| As a fitness instructor, I get a lot of questions about Pilates, from what it is to how it benefits the body. I too was skeptical about how this "gentle" form of exercise—which, to me, looked a lot like lying on the floor—could boast such big benefits. I like a workout that's challenging and intense—heavy weights, high inclines, fast speeds. Those floor exercises are for beginners who are weak and unfit…or so I thought. I decided to learn more about Pilates by taking a few instructor workshops and training in "the method" myself. What I discovered surprised me. Pilates, when done correctly, offers major fitness benefits, requires mental focus, connects the mind and body, and truly does sculpt the abs like nothing else I've ever tried. Starting as a skeptic, I became a believer, practitioner and instructor in a matter of months. For all of you skeptics who think that Pilates has nothing to offer you, think again! Almost one hundred years since Joseph Pilates (1880-1967) created and refined the exercises of his namesake, more and more people continue to practice Pilates around the world. Research has shown that Pilates also improves:
Sit upright in your chair in a comfortable position. Place one or both palms on your abdomen. Now cough a few times. You should have felt your abdominal muscles tighten. Now, keeping your hands there, take a deep inhale through the nose. On your exhale, open your lips slightly and push all of that air out of your mouth as forcefully and slowly as possible, making your exhale audible (like a “whoooooo” or “seeeeeeee” sound). You should have felt the same muscles tighten as when you coughed. These are your deep, transverse abdominis muscle, which act as your body’s corset. When these muscles strengthen, your belly pulls in tighter and flatter. The deep, audible breathing that people do during Pilates (which you just tried a moment ago) helps hone in on the transverse abs in a way that no other exercise can. Pilates focuses on these deep muscles in each and every move you make, which is just one reason why they are so effective at strengthening the core. When done correctly and with proper focus, Pilates is not easy—no matter how fit you are. If you tried Pilates once or twice but weren't impressed, you probably weren't doing it correctly. And that's not your fault if your instructor (in class or on video) didn't explain it properly. When performing every single Pilates exercise you should also: 1. Breathe correctly. Joseph Pilates used to say, “Even if you follow no other instructions, learn to breathe correctly.” Use deep breathing (described above) to target and tone your deep transverse abs. Your inhale should expand the ribcage (diaphragm) but not the belly, which should be tight and flat as if you are wearing a corset. This helps you keep your core muscles engaged. 2. Concentrate on pulling your shoulders away from your ears and retracting your shoulder blades toward the center of your spine. 3. Properly align the spine. Your head and neck should follow the natural line of your spine at all times. 4. Focus on every movement as if it comes from the center of the body (your core). 5. Practice control. Don't use momentum to help you move. Movements should be done in a slow and controlled manner at all times. 6. Keep your body grounded and stable. If you're really focusing on the core, your body should be square on the mat and you should not rock or slide in any direction during exercises that involve lying, sitting, or kneeling. (This is one of the most common mistakes I see as an instructor.) 7. Work in an appropriate range of motion. Fitness enthusiasts tend to try the hardest options, even when they haven't truly mastered the basics with proper form. Similarly, wanting to work harder, many people will work in larger ranges of motion, but aren't able to stay grounded (point #6 above) when doing so. Only work to a level that allows you to maintain all of the points above. The great thing about Pilates is that it offers something for everyone, no matter what your fitness level. If you started as a skeptic, consider revisiting Pilates by taking a class in your area or trying a fitness DVD. When you do, incorporate the points above and you will feel and see the difference. As Joseph Pilates himself said, "You will feel better in ten sessions, look better in twenty sessions, and have a completely new body in thirty sessions." |
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Stretch and sculpt workout
Stretch and sculpt
Stretch and Strength are like 'Pumpkin Pie with Al-a-mode' ....YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER!! Get your FIT-DESSERT TODAY! CALL 760-419-4874 to get some today!
Stretch and Strength are like 'Pumpkin Pie with Al-a-mode' ....YOU SHOULD NEVER HAVE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER!! Get your FIT-DESSERT TODAY! CALL 760-419-4874 to get some today!
