Hello! As some of you might know, I am nearly done with my schooling for nutrition counseling... I just have a couple of more tests to finish. Today I conducted my first nutrition counseling interview with a dear personal training client of mine who has been asking me about nutrition for quite some time now. I will say, it was exhilarating....I truly loved the experience of getting to know this client in this way. As I was inquiring about what she typically eats each day, what parts of her life influence or contribute to her eating pattern, and what she would like to achieve ultimately as her end goal, I learned a thing or two about myself as well. You see women, and by the way, (I was going to make her sex-anonymous until I decided that her being a woman is actually important), are trained to think from a very young age that we all should be the same straight and narrow, long legged Barbie with large breasts that the photo-shopped celebrities are in magazines. I'm not sure who decided this for us, but embracing your unique YOU is not part of this equation, sadly. I have friends who are gorgeous just as they are, and are all different shapes and sizes. It doesn't mean that I'm saying it's okay to be overweight, or not toned. I actually believe quite the opposite, but I too suffer from wishing my toned legs that most if not all people tell me daily that they wish they had, were those skinny Barbie legs. This could only occur MAYBE if I did not work out AT ALL and starved myself... HA. Not anymore, folks. It's crazy. Men do not have this same issue, that's for sure. They have no idea how difficult it is to be required to always look good. Not to say that they don't take pride in appearance, but it's a different standard for sure. You see, my client is a gorgeous woman who fell exactly where she should in her body mass index as well as her waist circumference and yet she asked me if those measurements where for fat girls. ?? I understood. It's hard to accept that you are good the way that you are when you've been trained to starve most of your life to fit those certain jeans that work when you're 25, but now suddenly you're over 40 and those jeans don't fit, SO... you must be fat. I have encountered similar issues, but your body changes shape as you tone up, work out more, and stop starving. It does not mean that you are suddenly fat. I have also discovered that MEN LIKE THIS NEW YOU. Yes, it's true. When you only jiggle in the right places, that's far sexier than being skinny yet flabby. AND YOU ARE STILL SKINNY. You just have MUSCLE now too. I was not allowed to convey these thoughts to my client on our first counseling visit, but I will figure out a way to work them in later, for sure. :) Confession: When I was a NYC dancer, my very dear friend and I would sometimes frequent the NEW Krispy Kream and get ONE doughnut. We would proceed to break it in half and then she would eat a half of her half, I would eat a half of my half and we would THROW THE OTHER QUARTERS OF DOUGHNUT AWAY. We could not even indulge in a doughnut. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying, EAT YOUR DOUGHNUTS, THEY'RE GOOD FOR YOU. Ha. I'm just saying, a little indulgence once in awhile when you are basically an athlete who is physically fit and toned is OK. The STARVATION MODE and food deprivation in general only makes you crave the things that you're not supposed to have more than you already do. It's not about a DIET. It's about a LIFESTYLE CHANGE that begins with you loving yourself, getting on an exercise program that works for you specifically, and figuring out which foods are right for your body. Bone broth, gluten free, dairy free, vegan...whatever it is, it's RIGHT FOR YOU. The best thing I learned today? It's that a nutrition counselor is a great benefit, because they can help you through this process of elimination of foods for YOU. The best way of eating for MOST everyone is moderation and balance of proteins, whole grains, vegetables, and fruits with the occasional indulgence because you HAVE TO LIVE. The European culture by and large is not as fat as the American culture because they eat normally without deprivation, and as balanced as possible. Most of them have wine everyday too. They don't say, "I can only eat a quarter of this doughnut" because they had a beautiful bowl of fruit and yogurt for breakfast SO they might not even need the doughnut in the first place. Oh yeah, and they have far less processed food then we do...it's ok to grow and pick your fruits and veggies. They also walk everywhere, by and large. So, my whole point is THIS: Make sure that you are getting enough protein, whole grains, vegetables and fruit...whether you are vegan or you eat meat or anything in between. BALANCE is key. Then make sure you at least walk the equivalent of 1 mile a day. What did I learn about my client today? I learned that she eats what she thinks she SHOULD. She never really gets pleasure from her food so she ends up eating A LOT of stuff she SHOULDN'T eventually because WE ALL NEED PLEASURABLE FOOD. BEST IDEA FOR EVERYONE?... GO TO THE FARMERS MARKET. I believe if you do, and you taste and pick fruits and veggies that you actually CAN taste, you will actually enjoy your food. It's a novel idea, but you CAN like what you eat AND you can learn to like foods that are healthy for you. Have a good week! Ginger
