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Bring on Summer!
As we continue to navigate through 2021, there are many days it seems time is flying by and standing still at the same time. Yet, here we are on the last Workout Wednesday of spring – and nearly halfway through the year.
With the official start of my favorite season only three days away, I find myself bolstered by energy I haven’t felt since…I’m not really sure when. I realize this is based on a combination of factors, including the fact that COVID cases remain low here in New York City. However, I think the biggest and most welcome change has been experiencing actual human contact again. Each and every second of laughter and the super-tight hugs shared with family and friends after far too long are gifts beyond compare.
As the buzz throughout the city grows a little louder each day, I look forward to a season of getting back to a more normal health and fitness routine. It’s nearly impossible to believe it’s been more than one year since I last stepped inside a gym. The walking / running program I started when the gyms closed in March 2020 has kept me going, but only to a point. I candidly admit I still don’t ‘like’ running, so it hasn’t given me the same mental outlet as other types of exercise. However, last weekend, I took my first NY Best Kickboxing class since pre-COVID times – and it felt incredible to be outside in Central Park throwing jabs and punches again! (And who knew trees make great substitutes for heavy bags?) The soreness I felt for the next couple of days was super intense, but I didn’t mind one bit. I know with time and patience; my body will grow strong again – along with my spirit – as I add weight training and my other “old favorites” back into my fitness routine.
For anyone who feels off their game – remember, you are certainly not alone. We’ve all done the best we could this past year. Now, it’s time to start living again. Just be kind to yourself and remember to ease back into old workout routines carefully. Going from zero to 100-percent effort on day one is a surefire way to put your body at risk for injury. So take some time to breath as you get back to doing what you love. Of course, that includes spending time with the people you love. Here’s to making this the best summer ever filled with new opportunities to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Happy Fall, Y’All!
Here Comes the Fall!
Wow. I blinked and somehow we made it to the first Workout Wednesday of fall. It’s nearly impossible to believe at this time last year, I was in the midst of peak week leading up to my first NPC competition. I still can’t believe how unbelievably different the world is this year.
While the mercury will register just shy of 80 degrees here in New York today, the past few days certainly felt like autumn and I found myself searching for heavier sweaters and socks to ward off some chilly air. Yet the bright sunshine and crisp air that greeted me on my morning runs also fueled me with new hope that better days are ahead for all of us as we start a brand new season.
I thought I’d kick things off season three of 2020 by reminding everyone of the few health perks found in a top fall favorite: pumpkins! While I recommend practicing moderation when it comes to enjoying pumpkin beer, pumpkin pie or pumpkin lattes, there are plenty of nutritional perks packed inside fall’s signature squash when enjoyed in its natural form:
- Post-Workout Power! Bananas seem to get all the credit as a top source of natural energy, but pumpkins actually provide more potassium. One cup of cooked pumpkin has 564 milligrams of potassium compared to a banana’s 422 milligrams. A little extra potassium helps restore the body’s balance of electrolytes after a workout and keeps those muscles firing.
- Good for Your Baby Blues…and Browns, Greens and Hazels, too!: One cup of mashed pumpkin contains more than 200 percent of your recommended daily intake of Vitamin A. Also, pumpkin is chock full of carotenoids, a fancy name for the compounds that create its orange color. One of those compounds is beta carotene, which has been linked to eye protection.
- Keep Your Appetite in Check! Poor little pumpkin is often overlooked as a great source of fiber. A one-cup serving packs three grams or protein at only 49 calories. Countless studies show a fiber-rich diet can help you stay full longer so you eat more sensibly throughout the day.
If you have any recipes featuring the all-powerful pumpkin, please feel free to share! Also, don’t be shy about asking questions or offering ideas for mixing up your workout routine. Whatever is on your fall menu or exercise agenda, here’s to all of us embracing the season ahead filled with new chances to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous! (Just stay safe out there!)
Don’t Let Allergies Wreck Your Fitness Fun!
