Make Time for Yourself
There is a phenomenon in fitness called the cumulative injury cycle. Basically, if you continue to exercise without correcting any postural distortions that lead to muscle imbalances, the compensations your body makes to allow you to follow through with the exercise will eventually lead to an injury. I am also a firm believer our mental fitness can take a serious hit if we don’t take time to rest and regroup.
As I sit here looking at the ocean in Montauk, I realize what a different person I am today than just two days ago. I attribute this mind-altered state to two factors: I am on vacation and I am doing things for myself I simply do not do enough of at home. That includes:
- Letting the sound of the ocean drown out my anxieties about work
- Not rushing through my workouts
- Sitting in the steam room after my workouts
- Getting a massage
- Eating dessert
- Not worrying about having less-than-optimal cell or WiFi service
To expand on that last point, I haven’t been able to upload any pictures taken on my iPhone to my Facebook page and I have only been able to update my status once. I have been able to open my work and personal email accounts, but I haven’t been able to send a reply. Forget about Twitter or LinkedIn. I finally decided to stop trying to open my apps and simply said: “You are on vacation!” If someone really needs to get a hold of me, I can still retrieve voice messages from a few spots in the parking lot.
Whether you run the household, run a business or have a job where you answer to a boss, everyone works hard. No doubt the state of the economy has shattered whatever our definition of financial security was in the past. Many of us still struggle from the aftershock of losing a job or may be trying to keep a business afloat. This makes it all the more important to take some time to be good to ourselves when we can.
Realistically, a vacation or trip to the spa may not be attainable at the moment, but that doesn’t mean you can’t shut out the world for an hour or two a week. Some escape plans include:
- Replace that Bluetooth in your ear with ear buds for 30 minutes a night and plug them into a sound machine tuned to the ocean surf or frogs in the forest.
- Add 10 minutes to your workout routine and stretch.
- For once, try yoga instead of that heart- and muscle-pounding cardio kickboxing class.
- Take a bath instead of a shower before going to bed.
- While summer is still here, take your dinner outside and have a picnic in your backyard, roof deck or nearby park.
While it’s important to focus on work, we owe it to ourselves to find our own unique ways to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Music That Makes Me Move
We made it to Friday! As I continue to navigate my way through this new blogging adventure, I’m toying with the idea of keeping Friday’s posts short and sweet with a quick hit list regarding some fitness-related topic. For the first of these installments, I offer some of my favorite workout tunes that keep me moving either on the elliptical machine or as I hit the floor for some resistance training and core work.
Laura’s Top 10 Favorite Cardio Jams:
“On the Floor” Jennifer Lopez (feat. Pitbull)
“Chemistry” Velvet
“Around You” Jes
“Blow” Ke$ha
“Shut It Down” Pitbull (feat. Akon)
“Inner Sanctum” Blue
“Alright” Red Carpet
“Sorry” Madonna
“Judas” Lady GaGa
“I’m Into You” Jennifer Lopez (feat. Lil Wayne)
Laura’s Top 10 Resistance Training Tunes:
“Wherever I May Roam” Metallica
“The Fire” The Roots & John Legend
“The Game” Disturbed
“Let It Rock” Kevin Rudolf & Lil Wayne
“Shake That” Eminem
“Four Minutes” Madonna (feat. Justin Timberlake)
“Do What’s Good For Me” 2 Unlimited
“Bumpy Flight Home” Oakenfold
“Stagefright” Def Leppard
“Crazy on You” Heart
Obviously, I like a wide variety of music. (Note: these are only a handful of songs featured in my “Workout Mix” playlist.) You may love or hate any or all of the songs listed above, but I figured you could at least give some unknown titles a search and a listen and decide if they’re worthy to be a part of your iTunes library.
On a low-energy day, sometimes just turning up the right heart-pounding beats can help kickstart your adrenaline and get you into the right mood to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Don’t Skimp When it Comes to Stretching!
