Pilates (puh-LAH-teez) has rapidly become one of the most popular exercise routines in the country. Chances are excellent you’ve heard someone talking about the benefits. But, what the heck is Pilates anyway?
It’s a form of exercise, developed by German born, Joseph Pilates, a century ago. Pilates is a body conditioning routine that builds flexibility, long, lean muscles, strength and endurance in the legs, abdominal muscles, arms, hips, and back. The emphasis is on spinal and pelvic alignment, breathing to allow adequate oxygen flow to muscles, developing a strong core or center, and improving coordination and balance. Pilates’ flexible system allows for exercises to be modified in range of difficulty from beginning to advanced levels of fitness. No muscle group is under or over trained.
One of the advantages of the Pilates method is that it works well for a wide range of people including athletes, dancers, seniors and people at various stages of physical rehabilitation.
All types of people, at all fitness levels, who have begun doing Pilates say they’ve seen improvements in their range of motion, flexibility, circulation, posture, and abdominal strength — and decreases in back, neck and joint pain.
Some of the benefits of Pilates include:
- Improved breathing
- Improved concentration
- Improved flexibility
- Increased muscle strength, particularly of the abdominal muscles, lower back, hips and buttocks
- Balanced muscular strength on both sides of the body
- Enhanced muscular control of the back and limbs
- Improved stabilization of the spine
- Greater awareness of posture
- Improved physical coordination and balance
- Relaxation of the shoulders, neck and upper back
- Helps prevent musculo-skeletal injuries
Pilates consists of a slow, sustained series of movements using abdominal control and proper breathing. The quality of each posture is important, not the number of repetitions or how quickly you can move through the routine.
Core strength is the foundation of Pilates exercise. The core muscles are the deep, internal muscles of the abdomen and back. Think of a tree, Pilates experts say. The tree is only as strong as its trunk and roots. Without a strong trunk, the tree would topple over.
It’s the same for human bodies, say Pilates experts. If we concentrate on building a good foundation and a strong trunk or core, we’ll end up with fewer physical weaknesses and be less injury-prone. Kevin Bowen, co-founder of the Pilates Method Alliance, says it is important that abdominals are flexible, not just hard. “A flexible muscle is a strong muscle,” says Bowen.
There are two basic forms of Pilates:
- Mat-based Pilates – is a series of exercises performed on the floor using gravity and your body weight to provide the resistance. The central aim is to condition the deeper, supporting muscles of the body to improve posture, balance and coordination. To the casual observer it looks very similar to yoga.
- Equipment-based Pilates – this includes specific equipment that works against spring-loaded resistance. The equipment based Pilates method uses a variety range of apparatuses to guide and train the body. For the uninitiated, the apparatus may resemble a torture device of some kind, but rest assured, Pilates is low impact exercise.
Some forms of Pilates also include small weighted balls, foam rollers, large exercise balls, rotating disks, and resistance bands.
The most affordable way to experience Pilates is to take a group class. Later, if you find you enjoy it, you can invest in some simple equipment to incorporate into your routine at home.
Dawn Swidorski, Public Outreach Director, Defeat Diabetes Foundation
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About the Author: Dawn is a seasoned communications professional with twenty-five years’ experience with private enterprise, non-profits and public corporations.She originally hails from the Midwest but now has her home in San Francisco, CA the home of garlic fries, Anchor Steam Beer, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Summer of Love. read more →
There is nothing more intimidating than walking into a gym full of lean and mean gym enthusiasts when you are overweight, and haven’t a clue what you’re doing. I need an exercise ball for support just to get to the floor, so it took me a while to get active. I just had to get over my anxiety and find a workout routine that worked for me. I have already shared 7 quick tips with you about getting started, but here are 8 more.
1. Find creative ways to move. Sometimes I repetitively sit and struggle to stand up from my daughter’s bean bag chair. I have also been known to put on ankle weights and chair dance on the sofa. I don’t just swim in the pool, I use water weights, and I run.
