Nimble Blog

Kick Your Butt?

By Charlotte Blake -

As we have already established, it is almost summer. Immediately we all think sun, margaritas, ocean, beach, vacation….swimsuit?!? The reaction to having to prepare for that swimsuit tends to unfold in five stages:

1. Panic!!!
2. Begin “kick butt regime” of near starvation and insane cardio.
3. Quit “kick butt regime” because working out like crazy sucks.
4. Indulge in all the food and drink you deprived yourself of and gladly embrace sedentary lifestyle.
5. Panic!!! (And repeat.)

Does this vicious cycle sound familiar?

How about we make spring/summer 2011 a new cycle. Sign up for that class you have your eye on, call that personal trainer, or contact that friend you have talked to about teaming up to get in shape.

My main advice:
Stick with the good stuff.

You hate running? Try spinning! You hate spinning? Try a challenging yoga class! Feeling lost in large groups? Schedule some one-on-ones or duet sessions! Feeling lost about diet? Find a support group or a nutritionist!

You might have to ask for help.
If you do not want to ask for help from someone else, ask for help from yourself.
Sit down (which requires finding time for just you) and think about what will really fulfill you, make you excited to be in better shape, and guide you toward your summer goal.

Pace yourself.
Possible pace-worthy mantras:

None of us have to be unhappy with our bodies this summer.  I see amazing results every day from my clients.  I am inspired by them and constantly in awe.  We all have so much power to change our bodies, increase our energy, and just feel better. And if you are feeling good about your body and your fitness level, it is still always helpful to remind ourselves to keep that steady pace of nourishing movement and healthy nutrition going.

The month is a new one and this season is one of rebirth.
Enjoy Spring’s full potential!

Ab Progression

Watch Nimble Trainer Al Kavadlo demonstrate different abdominal exercises in this short video clip.

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

Exercise Your Emotions

By Daniel Lucas .

Have you ever had the sense that your old ideas and beliefs are not working for you? Do you feel like you need to let go of the energy that surrounds those old habits? You can start with your awareness—just being able to identify old ways or habits is freeing in itself. That self-awareness can help loosen the bond, especially if you’re able to trace your habits to their origin. Tracing these feelings back to their moment of purpose, and recognizing that the emotions you experienced there don’t define you, can be extremely liberating.

The big question is this: how do we let go? It can be compared to pulling a weed from a garden—if you don’t get the root, you know that weed will live and grow. If you do get to the root of old patterns in your life, you’ll create space that allows you to develop new intentions and beliefs that will empower you.

Here are some tips to consider when digging into to your old patterns and beliefs:

1. Awareness of your emotions, and how they align with your circumstances, helps a great deal. Is your emotion in a certain situation genuine and appropriate to what’s happening? If you’re over-emotional (or under-emotional), this is a sign that there might be a root belief that’s not serving you any longer. It might be time to go back and weed your garden a bit more.

2. Seeking to understand why you feel the way you do will help to know whether you’re acting in the present moment, or re-acting from an old blueprint.

3. Work on your ability to shift into the present moment and see the truth of each experience as it is. This is what we call consciousness!

4. Exercise! Researchers have found that there is a section of the brain that responds only to exercise. Moving your body will tap into your mind/body connection and assist you with letting go of old baggage. Recent research also indicates that the way we hold ourselves posturally is closely related to our moods and to our personalities. In other words, the way we move, or don’t move, is linked to the way we feel. Your body tomorrow reflects what you’re doing today.

5. Keep at it! You may not pull the whole weed at first, but being brave enough to look at your truth will eventually help you grow. Be your own best friend on this journey and allow your natural state of JOY to shine through.

Namaste

Daniel

Al’s Clean & Press

Watch Nimble Trainer Al Kavadlo demonstrate different clean and press techniques in this short video clip.

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

Keep It Simple! 


by Ami Ipapo …

Ah, the F’s of February – flu season, finding a date for Valentine’s Day and failing New Year’s resolutions. If you’re anything like myself, you’ve had a great start to 2011, filled with ass-kicking, sweat-inducing self-motivation. And now as February rounds the corner and the initial workout high has passed, you’re already reaching for the late night ice cream and giving yourself permission to skip your morning run.

