Turn up the tunes...

I can't imagine working out, or even cleaning my kitchen for that matter, without the inspiration of music. There's something about a beat that creates a groove for you to work to - and it's enjoyable.

Whether it's the inspirational lyrics, the driving beat, or simply a new song you love, selecting music for your workout has been proven to keep you going. The BPM of the song, the tempo, can guide the pace of your run... My challenge song is Mr. Brightside by The Killers, also showcased in the article below- keeps me hitting the pavement quick.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/fashion/10fitness.html

Create a playlist that will dictate your speed, warm-up, cool down, each rep and set, as well as music for the in-betweens to keep you psyched up.

What gets you going??

More for the core!

Check out the Men's Health suggestions at the site listed in the photo. Around the world plank is my favorite!



If you don't have access to a cable row machine, don't worry you can always use a free weight on the side plank.

Keep your belly button area pulled in to support your low back.

Enjoy!

Get that vitamin B!!

Lunch on the run?

After a fabulous ballet class at Gibney Dance today, I was scheduled to meet with a theater colleague for lunch. I had just sweat my tail off with a great class and the last thing I wanted to eat was grease, grizzle, and anything unhealthy.  I found myself at the ENERGY KITCHEN near Madison Square Park, and I wasn't dissapointed.

 It's incredibly challenging to live on the go in a city filled with thousands of bars and restaurants with any cuisine imaginable.  How am I supposed to make good choices?  Going to a place like ENERGY KITCHEN enables you to know exactly what's inside what you're eating.  You can make healthy choices, while eating sustainable meals. At this place, all finds are under 500 calories so you can measure what's in your lunch. 

So....how to be healthy when living the life of a city dweller?

1. Plan ahead: know what the day has in store and pack sustainable meals and snacks like figs and almonds, a peanut butter sandwich, or a Luna bar (insert your favorite type here). 
2. Find a fruit stand: a couple of quarters can go a long way with a NYC fruit vendor.  Bananas, apples, oranges, OH MY!  Grab one on your walk for a great pick me up and avoid unhealthy sugary sweets like candy bars or soda.
3. Make good choices: there are plenty of healthy places to eat, like ENERGY KITCHEN, all over the city.  Find a place that you like and know where it is in every neighborhood. 

It's easy to make great habits, like packing a lunch, bringing your own water bottle, and giving to charity ;) So start small and think how you can make a difference in your own life and with your own health. 

Check out an ENERGY KITCHEN near you and think of me when you do!

Mmm mmm good!

As the weather cools down, stir up a pot of homemade soup. It's an easy thing to make and recipes are not even needed.

Here is an easy and healthy vegetable soup:

1. Pour olive oil in a pot and sauté up some garlic and onions.
2. Add chicken, beef or vegetable stock or broth.
3. Get to adding veggies of your choice. My favorites: broccoli, spinach, kidney beans, celery, potatoes, diced tomatoes... Whatever you have around the house.
4. Add spices as desired and bring to a boil. Simmer as long as you like and enjoy!!

Soup is liquid based so it's filling without lots of calories and fat. Freeze the leftovers and eat anytime.

You may be asking where is the soup in my bowl? Well, it's long gone!!

Football Sunday!

Take a break today (as I am!) from doing your sport, and watch some! 

Many games on today and I'll be cheering for the Bills as they take on the Raiders at 1pm.  Check out the home made t-shirts I made, yes with glitter (!) --
 

The front say's "SHOUT"

and the back says "Buffalo's Happenin' Now"



I made a whole series with various lyrics from our theme song (taking orders if you're interested!!) .... so get out and enjoy the fall day!

GO BILLS!!

Today, we stabilize!

Stabilizing the core is essential to protect the body from injury and to aid in efficient body movement.  During stabilization exercises there will be little movement of the spine and pelvis.  Try these two today:

Marching/Single Leg Raise

• Lay on your back with feet out away from your body, pointing forward with arms at your side
• Draw the navel in with the maneuver we discussed yesterday (and stay activated below the navel the entire time)
• Lift the first foot off the floor, hold for a few seconds and place back down 
• Repeat on each side 

Check out today's model, Emilee, performing this: 

She's keeping her pelvis stable and making sure not to arch her back when moving her legs. 

Keep that navel drawn in!  

