Part I: Are you a Superhero?

Super heroes have been on my mind a lot lately.  Maybe it’s because being a mom and a business owner makes me think I must need super powers to keep it all together.  Or maybe it’s because I desperately want to help other people feel like a hero in their own lives.  Not sure, but either way, it would be nice to be a super hero, or at least wake up every day feeling a little super-human. Imagine starting out your day with the first thought, “I am going to save the world again today”…and be truly excited about it.

Imagine being able to simply show up, without any significant training, to offer help to people who really need it.  More importantly, how amazing would it be to be able to walk away knowing that your contribution only made you stronger.

Growing up I never fantasized about being a superhero.  She-Ra was big when I was a kid, but I just couldn’t get past Skeletor to really appreciate her.  (however, I just recently found out that she’s He-Man’s twin sister…how cool that they are twins!)

What I did want to be was a police officer.  I want to be the hero in a blue outfit who came in and saved the day for families who were in crisis or suffering. I wanted to go get the bad guys.  That dream only lasted a year or two- but it goes to show that every little boy and girl wants to grow up to save the world.  I wanted my super power to be to eliminate suffering and pain from the world.

Am I the only one, or did any of you have a secret super power wish?

I think there are four things that make super heroes so great (besides the outfits):

1)   They know who they are and what strengths make them unique

2)   They harness their power for good

3)   They have a team or ally that has their back

4)   They recognize their Kryptonite

In Part One of this series, let’s explore the first superhero feat.  Knowing who you are.

Identity is a big topic.  We glean our identity from our parents, our circumstances, and the stories we are told that help us make sense of our experiences.  Deepak Chopra says “Every encounter shapes our identity”.  What makes the difference is how we respond to our daily encounters.

You might ask, what does “knowing who I am” have to do with being healthy or getting fit? 

Great question!  Because until you can really know what you want, you have to know what you believe and why things are important to you!  Start with Why is a great book, captured in the TEDx talk of the same name.  Simon Sinek uses this talk and book to teach others about how great leaders inspire action.  It’s not because they have a great plan, or a great way of doing things- it is because they have a dream that they contagiously share with others in a meaningful way.

When was the last time you thought about the big WHY around what is motivating you to take action in your life?  Is it really losing weight or fitting into your jeans, or could it be that you want more spark in your life so you can pursue your  life passions with zest?

In the movie “The Incredibles”, there is a scene where Helen (AKA Elastigirl) is parenting her son Dash, who has a super-fast super power, to keep his talents under the radar.  The need to fit in is actually keeping this “super-power” family from being able to express their true identities.  What I love, is that Elastigirl is doing everything she should do to keep her family safe, but ultimately, she has to own up to her unique powers and use them.

What unique powers are you silently letting slip under the radar because of the should’s in your life?

I challenge you to this Super Hero Mission:  When you feel yourself shrinking or dimming your light, stop, close your eyes and breathe in a deep long breath.  As you exhale- think the word “open” and let your body do whatever it needs to follow its next impulse.  Instead of closing up or shutting down, use this long deep breath to appreciate something and start opening your mind to possibility.

Sometimes we get so caught up in reacting to everything around us, that we forget to stop and trust our body and mind to what we need to express- the truth of our greatness.

Taming Summer Health Saboteurs

While most of us thrive in the longer days and warmer weather, for some, it just means more kids at home, more packing for vacations or travel, and less time for health and fitness. However, health comes in many shapes and sizes, and may include some things that can normally be overlooked.  Here are some suggestions and tips to overcome the summertime blues:

1) Workout in the morning:  It is cooler.  It is much more likiely you will finish the whole thing before your day starts to explode.  You will have more energy.  For something different, consider doing an interval where you run around a park and in between rounds you complete 10 push-ups, 10 squat jumps, 10

2) Avoid excess alcohol:  With summer come the margaritas and patio conversations over a glass of wine.  Alcohol can disrupt sleep and metabolism.  Choose decaf coffee, or sparkling water with lemon to stay hydrated while you remain in the social scene.  You'll need more water in the summer to keep up with the hotter temps too, so fill your water bottle in the morning and keep it with you at all times.

3) Schedule your activities around your friends or kids:  Choose to meet your friend or spend quality time with kids while hiking, biking, swimming, or going on an adventurous picnic (get take out food from your local deli for easier planning).  Stay intentional about moving a much as you can throughout the day.  It is shocking how much simply moving a little more throughout your activities of daily living can add up for calorie burn!

4) Put your workouts on your calendar even when you go on vacation.  Leaving your workouts up to fate is not a good idea.  Have a plan for every day to make a little time for you, or get the family in on the action with you.  It is also a good idea to put your meals, or perhaps some food choices on a planner too.  If you know you are going to go to a restaurant where you will go off your normal eating style, then plan around that with increased fiber, veggies, probiotics, or even increased digestive enzymes to help you metabolize the meal.

One of my favorite new quotes that I just came across sums it all up pretty well:

"A life of reaction is a life of slavery, intellectually and spiritually.  One must fight for a life of action, not reaction." -Rita Mae Brown

Set your intentions and then commit to action.

Breakfast Breakthrough to Big Health Benefits

As I write this, I am thinking about how hard it is to stay healthy when life is always changing.  Between keeping up with twin toddlers, running a full business, mentoring other women and girls, and simply trying to keep my house running, it is becoming more and more clear to me how important it is to live by a schedule and a set of standards that help be keep my health in focus. Our family loves breakfast.  We go big for the first meal of the day.  In fact, my kids can eat nearly as much as a full grown adult between the two of them.  It’s awesome.

According to the Huffington Post, 31 million Americans don’t eat breakfast.  That’s roughly 10 percent, which actually seems like a pretty low estimate compared to the majority of people when they first come to Restoration Fitness.  Eating breakfast is a gold standard recommendation for all of our clients because of the multiple benefits it has beyond simply starting your day off on the right foot.

What you put in your mouth at the beginning of the day can make or break your energy, focus, hormones, and cravings for the entire day.  There’s a few simple ways to make sure you are getting the best type and timing of food for this pillar meal.

