Tank Top Arms

You know how when you’re working out, you usually take a break in between sets, or maybe a break from running and just walk a little bit? Oooo, oooo, better yet, what about when you take a “few” minutes to chat with your friend as a little break? Ask a Crossfitter to take that opportunity and you’ll hear “NAHHHHHH!! Breaks are for wimps!”

Have you heard of it, Crossfit? The first time you ever participate in a Crossfit session, you’ll never forget it. My girlfriend and I used to joke around about how we would pass or fail the toilet test. Basically, if we had a hard time “squatting” for the next couple of days, then we did a good job on our workout! ;o)

There are MANY benefits to doing Crossfit. Here are a few reasons to add some spice into your workout life:

• Cardiovascular
• Stamina
• Speed
• Agility
• Flexibility
• Strength
• Power
• Coordination
• Balance

For those that really enjoy exercise or want to vamp up their routine, Crossfit is like a chocolate delicacy from Bavaria. You don’t need cardio machines or free weights. You don’t need a pool or a fancy gym. As a matter of fact, Crossfit is a pretty plain Jane basic workout regime that will ultimately just kick your ass into the next day. Crossfit is a highly adaptable and constantly changing strength and conditioning program. In all honesty, it’s a workout that anybody can participate in, but truly will be appreciated more by those who are at a higher level of  fitness. Running, jumping, gymnastic type movements, climbing, and weight-lift training  and any other type of challenging and functional exercises are all game. Crossfit can benefit all different ages and abilities because the goal of a Crossfit athlete is  to be as fit as possible.

There are different routines that you can pick from. They vary from competing against one other, yourself, time, weight, and it goes on and on. The possibilities are really endless if you think about it. One of the best perks….no gym membership is required! Use your garage, an open room in your house, the backyard, a beach, a park, your driveway, etc…etc. Of course if you belong to a gym, you can do your session there as well. To put it simply as possible, think UNconventional. Think ABnormal. Think Wicked. I could put you through the ringer with a jump rope and a tire if I wanted to. Just to whet your appetite, I’m posting a couple of workouts that were put together by myself and my workout partner back in Hawaii. She and I along with another co-worker put together a blog called 2 girls and 1 guy workout together. Now granted, the blog hasn’t been touched in a while, but that’s besides the point. We created these workouts to share with others and to kick our own butts too ;o)

Sample 1- Rose: 5 rounds (sets) for time (try to complete as fast as you can)
10 burpees
40 air squats
30 crunches
20 sumo high pulls (these can be done with a dumbbell, barbell plate, kettle bell, or barbell w/ weight)

Sample 2 – Stick in the Mud (20 minutes. As many rounds as you can do)

10 burpees (see above)

20 air squats (see above)

15 clean and press

20 ball toss (abs)

10 split jumps

This kind of workout is being used by individuals and groups all over. Fire fighters, police officers, military personnel, working moms, stay at home moms, kids (my own), dad’s from every corner and good looking men in politics get involved in Crossfit! (Ok that last one was for my own pleasure).

So what are you gonna do? I challenge YOU to challenge yourself.

Are you looking at the title and saying to yourself, “Why is she asking this? ” Well, I ask because I think it’s a legitimate question for parents. How much do you know about the importance of having a fit kid, other than the fact that you could stave off extra pounds of fat around his or her tummy? Well, the truth is, that kids who are overweight or obese tend to have more health problems as kids AND are at a 50% increased risk of being overweight as adults! Scary….

Dear mom and dad: get your kid moving, because THIS isn’t cutting it!!!

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, overweight or obese children and adolescents are at risk for many health problems. Some of the negative health outcomes that may be more obvious to children and their parents are asthma, sleep apnea, skin infections, and complaints of joint pain. In addition, research indicates that obese children have lower self esteem and self confidence than their thinner peers. Low self esteem and self confidence have been linked to poor academic performance, fewer friends, and depression. How’s that for an eye opener?!

So what can YOU do? For starters, if your child or teen is a video game  or tele junkie, then it has to be either removed or at a minimum, reduce the time used to play and watch TV. The boob tube doesn’t have too many redeeming qualities these days anyway, with all the crap that’s on and not even appropriate for kids. Then we wonder why they are growing up so fast (totally my 2 cents here).

