April 27, 2024

Ask a Pro by Lisa Wilcox

July 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Question: I’ll be traveling for a few weeks this summer. How do I make sure I don’t lose fitness while on the road? –Amanda from San Francisco

Answer: By Lisa Wilcox. Lisa is the Owner of Pro-Motion Fitness in Santa Barbara, California. She has been working in the fitness industry for 25 years and is a certified Pilates instructor and Posture Alignment Specialist. You can contact Lisa at lisa@promotionfitness.net or www.promotionfitness.net

It’s summer and with summer comes more travel. Whether its road trips or long plane rides, it’s going to be harder to stay with a workout routine. All it takes is a little motivation to fit in a few exercises with absolutely no equipment. Give these travel exercises a try, whether it’s by car, plane or boat.
Get up! Walk up and down the aisles of the plane. Don’t sit for longer than an hour without getting up.
Move your muscles. One of the easiest exercises to do while traveling is heel raises. Lift and lower your heels 10 times. Do two to three sets. This will really get the blood flowing to your whole body and help prevent blood clots to your legs.
Shoulder blade pinches. Sitting up tall in your seat, squeeze your shoulder blades back and down like you are trying to squeeze a broom stick between your shoulders. Squeeze and release 50 times. This exercise wakes up your shoulders and definitely helps with your posture.
Leg squeezes. Place a plastic water bottle, or pillow between your knees. Sit up tall with both feet directly under your knees, roll your pelvis forward and squeeze your inner thighs together, then slowly lift your heels off the floor as if your toes are on egg shells. This is a fantastic exercise for your pelvis and hips. You will be activating your legs and lower back muscles that improve your posture.

Other ideas during your travel would include taking the walking tours versus the bus tour. Seek out the hotel workout room. Take the stairs. Explore new activities that challenge you physically. In your hotel room, lay a towel down on the floor and do push-ups and sit ups.

If the motivation is there no equipment is necessary, just creativity and dedication! Happy traveling and exercising!

Filed Under: Ask a Pro

Top Tips to Your Performing Edge by JoAnn Dahlkoetter, Ph.D

July 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Want to know how you can create Your Performing Edge and reach your goals faster, easier, and get the results you want? Here are my top tips to help you build new motivation, confidence and major breakthroughs in your training and in your life.
POSITIVE IMAGES: Use your mental images throughout your event or workout to create feelings of speed and power. For example, if you’re walking or running and you come to an unexpected hill visualize a magnet pulling you effortlessly to the top. Use visualization before, during and after your training to build confidence and new motivation.
 POWER WORDS: Make positive self-statements continually. Be aware of your negative thoughts early on. Don’t fight with them; simply acknowledge their presence, and then substitute positive power words. For example, when you’re thinking: “This hurts too much,” say to yourself: “This feeling is connected with getting healthier and doing my absolute best.”
PRESENT FOCUS: Practice being in the present moment. Be Right On – Right Here – Right Now. Remind yourself to stay in the here and now. Let past and future events fade into the background. Remember, the only moment we can do anything about is the one we’re in right now.
ADVANTAGE: Use everything in the workout to your advantage. For example, if another person passes you, tuck in behind and go with his or her energy for as long as possible. You may catch a second wind and be carried on to a personal record.
CHUNKING-GOALS: Focus on your immediate target. Break your training goals down into small, manageable pieces and begin to focus only on the first portion, not the entire workout. For example, say to yourself: “I’m just relaxing and getting my rhythm during the first mile, or the first workout session.”
 
And to get FREE instant access to Dr. Dahlkoetter’s Private Mentoring Program with Your Performing Edge coaching tips, video training, articles and visualization exercises, join her community at:  http://www.PeakPerformancePlan.com. Dr. JoAnn Dahlkoetter, is CEO of Performing Edge Coaching International Association, (http://www.PerformingEdgeCoach.com ) a global resource and Certification Training Program for coaches, and founder of  http://www.DrJoAnn.com  the premiere sports psychology resource for athletes, coaches and sports parents. Dr. JoAnn is best-selling author of YOUR PERFORMING EDGE™, (http://www.sports-psych.com )  on OPRAH and NBC-TV, Stanford Performance Consultant, sports psychologist to OLYMPIC Gold Medalists and CEOs, winner of the San Francisco Marathon and 2nd in the World Championship Hawaii Ironman Triathlon. She is Host of the internationally syndicated TV Show – “Your Performing Edge”, an internationally recognized Keynote Speaker, columnist, and TV expert commentator.  Dr. JoAnn provides sports psychology, mental training and Performing Edge Coach Certification programs for coaches, parents and young athletes to reach their highest potential in sports and life. Call 650-654-5500 to apply for your FREE peak performance consultation. FREE Private Mentoring program at http://www.PeakPerformancePlan.com