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Hi all. As a former professional actress I learned a lot about walking and talking... you see, when you watch a tv show where the characters are moving around and speaking, you have no idea how difficult it can be for them to deliver lines and hit their marks. (Marks are the spots they are told to stop at when they reach a certain point in the dialogue). It's a lot to coordinate and think about. It's the same thing whenever you apply more than one action from the body at a time. This week a former dance student of mine hired me to choreograph her set for her jazz/pop music live act. She was doing pretty well on her own moving the way she felt intuitively while singing, but she needed a little extra something to punctuate her feeling and help her to look extra fabulous. In comes Moi. It was important to me to not overdo the movements...they should look as natural as walking and talking on a tv set, right? So, I gathered some motif movement elements to differentiate between the verse and the chorus and waited to fill it all in when I saw her. I wanted to get a feel of HER. Not how I would do it, but how she would do it naturally. She started to sing and as I taught her the choreography, I also watched how her body interpreted it. It was then pliable, like clay so that it could be formed specifically for her. Some stuff I kept as I imagined it, some movement I adjusted so it suited her better. It was also important to me that she not have to overthink her movement. I get it. I'm a performer. All of this brings me to this: talking and moving is an important kinesthetic step for our brains and bodies to fire together simultaneously. It seems like it should be as easy as riding a bike, but it can be challenging. When I run with the LA Leggers group on Saturdays, I am amazed at the people who can talk nonstop while they run. It takes some lung capacity for sure, but it is also a great exercise for the brain to do more than 1 thing at a time. Not just talking and moving, but doing any activity in which one body part moves a different way from another is good exercise for the brain. It's like getting my client with muscular dystrophy to tell his brain to move his hips to the left while his arms reach to the right. Sometimes the movement is simple, other times it's a challenge to make the brain tell the body what to do, but either way it's exercise for the mind and body. My dance teacher in NYC had multiple sclerosis and I think he lasted longer because he was teaching jazz up until the end. The were moments where his body did something different from what his brain was telling it to do, but that exercise of his mind talking to his body kept him moving longer, for sure. It's so great this topic has come up this week as I'm preparing to teach a one off Fosse inspired adult jazz class next week! Here is a brain/body exercise for you... you know how you can take 2 weights and do a biceps curl? Now try doing that while single leg balancing and switching to an overhead press, changing legs, like walking as you go... Balance is a great challenge! See the video below. Nutrition Tip Of The Week Brain Food EAT TOMATOES... Tomatoes are full of lycopene which aids in helping your brain function better. So let's think italian and have my version of a caprese salad... sliced multi colored heirloom tomatoes... from the farmer's market of course! extra virgin olive oil, red pepper flakes, basil and mozzarella with aged balsamic vinegar. Healthy, filling and full of antioxidants that keep you sharp. REMEMBER: Moving one body part one direction and another body part in a different direction creates a kinesthetic step for our bodies and brains to fire together simultaneously telling each other which way to go...the result promotes a healthier brain and a more moveable body and overall, a better YOU. XO, Ginger I work with many female clients over the years that have different issues connecting to their abdominal muscles because of various reasons... One has had fibroid removal surgery and has built up scar tissue, one had a baby that was too large for her body and resulted in an abdominal split, and one had cysts removed from her uterus. Whatever the issue, it is important to find the way that is right for YOU to feel your abs. The best way is to first hire me to help you :) seriously you should, I have a knack for this, but if you are not able to have a personal trainer, here is a tip that MIGHT help you though not everyone can do an abdominal crunch. IF the back aches during your crunch, put your feet in the air in table top with knees bent over your hips, ankles in line with knees, feet together. Many people, men included, do not know the proper execution of an abdominal crunch and since this is the standard "ab" workout for most and the best old school way to create definition in that abdominal wall, I am re posting an old video my good friend, Octavia shot last year...See below. Keep in mind, we had some audio issues, so listen carefully. :) If you are not able to do a crunch because of neck issues, table top those legs and put your arms flat on the floor. As you inhale let your legs go away from you without arching your back, as you exhale draw the legs toward you, pulling your naval to the ground.