• Your first meal of the day is literally breaking a mini-fast from the hours you didn’t eat while sleeping.  This first meal is the best time (other than after your workout) to make the most of carbohydrate consumption.  Consuming a large portion of your calories and carbohydrates, even if they are mostly in the form of vegetables or fruit, is ideal during this time because your metabolism and glucose tolerance are at their highest during at this first meal.
• Eating a full breakfast will help you stay satisfied throughout the day.  The more full you feel and the more stable you can make your blood sugar as you start the day the less you will be reaching for caffeine and sugary foods to boost your energy.
• Consuming the majority of your calories at the beginning of the day allows you to spend the remaining part of the day burning off your biggest meal during your waking and active hours.  Getting your biggest meal out of the way also means less dishes for later!
• Eating breakfast optimizes hormone balance by keeping your insulin levels lower at the next meal of the day. Recent studies have actually showed that eating 35 grams of protein or more can alter hunger hormones by reducing Ghrelin (a hunger stimulating hormone) and elevating PYY (a satiety-stimulating hormone) so that cravings and increased munching is reduced through the evening meal.
• Ideally breakfast should be eaten within 90 minutes of waking.  Great options include eggs, fruit, legumes, veggies like spinach, pumpkin, artichoke, or yams, and oats.  If you have a hard time fitting in a full breakfast, a great choice is a yummy protein smoothie.

Healing Hormone Issues with Exercise

"Hormones are chemical substances that act like messenger molecules in the body. After being made in one part of the body, they travel to other parts of the body where they help control how cells and organs do their work. For example, insulin is a hormone that's made by the beta cells in the pancreas. When it's released into the blood, insulin helps regulate how the cells of the body use glucose (a type of sugar) for energy." - KidsHealth.org We tend to think of hormonal issues as an adult problem, but as many parents of tweens and teens will tell you...they start their influence at a fairly young age.  Hormonal control and regulation talk has become common place in our society as we search to maintain our energy, mood, libido, and vibrancy into later stages of life.  What is fascinating is that there is a growing trend, even amidst our current scientific "progress", for people to begin seeking hormonal help at a younger age.  Blame it on stress, fast paced lifestyle, phthalates in our plastics and shampoos, the added soy in our food supply, and putting off child bearing into later years, and there's a perfect cocktail for our need to help our hormones.   Tim Ferris in The Four Hour Body states that "The sperm counts of men in the US and 20 other industrialized countries have been falling since 1942 at a rate of roughly 1% per year in healthy males."  Walk into any infertility clinic in the US and you will shocked by the volume of people who need hormonal assistance to have children naturally.   There are so many reasons why they can be thrown off, it can be infuriating to chase down the cause.

While hormone replacement therapy may be the ultimate solution for some, the more subtle solution is to get back to what nature intended to help us feel great.  More sleep, whole foods in moderation, and stress-reducing exercise.  In a comparison of exercisers and non-exercisers, showed that exercisers' moods were significantly more positive than sedentary women's moods, regardless of menopausal state. Exercising women also scored lower on somatic symptoms and memory-concentration difficulties. (Health Psychology, Vol 16(3), May 1997, 203-208).  Physical activity also seems to minimize weight gain and changes in body composition and fat distribution experienced at midlife and might attenuate the rapid bone density loss that occurs when perimenopausal women engage in moderate physical activity an average of 30 minutes a day.

In general, our hormones decline as we age.  They can become more off balance when we don't take care of our health.  There is still research needed to define what specific types of exercise is best for treating hormonal fluctuation, but we know that Testosterone can be boosted with strength training and that over-exercising can actually reduce Estrogen levels.  We suggest strength training 2 days a week, doing yoga or Tai Chi 2 days a week, 1 day of high intensity intervals and 1 day of hiking or biking at a moderate level to maintain a healthy balance of effort and consistency for your hormonal health.  Of course, your effort level will depend on what you are currently used to doing for training, so see your physician and fitness coach for more info!

Excuses are like belly buttons

Normally I am a pretty easy going person.  I have my ideals and standards, but at the end of the day compassion typically trumps my need for things to get done the way I prefer.  It's funny, because I often wonder if I simply just make excuses for myself and others that I disguise as compassion.  Now that I think about it, lots of things have become a little more grey the older I get.  Not much seems too black and white.  For example- it used to be easy for me to say, "if you want to change, start moving".  Now I realize, the in order for some people to change, they literally need someone or something to get them moving out of depression in order to initiate change.  Of course, a depressed person still has to be willing to engage in the process of change once they get started, and that is where the excuses and continue to factor in.

Excuses are like belly buttons: everyone has one and they ain't worth nothin'. - Author Unknown

I have made excuses for more than I would like to admit in my life.  Many of my regrets are for the excuses I made- even subconsciouly, rather than dealing with the situation or taking action in the moment.  It would seem that none of us is exempt from excusing ourselves from time to time.  Usually for good reasons.

The best definition I could find for an Excuse: An explanation offered to justify or obtain forgiveness.

So as far as I can tell, the difference between a legitimate explanation or reason vs. an excuse is that an explanation is an account of what happened without any attempt to avoid responsibility for ones actions. The person giving the explanation would preface and/or follow it up with something like, "what can I do to make it right?"

An excuse is an account of what happened given in an attempt to avoid responsibility for ones actions. An excuse usually includes a sentiment along the lines of, "It not my fault."

So what is your excuse for your actions vs. your reasons?   Do you feel you are constantly apologizing or feeling bad even though deep down you don't think it is your fault or your responsibility?

When it comes to making decisions for your health,  you are in complete control.  You may not think you are because of work, family obligations, social commitments, church, upkeep on the house, etc., etc., but ultimately you are in control.  To avoid what you need and blame it on something else is simply as excuse.  To take responsibility for the fact that you don't exercise or eat better means that you acknowledge that you could make better choices and then ask "what can I do to make it right?".  Even better,  you might let yourself get a little vulnerable and ask, "what can I do to ask for help?"

