Nimble Blog

“Be happy!”

by Antonio Sini
…

If you have one goal in 2012, one resolution that you make to help you get in the best shape of your life, start with this: “I want to be happy.”  Forget everything else for a moment. Forget going to the gym five days a week; forget about the foods you plan to give up or your plan to quit drinking for six months. Simply tell yourself, “My resolution this year is to be happy.”

Being happy is the key to better health and wellbeing.  Don’t get me wrong–getting into great shape requires some sweat and sacrifice–but before we think about exercise routines or food plans, we have to ask, “Are all the aspects of my life in alignment with my happiness?”  Physical, emotional and mental health are all deeply connected.   For instance, how can someone achieve true physical health if they work in an extremely stressful environment?   The same is true of personal relationships. You simply can’t ignore these other aspects of life if you want to be truly fit.

I ask you to take a moment to reflect on the following areas, which can make a positive difference in your happiness and health:

• Relationships. Be honest and sincere when you communicate with the people close to you–your spouse, friends, co-workers and family members.  You’ll be much happier if you address and overcome your fears, frustrations and anger rather than bottling those emotions up inside.  If you have trouble communicating with someone close to you, then maybe counseling or some professional help would have a positive influence.

• Work. Your work environment can be a huge influence on your happiness.  If you spend a large part of the day at your job, examine whether there is satisfaction and balance in what you do.  It doesn’t have to be the perfect job, but if your work environment is so stressful that you dread going, it is going to adversely affect your health and how you treat those around you.

• Friends. Are you surrounded by problems, or people that make you happy?  A happy emotional state can be infectious. Just being near happy people can put you in a better mood. Children, for example, can be especially carefree and happy.  Limit your time with needy friends and create more time with your kids, nieces or nephews.  Try and ensure the people around you share your goals of health and happiness.

• Exercise! Besides the fact that exercise has been shown to release endorphins and other body chemicals that give you a feeling of happiness, exercise helps you to feel more satisfied with the way you look and will boost your morale.  This in turn will help you stay more present, and more determined in your pursuit for a happy and fulfilling life.

Take each day as it comes and start to make decisions that you know will benefit your happiness.  This new approach to achieving life-long health will positively change the way you become fit and allow you reach your fitness goals for 2012 and many more years to come.

Know Your Body.

by Daniel Lucas

Do you know what “home” feels like for your body?

I’m talking about the place where you feel structurally in alignment.  Where you move with poise and feel relaxed. Whether we’re feeling “at home” or not often comes down to what we have done, or what he haven’t done, prior to being aware that we are out of alignment.  Being able to feel our bodies, and having checks and balances so that we can catch small disruptions in our joints or tissue, can save us from creating further dysfunction.

Here is a simple assessment that I got from my friend Sue Hitzman, creator of the MELT method. I love it and have used it on myself during my marathon training and with almost every client I have ever worked with.  It’s called a body scan, and it’s also great for starting a lying meditation.

After you assess yourself, you can perform any movement you wish and now you have a way to simply assess how it affected your body. For example, if you are performing a power move but your technique is off, you may feel a hip positioned differently then before. Remember everything changes when under load, so you can use this technique to see how the quality of your movement changes while in motion. Re-assess often! You’re simply using it to have an easy way get in your body and feel how your workouts are affecting how your body presents itself to the floor when simply lying relaxed. (For more information, contact Daniel and the Nimble Fitness team at info@nimblefitness.com).

Namaste,
Daniel

Healthy Steps for a Busy Work Week

Here’s your daily step-by-step guide to better health.

As soon as you wake up…
Set yourself up for a healthy and happy day by aligning your thoughts with positive energy and reciting a few simple declarations. This lays the foundation for emotional health and facilitates positive subconscious thinking.

• I move through my day effortlessly and with abundant energy
• I eat healthy and feel strong
• I am confident and empowered
• I am successful in all that I set out to do

Immediately after, close your eyes and take a few deep, 3-dimensional breaths. Feel your stomach expand then your ribcage from back to front and right to left. As you inhale through your nose, feel both the stomach and ribcage expand. Slowly exhale through your mouth, allowing your body to relax. Lastly, drink a glass of water as part of your morning ritual. This will replace the fluid, which was lost during the night and start the daily process of hydration.

Before you leave for work…
Eating a nutritious breakfast is important for good health. Resent studies suggest that people who eat breakfast have better control of their weight and are healthier overall than those who don’t. Breakfast provides your body with the energy needed to begin functioning efficiently and thinking clearly. Eating a good breakfast will kick start your metabolism and have you feeling alert and ready by the time you reach the office.