NUTRITION TIP OF THE WEEK EAT A PEACH Peaches are great for you! Eating a stone fruit like a peach is healthy because it low in calories, has no fat and is full of minerals that your body needs such as potassium, magnesium and iron. Peaches are a great source of fiber, help belly bloat go down and they give you energy. Try having a peach for dessert tonight. If you get one from your local farmers market it will actually taste the way it should as well. :) Having a strong core is vital to maintaining a healthy, moving body. Your core is the center of your being, your powerhouse of movement, and its strength creates a better alignment of your bones. Your abdominal muscles are a major part of this...keep them strong so that you look and feel your best you. Happy weekend, Ginger Hello all! As many of you may know, most of my work is done in a rehabilitative fashion. I help those who have ailments, whether they be injuries, recent surgeries, or diseases to empower them to move and heal. I am very fortunate this way. I began my career under the tutelage of an amazing physical therapist and then worked in another amazing environment for 8 years thereafter... a chiropractic office with everything from physical therapy to massage, to chiropractic care and more. Another way I feel fortunate. SO, not to digress, I do love telling stories :) I am writing today about the fact that I have a couple of clients that do not indeed have the above hinderances AT ALL... they simply need the rehabilitative movement therapy because they have everyday ordinary tightness and weakness in their bodies from computers, offices, cars, you name it! This morning a mid-fifties, male client I've seen for a few years doing mostly high intensity interval training after rehabbing his post op hip replacement came in and asked, "Ginger, can I learn more about the foam roller today? I saw a trainer at the gym using it and I want to loosen and stretch my muscles." I said, "OF COURSE." The foam roller is a wonderful tool for loosening the myofascial tissue that serves as connective tissue throughout your body to provide support to your muscles and bones. It is also an amazing tool for exercises that involve lengthening muscles through your body and activating the core muscles. Here is a great exercise for opening the shoulder girdle and getting in touch with your core muscles: Lay lengthwise on the foam roller with both your tailbone and your head on it, aligning it with your spine. Feel your shoulder blades open around the foam and keep your knees bent, feet flat. Take anywhere from 1-8 pound weights in your hands (my client uses 8 pounds as he is strong and has big muscles) and straighten your arms so that you can see them over your chest. With an inhale, press your shoulders up to the ceiling and then exhale, shrugging them down around the foam. Try to keep your arms fairly straight the whole time. This opens the chest and shoulder girdle. Do this for 10 reps and then place the weights by your side, letting them go. Open your arms onto the floor and roll to the outside edge of one shoulder, allowing your head to fall that direction and then change. This releases the myofascial tissue that lays on top of your muscles and bones. Finally, center your body and draw your legs up into a table top position, knees over hips and feel your spine in a neutral position. Take an inhale through the nose and as your exhale through the mouth, draw your belly button down to your spine. You will see how tricky the balance is in this position. My client this evening who is a 37 year old male came in with a tight psoas. Since I discussed that a couple of weeks ago, (see previous blog) I will tell you another technique in loosening this connective tissue that surrounds this deep muscle. I have a Coregeous ball that I got from Yoga Tune Up and I use it for loosening fascia. Lay on your back and bend your knees, feet flat and bridge your hips into the air until you can take the ball and put it under your back, just above your lower lumbar area on either side of your psoas muscles. It is a soft medium sized ball, so allow your body to sink into it. Slowly straighten one leg and then the other, allowing the weight of your legs to drop into the floor and allowing your hips to release downward into the floor. This can be a bit tense and discomforting if you are not used to using balls and such so GO SLOW. Slowly then allow the front of your abdomen to relax and open, allowing the fronts of your hips to drop and lengthen through your feet. Your back is also releasing into the ball. When you want to stop, which by the way, this should not be held for more than 1 minute, slowly bend your knees, feet flat and bridge again, removing the ball. STAY IN THE BRIDGE and sequentially role down onto the floor through your spine. Hug your knees into your chest and gently rock side to side. WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW:) Nutrition Tip Of The Week... Eating For Your Muscles So I eat mostly vegetarian as you might have guessed, BUT I love seafood. Salmon in particular is great for anti inflammation. Here is a great meal that is full of antioxidants and anti inflammatory ingredients. A "Ginger" Dinner Recipe: Wild salmon pan seared in olive oil with rosemary and garlic wrapped in kelp with a side of broccoli. It's easy to find