Let's all strive to avoid making excuses and instead, own up to what we can choose to do to focus our time and efforts on healthy breakthroughs!

The trouble with always leaving yourself a way out is that you always take it. ~Robert Brault

5 strategies to transition your mindless eating into a healthy habit

Food can certainly be a passion, goodness knows we Americans can easily mindlessly eat just about anything, anytime.  Dr. Brian Wansink has done extensive research on mindless eating, and he offers 5 strategies to transition your mindless eating into a healthy habit.

1. Focus on One Goal: Trying to do too much at once leads to failure.  Focus on one thing at a time like eating more vegetables, snacking less, or reducing your food intake after 8pm.
2. Select Three Changes:  All goals need baby steps and action plans to reach them.  For instance, if you want to eat more vegetables, the strategies you will use to accomplish will be to purchase at least 4 different types of vegetables at the store, eat vegetables first at every meal, and eat at least one vegetable as a snack.
3. Form a Simple Plan: Get ready by having a list of the things you will need, or a checklist to mark off what you have accomplished each day.  Schedule in your changes whenever possible.
4. Execute the Plan:  Get support and accountability by making your goal public to those you trust.  Track your progress and celebrate your milestones!
5. Maintain the Plan: Brian says, "plans that don't change eventually don't fit."  Even if your plan works brilliantly for months, life happens, and sometimes you have to make adjustments.  Be ready for them and be flexible enough to learn and adjust as your body needs it.

From http://mindlesseating.org/what_can_i_do.php.  The Mindless Eating site is full of awesome ideas to help you reduce your mindless eating and help replace it with health mindless eating.  It's nice to think you can go on autopilot and still healthy!

Committing to Decisions You Will Complete with Confidence

We are inundated with a million choices, and have so many tools at our fingertips these days it's almost too much.  It's rare to just pick up the phone as ask a question, we would rather look it up on the internet. When I have a question about my business or my twins, I often times go to online forums. Last week we talked about making a strategic health plan to give you the steps to move forward to reach your goals.  But what if you are having a hard time just deciding what to do first?  Do you start with diet, fitness, mindset??  It's all important.  Rather than getting caught up in the details, it is often best to sit quietly and ask yourself what your body needs now.  No should's, no guilt, simply "what does my body need now to help me feel more calm, confident, and in control?"

Once you have let yourself listen, it's time to get some information and then start the decision making process.  A wise person once told me to seek out 2-3 people in my life that I can reach out to at a moments notice to get advice from when making a decision.  They aren't making the decisions for us, they are simply there to remind us of the why behind the decision, help give us experience gleaned from their own lives, and to help us weigh out the options in black and white.  A third party beyond our heart and mind can often times make a world of difference!  That's where a caring trainer or health coach can really help.

Once you have reached out to a reliable and trustworthy sage, and you have narrowed down your options to exactly what you want to do, there is a simple three step process:

1) Put your decision in writing in clear and descriptive terms.  For instance, if you say I am going to go to the gym on Tuesday and Thursday morning, narrow it down even more to what time, what you do to prepare yourself to get there, and what you will do once you get there!

2) Put a date on it.   It is super easy to say, I am going to clean out the car....and then it keeps getting put off (and please do not look at mine!).  When you put a date to something it creates a deadline, and the sense of urgency becomes much more palpable.

3) Go public.  This is where the conversation and conversion begins.  When we talk about what we are going to do we have to both get excited about it, defend it, or wiggle our way through it until we become more comfortable with our intentions.  In the talking we convert our thoughts  into words which then move us into action.  Talk with as many people as you can, post it on facebook, or join a like-minded community.

We love to support people in their decision making process.  Not only do we do this on a daily basis in our coaching, but we also offer quarterly Nutrition and Lifestyle Programs to give you the nudge to the three steps above with a community of people who are doing it with you!  Challenging yourself is tough, but it is much better when you have some buddies who can support you through it!  Check out our upcoming 21 Day Wellness Reboot and Detox for more information on getting involved with a tribe of life-changers!  We start May 4th, 2013!

Strategic Planning for Health Success

It's nice to be successful at the things we put time into, right?  We create plans for travel, plans for our education, plans for our career or our businesses, but we often think our health is a byproduct of doing a few things here and there when we finally get around to it. Not so.

Leaving your health to chance is disaster.  The best way to have success at living a healthy life is by planning for it!  We love to set SMART (specific, measurable, applicable, realistic, and timely) goals here at Restoration Fitness, but if you don't have a plan for how you can make step by step progress toward achieving that goal, the likelihood of you getting there is pretty slim.

So here are some steps to help you start the process of planning you health!

1) Get a clear vision of what health means to you.  Why is being healthy important to you?  What is the purpose of doing things that support your health?  What do you hope to be able to do by focusing on your health?  What will your daily life look and feel like when you have your health in check?

2) Find an inspiring quote or phrase.  This is sort of like choosing a mission statement.  Something that wakes you up and reminds you of why you have committed to your goal and vision.  Mine has always been "I am the Bomb".  It's just a little mantra, but it has helped me countless times when I was in the dumps and didn't want to do what I said I would do.

3) Pick a date.  When you set a goal, we obviously expect it to be timely.   But even more importantly, we want you to know how you are going to celebrate your acheivement one you have reached your goal.  Get specific and then put reminders all over the place of that date.

4) Work your way back.  Once you have a date, you can start walking backwards to set smaller steps for the tangible things that need to be done to get you there.  For instance, say you want to eat 5 vegetables a day in the next month.  Well, every week you just need to add about 1 extra serving a day.  What are the strategies that you will need to implement:  getting to the grocery store, keeping fruits and veggies on hand at all times, ways to improve their pizzazz so you won't get bored of them, people who can support you, etc.

5) For bigger goals, especially as it concerns the bigger vision of your health picture, start with 1-year goals and then break it down into 3 month and 1 month goals.  REview your strategies and objectives on a weekly basis and then commit to what that means for how you need to structure your day to day life.