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Monday, November 26, 2012
'Every Heart' .....HAS A STORY TO TELL.....Here is my Heart!
Sara Haze - Every Heart lyrics
A summer sunburn
The smile you earned
Stumbles and falls
The lessons you’ve learned
Choices you’ve made
Your first heartbreak
Getting too old for the batman cape
Simpler times
Wanting to fly
Mesmerized by Christmas lights
Holding out
Giving in
All the what ifs and might have beens
EVERY HEART has a story to tell
Some dreams have wings, some are torn at the seams
and just sit there on the shelf
If you were to walk in my shoes
You’d see we are all the same
So find the love inside yourself
Cause EVERY HEART has a story to tell
A starburst rush
Your first real crush
Your bit by a dog a yellow school bus
Sweet 16
That concert you missed
Your best friend and your first kiss
Learning to fall
Wanting it all
Believing in Santa Claus
A letter you wrote
A promise you broke
Knowing when to say yes and when to say no
EVERY HEART has a story to tell
Some dreams have wings, some are torn at the seams
and just sit there on the shelf
If you were to walk in my shoes
You’d see we are all the same
So find the love inside yourself
Cause EVERY HEART has a story to tell
So far away
Life can take you
Never forget
The hearts that shaped you
The love of your life
The fourth of July
The times that you laughed so hard you cried
The first day of ballet
Hardships you faced
All the memories along the way
It’s the love you lost
The love you made
Makes us who we are today
EVERY HEART has a story to tell
Some dreams have wings, some are torn at the seams
and just sit there on the shelf
If you were to walk in my shoes
You’d see we are all the same
So find the love inside yourself
Cause EVERY HEART has a story to tell
This is my heart
This is my story to tell
EVERY HEART has a story to tell
Sunday, November 25, 2012
I love WATER.........CHEERS
10 Myths and Facts About Water
We all need water to live, but how much do we really know about it? From the truth about drinking eight glasses of water per day to refilling plastic bottles, here's what you should know about water benefits.
Medically reviewed by Niya Jones MD, MPH
For something so seemingly simple and essential as drinking water, plenty of myths and misconceptions exist about possible water benefits and harms.
Learn how to separate the myths from the facts about drinking water.
1. Everyone needs to drink eight glasses of water a day.
Myth. Though water is the easiest and most economical fluid to keep you hydrated, the latest Institute of Medicine recommendation is that women should strive for about two liters or eight glasses a day and men should aim for three liters or 12 glasses a day of any fluid, not just water. “No one can figure out where this ‘eight glasses of water’ came from, but I believe it came from the old RDA [recommended daily allowance] for water that matched water requirements to calorie requirements,” notes Georgia Chavent, MS, RD, director of the Nutrition and Dietetics Program at the University of New Haven in West Haven, Conn. “The new requirement from the Institute of Medicine is much more generous and includes recommendations for total beverage consumption, not just water.”
2. Drinking water flushes toxins from your body.
Fact. Though water doesn’t necessarily neutralize toxins, the kidneys do use water to get rid of certain waste products. If you don’t drink enough water, your kidneys don’t have the amount of fluid they need to do their job properly. “If the body does not have sufficient water, then metabolic wastes will not be removed as efficiently as they should,” explains Amy Hess-Fischl, RD, CDE, of the University of Chicago Kovler Diabetes Center. “In essence, the body would be holding in toxins instead of expelling them, as is required for proper health.”
3. Bottled water can cause tooth decay.
Myth. Bottled water in and of itself doesn’t cause the teeth to decay, but it usually doesn’t contain any fluoride, which is added to tap water to help prevent tooth decay. “Fluoride is an important element in the mineralization of bone and teeth,” says Constance Brown-Riggs, RD, CDE, author of The African American Guide To Living Well With Diabetes and a nutritionist and certified diabetes educator in New York City. “With the increased consumption of bottled water, which is not fluoridated, there has been an increase in dental caries [cavities].”
