Pyramid Power

Hopefully, the ancient Egyptians knew how to change mass when they constructed the pyramids.  If not, they must have been incredibly healthy and fit – lean-body-strong people!  (I don’t want to imagine other possibilities, unless it might a cadre of body-builder-angels on the night shift.)

A Pyramid, in the fitness world, is a specific routine targeted at one muscle group.  Just like the shape of a pyramid, an individual begins an exercise with a set number of repetitions, rests, and repeats with fewer, continuing for three sets or more.  Often trainers will create a “reverse pyramid” in which the reps increase, and sometimes, the pyramid will go up and back, using both routines.  There are many ways to vary this, and a trainer is recommended to maintain alignment and integrity of movement.

My clients this week will enjoy the pyramid routines, customized, of course, to  fitness levels.  We will NOT be pulling, tugging and lifting heavy stone, hoping for a crust of bread in the middle of the day.  We WILL be having fun, increasing our strength and muscle definition, enjoying optimal nutrition*, and feeling empowered!

* Optimal Nutrition = before training session: grain for fuel (1 pce WW toast OR ½ C rice, oatmeal, quinnoa, or multigrain cereal).  = before or after session:  protein from eggs, lean meat, beans OR light Muscle Milk.  Low-glycemic fruit is a healthy addition, offering consistently delivered energy and hydration. 

Joy of the Zone

As I write, the annual and local 26.2 marathon runs past my house.  I think I have more important things to do than hang out on the street all day, and yet, when I hear the motorcycles, I leap for the front door, street-side just in time to see the Kenyans pass, well over half way finished.  I call them the “Kenyans”, not because I have any idea of their heritage.  I attach the term to documentaries I have watched, revealing, specifically, Kenya citizens who just accept running long distances, never questioning their bodies’ abilities.  They move with such beauty! 

You can cheer these front runners and they will not respond.  They are in the zone: running.  It’s cold today, and some of them wear neon green hats and gloves – so cool. 

I momentarily decide to become a runner this year, and next year, complete at least a section of this race, and yet, I know I am probably going to find my own zone on the long hike or in the gym.   Whatever your fitness zone preference, I offer some words off a Nike poster:

“That’s right.  I’m out of here.  Do not chase me down or text me or try to talk me into going out to lunch.  I don’t have time to figure out if I have time for a run.  I’m just going.  The world will not fall apart in my absence.  I might miss somebody’s birthday cake or a discussion of last night’s season finale.  Even if I do, who cares.  I’m coming back with a state of mind three coffees, two flirtatious e-mails and a week of vacation can’t buy.”

Now, back to the race and the continuous flow of individuals, running in their own health, for the health of others, or maybe, the joy of the zone….

Tip:  “Don’t eat it if you can’t pronounce the ingredients.”  (randomhealthtips.tumblr.com)

“One Foot Two Foot

… red foot blue foot” (Dr Seuss:  The Foot Book)

I had a foot Xray this week (minor issue).  The orthopedic surgeon and I stood before the image.  We were both silent for a few moments as he studied and measured.  I, on the other hand, was in awe, “My foot is beautiful!  Oh wow, I can’t believe how lovely it is!”  My eyes widened to take it all in.

He began to explain, briefly, and I was trying to pay attention, and yet, all I could think was how gorgeous my foot was.  Some part of my brain was instructing, “Get it together, Sarah, and listen to what he is saying.  This is important!  You have asked for his assessment!”  But it was so difficult to tear myself away from all those pretty bones lying there is such symmetry – I was entranced.

Even as I left the office I imagined these delicate-looking-but-notbones working together, moving me along the hallway and out to my car.  I have to say that the compiled, skin version is no more exquisite an image than the skeletal one.

19 muscles and tendons, 26 bones, 33 joints and 107 ligaments – the community of Foot-dom, works in harmony, patiently and continuously at the direction of one’s intentions.  How divine is that?

I know this is Heart Month and still:  Let’s spend a week loving our feet!

Clean Eating

I’ve disovered two great things to share with you this week:

ONE:  a great explanation of “Clean Eating”:

“I stand by the principle of clean eating. I think there are a lot of benefits to eating foods as close to their natural form as possible. The more processing that occurs the less what your eating resembles an actual food, and the more it resembles some sort of science project. Loads of salt, sugar, additives, and chemicals we can’t even pronounce are added in to many processed foods, and the results can be scary.” Megan, munchercruncher.blogspot.com.

To that I would add Dr. Phil’s directive – shop the perimeter of the store!

TWO:  a wonderful photo to share with you this week that presents weight in muscle and weight in body fat in the same person.  I am not posting it here and do want to share when you come in for sessions this week.  It will give you understanding of why the scale should not be your only measuring device for health and fitness.

 TIP:  Have a smart amount of grains for breakfast, and right before you eat, walk your dog or walk or complete 30 jumping jacks and get that metabolism started for the day!

Lizard Like

This past weekend, a certain toddler and I built a story and a dance wherein we imitated lizards, moving on all fours close to the floor.  She was really good at it and I got a workout.   (Check out “All Fours Fitness”.)  As in Yoga we are inspired by Nature to move and extend ourselves in other strong and fluid ways.

Core strength is demanded and strengthened as the body moves itself along “unconventionally” to our conditioning.  We bring “movement” inside ourselves, not relegating it to the limbs only; it is CORE MOVEMENT, and in the process of this type of exercise we really become fluid – lizard like!