An old friend, Shannon Palermo, posted the following comment on my LauraLovesFitness Facebook page:
“So, what is the recommendation when it comes to cardio and stretching? I walk/run on a treadmill at home. Do I warm up then stretch or stretch first or stretch after? Also any suggested stretches? I recently pulled a muscle in my hip causing me to be sidelined with major hip and knee pain. I believe this is due to my lack of stretching and my need for new sneakers. ”
These questions raise several important issues, but first and foremost is the subject of pain. Whether you’re a fitness novice or trained athlete, if you really listen to your body, you can tell the difference between muscle soreness from an intense workout and pain that indicates something is wrong. If you experience “major” pain in any area, you could be suffering from an acute or cumulative injury. I’ve been the victim of many cumulative injuries because of one simple reason: I’ve ignored the warning signs and simply pushed through the pain.
If you experience pain that causes significant discomfort and doesn’t subside with ice and/or over-the-counter pain killers for more than a day or two, you should see your doctor. When you let an injury linger, other parts of your body will compensate for the injury, throwing off your body’s proper mechanics and causing postural distortions. In the end, an injury to your foot will lead to compensations that create stress on other parts of your body’s kinetic chain – and you can easily end up with pain in your knees, hips or back. For my friend Shannon, if you’re simply guessing that you pulled a muscle and haven’t seen a doctor, please make an appointment soon.
As for stretching: the jury may still be out on when to stretch, but there is no debate about the fact that everyone needs to include flexibility training in their workout routine. As I learned through my NASM training, countless studies show a link between decreased flexibility and injury. For example, decreased flexibility in the hamstrings and quadriceps significantly contributes to tendonitis in the knee.
NASM’s training model includes stretching as part of a warm up and again during the cool down period of your workout. The stretching-before-cardio-or-strength-training idea is stretch the muscles that may be tight so that you perform an exercise as optimally as possible and reduce the risk for improper movement and injury. For a runner like Shannon, it’s optimal to stretch certain muscles like the hamstrings and hip flexors before a hitting the treadmill or the road. Here are two links I found helpful about stretching:
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_1/126.shtml
http://www.stretchingworld.com/staticstretching.html
We’ve only scratched the surface and I look forward to writing more about injury prevention and flexibility training , but I hope the information in this post is a good start to proving why stretching is a crucial part of our quest to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
The Benefits of Group Exercise
Boxing? Yoga? There's a Class Out There for You!
Every Tuesday night for the past six years, unless I was sick, on vacation or on the road for work, you’d find me in the front right corner of the group exercise studio in the New York Sports Club near my office sweating it out in my favorite class of the week. “Club Strength” utilizes free weights and weight plates for a total body workout of resistance training. Add the kick-butt choreography and music selections from fitness instructor Wayne Sims, and you have all the makings for a class that gets the heart rate going and brings on the burn in all your muscle groups. I absolutely love how I feel when I leave this class.
Of course, even Wayne has to take a vacation or sick day now and then and a substitute instructor fills in. Unfortunately, the sub who filled in tonight just didn’t do it for me. I’m not here to name names or bad-mouth anyone, as everyone has their own teaching style and technique. Maybe some of the other class regulars enjoyed tonight’s workout. For me, it was simply disappointing to leave the gym without my normal Tuesday night rush.
While this let-down won’t prevent me from going back to the gym tomorrow, I realize one not-so-hot class experience can wreak havoc on your fitness goals if you’re just getting started on a workout routine. You decide to take the plunge and join a gym, you try a class and then you simply hate it. Well, here’s what I say about that predicament: don’t despair and don’t give up!
There are so many different classes available today that it would be hard not to find something you like. Whether it’s “old school” aerobics, spinning, boxing, core conditioning, Pilates or yoga, there really is something for everyone at every skill level. Group classes can be intense, but between the heart-pounding music and the contagious energy of your instructor and classmates, it’s a fun way to get a great workout – sometimes in less than an hour. Enjoying all these benefits for so many years and wanting to spread the fun to others is what led me to study and become a Certified Group Exercise Instructor with the Aerobics & Fitness Assocation of America (AFAA).
