Snow day? here’s something to chew on…

Its another snow day here in Cincinnati.  I really love snow days because its a great excuse to cocoon (interpret as sit in front of fire, read, watch movies, work on the computer), and do anything except exercise.  Ever since I got pneumonia several years ago, I can’t run outside.  One more excuse to skip my workout.

But, this year is different because I am committed to training (yes, actually following a training program like I teach) for a May triathlon.  Let me back up a little bit.

So, for the past two years or so, I haven’t been racing, so I haven’t been training.  I’ve been so busy training others that it was really hard for me to get my own training in.  And my friend and training partner got sick 2 years ago, then was working ungodly hours at work.  So that’s my excuse.  I was unmotivated and kind of was in victim/blame mode.  This year something is different.  I actually heard myself.

You know what I mean.  Its like we have this conversation in our heads:

me: I should run today

my head: oh yeah, lets call Mary and see when she can go

me: she can’t go, boo ho0.  I should go anyway.

my head: yeah, but it won’t be as fun, and maybe when you get there it might hurt and then I’ll be sore or hurt myself, and besides its cold out.

me: yeah, better play it safe.

Okay, so then one day in January I was able to step back and really hear myself.  I was like–Oh my gosh!! I sound just like the clients who never come to the gym!  I am so lame!! I am letting everything get in the way of me working out!  If I want to change then I have to take charge and do it.  Pull up my big girl panties.  and Just Do IT.

So, for the past two weeks I have been spinning and running, doing brick workouts, lifting, swimming.  This morning I ALMOST fell back into complacent mode, but I went to the gym (thanks to some motivation from my daughter) and had an awesome workout!!!  Feels so good!  Victorious over my sloth-like tendencies.  🙂 Here is what I did on the treadmill while I watched part of the Pink Panther (I did weights yesterday and missed spinning so I did this today):

Ran at 5.5 (rather slow) for 3 minutes. Then did tabatas at 7.5  (thats 20 seconds run hard/10 rest 8 times).  I rested at 4.0 then sped up to 6.0 until I got to 10 minutes.  Then I did another tabata set same as the first.  Rested until 16 minutes and ended with another tabata set.  That brought me to a little over 2 miles and 20 minutes.  Felt great!!!  Don’t get me wrong.  It was hard, but I have to share this key insight:

As I was doing my second set of tabatas (at about the 4th round), I started to feel more relaxed.  I definitely was keeping track of my form, very conscious of using my core and hamstrings/glutes, but I started to feel like I could breathe slower.

Physiologically this isn’t really earth shattering, but I want to share it with you because of this:

We tend to feel that something is hard and then stop because it hurts, or we feel weak.  This happens when I swim.  My first 100 m my arms are burning, but then it goes away.  Push ups are the same way.  Once warmed up, the muscles, given the proper rest, can keep going and the burn goes away.

So, two lessons here…

#1:  Listen to yourself.  are you playing the victim card?  do you blame other people, your situation, your family for not doing what you really want/need?  work that out.  being a victim is all in your head, so you can change it.  Read a book for inspiration about an athlete who beat all odds and conquered the worst to rise above.  this is a great story.  Listen to some inspiring music like Eye of the Tiger or Firework.  Might sound kind of corny but it works.

#2: Keep going.  Don’t stop when your muscles start to burn (there is a difference between burn and hurt–listen to your body).  Push past the burn and see if it goes away.

Happy snow day!  Share your favorite snow day workout in the comments below!

Elyse

Name(required)

Email(required)

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ

How a horrible tragedy can have a positive ripple effect

This morning I heard a powerful story about a woman who lost both her legs at the Boston Marathon bombing.  The woman in the story was a bystander waiting for her sister and–long story short–she lost both legs.  Her most worrisome issue was that she would never gain her full independence back; that she would be dependent on others for the rest of her life.

She was visited by a Marine who lost both of his legs in Afganistan, who, as she put it, “was steady as a rock.”  That made her realize that she could gain her independence again and gave her hope.  Massive hope that she could get back to normal, and even exceed normal. 

Yes, this is a powerful story.  It moved me to tears several times–when I first heard it and then again, when i read the transcript.  But I think the thing that struck me the most, was the power of the ripple effect.  This Marine had something horrible happen to him–he lost both legs!  I can’t begin to imagine, not just the emotional impact, but the pain–the initial pain and the phantom pain that haunts amputees for many years after losing a limb.  Through this pain and emotional anguish, he became strong again, and now serves other severely injured servicemen.  He didn’t just become functional, he is an example of hope for others. 