This stuff really works! It is exactly how running coaches plan their training programs for the year.  They look at each race and work their way back in intensity and mileage.  Here's a sample 5k Run/Walk Guide to help you get your steps in motion for your next race this summer!!  Enjoy!!

Using your strengths to lighten up

Getting lighter to find strength    

There are those of you who hear "getting lighter" and automatically assume that means getting thinner.  What I am addressing may mean losing a few pounds, but what usually really needs to be examined is where a person needs to shed the should's, the ought to's, the excuses, the guilt, the self-condemnation, the comparisons, the perfectionism, and the not good enough's.  How can a person find their strength when all they can think about is how they aren't measuring up?

It's amazing how much energy we can spend lugging around extra baggage about what we should look like, what we should be eating, or the disappointment we can have about our lack of self-discipline.   What is interesting to me is how much we hang on to the negative because we think it will push us to do more, eat better, or act more disciplined. In the end, research shows that we are much more likely to follow through and act when we are motivated through our strengths, rather than focusing on our fears.

I used the picture of Carl from the Pixar movie "Up" to remind us that sometimes we can feel like we are just hanging on when circumstances spin us out of control.  The awesome thing about Carl, is that he takes charge by doing the thing he said he would always do- no matter how he had to do it.  Along the way he makes friends, he grieves his lost wife, and he finds himself again.  His story is a lot like all of ours.  We all have a choice to take control over what we eat, how we move, and how we think about ourselves.

It isn't always easy to take the risk to believe that by dropping your "baggage" (those things that hold you back or weigh you down) you can lighten up enough to laugh at yourself, ask for help, or finally start fighting for what you want most in life.  We get stronger not by avoiding struggles- our struggles develop our strengths.   We get lighter by realizing we are not alone, we have immense purpose and meaning, and that we have the power to change ourselves.

What will you do to lighten up and start your journey toward growing stronger?

7 Steps to Fit without the Fuss

It might be easy to assume that fit people are just born that way.  I mean, some people are just born smarter than others, right?  While we may all have a genetic predisposition to like certain things, that doesn't give us license to stop learning or being active. My cousin is a bookworm.  She would rather spend her days sitting on the couch with a cup of tea and a great book than do just about anything else.  And as much as I love reading, if I were given the choice to do anything, I will almost always choose a run or a hike outside.

Of course we do what we enjoy and what makes us happy.  So for those who have a hard time getting up and out the door (and perhaps getting their nose out of a book), here are some tips from the research for what makes fit people stay fit.  There's some facts here that may surprise you!

1. Make exercise a non-negotiable part of your routine. Working out in the morning has been shown to improve exercise consistency, even though multiple studies show that working out between 4 and 5 in the afternoon is physiologically the best time break a sweat (it is when our body temp is highest).
2. Workout with a friend, hire a trainer, or join a class.  Statistics have shown that individuals that work out with a partner have a higher probability of reaching their personal fitness goals.  Consistency, motivation, and long-term commitment increases when you work out with a buddy!
3. Pair your workout with an audio book, a podcast, or a youtube video.  I haven't found any research on this one, but I have many clients and have even found for myself that I am much more motivated to go out when I know I have something engaging to listen to!
4. Have a plan.  Even for when you go on vacation or get sick. Just because your daily routing is different, that doesn't mean you have to give up your exercise.  The general rule of thumb for illness is that if your symptoms are from the neck up, then it's OK to try a moderate workout.  However, if your symptoms are from the neck down, take a day or two off.  This isn't foolproof, however, and research done int he '90's points to the fact that those who regularly get moderate exercise will have half the days of illness as their sedentary counterparts.  Stick to your program by doing something that is much lower in intensity from your normal routine unless you clearly feel worse after 10 minutes of movement.
5. Move for the sake of moving.  In 1986 Eric Ravussin studied 177 subjects who were confined to a 10x 12 foot respiratory chamber where everything was controlled except for how much the subjects were allowed to move around.  Those who were more spontaneously active burned as much as 2300 calories in a 24 hour period!
6. Find a great motivator.  Most people think they are working out to stay trim and lean, but there are a million other benefits for activity.  Improved cardiovascular function, improved sleep, decreased stress, improved patience.  Did you know that a new study from the Journal of Labor Research shows that fit people make 9% more money than those who don't exercise?
7. Work out on an empty stomach.  Belgian researchers have recently discovered that the study group who exercised before eating, despite eating a horrible, weight gain-inducing diet, did not gain weight. Not only that, but the group's insulin sensitivity remained high and the bad diet did not make the group insulin resistant.   Just another reason to get that workout in in the morning!

I like the idea of fidgeting and simply choosing a little different time of day to exercise on an empty stomach having such a large positive effect!

Top 5 Tips for Wise & Warm Winter Workouts

After spending everyday out in any kind of weather including rain, wind, snow, or sleet, I can tell you from experience that wearing the right gear is crucial for success.  Running has always been, and continues to be my drug of choice to give me energy, calm me down, bring me peace, or lift my confidence.  It beckons me from a deep place, even if on the surface I may not feel like getting out the door.  I like to think it's sort of like cleaning the house.  Nobody really wants to do it when they are thinking about it, but once they get started it feels so good to have a clean environment, they can't believe they waited so long to just get it done.  When it's cold outside, it can be even harder to get motivated to get out the door.  Well, from one hooked outdoor enthusiast to another, here's my top 5 list for wisely staying warm for your outdoor workouts: 1) Always dress in layers.  My favorite is a pair of light leggings and a long-sleeved wicking underlayer top, a vest, and light wind pants and a water resistant jacket.  The layers help to trap in heat while the clothes that contact your skin help to keep the sweat moving through the material rather than sitting and collecting in the fabric.

2) Keep a hat and gloves handy.  Even if you don't end up needing these, they are light enough to stow away in a pocket.  I like to start out in those cheap cotton gloves and a cap that covers my ears.  I typically go for cotton, but there are some great synthetic brands that have more grip to keep the hat down around your ears that are great too.  In the end, as long as it covers your ears, no matter how tight it is, you will likely be fine.  For colder days, choose a heavier thickness hat with tighter grip and mittens.

