Education Archives — Page 3 of 18

Meal Prep is Key🔑

With summer break upon us, I am filled with mixed emotions. It’s more of a relaxed time. There is less structure and more freedom. Calendars are full of summer activities, camps and family vacations. All of which can throw a major curve ball when it comes to sticking to healthy habits.

For me the key to staying on track is meal prepping. Most of our nights consist of rushing from one activity to the next. Having food ready to eat when hunger hits keeps me from bingeing on snacks or prepackaged convenience food.

Meal prepping does take some effort but it is […] Read more

4 Pillars of Health – What Is Missing In Your Life?

Are You Balanced?

Another podcast… I know, I know. But this is a good one. If you don’t subscribe to Lewis Howes podcast, The School of Greatness, you should. I always feel motivated and smarter 🤓 when I finish listening to one of his episodes. In this particular episode, they talked about health and how it can be divided into 4 categories. (Keep in mind I’m paraphrasing all of this and may not get it exactly right).

1️⃣ Nutrition
2️⃣ Exercise
3️⃣ Sleep
4️⃣ Relaxation

Take a close look at your life? Are you missing any of these? Let’s see…

Nutrition – I’m pretty good on this. […] Read more

Why TGU’s?

If you are looking ahead you have probably seen that Turkish Get-ups (TGU) are on the menu to end the week. This is becoming one of my favorite exercises. Why? It’s the one single movement that targets every inch of your body.

The Turkish Get-up incorporates all kinds of ankle, knee and hip movements as well as shoulder stabilization. It’s a great way for anyone to learn how to connect his or her whole body while maintaining a strong core to complete the task.

TGUs can be used in a variety of ways: an identifier for weak/tight muscles, a warm-up for your entire body and/or a strength exercise […] Read more

The Benefits of Static Holds in Workouts and in Life ….

Thursday we will be doing a workout that consists of all static holding for different positions ..

Handstands
Squat
Hollow Hold
Bar Hang

Why did I program this you ask?

Well you all know I am the “Why” Girl so here is your answer …

Static exercises, also known as “Isometrics”, are a form of exercise where the body performs little to no movement while contracting its muscles.
Key benefits of static training are:

1. Increased muscular endurance – Static training is very taxing on your CNS (Central Nervous System). This occurs very quickly while performing static holds. Which is why you notice that you […] Read more

Carbs Can Work For You…

Overconsume carbohydrates, and you could incur unwanted weight gain, blood sugar issues, and a long list of chronic diseases.

Eat too little, and you could experience hormonal imbalance, weight loss resistance, and major drops in athletic performance.

To add to this conundrum, what is one person’s high carb can be another’s too low carb – making mainstream “general” intake recommendations entirely inadequate.

While both sides of the coin project carbohydrates in an unpleasant light, rest assured – your right carb does exist, and eating the appropriate amount of this macronutrient can help you achieve health, longevity, and natural leanness.

The big (and quite controversial) question now becomes… What is your right […] Read more

Going Deeper with your Body… #joints

We all know you can only be as strong as your weakest link. And we all want to work out hard to feel accomplished, challenge ourselves and get awesome results. It’s fun, exciting and motivating to train with INTENSITY! However as we age we must think and act responsibly with our bodies so we can train hard and effective for the long haul. One of the most under-trained parts of our body is our joints!

Why should we focus and train our joints?

Joints are the foundation of our bodies infrastructure.

Good News: When healthy and adequately prepared we can train harder, longer, […] Read more

The Swiss Army Knife of Exercises… the Sots Press

Why? What’s in it for you?

Isn’t the goal?… Creating an anti-fragile, strong, robust and mobile body so we fight father time and look as good as we can the longer we can:-)… Oh good I thought so;-)

One of the big attractions to “Functional FITness” is how you can get the most amount out of not only your workouts but out of each exercise. Sots press could be one that can give you the most bang for your buck. Think about the “Useable Mobility”–> (LINK) we discussed previously.

The Sots press is a viable training exercise for most athletes looking too…

Promote sound […] Read more

Weightlifting Belt; Too Wear or Not to Wear…

Monday we had Deadlifts. You may have noticed that day (or even on other days) that some gym buddies were wearing a weightlifting belt.

If you’ve ever wondered if a weightlifting belt is for you I like to give you my take on it, some benefits and how to use it.

Personally, I’m a BIG fan of using weightlifting belts. Even though I’ve used a belt just a handful of times in my ‘extensive’ lifting career;-) My objective for using them would be for powerlifts and if I going for a HEAVY lift or PR! You really won’t see me using them in a conditioning […] Read more

But Is Your Mobility Even Useable?

So now that we have the rules of Flexibility I beg the question… But, why should I stretch?
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We want something USEABLE. Something(s) that will transfer over in Real Life that we can use everyday.
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What is “Useable Mobility”?
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?️One, injury prevention. We want the stretching we perform to improve our strength in a range of motion. This stretch helps prevent injury. For example, what if you slip on some ice and needed to catch yourself or even drop a bit into a split:-O. Life (and our workouts) is unpredictable so we want to be strong everywhere. If we train and strength end ranges we […] Read more

Sun for the Soul

As you read my blog this week, I will be enjoying my last few days in the Caribbean. This is something my husband and I commit to doing yearly. Although the finances don’t always look like we can afford to go, we say each year that this is something that we can’t afford not to do.