Two-Leg Floor Bridge

Lay on your back with feet out away from your body, pointing forward with arms at your side
Draw the navel in with the maneuver we discussed yesterday (and stay activated below the navel the entire time) as well as activate the gluteals (butt muscles)
Lift pelvis off the floor until the entire body is in one straight line from knees to shoulders

Slowly lower and repeat

Try to add these to your daily routine to stabilize your pelvis.  Once we've begun to stabilize, then we can strengthen!

Tips for working your CORE

Everyone wants strong supportive abdominals, to look great, and be pain free... right? Then we must know how to stabilize our pelvis while strengthening our CORE. Check out a few tips from NASM:  

• Before doing activity, pull in (the region just below the navel) toward the spine in a drawing-in maneuver to engage and support
• Keep the cervical spine (most high portion leading toward your neck) in a neutral position to improve posture, muscle balance, and stabilization
• Interesting fact!! Maintain level eyes because of something called the pelvo-ocular reflex: the muscles around the neck will go into hyperextension if you are looking upward and this will cause the pelvis to anteriorly rotate (sway back) to realign the eyes... leading to muscle imbalances and decreased pelvic stabilization.  Check out the photos below to see what we don't want!

Cervical hyperextension

Sway back (anterior pelvic tilt)
• Stabilization muscles of the core are mostly slow firing muscles so they need to be sustained during contraction to strengthen -- at least 6 - 20 seconds, so move slowly
• Do not go into lumbar (low back) hyperextension, as seen in the picture above above, during abdominal work as this may place stress and pressure on the disks and ligaments leading to serious low back pain or injury 

And check out tomorrow's post: exercises to stabilize and build strength! 

For my tea drinkers....

After posting about coffee yesterday, a dear friend inquired about his tea drinking...

this information is for you, Josh!

Tea has many benefits and has been cheered on for centuries:

• Contains flavonoids (antioxidants) 
• Green tea contains highest amount of catechins (powerful group of antioxidants) and studies have linked green tea to disease-fighting and anticancer health benefits    
• Green, black and oolong teas decrease risk of heart disease, increase good (HDL) cholesterol in the body and improve artery function
• Inflammation reducing (for those who suffer from arthritis)
• Studies in Japan link green tea to memory improvement
• Chamomile (my personal favorite) helps reduce stress and anxiety, improve sleep disorders, and aids in stomach discomfort
• Teas are diuretics (substance causing the kidneys to release more sodium in your urine) and doctors prescribe diuretics to treat some conditions, but if you do not suffer from any health conditions make sure you are drinking plenty of water during the day to keep water in your blood stream and body

Research shows many benefits to tea consumption, but as always the research is limited as you cannot isolate this as a leading cause to overall health.  But I think the science of where tea comes from (plant leaves containing polyphenols and flavonoids -- antioxidants!) make it easy to want to add tea to your daily diet -- seems like a no-brainer to me!

Remember to steep your tea for 3-5 minutes to bring out the most antioxidants.  Pre-bottled teas, decaffeinated, and instant teas have less - so freshly brewed tea is most recommended.  

Drink up!

Java = good or bad?

As I was sitting down to enjoy my second cup of coffee for the day
(yes, in my bright sunny "Good Morning!" mug that I use every day!!),

I heard voices in my head.... good voices that is.... of friends and family who always ask me about coffee and whether or not it is good to have as part of your daily diet. Thought it would be a perfect thing to chat about today.  Here's the skinny on coffee and it's benefits and harms:

Coffee is okay in moderation (like most things).  If you enjoy 1 or 2 cups a day you are in good shape. If you are someone who enjoys 1 or 2 pots a day.... you better cut back!

• Studies show that coffee may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, discourage the development of colon cancer, and even reduce the risk of Parkinson's disease.  But elevated consumption has also been linked to breast cancer and osteoporosis in women.
• Earlier studies that showed coffee as a possible cause to heart disease and cancers did not also take into consideration that many high consumption coffee drinkers were also smokers and physically inactive (at that time) .
• 30 to 60 minutes after drinking coffee, caffeine blood levels will be their highest and may add focus and energy to your workout. Don't drink too much as coffee is a diuretic and will dehydrate you.

And don't forget, coffee is a stimulant which will increase your heart rate and elevate your blood pressure - so keep track of how you're feeling and know what's best for you and your body.

Cheers to a great morning!