The temperatures are nowhere near what I’d consider normal for May, but there are a few signs that prove we’re definitely in the midst of another spring: red, itchy eyes; runny noses and scratchy throats. Allergy season is here again and with lots of wacky weather around the entire country, many of us seize any opportunity we can to get moving outside when the sun finally breaks through. Of course, for serious allergy sufferers like me, that also means sharing the space with pollen.
Since the rain will eventually stop here in New York and the pollen counts will return to high levels in the not-so-distant future, this Motivation Monday provides the perfect opportunity to offer some timely survival tips for the season ahead:
- Smart scheduling: Pollen counts tend to be highest between 5 am and 10 am. Unfortunately, that’s when many people enjoy their get-the-day-started jog, bike ride or walk. If you can move the activity to a time that’s not so pollen-heavy, great. If not, hopefully some of the following tips will make things more bearable.
- Wear shades: Wearing sunglasses can help create a protective barrier for your eyes while you’re outside. I also never step outside without being armed with eye drops. One of the first five things I do each morning is apply Bausch + Lomb’s Alaway eye drops. Using them twice a day has prevented me from scratching my eyes out even on the highest pollen count days. (While you don’t need a prescription for the drops, you may want to check with your doctor if they’re okay for your eyes – especially if you wear contacts.)
- Don’t forget your meds: In my younger years, I got weekly allergy shots for nearly a decade. Over time, they helped lessen the severity of my allergy attacks, but I’m still sensitive to all kinds of pollen. Luckily there are so many over-the-counter and prescription allergy medicines that can provide relief. While I’ve never been a fan of taking lots of medicine, I’d rather take something for a few months to help me stay alert and active than miss out on enjoying the outdoors. Speak with your doctor about what treatments might work best for you. To prevent the onset of symptoms, it helps to take your medication at least 30 minutes before you head outdoors. If you wakeup and then workout outside, ask your doctor if taking your medication at bedtime can help.
- Clean up: When you get home, shed the pollen-infused clothes, take a shower and wash your hair as soon as possible. The longer that pollen lingers, the more severe your reaction can be. You also don’t want to spread the pollen around your home by sitting on the couch or lying on your bed.
The best survival tip I can offer to get through the season is this: listen to your body. It’s hard to say you’re doing something “healthy” if all you’re feeling during an outdoor workout is sheer misery. That’s the time to head indoors, shower and re-group. Maybe that’s the day you turn to an air-conditioned group exercise class or pop in a workout DVD at home to help you have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
See you in September!
Here we are again on the brink of the true dog days of summer. This marks the time of year when my New York City neighborhood feels as close to a ghost town as you can get in the concrete jungle. Aside from the few tourists who wander north of Times Square and midtown, this is the time of year when I rarely wait in line at the grocery store or wait for an elliptical machine at the gym. It’s also the time of year when I take my an annual hiatus from writing new blog posts until after Labor Day.
Before I sign off on this Motivation Monday, I want to encourage each of you to enjoy these sunlight-filled days to the fullest. Lately, I seem to be bombarded daily with reminders of how truly short and precious life is. So whatever makes you happiest at this time of year, I hope you take every opportunity to steal as many moments as you can to enjoy those activities. Whether you have the luxury of escaping to the beach for a whole day or you can steal away to your backyard for only 10 or 20 minutes, savor whatever moments you can.
If you’re dealing with family or work-related drama, do your best to take care of your body and spirit. Go for a walk around the block to clear your head or grab a buddy for an outdoor workout and some iced tea and conversation after. Haven’t seen a special someone in awhile? Why not plan an impromptu barbecue or happy hour and enjoy a few moments of laughter and catch-up time. Have that ice cream cone. Have that second glass of wine. Whatever you do, wherever you go and whoever you spend time with, also remember to put down that smart phone once once or twice and be truly present in the moment.