3) Use a mask.  Not like one from the hospital, but I guess that would do.  I have used anything from a tied up scarf, a neck warmer sleeve, to an actual ski mask.  I've always liked the cotton neck warmer the best because you can always just give it a little spin and you have a new dry spot to breathe into!

4) Drink water.  On colder days it sometimes doesn't seem like drinking water is as necessary as the hot days, but it is just as important, if not more important, to keep your body hydrated to maintain a stable body temperature.  I like drinking luke warm water when I can find it.

5) Don't stop.  Even if you are just waiting for the light to change, keep moving.  You want to keep the blood pumping to your extremities and keep the muscles active so you don't stiffen up.  If you have to stop, use the time to stretch your calves, quads or hamstrings to keep your body in some motion.

In the big picture, there have only been a few times over the course of thousands of outings that I have ever regretted getting out in the cold to workout.  In fact, most of the time I feel so much better that I did.  Just like cleaning up my house!

What the diff between Semi-Private's and Classes?

When a person says, "fitness class" it's easy to picture a Jane Fonda type scene with spandex, steps, and tiny weights.  We thought it might be good to clarify what we think our classes have to offer you, and how they differ from our semi-private and private sessions.  Of course, you're welcome to wear whatever you like to any of our offerings, just as long as you know where you fit in! Classes: Right now we call these "Fitness Fire" classes.  They are a high-intensity, circuit-style, total-body workout that combines cardio with weights.  It's what many people in the fitness world call Metabolic Conditioning.  Every now and then we shake it up and go for time or highest amount of reps on a series of exercises which is more about Metabolic Density Conditioning, but overall, it is meant to crank up your metabolism by working the muscular and cardiovascular system together.  This type of workout is likely not going to get you to load your body for building maximum strength, but it will help with building some muscle endurance, and potentially some speed. The thing that makes our classes different, is that our average class size is only 6 people.  That means we can treat each class more like a group personal training session by adjusting exercises to fit each persons unique needs.  Have an injury or a funky shoulder...we can accommodate that!

Semi-private Sessions: These are what we call fitness coaching sessions.  The best part about these is that we get to directly address your goals and your body's unique movement patterns to help you maximize your strength and function.  We incorporate a specific program design to include dynamic warm-up and stretching to correct your tight areas and activate your weak spots.  We also use a variety of methods to strengthen your body in all planes of movement.  The best part about these workouts is that these are what build muscle and improve your overall physique the most!  We love semi-privates because 2-3 people can work out together for greater inspiration and accountability while saving a ton of money compared to personal training.  We like to call it  "buddy strength training".

Private sessions: These include all of what the semi-privates offer, only its you and trainer only.  That means you get the full attention and conversation to maximize your coaching to troubleshoot, motivate and keep you accountable during your sessions.  The only downside, is they are nearly double the price of a semi-private session.  So  if money is not a barrier for you, and you like your trainer all to yourself, then by all means...personal training is a great choice.

We also offer nutrition services and wellness coaching to help you with your nutrition and lifestyle needs.  But that's the lo down on the current activity at the gym!

Own It To Get Fit: How to take responsibility for your health

Yesterday at the gym, I overheard a woman telling her trainer about how she didn't stick to her food goal because her husband had left something out on the counter.  Before the complete sentence was even out of this clients mouth, the trainer curtly said, "That's crap.  You decided to eat it and that's that, so I don't want to hear about how it is someone else's fault."  Oooo SNAP!  Talk about cutting to the chase. Something in me hurt for the client who had received no grace, and another part of me was like, right on trainer...you tell her! There's no doubt we all have a million excuses...

"I didn't have time today";

"I don't know what to do"';

"I have no money to get the right help";

"My family eats too much tempting food and keeps it around the house";

"I don't like to sweat"

I have heard them all.  And they all have a legitimate reason behind them.  But if you look at what is really important to you.  The Big Why behind what is driving you to get healthier or lose weight, all the excuses typically pale in comparison.  Self-discipline is a learned trait and one that I feel we have to keep mastering over the course of our lives.  Most things don't come naturally or easily until we practice them.  And that takes self-discipline.  When I was a kid I loved to play the piano, but I hated piano lessons.  Maybe it was the fact that I hadn't practiced enough or maybe it was just that I didn't like it because it made be accountable to how much self-discipline I had committed to since the last lesson.  Now that I am a grown up, I wish I would have stuck with the lessons longer despite my annoyance with them.  Most likely you have something you wish you would have stuck with longer too.  Studying more, finishing a project, getting in exercise more regularly, staying away from wine a little more.  It all boils down to owning up to what you say you want and what you are willing to take action about to really make the necessary changes.

There are so many things that can help you get more disciplined beyond simply mustering up more will-power.  Here are a few ideas:"

1) Get very clear about your Big Why.  When you have a specific reason for why you are doing something, rather than "it would be nice if" then you will find that you naturally want to complete the tasks to get there more.  That's why people have more success losing weight or exercising consistently when they have a class reunion or a wedding coming up.

2) Make a specific plan.  when you are wishy washy to begin with because you don't set parameters on what it is you are really committing to, then it is even harder to follow through.  Your intentions should be specific, measurable, applicable to your end goal, realistic for the time and resources you currently contain, and timely so they can actually be accomplished within a reasonable time-frame.

3) Enlist help.  Talk to a friend, hire a coach or trainer, start writing a blog or posting regularly to an app like My Fitness Pal.  In fact, you can get all sorts of ideas for how to get help from apps to keep your goals (one of my other favorites is "Lift") in the most recent news article that features me (Nicole) and the 9 Top Health and Fitness Apps to Help You Stick To Your New Years Goals.

4) Give yourself a bit of wiggle room.  I am not saying to give in to not doing what you said you would do, simply that we can't always be perfect all the time.  With that said, you may do best to aim for 90%.  That's what we teach our clients here with there nutrition and exercise goals and it is so much better than feeling like just because you missed a day that you are a now a failure.