Here are some ways to help you, help your child to be more active:

1. Find a fun activity that your child will enjoy
2. Choose an age appropriate activity
3. Provide a safe environment
4. Be a role model for your child
5. Play with your child
6. Make an appointment with your child’s pediatrician ;-)
7. TURN OFF THE TV!

Gosh just looking at this drives me crazy! But I d-i-g-r-e-s-s (there’s that word :) Having a fit kid has plenty of benefits. The obvious one is  having a lower BMI (body mass index). You want to make sure that your child/teen has a healthy amount of body fat, not too much or too little for that matter. While being able to run around is great when you’re lighter on your feet, it also gives them more confidence and ambition to participate in group sports. Self esteem has been shown to increase with the decrease of weight when needed. Being at a healthy weight reduces the risk of Type 2 diabetes, which unfortunately for many kids these days is becoming a more common diagnosis. Want your kids to have better grades in school? Studies have shown that exercise may actually boost academic performance by burning off pent-up energy, boosting mood and increasing blood flow to the brain.

There are Three Elements of Fitness which parents can focus on whether your child is in elementary school or high school. There is endurance, strength, and flexibility, and the earlier you start teaching them this, the better. For example, when your kid is running away from the kid who’s “it” , it builds endurance. When your kids is crossing the monkey bars, it builds strength, and when your kids bend down to tie their shoes, it builds flexibility. By doing different activities, you are helping to encourage your “mini me’s” develop these elements of exercise. Finally, be a role model…a GOOD role model. There’s only so much credibility when you push someone to be healthy but you’re not doing it yourself. Lets get real now! Would you really want to take exercise advice from someone that isn’t fit? Ok, ok…maybe they’re on a “break”, but they shouldn’t let it get out of control that they’ve let themselves go either. Get outside with your child. Go walk the dog with them, ride your bike with her, kick the ball with him and don’t forget to eat well together. By “well” I mean healthy of course.

It’s pretty amazing to think that you could have so much to do with the longevity of your offspring and how they will live after you are gone. Will it be to a healthy (for the most part) 85-90 years old, or a medicine ridden cabinet and in an electric wheelchair when they are 60? It can all start with you…

The parent.

It’s the last 5 minutes before each race starts that I always feel the most need to go pee!!! I get the butterflies, a little anxious, and a TON of adrenalin going through my body like   you wouldn’t believe, but it’s all good. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever gotten involved in…the triathlon.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with this kind of race, let me indulge you. It’s one that includes swimming, biking, then running all within the same race one event right after the other. I got involved with this activity because I wanted to add more challenging activities to my life. Something that could help me set a big goal and accomplish it. The biggest perk is that it helped whip me into shape in a different way like I’ve never known! It’s definitely hard work, especially if you plan on doing them on a competitive level.

So on with my point; you should think about setting a goal for yourself this year of participating in an event that ends with an “ON”. TriathlON, MarathON, DuathlON, get it? Before you start with the heart palpitations or cursing me under your breath, or saying “YEAH RIGHT!” to yourself, let’s think about this for a moment. It’s an opportunity to challenge your mind, body and spirit to something that maybe you’ve wanted to do for a long time, or something that you never thought you could possibly do, and yet you CAN!