On your way out the door…
Take a look at your bag or briefcase. First thing you should do is remove any unnecessary items that may be adding extra weight. The repetitive loading of heavy bags can lead to neck, shoulder and back problems. Pay attention to how you carry your bag. We suggest switching hands or shoulders throughout your commute to avoid neck and shoulder strain. For those of you who have to carry something heavy for work—a laptop or tools for example–a backpack is a good alternative to a shoulder bag, as it will distribute weight evenly across your shoulders.

During your commute…
Take the stairs whenever possible to develop stronger legs and increase the circulation of blood and oxygen through your body. When you’re on the train or bus, you can strengthen other muscles by doing isometric work–contracting and holding different parts of your body as you travel between stations. Start by holding your abs tight for 10 seconds. After that, squeeze your glutes (butt cheeks) together. Hold the handrail and pull tight to flex your arms and shoulders. Alternate different muscles every station, and you’ll definitely feel your muscles have worked by the time you reach your destination. Another Nimble note: you can add some cardiovascular exercise to your day by simply getting off one stop sooner and walking the rest of your commute. Do this for a month, and you’ll burn around 1,000 extra calories! This is a great way to strengthen your heart and lungs.

Before Lunch…
Get up out of your chair every 30 minutes and stretch by reaching your arms to the ceiling. Take another series of deep, 3 dimensional breaths. Hold your arms out in front of you and gently bend your wrist back and forth. Roll your shoulders forward, then back to reduce tension. Remember to drink plenty of water, too. Keep a bottle at your desk and fill it often. Staying hydrated will help you stay alert and keep your metabolism fired up.

Lunch time…
If you’ve been following our advice you have had quite an active day so far and should be pretty hungry by now. Choosing the right lunch is important. Avoid high-sugar foods and meals with too many carbohydrates, like heavy pastas and breads, which can zap your energy and cause you to crash later. Choose brown rice over white. Have grilled chicken or fish added to a salad, rather than a sandwich. And watch out for unhealthy, high-calorie dressings! If you can, save the last 15 minutes of your lunch break for a casual walk. This will aid your body in digestion and can also help reduce heartburn.

The rest of your day…
Continue to drink water and do a quick stretch every 30 minutes. If you can take a break, go for a quick walk in the office or around the block. Some kind of movement will open up the circulation in your legs and help prevent lower back pain associated with sitting for long periods.

On your way Home…
Take the time on your way home to decompress from the challenges and stresses of your workday. Bring your attention to your breath, and gradually breath out any tension you’re carrying with you. Re-align your thoughts to a positive frame of mind, so you can enjoy quality time with your family and friends.

Looking for a boost? Try Interval Training.

By Antonio Sini

Incorporate interval training into your exercise routine and you will see your fitness and performance improve quickly, typically in just a few weeks. There are numerous studies that show you can improve your endurance and cardiovascular fitness with intense bouts of intervals just one hour per week compared with five hours of traditional cardiovascular training. If you are like most of us, pressed for time, then this is one big advantage of interval training. Other benefits include:

• It’s a great way spice up your cardio routine especially if you’ve gotten bored with your workouts.

• It’s a proven way to help get rid of that last bit of troublesome excess weight. This is because your metabolic rate stays higher for longer after interval training and you end up burning more calories throughout your day.

• Your immune system responds positively to regular strenuous exercise. Interval training – due to its intense qualities – yields a heightened immune response thus helping your body fight off colds and other illness.

How does it work?

The proper way to do intervals is to push your body past the aerobic threshold for a moment and then recover by returning to your aerobic conditioning level. The aerobic threshold is the intensity where your body switches from burning a greater percentage of fat (aerobic) to a greater percentage of glycogen or carbohydrates (anaerobic) and is generally 85% of your maximum heart rate (train below 85% and it’s aerobic; train above 85% and it’s anaerobic). Heart rate is a good indicator of how hard you’re working, and it’s easy to measure, so it’s an ideal method for setting up and monitoring intervals. A very simply method for estimating your anaerobic threshold is to assume anaerobic threshold occurs at 85-90% of your maximum heart rate. Your maximum heart rate is measured by taking the number 220 and subtracting your age. For example a 45 year old would have a max heart rate of 175 beats per minute. Heart rates vary greatly between individuals and even within the same individual so use this number as an estimate of your actual maximum heart rate.  (For a more accurate method – CLICK HERE)

Lets get started!