4. Drinking water can help keep your skin moist.
Myth. While it used to be believed that staying properly hydrated led to youthful, vibrant skin, the reality is that the amount of water you drink probably has very little to do with what your skin looks like. “Unless the individual is severely dehydrated, drinking large quantities of water will not prevent dry skin,” Hess-Fischl says. “Basically, the moisture level of skin is not determined by internal factors. Instead, external factors such as skin cleansing, the environment, the number of oil glands, and the functioning of these oil-producing glands determine how dry the skin is or will become. The water that is consumed internally will not reach the epidermis [the top layer of the skin].”
5. Drinking water helps you lose weight.
Fact. Drinking water won’t specifically trigger weight loss, but it can aid in the process. Water replaces other calorie-laden beverages in the diet, causing you to reduce your overall number of calories. Plus, it can make you feel fuller, so you may eat less at each meal. Water, particularly cold water, may even play a role in increasing your metabolism. “A new study seems to indicate that drinking water actually speeds up weight loss,” says Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD, owner of Tanya Zuckerbrot Nutrition, LLC, in New York City. “Researchers in Germany found that subjects of the study increased their metabolic rates [or the rate at which calories are burned] by 30 percent after drinking approximately 17 ounces of water.”
I love WATER....I am 70% made of water........
The Truth About Drinking Water
Is it dangerous to drink too much water? Is yellow urine really a sign of dehydration? Find out the answers to these questions and more.
6. Yellow urine is a sign of dehydration.
Myth. It can be, but not all yellow urine is cause for alarm. “Dark yellow urine may be a sign of dehydration,” says Zuckerbrot. “The kidneys filter waste products and reabsorb water and other useful substances from the blood, so they control the volume and concentration of urine output. Dehydration leads to increased urine concentration, turning your urine dark yellow. Ideally your urine should be straw yellow in color.” Other factors, though, such as taking a multivitamin, can also lead to yellow urine.
7. If you’re thirsty, you are already dehydrated.
Myth. If you start to feel thirsty, then you are headed in the wrong direction and should grab a drink of water, but thirst doesn’t necessarily mean you’re dehydrated. “Thirst begins when the concentration of [substances in the] blood has risen by less than 2 percent, whereas most experts would define dehydration as beginning when that concentration has risen by at least 5 percent,” notes Hess-Fischl.
8. You need sports drinks, not water, to function at a high level in athletics.
Myth. Sports drinks may have fancier advertising campaigns, but water is really all you need to get the fluid necessary to participate in most athletic endeavors. “Adequate fluid, especially water, is most important for athletes of all ages as it is the single most important way the body has to transport nutrients and energy and remove heat during exercise,” says Chavent. “A sports or vitamin beverage may taste better, but is not necessary for hydration and is expensive.” Keep in mind though that people who run marathons or compete in highly strenuous activites may need to supplement their water intake with sports drinks to offset the salt they lose due to heavy sweating over long periods of time. This doesn’t apply to most people who are simply exercising to get fit at the gym, for instance.
9. It’s possible to drink too much water.
Fact. People with certain health conditions can put themselves at risk of complications if they drink too much water. “People with some heart conditions, high blood pressure, or swelling of the lower legs [edema] need to avoid excess water,” says Hess-Fischl. “If you have a history of kidney problems, especially if you have had a transplant, consult your doctor before increasing your fluid intake.” Hess-Fischl adds that you shouldn't drink too much water while eating, as it dilutes your stomach acid and can cause digestion problems.
10. You should not reuse plastic water bottles.
Fact. Plastic water bottles can present a couple of risks to people who drink their contents and then fill them up time and again. “These bottles leach chemicals into your water after multiple uses,” Hess-Fischl explains. “The bottle, if not properly cleaned, may also harbor bacteria from your mouth.”
Water is essential to survival — use these facts to figure out if you need to increase your intake or feel reassured that you’re drinking enough.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Facing it......just face it!
"Facing it - always facing it - that's the way to get through. Face it!"
Novelist, Joseph Conrad
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
A Skeptic's Guide to Pilates
A Skeptic's Guide to Pilates
Think Pilates Isn't for You? Think Again!