Filed Under: Research Update

Stress-Relief in a Bag by Nicole Clancy

July 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Ever feel so overwhelmed that you can’t even think straight? Planning an outing with a little one takes exactly that…planning! Three experts share their user-friendly, everyday child care tips for insuring we have all we need… in one bag. A little pre-planning allows moms and dads to travel about town with greater ease, and less stress. These simple tips will feed your little one’s mind, challenge their body and invigorate their spirit.
Balance it. Barbara Bushman, PhD Professor at Missouri State University and Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, recommends packing a bean bag or two for every day outings. They are a light-weight and portable choice for an entertaining toy on-the-run. “Balancing the bag on top of his/her head and standing with both feet together, or placing the bag on the floor and hopping over it offer a coordination challenge guaranteed to keep your little one interested.” Dr. Bushman says. She adds “bean bags provide control and safety, whereas a ball can roll away.”
The beeper rules. Eliminate the struggle of when to say when, by trying this trick from Brett Klika, Director of Athletics at Fitness Quest 10 and author/researcher of children and athletics. Pick up a child friendly watch at your local convenience store, and show him/her how to fasten about the wrist. Set the countdown timer at ten minutes to go. “Setting the timer gives the child an objective boundary for certain behavior.” He further explains, “your child will learn to value time and since they have the watch, feel as though they have more control or input.” Klika continues, “this process removes the power-struggle and places time accountability in their hands,” The result is no tears, no dreaded melt-downs and no more negotiations.
Game on. Stashing a deck of cards in your bag provides fun memory or coordination games to distract little ones while running errands. Klika, advises “toss a card in the air and challenge your child to catch it. Or play games with the numbers. For example, “pick two cards and calculate the sum of the two numbers.” He continues, “or choose a few cards and challenge them to remember the order.” Your imagination is the limit to activities using a deck of cards.
Fun with Bubbles. Pack a small container of bubbles to help focus your little one’s energy. Jan Schroeder, PhD Department of Kinesiology at Cal State University Long Beach recommends, “alternate blowing bubbles and chasing them across the lawn.” Counting or adding bubbles as they appear and then subtracting as they pop is another fun option to provide practice learning numbers. Focusing energy and attention on a physical or mental activity will provide a welcome distraction while waiting for an appointment.

Filed Under: Kids/Teen Corner

Attacking Clutter by Juli Shulem

July 10, 2011 By 4 Comments

According to the American Demographic Society, Americans waste more than 9 million hours each day looking for lost and misplaced items. Cleaning professionals say that getting rid of excess clutter would eliminate 40% of the housework in an average home. And about 80% of the clutter in your home is a result of disorganization, not lack of space. It would make sense then, to begin by organizing your living and working environments, particularly if your office happens to be in your home.
Start by making a list of all the areas needing work. Just making this list and putting it on paper where you can look at it and acknowledge it usually starts the ball rolling. And where, you might ask, does the “ball” start its roll from? THE MESSIEST PLACE ON YOUR LIST! Why the messiest? It’s the place which grates on your nerves the most and the place which, once organized, will give you the greatest sense of satisfaction.
Here are 5 tips to get started:
Prioritize. Start by going through the space and focus on getting rid of unused, unwanted, and useless items FIRST.  This will give you some clarity immediately and allow you to see what you have left that you may wish to actually hold onto.
Downsize. During the process of purging refrain from shopping and adding to the clutter thinking that more things will help you get better organized. Stay on track with REMOVING items and that’s all.
Organize. As a regular practice take a few extra minutes to put things away in their proper places rather than shove them into the nearest place just to get them out of the way.
Eliminate extras. Get rid of extraneous things lying around the house. These items constantly remind you of another insipid task you didn’t do yet. If you have an item you need to return, just put in it a bag along with others and put the bag in the car, now.
Return borrowed items to their owners. Be careful not to borrow items if you are prone to damaging or losing things in general. You will then end up needing to replace the item, or worse, learn that it is irreplaceable. After you have returned something, you can stop thinking about it, nor will you need to find a place to store the item!

Excerpted and modified from Order! A Logical Approach to an Organized Way of Life. To order the ebook go to www.getordernow.com. Juli Shulem has been an Organizer/ADHD Coach, Efficiency Expert since 1984. She is also the author of Home-Based Business Mom, A Guide to Organizing for the Working Woman. Contact Juli at www.julishulem.com or jshulem@gmail.com.

Filed Under: Big Picture of Health