For the sake of ease and accurate measurement I like to use a stationary bike. The first thing you want to do is warm up for 5 minutes at 65-70% of your max heart rate. Check your pulse after 1 minute and then again after 4 minutes to make sure you are in that range. After 5 minutes prepare to begin your intervals.

Beginner intervals

Increase the bike resistance to a level that feels fairly uncomfortable and continue pedaling for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds bring the resistance back down to where you had it before. Check your pulse to make sure your heart rate jumped up to 85% of maximum (you may need to add or decrease resistance on the next interval). Continue pedaling at the easier pace for 2 minutes, bringing your heart rate back to 70% of your max. After 2 minutes jack the resistance up for another 30 seconds before dropping it down again for a 2-minute recovery. Repeat this process four more times and remember to keep your pedals strokes even throughout the routine.

Example:
Warm up at level 4 for at least 5 minutes

Increase to level 10 for 30 seconds
Return to level 4 and recovery for 2 minutes

Level 10 (30 seconds)
Level 4 (2 minutes)

Level 10 (30 seconds)
Level 4 (2 minutes)

Level 10 (30 seconds)
Level 4 (2 minutes)

Level 10 (30 seconds)
Level 4 (2 minutes)

Cool down at level 2 for 3 minutes
Total cardio exercise time: 20 minutes

Advanced intervals

If you have a good cardiovascular base then you can push your body past the aerobic threshold for longer than 30 seconds. In this case we are going to warm up for 5 minutes at 70% of max heart rate then perform 1 minute long intervals at 90% of max. We’ll follow these all-out efforts with 2-minute recovery periods.

Example:
Warm up at level 6 for at least 5 minutes

Increase to level 15 for 1 minute
Return to level 6 and recovery for 2 minutes

Level 15 (1 minute)
Level 6 (2 minutes)

Level 15 (1 minute)
Level 6 (2 minutes)

Level 15 (1 minute)
Level 6 (2 minutes)

Level 15 (1 minute)
Level 6 (2 minutes)

Cool down at level 4 for 3 minutes
Total cardio exercise time: 23 minutes

Important!

Keep in mind that interval training is extremely demanding on the heart, lungs and muscles, and it’s important to have an OK from your physician before you start interval training. You should also have a solid base of overall aerobic fitness before performing high intensity training of any kind. Lastly, do not performing intervals more than two times per week to avoid overtraining.

Turkish Get Up

The Turkish Get Up is one of those exercises that build true functional strength. There are many benefits to doing the Turkish Get Up.  Not only is it a total body workout, but you also feel a sense of accomplishment when executing the exercise completely- something crunches just can’t  deliver.

Watch Nimble Trainer Al Kavadlo demonstrate the Turkish Get Up in this short video clip.

Check out Al’s website for more awesome advice – www.alkavadlo.com

The Easiest Exercise Program Ever!

Lets face it, if you live in this city (or any other urban jungle), finding the time to exercise is challenging. You might even argue that it’s impossible. What if I told you it wasn’t- that not only do I have an exercise program that’s easy but also one that will only take up 10 minutes of your time and have you walking more than 260 miles!

I know it sounds crazy but it’s true. This exercise program cost nothing. It doesn’t require any special clothing and involves absolutely no equipment. You do it on your way to and from work, and it only takes 10 minutes. Best of all you’ll increase your cardiovascular fitness, lose almost 8 lbs of body fat and feel better instantly.

“What is it”, you ask? It involves simply getting off one stop sooner on your bus or train commute and walking the rest of the way… Yes, you read correctly – get off one stop before your station and WALK the rest of the way to work.

Hear me out! Subway and bus stops are spaced 8-9 city blocks apart. Since 20 city blocks equal approximately 1 mile, you’ll be effectively walking a half-mile by getting off one stop sooner. Do the same for your commute home and you’ll have walked a mile or more. Even at a relatively modest pace of 3.0 mph it will take just 10 minutes each way. There really is no excuse not to try this. Even if it is summertime, the morning temperature should be cool enough that you won’t sweat through your clothes. This is less of an issue going home, where you can easily shower and change.

Follow this program and in one week you will have walked 5 miles and burned an extra 240 calories. It doesn’t sound like a lot but make this your daily routine and in one year you will have burned off enough calories to equal almost 8 lbs of body fat. Best of all you’ll have walked an extra 260 miles, increasing your cardiovascular fitness and making you look and feel healthier.

