the evidence is clear that you do need to move.”

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/29/why-its-so-important-to-keep-moving/?smid=tw-nytimeswell&seid=auto

Stinky Clothes Need TLC Too!

Posted by on February 1, 2012 No comments

It’s not talked about too much, but let’s be honest….activewear can stink!  Mine certainly does… I sweat and I sweat a lot, an issue that you used to be embarressing but I’m now way over it.  Per usual, I digress, sweating issues are a different post for a different day.  But not far from the topic is the issue of keeping the clothes that you sweat in, not smelling like ‘sweatn‘!  After years and years of sweat-drenched clothing, I have finally developed a process through a variety of products that keep my clothes fresh, clean and like new every time I wear them!  The first major contributor to this is my love affair with LUON.  Yes, luon is the fabric that has made lululemon such a major name brand in the health and wellness clothing industry.  While only their silverescent family of fabric is OFFICIALLY marketed as ‘stink-free’, the standard luon fabric does a great job of keeping the stink out and tolerating a lot of abuse!  I swear by luon, and that will not change anytime in the near future!

Not to get carried away, I will admit that luon still needs to be cleaned and cared for just like any other sweaty clothing (MAJOR tip, do not add fabric softener to luon, it will inhibit its wicking capabilities and we don’t want that!).  Detergent is the key and there is no other option besides Tide with Febreeze for Sport.  Not just because it is the only detergent out there that is specifically sport’s sensitive, but because it works!  It gets better, throw in some Tide Boost Febreeze Duo Pacs to fight stains and enhance the odor eliminating properties of the detergant that come along with an active lifestyle!  Finally, now that we’ve taken care of all our odor-eliminating worries, we want our activewear to smell fresh and clean like our normal wear.  I throw in a cup of these Downy Unstoppables to add a nice crisp, fresh scent to all my lulu, Nike, UnderArmour, you name it!

I’ve saved the best for last.  There are those other items that also start to stink after a while.  Sneakers, towels, weights, mats, TRX, headbands, your kid’s soccer and hockey equipment, etc.  For those other items, there is the Febreeze Sport Odor spray for all your miscellaneous “stink”!  I sometimes use this to spray throughout my closet to make sure everything is fresh (because sometimes that stink gets on your normal clothes too!)

So stop worrying about smelly clothes, because when you’re working out, the LAST thing you want to be self-conscious of is your stink!  Sweating is a good thing, and we want to promote that!  Get more use out of your active-wear of choice and sweat more often with these good-care products and tips!  Hope this helps and Happy Smells to Everyone!

For further care instructions on lululemon clothing, see this site: http://www.lululemon.com/education/info/care?mnid=mn;education;product-care

Reasons Why I Love Pilates…and You Should Too!

Posted by on January 17, 2012 No comments

It is no surprise that I love all my classes, and am very passionate about all levels of fitness and dance… and when fitness and dance are combined it’s the best of both worlds!  What I must admit, is that above-all the possible classes to teach and do, pilates rises to the top of my list.  It intrigues me, it’s a challenge.  The more you practice, the better you get and the more you see your body transform.  Joseph Pilates once said:

“I must be right. Never an aspirin. Never injured a day in my life. The whole country, the whole world, should be doing my exercises. They’d be happier.”

I must agree, pilates coordinates the mind, body, and spirit.  Initially just a rebalitation for injured ballerinas, pilates has conquered the world of health and fitness, and it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.  And with that, three reasons I found that YOU should try pilates (from everythingaboutpilates.com):

  • Increase Core Strength Core strength is the base of all Pilates exercises. Because the core helps you stand upright and are absolutely necessary for all movements, its health and strength are especially important. Pilates is very similar to Yoga in that it is made up of many stretching exercises. It differs from Yoga, however, because it is more fast-paced and based on repetitive, often complex movements.
  • Exercise Anywhere Because it requires no equipment to get started, Pilates can truly be practiced anywhere. Just pick up a dvd, or head to a class to get the basics, and you can do your workout anywhere from your home, to the hotel to the gym.
  • Greater Flexibility In addition to greater core strength, Pilates also focuses very strongly on building flexibility. Joseph Pilates believed that having strong control over your body based on balance, strength and flexibility was paramount to a healthy lifestyle and exercise routine.

TIPS FOR KEEPING NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS!!!