kelp at health food stores and wrap it around the salmon after cooking. This is all about feeding your body goodness.... Follow it with a cup of blueberries sprinkled with cinnamon... I do love sweets so I get the dessert thing, but I try to have fruit when possible. Blueberries are an amazing source of antioxidants with anti inflammatory properties and cinnamon helps to balance your insulin levels. REMEMBER: You are in control of what you do with your body and what you put into it. You have the ability to make it feel good all the time by simply LOVING YOURSELF and providing yourself with movement and nutrition that allows goodness into your being. Of course you can be decadent on occasion and have your favorite food, or lay down and watch your favorite program as long as you supplement your body MOST of the time with adequate LOVE in the form of MOVING AND EATING GOOD STUFF. Ginger Hello and happy week to you all! So as many of you know, interval training has become rather significant to a workout these days. What is interval training? Well, basically it means that you alternate between 2 different exercises that usually vary in speed and degree of difficulty. If you are a newbie to exercise, then your interval training might be simply to walk briskly and then do short bursts of jogging. Another example would be 1 1/2 mins of "burpees" and then 1 min of push ups. The point of all of this is to burn more calories faster and more efficiently. However, I also think intervals are important to help build strength in your muscles and endurance in your cardio workouts. Most importantly, it is more interesting and fun to switch up your routine. Below is a video of 2 different intervals that you can integrate into your workout this week. Here are the instructions: Burpees Ginger Style Run forward with a sand bell and jump and throw it down. Pop out into a plank and pull one leg in and then the other, being careful to keep your tailbone down in line with your head. THIS WORKS YOUR CORE Pick up the sand bell and put it over head as you jump and then run backwards to the starting position. This should be done for about 1 1/2 mins. Push ups by Ginger Can be done on knees or with feet pressed Tail bone in line with your head, push ups for 60 seconds. Can take a tiny break if you need in between. Women: Push ups like yoga, with elbows in for extra triceps accentuation.--We all need this as we get older! Men: Wide hands for extra chest/pectoralis emphasis.--We women like a solid chest on a man. :) Remember, push ups are not just for arms and chest...USE YOUR CORE as well by pressing your belly button into your spine every time you press upwards. Second interval: Fast walking for 1 1/2 minutes followed by jogging for a minute. Notice I started this set with low intensity followed by high intensity. As long as you alternate, you are good. I always think with walking or running it's a good idea to start low intensity for warming up purposes. Nutrition tip of the week: Eating for intervals: I have been driving this home week after week in my blogs that you need carbs for fuel and energy because if the amount of carbs stored in your muscles is low, you will not be able to produce enough power to get the most benefit out of your workout. It's all about balance and moderation when eating, which sounds easy but clearly is not for most. You CAN eat healthy food that is also delicious. Here are some examples: Pre workout snack: 1 cup nonfat greek yogurt with granola and dried fruit. Post workout snack: Protein powder with spinach, banana, almond milk and cinnamon- throw in a blender and drink it down! There's a reason Popeye ate spinach, ok. I am making it yummy by putting it into a drink that is also sweet so if you don't like eating greens, you will barely taste them this way! :) Remember: Little by little as you add an exercise or you add speed or duration of movement, you are stacking building blocks of strength for your body, mind and spirit. These blocks, as they are growing taller and stronger will make YOU more able to take on anything that comes your way, but you also need proper nutrition to complete this total being synergy. Only then can you be unstoppable. xo, Ginger Happy first week of August everyone! After running around on stage, performing last week, I am thinking about energy, both physical and mental and the importance of knowing how to tap into the chemicals that promote sustained stamina while moving. Sounds a bit scientific today, right? However, I assure you, I am no scientist. I've just utilized a lot of different mediums of movement to discover that I need different levels of "energy" depending upon what exactly it is that I am doing. You see, on stage I get a rush from the outward energy I feel from the audience and I can use that to my advantage by pulling from it and channeling it into my body for movement. I am also thrilled to be performing, so it comes up as a natural stimulant in my body chemistry as well. There have been times in my past where it has been hard to sustain because of too many night gigs in a row and feeling a bit tired, but I find that breathing properly truly helps this process along. Breathing while you are singing and dancing is a bit like breathing and talking while running....it can be difficult, but the more you practice, the more you condition