10 Commandments for Reducing Stress

AAHH stress. A five letter word we could all use a little less of sometimes in our lives. I’ve had my share of it this summer and thought it was more than appropriate to share these funny, little tips that came from an unlikely source. My grandmother recently moved into a retirement community and these commandments just happened to be part of their August newsletter.

Funny thing is, the moving of my grandmother along with her illness and other incredible tidbits that went along with it are the same reasons I’ve had such a challenging (stressful) summer.  Ironic and amazing all at the same time. I consider this a sign of a valuable lesson that I’m being taught in my life, not to mention the valuable information I get to pass along. So here you go:

The 10 commandments for Reducing Stress:

1. Thou shalt not be perfect, or even try to be

2. Thou shalt not try to be all things to all people

3. Thou shalt sometimes leave things undone that ought to be done

4. Thou shalt not spread thyself to thinly

5. Thou shalt learn to say no

6. Thou shalt schedule time for thyself and for thy supportive network

7. Thou shalt switch off and do nothing regularly

8. Thou shalt be boring, untidy, inelegant and unattractive at times

9. Thou shalt not even feel guilty

10. Especially, though shalt not be thine own worst enemy, but thine own best friend

These are all excellent tips to help remind us that life is too complicated, full and ridiculous at times. We must learn to let go of some things in order to get other things done, but still take care of ourselves and be healthy. Couldn’t have said it better myself..well, I would have put in the bit that exercise is a proven stress reducer, too.

Here’s to a stress-free, fun-filled, energetic and playful rest of your summer!

Amy

PS- I’m an expert at 3 (more like too distracted), love to indulge in 6, need to work on 10 and resonate with number 8 from time to time. How about you?

5 Common Mistakes Men Make in The Gym

Continuing on my path of observations I have to include the male presence in the fitness facility. The last blog post was about the girls, but this one is geared toward the men who are regular exercisers in the gym. Although there are some similar things that both the male and female do, there are definitely some unique traits many men possess when they workout.

I should also mention, that there are some very well-rounded exercisers (both male and female) that have excellent workout programs and continue to make progress, change things up and are still seeing success with their goals. These blogposts are more just my keen observation on the more common reasons gym sessions are less than optimal for both sexes.

If you are a male who regularly exercises (3 or more times per week) do you take part in any of the following mistake activities when you workout at the gym or elsewhere?

1. Doing too much too soon- jumping into a two hour workout session that includes high intensity activities and large volumes of weight training is going to leave you sore as hell! While some delayed muscle soreness is expected it is important that men understand gradual progression by slowly adding more to the mix. Going from no exercise in 6 months to 2 hours of exercise in the first session is extreme and beyond most high end guidelines. Tone it down a bit!

2. Using less than optimal form or movement speed- more often than not too much weight is the cause of poor exercise performance. There tends to be a hang-up on “how much weight” one can lift, rather than how well the performance is. Injury risk is dramatically increased when poor technique or too fast of speed is executed. Ask a certified pro to help you gauge a proper starting weight and use correct form ALWAYS.

3. Not warming-up properly or at all- a proper warm-up is crucial to preparing the body for more vigorous activity, for lubrication of joints, for gradually increasing heart rate and improving the body’s ability to neurologically connect to muscles and movements. Jumping in at full speed or lifting heavy without warming up is also an excellent way to pull and/or strain a muscle, plus decrease activity potential as the body has not gradually worked into the higher intensity levels.

4. Ignoring the lower half and the trunk- Similar to how women will do tons of exercises for their problem areas in hopes to dissolve away fat, men seem to spend more time and energy building their upper body, arms and shoulders, but barely touching those highly important lower body muscles and their core. Neglecting any of the major muscles groups leads to imbalance, potential for injury and disproportion of the muscles in the body. Besides, you don’t want to be called “chicken legs” now do you?

5. Practically running away from the stretching area- very rarely do I see men finishing their workouts with appropriate stretching. Over the years this will take a toll and decrease joint range of motion, may lead to back pain, stiffness and a decreased ability to perform day to day functions like taking off your T-shirt. All the major muscle groups should be stretched at the end of the workouts and held for 15-30 seconds each.

Of course all of these mistakes have proper guidelines, activities and opportunities for repair. Seeking the advice a certified fitness professional or just making a conscious effort to heed some of the tidbits of advice I have offered will be beneficial.  Do your best to make adjustments, work efficiently and enjoy your workouts mistake free!

I’ll be watching!

In health and fitness- Amy

5 Common Mistakes Women Make in The Gym

Many of my female clients are gym members who have been working out for years, but are no longer seeing results or are just plain bored and frustrated. They are dedicated individuals who enjoy the benefits of exercise, but are ready to throw in the towel because they are either gaining weight, losing function or just feeling stagnant.

