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I'm sure you've heard the saying, "a calorie is a calorie," and that when weight loss is the goal, you can probably loose weight on a 1,200 calorie/day diet whether it is 1,200 Twinkie calories or apple calories. At this point, you might be thinking, "Cool! I'll go on the Twinkie diet!"   Our bodies are smarter than that though, and I say, thank goodness. I know - I'm no fun at all :-). Last week at the grocery one of my kiddos held up a box of Twinkies and had the audacity to ask me to purchase them. I nearly burst a vessel in my forehead trying to restrain myself from smashing the box with......
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Being that it is summer, and there are vacations, kids home from school, camps, a lot of running around in circles...sometimes a workout is hard to knock out, even when intentions are high. When that happens, I have a 30-minute, total body workout that requires very little equipment, yet will leave you dripping in sweat. Wanna hear it? Here it is... You'll need:  a set of 10 or 12lb wts (lighter if you like), a resistance tube 5-10 minute warm up @ 40-50% max heart rate Set 1: 10-14 Burpees (also called pop squats) 3-way lunges w/ dumbbells: Start with weaker leg leading. Take one lunge forwa......
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Stumbled upon a few deals I'd like to pass along: 20% off planners! For all of you planners out there (you know who you are, planning each workout weeks in advance), get a head start on school year planning at MomAgenda. MomAgenda is offering 20% off small School Year books (use code: schoolyearsmom) Visit MomAgenda.com, offer expires 7.31.2011 *P.S. I LOVE MomAgenda planners. Seriously, love them - totally created by moms, for moms. Enough said. EatingWell magazine has a new book out: EatingWell 500-calorie Dinners for $22.45 (10% off the regular price). While you are planning workouts in you......
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Check out this video if you are unfamiliar with trigger point therapy... TPR Therapy, Ironman competitor Have you ever wished you could afford a personal masseuse? One who could come to your home, preferably daily, to help relieve you of the knots and muscle tightness that inevitably occur from daily workouts and, well, being a mom? In search of a solution to my IT band issues, I tried a chiropractor (not money well spent), stretching, massage therapy (therapist too gentle to release deep tissue), and my O.D. The O.D. provided the most valuable information: without proper biomechanics, the bod......
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The mysterious " fat burning zone " continues to confuse many gym-goers. The theory goes something like this: working out in a "zone" of intensity that is less intense for at least 20 minutes will burn more fat calories than calories from carbohydrate. Is this true? Yes and no, but mostly no. You actually burn more calories from fat right now, sitting still, reading this post, than you do on the treadmill. That is because in the resting state, the body burns a higher percentage of fat calories. As you crank up the exercise intensity, you burn a little less fat per calorie. However, it really c......
Mar

07

We stump, stoop, slouch…so much so that the quality of our everyday lives can be directly affected from these posture problems.  I thought of this while sitting at the computer working, and had to stretch to relieve that nagging tightness between my shoulder blades. At the same time, I noticed a whole slew of other bad habits I was committing, and quickly set about practicing what I preach.

Why good posture is important:

Practicing good posture can improve your breathing, decrease your risk of injury, help you move more easily through the tasks of daily living, and also improve your sports performance.

Some signs you might need to improve your posture?

-      Do you have one hip higher than another?

-      Do you have one shoulder higher than another?

-      Does one side of your body rotate slightly more to one side?

-       Does your pelvis tip forward, back, or to one side when you stand?

-       Does your head juts forward beyond neutral alignment?

-       Do your chest and shoulders roll inward, as if your slouching, even when you’re trying not to?

-       Are the arches of feet are collapsed?

9  Pointers for Improving Posture

  1. Check your posture throughout the day, and note some of your back habits.
  2. If you spend a lot of time hunched over your computer keyboard, take time to stretch your chest muscles, lower your shoulders, stretch your neck, and roll  your shoulders down and back into proper position.
  3. If you have a habit of crossing your arms in front of you, try clasping them behind you.
  4. If your pelvis tips forward, try engaging your glutes. Standing in line at the grocery or a check out line is a good time to practice this, or even while driving in your car.
  5. Take time every day to stretch muscles that tend to be tighter for most people: chest, hip flexors, hamstrings: too much tightness in these areas can cause posture problems
  6. If you always sit or stand in the same position, vary your position from time to time.
  7. Shoulders have a tendency to creep up toward our ears…try to keep them rolled back, and down, as if your placing your shoulder blades into the back pockets of your pants.
  8. Consider yoga or Pilates – both help realign the body and strengthen the muscles that improve posture.
  9. If you continue to have problems, see a physical therapist, chiropractor, or orthopedic specialist.

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