New Year's Resolutions!

Happy  New Year!  Have you made your resolutions yet?  What about your fitness related goals?  The time has come to truly consider what your are doing, and how you might improve your overall health through exercise, as exercise is truly medicine.  We all know now (or we should) all the research proving that exercise reduces hypertension, can eradicate diabetes in some, and reduce the need for meds in others, lowers your risk of heart attack and stroke, and gives you not only a better outlook, but a better quality of life.

Now is your chance to tap into all of those positive effects, by examining your current exercise program, and adjusting the time, frequency, and intensity to better your body.  If you need help, I have a slew of classes and small group trainings to offer you, as well as my services one-on-one.  Think about making a list that delineates the negatives you see in your life, and what positive things you can do to achieve a more positive outcome.  Whether you've been considering a dietary change, or an exercise adjustment, remember that consistency and commitment are your friends when making such a change.  Just do it.  

To start logging your food:  www.myfitnesspal.com

This week for exercise:

Wednesday, 9am, small group training (drop in $24) Elite River Glen

Friday, 6:10 am, muscle mix (free) Elite River Glen

Saturday, 11:30 am, small group training (drop in $24) Elite River Glen

Embrace the day, and the season!  Try something new, or do something you love, today.

Cheers!

Ab workout...

Happy Holidays!  Well here I am at the club on Christmas Eve, thinking about what I might help with this week.  It's a notoriously difficult week for both exercise and food, as I'm sure you are aware.  But also difficult because many of you may be out of town, visiting family, and wondering what to do for exercise.  So, I thought I would give you a little abdominal strengthening program to do at your home, or during some free time if you are out of town.

Also, November's T-shirt winner is SUE DEAN!  She came back fighting hard after a shoulder surgery, and worked diligently and consistently to ensure her shoulder didn't freeze up.  Fantastic effort and results!  December has been tough, but I do have one more T-shirt to give away...

This one is a double crunch...feel free to support the head with light fingertips

Flutter kicks!  Add some hands under buttocks for extra support if you like:)

-- Plank with a hip raise adds a bit of interest.  Just be sure you are coming back to a neutral back position.

Extended leg double crunch gets top and bottom...getting tired now...

I like to lift both legs, but this is the first step.  If you master the oblique crunch with abduction, then you can try the side V lift with both legs.

Partner Exercises!

Tubing Partner Exercises

Try these fun, effective partner exercises to build strength.


Mid-Row. Stand facing your partner. Intertwine the tubes, holding one handle each in your right and left hands. Back away from each other, arms fully extended, until there is some resistance on the tube. Begin in a squat stance with feet between hip and shoulder width apart. Slowly pull the tube, leading with your elbows, driving them backward. As you’re rowing backward, pinch your shoulder blades together and toward the ground. As you release your arms forward, squat toward the ground. Complete 1 set of 8–20 reps. This partner exercise helps improve posture.

Variations:

• Hold a static squat.
• Do single-arm rows. (Double up the tube in each arm.)
• Add rotation as you row.

External Rotation. Stand side-by-side with your partner, facing the same direction. Each of you holds one handle of one tube in your outside arm. Your outside elbow, bent at 90 degrees, is anchored at your waist. Keeping your upper arm at your side, slowly rotate your forearm away from your body. Complete 1 set of 8–20 reps for each arm. This partner exercise strengthens weak rotator cuff muscles.

Variations: Try this exercise standing on one leg


Trunk Rotation. Stand facing your partner. Wrap the tubes around each other and each hold one handle in your right and left hands. Back away from each other until there is some light resistance on the tube. Contract your abdominals inward and maintain good posture throughout the entire exercise. Begin by rotating your torso one way while your partner rotates in the other direction. Slowly return to the starting position. Perform 8–20 reps on each side.

Variations:

• Keep the lower body static.
• Rotate/pivot through the lower body.
• Add one-arm rotation, to engage more of your upper body.

Lunge and Full-Body Rotation. Start facing sideways to your partner, holding one end of one tube in your hands. Lunge your outside leg (leg farthest away from your partner) forward while simultaneously rotating to the outside of your body. Press up and backward and do 8–20 reps one side; then repeat on the other side. Be sure that, while lunging, your front knee stays over your front foot and you always push from the leg in front. Both people lunge simultaneously.

Variations:

• Step forward (entry-level variation).
• Perform a deep lunge (more advanced variation).

Sit and squeeze exercise

For this week, here is a fun exercise to try:

 

Sit and Squeeze

Place your back against a wall with hips & shoulders squared. Slide down until knees are at 90 degrees, knees over ankles and weight in heels. Squeeze a medicine ball or towel just above your knees and hold for 15 or more seconds. Repeat 2-3 times.

 

Latissimus Stretches

This week, I decided to share a stretch series written by a physical therapist for back and shoulder tightness.  He talks about athletes, but I had a client just this morning that has tightness in her shoulders, and limited mobility, and I think it's partially from her lats.  In my classes I will use both of these stretches, but on the floor.  Here, Brian uses a stability ball for range and extension.

 

 

It is common to assess clients with latissimus tightness. This is often manifested as limited shoulder flexion mobility. This diminished range of motion can be particularly detrimental for overhead athletes and when training the Olympic lifts. The following stretches are simple ones and effective for reducing tightness.