As the iconic Ferris Bueller put it in one of my all-time favorite movies from the 1980s:
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”
Summer is just one, tiny part of our lightning-paced lives. As it continues, I wish you plenty of sunshine, smiles and good times with the people you love. I look forward to being back here in September and picking up with new plans to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
‘Tis the OTHER Season for Sneezin’
It really doesn’t seem fair. After suffering though one of the dreariest winters in years, many of us are spending every possible moment outdoors minus the winter coats and soaking up some much needed vitamin D. Unfortunately as the mercury rises, so do the tree and grass pollen counts. That means we’ve started a whole new season of agony for the 50 million allergy sufferers around the country.
So on this Motivation Monday, I offer a few survival tips that have helped this life-long allergy sufferer continue to enjoy those outdoor workouts and other fun times in the sun:
- Smart scheduling: Pollen counts tend to be highest between 5 am and 10 am. Unfortunately, that’s when many people enjoy their get-the-day-started jog, bike ride or walk. If you can move the activity to a time that’s not so pollen-heavy, great. If not, hopefully some of the following tips will make things more bearable.
- Wear sunglasses: Wearing shades (or even goggles) can create a barrier for your eyes while you’re outside. I also make sure to use eye drops before heading outdoors. My Dad told me about Bausch + Lomb’s Alaway eye drops several years ago. Using these drops twice a day has prevented me from scratching my eyes out even on high pollen count days. (Even though you don’t need a prescription to get the drops, you may want to check with your doctor if they’re okay for your eyes.)
- Don’t forget your meds: In my younger years, I got allergy shots for nearly a decade. Over time, they helped lessen the severity of my allergy attacks, but I’m still sensitive to all kinds of pollen. Luckily there are so many over-the-counter allergy medicines that can offer relief. While I don’t like taking a lot of medications, I’d rather take something for a few months to help me stay alert and active than miss out on enjoying the outdoors. Speak with your doctor about what treatments might work best for you. To prevent the onset of symptoms, it helps to take your medication at least 30 minutes before you head outdoors. If you wake up and then workout outside, ask your doctor if taking your medication at bedtime can help.
- Clean up ASAP: When you get home, shed the pollen-infused clothes, take a shower and wash your hair as soon as possible. The longer that pollen lingers, the more severe your reaction can be. You also don’t want to spread the pollen around your home by sitting on the couch or lying on your bed.
Of course, there will be days when the pollen counts are simply too high for allergy sufferers to be comfortable outdoors for extended periods of time. The bottom line remains the same: listen to your body. If you’re trying to so something good by exercising outdoors but feeling nothing but misery, be smart. Stop; head indoors; wash up and re-group. Maybe that’s the day you sign up for an air-conditioned group exercise class or bang out some Tabatas at home to stay on track with your plans to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Let’s All “Fall” Into Fitness!
Here Comes the Fall!
Happy first Motivation Monday of the fall of 2017!
Even though it still feels very much like summer here in New York, the reality is these 80-degree days won’t last forever. So while I encourage everyone to take advantage of the sunny days while they last, I also thought it was a good time for a reminder on all the inspiration Mother Nature has in store for us during the season ahead. If your fitness routine has been getting a little boring, there’s nothing like a change of seasons to kick things back into high gear.
Here are a few ways to add some fun to your fall fitness routine:
- ‘Tis the season for kayaking, canoeing, rowing and horseback riding! If you live near the water, look for clubs that offer fall water sports. Along with enjoying some scenery, you’ll get the added benefit of squeezing some cardio and upper body strength training into your workout. Horseback riding helps build lower body strength while taking in the beauty of a brightly colored trail. If you’re a city dweller like me, consider trying a rowing class or at least adding a 500-meter sprint on the rowing machine to your gym routine. (I like to add a sprint in between my 30-minute elliptical machine and 20-minute recumbent bike sessions and usually add another sprint at the end of the entire cardio machine stretch.)
- Make those chores work for you! Did you know a 150-pound person can burn up to 135 calories by raking leaves for 30 minutes? Raking leaves can also be a fun family activity if you get the kids involved, too.
- Outdoor bootcamps, anyone? Check out opportunities to enjoy as many workouts as you can in local parks or other outdoor hot spots before the colder temps and darker days chase us indoors. Depending on the intensity of the class, these full-body workouts can burn up to nearly 500 calories an hour.