-Antonio

Wordology

Words have power! At Nimble Fitness we share with our clients the idea of Wordology. The non-conscious often does not know the difference between what you truly want and the words and ideas you are just playing around with. All of your thoughts get filed in the oneness of the non-conscious, so we ask clients to choose words that align with their life vision. Why not? Through what we have learned in our past, we often create habits or conditions that we live by that no longer serve us. These words we say over and over carry major energy and shape our perception. For example, I had a client that often stated “Every time I walk into the gym, I believe I’m moving forward in my journey to health,” and another that would often discount the work he did if it was not of a certain duration or intensity. He would often state that he could never do enough. Which client do you think progressed faster in his program? The point I would like to make is this: Are you setting yourself up for failure or success? Make the promise to yourself to use words that support you in success and believe it! Why not? Namaste

TV Time / Basic Workout

Here is a quick (6-8 minute) exercise program you can do at home and in front of your TV! The format is very easy. TV Time Basic is designed to work around 3-4 commercial breaks (that’s how many there are in a 30min show). You will perform the following circuits during the commercial breaks of your TV show.

Get your mat ready (a beach towel will work too). Have a bottle of water handy to drink in-between circuits. When the first commercial break starts perform the following…

.

On your next commercial break…
.

Repeat these two exercises again.


.

For your third commercial break we’re going
to do that first circuit again!
.

Lets do one more circuit!
.

Repeat these two exercises again.

Congratulations. Not only did you get your workout in but you got to watch your favorite show too! Feel free to repeat this TV Time Basic program again.

TV Time Fitness – Now there really is no excuse not to workout!

Straightforward Fit Tips

This month we are going to hit you with some quick, straightforward fit tips:

*INTERVALS : If you have not tried training with intervals give it some dedicated time. You can string 2 or 4 exercises together, in succession and without rest, to change the stress on your body and increase the metabolic effect.

*SUN SALUTATION : Learn it and use it as a warm up, or do it repetitively it as a stand-alone workout that you can do anywhere.

*GET A QUICK ONE IN! : Don’t let time keep you from getting a quick and effective session in. Sometime the quick hits end up being my best workouts of the week. Consistency is the key to results.

*THINK AHEAD! : Maximize the food you’re eating to give you the strength you need in a workout. If you walk in the gym for an intense session and don’t have any energy your performance will suffer. Get those carbohydrates in well before your scheduled workout time.

All these tips are ultimately about making EVERY SECOND COUNT! Train with intensity, educate yourself and become more aware of how your body works.

TRX – 5 Simple Moves

Watch Keith demonstrate 5 exercises with TRX suspension straps.

Barefoot Running

by Keith Paine & Daniel Lucas.

Watch the video to see the difference in running techniques.

A new generation of “barefoot” runners has hit the streets, turning traditional thinking about running shoes upside down. Instead of cushioned sneakers, these runners wear shoes that look like gloves for the feet, with no cushioning at all. Instead of insoles, heel supports and treads, barefoot runners let the natural musculature of their feet do the cushioning. Barefoot running is a ripple that’s turned into a wave, with major athletic shoe brands scrambling to offer consumers shoes that have little or no support–the exact opposite of what they’ve been selling for years. If this phenomenon is new to you, look up Christopher McDougal’s best selling book Born to Run, which spins a tale of a Mexican badlands tribe that runs 50 miles a day in sandals with ease. It’s a great story that sparked a tremendous amount of interest in barefoot running—but are the book’s claims about barefoot running true? Are we all actually designed to run without cushioned shoes? Do we run better and more efficiently without any shoes at all?

It turns out that there’s a lot of support for barefoot running technique—and not just from a small group of radical runners. There’s evidence to suggest that, as runners, we’ve actually gotten worse with more cushioned shoes. “Humans have run for millions of years,” says Daniel Lieberman, a professor at Harvard University, “but the running shoe was only invented in the early 1970s.” And for most of our history, we ran barefoot or in sandals, not in hi-tech cushioned sneakers. Running shoes have changed the way we run, and perhaps not for the better. Most people who run with shoes, says Prof. Leiberman, strike the ground heel first. They have a very different heel strike than barefoot runners, who strike the ground with the middle or front of the foot, thereby drastically reducing their impact with the ground. David Willey, Editor-in-Chief of Runner’s World, agrees: “Studies show heavy heel-strikers can’t efficiently absorb and dissipate the impact forces of running, which over time can take a toll on our muscles, tendons and joints.” Anyone who has ever jumped and landed on his or her heels knows that’s true—our feet are designed to absorb impact front to back, not heel to toe. [See video above for a demonstration of the difference between toe-strike and heel-strike running.]