Let’s go over my fave first…the triathlON: Like I mentioned earlier, this race is made up of a swim, bike and then a run. There are 4 different distances that you could try. First there is the Sprint distance race. It usually consists of a 500 yd swim, a 10 mile bike ride and a 3 mile run. Next is the Olympic distance. A little further, it goes for about .93 mile swim, a 25 mile bike ride and 6.2 mile run. Following that is the Half Ironman :) with a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride and a 13 mile run. It’s also nicknamed a 70.3 race if you’ve ever heard that term before. Finally, we have the Ironman, most famously known as the Kona Ironman race in Hawaii, but NOT the only ironman race out there. This monster is made up of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run, or in other words, a marathon to complete the race. If you’ve never done any of these races, I suggest you start with the sprint distance. Don’t be fooled though. Although it’s the shortest distance, it’s supposed to be a SPRINT race. So you’re giving it your all the whole time, unlike the longer races which you can pace yourself. Again, this applies to the competitive level. So if you want to do one just to say you did it, start with this one. Training programs for all distances are available through me, or you can check out several at beginnertriathlete.com. This is a great site to get information for newbies. You can search for all different distances through the triathlon calendar which is the site I visit to find my own races. The MarathON…dun-dun-DUN!!! I find that the best way to train for a marathon is do join a team or recruit a partner or two. Team in Training for the leukemia and lymphoma society has a wonderful training program as well as organization that you can sign up with. I remember the first marathon I did in Chicago…I swore I would never do another to be honest, but it didn’t work out that way :) It’s definitely hard work because it’s the same thing for 26.2 miles, but under the right conditions (fundraising, cancer support, supporting a friend) it can be such a rewarding experience. You could also set your sights on a 1/2 marathon! Much easier to complete, but still a lot of sweat and hard work. Imagine the results you’ll be seeing as you train for any of these! Runners World is highly regarded among runners and the 1/2 ,marathon link above will take you there for some great info. Remember that you’re not limited to one of these two races for running. Start off with breast cancer walks/runs, local turkey runs, or even trail running for the beautiful views. I actually love trail running! The DuathlON: A neat race that has two events. These two events are usually a run and a bike ride. Occasionally there will be a swim and bike, or a swim and run, but for the most part it’s a run and bike. So there are two events, BUT, they can be divided up into three parts. So you can have a run, bike, run; or a run, swim run; or run and bike…you get the idea.

Past, current or future athlete beware!!! I can almost promise you that once you decide on an event, start training for it, begin to see results in your own physique and emotional well being, you may become addicted!!

There is nothing like the feeling of accomplishment when you’ve crossed the finish line. When you decide on one, let me know what you picked :)

Where do I begin…

My heart aches for these people. You have no idea the desire that I have to have my mom fly out to CA to watch my kids, just so I can go and help with relief efforts. For many years, I’ve had a huge desire to do missionary work in poor countries, but the better of me sides with reality. I do recognize that I have young children, so I can’t go, not right now at least. I have made a promise to myself that when my youngest turns 18, and she’s well on her way to independence, I will begin my travels abroad to give back what I have been blessed with.

The simplest act of combing the hair of a child, or an elderly person or even a seemingly healthy 35 year old like myself seems like such a petty chore to some, but it’s something that I relish in doing when I know they cannot do it for themselves.

The recent earthquake in Haiti has me gripped at my seat, with my eyes closed and an aching heart, because these people started off in a hole, and now need more than a shovel to dig themselves out (every pun intended). Their world has been rocked, but by the grace of God, they will come out of it. It’s times like these that many of us take a minute or two out of our day to reflect on what’s really important in our lives. It’s in the last sentence…OUR LIVES. What can we do with what we have? Not everyone is lucky enough to ever go through a lifetime without any tragedy, but if you think about it, without that, we find it difficult to appreciate the smallest things. So maybe, just maybe, tragedies can make us better people, or at least we strive to be.

I’ve implied this in an earlier post and I’m going to do it again. If you are able to read this post, consider yourself one of the wealthiest in the world. It’s not enough to be sad and hope that Haiti comes out of this situation. We must be proactive. In other words, YOU know what you can and cannot provide to people in need. Whether it’s Haiti, Africa, or your homeless guy or gal living in the streets of your nearest downtown. “I feel so bad for these people” as you drive or walk away doesn’t do anything for them, or yourself.

I want to share an easy way of helping Haiti that I truly believe is worth taking the time to do. It’s easy, fast, and logistically genius in my opinion. If you can afford lunch or dinner even just ONE time this week, put that money aside and instead text away! The American Red Cross is taking donations of  $10 to help the victims of the Haiti earthquake through the simplest of text messages. All the instructions you need are in the above link. You don’t even need to pull out a credit card!

I want to challenge every single one of you reading this to send one text, that’s all. If you so desire to send more, then more power to you! Close your eyes for a moment, and just try to picture yourself switching places with one of the earthquake victims…hard huh? Now just imagine living it, or losing a loved one, or maybe not even knowing where they are. More simply, take a second to assess your hunger pangs or if you feel dehydrated………………at all.