Look what I saw while on foot at the bus stop

Saw this terrific ad at the bus stop today - are you drinking enough water? NYC tap water is delish!

Be Fit NYC!

Three cheers for the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation with a new campaign for living a healthy lifestyle by adding exercise to your already scheduled day - to "make NYC your gym".  This is an amazing concept that more people can actually succeed in doing.  In NYC there are many opportunities to walk, take the stairs, and make simple swaps for using your body to get you places and not public transportation.  But what about in other cities like Buffalo or Providence? 

Why not try:

• Parking in the last spot in the Wegmans/Whole Foods/Target parking lots and enjoying the long walk into and out of the store
• Walk briskly through the aisles when shopping to increase your heart rate - time yourself and compete for your best efforts on a busy Saturday
• Choose to take the stairs instead of riding the elevator to your office on the fifth floor
• Swap out your riding lawn mower and push one yourself
• Make yard work a real workout
• Get in touch with friends in your area and schedule pick up sports games like a Saturday morning flag football game or a running club in the park  
• Make your book club into a walking and talking book club - hit the street!

Most people say to me, "but Marisa, I don't have TIME to go to the gym" .... and this I understand for sure.  People are working long hours, hard days, and have little energy left to do much of anything else.  There is no rule that says you must workout for 30 consecutive minutes each day, so break that up into six 5 minute bursts (parking lot hike, "running" errands at the grocery store, good-bye elevator, etc.) - it's the same impact and your body will feel MORE energized when it's MORE active during the day. 

Make YOUR city YOUR gym...today!

Happy National Cholesterol Education Month!

Did you know that high blood cholesterol affects over 65 million Americans? Did you know that high blood cholesterol can increase your risk of heart disease?  Did you know that heart disease causes heart attacks? 

If you didn't know this.... you should.  High cholesterol is serious and most people don't even know they have it.  Get your cholesterol levels tested (this month!) and then take simple steps from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute to keep yourself healthy:

• Reduce the amount of saturated fats in your diet
• Do physical activity! Helps to lower your bad cholesterol levels while increasing your good cholesterol levels
• Know your family history

The older you get the more susceptible you are to having problems with high cholesterol, so develop good habits at a young age.  Serve up some oats, whole grains, beans, nuts, eggplant (!) and keep your body healthy and happy!

A tasty recovery drink

reGen muscle recovery beverage combines cocoa, carbs and protien (in a scientifically proven ratio) to create a post workout drink that will

1. Repair muscles from the stress that is placed on them while exercising
2. Replace carbohydrate stores that have been used during activity
3. Replenish fluid and electrolytes lost during an intense sweating session. 

Without proper recovery within 60 minutes of your workout, you could experience muscle soreness and fatigue -- as I'm sure most of us are used to.  This recovery beverage:

• contains cocoa for antioxidant power
• can be use on a two workout a day training program (for my dancers.... after class and before going into a lengthy rehearsal, or on a long performance day)
• is 99.9% lactose free - won't cause bloating or difficulty with digestion

I thought this drink was tasty and filling.  It has many benefits backed by science, and who can go wrong with science? Try one today and let me know what you think! 

How do you feel today?

Try not to always be concerned with the numbers: how much you weigh on a scale, your measurements, clothing size.... these numbers are not the most important things to gauging your personal health. 

Try to take notice: how does your body feel, how do your clothes fit, are normal daily tasks easier to do, do you feel good about yourself, do you have more energy? 

Find success in feeling great and don't worry about anything else!

Does an apple a day....really keep the doctor away?

HAPPY SEPTEMBER!

As kids head back to school and the summer winds down, school lunches and the upcoming fall season filled with bales of hay and scarecrows come to mind.  I've already begun adding apples back into my diet and I'm reminded of all the wonderful things this fruit has to offer, so popular during autumn.

Why eat apples?

• Apples contain dietary fiber and there are countless benefits of a high fiber diet
• So many minerals! Especially in organic apple cider vinegar
• Additional benefits include reducing blood pressure, maintaining bowels, and breathing easier

Pack apples for a healthy snack on the go, chop them up and add to your salad, bake in your morning oatmeal -- however you do it, add this fat free snack into your day.  And if you ask me, I recommend my personal favorite, the Macintosh apple (with a dash of cinnamon!!) -- so many good ones found here in New York State -- get to crunching!