We’ve run barefoot for most of human history, so it stands to reason that our feet have evolved to run most efficiently barefoot, not with cushioned-heel shoes that allow us to get away with a heel strike over and over. Shoes also change our kinesthetic ability to run. “When you run in socks, shoes, inserts, midsoles and outsoles, your body’s proprioceptive system loses a lot of input,” says Amby Burfoot in Runner’s World. Wearing shoes, your body “switches off” to a degree. It’s like putting a pair of mittens on your hands; your hands still function, but your ability to fine-tune a task is greatly reduced.

If you’re thinking about making the switch to barefoot running, we suggest you do it with a little caution and a lot of common sense. Daniel Lucas, co-owner of Nimble Fitness, says: “There’s important lifestyle differences between the way we live now and the way our ancestors did. We sit for much, much longer than in the past, and we don’t carry our bodies in the same way. This definitely has an effect on the conditioning of our feet, legs and hips.” In other words, if we spend most of our lives sitting and wearing soft shoes, we’re going to need some prep work before running barefoot!

Here are some key tips from Daniel Lucas on getting ready to run:

*Transition time is an important factor. If you’ve been running your whole life in shoes, don’t jump into barefoot running. Give your body time to transition, so you can adapt gradually. This transition time will be different for every runner. If you have the tendency to over-pronate while running, or have significant mis-alignment issues, then running without shoe support may not be for you. Start slowly—practice on the treadmill so you can understand how your stride will change without shoes. Keep in mind that over-striding leads to heel striking, so without shoes, you’ll probably need to shorten your stride.

*Use Micro-Progressions. It’s a good idea to progress your distance and speed in a methodical way. Don’t just make the leap! You want to be aware of how your body is going to recover from the new barefoot running technique, especially your feet. As Daniel says: “The studies out there point towards barefoot running being very good for you, but at Nimble we always add new loads and stresses to our bodies progressively. I’m also guessing those studies didn’t include many runners with poor form or dysfunction in their feet.”

*Start with Barefoot Training. At Nimble, we’ve found that performing strength training and soft-impact exercises barefoot has a profound positive effect on overall function and balance. Even walking barefoot for longer periods can make a difference. Work barefoot training into your program before you start barefoot running.

*We never say never…but if you’re thinking about running barefoot on pavement, that should be the last stage of a well-planned program! We ask you to think of the benefit of running barefoot on pavement versus the cost of damage to your ankles and feet—you’re probably better off saving barefoot running for the treadmill or natural surfaces like grass.

*The Bottom Line? A seasoned runner with good technique can benefit greatly from both running and training barefoot—especially as part of an overall strength and conditioning program. Conversely, a casual runner who has never run without the support of running shoes will risk injury by jumping right into barefoot running. Progress slowly into barefoot running.

For more info about training for barefoot running, or if you’d like to schedule a training session at our Manhattan studio, please contact us at info@nimblefitness.com

7 Seasonal Tips to Balance Food & Fun During the Holidays

By Marjorie Nolan

With the holiday season fast approaching you may be thinking about how you are going to make it through this year without the ‘Seasonal Seven’ (the average weight most of us will gain between Thanksgiving and the New Year).

Moderation is the word for this season. It’s the secret everyone knows already, but too few practice. Achieving a fun but healthy holiday time begins with a moderate approach both to what you eat (or don’t eat) and how much exercise you do (or don’t do). You can avoid packing on weight AND partake in all the fun of this time of year if you take a holistic-mindful approach.

Avoiding weight gain during the holidays is a result of conscious choices about food, exercise and thoughts. It’s also about (at times) forgiving yourself for something you may have ‘over-indulged’ on. The biggest pit fall to a healthy holiday season is the classic excuse “Oh well, I already ate…so, I might as well keep going.”

This season, get a head start on the New Year instead of starting January with added girth. Try following these Seven Seasonal Tips and ‘indulge’ without unwanted poundage:

1) Mentally Prepare! Life long healthy habits are mind over matter. Adopting a healthy mental perspective does not have to be difficult–just practice thinking ahead. If there might be ‘temptation’ know that you will need to prepare. If you are going to a party, don’t indulge on the office cookies. It’s common sense.