5) Do it anyway.  If there is nothing else to fall back on, do it simply because you said you would, and the time it takes to just get it in is much less than the time you will spend beating yourself up because you didn't do it.  Taking responsibility in anything means you fess up to the fact that it is up to you to make things right.  At the end of the day, even when you have a great community to fall back on, you are the one who has to take action.

Don't let destructive thinking or a day or even a week of missing your target derail your entire process.  Simply re-evaluate, and get back on the horse!  You can do this!!

How to Revive your Health with Inner Wisdom

No matter where you are on this roller coaster ride we call life, we all have times when we need a revival.  Whether it is a revival of hope, motivation, dreams, relationships, action, or anything else, one thing is certain, life can chew us up and spit us out so quickly that we hardly have time to react. It isn’t always a violent process, in fact most of the time we slowly let complacency creep in without realizing our actions have slipped away from our control. In the end, no matter how we get blindsided by disappointment, defeat, loss, or a change of direction, we always have a choice to make.  Will we get back up and try again, will we find a new way, or will we wallow in our self-pity or negativity until is steals our heart away? I recently had a client contact me who has finally found a resource who has helped her overcome her hormonal imbalances.  She is finally losing weight and feeling more like herself, but it took 2 year and a lot of searching and persistence to find the right fit for her needs.  I tell you this story to encourage you that no matter what you are going through, there is a solution out there for you.  There are thousands of different diets and different types of exercise programs out there, and the solution ultimately lies within you to find what makes you feel best.

As I watch my boys grow, it amazes how their little bodies just know what they need.  They cry when they are hungry, they figure out how to roll over, to crawl and to stand up while hanging on for dear life to the edge of the couch.  I didn’t teach them this.  They just know.  My challenge for you is to take some time this year to sit back and listen to your body.  Just because we are over a year old, it doesn’t mean our body has stopped communicating with us.  We have simply allowed too many distractions to get in the way.  Intuitively, many of us know what our body really needs, we are just choosing to ignore it.

Most likely it won’t be any flash of lightning or shocking feedback.  More rest, more vegetables, more water, more movement could all be the answers your body needs, but only your body can tell you.  You can try every diet and exercise program in the world, but until you really start to appreciate your body for the miracle it is and respect its voice, you won’t sustain results for long!

Looking to revive your health?  We are offering a 21 day fitness and nutrition challenge that will now be starting this Monday the 14^th!  Most of what this challenge will provide is the accountability to follow through with what your body is telling you to do to already!

Why 2013 is going to be your healthiest year yet

If you didn't know it yet, this year is going to be your fittest ever.  Don't believe me?  Well, suit yourself.  No, seriously, we all survived the end of the world, so what have we got to lose?! Honestly, there's no reason you can't make this your year to focus on getting fit and staying that way. Living a healthy lifestyle, after all, is all about setting an intention and preparing the details of your life with the expectation that you will fulfill your intention. There are more fitness trends and weight loss help sites and tools than ever before- which can make you crazy, but in the end can actually  help you stick to your guns when it comes to completing an exercise program and eating more healthful. My top 5 fitness apps and sites right now are: Myfitnesspal

LoseIt

Nike+ Run

Couch to 5k

Gymboss Interval Timer

For a more exhaustive list of growing trends in the fitness tech industry, check out  this article.

According to the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Americans spent an estimated $30 billion a year in 1992 on all types of diet programs and products, including diet foods and drinks.

Marketdata, a market research firm that has tracked diet products and programs since 1989 releases its findings in its biennial study: "The U.S. Weight Loss & Diet Control Market." which in its 2007 study estimates the size of the U.S. weight loss market at$55 billion. It is now estimated to have reached over $60 Billion. (statistics recovered from the worldometer site for weight loss)  Unfortunately, we are also inundated with tasty food, high stress lifestyles, and mixed media messages that keep us from really developing a healthy way of living longterm.  It's not shocking to anyone that it is getting harder and harder to weed through the information on health while having the energy and motivation to stick with a fitness and nutrition regimen that is actually getting positive results.

Let me weed through the mountains of information and latest fads and give you the low down on what studies show really works if you are going to start a plan that gets results...and stick to it:

1) Eat breakfast.  Pack in the protein for a great way to start the day with leveling your blood sugar.  We suggest no less than 20 grams of protein at this meal.

2) Get accountability.  Whatever you choose, do it often and don't let up.  Get a trainer, join an online forum, hook up with weight watchers, call a friend.

3) Track it.  Not only does having a plan help, but tracking your plan is even better.  Keep a log of your food and workouts so you can track what works and what doesn't.  You'll also be less like,y to have that second or third cookie if you have to write it down!

4) Move.  Sounds obvious, but the little things add up.  Fidget, take the stairs, carry your groceries to the far parking space, and of course get regular workouts.  People who keep weight off walk an average of 11,500 steps a day.  Consider getting a pedometer and see what you can do!  Without exercise, you may lose some weight, but you likely won't keep it off.

5) Monitor your portions and your plate.  Although calorie counting has lost some of its bang, you still need to eat in moderation and get in quality foods that fuel your body for energy, muscle building, and repair.  Choose a ton of veggies, lean proteins, nuts, seeds, and fruits.

Some of these tips come from the National Weight Control Registry, which tracks about 6,000 people who have, on average, lost 70 pounds and kept it off for seven years, but mostly it is stuff that we tell our clients all the time...and the stuff that we have seen work too.

Restoration Fitness has a vision to help empower others by giving them a strong body and soul.  We are starting our 2013 Fitness Revival challenge Mondy, January 7th.  Its a 21 day challenge where you will compete with yourself to see how much you improve on 4 fitness measures, completing daily workouts, and tracking your nutrition.  All the stuff that will help you succeed!  Join us, and you could win a free massage or facial too!!

Sugar plum fairies-Can You Avoid the Sugar?