- Adjust the time you workout: I don’t know about you, but as it gets darker, it’s harder for me to get motivated in the evenings. While I’m adjusting to the lack of sunlight, I try to get my workouts over with pre-work if possible. Check if there are morning group classes that fit your fancy. Not only can the group dynamic offer a boost of motivation, but you’ll start the day with a shot of endorphins to keep the energy up at work or wherever the day takes you. Also, by working out in the morning, you can welcome the tired feeling that creeps up on you earlier than usual and spend your evenings relaxing or enjoying down time with family and friends.
So what’s your fall fitness plan? Let me know! Whatever you do, remember this: sometimes all you need is a little help from Mother Nature to help you find new reasons to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Don’t Let Allergies Put the Brakes on Your Fitness Fun!
‘Tis the season for sneezin’!
During the last few weeks, I realize I’ve been encouraging everyone to get outside and get moving. With spring in full bloom, I also know exercising outdoors can be tough when your eyes are burning or you find yourself sneezing and coughing thanks to a high pollen count.
As a longtime allergy sufferer, I thought this Motivation Monday presented the perfect opportunity to post some timely reminders on how we can all survive the 2016 spring allergy season.
- Mind the time: Pollen counts tend to be highest between 5 am and 10 am. Unfortunately, that’s when many people enjoy their get-the-day-started jog, bike ride or walk. If you can move the activity to a time that’s not so pollen-heavy, great. If not, hopefully some of the following tips will make things more bearable.
- Wear sunglasses: Sporting shades (or even goggles) can create some sort of barrier for your eyes while you’re outside. I also recommend using eye drops before you head outdoors. For the past several years, using Bausch + Lomb’s Alaway over-the-counter eye drops twice a day has helped me avoid scratching my eyes out even on high pollen count days.
- Don’t forget your meds: I got allergy shots for many years as a kid. Over time, they helped lessen the severity of my allergy attacks, but I still battle through hay fever season each spring. Today there are so many over-the-counter and prescription allergy medicines that can offer relief. While I don’t like taking a lot of medications, I’d rather take something for a few months to help me stay alert and active than miss out on enjoying the outdoors altogether. Speak with your doctor about what treatments might work best to alleviate your specific symptoms. To prevent the onset of those symptoms, it helps to take your medication an hour before your outdoor workout. If you wakeup and then workout outdoors, ask your doctor if taking your medication at bedtime can help.
- Clean up: When you get home, shed the pollen-infused clothes, take a shower and wash your hair as soon as possible. The longer that pollen lingers, the more severe your reaction can be. You also don’t want to spread the pollen around your home by sitting on the couch or lying on your bed.
As with most situations, the best advice I can probably offer is this: listen to your body. If you’re trying to do your body good by exercising outdoors but all you’re feeling is misery, be smart. Stop. Head inside, shower and re-group. Maybe that’s the day you turn to an air-conditioned group exercise class or pop in a workout DVD at home to help you have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Park Bench Workout Encore
It seems everyone here in New York has definitely caught the get-outside-and-workout bug. This Motivation Monday comes after a sunny, mild weekend and temperatures should be in the mid to upper 60s all week. Add the fact that we have sunlight till around 7 p.m. and you have all the inspiration you need to try something new. Maybe this is the week you ditch the same old indoor routine for just one day so you can get outside to get moving!
If you’re looking for something to amp up or compliment your normal run or brisk walk, here’s a second look at one of my favorite outdoor workouts.
- What you need: your body weight, a park bench and water.
- What you’ll get: a good sweat and a reminder to use Mother Nature as a motivator in your ongoing efforts to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Still Need Some Spring Fitness Ideas?
Photo by Leslie Hassler
It certainly doesn’t feel like it here in New York City, but according to the calendar, we’re three weeks into the spring of 2016. If you’re still struggling to find some ways to get more activity into your daily routine while taking advantage of the extra daylight, I thought I’d use this Motivation Monday to offer a few pointers.