2) Don’t “save up” your calories! When attending a holiday function, eat ahead of time to avoid feeling overly hungry. If the party is in the evening, eat breakfast, lunch and a snack before and you will be less tempted to go overboard and eat everything in sight. Think about the “net calorie effect”…the reality is that when we ‘save up’ most generally ‘lose out’ by eating more even calories.

3) Eat foods you don’t normally have and enjoy! Evaluate your food choices and instead of choosing a variety of high-calorie foods that you can have other times of year choose one that you love and indulge. Personally, I love pecan pie and I eat it every Christmas eve without exception, but I don’t bother to touch the chocolate chip cookies.

4) Work with a professional! Your Personal Trainer or Dietitian can provide much needed accountability, which has proven to be the number one factor in weight loss. Committing to your personal support team (ahead of time) will keep you on the straight and narrow. Thankfully, our friends at Nimble can help with this!

5) Limit Alcohol! We’re not talking holiday spirit here. Drinking too much alcohol not only piles on extra, empty calories, it lowers inhibitions … especially that little voice that tells you not to make a second go-round at the dessert table. Try drinking one glass of water for each alcoholic beverage and that should slow you down. Being hungry (and tipsy) will often lead straight to the dessert table.

6) Keep a Food Journal! Even the most diligent of us aren’t always aware of how many calories we take in. The only way to really know what we’re eating each day is to keep a food journal during the holiday season. If you’re serious about watching your weight this holiday season, a food journal is the best way to hold yourself accountable.

7) Focus on socializing! Remember one of the great things about the holidays is spending time with friends and family. During get-togethers spend the majority of time sharing conversation instead of sharing desserts. You can practice at Nimble’s Holiday Party!

Marjorie Nolan is a National Spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, Nutrition and Fitness expert, author, Nutrition Counselor and speaker. She has widespread experience in the health and wellness industry including adult and child weight loss, eating disorders counseling, diabetes management, wellness nutrition, sports nutrition, disease prevention and personal training/group fitness. She has well-respected academic qualifications and a heartfelt passion for helping individuals attain nutritional wellness and physical fitness. These strengths combine to make Marjorie Nolan a wellness professional of the highest caliber. Contact Marjorie

MOVE YOUR BREATH, LOSE YOUR STRESS

by Keith Paine

This month, I’d like to ask you to focus on the way you breath. Most of us never stop to think about breathing—it’s automatic, right? It is, fortunately, but there are different ways of drawing a breath, which depend on the situation we’re in. When we’re stressed or in an emergency, we react by engaging our shoulders to lift the rib cage and “help” oxygen in. We’re in fight or flight mode, and we need as much air as we can get. Many of us continue to breath this way, however, even when we’re not in a stressful situation.

Move your breath out of your shoulders and into your torso, and you can reduce your stress immediately. Begin by feeling your rib cage and abdomen expand. Instead of breathing by contracting your shoulder muscles again and again, you’re engaging your diaphragm to create space for your breath. You’re out of fight or flight mode, and into rest and repair. Just by moving your breath, you’re taking tension out of your neck and shoulders, and re-oxygenating your blood in a much more efficient way.

Sit in a comfortable position, with your spine long. Sit away from the chair back or bench, so your rib cage has plenty of space to move. Place your hands on your rib cage, and visualize your breath moving through your rib cage into your lower torso. Consciously slow your breath down, lengthening the space between each breath. Don’t strain, and don’t take too much air. Practice this for 5-10 minutes a day, focusing on your breath, on you, instead of everything else around you. It will have a significant calming and centering effect.

If you would like to learn more, I invite you to join me on Friday, October 15th at Nimble Fitness where I will be guiding a group meditation and performing music from my new CD, Sunyata.

CONTACT ME

Moms – Finding “you” Time

If you’re a new mom, check out our Mama Moves class!

Shake Up Your Routine

When it comes to shaping up for the summer, we all tend to gravitate towards a workout routine that we know we can excel at. However, going to the same kickboxing class, or running the same 3-mile loop at the park, is not the most effective way to get your body back in action. Do the same routine over and over, and you’re going to make strong muscles tighter, and leave weaker muscles weak. You’re also hardening well-established neural pathways, instead of challenging your body to create new ones. Do the same exercise enough, and your body will change its shape in response to your activity.

Ever seen the arms of a professional tennis player? One arm is twice the size of the other—a direct result of the different level of demand placed on the playing arm. For a tennis pro, that’s part of what they do, but for the rest of us, the goal is balance: overall strength, flexibility, endurance. The way to achieve that is to add variety to your routine, find different ways to move, and consistently challenge your body system.