Execution:
Begin in kneeling and position the hands/forearms in a prayer position on top of the BOSU Ballast Ball. Next slowly allow the head and trunk to lower down (meanwhile the BOSU Ballast Ball will also slowly roll forward) easing into a sustained stretch. Hold for 20-30 seconds and repeat twice. You may also opt for a more active isolated approach by moving toward end range and actively contracting the anterior deltoids 2-3 seconds to flex the shoulders at end range. Release and return to the start position and repeat 10 times.

Single arm progression: Place the palm of the hand on top of the BOSU Ballast Ball allowing it to flex as the head and trunk flex. Additionally, move the arm and trunk in a diagonal motion (rotation) to introduce a more isolate stretch on that side. Again, you may opt for a sustained stretch or perform 10 repetitions holding for 2-3 seconds at the end range of motion and cycling through the entire motion each time.

Application:
This stretch is useful for maximizing shoulder flexion and mobility. It may be necessary to use soft tissue mobilization prior to the stretch if trigger points are present. I use it in rehab and in shoulder mobility programs for my athletes. Maximizing shoulder mobility (flexion) will help reduce excessive extension and/or rotation in the spine that appears as compensatory motion in order to complete overhead activities such as snatches, overhead squats, throwing and serving motions.

I prefer the BOSU Ballast Ball because it offers adequate stability with its design yet natural movement that the client can use to carefully control motion and attain an ideal stretch. Small graded progressions can be made easily based with the ability to roll and adjust the position of the BOSU Ballast Ball during the movement.

Precautions:
Use caution with clients experiencing rotator cuff pathology, tendonitis, arhtritis, labral pathology, or shoulder instability. Forcing the shoulder into end range elevation can cause shoulder impingement. Any pain felt in the shoulder as opposed to a stretch along the latissimus would be an indication to stop the exercise and refer the client for further evaluation by a medical professional.


Brian Schiff, PT, OCS, CSCS, is a licensed physical therapist, respected author and fitness professional. Currently, he serves as the supervisor at the Athletic Performance Center in Raleigh, NC. Brian presents nationally at several professional conferences and seminars on injury prevention, rehab and sport-specific training. For more cutting edge training information, subscribe to his monthly Training & Sports Medicine Update at www.BrianSchiff.com.

Parking lot safety, self defense tips!

I'm currently beginning to teach Women's Self Defense classes, and so have done a great deal of research lately regarding general safety.  If you think about self defense as beginning with your planning, then you have a much more holistic approach to your personal safety plan.

1.  Pull your shoulders back, walk upright, scan the area.
2.  Always peek in the back seat before getting into your car.
3.  As you approach your car, take a quick look under your car.
4.  Don't park behind a large van.  Find another spot.
5.  If you return to your car and there is a van parked next to your driver's side, go around and get in on the passenger side.  It's easy for someone to grab you from one of those sliding doors.
6.  If your instincts are telling you something is wrong, listen to them.  Go back inside, and ask for an escort.
7.  Never, never go with someone to a secondary location.  This will never end well.
8.  If someone forces you into your car and tells you to drive, run your car hard into a building or something solid.  Your airbag will save you, and you will attract attention and help!
9.  Do not act distracted in a parking lot.  No cell phones, no earbuds, and make sure you have your keys out and ready, and your bags organized before you leave the mall/store/work.
10.  Planning ahead will stack the deck in your favor, so plan ahead!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread!

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread

Just be sure it bakes long enough- I'm guessing, about 50 to 55 minutes up to an hour at 350ºF. This is a large loaf. I adapted this recipe from one I found online, and just made a couple of improvements for healthiness, without removing so much of the good stuff that I removed the YUM factor!

Ingredients:

Mix the following--I use a stand mixer, and just keep it rolling while adding each ingredient, but you can also mix dry and wet, and then combine.
1/2 cup packed organic light brown sugar

2 TBSP stevia
4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/4 cup light olive oil
2 large eggs, beaten, or 1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer whisked with 1/4 cup warm water (for those who can't have eggs)
1 tablespoon bourbon vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin is fine, but I baked a great "pie pumpkin" from the farmer's market)
1/4 teaspoon light tasting apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 cup GF buckwheat flour
1 cup coconut flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or gluten-free Pumpkin Pie Spice blend
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

As needed for liquid as it mixes:

Pure apricot or peach juice

Instructions:


As it begins to mix the ingredients, use a soft silicone spatula to scrape down the sides. After a minute or two of mixing check the consistency. If the batter is at all like my batter, it will be a bit thick and stiff. Add a tablespoon at a time of your favorite unsweetened pure apricot or peach juice until the batter becomes slightly thinner than muffin batter but thicker than cake batter. Not too thin, but not too thick. You'll know it when you see it. When you are happy with the consistency, close the lid and let the paddle beat the batter.

When the top is domed and the loaf is firm to the touch, and a wooden pick inserted into the center emerges clean, this is a good sign it's done. Using a pot holder, remove the bread pan from the oven and cool it on a wire rack for five minutes or so, until it's a tad cooler to handle.

Using a clean tea towel and a pot holder, grasp the pan and carefully tip it upside down to release the pumpkin bread onto the wire rack; set the loaf upright on the rack and continue to cool.

Although you'll be tempted to slice and eat it warm, wait if you can. This moist bread only gets better as it cools. In fact, I did an experiment.

Half the bread- we ate that day. It was tender and moist. The other half we wrapped in foil, bagged and froze. Although the fresh loaf was tasty, I thought the frozen and thawed half tasted even better, and had an improved (less fall-apart) texture.

Makes one generous loaf.

So, today, I brought some muffins from this recipe, with the addition of chocolate chips on top, and I'm awaiting the staff thoughts on it...