your body to grow stronger, the easier it gets. This brings me to the way you are taught to breathe when performing "the hundred" in Pilates. Though I breathe and teach this method in a 5 count, the true authentic way is a 10 count: with legs in a table top, laying prone on the floor or hard surface, curling the head and tops of the shoulders off of the floor, extending through the arms past your hips, keeping the tailbone down/no pelvic tilting, pressing the ribcage into the floor, you inhale through the nose: 1,2,3,4,5 exhale through the mouth: 1,2,3,4,5. This pattern of breathing most definitely helps you to build strength in controlling your breath and also helps you to focus to your abdominal muscles: the exhale helps you to engage them and thus strengthen your core. Another way of saying this is the breathing pattern here helps you to be aware of your breath, strengthen your diaphragm muscle and create the energy you need to keep moving no matter what activity you are doing. ENERGY occurs when the body has a sustained stamina created by the harmony and synching of our body functions. Below is a video of a Pilates hundred... Nutrition Tip of the Week: Sustained Energy Eating: I am advocating the importance of whole grains this week because they give you ENERGY. My favorite breakfast before I train a client is 1 cup of oatmeal (whole grains) with 2 tablespoons of nonfat greek yogurt, small palm size of raw, sliced almonds, 1 teaspoon of black chia seeds in almond milk, 1/2 peach as they are in season, 1/4 banana for potassium and sweetness and a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. It is good and packed with energizing ingredients. XO, Ginger Hello all! As some of you might know, in addition to studying nutrition I am also in the early stages of training to run the LA Marathon in the Spring! As I've started increasing my mileage and speed, I am feeling old dance/drummer injuries arise. I have always been athletic and a near constant mover and my problem area is my right side psoas muscle. This muscle is large and comes from a Greek word that means "loin region." It connects the lumbar vertebrae (lower back) to the femur (thigh bone) and so causes "feelings" to come up in the lower back and hips. I feel my psoas generally in my lower right abdomen where my right oblique lays and a bit lower into my hip flexor connection. When you run, you are strengthening this area, but also tightening it. Here are 3 great stretches for those of you who run and those of you who do not run... keeping this muscle strong and also long is important for support of the spine and lower trunk, so it's good for everyone. 1. side lower back twist: lay on your back and draw one knee up into your chest and gently grab the outside of that thigh and bring it across your body, twisting and looking in the opposite direction of this knee. Open the opposite arm onto the floor as well and feel your lower back stretch. Now focus on your bottom leg and extend it onto the floor straight down under the hip. Allow this bottom leg to lengthen and feel heavy and relaxed into the floor. At the same time, also focus on lengthening the lower abdomen. Do the other side. 2. kneeling lunge stretch: Put your right leg in front of you in a lunge and lower to the floor dropping the left knee down onto the floor behind you. Relax your toes, toenails on the floor and make sure your right knee is directly over your ankle and aligned with your middle toes. Place your right hand on top of your thigh and reach your left arm up over your head while gently arching your upper back, dropping your left hip towards the floor and stretching the front of your lower abdomen. Do the other side. 3. foam roller hip stretch: Lay on your back and gently press your hips up into a bridge. Slide the foam roller under your pelvis and place it between your low back and tailbone comfortably. Draw one knee into the chest and allow the opposite leg to drop from the hip onto the floor. You might be surprised how tight this bottom leg hip is! Focus on breathing and allowing your bottom leg to be heavy into the floor, trying to keep it aligned and dropping through the hip flexor and front of the pelvis. Do the other side. Remember, if any of this does not feel good, stop. At the end of every stretch, try to get into a child's pose if you do not have knee issues with weight bearing. Through breath, you can actively visualize your muscles growing longer and releasing tension. Your inhale draws in strength, your exhale creates space. NUTRITION TIP OF THE WEEK: SPICE AND HEAT ARE GOOD FOR YOUR MUSCLES! I have been learning about a new theory that spicy foods and sauces like jalapeños, ginger and siracha can possibly help to alleviate muscle cramps. This theory is based on the idea that your muscles are cramping due to your nervous system being overloaded. The spice keeps the nervous system running smoothly and helps your muscle cramps to subside. Here is my favorite spicy thing to add to most anything: red pepper flakes. Try it on an avocado! Slice the avocado in half, spoon out, squeeze a tiny bit of lemon juice on top and shake as much red pepper flakes as you like onto it. You'll be surprised how much flavor is added to this delicious and nutritious snack. Have a great week!!! Ginger Happy Monday to you all! Hopefully, the title