-- By Kathy Babcock, Fitness Instructor
DETOX.....ALL THE DOWNER...DON'T LOOK BACK!!
Top 3 Detox Tips to Cleanse Your Body and Relieve Stress this Holiday Season
CATEGORIES: HEALTH TIPS, RECIPES
20-Nov
Living an unhealthy lifestyle filled with high levels of sugar, alcohol, abuse or the intake of toxin-filled foods can have devastating effects on the body. For example, when toxins and waste accumulate in our colons, it leads to a host of undesirable conditions that extend beyond the digestive system and could eventually turn into serious illness.
Take a good hard look at how you’re feeling lately. Are you feeling run down and sluggish, or suffering from gassiness, bloating, weight gain, skin abnormalities or the inability to deal with stress? If so, this could be the ideal time for a body cleanse, which will clean out the accumulation of toxins, add natural energy and offer a host of other desirable conditions, suitable for a healthy lifestyle.
To make it easy on you, I’ve put together a list of my top tips to cleanse your body, clear your mind and help you relieve stress this holiday season.
Top 3 Detoxing Tips:
- Trade in your morning cup of Joe for some lemon ginger tea or if you’re feeling really “kitchen savvy” whip up a gynostema elixir like the one I make in this video!
- Start sweating! You heard me, I said sweat! Your skin is the largest organ of your body so get on it by sweating out those toxins! Weather you choose to hit the gym or hop in the sauna, it’s all about getting your sweat on!
- Detox the negative Nancy’s and Pessimistic Pauls out of your life! When I take my clients through a detox, it doesn’t stop with the body, it starts in the mind! So nix the people who are bringing you down in your life! I call this the “no contact” rule! Just let them go completely, no phone, no texts, no checking out their Facebook wall or Twitter account, just say goodbye & for good!
Now that we have my top 3 tips under our belts lets move on to some juicy raw-licous juice recipes shall we? These recipes are designed to make your skin glow, cleanse your liver and blood, remedy water retention and aid in digestion. They are great to have once or twice per day while still enjoying your favorite holiday foods!
Green Goddess Elixir:
- 8 pieces of flat leaf kale
- 1 medium beet
- 1 green apple
- 1 lemon
- 1 small piece of burdock root
- 6 stalks of celery
Love my Liver Juice:
- 1 medium beet
- Handful of parsley
- 1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds
- 1 cucumber
- 5 stalks of celery
Both of these juices will detox your liver, clean your blood and clear up any skin issues you may have! Celery is a great digestive aid as well and it’s full of natural sodium that your body needs! DRINK UP!
I hope you have a wonderful holiday! If you are not signed up for my newsletter, make sure sign up to the right so you can be the first to get tips like these and exclusive recipes and deals.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Friday, November 16, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
just a thought....
"Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell them, 'Certainly I can' - and get busy and find out how to do it."
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
just a thought....
"To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe."
Author, Marilyn vos Savant
Author, Marilyn vos Savant
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Best workout for seniors
Best workout for seniors
Oh My Heck.....I am almost a Senior....how did I we get here??
Let's take our health back and increase our stability, strength, hip and knee health and our HAPPINESS!!
Oh My Heck.....I am almost a Senior....how did I we get here??
Let's take our health back and increase our stability, strength, hip and knee health and our HAPPINESS!!
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
just a thought.....
“It is difficult to bring people to goodness with lessons, but it is easy to do so by example.”
-Seneca
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
yes......
"The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. "
Writer, George Bernard Shaw
Writer, George Bernard Shaw
'WHAT DO YOU WANT'?
Do You Know What You Want?
When I first began coaching baseball I dreamed of winning 30 games in a season and earning $30,000 a year. Considering that the team I was taking over had never won more than 19 games in a season and the job paid $3000 - those seemed like success to me.
We eventually won as many as 48 games in a season and averaged well over 30 wins for my time as a coach - and during my last couple of years I even earned a bit more than $30,000.