I’m sure it never occured to this guy that his service to this woman in a Boston hospital  would have such an impact on people all over the country today.  When she did her interview, was she aware of the impact that she would have on someone in Ohio?

When tragedy happens, especially violent tragedy, its hard to grasp.  Its hard to keep our faith, and its hard to wonder what we are here for.  But as we heard on NPR today, and many times in the past, relating to other attacks on our country, tragedy can release positive energy into this world that was not there before.  These huge explosions that are meant to harm may actually bring about massive change and awareness of a larger presence in our lives that we were ignorant of moments before. 

Each of us have small “tragedies” in our lives each day.  Some days are worse than others.  Like the day someone gets a cancer diagnosis, or the day someone has a heart attack.  These are life-changing events for people.  These events effect many people, not just the one who is sick. 

But what if we take these tragedies and turn them into a positive energy?  What can we do with that?  Conventional wisdom says–create awareness, get screened, do tests, raise money for research. 

Unconventional wisdom says–create positive energy for change in our health consciousness.  By focusing on what we want, HEALTH, we bring a new level of energy into the world (a higher vibration), that has a massive ripple effect on not just health, but everything. 

Just like the woman who lost her legs–she boldly proclaimed that she had the hope that she would not just get back to a normal life, but that her life could possibly be BETTER!  How can WE turn every day events, what we do each day, how we treat each other, how we treat OURSELVES, to create a higher consciousness of health to create more positive energy in our world? 

Please leave a comment!!! I would love to hear your thoughts and know how you are contributing to  a positive ripple effect!  🙂

be well…Elyse

You can read the transcript of her story here.  

 

Girls Fitness part 2–body image

Part 2 of Girls Fitness–creating positive body image from the inside out

What are the essentials for helping girls have a great body image?

• think inside not outside–of course its not the outside of a person that matters, but what is inside.  That is not just true in character.  Good health starts on the inside, how you support your cells,  especially in girls because they are growing and changing.  Let’s face it: people come in different shapes and sizes, so being focused on the outside is counterproductive and harmful.
• talk in terms of health instead of weight–whether your daughter is overweight or underweight, conversations about choices should always focus on health.  Help her to think about what food does on the inside, how it makes her feel after (or before) she eats. Is it energizing? Does it make her feel bloated? Does she feel guilty after?
• how do YOU feel about your body and how do you talk about it? this has a big impact on the girls around you.  We tend to beat ourselves up about our bodies, especially when we make unhealthy choices.  Are you verbalizing that out loud?
• teach empowerment, instead of blaming–its easy to say that we are one way or another because of our genetics.  Its easy to blame our spouse, our economic situation, or our other kids’ needs.  This is being a victim of your circumstances.  When you are a victim, your daughter takes on that attitude as well.  How can you and she make healthier choices with your specific circumstances?  Chances are, you are not the only one with a unique challenge–search the internet for inspiration!  Remember that we  CHOOSE what we put in our bodies.  We CHOOSE how we spend our time.
• get your daughter involved in fitness activities that empower and  are not competitive.  For many girls (and women, too) competition in sports is not a positive outlet.  It certainly wasn’t for me!  Focus on programs where each person is treated like an individual, and classmates support each other at their level.  Girls working together as a non-competitive team, supporting each other, learning about focusing on the impact of our decisions on the inside of our bodies is the biggest gift that we can give them.

By emphasizing inside, getting in touch with the message we are sending about ourselves, making empowered choices, and giving our girls a non-judging environment for fitness, we can change the way girls look at themselves in the mirror.  This paradigm shift in how we view ourselves will change the health of future generations.

Venus Fitness for Her in Montgomery Ohio is currently looking for teens to join our Girls Getting Stronger 4 week program, starting Feb. 26th. Click here for more info and to register.  The first 10 participants will get 50% off with the promo code: earlybird

 

 

question about yoga

Someone recently wrote to me asking if I could recommend any books or dvd’s on yoga. this is what i told her:
There are a quite a few yoga apps now as well as a lot of books. I don’t claim to be an expert on yoga. I do practice it on a very small scale just for relaxation and flexibility.
I cannot personally recommend any books or dvd’s because i havent read/viewed any. there are a lot on amazon.com or at the bookstore.

The thing i think is important about yoga is:
-to do it correctly–#1 priority–sometimes with a book or dvd that is hard to do because you don’t know if you’re doing it right.
-to recognize what you want to get out of it. I think this helps to define your yoga and thus help you decide what type of yoga you want to do–there is so much out there.
-keep it simple–find out what some of the basic principles are to a yoga practice and then stick to that–especially if you want to do it on your own.