Archive for April, 2011

I looove fitness toys. At least the ones that work. I figure whatever gets you moving, from boot camp to belly dancing, is a good thing. They add variety, as well as an element of fun, and can also make movements more functional in terms of improving our ability to do every day things.

At the same time, I have seen all too many exercises bikes functioning as clothes hangers. And let’s face it pretty much every garage sale on the planet features some sort of near-new-all too-fabulous, and often ineffective exercise device. How many Thighmasters can there be?

I sometimes look around the gym and add up the environmental impact of all the equipment and activity. A huge hunk of metal and paint for every body part. Fans blasting and TV’s blaring over the sounds of the treadmills humming. I often can’t help but wonder if there is a better way.

My new mini studio (formerly my garage) has forced me to be creative in a small space, and so I was thrilled to discover the Mini Stability Ball by STOTT Pilates.  My new participants are loving them.  Okay I think they are hating them, but because they are working so hard.  Its the ultimate love hate relationship.

For only $10 bucks and almost no space, you can have your own dymanite abdominal training tool. Its not quite as versatile as a full sized stability ball, but is easier to use. I highly recommend it – small, cheap and amazingly effective.

If you want more on how to use it, just ask!

I was asked to speak to a group of Times Columnist 10K clinic runners early this morning. They wanted some strategies for keeping moving beyond race day. Here’s a summary of what I think I said.

1.  Be whole in your approach. Consider body, mind and spirit. Maybe bootcamp or kickboxing isn’t the best choice after a day of traffic and tension at work. Stress and our ramped up lifestyles have a profound physiological affect on our bodies. Yes, those activities are great, but find ways to also soothe your soul and quiet your mind.

2.  Variety is the spice of life. Your body physically needs a variety of activities including cardiovascular, strength and flexibility. By mixing it up you can prevent boredom and help keep yourself moving, uninjured, in the long term.

3. Be active for all the right reasons – because of how it makes you feel, not how you HOPE it will make you look. If you are sweating and grunting in the hopes of looking like one of those perfect genetic freaks of nature you see in a magazine, then you’ve got a lifetime of disappointment before you. Exercising to feel great and improve the quality of your entire life is a guaranteed route to success.

4. Use the KISS (Keep It Simple and Sensible) principle when it comes to nutrition and weight management. I once had a client come running up to me proudly pronouncing how a certain diet forbade eating carrots because of their sugar content. Pleeeease, I think we all know carrots are not the problem.

Eat lots of fruits and veggies and drink lots of water. Chances are the rest will fall into place. Let go of the complicated, nonsensical, fad diets. They don’t work.

5. Remember the Fun Factor. I don’t know about you, but running on a treadmill indoors while watching CNN does not bring me great joy. I love gyms when I am injured (like now), or when there is a foot of snow outside, but if this is all I did, I’d loose my marbles. Okay maybe I already have.  Running it the forest, beams of light piercing through the branches of Douglas Fir, varied thrushes calling to each other… the feeling of my feet on the earth… that brings me great joy, and keeps me coming back, time after time. Take the time to find something you love and give up on the things you don’t.

6. Pay attention to your body. It has all the answers.

You know those times when you ate too much? Sitting there wishing you could undo a button, or change into some sweats? Had we really truly listened to the signs earlier, we would have known we were about to overdo it. Or for me its those times I am running down the road with an ache in my IT band, insistent despite the discomfort.

Why is it I don’t hear the signs until my body screams so loudly I am stopped in my tracks? When you figure out how, let me know.

7.  Your commitment to a healthy balanced life should be a way to build not berate. NEVER use exercise as punishment for something you ate or didn’t do. You will inevitably turn it into something to dread, a penance for your sins.

8. Make sure to balance action and performance goals. Performance goals, like running a 10K in an hour, can be great motivators, until your performance is less than what you hoped. Twice I have missed qualifying for the Boston Marathon by less then 2 minutes and both time the fact I had just run 42.2 KM was lost in my disappointment. How stupid is that?

9. Use the ‘argument’ as a cue to get moving. How much time do you spend arguing with yourself about whether or not you should exercise? Oh I have to. But its raining. It will be good for me. But now its pouring. This is important for my health. The puddles are ginormous and my feet will get wet.

The very instant you find yourself doing this is the exact moment you need to lace up your shoes and head out the door. You will never look back and regret the fact you exercised. Expend your energy moving, not debating.

10.  Move Your Body, Move Your Life. Your body is the vehicle for living your life. It is the home of your mind and your soul, without it you have no life. Its the greatest gift you’ll ever own. Use it every chance you get.

Thunder Thighs. Buffalo But. Hippo Hips. That’s me.  Truly.  I come from generations of farming women on both sides of family, and it shows. Who needs a horse when you can pull the plough yourself?  I’m not even joking.  I’ve cursed my California-Redwood-like legs all my life and literally ached with envy at the pictures of women with long thin legs that seem to go on for days.

I’m learning this is shallow thinking.  If I only focus on what my legs look I will never be happy – particularly at 43.  If instead I appreciate what they do for me, I realize what an amazing gift I have been given.  Truly.  I’ve run eleven marathons and still run 10 KM most days of my life. I’ve taught thousands of fitness classes and trained thousands of fitness professionals. For close to 20 years, this was how I made my living in the world.  I’ve climbed mountains, and walked beaches on five continents.

Try it.  Think about that part of your body. You know the one.  The one you think about hiding.  The one you curse under your breath.  And then pause.  Ask yourself, what has it given me?  What does it enable me to do?

Did it work?  Care to share?