Unless you are a ballerina, this post is likely for you.  The sugar plum fairy  is one of the most coveted roles in the Nutcracker, so I can see how a ballerina would die to be a sugarplum.  But for the rest of us, the sugar is just plain tempting.  This past week I asked people what they were most looking forward to this holiday, and 505 of people polled said holiday cookies.  No kidding.  The holidays are already stressful enough, but when you add a sugar overload to the mix, things can get out of control quick. To keep your sweet tooth at bay and yet still give yourself the chance to enjoy some treats, here's a few tips:

1) Understand that sugar is a drug.  In fact all food is a drug, but in the case of sugar, your body responds similarly to when it absorbs crack.  You get an enormous high and a huge let down.  And the darn stuff is addicting- that's why it is so hard to only have one!

2)  Speaking of only having one.  Take your time and choose the 1-2 treats you really want and savor them.  Put them on a special plate, sit down and pay attention to what you are eating.  Chew slowly and take a couple sips of water in between bites.

3) Have a back-up plan.  Bring your own munchies to snack on like gum or popcorn to make sure you have a little go-to distraction should you really be tempted.

4)  Enlist a buddy. At the start of the day, tell a friend your plan and make sure they have a "code word" to make sure you know they are on the lookout and trying to help you step away from the cookies.

5) Keep a picture of yourself in you mind of the strongest version of you.  The idea is to help embody the you you want to be rather than the temptation to eat something you ultimately don't want or need.

Seem too hard.  Well, I'll be the first to admit that when it comes to the holidays, a few extra workouts make up the difference for those extra cookies in the end.  However, when I go into the day with a game plan, I always eat less than I would without one.  Give it a try!

Holiday Games for Family Fitness

When I was growing up, my favorite thing about Christmas was the Santa presents.  Somehow, Santa always had a special stash of gift in red tissue paper that had our very own name signed on the package in silver magic glitter.  I loved the magic of it all, opening the presents with my family in our jammies listening to Christmas music.  We had a few other things we did over the years, one of which was to deliver holiday cinnamon rolls to our neighbors, piping hot from the oven.  Now that I am a new mother, my mind is beginning to dream of the traditions that we will create for our little boys.  Because I am an active person at heart, and love the idea of creating a family experience of movement and fun, it makes sense to offer you some ideas to get you own family up and moving this holiday season.  After all, the holidays don't have to be all about external gifts, they can be about the gift of life and health too!

1) Create a scavenger hunt for each day of Advent or the Hanukkah calendar.   Hide a little gift or a clue to the meaning of the season that can be read aloud.  You could even create different hiding spots for each person of the family.  Whoever finds that name will have to stop everyone from their searching and exclaim in a loud voice what they love most about that person.

2) Snowball fights.  With the warmer temps this year, we may not get the real fluffy white snow, but you can make your own snowball fight by piling up the couch pillows on two sides of a room and making your own snowballs with plastic Ziploc bags filled with marshmallows.  Or make your own indoor mini-snowmen out of lots of cotton balls.

3) Create a Neighborhood gift walk:  'Tis the season for giving, and what better way to get to know your neighbors than to spread the cheer with a special little treat.  Have your kids get involved with making a fruit basket, or a smoothie kit with protein powder, cocoa, almond butter and bananas and have then help you walk the neighborhood to deliver the gifts.  Or perhaps you could do a door to door campaign to collect can food items and then deliver them to your local food bank as a way of giving back to the community.

4) Play Charades.  This is an all time classic fun game that is sure to get lots of laughs and get people up moving around as then try to get others to guess their challenge.  Here's a great explanation of how to play charades for kids to play too.

5) Stocking relays.  When we think of stockings, we think of those hung on the mantle to be filled with little goodies, but in this relay game, we re-purpose stockings for a way to challenge a fun relay with the family and/or friends.  First, create an open area to run/move.  Then place a 4-8 small items (you'll need 2 of each of these for 2 stockings)  in each stocking for the two different teams to use during the relay.  Line up the participants into two teams behind the stockings.  Have each team start at the same time and select one of the items out of the stocking.  Each time a participant is up, they may not have the same item as the person next to them, but each team will have the same items to get through before they are finished with the relay.  Some great ideas might be balancing a small gift on the head while getting down to a cone and back; balancing a cotton ball on a spoon with the spoon handle in the mouth while going down to cone and back; bouncing or rolling a golf ball on the floor with one hand down to the cone and back; putting on a shirt and shorts while walking down the cone, and taking them off while walking back from the cone; walking blindfolded while your team tells you how to get to the cone and back.  You will have to either instruct your teams on how to use each item before the game starts, or for an even bigger challenge, have instructions on each item and the team has to figure it out with each item.  It's up to you!  This one is a ton of fun!!

No matter what you choose, it is the intention of playing and having a ball letting loose.  The holidays are all about kids, why not act like a kid yourself?!  And if you haven't already done so, take a moment to get your own free Holiday Survival Guide to help you make the most of this holiday by keeping you health a priority.

If you have more ideas or things your family does for fun, we would love to hear them.  Add your ideas to the list by commenting below.

Holiday of Alcohol or an Alcohol Holiday?

Alcohol is a trademark of celebration, especially around the holidays, but what would it mean to take an Alcohol Holiday? Alcohol weight gain is a real thing, and although it feels good to sip our favorite alcoholic beverages with friends and family, let's take a look at what it's costing you, and how you can reduce alcohol side effects. When you drink alcohol around 2 to 8 percent is lost through urine, sweat, or breathing. The other 92 to 98 percent is metabolized by your body. The body uses 3 enzymes to break down alcohol to acetate.  The problem with drinking too much alcohol, among many reasons, is that alcohol metabolism produces excess amounts of NADH (a by-product of metabolism). This excess of NADH can lead to acidosis from lactic acid build-up and hypoglycemia from lack of glucose synthesis. It can also lead to weight gain, fatty liver, and heart attack.  There's even a something called the Holiday Heart Syndrome which is related to effect that heavy short term drinking has on the heart to create an irregular heartbeat.  In fact, according to a recent study in Circulation, “The number of cardiac deaths is higher on Dec. 25 than on any other day of the year, second highest on Dec. 26, and third highest on Jan. 1.”   In this research, Kloner (an LA Cardiologist)  found one-third more coronary artery disease deaths in December and January than in June through September during a 12-year period.