It comes as no surprise to me  because I often view them in the gym and understand why they aren’t meeting their fitness goals or seeing further improvement. There are some common mistakes among woman (trust me men are not excluded from this) that are made when it comes to working out, which can lead to these discouraging scenarios.

Are you making any one of these common mistakes?

1. Focusing too much attention or cardiovascular/cardio training- this builds muscle endurance and burns calories, but isn’t the most effective way to build the lean tissue needed to support optimal body composition

2. Not putting enough intensity into their workouts- I don’t know if it’s fear, habit, stubbornness or just a combination of all three, but women need to up their workout intensity to burn more calories, improve their fitness levels and provide overload and progression to their current workout routines. This applies to cardio and strength routines!

3. Still doing 100’s of reps of exercises to spot reduce- spot reduction can only happen via plastic surgery. Weight loss will happen all over the body with a combination of cardio, strength and good eating habits. Doing 100 leg lifts per leg every day is called muscle endurance training and will not make the fatty tissue on top disappear.

4. Skipping exercises that work major muscle groups- they don’t like to work their back, but love to work their legs so they skip all the back exercises in the circuit, or just do the ones they like. This alone can lead to a screaming case of muscle imbalance, which can increase the risk of injury. You’ve got to train the entire body, front to back, side to side, deep and superficial!

5. Going back to old habits- doing the same routines for 20 years is will lead to plateauing (no longer seeing results or change). This is why it is so important to work with a certified professional to help you change up your routines, keep you fresh, improve your fitness levels and prevent overuse injuries and boredom.

Notice a trend in any of these habits? Do you do one, a couple or all of them?  It’s all fixable! Making a change to just one fo these common mistakes will certainly give you some results and encourage you to start fixing the others. After all, aren’t results what you’re after?

Keep it fresh- Amy

PS- 5 common mistakes men make in the gym is coming later this week

PPS- A more in depth article will follow both blog posts

Treating Your Symptoms and Ignoring the Culprit

I was talking to one of my students after yoga class today and one thing came up in conversation that inspired a brilliant comment from her. We were discussing my mother and her recent back injury, as well as my struggle to support her with her unhealthy lifestyle choices, hence part of the back injury.

She said, “People will treat their back, but not their weight.” I almost screamed I was so impressed with that statement. I told her I just had to go home and blog about it..so here I am.

I do find it strange that symptoms of extra weight, such as increased incidence of lower back pain, chronic, knee, ankle and foot issues, increased risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and decreased ability to function with day to day activities are more commonly treated with ignorance rather than being pro-active.

The statistics are out there, healthcare professionals support it and fitness professionals are screaming it at the top of their lungs. If you lose weight, these issues will not be such a nuisance in your life. You may still suffer from the aches and pains of too much, too soon or experience a case of muscle reawakening from doing a new activity, but the chronic symptoms that plague so many overweight individuals will no longer be an issue.

Do you want to treat these symptoms?

So why are so many still treating the symptoms of being overweight rather than addressing the culprit itself? It’s like bandaging up the wounds from your attacker, but the attacker is still free to roam and injure you again. I’m not sure about the logic, but I do know this:

Exercise works for everybody. We have parameters, guidelines, exercises and programming for all of you no matter where you are in life. If you have an injury (chronic or acute), medical concern, previous to no exercise experience, or are a former athlete there is still something that you can get started with immediately.

Certified and educated fitness pros can help guide you in the right direction and develop a sound program based off of your current state of fitness and health, help you formulate your goals and design a specialized routine that will work for your individual needs.

I know some people dread exercise more than anything in the world, but you just can’t avoid it. We have to move it to lose it, and we have to move it to stay healthy. The alternative is continue down the path of treating your individual symptoms and enjoy the lackluster lifestyle.

I’ve picked my path and hope you will all join me in an occasional day of delayed muscle soreness from exercise. I feel great and look forward to a long, happy life!

Make it a happy, healthy, fit day!
Amy

Great Fitness Advice-Get Over Yourself!

OK- I admit it, exercise is hard sometimes and doesn’t always feel good. BUT- it beats the alternative of feeling lethargic, lackluster and carrying around extra weight that is not only unnecessary (unless your pregnant), but unhealthy. Besides making most people feel less than attractive, extra weight contributes to heart disease, metabolic disorders like type II diabetes and orthopedic issues. Enough said!

As a fitness professional I create, deliver and administer dozens of programs every month for my clients, classes and camps, which will and do deliver results. These results vary based off of each participant’s abilities, commitment and willingness to participate and stay engaged with their programming and/or group activities. I can lead them to the water hole, show them the way, but ultimately it is up to them to drink in my advice and reap the benefits.