Maybe you’ve set goals that are too high, too specific, somewhat unrealistic or just downright boring. Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate what a “New Year’s resolution” should be. For instance, 

I was skimming through my stepmother’s online blog recently and came across a post entitled “EAT LESS, MOVE MORE.” Aha! I thought…If only it were that easy. My first instinct was to dismiss it as a novice approach and read no further. After all, why would a fitness professional such as myself take advice from an overweight, middle-aged, southern suburban housewife?

There was something about the simplicity of her statement that spoke to me, however. In a society where the idea of well-being has been clouded by extreme diets, trendy workouts, ridiculous fitness contraptions and swanky health clubs, maybe it’s time we got back to basics. Maybe suburban stepmom is on to something! 

I was similarly inspired by a recent reading of Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food. In this layman’s guide to nutrition, Pollan outlines some very basic food rules–a few of my favorites are “Don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food,” and “Avoid food products containing ingredients that are unfamiliar or unpronounceable.” Pollan gives us a simple answer to the increasingly complicated question of the human diet: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

If this kind of simplicity works for nutrition, I thought, then why not apply it to fitness? In an effort to simplify my own New Year’s resolutions (or even successfully incorporate them into an increasingly hectic New York lifestyle), I decided to wipe my slate clean and start over with my own personal list of basic “fitness rules.”

1. Eat well. Eating well means maintaining a diet that supports your activity level and lifestyle. Personally, I’m making an effort to eat a breakfast that sustains me through six hours of morning clients, and to pack a healthy lunch each day.

2. Move more. For me, this means bypassing the escalator and taking the stairs in the subway station each time I come home…all 133 of them. Trust me, every step makes a difference!

3. Sleep better. One of the most difficult things for me to do is get to bed early when I have an early start the following day. With my new early bedtime, the additional energy I get from the extra hour of sleep is well worth passing up that late night rerun of The Golden Girls!

4. Drink more. (Water!) I pretty much live with a water bottle attached to my hip. Those of you who know me can attest to that.

5. Drink less. (Alcohol!) And my, how the tolerance has gone down when I do indulge in a cocktail!

6. Don’t forget playtime! So, so important. Just one day, one afternoon, or even an hour to relax and unwind can make a world of difference in a busy workweek.

The happier you are, the more likely you’ll be to reach your goals!


 There you have it – six simple ideas to keep in mind throughout the day. These small resolutions are sticking better than any complicated workout makeover attempts from years passed (and my stepmother has lost 10 pounds!) I invite you to try my list, and I encourage you to create your own.

 I understand that not everyone has the time to make it to the gym everyday or the means to hire a trainer. But that shouldn’t be an excuse–you can start making a few small steps toward positive change today! All journeys begin with a single step.

So this Valentine’s Day, stop stressing over finding a date and start to K.I.S.S. yourself. Keep It Simple, Stupid.

New Year New You

by Antonio Sini
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There is no better time than the New Year to create a new approach to getting yourself healthy. A New Year’s solution—instead of a resolution–means creating long-term success, by taking action and beginning the process of improving your health.

We’ve all experienced short-term motivation. Many of us start the New Year with negative feedback, and then react by setting unrealistic goals. We say: “I ate too much” or “I’ve been lazy” or “I feel out of shape,” and then we say “I’m going to join the gym and lose 20 lbs by February!” This New Year, begin by asking 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, basically setting ourselves up to fail. Isn’t it time to change your routine and perhaps change your way of thinking? If it hasn’t worked in the past, it’s not going to work this time around either!

FIRST STEP: Change your results by examining your goals and how you view exercise and fitness. This is the key to understanding why so few 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 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 “hate” exercise and don’t feel comfortable in a gym, you’ll be fighting yourself every step of the way. The way to achieve your goals in health, or in life for that matter, is to bring your thoughts and actions into alignment. Get in the habit of positively reinforcing the benefits of daily exercise.