Here’s 3 ways to instantly shake up your routine this summer:

*Change your mode of locomotion. For cardio, try riding a bike or jumping rope instead of running, for example, or change your usual routine to include stairs, hills or other challenges.

*Step away from the machines. Get outside! See what happens when you find alternate ways to train–pushups on the grass instead of a cable chest press machine, or step-ups on a park bench instead of the elliptical machine.

*Choose a new flavor. Try an activity you’ve never done before, like a new class or a new sport. Just learning the basics can definitely be a challenge.

YOUR BOLD SPRING STEP

Charlotte Blake
Personal Trainer
Pre/Post-Natal Pilates Instructor

5 STEPS TO A HEALTHY YEAR

Here are some thoughts from the Nimble team about making 2010 your healthiest year yet.

1: Look back to move forward. We often learn more from what we see as our failures than our successes–those times we didn’t feel successful often turn out to be very valuable in our overall growth. Questions you could ask yourself about the past year are: Did you exercise as often as you wanted to? Were you working towards goals, or just kind of winging it? Did you make your health a first priority, or was it an afterthought? Is your home and work environment set up for success? By considering where you fell short, you’re also giving yourself the road map for success in the future.

2: Set your positive intention. Intention is everything. Visualize positively what you want to accomplish this year—it will make all the difference in terms of the quality of what you do and your decisions. If you focus on failure in anything that you do–getting married, changing your eating habits, making an important presentation—failure is usually what you’ll get. A little bit of time and effort spent seeing yourself making healthy choices every day will make it that much easier to keep your commitments to yourself.

3: Create your own health blueprint. And keep it simple! Focus on these 3 aspects: food choices, movement, and quality rest. Think long term but act on a daily basis. Take a week and test yourself—concentrate on making healthy choices in eating, movement, and rest for seven days–and see how you feel and how those choices affect everything you do.

4: Expand your awareness—connect with others. Take an active interest in your health and activities that interest you (examples—cooking class, running clubs, volleyball leagues, ski clubs, hiking groups, yoga classes). You’re not alone! There’s guaranteed to be other people interested in what you like—and they can provide inspiration and motivation as you move forward on your path to a healthier lifestyle.

5: Live it. Making your health a priority on a daily basis is really about making every aspect of your life better, whether it’s your work, your social life, your sleep or your relationships. Consistently taking care of yourself is not selfish—it’s making your ability to achieve success and take care of your loved ones that much greater.

Love Your Feet!

When’s the last time you showed your feet some love? Our poor feet often experience cruel and unusual punishment. We stuff them in stylish shoes that fit us poorly for the sake of looking good. We run around all day and forget about them until they start to hurt.

Here are some tips from Nimble Fitness on how to give your feet some love and create a solid foundation for your heart-healthy cardiovascular program.

1. Pay attention to your posture—standing and walking with proper balance and a “stacked” torso (where your shoulders, rib cage and pelvis align over each other) will help your feet support your body weight the way they’re meant to.

2. Get a foot massage, reflexology treatment, or just use a tennis ball to loosen up the fascia on the bottom of your feet.

3. Organized exercise! Develop an integrated training program that draws from several styles of movement, so your feet have a variety of challenges to develop strength and balance.

4. Wear shoes that fit well and give you the support you need. Enough said! Your shoes should fit around your feet, not vice versa.

Your New Year’s Solution

What exactly is a New Year’s resolution? The dictionary defines resolution as ‘a firm decision to do something,’ but what does that really mean? It’s easy enough to make a decision to get in shape, lose a few pounds or quit smoking—it’s the follow-through where we tend to get tripped up. Rather than making a resolution this year, we are going to suggest you make a New Year’s solution. There is no better time than the New Year to create a new approach to getting yourself healthy. A New Year’s solution means creating long-term success–so you never have to make another resolution again.

We’ve all experienced short-term motivation. Most of us start the New Year by saying, “I ate too much,” or “I’ve been lazy,” or “I feel out of shape,” and then we make a short-term resolution to change. Ask yourself this: If you took a wrong turn in your car and ended up where you started, would you take that same turn again? Probably not, yet time and time again, we all make the same resolutions at the same time of year. We basically set ourselves up to fail! Isn’t it time to change your routine and perhaps change your way of thinking–because if it hasn’t worked in the past, it’s not going to work this time around either!