2. Park farther away from your destination, or step off of public transportation several blocks away from your normal stop.
3. Make time fly. There are 2 things that help my workout go by faster – my butt on a stationary bike with music in my ear, or my butt on an inclined stair-stepper with a book in my hand. I also love to walk and listen to my favorite audiobook. Entertain yourself and you will feel rewarded.
4. Speaking of entertainment, if there is a show that you habitually watch, watch it while you’re exercising. You can always go back to the old standards: knee lifts, jumping jacks, push-ups, sit-ups, kickboxing, standing and sitting in a chair, and so forth.
5. If you have joined a club, get the grand tour and make sure someone shows you how to properly set and use the weight machines so you can have new and diverse experiences. That’s what the people in those shirts with the logo are there for! You probably won’t use a machine if you don’t know how.
6. Take a brisk walk around your building at work after you eat you healthy lunch.
7. Plan to work-out with a friend, or group of friends, on a regularly scheduled basis. You can’t back out as easily when you have someone waiting for you.
8. Keep a log, and track your activity. At the end of the day, you should be able to look back and review all you’ve accomplished.
The most important thing about getting active is that you actually get up and get active. You will see how easy it is to get 30-60 minutes of activity into your day. Just do something you enjoy, so you will look forward to doing it again tomorrow.
Angela Russ-Ayon, Owner, Russ InVision Company
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About the Author: Angela Russ is a mom-preneur, children’s author, public speaker, and award-winning artist/producer of interactive music for young children. She speaks nationwide on the subject of child development and is the sole-owner of the Russ InVision record label, on the web at AbridgeClub.com © 2013 Russ InVision. All rights reserved. read more →
Are you constantly battling sugar cravings throughout the day? Maintaining a healthy diet can be quite simple with the proper planning. But, how do you get past those times of the day when your sweet tooth tries to get the best of you?
Here is a quick and satisfying recipe our guest author, Marie Ann Mosher, devised to help curb cravings throughout the day:
Having a home gym can be very convenient, or not motivating. Keep yourself motivated with realistic goals. When you reach your goal create another; then another goal. This will keep you moving forward to your main goal; being healthy, energetic, looking younger and feeling happy. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle will become second nature. Your cravings for bad habits will disappear over time. You don’t always need to buy a lot of equipment to workout. Change it up and keep your muscles guessing.
My home gym is very simple. I live in a limited space environment so I need equipment that I can put away and bring out when I need them. I use my own body weight for resistance. This gives me a low impact workout to create lean muscles without over straining my joints and ligaments. My equipment consists of: removable door chin up bar, yoga mat, Pilates circle and 2 swivel discs.
Music is key! Dancing like there is no one watching can give you that quick cardio workout.
De-stress with laughter! Laughter can burn 10 to 40 calories.
We are all living a busy lifestyle and want to fit in workouts when we can. Always be creative and have fun!
Monica Man, Owner, MM Consulting
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About the Author: Monica is a performer, instructor and model. Dance has encouraged Monica to teach and help others to enjoy life. Her passion for dance ranges from Zumba, Hawaiian Hula, Salsa, Brazilian Samba and Belly Dance. She is also a certified Pilates instructor through Body Harmonics. Her Yoga training is from Darshan Yoga Studio. She teaches all styles of yoga. She is currently studying and developing her own combination of Yoga, Dance and Pilates to encourage free flow of movement and energy. She is very creative in the kitchen. Always creating simple recipes on different organic superfoods from around the world.
She has recently appeared on W network’s Eat Yourself Sexy, Street Eats episode for Season 2:Morocco/Tunisia on Sun TV and Chris Rouse’s Soul Beautiful music video. read more →
One of the biggest problems for women who workout at home is to neglect one set of muscles and over-train another. This leads to muscle imbalance and eventual aches and pains.
No one would just do bicep work without also hitting their triceps. This causes muscle imbalance and eventual unexplained elbow or shoulder pain. Unfortunately, many women and men, who workout at home will neglect half their upper body and only do push-ups and neglect pull-ups.