1. Get Dirty & Break A Sweat in the Garden!
For all of you with green thumbs, this is the time of year you’ve been waiting for! Getting your garden ready for the season can involve some serious heavy lifting. There are lots of muscles involved when it comes to clearing away debris, digging, hauling dirt, mulching, and planting. Garden maintenance – weeding, trimming, clipping – can also help you break a bit of sweat. Are you going to burn a ton of calories? Probably not. Still, it’s a great way to spend time outdoors and feel good about breaking a sweat and getting dirty.
2. Take the Action Outside!
Love doing burpee sprints or Tabatas at home? That’s great! If you have a little space outside where you can get a dose of Vitamin D in addition to those blood-pumping endorphins, why not take your tried and true routine out there? Remember, getting 15 minutes of sunlight is a good thing – it helps reduce your risk of a vitamin D deficiency. We all need vitamin D for strong bones and healthy hearts.
3. A Little Pick-Up, Anyone?
I love walking by the many parks around Manhattan and coming across adults playing games I remember fondly from my youth like kickball or dodgeball. Chances are there are leagues or groups in your own community that are looking for people to join a weekly game of soccer, baseball or volleyball. You can always look to Google to find out. If not, who says you can’t start your own league with a few fellow enthusiastic friends? Instead of meeting at the bar after work, a once-a-week sweat session with friends could be a healthy addition to your after hours routine.
If you have other ideas for using the season put some extra spring in your fitness steps, I’d love to hear about them! It’s always great when Mother Nature gives us a natural boost to stay on track with our plans to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
Allergy Season Survival Tips
I think it was about a month ago when I heard the first news stories telling allergy sufferers like me to brace for a killer season. The never-ending brutal winter kept the trees and other spring blooms dormant for a lot longer than usual, and then about two weeks ago – BAM! Everything exploded. Now, tree pollen seems to fall like rain, turning cars of every color a bright green shade while lawnmowers can be heard firing up in the ‘burbs to cut the newly awakened grass.
So I thought this Motivation Monday presented the perfect opportunity to offer some tips on how to prevent allergy season from sidelining your long-awaited outdoor workout plans for spring. Here are a few tricks that help me keep the itchy eyes, sneezing and that uncomfortable sensation of having cotton stuck in my throat to a minimum:
- Mind the Time: Pollen counts tend to be highest between 5 am and 10 am. Unfortunately, that’s when many people enjoy their get-the-day-started jog, bike ride or walk. If you can move the activity to a time that’s not so pollen-heavy, great. If not, hopefully some of the following tips will help.
- Wear sunglasses: You can create at least a minimal barrier for your eyes by wearing sunglasses (or even goggles) if you plan to exercise outdoors for a long period of time. Using eye drops before you head outside can help, too.
- Don’t forget your meds: I got allergy shots for several years when I was a kid. They helped make my acute reactions less severe over time, but I still battle through hay fever season every year. Today there are so many over-the-counter and prescription allergy medicines that can offer relief. (Important note: I don’t like to take a lot of medicine, but as far as I’m concerned, I’d rather take something for a few months that will keep me from scratching my eyes out!) Talk to your doctor about what treatments might work best to alleviate your symptoms. To prevent the onset of those symptoms, it helps to take your medication an hour before your outdoor workout. If you get out of bed and head outdoors immediately, ask your doctor if you can take your medication before bed so it’s in your system when you head outside.
- Clean up: Get out of those sweaty and pollen-infused clothes, take a shower and wash your hair as soon as possible following an outdoor workout. The longer that pollen lingers, the more severe your reaction can be. (You also don’t want to spread the pollen around your home by sitting on the couch or lying on your bed.)
Probably the best advice I can offer is this: listen to your body. If you’re trying to get your heart rate up outdoors but all you’re feeling is misery, be smart. Stop. Head indoors, shower and re-group. Maybe that’s the day you sign up for an indoor air-conditioned group exercise class or bang out a Tabata derby at home to keep you sneeze-free on your quest to have fun, be fit and feel fabulous!
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