Posted by on December 30, 2011 No comments
What are your health and wellness resolutions for 2012?!  BElow are some of my tips for staying on track all year long!  Look familiar?  Ah yes, these are just as relevant now as they were going into 2011, with a few updates ;-)

 

Do NOT deprive yourself. You cannot wake up on January 1 and say you are not going to eat cookies and ice cream ever again. This is unrealistic. You will eat cookies and ice cream again, and that is OK, the key is in MODERATION.  Try to limit your sweets to once/week.  For substitutions try Chobani yogurt, Larabars, or fruit!

 

Throw out your scales. Yes, throw them away. The scale is a mind game. We see we dropped a couple pounds, we think it is ok to eat a McDonald’s large fry. We see we gained a couple pounds, we think we have to starve. The scale makes weight management a stress in your life, and when you’re stressed, your health & fitness resolutions cannot be reached!  For more on this weight loss villian, see my blog The Scale is Not Your Friend

 

TRY SOMETHING NEW! ”What’s Bootylicious? I could never do that!” Have you said this? Well, you’re wrong. Make 2012 a year for exploring other ways to be healthy both mentally and physically. Cardio is important, but be open to trying things like yoga and pilates when you find yourself becoming overwhelmed.  Or, toning classes to help strengthen your muscles.  Need an extra boost?  Try Personal Fitness sessions with me in studio, at your home, or (STARTING 1/1/12) VIA SKYPE! Contact me for more info on personal fitness sessions!

 

Stay positive, do not get discouraged. If weight loss is your goal, remember that those extra pounds were built up over a very long period of time, they did not show up one morning. Thus, to shed them in a healthy fashion, it will take time. You have to be your own biggest fan at all times!  Read my blog Instant Satisfaction and also never forget my BASICS!

 

Avoid empty calories. The mind and the body are not happy when they’re running on sugar and caffeine. Think of things you can cut out – soda, candy, muffins, chips, etc. Empty calories provide no nutritious benefits to your body, that is why they are “empty”.  Fill your meals with vegetables, proteins, and healthy fats!

 

Take a bath. No, not a shower…a bath. Most of us have the luxury of taking hot baths but just don’t. Pick at least one day a week, find a good bath soak, and schedule your ‘bath time’. You deserve it!  Yup, there’s a blog for that too!

 

You do not need a gym membership. Many people feel that they need to join a gym in order to stay in shape. This is false. You can purchase very inexpensive equipment such as weights, yoga mats, yoga balls, pilates rings, etc. that will be a lot less than a gym membership and will reap the same rewards! Plus, I happen to know someone who can create at-home workouts with all of these items that you can follow!

 

Drink water and drink it often. The human body is anywhere from 55% to 78% water depending on the size. Your organs and tissues are made up mostly of water and thus, need water to function. Drinking lots of water helps benefit: weight loss, natural remedy for headaches, healthier skin, better exercise, helps digestion, keeps joints and muscles lubricated, relieves fatigue and reduces the risk of cancers.

 

Smile and have fun in all that you do! “It takes a lot of work from the face to let out a smile, but just think what good smiling can bring to the most important muscle of the body… the heart.”

 

Spend time with the ones you love.

 

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Happy-New-Year—-.html?soid=1104195160280&aid=3_5gDje_ahA.

Happy Holidays to All!

Posted by on December 23, 2011 No comments

TURKEY BOOTCAMP IS BACK!!

Posted by on November 16, 2011 No comments

IT ONLY HAPPENS ONCE A YEAR!  DON’T MISS IT!

The Most Hectic Time of the Year

Posted by on November 16, 2011 1 comment

I hear it over and over, time and time again… “I can’t come to class tonight, just too busy”.  And in the November/December months, forget it!  Holiday shopping, meal cooking, decorating, stress.  Three major issues with this picture – 1. Stress causes weight gain.  2. You’re double-dipping because you’re slacking on your workouts.  3. You’re eating a lot of those dinners, cookies, and pies!

My take on health and fitness is usually pretty realistic.  My advice is never to not eat those things and settle for a slice of turkey and veggies on Thanksgiving.  Heck no, that’s what Turkey Bootcamp is for so eat away! ;-)   But, the common question here is how do people keep their cool during the holidays without packing on the pounds?  Time is short and sometimes making it to class is not the best option.

My advice?  Make it a point to do 10 minutes of light weight-training either first thing in the morning or late afternoon every other day.  This will keep your metabolism running along with your good spirits!  Make suer to break a little sweat when you’re doing it too!  If you want more information on what exercises to do specifically, feel free to contact me!

The holidays should be a fun time.  Remember that workouts can be a very brief escape from the hustle and bustle!  And don’t let all your hardwork throughout the year go to waste these next 2 months, January 1 is only right around the corner anyways! It is important to make time for you in between spending money on everyone else!