I just made my donation via Text. It took about 30 seconds, if that.

I dare you. I double dog dare you!

A good friend of mine was asking me questions the other day about ideas of what he could eat that is healthy, fast, and easy. He’s a bachelor and like most singles that I know, the refrigerator usually looks like this:

Hate to tell ya, but you’re not going to get very far with a bottle of mustard and some cream cheese, unless of course you’re McGyver! (I just dated myself didn’t I?) But I digress…(my other new word). It’s a new year, you’ve made new goals and one of them is to lose weight, or eat healthier, or both! Well, if you’re out to lose any weight at all, then having healthy eating habits are going to be a must. So I just want to share some ideas that I’ve used when I don’t have a lot of time, or quite frankly, when I’m just too lazy to cook.

A good habit to get into is to get the groceries you need for anything you’ll want to make for at least 3-4 days. That way, not only are you saving trips to the store, but you’re also saving $$, because really,  don’t we all end up with about $20 more in our basket than what we intended most of the time? Now of course I can’t please everyone here with the ingredients I use, but you can always send me an email to tailor it for you if you’d like. this is going to be a basic rundown, then I’ll get into the details, so hang tight!

Breakfast choices: Whole grain waffles, whole wheat english muffins, high fiber cereal w/skim milk, protein shake w/banana or papaya,  egg whites w/ chopped mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes all scrambled, oatmeal with 1 tb of peanut butter, blueberry pancakes w/ 1 mashed banana in it (from the blueberry muffin box), toasted peanut butter & jelly sandwich, and yogurt w/ granola on top. remember these are ideas that I use myself in the morning. You can find more ideas at the Cooking light website. Breakfast is the most important meal of your day!!! If you want to speed up your metabolism, and make losing weight easier, don’t skip breakfast. This should be your BIGGEST meal as a matter of fact, that you consume during the day. It gets your brain ready for the daily challenges, and sets the internal dial of how much energy you’ll be needing and using. I urge you to plan the night before what it is that you’ll be eating. Snack #1 choices: low-fat yogurt, granola bar, nut and fruit mix, apple, grapes, banana, bran muffin, hard boiled egg (which you prepare the night before), raw veggies, almonds, 1/2 avocado, reduced fat pudding cup, baked chips and salsa, pretzels. Snacks are NOT to be eaten just because you’re bored. They are to be eaten so you are not “starving” in between breakfast and lunch. Snacks usually don’t have to be cooked, so don’t make it hard on yourself. Their lot in life is to tide you over.

Lunch choices: salad the way you like it (prepared the night before), leftovers from dinner (ALWAYS easy), sandwich w/ avocado (and any other weird stuff you may like), veggie burger pita, healthy canned soup (watch the sodium), turkey quesadillas. Lunch time is considered to be anywhere between 11-2pm. Personally I prefer to eat lunch no later than 1pm, I also understand that schedules can’t always be followed the way we like. Snack #2 choices:In addition to all the choices you saw earlier for snack #1, you can add an orange, pear, strawberries, protein shake, string cheese, peanut butter pretzels, tuna w/ crackers, popcorn.

Food for thought: snacks are just to tide you over………………………………………….

Dinner choices: By far my favorite meal to cook, only because I love to cook! But not only that, I plan my lunches off of this meal so often as well. A crock pot is a perfect cook while you’re gone to work all day. You get to come home to a wonderful aroma and dinner is ready! But aside from crock pot recipes, there are other things to make that are relatively quick as well. Pizza (make or order), tacos, pasta (about 11 minutes to cook), lean sloppy joe, broiled fish, baked chicken w/ instant brown rice (10 min to cook), sautéed veggies with tortillas, baked potato, ravioli. I can honestly say that my crockpot is one of the BEST investments I’ve ever made for my kitchen, AND my sanity :) There are tons of recipes you can use for the crockpot from breakfast to dessert.

I don’t like food that’s too carefully arranged; it makes me think that the chef is spending too much time arranging and not enough time cooking. If I wanted a picture I’d buy a painting.