Pushups or any type of pushing exercise targets your chest, shoulders and triceps – half your upper body. Pull-ups on the other hand targets your back, biceps and forearms – the other half of your upper body.
Most women already have tight chest muscles from everyday activities of computers, laptops, tablets, as well as, other activities that draw our shoulders forward like driving, office work, cooking, folding, etc. Our daily activities further contract our pec muscles, which become even tighter if we only do pushups. This is why it is important to work those opposing back muscles that draw our shoulders back.
Not all, but most women can’t do pull-ups, which is why it is smarter to do inverted pull-ups. Inverted pull-ups make it possible for women to get the same benefit of a regular pull-up. Inverted pull-ups are like knee push-ups…they make the movement possible so you can finally add that shape and tone to your back and biceps.
You will see people at the gym performing inverted pull-ups on a Smith machine, but not too many people have that equipment at home. Therefore, one option to help you do modified pull-ups would be to bolt a door-mounted pull-up bar about 30 inches off the ground. A second option would be a portable pull-up bar that gives you the advantage of setting it up in your living room or outside if you want.
The big takeaway for anyone who trains at home and has neglected half their upper body would be to give inverted pull-ups a try. Those two exercises are what real boot campers have been training with for years. Try them for 30 days and see if you don’t notice a difference in your workout as well as some of that unexplained upper back pain go away.
Dr. Len Lopez, Owner, Work Horse Fitness
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About the Author: Dr. Len Lopez is a nutrition and fitness expert. He is the author of “To Burn or Not to Burn – Fat is the Question” and creator of the “Work Horse Fitness Trainer.” He blends sports medicine/strength training with natural medicine to help create true health and fitness programs. To learn more visit www.workhorsefitness.com. read more →
It is so easy to say you’re going to start working out, but putting your words into action is another thing altogether. I was recently told by my doctor that I was as healthy as an ox, and that I just needed to lose the ox. So, I finally started a consistent workout. After all, someone had to stop making excuses and take my health seriously. Here are some tips I will share with you beginners who, like me, have only thought about getting your body moving.
1. Start with your water intake. Increase it, and cut out sodas and sweet drinks that make you sluggish. The general recommendation is (8) 8-oz. cups of water daily. I keep a personal plastic bottle filled and within reach. Your goal is to grab and go.
2. Put your tennis shoes and work-out clothes in the car. If you have to go home first, you may never leave. I love to swim, so I always have a swimsuit, towel, and flip flops in the trunk.
3. Schedule your time wisely. My favorite time to exercise is around my son’s soccer schedule: 45-minutes before the game starts, and during his 1.5 hour practice. Perfect!
4. Start slowly. Test classes, instructors, DVD instruction, and gyms. Don’t take a class that you find too intimidating or that bores you to death. If you don’t like the class or the instructor, move on to something else. You don’t want to get turned off before you get started.
5. Don’t feel like you have to do every activity that is offered, or the same activity all of the time. Change it up at your own speed. If I don’t feel like working on my arms, I focus on my legs one day and my arms the next.
6. You don’t have to do an activity for any specific length of time. Do what you can handle and try to go a little longer each time.
7. Don’t feel like you have to invest a ton of money: walk the dog, hit tennis balls against a wall, help your child practice a sport, ride a bike to your destination, or put your favorite music on and dance. What did you do when you were younger? Do that!
Angela Russ-Ayon, Owner, Russ InVision Co.
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About the Author: Angela Russ is a mom-preneur, children’s author, public speaker, and award-winning artist/producer of interactive music for young children. She speaks nationwide on the subject of child development and is the sole-owner of the Russ InVision record label, on the web at AbridgeClub.com © 2013 Russ InVision. All rights reserved. read more →
I remember all of the times I bought a gym membership, picked up a new workout DVD, or purchased the latest fitness infomercial product. I would make it through one workout with each of my shiny new products, only to have them sit in the corner, collecting dust afterwards. It wasn’t until I learned how to jump start my fitness program that I finally was able to make it a part of my life – for good. There are several key components to making this happen.
