Finding inspiration in the New Year!

As this first Monday of 2012 comes to a close I am reflective of the past year.  My mind is filled with thoughts of my personal resolutions and the new sense of excitement in what the new year will hold for each of us.  Ringing in the New Year always brings a lot of fun and celebration, but it also welcomes anxiety regarding the things we will do, wish for, or change in the upcoming days to come.  I find most people are motivated the first couple of weeks of January and this motivation declines as the winter slowly crawls on.  People place stress on their high expectations and often lose interest quickly, in making the changes they hope for. 

How can you find your own motivation? How can you stick with it for the long haul?

I am excited to share one of my own personal New Year's Resolutions for 2012:
As a newly certified personal trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine (wild applause!) I launch my year with training sessions while building a network whom I can support and inform.  I plan to:

-- Post on this blog daily, Monday through Friday, as a daily spot for inspiration, fun facts, and a place for me to showcase the work of my clients and students. 

This goal is specific, measurable and attainable.  Odds are, I'll probably be able to stick with it.  And if something happens and one day a blog post slips through the cracks, I promise myself ahead of time to not let that slow me down.  I will reward myself along with way (if I can get through all four weeks of January, I'll buy myself a new bag I've been dying for!) and find support of others (friends and family) to keep me on task.  I encourage you to find a way to make your own personal resolutions in this way.

• Goals that are specific, measurable, and can actually happen!
• Set up a healthy reward system for yourself
• Tell others what you are up to so they can help you keep on track
• Chart your progress
• Applaud yourself for your hard work and effort!

Cheers to 2012 and all the wonderful ways we will improve ourselves and the lives we live!! 

Reciprocal inhibition!

I've begun working on some new choreography this past weekend and it's been a while since some of my dancers have been in rehearsal with me.  Needless to say, they were a little out of shape!  One of my dancers and I were walking up the stairs from the train to head home following rehearsal, and she had some intense pain in her hip flexor (psoas). 

As she was walking I told her to contract, or squeeze, her butt muscles -- this will help to release the muscles in the front of the hips as she walks.  This is called reciprocal inhibition and it's great for us to know about and use to encourage muscle relaxation!

Our muscles work in pairs: the prime mover, or the muscle doing the work, is called the agonist.  The muscle that opposes that muscle is called the antagonist.  Sort of like when doing an arm curl the bicep is the agonist and the tricep is the antagonist -- one is contracting (in this case the agonist is the bicep) and one is lengthening (in this case the antagonist is the tricep.)  If we tense up one of those, it inhibits the other from muscle contraction and it will cause the other to release.  In the case of my dancer, her hip flexor was tight so we tensed up the antagonist (glutes or butt) to inhibit muscle contraction and to encourage relaxation in her hip flexor. 

Happy relaxing! 

No momentum!

If you can do abdominal work on a physioball for over 8 minutes without stopping (like the guy at my gym yesterday!), odds are you are not using your abdominal muscles. You are probably rolling on the ball and using leg muscle power and momentum to lift and lower your torso. I find this the case with many men.... Trouble finding their abs as they offer have strong arms and legs and will recruit those and use them constantly.

Deep abdominal muscles, our stabilizers, are slow firing so it's imperative to work in a slow and sustained manner (5-20 seconds.) Try having a partner physically hold your pelvis steady or at least watch you to make sure you are not rocking your pelvis back and forth. Pace yourself for slow control. I promise you'll feel it!!

I was tempted to step in at the gym yesterday.... But figured it wasn't the best idea ;) But I'm glad to help you!

On my walk in Queens!

Mom's in training

What I hope you can see behind the biker, is a group of Brooklyn mom's getting healthy on the promenade! (I had to take this like an undercover reporter!!)

These women were sprinting with strollers, doing push-ups and lunges all over the boardwalk - meanwhile their children sat in strollers. One mom even held her young boy for some added weight during lunges- great idea!

Are there like-minded people you know, or simply people who have the same time clock, priorities, situation, or goals? It's much easier to wake up for a 5:30am workout prior to heading to the office if someone will be there waiting for you each day. Use social networking sites to find people like you who might want to do the same kind of physical activity at the same time.

Get motivated by others and stick with it!

Healthy reminder

Thank you AMNY for this reminder--
Swap out soda for a healthier option!

Great article!

As marathon Sunday approaches in NYC, New York magazine has shared a terrific article this week.

High-intensity interval-training (HIIT), is the new way to go, which prevents painful knee or back issues that often accompany long runs and your body will actually burn MORE calories AFTER you complete your workout! This is called Energy Post-Exercise Consumption.

Work at intervals of up to 85-90% of your max heart rate (220-your age) and then work at 60-70% during slower sections. Rate your effort on 1-10 with "10 feeling like you're sprinting to escape a mugger and 6 or 7 like you're hustling across a platform to catch a train." Love this description!

So hit a shorter workout for a higher intensity, and spend less time doing more for your body!