SECOND STEP: Find new ways to stay healthy and get in better shape. Giving yourself options will help you stay on track and keep you motivated to follow through with your fitness goals. Some suggestions:

• Make exercise fun again by joining a group. Sign up with a runner’s club, take dance lessons or seek out new classes that appeal to you. There are literally dozens of classes available in most areas–from spinning and water aerobics to martial arts and TRX (our specialty!). Do some research and try a few. Exercise isn’t necessarily easy, but in a group it doesn’t have to feel boring or dreadful. You can get started by checking out our class schedule.

• If classes aren’t your thing, working with a personal trainer is an excellent way to stay motivated and get the results you seek. One of a trainer’s jobs is to make sure you enjoy the experience and keep you interested in your pursuit of better health. Having someone else take the guesswork out of exercise, so you spend less time figuring out what to do and more time moving your body, is also going to get you results quicker. (For a complimentary session with one of Nimble’s amazing trainers, contact us at info@nimblefitness.com)

• Pay more attention to the little things. Taking the stairs rather than the elevator or skipping dessert when you’re dining out, all adds up. Even something seemingly simple like drinking more water throughout the day will make you look and feel better. Try cooking simple, healthy meals at home if you eat out often. Replace common unhealthy food choices with better options, organic whenever possible.

THIRD STEP: Observe your thoughts and daily habits and develop a sense of awareness about them. First, think about the basics: Are you getting enough rest? Are you making good food choices? Moving your muscles on a daily basis? Next, observe how you feel throughout your day. Do you generally feel good? Feel stressed? What’s the source of your greatest stress, and how can you reduce it? Maybe there’s a simple solution, like taking a few days off, or maybe greater action needs to be taken – like finding a new career. Take a moment to examine your daily priorities—how does fitness fit onto your list? And be aware of any excuses you use which consistently hold you back: the office happy hour, your favorite TV show, etc. You’ll gain some very interesting information about yourself—information you can use to refine your health plan and move forward.

Finally, 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.

Antonio Sini

Pushup Progression

Watch Nimble Trainer Al Kavadlo demonstrate different pushup techniques in this short video clip.

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

Creating Mind/Body Space

After working intimately with clients for over 15 years, one thing that’s become evident is that old emotions and beliefs take up space in our physical being. Negative or “stuck” energy in our bodies can become stagnant, resulting in lowered creative energy, limited self-awareness and an inability to be truly conscious. Start this New Year by asking yourself this: Is there anything you say to yourself that’s limiting or negative, that needs a shift? Is there is a habit or judgment handed down from a family member or friend that you have been carrying around for a long time? Maybe there’s a judgment or belief you hold which is taking up space, space that could be used for personal growth instead. Remember, today–and everyday–is your opportunity to LET GO of old, negative energies and create new space inside yourself!

Happy New Year & Namaste!

Daniel

If you’re going to do it, love it!

Sometimes I hear new clients tell me they’re going to stop doing something they love. For example, I’ll hear “I’m never going to eat pasta again,” or “That’s the last desert I’ll ever have,” or even “No more wine for a year!” So often, the problem is not necessarily doing things that make us unhealthier or heavier, but ingesting things we love too much. This can shift our feelings when doing things to self-disappointment, shame or just being annoyed with oneself.

Ask yourself this: Am I acting in a way that I love what I do, the result of what I do, and myself? If the answer is no, maybe a shift is in order–maybe you eat pasta once a week, save the dessert for special occasions and the wine is cut down to a level that aligns with a feeling of genuine joy. The secret is to truly enjoy the wonderful pleasures of life; if we overdo it, we cross over into feelings of attachment or even addiction, which can affect one’s health. Change your perception, from denial to true enjoyment, and everything you partake in changes as well. If you’re going to do it, you might as well LOVE doing it!