~Andy Rooney

He said it very well! This post was supposed to help you get ideas of quick ways to satisfy your hunger with healthy ideas, not how to be hoity toity with your food. There are of course hundreds of other foods to eat and many others that I really spend the time preparing, but that’s either because it’s a special occasion, or because I want to try a new recipe. Hopefully these will help you get started :) Here are more ideas for a little more time consumption, but great nonetheless.

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are. ~Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

I’m not referring to the sweat you break when you’re waiting for that cop to get out of his car that is parked right behind you. Now, now ladies…I know some of you may be breaking into a sweat right about now, so I hope I have your attention. That was your treat for the day :)

I hear this a lot: “Is the elliptical trainer better than running?”, “Are 3 sets better than 2?”, “Is walking fast just as good as jogging?”, “Is the steam room better for your skin than the sauna”…ok that last question was my own, but you get the picture. In the grand scheme of things, ANY physical exercise that you do is better than none at all. On top of that, any physical activity that you do that gets your heart rate up is even better!

Your traditional means of breaking a sweat usually occur in a gym. It’s pretty basic. You enjoy the mechanical fruits that the facility has to offer and you leave. Then you have the non-traditional means where you workout at home or outside. All three avenues can take you places far beyond your dreams of health and fitness. What usually lacks is the creativity when you are not in a gym per se, only because of unfamiliarity with what you can do with what you have. You want to avoid making excuses for not being physically active. Just do it. Here are two options below:

Ready,.. set,.. go! Walking, jogging, running, biking, swimming, strength training, hiking, bowling, tennis, gardening, roller skating, ice skating, inline skating, soccer, walking your dog, washing your car, climbing stairs, dancing, kickboxing, pushing a stroller, step aerobics, Zumba, jump rope, kayaking, canoeing, Crosssfit, mowing the lawn, cleaning windows, cleaning the house, raking leaves, chasing your kids, chasing your dogs, frisbee, baseball, basketball, golf (that one was hard for me to say), walking on the beach, flying a kite, shoveling snow, walking in the mall and even, do I dare say it… having fun in the sack! OH, don’t give me that raised brow!! You know you were wondering that too! There,  a “few” ideas for you.

Remember that these are just ideas of what you can do to be physically active, but if you want to burn calories and lose weight, you’ll need to rev up your engine and put a little work into it. This also means watching what you eat of course. Look at it like this: healthy eating and lowering your caloric intake will certainly take the pounds off, while being physically active will sculpt your body. Make sense? Capisce?

The most important thing to remember if you don’t remember anything else is this: DO WHAT YOU ENJOY DOING!!!!! If you hate running, then don’t run for pete’s sake!! Why the heck would you run? All your doing is sabotaging your exercise experience. But if you wanted to add running to your walk, for example, and do interval training to run for 2 minutes and walk for five…heyyyyy….look at you!

Mixing things up is always positive. It keeps thing alive and interesting. Not only that, but did you know that mixing your moves burns more calories? You’re making your body think harder which in turn works harder. Who says you have to do just one or two or three things every day and that’s it? You could do 45 minutes of cardio exercise and break it up into three different activities for 15 minutes each, or even four different exercises and a 5 minute blast of 5th one! The possibilities are endless is what I’m telling you.

The other important thing to remember is that if you want the weight to come off, then you must increase your cardio time to 30 min a day at least. Notice I said INCREASE your time. This may be a little rough for newbies, so that’s why I say “increase”, especially if you feel like your heart is coming out of your chest just walking around the block.

It’s not about keeping up with the Jones’s, it’s about keeping ahead of them :)

A pot of gold is not what you’ll find associated with this kind of rainbow, unless you consider your health to be golden :) I want to talk about the different options we have as far as veggies and fruits go for everyday eating. And mind you, even after what I have to offer, there is still PLENTY of ideas out there!

Soooooo it’s not the perfect shade of rainbow that we’re used to seeing, but looking at the picture to the right, you get a pretty darn good idea of  which vegetable and fruit colors match those of a rainbow. What you want to remember between the two is that you want to eat more veggies than you do fruits. They are both good, no doubt, but you want to go easy on the sugar, despite it being natural sugars from the fruit.