Being brutally honest I often find that individuals are layered with excuses for not doing something, or they use their current state of health/wellness as one BIG excuse for not being able to comply to actions necessary to find results. Professionally speaking, I would never ask anybody to do more than what they are physically capably of doing- that would be irresponsible and disrespectful. However, it can become frustrating when people do not let go of their current state of health and use is as a crutch to keep from making progress.

We have the power to let go and we have the power to hang on. The question is why are people still hanging on to unhealthy habits and throwing up their hands so easily when results don’t show up after one week of effort?  It takes weeks of effort to see results, and the effort put forth will show vast differences in those results. Not giving in to old habits and staying focused on what you can do and doing it well is what needs to happen.

By far, I think my best and most in your face piece of fitness advice is this, “Get over yourself!” You don’t like where you are, then change it and stop making excuses for why you can’t. Exercise can be modified and created for anybody regardless of age, gender, health or physical ability. It just plain works! No BS!!

It is ultimately everyone’s choice to do something or to not do something. Look forward and focus on the things that can happen if you take action, rather than what has happened. If your happy where you are, keep at it, but if you want more from your health, fitness and appearance then take my advice..Get over it and make a change!

Honestly- Amy

13 Squat Variations to Build Your Butt!

Not the best production I’ve done, but still good content. This is a completely spontaneous idea spawned from a conversation I had with my spouse. He had a conception and I ran with it..first take, bare bones fitness education coming your way:

Trainer Top 10- How to “Not” Look Like Arnold and Build a Better Butt

Well the list goes on. Working down my list of top 10 questions and/or statements I get from clients and participants brings me to numbers 4, 5, and 6. Numbers 4 and 5 have a couple of similarities so I will wrap these two together in my response.

Trainer Top 10:

4/5- “I don’t want to look like Arnold so I don’t lift heavy, I just do muscle toning.” “I want a body like yours, what do you do?”

Genetic Gift

First of all, I should address the issue of looking like somebody else because you perform the same exercises they do. This is a common misconception amongst enthusiasts and unfortunately prevents many people from doing or not doing an exercise. Most people, OK women, think that lifting heavy will result in large muscles and a less than womanly presence. NOPE..you have to have certain genetics, loads of testosterone surging through your bloodstream and let’s not forget to mention the training time in the gym to get those great big muscles. Your genetics will grant you the ability to gain muscle or not gain muscle, and in my 17 years on the job I have yet to see any of my female clients turn into a hulky, muscle bound man with their training protocols. Most woman just don’t possess the genes to be Arnold.

By the way, calisthenic exercises, high repetition/low resistance exercises claiming to tone your muscles instead of build your muscles are just tapping into muscle endurance and the ability to do something a whole bunch of times until it burns. Nothing wrong with that, but it is inefficient strength conditioning and in the long run will not yield the results most people are looking for. A well rounded, effective training protocol should include strength based exercises that challenge the muscles to fatigue anywhere between 1-15 reps depending on your goals, needs and current fitness levels. As a matter of fact, the best results are seen when individuals change up their weekly strength sessions and include endurance, strength and power workouts. *A certified personal trainer can help you design a proper workout program.

Back to the genetic thing and working out like somebody so you can look like them. Here this: unless you are that person you probably won’t look like that person when you do the same exercises. Exercise will target specific muscles, joints and tissues, but the results will be individually based off of genetics, performance, motivation levels, consistency and dedication. Not to mention the often overlooked category of nutrition..too much food = too much waistline!

So go ahead, pump some iron and watch your genetic potential shine. I can’t change what God gave you, but I can show you the way to make it your best body ever if your willing to put forth the effort.

6. What can I do to improve my butt? (I summarized this from many comments)

OK..here are my 3 suggestions to help improve your butt:

1. Lift weights to build it up via wide-legged squats, lunges, deadlifts and hip extensions (best butt exercises). Perform 2-3 sessions per week on non-consecutive days and aim for 3 sets of 12 reps resting about 45-60 seconds between sets.

2. Cardio activities to help the backside include walking hills, running stairs, and sprinting so try to include a few of these moves as intervals in your current cardio programming a few days per week.

3. Put down your fork and push back from the table. Eating more than you move leads to weight gain and in some cases a bigger butt. If your goal is a smaller butt, then your portions and intake should be smaller, too! BONUS: if you combine exercise with better eating habits you will see the greatest results in your butt.

Now you know you can lift and not be Arnold, you can’t look like me when you do my workouts and you’ve grasped the concepts on how to make your butt a fabulous object to look at. Here’s to all of your muscles, butts and genetics.

Be healthy and stay informed!

Amy

PS- questions 7 & 8 are heading your way this weekend via video blog