Take a Hike

Hiking is one of my favorite exercises and offers many health benefits. Along with strengthening the quadriceps, hamstrings, thighs, hips and butt, hiking also improves your cardiovascular system. It’s a great alternative to the treadmill, providing more visual stimulation for your brain and fresh air for your lungs. I find the positive mental aspect of hiking to be the best reward. Being out in the open, away from the city, helps me clear my mind and de-stress. I also cherish the feeling of accomplishment when I reach the top or end of a hike.

Find a local hike near you. There are many resources on the Internet that will help point you in the right direction.  Click here for one of my favorites.

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Nimble Fitness staff hike at Mohonk Preserve.

FIVE WAYS TO STAY YOUNG

by Daniel Lucas

1. You are what you eat! Our food choices are some of the most important choices we make. Choosing quality food is vital to maintaining muscle tone, organs, your digestive system and overall body function. Whole, organic, nutrient-rich foods act as high-octane fuel for your body. Processed foods are calorie-rich and nutrient-poor—your digestive system will waste energy on trying to break down calories that it doesn’t recognize as food. Keep your digestive system young and running lean and clean.

2. Use it or lose it—but use it correctly! Modern life has all kinds of challenges. One of our biggest challenges is repetitive movement, whether it’s at a keyboard or on a treadmill. Be aware of how repetitive movement can overtax some muscle groups, making them tight and sore, while leaving other muscles underused and weak, eventually leading to misalignment. Add some variety to your movement and take breaks from repetitive movements to keep your muscles balanced. Too much repetitive motion in one direction results in stress and inflammation to the muscle tissue and joints. Speaking of stress…

3. Don’t hold on to stress—it’s unrelieved stress that makes us old. Very few people in this day and age can claim to have a stress-free life. It’s how we deal, or don’t deal, with stress that can either keep us young or take us out of balance. Not all stress is bad. When we ask our muscles to work, for example, we’re putting stress on the muscle tissue, tendons and ligaments to make them stronger. But we wouldn’t ask them to work 24/7! If you’re in the habit of internalizing stress and carrying it around, you’re making your system work overtime and decreasing your natural function. Develop the habit of reducing stress on a daily basis—exercising, taking breaks, moving your breath out of your shoulders and into your rib cage, drinking plenty of water—so you can be free of carrying stress around.

4. Play young! Go and do things that connect you to truly feeling young. Sometimes we all have to reach back to go forward. What activities make you feel young? Dancing, hiking, playing volleyball, riding a bicycle…all of these are responses our clients have given to this question. Ask yourself! And really try to embody that feeling of being young in your life each day.

5. Let go! Being young is being resilient. Consciously let go of the stressors in your life that you can’t control; let go of the negative language that accompanies those stressors and inhibits your abilities (“I’m too old for that”, “I’ll never get rid of my stress” etc). Let go of the illusion that you can’t feel young!

September Spin Mix

By Charlotte Blake -

I have always loved teaching Spin classes, along with being a Personal Trainer and Pilates Instructor. Cycling is an amazing way to really get your heart rate up while building strength in your core and legs.

I haven’t been teaching Spin lately and I miss it! I miss the 45 minutes of getting lost in the music, leading a class of hard working students through climbs, sprints, and races. I also miss getting creative with my music playlists. I love receiving emails from students and clients with suggestions of new cycling songs. Since I haven’t been able to apply these new suggestions to a class, I want to share them with all of you.

Before hopping on your bike:

* Wear sneakers or spin shoes for the spin bike. Keep in mind spin
shoes are not necessary and sneakers are just fine!

* When standing next to your spin bike, make sure the seat is set at
the height of your hip bone. Adjust the seat closer to the handle bars or
further away. Adjust the handlebars to a height comfortable for you. Keep
in mind you should be leaning forward slightly while cycling for fitness.

* Keep your spine nice and long, navel reaching toward your spine so
your abdominals are working and stabilizing.

* Keep your chest open, shoulders and neck relaxed, breath
moving, hands gripping very lightly on handlebars.

* While cycling, your legs move in full circles. Along with pressing
down, there is also sense of pulling up to complete one cycle. Use your
quads (thigh muscles) but also connect with your glutes, hamstrings, and
inner thighs to work your entire leg.