Like many other activities in life, when it comes to exercise, you need to find something you like doing so you can stick with it. Participating in group exercise classes can be a great way to find your own groove on how to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
The Skinny on Walking
My friend Paula, the List Producer, offered up the following question for a blog topic: what IS the deal with walking anyway? To address this, I offer my personal experience along with input from Brent Brookbush, fitness guru and President of B2C Fitness, LLC; and throw in a link to an article I found particularly helpful about the subject.
These Streets Were Made for Walking!
Since moving to New York City four years ago, I can honestly say I have taken every opportunity to walk wherever and whenever I can: from home to work; work to the gym; the gym to someone else’s home – you get the picture. I have always thought walking is better than no activity at all and it turns out, Brent agrees with me. However, he also stresses that while it can be a good starting point for beginners or those who fell off the fitness wagon and are slowly working back into a routine, it’s not going to do anything to improve actual performance. Why? Well, you’d have to walk ridiculously fast to get your heart rate up to just the first of three training zones – and how many of us can say that’s what we’re doing even as we try to pick up the pace on a walk to work?
To get some actual data to discuss the difference between running and walking, I searched the Internet and found this article by Rick Morris particularly helpful and hope you will, too. (It even includes a 1000 calorie fat-burning workout.)
http://www.runningplanet.com/training/running-versus-walking.html
So put this information together and what does it mean? While walking to work may not give you the same cardiovascular or calorie-burning benefits of a 30-minute bout on the elliptical machine or treadmill or a high-intensity 45-minute spin class, it’s still better than no movement at all. Since I’m a big proponent of taking care of your body and your mind, if that walk to work helps you clear your head and makes you want to kick things up a notch with a run in the park or a bike ride over the weekend, then more power to you!
Remember, in the end, we all have to walk, run, ride or skip along our own path to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
The Power of Positive Thinking
With Fun & Fabulous Fitness Friend, Amy G.
Last week my friend Amy, personal trainer and group exercise instructor extraordinaire, responded to my request for blog topics with a very important aspect for all of us to remember as we continuously strive to be healthy and reach our fitness goals: maintaining a positive self-image.
As luck would have it, during my lazy Sunday morning routine, I picked up this week’s People and one of the cover stories jumped out at me: “How to Get Beyonce’s Rockin’ Body!!” I immediately turned to the article, only to be bombarded with images of five rockin’ bodies belonging to today’s top female music stars. As I looked at their “perfect” legs, glutes, abs and arms, my self-esteem took a nose dive as I started feeling less-than-positive about all of my own above mentioned assets. Of course, I then read the blurb next to each hot body and noticed they all ended with the same few words “says her trainer (insert name here).”
I have always said that if I won the lottery, after settling any debts and contributing to my favorite charities, I’d hire a personal trainer to kick my butt five days a week and also pay a chef to take the guesswork out of eating meals that taste good and are actually good for you. Until that happens, I have to remind myself on a daily basis that in my reality, I am doing the best I can to take care of myself and feel good. So, while I may never have legs like Beyonce, I do have a strong heart, strong spirit and strong desire to get my workouts in because I know the endorphins I get from exercising will make me feel like I’m on top of the world, even if it’s just for a little while.
So, as you start a new week filled with new opportunities, give yourself a mental pat on the back when you kick up your cardio for an extra 15 minutes, try that group exercise class you’ve been curious about, play soccer with your kids in the park or get in a run on your next business trip.
The bottom line is we all have to embrace who we are and really understand our goals. For me, around my 30th birthday I realized I would never weigh 115 pounds again and I could not survive on lettuce, water and vodka. Now at 37, thanks to my daily responsibilities, I can’t spend three hours working out. However, I am healthier than I was in my 20s when I could exercise for hours at a time but consistently ate and drank alot of “bad” things.
I can’t lie. I wouldn’t mind winning the lottery. Until then, I’ll continue taking deep breaths when I read People and remind myself that looking like (insert name of celeb here) isn’t what’s needed to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous.