Veggies 101: Green guys like kale and spinach are probably your best bets. They are both very high in calcium, vitamin A and beta-carotene. Broccoli is a great source as well as artichokes for the same vitamin C and B’s. Red and green lettuces are always a better choice to your common iceberg lettuce which has very minimal nutritional value…SORRY fans! It’s mostly made of water which you should be drinking plenty of anyway…right??

Orange or yellow peeps such as carrots, sweet potatoes and squash are VERY high in vitamin A and benefit the eyes, skin, immune function, reproduction, and bone growth. You can eat carrots raw of course, but the squash and sweet potato, well, you may want to cook those. Red veggies like red peppers and tomatoes (although technically that’s a fruit), contain lycopene which has been found to have strong cancer fighting properties that lower prostate cancer in men.

Other misc veggies like cauliflower, beans, lentils, corn  and white potatoes are also good for you, but because of their starchy nature, you want to eat less of these guys and more of the colorful ones.

Moving on folks…moving on.

Fruits also contain tons of antioxidants if you pick the right ones. They also contain sugar, natural sugar yes, but SUGAR nonetheless. So be weary of that as you consume these wonderful little healthy desserts.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away…but if you eat 100 apples a week and don’t exercise it off, you’ll be making a visit to the office! Everything in moderation!!!

Fruits 101: Berries come in all different colors. Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries…and all of them are loaded with Vitamin C. Blueberries are at the top in that they contain 14 mg of Vitamin C in one cup and are filled with antioxidants! Berries are extremely nutrient-dense. A 1 cup serving has less than 50 calories and can be added to yogurt, a smoothie, and cereal.

Avocados and tomatoes…ahhh…the rogues of the bunch! What???? Avocados and tomatoes are fruits???? Yuppers! Avocados contain 11 grams of fiber in a whole avocado, so in one serving, that’s 6.5 grams for just half of one! You’ll be feeling fuller for a longer period of time thanks to good old fiber. Tomatoes, as I mentioned in the veggies above, contain lycopene and very dense with cancer fighting properties.

Papayas, mangos, pineapple and guavas are very rich in Vitamins A, C and E. They are also rich in calcium, particularly the papaya. If you like these fruits, let me just say that they make an excellent addition to any smoothie or even protein shake! Bananas, the most common of the tropical fruits I would say, is well received and ranked among athletes, however, be careful how much you eat of this one. They contain lots of sugar and carbs, so be sure to use the energy that it gives you to work it off.

Grapes have a good amount of manganese, and contain flavonoids. Flavonoids protect the blood vessels, and have even shown to control inflammation.In general, the darker (purple or red) the grape is, the more flavonoids they contain. A 1 cup serving is just 60 calories. Eater beware though!!! One serving of grapes = approximately 12 grapes! So don’t treat yourself to the whole darn vine for pete’s sake. Grapes contain a lot of sugar too, but in moderation, are an excellent snack.

Finally, apples and oranges. What can I say about these two popular…uhhh….spheres. Both are easy to carry with you in your cooler, are very tasty when cold, and make for excellent snack that contain vitamin C, are low in calories. An easy filler for in between meals that will give you energy and maintain your metabolism.

So you might be curious what you can do with, let’s say an avocado! The first thing most people might think of is guacamole! It’s one of my favorite things to make, but seriously, you don’t want chips and dip right now. Here’s a thought: slice it up and put it into an omelette for breakfast; OR mash it up, salt to taste, add some lemon and use it on a sandwich instead of mayonnaise; OR dice it up and add it to your red and dark green salad; OR put it on your face! Yeah I know…not what you were thinking, but it does make for a really nice facial mask that will leave your skin feeling soft like a baby’s bottom :)

There are hundreds of different ways to cook your veggies and eat your fruits. There is baking, steaming, sautéing, broiling, roasting, raw, mashed and mixed with other foods. Below are a few websites that you might find inetersting to read:

Eat More Fruits and Vegetables Every Day

Ideas for Eating More Fruits

Ideas for Eating More Vegetables

Fruits and Vegetables

Cooking Light has fantastic ideas for healthy recipes as well.