Playlist and Guide

1. Bryn – Vampire Weekend
Warm-up! Set your intention and your goal for your ride, get comfortable on your
bike, get excited for your ride.

2. Street Fighting Man – The Rolling Stones
Add 2-3 small turns of resistance by turning your resistance knob to the right. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the hardest) you are working at about a level 3. Pick up your pace as the song carries on and begin to feel your body heating up.

3. Your Love Is My Drug – Ke$ha
Add a final touch of resistance and move out of your warm-up into more heart pumping cycling! Rise out of your seat during the chorus to feel the challenge of cycling out of the saddle. When out of the saddle, keep your hips and butt over the saddle and spine nice and long. Back in the saddle, keep up your pace.
Pick up your pace back up each chorus.

4. Paper Planes – M.I.A.
Add a small turn of resistance about every 30 seconds or 5 times during this song to get into your first climb. Pace yourself–stay in the saddle the entire time and feel your legs burning toward completion of your climb.

5. Bad Romance – Lady Gaga
Sprints! You’ve made it through your first climb, so return your resistance to flat road (make sure you are moving the pedals, the pedals aren’t moving you.) Every chorus, pick up your pace to move your legs as fast as you can. Challenge yourself for these 3 sprints, really go for it! Your choice if you stay in the saddle or rise out for sprints.

6. Wake Up – Arcade Fire
Your heart is pumping but you’re taking the challenge of this climb. See the top of your climb and make a big turn of your resistance to the right. You are already working at about a level 5 or 6 within the first 30 seconds of this song. About 2 minutes in, take the challenge, rise out of the saddle, and add even more resistance. Work at a level 7 or 8. Stay with it until you reach the top.

7. Dakota – Stereophonics
After that climb, acknowledge your kick-ass work climbing that hill and turn your resistance all the way down to coast and catch your breath. About 2 minutes in, bring your bike back to flat road and pick up your pace. Get a little lost in the music, get back into your ride, see rolling hills up ahead, and pick up your pace so you are racing on flat road until the end of the song.

8. Whatya Want From Me – Adam Lambert
Rolling hills! Every chorus you will be loading on your resistance for rolling hills.
Rise out of the saddle for 3 really intense and challenging climbs. They are only about 30 seconds, so you are able to really amp up the resistance.

9. Where The Streets Have No Name – U2
You are probably feeling tired, but the best is yet to come. Place your resistance on flat road. Add a small turn of resistance about every 30 seconds or 5 times during this song to get into your last climb. Pace yourself. You have your final climb up ahead.

10. Half Light II (No Celebration) – Arcade Fire
Alright, you have 3 more turns of resistance. Turn your resistance about every 1.5
minutes. Get lost in the music, remember your intention, and push to the
top of your climb!

11. England – The National
Turn the resistance all the way down and catch your breath. When you are ready, get off your bike and stretch your quads, hamstrings, chest, and anything else you feel needs stretching.

12. I’m On Fire – Bruce Springsteen
Just because. Hey, we can’t have a spin mix without some Bruce Springsteen!

Remember to pace yourself during this workout. Have little sips of water throughout the workout and have a towel you can use when you need to.

Whenever you are losing inspiration, remember the intention you set at the beginning of the class. Remember your personal fitness goals and let your motivation come from your desire to see positive changes in your body, mind, and spirit. Commitment will bring that change.

Take the challenge and ENJOY!

CREATING SPACE

I knew at some level that it was important to take my recent trip to Spain alone. I just didn’t know why. By the end of the first day in Ibiza, it had become obvious-there were old emotions about my father’s death that came right to the surface, and I had not yet had the opportunity to release them. I was still grieving emotionally and spiritually, even after all this time. The act of creating space for myself allowed this vital process to happen, along with giving me the space to feel immense appreciation for every friend, client, family member and living creature on the planet.

I understand that we all have many important people and obligations in our lives, but ask yourself this question: what can you do now to create space for yourself? Maybe you won’t have time for a trip to Ibiza, but take a long walk in the park, sit quietly on a bench or just take extra time to enjoy your meal. These small windows of time can give us an opportunity to let go of emotions or ideas that may be clouding our consciousness.