of my blog today has piqued your curiosity... I have a client I've been seeing for a little over a year now who had a stroke nearly 2 years ago. He is a general badass. Fit, stubborn, perfectionist. artist...this is not going to break him. It was a hard one, however, because he went unattended for several hours when it happened. It was also a rare one: his right side does not work quite like it should, though over this past year he has made remarkable improvements, due to the fact that he is, as I said, a badass. That and he has the most amazing family and support system...his wife is also a badass partner in crime for him. The other day as we were waking up that right side and doing a very unique and untraditional form of movement and stretching, as I always do, he proclaimed, "Ginger, you should do barre for stroke survivors." I laughed, but I loved it. You see, this guy also has a dance background. Something that I believe helped get him back movement- wise to where he is now. Dancers are a special breed because they are usually much more in tune with their bodies than the average bear. I love that I can give movement cues to him that are based largely in dance, mostly in basic ballet barre and he can understand and utilize these cues to his advantage. Here is a modified version of what I did for him that is for anyone who needs to sit for support and balance while they execute a side-bending stretch... Sit in a sturdy chair that allows your feet to easily be flat and stable on the floor. Squeeze a medium sized, soft yet firm ball between your knees to keep your adductor (inner thigh) muscles engaged. I do this with my client to get his right adductor (the weaker side) working and to help keep his hips aligned. With both hips firmly planted on the chair, reach one arm up and arc it over your head, bending towards the opposite side. Allow your head to stay in line with your spine and try not to tense your shoulders, being careful to keep both glutes on the seat. The other arm should be reaching opposite, across your thighs. Then reverse to the other side. Now to get the legs involved, extend one leg out in front of you, flexing the foot and resting the heel on the floor and slowly bend forward in the chair over that leg. Again, both hips are firmly planted and now reach the opposite arm of leg towards the extended leg. Do the other side. Remember, no matter your limitations, you CAN move your body and create a positive flow from body to mind to spirit. All you need is determination, courage, motivation and general baddassedness! Here too is your nutrition tip for the week: ANYTHING BROWN IS BETTER THAN WHITE. Translation: Brown rice, brown pasta, brown bread are better alternatives than white. If you are a carb lover and especially love these types of carbohydrates, try it in brown. My personal favorite is pumpernickel. I just got some amazing pumpernickel at my local farmers market! By the way, another important step towards eating more nutritiously is to buy food from your farmers markets. The bread is typically NOT processed as you might find it in your local supermarkets, but always read labels. AND you are supporting local farmers....another form of badassedness, yep, I'm coining this phrase. Happy weekend, Ginger
Hello and Happy Friday!
As I study my nutrition textbook, I am learning about the importance of proper nutrition for people with scoliosis....something that hadn't really occurred to me until now. How wonderful it will be to also incorporate foods that will help others to have stronger curves. You see, one of my longtime clients has scoliosis, or a sideways curvature of her spine and we are continuously working to lengthen the side of her back that is overdeveloped while also strengthening the opposite side. It is important to work on the muscles in this opposing way so that the curve does not get worse over time. The curve that is visible in people with scoliosis looks like an S: a little roundness in the upper back and a slight sway in the lower back which causes one side of the back muscles to dominate. I have always felt that exercises designed to work on balancing this curve so that it does not become more pronounced help the individual to have better posture and in turn more confidence. Confidence within one's own body is created first by developing strong, lean muscles that support and align the bones in your spine. With this confidence comes an invincible attitude that you can achieve whatever you set your mind to. Here is a great way to work on strengthening and toning your opposing muscles: Stand with your feet parallel and hip width apart. Slightly bend your knees so they are not locked. In my client's case, her left lower back is weak and underdeveloped so I would have her twist her torso to her right, using her left arm to punch forward with a 1-3 pound weight, then return to center with her body and reach her right arm up over her head, stretching to her left in a side bend in order to lengthen her dominant right side. Repeating this action for 5-10 reps for 3 sets is a great way to attempt to "undo" that S curve. Here is a video illustrating this idea that I shot at Studio U in Marina Del Rey a few months ago... I added a single leg knee lift of the left leg to focus on the hip alignment and get the balance, coordination and core to engage.