Keep your wits about you when you’re at the grocery store. I don’t push organic fruits and veggies only because they are much more pricy, but I’m pretty darn healthy and so are the kids without me having to switch to the fancy shmancy stuff. Besides, I don’t know a ton about organic foods and to be honest, I don’t plan on becoming well schooled in it either.

Be sure to get your proper servings of each which you can find at the Mypyramid website. Get creative with what you have. Eating this stuff can be boring , but it doesn’t have to be at all. For parents that want to get more info on how to get your kids eating more of the healthy stuff too, you can check out Champions For Change . It started in California, but it has great information and tips.

Now go students of produce! Find what waits for you at the end of your RAINBOW!!

Attention dog lovers (or anyone interested in working out in nature)!! I want to share a wonderful experience I had today. This may seem so miniscule to many of you, but for others, you may get just as encouraged as I was this afternoon. As many of you might know, in November of last year, Skyler Bleu became a part of my life. She’s a wonderful Border Collie that the kids and I have just grown to love so much. Anyway, not to get all mushy or anything, I’ve been waiting for her to finish up all the necessary shots so that I could take her out of her puppy “quarantine” areas and into the BIG world around her.  Today I got the opportunity! Not only did I have the pleasure of enjoying a new outing with very special company, but she was introduced to two great dogs as well.  Now I must point out that initially, she was not at all interested in another 8 legs, but she finally came around.

So the intention was to go out for about an hour, get some leisure exercise for myself, and get her acclimated. That turned into 2 hours of walking (for me) and 1 1/2 hours of playing for her. Needless to say, she actually crashed about 15 minutes after we got in the car to leave for home. This got me thinking about something: exercise + outside + friend(s) + other dogs = Awesome!!

I don’t necessarily mean outside as in around your block, I mean OUTDOORS as in nature…away from cars….where you can get muddy and pick up and throw sticks….and maybe find some presents left by other big animals- kind of outdoors. I know that at one point during the walk we even talked about a “potential” Big Foot in our line of sight, but of course it just turned out to be some tree bark. But I digress.

Whether it was walking or running with her, the exercise I got today was not just physical; it was emotional, mental. It was a breath of fresh air because I’ve missed doing those things on my own. For the first time today, it was with my pup and it added so much to my exercise regime. It relieved any stress I may have had and I got to enjoy great conversation and laughs. I don’t know, this may sound silly, but it just opened my eyes to so many new reasons for being outdoors with my dog. Getting to rub shoulders with a special someone while you’re doing it is icing on the cake.

I’m not telling dogless readers to run out and get one, nor am I saying that your dog should be the only reason to go and enjoy your exercise outside. What I am saying is that sometimes we need to stop and smell the roses, even if it’s the beautiful dozen that are sitting on your kitchen table right now. Exercise your mind and take your time to really appreciate special moments when you get them.

People say that having a dog will keep you young at heart. I tend to believe them.

Many of you may have seen this video at one point or another. It’s always a good reminder of what we can truly accomplish when we set our minds to something.

I will leave you with it. It is one of my favorite videos ever. One that inspires me every single time I watch it. Give 4 minutes and 45 seconds of your time to absorb this incredible story and then reflect on all your blessings and realize that YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING you set your mind to! YOU can take on the world!

So you’ve made the decision that THIS is the year you’re going to get your healthy body back. I congratulate you no matter how many times you’ve resolved to do it. Now the question is, how do you get there?

For many of you, the mere thought of going to the gym gives you sweaty palms, blotchy vision, or a headache and that’s ok. More often than not, it’s because of the lack of knowledge we have for exercise and all of its benefits that we get so nervous. Of course there are always other reasons too. For example, some of you may be shy to workout around others because you’re very private; some of you may feel insecure and lack confidence; others may feel intimidated by the workout junkies already fit and think that they are staring at you. Not the case people! 99.9% of exercisers don’t even give a flip about what you look like, or you to be honest. They’re in there to focus on themselves, and perhaps to chat sometimes while they do it, but they’re not notating how jiggly, slow, sweaty, or tired you look. On the contrary, I can say with a confidant heart, that they ARE shaking their heads in approval to see you there. I can’t tell you how many times over the course of all my years working with people, where I have had a colleague or other member comment on how impressed they are on the hard work YOU are putting in. So don’t sell yourself short.