BTW: along with insects, lizards like to eat fruits and plants.  We, as well, can support our flexibility with fruits, vegetables and lean protein.  Chef Barbara  shares a recipe below that is simple, inexpensive and delicious.  Enjoy!

Salmon Cakes

 Drain and flake:

  2 cups canned salmon

Stir in:

  1/2 cup matzo meal        (kosher section @ Publix)

  2 beaten eggs

  1/2 tsp salt

  1/8 tsp paprika

Form these ingredients into cakes. Saute in oil until brown.

Frankly, FIERCE!

My friend, Donna, shared with me a blog post via Dr. Christiane Northrup on Facebook.  The post is entitled, “An Open Letter to the Fat Girl I Saw at Hot Yoga in New York City” (http://www.joshilynjackson.com/ftk/?p=1675).  It is entertaining and dear, and I share, particularly, these statements: 

‘I remind myself that this body is not some shabby rental. It is home … It is more than home.  It is more than where I live.  It is me.’

A few of my clients ventured further this week in their fitness experience, from “I can feel my muscles performing this exercise” to “I feel my strength!”  This is one of the big bonuses of healthy, challenging movement, and sometimes it is the difference between feeling “okay” about ourselves and feeling empowered!

Our physical bodies reflect who we are, and if the read is “strong” there is no doubt about it, is there? Who would have known that reverse pushups on the suspended rings and the electric blue straps would create grins and positive exclamations?  ‘Nothing like a new toy in the studio to bring about surprise and excitement, as well as a refreshed understanding of ourselves! 

Fun Fitness – Fantastic Food – Frankly, FIERCE! 

Nutritional Tip:  Saute’ whatever vegetables you have in a large skillet.  Add seasonings and maybe low sodium broth, and simmer just a bit.  ‘Can be used for any meal or snack and feels/tastes so good!  (Olive Oil, Garlic, Onions, Celery, small amount of Carrots, a small Potato or Sweet Potato.  Add Zucchini chunks, thinly sliced Pepper, and a few greens for the last few minutes, and maybe some Rosemary.  A few Tablespoons of Corn or maybe a half cup rinsed, canned Beans is good too.)  Play with it.  Make it just right for YOU!

I really like me!

When I was eight months pregnant with my first child, I approached doorways, wondering if I could fit through.  Thankfully, I had gained weight, although my awareness of my proportions was distorted.  I share this because I often witness clients and friends in a negative attitude or hesitance regarding the mass of their bodies.

If “thoughts become things” and we believe that we create our reality, do we suggest that this stops just short of our physical boundaries?

Just as important as quality nutrition and exercise, a healthy self image impacts and creates our physical manifestation.  Maybe the following affirmations are helpful:

“I appreciate every part of my physical self.  No part is an ‘it’ – something that needs fixing or changing.  It is all ‘me’, and in that respect I begin a new conversation with my personal physical ‘community’, speaking thoughts/words of respect, kindness and love.”

“As I move I feel my very bones and joints “joining” in pure cooperation.  I feel my muscles contracting and extending to bring about my intentions.  I realize the magic in all this.”

“As I choose clothing and footwear I look for comfort and the most becoming selections.  I enjoy the plethora of possibilities and the many ‘costumes’ I can create.”

“As I nourish myself, I select the very best; I explore to find my favorite tastes; I fuel myself appropriately, because I care for ME.”

“I inhabit myself totally.  I view myself positively.  I have a joyful pride in my physical self as I interract with the greater community beyond.”

 

Clients and Friends, please share a favorite affirmation of your own!

Community of One

One of the most rewarding pieces of weight lifting is SEEING the muscle in its sculpted definition – the beautiful roundness of the upper arm as the deltoids display, and we excitedly look for sleeveless apparel to wear.

Then there is the awareness of the “good sore”, that bit of sensation we FEEL the day after hanging out in a wall sit for a few repetitions, an initial CONNECTION with the muscles in the fronts of our thighs.

Suddenly, one day, as we progress through a Pilates segment, we FEEL the actual contractions of the oblique muscles; and it is here, not through pain or soreness or visual evidence, that we are CONNECTING with our body’s magnificence.  It is not direction we give and the body responds; it is our COMMUNITY OF ONE, merged in movement and power.  In this moment, how can we help but love ourselves?

This is a year for Fascination, don’t you think? 

Happy Healthy Days

…. this week: Start Now!

“Abs are made …

In the Kitchen, not the Gym.”  This is a popular quote these days by Justin Leonard, directing our focus more toward nutrition than exercise in our progress toward mid body slimming and muscle definition.  Expounding further, it is suggested that achieving  the “six pack abs” is a result of 70 percent nutrition and 30 percent exercise.

Most of us understand the relationship between nutrition and health, nutrition and fitness.  A current factor that seems to slip under the radar is the caffiene drink so prevalent these days, more often than not, served with heaping amounts of milk.  Even skim milk has sugar in it – lactose, and frequent consumption affects the mid-body mass for sure! 

Personally I love these drinks and all the variations.  It is a seductive pleasure, particularly when I am careful with my nutrition in other ways.  So I redirect myself anew toward the maximum taste I am desiring.  If it is coffee, I will choose the best tasting coffee I can find.  If it is chocolate, again: the best tasting I can find, etc.  In each case I do not want to bury the taste in the bulk of something else my body doesn’t really want.  (There are so many variations, it IS possible to enjoy the luxury without the overhead.)

And for the 30 percent of your abdominal definition, I promise to select the most effective exercises I can find!