Scoliosis and Nutrition Tip of the Week:
Aside from getting enough Vitamin D, found in milk, you can also just eat more fruits and vegetables. This sounds redundant, right? You might think, well EVERYONE should do that and that is correct, BUT people who have scoliosis need to keep their bones and bodies as strong as possible and eating balanced, healthy diets do aid in that endeavor. A great way to incorporate more veggies, especially if you do not particularly like eating veggies is to blend them into a food that you do like. I am choosing wild tuna since it has a great source of omega 3's which also helps your body to absorb more calcium... all you have to do is mix in some celery, onions, jalapeños, grated carrots, garlic and my favorite, broccolini and you are good to go! By the way, using a low fat greek yogurt as a mayonnaise substitute is shockingly good in tuna salad...just food for thought. Have a great weekend! Ginger Good afternoon and happy pre-4th of July weekend celebration!! As I am feeling the heat of summer and the anticipation of fireworks for the weekend holiday, I am thinking about the importance of adding a little more cardiovascular work to your workout. Here are 2 very different examples of healthy cardio workouts I have created for 2 of my clients. The first client is a nearly 80 year old woman. She has come a tremendously long way in a short amount of time. I have only been giving her sessions for about 9 months. In that time she went from being nearly totally sedentary because walking hurt her hips and low back, to now recently doing some low impact cardio on a recumbent bicycle! Now, I have taught her how to find her core muscles and how to strengthen and lengthen the muscles throughout her body over these many months and we have had a few setbacks, BUT she has allowed me to push her forward. She has also pushed herself forward... as her trust has grown in me, it has also grown within herself. Here is a tip for anyone over the age of 65 who has not been performing low-high impact workouts. KEEP IN MIND this is not so much about age, but rather current physical fitness level...I know a few over 65'ers who kickass: Start slowly. Recumbent bicycles are best because cardio exercises on bikes are non weight bearing so they won't hurt your bones. Get on the bike and start pedaling. Depending on the bike model, you'll want to stay in manual mode and low tension, between a 1-3 on the pedal level. Keeping the bike going, pedal only as quickly as you can maintain. My client started out just pedaling for 10 minutes and we have built that up to 20 minutes within a 3 week period. Next week, I will also add intervals of speed and pedal tension for her. Remember, no one person is exactly like another. Work at your own pace, BUT don't be afraid to push yourself JUST A BIT. The second client story I want to share is a 36 year old man. He works rigorously on his computer at his desk and as a result has developed weak/tight wrists, forward head, tight shoulders and tight hip flexors, piriformis and psoas muscles. He has been doing a fairly traditional Pilates reformer workout with me for a couple years. We have just started doing HiiT, high intensity interval training together and the increase in his cardio workout is inspiring and motivating him yet another step forward. Here is a tip for the average person between ages 30-50 who works at a desk most of the day and has just begun to add low-high impact cardio activity: Start slowly. Sound familiar? There are a variety of exercises you can do to get your heart rate working faster, but you want to be able to maintain the work and build the momentum gradually each session. Interval training is fun, can be done outdoors and the alternating high to low intensity makes it very doable. An example of the beginning of this type of workout goes something like this: Begin by jogging at a moderate speed for 1 minute around a track or a park (I LOVE THE OUTDOORS). After the first minute, hold a chair pose (you can see examples of this yoga pose if you look it up) for 30 seconds, then rest, then hold for 30 more seconds. Remember, this is the beginning stage of waking up your body. Repeat this jog/chair pose interval, but this time increase your speed on the jog AND depth of your chair pose. Cardiovascular health is of great importance for life longevity and it will make you feel mentally, physically and spiritually strong in your unique self because of the endorphins you are building up and releasing from your being. Remember, fitness and nutrition go hand in hand, so here also is your Nutrition Tip Of The Week: If you are adding more strenuous types of activities to your workout repertoire I suggest adding in a bit more complex carbohydrates. The reason for this? An untrained athlete who is just starting to increase his/her physical activities uses up more glucose than a trained athlete. I know, everyone is on the latest fad diet that tells you carbohydrates are bad, but some carbs/cardio partnering is good for you. This would be a great example of a healthy pre workout snack and it's what I eat before I run: 1/2 a small banana and 1 TBSP almond butter. The banana (carbohydrate, yes fruits and veggies have carbs too) will help regulate your blood sugar level and give you energy while the almond butter serves as protein. The combination supplies energy for your workout without making you feel full and weighted down. Happy Independence Day and have a safe weekend!! Ginger |
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