A Healthy Business Trip
L-R: Tom Brown, Wheelchair Games Co-Founder; Trish LaBar, U.S. Army Veteran; Doug Beckley, U.S. Navy Veteran
I just wrapped up one of the best business trips I’ve been on in quite a while. I had the privilege of producing a satellite media tour for the Paralyzed Veterans of America and helped them promote the 31st National Veterans Wheelchair Games going on this week in Pittsburgh. It is the largest annual wheelchair sports event in the world and is co-presented by PVA and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
This year, there are more than 600 American veteran heroes with physical disabilities participating in 17 medal events including archery, power soccer, quad rugby, basketball and swimming. Each participant competes with athleticism and a true strength of spirit many of us will never achieve. I was proud to be a part of today’s media outreach efforts for the Games as I believe there will never be enough we can do for those who have sacrificed so much for the rest of us.
While the trip to Pittsburgh proved good for my spirits, it wasn’t too bad for my physical well-being either. Airports aren’t known for their healthy food options, but luckily, the JetBlue terminal at JFK offers more than burgers and pizza. I was able to find salad and even fresh strawberries for lunch. Last night, our Pittsburgh studio liaison treated me to a fabulous dinner, where I was enjoyed sea bass with fresh spinach. (I did have one glass of Pinot Noir.) I even managed to squeeze in 30 minutes on the elliptical, three sets of push ups (20 reps) and some core work on a yoga ball at the hotel’s fitness center.
So, for my fellow business travelers, here’s what I do to try to stay healthy on the road:
- Pack healthy snacks. Even on overnight trips, I keep raw almonds and a couple of Fiber One bars in my bag. If I can’t eat for a while because I’m wrapped up in the project, or if the food options aren’t optimal, at least I have a satisfying snack to hold me over for a bit.
- Pack workout gear. If I find 30 minutes to spare, there’s no excuse not to go for a run, walk or quick workout in the hotel’s fitness center. (Breaking a good sweat feels especially good after sitting on a plane or train.)
- Monitor portions. If meals are brought in for meetings or you’re going out for dinner, watch your portion sizes and perhaps choose to have a drink, but skip dessert or skip an appetizer and a drink but indulge in something sweet after your meal.
Pittsburgh Skyline
The key is to find what works for you. If you’re lucky enough to get a “natural high” from being involved in a project as rewarding as what I was a part of today, you’ll get the extra bonus of knowing you can be working and still have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
How Can I Help You Have Fun, Be Fit & Feel Fabulous?
- Montauk 2010
I’m not sure where the summer is going, but here we are at the start of August. Soon, I’ll make my last summer escape to a place I’ve been visiting every August since childhood: Montauk, NY. August of 2011 is a bit different, however, as today also marks the two-week “anniversary” of the LauraLovesFitness kick-off.
This seems like a good time for me to take the pulse of my readers and see where you’d like things to go from here. Basically, I want you to help me help you get what you want from reading this blog. You’ve taken the time to visit the site, read the posts and some of you have even gone the extra mile by leaving a comment and sharing the things that work in your own life. In order to make you want to keep coming back for more, I ask this one question: what fitness-related topic would you like to see addressed in a future post?
As you can tell from what I’ve written so far, I am a true believer that there are so many components to fitness that reach beyond the confines of a gym or your neighborhood bike trail. Everything from our sneakers to our snack choices will affect our overall well-being. Don’t be shy! If it’s something you’re curious about, it’s probably a topic someone else wants to know about, too. I can’t promise I’ll have the answers immediately, but I’ll be more than happy to do a little research, ask opinions of even more experienced “fitness gurus” and let you know what I find.
Let me take this time to also thank all of you who have shown your support by signing up for an email subscription, liking my Facebook page, following me on Twitter or spreading the word about my blog. (Please keep up the good work!) I look forward to receiving your questions and suggestions for future posts so we can work together to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Food & Fitness
Nutritionists and registered dietitians are the experts when it comes to healthy eating. I am neither, but as part of the fitness industry, I get plenty of questions about what people should and shouldn’t eat. So, in order to address this topic early in my blogging adventures, here’s a 100% personal account of how I try to maintain a healthy diet.