But what I never considered was that being a small college baseball coach meant more time fundraising than on baseball fundamentals and hundreds of hours riding on vans and eating at McDonalds because our budget didn't allow for anything else.
And I never considered that being a college baseball coach meant being the worst kind of employee - the kind that works for someone that doesn't have a clue what he's doing.
I recall during my final year as a coach thinking that if the job that I had was vacant, I'd not even consider applying.
And to think that being a college baseball coach was my 'dream job.'
After I left coaching and moved into the fitness industry, initially I thought that I'd love to own my own studio - or maybe a few. But over time I found that training clients for fat loss did not give me the same thrill that training athletes had provided.
I did find that I loved the business side of fitness and for quite some time thought that Nick and I would open a chain of gyms throughout our region.
We pursued this for a while, with a training company in one town and a gym 90 minutes away. We looked at real estate, met with investors and even worked with a franchisor about securing the rights to all of Kentucky.
But as time passed, a few things happened:
? We realized that having to borrow enough money to open the gyms would leave us without a significant profit for quite a while.
? Dealing with developers and investors left some of our decisions and potential for success in others' hands.
? Running back and forth between Elizabethtown and Owensboro 2-3 times per week wasn't allowing me to enjoy time with my family.
None of these things were the type of success that I wanted.
During this same period, we started to do business coaching, consulting and offer products to fitness professionals.
Not too long after, we acquired ownership in the IYCA.
Things started to feel right.
I can't say that I love doing products - I much prefer working with franchisees, coaching programs, live events and Mastermind Groups.
Products are a necessary and valuable component of what we do - but I love interacting with people.
Now we're Co-Owners in over a dozen businesses and I'm happier than I've ever been.
? I get to coach motivated people in something I've grown to be very passionate about...business. Our franchisees, business partners and coaching clients are incredible.
? I get to work in the areas of our businesses that I'm best suited to work.
? I'm home most of the time. Sure, I travel some, but I'm home more than 95% of people I know and I work from home 90% of the time.
? My wife Holly works at home as well and I get to play a part in helping her do what she loves.
? We've launched two franchises that is already spanning the globe, helping hundreds of fitness professionals realize their career dreams and help hundreds of thousands of people.
So I finally have a pretty good idea of what I want.
? I want to be home more often than not so I can enjoy time with Holly, Tyler and Alex.
? I want to work primarily with entrepreneurs.
? I want to focus on business development with entrepreneurs. I could spend all day in this area and never feel like it's been work.
? I want to coach or partner with like-minded entrepreneurs to help them achieve their goals.
? I want to leave a legacy and create something that lives on.
I'm not telling you all this because I think you need to be anything like me. Far from it. The things that Holly wants in her career are different than mine. I'm certain that the things that Cressey, Robertson, English and many others all want differ from my list.
The key is discovering what you want your success to look like.
It's been a slow process for me and it continues to evolve day by day - but I love what I'm doing now and financially things have never been better for me or our businesses in spite of the economic issues we've heard so much about.
So think about what parts of your career / business that you love.
Think about the parts you don't.
Think about what's important to you.
Think about where you want to be a year from now. 3, 5, even 10 years from now.
Then start moving that direction.
It's not an overnight process. If you want more freedom, start creating systems and eventually hire help.
If you want to own a facility, start saving some money, writing a business plan and looking at locations.
If you want to train only athletes - at least start training an athlete.
But you can think bigger than that if you want.
If you want to become a famous speaker - start speaking to someone. Anyone.
If you want to write a book - start with a sentence.
If you want to move, they have big green signs that will direct you out of town...
Because - at least I believe - that it's never a finished product. Your want will always be changing...and so will your circumstances. But if you're moving in the direction that you want, I suspect you'll be pretty darn happy. And you may get farther than you ever expected.
We eventually won as many as 48 games in a season and averaged well over 30 wins for my time as a coach - and during my last couple of years I even earned a bit more than $30,000.
But what I never considered was that being a small college baseball coach meant more time fundraising than on baseball fundamentals and hundreds of hours riding on vans and eating at McDonalds because our budget didn't allow for anything else.
