Fitness Footprints

Do you want to put on muscle, lose pounds and inches, improve your flexibility, regain lost energy and/or improve your cardiovascular fitness or simply relieve pent up stress?  Personal training is much more than simply showing someone how to use a machine or lift a dumbbell.  It is about getting to know each person, and then putting together a complete, customized plan of action to fit the individual.

As an athlete and outdoor enthusiast myself, I have also experienced some physical setbacks that are often experienced when engaging in sports: injuries and broken bones.  Having gone through the rehabilitation of a shattered hip and dislocated shoulder and surgery, I specialize in sports nutrition, including pre and post-operative care and rehabilitation for those that are recovering from injury and/or surgery.  Nutrition and fitness play key roles in the length and success of the body’s repair mechanism after any illness, surgery or injury.  

 

Motivation - Finding Your Path to Fitness

The biggest challenge to any fitness program is getting started.  If you are just getting started on a fitness program, your goal should be to create a successful time period of exercise with a limited number of days.  For those who hate to exercise but know they should do it, limit your exercise to twice per week for 30 days.  Anyone can commit to two days per week for 30 days.   Why 30 days? Because we need to create a timeframe along with quantifiable goals (two days per week of workouts) in order for the mind and the emotions to experience a feeling of success.

The key here is to create a realistic plan of consistency -- so that at the end of 30 days you can look at yourself in the mirror and say, "I did it!  I completed all my workouts for one consecutive month."

If you think this is psychological nonsense, remember, your mind doesn’t want something forced upon it that it dislikes.  However, your mind also loves achieving goals and your body likes feeling more energized.  At the end of one month, with this minimal activity, you will increase energy and you’ll also serve to empower yourself.

If you’re a beginner and want to increase motivation, try two 25-35 minute workouts of your choice on alternate days of the week. If you’re more advanced and have been working out for quite some time at four to six days per week but you’ve lost motivation, cut back to three days per week for 30-40 minutes.

Remember, one month of consistency, but you do have to get all the workouts in.  Don’t forget to choose activity you enjoy.  It can be aerobic videos, Yoga, Pilates, weight training, or even just a 30-minute moderate walk at lunch time.

If you remain consistent, at the end of 30 days you’ll have a desire to add one more day, or possibly just increase your time a bit.

 

At Earth and Water Wellness, I am committed to developing a can-do program that fits with your lifestyle and health and fitness goals.  When people start moving their bodies, they start to feel better, both physically and emotionally.  It is a fact of life that the body needs to be utilized.  With a little dedication and motivation, you will be able to do things that you never imagined doing.  You will gain skills and capabilities that will make you want to continue on your path of fitness and health throughout your lifetime!   

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Have you dreamed about taking a walk around the block, running a 5K race for breast cancer, taking your kids for a ride on a regional bike trail, hiking a mountain, skiing the slopes at Copper Mountain or climbing the Flatirons?

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Stop dreaming and start doing!  It is never too start moving in the right direction!

 

Getting outdoors and moving is vital to our well-beings and is especially important in helping to relieve stress and for anyone suffering from emotional and behavioral issues, such as depression, anxiety, dysfunctional eating patterns or attention deficit disorder.

Group Workshops/Clinics:

• Group walks/runs/ hikes
• Mountain/road biking clinics and group rides
• Sports Adventure Therapy

Current Programs:

• Get Out & Play
• Reconnection Retreats - Hike for the Health of it!

(See the Calendar of Events for more information.)

The Benefits of Exercise:

Imagine that a new wonder drug has been created.  It will help prevent disease, including cancer and diabetes.  It will help you lose weight -- and keep it off.  It will slow the aging process, making you look and feel younger than your years.  It will give you energy and increase your self-esteem.  It will reduce stress, fight depression and anxiety, and put you in a better mood.  It will make you stronger and healthier.  It will improve your posture, your flexibility, your balance and your endurance.  It will even help you sleep better.

Everyone exercises for different reasons. But no matter your initial motivation, you still get ALL the benefits.   If you can find even one benefit on this list, you'll have enough reason to begin an exercise program and take steps to take care of yourself.

 

Regular Exercise Can:

• Help you lose weight, especially fat – improve your physical appearance
• Improve and support brain function and memory
• Increase your level of muscular strength and endurance
• Maintain your resting metabolic rate to prevent weight gain
• Increase your stamina and ability to do continuous work
• Improve fitness levels or your body's ability to use oxygen
• Provide protection against injury
• Improve your balance and coordination
• Increase bone mineral density to prevent osteoporosis
• Lower resting heart rate and blood pressure
• Lower Body Mass Index (BMI) -- your fat-to-height ratio
• Reduce triglycerides, bad cholesterol (LDL), raises good cholesterol (HDL)
• Enhance sexual desire and performance
• Reduce heart disease risk and stroke
• Reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer
• Increase insulin sensitivity -- prevents type 2 diabetes
• Reduce your level of anxiety and help you manage stress
• Improve function of the immune system
• Improve your self-esteem and restore confidence
• Help you sleep better, relax, and improve mood

Workout Tips                               

Remember that reduced body fat through proper nutrition, weight training and cardiovascular exercise is your ticket to success.

What Should I Include in my Workouts, What Should I Do?

As you get started on a new fitness program, you should start out slowly, especially if you are new to working out.  You should include the key components to balanced fitness in your program - cardio, core strength, flexibility and strength training. 

  

What should I Wear?

Wear comfortable workout clothes and athletic shoes (running, walking, cross-trainers).  Have a water bottle and towel with you.  Make sure that you have eaten a balanced meal or snack 30-60 minutes before your workout.  I also strongly suggest the use a heart-rate monitor. 

 

Burst to the Top - Maximix workouts with quick intense bursts – begin with your warm-up and increase intensity to about 90% of capacity for 30-60 seconds; slow up back to warm-up pace and repeat for 4-8 times – no more than 20-30 minutes of Intense Bursts will leave you DONE!  

Take it Outside – it’s more fun; second, it'll seem easier, because you'll be visually distracted; and third, you'll stick with it longer in life, because it's not dull or monotonous.

Use Free Weights - They're safer than a barbell and generally more effective, since they prevent one arm from becoming stronger than the other. They also better replicate how you lift loads in everyday life.

Stretch – Try yoga, or a DIY session involving your own sport-specific routine, for at least 10–15 minutes a day. You'll improve your flexibility and boost muscle endurance.

Stay at Home – Create an at-home workout so that there are no excuses; whether you start a run out your door or clear space somewhere in the house for a dumbbell-based lifting plan, you're at your gym the second you leave the bed and hit the floor.

Strength Train at Least 3 Times/Week - Research shows once is generally too little to effectively build a strong body. Three times a week, allowing at least 36 hours of rest between each weight-lifting session (yoga and Pilates count, too), will give your muscles enough time to recover.

Core Muscles as a Priority - If you have time to work only one muscle group in the weight room or gym, make it your torso, which includes your back, stomach, hips, and chest. Without a solid core, you won't be able to excel in any sport.

 

Essential Workout Tools:             

• Workout Log
• Free Weights – ranging from lighter weights (3-5#) to heavier (10-15#)
• Fitness Ball
• Resistance Bands
• Water Bottle
• Good Shoes
• Comfotable clothes
• Awesome Tunes

*Please check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.