I joined Weight Watchers in May 2007. Why? Because the post-divorce “diet” I started which included a dinner of half-a-jar of peanut butter with chocolate syrup and a side of vodka on ice was not a healthy regimen to maintain. Also, being in my 30s, I couldn’t rely on the workouts I started during my Northwestern days to counterbalance the bad food choices I was making too often. Aside from worrying about gaining weight, I felt absolutely awful.
Today, I am a lifetime Weight Watchers member. I continue to go to meetings when I can and the program works for my lifestyle. Again, for me, it was not about losing a lot of weight, it was about learning to eat better. I’m not here to offer a lesson about point values and food. Instead, here’s a snapshot of what I’ve learned that helps me stay on track.
- I never skip breakfast. During the work week, I’ll make my own parfait with non-fat plain Greek yogurt, sliced banana, strawberries or blueberries (there’s two – three servings of fruit for the day!) and a serving of high-fiber cereal.
- Instead of having three big meals, I eat every three to four hours. This prevents me from being so hungry that I go overboard at the next meal.
- Every Sunday, I spend 30-60 minutes chopping red peppers and celery and pack up the sticks up with baby carrots or cherry tomatoes in individual containers, one for each day of the week. It’s an easy way to get in two servings of veggies while sitting at my desk. (The idea works just as well if you’re home.)
- I have embraced whole grains! I like Weight Watchers breads for sandwiches, cook whole grain pasta at home and on “bad”nights when we order Chinese or burritos, we ask for brown rice.
- Finally, I refuse to say “I will never eat (a fudge-covered Oreo/a bacon cheeseburger/lasagna) ever again!” First of all, life’s too short. Second, in my experience, the longer you deny yourself something you really like, the better chance you have of over-indulging when you do finally “break down.”
Life's Short - Eat Dessert!
Now listen, I have my fair share of “bad food” days. I love dessert, especially chocolate, and I love Prosecco and red wine. But one bad day doesn’t have to mean “well, I blew it today, so I may as well throw the whole week out the window and start over on Monday.” On the contrary, every day offers a clean slate and a brand new chance to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Fitness & Footwear
Like many women, I love shoes. I love them even more when I find a great pair at one of the discount shoe paradises that have popped up all over the country. There is one type of shoe, however, that I will gladly pay full price for if I have to, and that would be my sneakers. Why? Because wearing the proper footwear while you workout is one of the easiest ways to protect yourself from exercise-related injuries.
Here’s a little trivia for you: there are 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments and 19 muscles and tendons in each foot. (No, I didn’t have those numbers memorized, I looked them up in AFAA’s Fitness: Theory & Practice, Fifth Edition.) That means there are 370 places vulnerable to injury in your feet alone. Now consider that improper foot support can lead to compensations made by your knees and hips, and you are putting your body at risk for a world of hurt.
So, what’s the best footwear? It depends on your foot type. If you have a high arch, you need sneakers with good shock absorption. If your feet are flat and/or “roll” inward or outward, you need a sneaker with stability. An “average” foot needs a shoe with both cushioning and stability.
I don’t know your foot type, but I can tell you what works for me. Since my fitness routine includes walking, elliptical training, riding the stationery recumbent bike, rowing, and weight training, cross trainers keep me well-grounded and stable. I started wearing New Balance cross trainers five years ago (I currently wear the 1011s), and I get a new pair every six months. I can honestly say if I wait longer than six months, I start to feel pain in my knees while I’m on the elliptical or while doing squats and lunges. My current pair are two months old, and at the moment, I wear them with orthotics as I continue to recover from a stress fracture in my left foot. (A subject for a future blog.)
While I am not a runner, most of my friends who are will only pound the pavement in running sneakers. I also have friends who have sneakers specifically for when they’re on the tennis court. Many basketball players like high tops for the extra ankle stability. If there is one sport you play often, it’s a good idea to get a pair of sneakers specifically for that activity, and also have a more “universal” pair, like cross trainers, for days when you mix up your routine.
I look at it this way: I have far too many purses in my closet and most guys have more ties than they will ever need. So why wouldn’t you spend the money to have at least one good pair of sneakers to protect you from injuries while you’re working so hard to stay healthy?
In the end, wearing the proper footwear is one of the easiest ways to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
lauralovesfitness 