And I never considered that being a college baseball coach meant being the worst kind of employee - the kind that works for someone that doesn't have a clue what he's doing.
I recall during my final year as a coach thinking that if the job that I had was vacant, I'd not even consider applying.
And to think that being a college baseball coach was my 'dream job.'
After I left coaching and moved into the fitness industry, initially I thought that I'd love to own my own studio - or maybe a few. But over time I found that training clients for fat loss did not give me the same thrill that training athletes had provided.
I did find that I loved the business side of fitness and for quite some time thought that Nick and I would open a chain of gyms throughout our region.
We pursued this for a while, with a training company in one town and a gym 90 minutes away. We looked at real estate, met with investors and even worked with a franchisor about securing the rights to all of Kentucky.
But as time passed, a few things happened:
? We realized that having to borrow enough money to open the gyms would leave us without a significant profit for quite a while.
? Dealing with developers and investors left some of our decisions and potential for success in others' hands.
? Running back and forth between Elizabethtown and Owensboro 2-3 times per week wasn't allowing me to enjoy time with my family.
None of these things were the type of success that I wanted.
During this same period, we started to do business coaching, consulting and offer products to fitness professionals.
Not too long after, we acquired ownership in the IYCA.
Things started to feel right.
I can't say that I love doing products - I much prefer working with franchisees, coaching programs, live events and Mastermind Groups.
Products are a necessary and valuable component of what we do - but I love interacting with people.
Now we're Co-Owners in over a dozen businesses and I'm happier than I've ever been.
? I get to coach motivated people in something I've grown to be very passionate about...business. Our franchisees, business partners and coaching clients are incredible.
? I get to work in the areas of our businesses that I'm best suited to work.
? I'm home most of the time. Sure, I travel some, but I'm home more than 95% of people I know and I work from home 90% of the time.
? My wife Holly works at home as well and I get to play a part in helping her do what she loves.
? We've launched two franchises that is already spanning the globe, helping hundreds of fitness professionals realize their career dreams and help hundreds of thousands of people.
So I finally have a pretty good idea of what I want.
? I want to be home more often than not so I can enjoy time with Holly, Tyler and Alex.
? I want to work primarily with entrepreneurs.
? I want to focus on business development with entrepreneurs. I could spend all day in this area and never feel like it's been work.
? I want to coach or partner with like-minded entrepreneurs to help them achieve their goals.
? I want to leave a legacy and create something that lives on.
I'm not telling you all this because I think you need to be anything like me. Far from it. The things that Holly wants in her career are different than mine. I'm certain that the things that Cressey, Robertson, English and many others all want differ from my list.
The key is discovering what you want your success to look like.
It's been a slow process for me and it continues to evolve day by day - but I love what I'm doing now and financially things have never been better for me or our businesses in spite of the economic issues we've heard so much about.
So think about what parts of your career / business that you love.
Think about the parts you don't.
Think about what's important to you.
Think about where you want to be a year from now. 3, 5, even 10 years from now.
Then start moving that direction.
It's not an overnight process. If you want more freedom, start creating systems and eventually hire help.
If you want to own a facility, start saving some money, writing a business plan and looking at locations.
If you want to train only athletes - at least start training an athlete.
But you can think bigger than that if you want.
If you want to become a famous speaker - start speaking to someone. Anyone.
If you want to write a book - start with a sentence.
If you want to move, they have big green signs that will direct you out of town...
Because - at least I believe - that it's never a finished product. Your want will always be changing...and so will your circumstances. But if you're moving in the direction that you want, I suspect you'll be pretty darn happy. And you may get farther than you ever expected.
The Only True Thing in LIFE is 'CHANGE'........Let us refuse to live and UN-LIVED LIFE....KATHY
Omgosh......this one has me going......thank you!!
"It is not impossibilities which fill us with the deepest despair, but possibilities which we have failed to realize."
Writer and Poet, Robert Mallet
Writer and Poet, Robert Mallet
Monday, November 5, 2012
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