With the daily hustle and bustle of daily life, it’s easy to forget about the person you married. This is our time to reconnect, spending quality time together away from the kiddos to help us refuel after a long season of busyness.

Maintaining our health routine […] Read more

Do You Even Stretch?

Do you stretch with a purpose?

Or do you just stretch for the sake of stretching?

Sure, you have mobilized some. Pulling your leg behind you until you feel a strain on your quads, or kicking your leg up on a bench and leaning into it before a run. Real stretching is not part of a warm-up or cool-down though, real stretching is work. Sweaty, dizzying, (occasionally) nauseating work.

Let’s clarify one point before we get too far. When I talk about stretching (with a purpose), I am talking about actively working to increase your range of motion and your flexibility, with the intention of achieving […] Read more

The Mod Squad – Friday Night Lights Special!

Who’s ready for some amazing workouts!

It’s hard to believe the Crossfit Open is here again. Seems like we were just watching the games! The excitement around the announcements, workouts and clues is all over the place and the enthusiasm is contagious. We have some amazing people competing and I thought what better way to keep everyone healthy and moving than a little yoga!

I put together a 10 minute flow to stretch our back, hips and shoulders (places we all seem to hurt ?). Now you can take as much time or as little time going through the movements as you like. […] Read more

Self Love ❤️

It’s easy when asked about whom you love, to list our family, friends, pets, crushes, etc. Often we forget to mention a very important person: ourselves.

We live in a tough world. People can be extremely critical, cruel, and cold. We are obsessed with labels, with finding acceptance, with this implication that we must be “perfect.”

I grew up as a highly insecure girl. I had different color skin, my hair was different, I worried about my body image as I towered over the girls in my class until high school…as did my feet (size 11 by 6th grade) ?. People who […] Read more

the Power List

If you’re like me you wake up everyday with 1000s of thoughts, ideas and things on your mind. Or if you not, you wake up bored, lethargic and not so pumped up.

Either way we as human beings crave direction and structure to our day.

Last week I touched on a few things on why people end up un-successful with their New Year’s goals. In particular, #1) No routine, #3 Poorly Defined, #4) Too Many Goals. If that is the case with you allow me to introduce to you, The POWER List.

The Power List was introduced to me in a podcast by […] Read more

A Mod Squad Mini – Stretch Break!

Quick Shoulder Stretch Break!

It’s been a while since we’ve done a Mod Squad Mini, so I thought it was time for another video to help you sneak some stretching into your day. Stretch breaks don’t need to be complicated or take up a lot of time and today’s video is perfect to help undo the stress of being on our phones or computers all day.

In less than 5 minutes you can feel like a new person!

Want more good stuff like this? Join me for yoga every Saturday morning at 9:30!!

The O-Board Says…

Part A
Strict Press
3-2-2-1-1

Part B
3 Rounds for Time
800 m Run
15 STO
30 Back […] Read more

It’s Never Too Late

Let me introduce you to Judy Zimbelman. If you have not met her, you need to. Her smile and charisma is infectious!! Judy started with CPM in October of 2016. She had no idea the journey ahead but I am so glad I have been along for the ride!

Here is her story.

I initially was searching for a physical therapist because of my knee pain. I was interested in working with Nicole because she was not only a physical therapist, but also a trainer. Although my goal was to solve my knee pain, I was also interested in increasing my strength […] Read more

Entitled Kids?

I recently entered the world of being a mom of a teenager and I am beginning to see the signs of the entitlement epidemic. We all want the best for our kids. We raise them to be good humans, teaching them right from wrong and how to treat others with respect; but in our loving attempts, have I really fallen into the trap of over-parenting? Am I robbing my kids the opportunity to learn from their mistakes? The world can be a scary place. They will encounter struggle, challenges and difficulties. It’s time for me to take action before it’s […] Read more

The Mod Squad – Challenge your Movement

Up your Down Dog game, try Dolphin!

This week we have a great pose break down, let me introduce you to Dolphin. This is a great pose to open up the shoulders, stretch into the hamstrings and give some attention to our low back.

Dolphin is a great pose to not only incorporate into your yoga practice (great option to down dog), but can be a great stretch to sneak in before or after a workout. Since it hits so many of our most common tight spots, I encourage you to try this.

Few pointers to get the most out of this pose:

1. Keep […] Read more

Food is Medicine

During my first six months, my mom described me as a happy baby. I did not cry often, I was a good sleeper and not too picky when it came to food. At 9-months old, I took my first steps. Then one day, instead of walking, I dropped to the floor and could not move. All I would do is cry. The Pediatrician performed a thorough check-up and decided to admit me to hospital due to 104-degree temperature. No explanation was ever provided even after 2-weeks of testing. Then one day I miraculously started to walk again. The next episode […] Read more

The Mod Squad – Healthy Holidays

Happy Holidays!

This is a busy time of year for most of us. Work, school, family are all pulling us in so many different directions that it can be hard to take time for ourselves. It can also mean eating treats we normally wouldn’t and traveling to see family and friends. This week’s video is here to save your holiday!

I have put together a series of poses to help everyone spending long amounts of time in a car or plane or just sitting more than usual. Plus, BONUS, many of these moves will also help us with our digestion. […] Read more