Namaste,
Daniel

Take the ‘work’ out of your workout.

I hear so many people complain that they don’t enjoy working out. The truth is, I don’t enjoy “working out” either. I think slogging along for 45 minutes on an elliptical machine is about as much fun as waiting in line at the bank. Now, on the other hand, I love to exercise. I know what you’re thinking: “Antonio, aren’t they the same thing?” Well, that depends how you look at it. On weekends, for example, I mountain bike with my buddies for hours. The other day, I spent an entire afternoon splitting wood in my yard. Now, they may not be considered ‘workouts,’ but these activities keep me in shape. That’s how I exercise. And most importantly, I enjoy doing it. There are plenty of ways to move your body without boring yourself at the gym. Here are some activities for you to consider:

Try DANCE or TENNIS lessons.
Ride a BIKE around town.
Take up SWIMMING at the Y.
Go for a HIKE in the woods.
Try a GROUP EXERCISE class.
Take BOXING lessons.
WALK along a beach.

Get out there and live the life you deserve!

-Antonio

GET YOUR BODY ORGANIZED

by Daniel Lucas

If you’re someone that runs, bikes, lifts weights, plays in a league, does any kind of consistent training, and lets not forget the non-sport of sitting at your desk you should think about having days in your exercise program dedicated to getting or keeping your body organized.  Whether it’s the repetitive nature of different sports or the destructive effect of sitting for prolonged periods of time, committing a little time to your structural alignment will pay major dividends.

What does it mean to have an organized body?

It’s when the structure of your bones, muscle, neuro-fascial tissue and organs are functioning in a balanced, energetic way. You feel strong and flexible, have natural poise and your movements feel light, not heavy or sluggish. It’s when your body and mind are functioning together at a high level—where you can run, jump, squat, lunge, push, pull, lift or twist with strength, power and flexibility through a full range of motion, without disruption or injury.  This organized scenario creates an optimal environment for joint health, organ health, muscular development and emotional flow/release.  So how do we get there?

Here are some Nimble tips for getting organized:

1.    Give yourself permission to have deeper body awareness! This takes a little bit
of courage, but bringing your awareness inside your body, to feel how your body is moving and holding itself together, is extremely valuable.  Assess yourself–no one knows how your body feels as well as you do! Identify where you’re tight, where you’re weak, where you’re strong, and then get to work. Use your “organization day” to focus on strengthening weaker muscles, opening up tight muscle tissue, and addressing imbalances in your system.

2.   Ask yourself this question: Is my exercise routine helping me with my posture or training me out of good posture?  I’ve watched people training for hours at a time with hunched shoulders, misaligned lower backs and strained necks. I’ve even seen people read a book while walking on the treadmill! Doing this hinders our natural gait and our functional lines across the body, which in this case run from the latissimus on one side to the gluteus on the other. Examine your own training habits—are you enhancing your posture with your exercises, or working into deeper imbalance and strain?

3.    Be open to how integrated and intelligent your body naturally is. Your body was designed to function harmoniously, whether moving or at rest. That harmony is your ultimate goal. To move towards that goal, you can start with isolated movements, but be sure to end in a fully integrated, functional way. For instance, you can train your postural stabilizers (the “core” muscles) first, and progress into the integrated compound movements. A simple example of this progression would be starting with the plank exercise, which engages the core stabilizers, and continuing on to the traditional squat.   Functional training prepares you for lifting your heavy bag of luggage, squatting to pick something up from the floor or simply giving someone a big loving hug.

4.    Identify where you are prone to tightness, and be consistent in stretching/resetting those muscles. We touched on this already, but stretching muscles helps to keep balance and symmetry in your body, and improves neural flow and oxygen delivery to your tissue. Be aware of the imbalances in your system and address those. If the right hamstring is a lot tighter than the left, for example, give it a little bit more time in your stretching. This will not only help you feel better, but help you function better.