The first step towards changing your results is to examine your goals and how you view exercise and fitness. This is the key to understanding why none of those New Year’s resolutions really work. Was your resolution a short-term goal? Was it based on a number, like losing 20 lbs in 6 weeks, instead of on an overall feeling of health and wellness? Once you start to look at the roots of your health habits, you can identify what’s been holding you back. If you’ve made a decision to get in shape for the New Year, yet deep inside you view exercise as punishment and food or alcohol as a reward, you’ll be fighting yourself every step of the way. The quickest way to achieve your goals in health, or in life, is to bring your thoughts and actions into alignment with how you want to feel and look.

Observe your thoughts and daily habits and develop a sense of awareness about them: How you feel throughout the day? Where are your priorities? Who do you surround yourself with, and do they help or hinder your success? Become aware of any excuses you use which consistently hold you back. You’ll get some very interesting information about yourself—information you can use to refine your health plan and move forward.

Then take action! Simple steps on a daily basis, like taking the stairs rather than the elevator or skipping dessert when dining out, add up. Look at all of your daily choices as positive steps toward better health. After all, the whole point of a healthy lifestyle is to feel good all the time, not just after you spent an hour in the gym. Start feeling good all the time, and things in your life get better—your work gets better, your body feels better, your sleep is better, sex is better, and your relationships get better.

Remember your 3 keys—not a resolution, but daily steps towards success: movement, good food choices, and sufficient rest. Have faith in the process; every mountain climb starts with a single step. You’re not going to get to the peak in one day, so take your time and learn about yourself as you progress. And take time to enjoy the view! As you continue to find daily ways to be healthy, you’ll feel your strength and confidence improve. The solution is there, waiting for you.

Managing Stress

What is stress? Let’s keep it simple–stress is a response created from an event that is challenging or in some way sends you into a heightened alert state. These events are called stressors. Sometimes they can be good, often they are a reaction to a bad situation. An example of good stress would be if you are driving and have to react to the puppy that has lost its way into the street; you swerve to miss it and in the process have gone through a very quick, very stressful situation. Bad stress can be created by an abundant array of possibilities, ranging from work, to relationships, to money and lack of time, just to name a few. Stress can deplete your immune system and leave your body’s natural defenses weakened, while also creating other problems.

Here are some practical ways to manage stress:

1. BREATH! Take a belly breath! Having a few breathing exercises at hand is key when trying to produce a relaxation response. Try this one: Lie down on the floor and put a book under your head to create a comfortable head position (chin and forehead in alignment). If you really want to set yourself up, put a pillow under your knees. Begin by asking your body to be heavy and completely relaxed. Start breathing with your hands on your belly to help cue the movement of the breath into the diaphragm. When you feel that you have a nice full and easy belly breath happening, move your hands onto your rib cage. Now send your breath into your ribs and feel how they rise slightly. Next, relax your arms to your side and move your breath into your back. Feel the floor become resistance. Sixty percent of our lungs are located in our back body, so feel how three-dimensional you actually are! During this process, keep asking your muscles to relax and your body to be heavy. Feel the space and relaxation you have created by gaining a new awareness of your breath. Yeh mon!

2. YOUR GREATEST WEALTH IS HEALTH! What’s more important than being healthy? All the money in the world does not matter much when you feel like crap. To be consistently healthy, take daily action with your healthy habits. My rule is mandatory Monday workouts. It starts my week out with flowing energy and sets me up for success. Go and take a yoga class or give a tai-chi class a shot. Choose non-processed and whole live foods that support the recovery you need when healing your body from stress. Another good rule of thumb is to stay away from consuming too much caffeine, because it adds stress to a system that is already stressed. Take some action every day!

3. STOP WATCHING THE NEWS! AND FREE UP YOUR SCHEDULE. Listen, the media loves when they can inspire fear in their viewers. They’re in the business of stealing your time and hooking your thoughts to their programs. Giving the news a break can free up some time for you, and that means paying attention to some key health habits that otherwise might get neglected.

4. YOU GUESSED IT: SLEEEEEEEEP. Do you make it a point to maintain a consistent sleep cycle? You will be giving your mind and body time to recover strength and energy and be better equipped to handle any stressors that arise throughout the day.

5. BUILD YOUR RESILIENCE AND OBSERVE YOUR THOUGHTS. Remember change is always happening. Your perception of that change is how it will be for you. Become an observer of your thoughts. If you find yourself thinking negatively, ask yourself why. At some point in our lives we have to become our own best friends and be present enough to choose thoughts that are in alignment with our dreams. Resilient people have great friends, view change as a normal part of life, see most problems as solvable, take daily action and know how to relax.

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