What about all the hype around the benefits of Resveratrol, the compound found in the skins of grapes that is supposed to help our hearts?  Well, while it's true that Resveratrol can help reduce inflammation and be generally beneficial, we tend to hear this and use it as an excuse to over indulge.  In actuality, women over the age of 35 are not very good at detoxifying alcohol from the liver.  And men aren't that great at it either.  Beyond three glasses of wine a week, the Nurses Health Study shows that estrogen becomes elevated in women.

Alcohol also seems to disrupt our ability to get a good nights sleep and to maintain a health weight.  Not only does alcohol pack a ton of empty calories, it messes with our insulin and metabolism...both of which also play into our ability to sleep well.

So how are alcohol and metabolism related?

Well, a number of studies over the last 5 years seem to link alcohol consumption to insulin sensitivity. In one example, a large study from the Graduate School of Medical Science at Kyushu University demonstrated that regular consumption of alcohol was associated with decreased insulin sensitivity.  As it concerns weight loss, insulin resistance definitely predisposes you towards weight gain. This is the first way that alcohol and weight loss seem to be connected.

Secondly, as most of us know,  alcohol tends to make us more hungry.  In 2005 the European Journal of Endocrinology did a study that showed a  connection to alcohol intake and ghrelin inhibition. Ghrelin is our main hormone involved in hunger signaling and satiation.  Clearly, it’s more challenging to lose weight when you overeat...often at nighttime.

Finally,  since alcohol does not need to go into the small intestine to yield any energy, as do fats or carbohydrates, alcohol is instead absorbed through the stomach lining directly into the blood where it sits waiting for the liver to convert it into acetate.  This conversion of alcohol to acetate inhibits lipolysis, or fat burning.

And for sleep? The May 2011 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research highlights a study that shows that "alcohol increases self-reported sleepiness and disrupted sleep quality more in women than men.  In fact, sleep was more disturbed the second part of the night."  Other studies have shown the correlation between reduced REM sleep and increased intake of alcohol.  With less sleep, we have an increase in Ghrelin and are therefore more hungry.

So what are we supposed to do?  Throw our arms up and make a toast, or take an alcohol holiday??

Your Holiday Alcohol Strategy to Stay Fit and Lean: 1.Take alpha lipoic acid when you drink.  ALA mimicks insulin and will help shuttle carbs into glycogen instead of store them as fat by limiting the insulin response.

2. Limit your carb  intake while drinking.  Stick to protein and lean veggies.  More than anything, avoid eating processed carbs and fats together.

3. Eat a hearty meal of lean meat or high fiber veggies abou 30 minutes to an hour before you drink.  The body will be spending energy digesting this meal rather than quickly processing the alcohol, so the body will not have such a jolting impact from the alcohol.

3. Drink plenty of water with your alcohol to avoid dehydration and reduce overall alcohol intake.

4. Plan to stick with no more than three alcoholic beverages per week.  I know, I know...this is tough.

5. Take an Alcohol Holiday. Instead, choose sparkling water or hot tea and sit back and enjoy the season.   Instead, choose sparkling water or hot tea and sit back and enjoy the season.  Without alcohol side effects you will be much more engaged and in control of your mood anyway!

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 medium-sized banana
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (with the cream from a can)
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (we like Sun Warrior Vegan Vanilla)
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup crushed ice

This is a great alternative to eating pie this year.  You can get your yummy pie taste without all the added sugar!

Get it together, really.

It's been one of those days.  You know, where you start off feeling like you are conquering the world, and then one thing leads to another, and all of the sudden you wanna hide under a rock and stay there for a few days because you can't get your sh*t together.

Or so it seems.

You spill your coffee all over your shoes, you forget your phone, you lose your keys, you get a call from the sitter that she needs to leave early, you have an 'emergency' at work, you're out of cash and they don't take credit, you burn dinner...or all of the above.

Suffice it to say, we have all had those days where everything seems off.  The bad news is that some of us see these days as tragic failures on

our part and we require 2-3 days beyond them to recover our self-esteem.  What's worse, is that many of you aren't getting your act together when it comes to your health, your activity, and/or your nutrition.  Unfortunately it is all too easy to let workouts and eating right slip by the wayside when we have a bad day and then use our lack of discipline or planning to be one more reason to beat ourselves us.  I know because I have done it at least a thousand times.  And I finally got sick of it.  I'd say the reason I stay healthy is more to keep my self-esteem up than it is any other reason.  I hate wasting time beating myself up for something that I could avoid if I would just do what IO say I want to do.

What do you want to do for your health that just isn't getting done?

Is it because you "still have to get the rest of your life figured out"?  Well, guess what, life is moving on whether you are or not, so you might as well MOVE with it!

If you know what you need to do and you just aren't getting to it, here's some ideas to get you moving (and stop procrastinating):

1. Declare your plans publicly: send out an e-mail, call 3-4 friends, post it on facebook.  There is power in announcing your plans to the world.  it makes it more official, gives you inspiration- and a great reason to keep going- you can't lose face in front of your friends!
2. Put a date on when you will complete your goal and declare that publicly too: Putting a date on something helps you to know how to work backwards to get it done.
3. Structure your calendar around what you want to get done, even if it means moving a few things around or getting help.
4. Make up your mind that you won't let yourself go another week without getting through as much that needs to be completed as possible.
5. Get an accountability buddy or Coach.  I can't tell you how much having a coach has changed my life.  We offer wellness coaching that can help anyone stay on task and focus in on what needs to be done so you can free yourself from the guilt trips and excuses.

Your greatest motivator is going to be your passion for why this is so important to you in the first place.  For an added push, consider writing your goal over your mirror, save it as a screen saver, write it on your hand every morning...whatever you need to do to keep the task at the top of your mind and inspiring you to live with urgency around getting it done.  In the end, what matters most, isn't always that you got the goal or get the task done, it's that spent your time with focus and intention to do the things that matter most.  And that's getting it together all by itself!