Tag Archives: fitness instrucotr

Read Any Good Books Lately?

2 Jul

Balancing nutrition, exercise and mindfulness……….these words are music to my ears. Recently, during an in-home personal training session, a client of mine mentioned a book about combining nutrition, exercise and mindfulness.  My ears perked up!  Three key components to living a healthy lifestyle.  I could not wait to get my hands on this book.    Interestingly enough, this book is titled TriEnergetics, authored by Sanford Severin, MD and Todd Severin, MD.

For those of you who know me, I am a health nut and a nerd when it comes to both fitness and nutrition.  Being in the fitness business, I constantly meet wonderful people who are seeking weight loss, muscle tone and 6-pack abs. The most popular question I am asked (actually almost daily) “how do I get rid of this” as they point to abdominal fat. I always respond the same, healthy nutrition, not technically a diet, exercise and mindfulness (meditation). Over the years, I’ve heard all sorts of stories (sometimes horror stories) on countless “diet” attempts for weight loss.  I’ve heard promises “with this specific weight loss program, you will be in a size 6 by December”.  What????  I try not to show my emotions, but can’t help but think, what kind of program or person makes those promises.

Anyway, back to the book!  TriEnergetics is everything I personally believe in and is how I live my life.  This book is easy to understand with testimonials on how people have transformed their lives with this program.  By the way, this is a 6-week program to yes, change your life.  This is not a loose promise, the only promise is to yourself, because you deserve to live a healthy life!   This book is about creating specific changes that lead to a healthier lifestyle, by blending high quality ingredients of healthy nutrition, exercise and mindfulness.

How do you become mindful your thinking? Incorporate a few  minutes daily of mediation (not easy, but if you do daily, it becomes a habit).  Have you experienced your body in stillness?  We go all day long 90-miles an hour.  Sit, chill for a second, close your eyes, just  be with yourself.   Relax your face, jaw, shoulders, feel your heart beating, feel the air on your skin, notice the sounds around you.  Just sit, do nothing and watch your breath.  Your thoughts will come and go, replaying a conversation from the other day or reviewing your grocery list.  All normal, I do it too.  But now, connect back into your breath, notice moments of no thoughts, thoughts, then no thoughts.  Open your eyes after a few moments, experience the difference.

Another way of becoming mindful is through the magic of a regular and daily yoga practice!  Ok, I am partial here, but it works! I’ll come clean, I have a small yoga/fitness  business( www.getcorepower.com).  I am the best example, as I never was mindful in my life, until I incorporated yoga into my lifestyle.  The biggest advantage about mindfulness,  you become aware of how you are feeling, your thoughts, emotions and how you feel after you eat certain foods.

It’s the 4th of July weekend, experience mindfulness as it relates to food.  Notice your body over the next few days after eating. Experience your body on how it feels when eating good healthy foods.  Notice if you have more organic energy (no caffeine needed), you may feel lighter, more energetic and your clothes may fit a bit looser!  Check out how your body feels after eating heavy fattening foods, ice cream, cookies or just an absolutely delicious fattening meal you love to eat!   Wait a bit, notice how you feel; maybe more tired, less energy, craving for sugar, maybe your meal is not complete until you eat something sweet.  I used to be that way, always craved the sweetest dessert I could sink my teeth in.  When you dramatically decrease sugar in your life, cravings magically disappear!

TriEnergetics will explain the physiology of stress, how your body uses food, understanding what foods are healthy, good carbs vs. bad carbs, diet myths, how your body digests foods, specific exercises(no gym required!), deep breathing for health/vitality and so much more.  This book is absolutely the real deal, nothing fake, just down-to-earth plain vanilla facts and no gimmicks. The best part of this book, advocates a healthy “diet” with exercise.  This is a marriage that can not be separated, you need one with the other, otherwise maintaining your weight is nearly impossible, especially as you age.

If you are looking to trade up to a healthier lifestyle, I would highly recommend this book filled with a wealth of health knowledge!

By the way, if you are so inclined to try this program, please share your transformation!

Lynn
Core Power, LLC

Fit to Teach?

23 Mar

 Teaching fitness classes is a passion of mine.  Quality is embedded, I want to give my classes the best safe and effective workout in order to keep them healthy and reach their goals.  In doing so, my classes are always pre-planned, with somewhat of a leeway for spontaneity; I strive to deliver creative superior and never pre-canned classes, no exceptions!  Though I am a bit of a health/fitness nerd, education of exercises and keeping up-to-date on health issues/studies is always part of my classes as well as my life.  This allows me to continue to provide the best most effective class I can deliver!

 Over the years, I have attended a variety of fitness classes and have encountered a wide array of talented and not so talented fitness instructors.  Personally, I’ve stated this before and do not hide the fact that I am extremely selective whom I take my fitness classes from.  Just because someone has a piece of paper indicating proper certification, does not necessarily translate to a competent instructor.  That being said, please note, a professional current fitness certification is a must as well as a current CPR/AED certification for a fitness instructor/personal trainer.   

 Check out these ten questions, answer honestly about your current or past instructor and be mindful of clues to determine if your instructor is “fit” to teach and I do not mean physically fit! 

 My goal here is awareness, next time you walk into a fitness class, my hope is you are more astute to the characteristics of a competent, capable instructor and enjoy an injury-free fabulous workout!

 How does your favorite fitness instructor rate, review the list of ten questions and see for yourself!

  1.  Are you properly greeted by your instructor when walking into a class?  Is the environment warm, friendly and inviting?
  2. Does the instructor give his/her name, ask if anyone is new, has an injury or if anyone present has not previously taken a class by the instructor?
  3. Is the class presented in an organized manner and starts and ends on time?
  4. Does he/she cue for safety (stabilize torso, bend knees, slow/controlled movements) etc?
  5. Is the  instructor knowledgeable, able to identify muscles being used and offer modifications for injuries such as shoulder, hip, knee, low-back issues?
  6. If the class is geared toward all-levels, is a basic exercise offered, then layered by level of difficulty?
  7. Is the instructor motivating, are you learning new exercises or is the class the same old routine, you know what to expect and do not feel challenged?
  8. Is the instructor getting a great workout?  Is he/she sweating and “working out” or is the class focused on YOU (class is never about the instructor, not a time for his/her workout).
  9. Does your instructor give concise clear cues, visual (i.e. demonstrates the exercise/pose) and gives physical cues (i.e. hand to ankle)? 
  10. Does the instructor walk the talk; does he/she practice what he/she preaches?

 How do you personally judge a high-quality fitness class and fitness instructor?  Is it by how much sweat is dripping all over you and the floor?

Blog by:  Lynn MacDonald, ACE Certified Personal Trainer, CPR/AED certified by American Red Cross, Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher and Therapeutic Yoga Teacher
www.getcorepower.com