Plan Ahead
How many times have you had every intention of waking up early to work out only to run out of time and have to promise yourself you would do it after work instead? We find ourselves famished after a long day of work, so we head home to make dinner and that elusive idea of working out fades away. This is primarily due to lack of preparation, not bad intentions. Take a look at your planner and decide which days you can work out, and at what time, then schedule it in writing. If you will be doing a morning workout, have your gym bag ready to go the night before. An after-work workout will require a good quality snack be packed to sustain you through your workout. Let any family members know of your plans so they can start dinner without you. This is your time – treasure and protect it.
Accountability
This may not be required for the rest of your life, but in the beginning, having someone hold you accountable is essential. When getting into a fitness program, it is so easy to talk ourselves out of working out or pushing hard. A good friend can be beneficial-as long as they are right on board with your goals, or they are already consistently working out. Having accountability will ensure you stick to your scheduled workouts and overcome any obstacles that may come your way.
Variety
When I work with clients and we begin discussing exercise, many of them will say things such as, “Ugh, I hate running!” I am always surprised to find that they tried one way of exercising, didn’t like it, and wrote off exercise forever. Try different things until you find out what you like, and bring a friend to make it even more fun!
Learning how to jump start your fitness program is a lot easier than you think. Incorporating the components above will not only help you stick with your fitness program, but it will also help you have some fun, get more fit, and finally reach your goals.
Kimberly “FitKim” Olson, CN, CPT, FitKim.com
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About the Author: Nationally renowned nutrition and fitness expert Kimberly Olson, CNC, CPT is the creator of FitKim, a nutrition and fitness blog that teaches people how easy it is to be healthy. She has completed her Master’s Degree in Holistic Nutrition, become a Certified Nutritional Consultant & ACE Personal Trainer, and travels nationally conducting public speaking and training events. She has been consulting clients for over eleven years, and has developed a passion for combining nutrition and fitness.
Kimberly is the author of The FitKim Lifestyle: Food & Fitness to Get YOU Fit!, a complete guide to teach readers everything they need to know to live healthier, become more active and learn how to finally lose those stubborn pounds. She has been featured on Fox San Antonio, CBS Minnesota, ABC West Michigan, Houston Woman Magazine, Yahoo!, FOX Los Angeles, YouTube, O’Fallon Nutrition Radio and has reached Expert Author status Ezine Articles.
She is currently working on two PhDs in Natural Health and Holistic Nutrition, as well as her next book, Cooking with FitKim. Kimberly resides in Austin, Texas with her husband, Scott, who is her official taste-tester. She can be contacted at Kim@FitKim.com for freelance and consulting inquiries. read more →
Is your best friend at work the vending machine? Do you have regular late-night dates with Ben & Jerry? Your body is craving something, all right, but it’s not what you think.
Most of the time, what feels like a craving is actually dehydration. Our bodies have a hard time distinguishing between hunger and thirst. The next time that sweet tooth rears its ugly head, drink a glass of water, wait ten minutes, and see how you feel. Chances are the craving will be gone.
Besides prompting you to drink more water, your brain tells you to snack because your body needs more nutrients than it’s getting. Here is a fantastic smoothie that will hydrate you, satisfy your cravings, and do wonderful things for your mood, your skin, and your energy level. It’s packed with micronutrients, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fat so you’ll instantly feel better without the dreaded “sugar crash” later on. I call it the Greena Colada.
The Greena Colada
Put the following into a blender:
1/2 of a cucumber, cut into chunks
1 cup pineapple chunks (frozen or canned is fine)
1/2 can full-fat coconut milk
handful of cilantro
2 cups of water
a few ice cubes, if you like a more slushy texture
Blend on low speed 90 seconds, then on high 1 minute.
This is a welcome treat in the afternoon when you feel sluggish (take it to work in a thermos!) and it’s satisfying enough to keep your hand out of the cookie jar before dinner. Or, try one for breakfast to keep your sweet tooth under control all day.