Now the fun part: Do you get the personal trainer or not? There are benefits to having one folks! And let me just add this important note: YOU DON’T HAVE TO BELONG TO A GYM TO HIRE ONE! [Come again?????] Yup, there are plenty of trainers out there that are available to come to you, so don’t feel as though you are tied to a gym in order to reap the benefits of one.

What exactly is a personal trainer? The term “personal trainer” over the years and more recently has been also known to be called, fitness trainer, health coach, exercise coach, wellness trainer/coach….you get the idea. The bottom line is that this special person should help you to accomplish your health and fitness goals through motivation and expertise all the while doing it safely.

Trainers can be male or female. It’s your own preference. Overall, female trainers are tougher. Personally, I’m no exception to that either. More importantly, trainers are tougher on the opposite sex—so female trainers on their male clients, and males on their females. 
But no matter which gender, there are several things that you should look for in a trainer that are important because it can make it a wonderful or a bad experience.

1. Are they educated? Having a college degree in human movement is always a nice perk to have as a coach, but more importantly, are they a certified/qualified trainer? Not all certifications are the same. I suggest doing your homework and reading up on the most highly appraised certifications. Once you open the link, scroll down and you will find a list of certified schools to research. Don’t be shy to ask them either! It’s a huge mistake not to. The last thing you need is for a trainer to not be qualified and disregard an injury you might have and then you get hurt, all because of negligence.
2. Are they experienced? So you have a choice between the trainer that is green out of college in kenisiology and just got certified a month ago, OR the coach who is college educated in business, but has several highly sought current certifications under her belt and has 10 years of experience with clients….I’m putting my money on the 10 years! This trainer has had the time to experience all different scenarios and ailments and learn from them.
3. Can the trainer communicate easily with you? ”Do you HEAR the words that are coming out of my mouth?” If you don’t watch Jackie Chan movies, then you won’t get it, sooooo moving on.  If I said to you on our first meeting: “Ok, lets start to work on your psoas major (pronounced soaz) so your flexion and external rotation in your hip joint can increase”…you would say “Huh?” So just be sure that the person you’re talking to can clearly explain everything to you, and likewise, is just as patient and open to any questions you may have.
4. Finally what is their history? I mean client history. A confident trainer won’t have a problem giving you references to contact. That right there would be a good first sign of relief, or red flag. Obviously some placed might not be at liberty to because of privacy, but in my own experience, it’s never been a problem.

The BENEFITS of a personal trainer/health coach can go on and on, but in short,  a good coach will help you achieve:

~Increased energy and stamina, weight loss, motivation, accountability, increased self-esteem and overall confidence in the way you look and feel inside and out!

I like to think that my readers don’t need need an explanation for every little thing. What you see above HAS TO BE self explanatory. It’s simple. Please tell me it is! You see what applies to you, and you do something about it. Things in life don’t typically fix themselves. There has to be some kind of momentum to begin the “fixing” process.

Just as a side note, trainers hire trainers too you know! Usually it’s a friend, but sometimes we need a different viewpoint ourselves and an exchange of ideas to us out of ruts from time to time; we’re only human.

A word of fiscal advice: Trainers are not usually free. Obviously they need to make a living as well. But nothing in this life is set in stone. If you kindly try to negotiate a reasonable rate, chances are you might be surprised what they can do for you, especially if you do multiple sessions with them vs. just one. Ask about group rates too! Many trainers, myself included, offer discounts to a group so everyone pays less than what it would cost for one on one coaching/training. I myself will not train a group larger than three, but no trainer should be coaching more than 5 if there are station. You still want the attention of your trainer to make sure your form is correct and that they are easily accessible for questions. Kind of like in school, parents like a smaller teacher to student ratio, right? Same concept.

Be strong, have courage, and just do it! Whether you hire a personal trainer, health coach or any other “guide” or none at all, make the commitment to yourself of following through with what you say you will do.

Our health is most valuable, once we’ve begun to lose it.