5.    Strengthen weaker muscles–the other side of flexibility. Activating weak muscles and strengthening them through a proper exercise progression will also lengthen opposing muscles and assist in proper joint function.

6.    Get some professional eyes on you!  The earlier statement we made that no knows your body better than you do is only partially true.  Working with a trainer/practitioner/coach will help you to understand your strengths, weaknesses and imbalances, and improve your program to achieve more.

A little bit of practice and dedication to these key points will pay major dividends.  Having an organized body is the path to longevity!  It’s your journey, so I encourage you to trust the guru within.

Namaste
Daniel

Sweet Summer Corn Recipe

by Julie Smith

Strawberry Season’s Delightful Debut

by Julie Smith

•    According to the California Strawberry Commission, a serving of strawberries (about 8 strawberries) provides 160 percent of the recommended daily intake for vitamin C. Vitamin C has been associated with reduced rates of stomach, cervical, breast and non-hormone-dependent cancers.

•    Strawberries are in the fruit group with the highest antioxidant values.  The flavonoids, such as anthocyanins, quercetin and kaempferol, exhibit antioxidant properties that have been proven beneficial in suppressing cancer cells.

•    Strawberries are also heart healthy.  The heart-health benefits of strawberries are attributed to their high levels of key nutrients – Vitamin C, Folate, Fiber and Potassium.

WORKOUT ANYWHERE, ANYTIME

by Daniel Lucas

Here are some Nimble tips for effective training, whenever and wherever you are:

1) A workout doesn’t have to be an hour to be great! If you’re pressed for time, pick a couple of compound moves that use multiple muscle groups and get your heart rate going. *Tip: For example, try a squat to press, which works the entire body, or jumping rope.

2) Workout smarter, not just harder. Knowing a bit about how to manipulate variables in your workout program can give you a much bigger exercise toolbox to work with, and help keep your results flowing. *Tip: Changing the order of exercises in your program, changing the tempo, adding instability or cutting rest are all examples of how you can manipulate your program for greater intensity.

3) Know how to get it done anywhere. Prepare a bodyweight resistance/yoga routine that you can perform anywhere. The body resistance workouts can actually be your most challenging, and the combination of strength and yoga is great for your body. *Tip: Take a beginner’s yoga class or two and start to work on some of the basic poses. You can also pick up some great tools for exercising anywhere—resistance bands, a jump rope, etc.

4) Take it outside! Walking, running or hiking can be done absolutely anywhere and will definitely give you a high-intensity workout, plus a tour of the area you’re visiting.

5) Eat clean. With food, closer to nature is our golden rule. To train at your best and recover effectively, you need great, naturally produced food and proper hydration.

If you’re consistent with your workouts, you’ll gain more and more confidence to challenge yourself wherever you are!

Law of gestation.

In prior newsletters, we’ve spoken about the universal law of setting your intention to produce the results that you want. The idea is that our reality is first created by thought, then by our actions. This month, I want to talk about another universal law – the law of gestation. This law states that for any vision or intention to be realized, a certain period of gestation and development is required. This gestation period could be a week or 10 years, depending on the scope of your vision. A child, for example, is conceived in an instant, but takes many, many years of growth and nourishment to reach their full potential. How do we apply the law of gestation in our own lives? The secret is to be consistent in your words and actions over time-to consciously follow through in your daily activities to manifest your personal vision. Believe and trust in your journey of conscious action, and the universe will deliver what you want.

Namaste
Daniel

Do you speak to your soul?

Do you take the time to listen from within yourself for answers? Communicating with our soul is best achieved with a quiet mind. In order to hear the soul our minds need to be clear so that we can receive the answers, which often come in a much gentler way than the strong thoughts of the ego. For example: when you feel the answer to an important question without thinking about it. You just know in your heart it’s true. Quiet time, rest and meditation are vital to having this healthy connection.

Set aside time to allow yourself to stop thinking from the outside and you will have a greater opportunity to hear a deeper truth. Think of it this way: It’s not about working out, it’s about working in, meaning meditation, Tai Chi, a walk in nature or anything that you find empties your mind.

Namaste.
Daniel

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