Don’t worry. The vending machine will get along fine without you.
Judy Bennett, CHHP, Wellness Educator and Speaker
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About the Author: Judy Bennett is a board-certified holistic health practitioner, specializing in helping women who are sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. She does private, group, and corporate coaching with a nutrition focus. She is member of the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior, and the International Association of Wellness Professionals. read more →
We are often tied by our time constraints so the workout gets dropped from our schedule. I find having ways to exercise that I can do at home are instrumental to my health. Less time, easier access and fits a quick pinch when the gym has been rescheduled due to a life emergency.
I teach Tia Chi Chuan health moves, Aharaj Yoga and Feminine Fitness that can easily be done at home. All of these offer simple ways to fitness that do not require anything but music if that inspires you. You can be in your jams, have no travel time and no worries that one will see you unkept.
The greatest wisdom I offer is that women get the best health benefits from a workout that they enjoy, feel good about and get inspired from. Our body awakens our innate health system when we revel in ourselves and our body in joy. When we are criticizing ourselves, on whatever level we are in, it is killing our systems these days. So to find a place of joy, safety and acceptance of our body puts us in oxytocin, our hormone of health.
As a circuit we can easily call upon our innate joy of dancing. We love this as women, so we can use this as a home workout and strengthen so many levels of ourselves at once. Emotionally we feel great, we love our physical body as we dance and revel in it, and mentally we enjoy the ease with no pressure to do this or that correctly. Putting on any music and allowing our body to just enjoy the sound and move as it does with no mental thinking and judgment is a delicious way to increase our health and heart rate.
Releasing Warm Up
I suggest that you begin with a warm up to open our bodies. Head rolls connect the mind with the body. Shoulder rolls both ways moves the tension about our neck and gives freedom there. Moving our rib cage side to side, front and back, rolling it one way and then the other opens our hearts, gives movement to a much stressed area of the woman’s body and allows lymph drainage to that area. It allows sad emotion and pain to release as we add movement to this part of our body. Hip circles, moving our hips front and back, figure eights with our hips, s open a very clogged area of our body. It aids digestion and gives movement to an area we normally don’t move and yet our energy conversion system is there needing support and energy release.
Delicious Cardio
Once we have gotten our body awake, the torso which houses all our organs moving and flexible, then we dance free form to whatever sound delights us. I do three dances usually with the intent to be grateful for my sacred body that carries me about. It takes about 15 minutes to dance three songs. You get your heart rate up, you allow your body to move energy in how it sees fit, you enjoy connecting to your emotions through sound and how it moves you. This is a delightfully easy way to enjoy your workout. High emotion, movement of the body and pleasure of great sound sings our soul as woman.
The magic this creates in mood and presence to a woman is magnetizing. When you walk out into the world after dancing in joy, allowing your body to move, you can’t help but have great pride in your body called grounding. You walk out in magnificence that no other movement can offer as easily as dance. It is a sacred art and an easy circuit for you without anything but your glorious vessel. I find it the most rewarding health on all levels that exists. Your body naturally balances itself, moving energy, adding tone, engaging your heart, your beauty and your joy.
Lyn Hicks, Feminine Health Educator, The Lotus Project
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About the Author: Lyn Hicks is an educator of health, wellbeing and green living. Trained in Tia Chi Chuan, Aharaj Yoga, and ancient feminine cultures, she shares her yoga of living on her organic flower farm in Pennsylvania. A love of nature, beauty and grace inspires Lyn to share the power of feminine essence with other woman. Educating others to live in more connection with their bodies to allows our innate health system and intuition to strengthen. After doing this herself, it became natural to share with others through writing, videos and retreats at her farm. The Art Of Being A Woman is her passion and claim to her magnificence. Strengthening our collaborative power with each other to change the world together into a more nourished placed. Her book The Lotus Project, The Art of Being a Woman. Alluring well beauty and beauty through green living will be available in March 2013. read more →
While beginning a fitness program, the quality of food you put in your body can greatly impact not only your training workouts, but also those coveted long-term results. We all put so much focus on planning when our workouts will be, how long they will be, and the type of workout we will do. But we often don’t take nearly the same amount of effort to plan what fuel we will need before, during and after our fitness workouts. For example, have you ever been subject to Ramen noodles or Mac n’ Cheese after a grueling workout because you didn’t have anything ready to go in the fridge?
We’ve all been there to one degree or another. And looking back, it was mainly due to poor planning, not wrong intentions. So give yourself a break and get ready to learn the keys to quick and simple ways to make sure you are never a drive-thru victim again.
The first component to proper fueling techniques is pre-workout snacks. Timing is definitely based on individual preferences, but shoot for your snack to be consumed 45 minutes to two hours before your workout. Your snack should consist of mainly carbs, some protein and a low amount of fat. My favorites are:
- 1 packet oatmeal with ½ a banana and a few walnuts
- ½ a frozen banana, ½ a cup of frozen fruit, 1 scoop of whey protein, ice and water (blended)
- 1 rice cake with almond butter and banana slices
- ½ cup trail mix
- Sliced veggies with hummus
- Salad with a lean protein (turkey breast, fish, etc) and mostly veggies
As for water, first determine how much you will need-up to 1 ounce for every minute of working out. Drink 1/3 of that beforehand.
The next component’s importance varies based on the length of the workout. I opt to stick with only drinking another 1/3 of water with 8 oz. of any sports drink if my workout is less than an hour. Beyond that, I consume 1 sports gel every 90 minutes. If my workout is over 2 ½ hours, I will eat a granola bar that is high in carbs after about two hours. Consuming gels or food varies by the person, so experiment a bit and see what works best for you. If you will be regularly capping out at an hour, you do not have to incorporate gels or food during this time.
Now for my favorite part, and probably the most important, is what you need to eat to re-fuel your body after your intense training workout. Choose an evenly balanced carb-protein snack with a small amount of healthy fats. Since your muscles have been depleted of their stored glycogen levels, it is critical to take in your post workout snack within 30-45 minutes to maximize results. And don’t forget that last 1/3 of your required water needs! Great options:
- Protein shake with ½ a banana
- Yogurt with granola and berries
- ½ a tuna sandwich on whole or sprouted wheat
- Turkey and cheese with apple slices
- Baked red potatoes with seasoning and extra virgin olive oil
- Whole grain cereal with organic milk
If you are serious about hitting your goals and improving your health, you will definitely be off to a great start by turning these tips into a regular routine. If you are a seasoned veteran, give them a try-who knows, you may finally reach beyond a plateau or receive that PR you have been wanting for so long. Either way, you are ensured to enjoy more energetic workouts, quicker recovery time, and unprecedented results.
Kimberly ‘FitKim” Olson, Certified Nutritionist & Personal Trainer, Genesis Today, Inc
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About the Author: Nationally renowned nutrition and fitness expert Kimberly Olson, CNC, CPT is the creator of FitKim, a nutrition and fitness blog that teaches people how easy it is to be healthy. She has completed her Master’s Degree in Holistic Nutrition, become a Certified Nutritional Consultant & ACE Personal Trainer, and travels nationally conducting public speaking events. She has been consulting clients for over ten years, and has developed a passion for combining nutrition and fitness.
Kimberly is the author of The FitKim Lifestyle: Food & Fitness to Get YOU Fit!, a complete guide to teach readers everything they need to know to live healthier, become more active and learn how to finally lose those stubborn pounds. She has been featured on Fox San Antonio, CBS Minnesota, ABC West Michigan, Yahoo!, YouTube, Houston Woman Magazine, O’Fallon Nutrition Radio and has reached Expert Author status on Ezine Articles.
She is currently working on two PhDs in Natural Health and Holistic Nutrition, as well as her next book, Cooking with FitKim. Kimberly resides in Austin, Texas with her husband, Scott, who is her official taste-tester. She can be contacted at Kim@FitKim.com for freelance and consulting inquiries. read more →
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