Ok, you have been hearing about Functional Training, High Intensity Interval Training(HIIT), Plyometrics and Jump Training.  But what are they?   And more importantly, Are they right for you?  Let me try to clear up some of the differences between these forms of training.  Maybe it will help you figure out what you’re missing!

• Functional Training involves doing exercises that will help you perform activities that you do on a daily basis.  These types of exercises create strength in muscles that you use for whatever you do through out your life.
• HIIT is a form of programming your workouts so you are doing short, highly intense bursts throughout your strength training to create spikes in your heart rate.  This has been found to help you burn more calories post workout.
• Plyometrics are high impact exercises that athletes include in their workouts to mimic the movements that they will be doing during their sport of choice.
• Jump training is involving various types of jumping and high impact movements similar to plyometrics.

You should be in good health and have healthy joints to begin a Plyometric or Jump training program.  One thing you should know about any program is that there are always modifications to any exercise.  For example, a Jumping Jack is a form of impact training.  A beginner to jump training might do a step touch jumping jack, progress to a regular jumping jack and then move to a jack squat and then add holding a medicine ball while doing a jack squat.

Using a medicine ball to add power to a jumping jack

Working with a Personal Trainer allows you the opportunity to make sure you are beginning at the level that matches your fitness capabilities.  A Trainers job is to progress you to move to the next fitness level no matter what form of exercise you are doing.  They also will correct your form, take into consideration your personal goals and health to insure that you are getting the most out of your workout.

If you are interested in training for an event, an organized one or just the rigorous event of life, a trainer can take you as far as you want to go, in a safe manner.  Sure, you can find a million workouts on the internet, in magazines, or pick up a book on the latest trends.  But how many times have you tried to start a new program only to find it lasts one or two sessions?

Check out our Jump Start Packages on our home page and consider getting started the safe and effective way that will last more than 2 workouts.

I am not sure if what I am about to share is appropriate for our MissFIT Motivation day on this blog. But, it is a part of me and plays a huge role in what has inspired and motivated me to change….I hope for the better. And, change for the better, well, that is what ‘living well’ is all about, right?

Grief changes you. Well, it changed me. But I believe that
it has the potential to bring out new dimensions, new perspectives and yes,
even new opportunities in the ‘griever’s’ life. It’s has been a touch over two
years since my future dreams were crushed along with an utter alteration in my
children’s futures. Our history was rewritten in the matter of but one solitary
yet insurmountable occurrence; the death of my husband, best friend and my
girls’ Daddy. And, oh what a loyal and loving husband he was. What an adoring,
enthusiastic and protective daddy! Memories, laughs and meaningful moments
abound.

Sometimes it all flashes before my eyes and I am quickly
brought back to the life I had, almost as if none of this has happened. One who
has not experienced close grief or a life altering experience may consider two
years an amount of time reasonable to leave the reliving of the disbelief, the
sadness and the loneliness behind. But, no. I have, on many occasions managed
to avoid the dealings with my grief and how much I still miss Kevin from the
bottom of my heart and in the depths of my soul. They are some of the rawest
and realest feelings I have ever experienced and they are born in the depths of
my belly and swell to the base of my throat. The longer I avoid them, the more
impossible to muster the strength and wisdom to turn them into something
productive or even positive in my life.

Yes, my intent is to use my personal story in a positive way. It is mine to embrace.

Kevin would have turned 36 this month, yesterday actually, on May 19.  36. From time to time
I fool myself into believing he wasn’t that young, at 33, when his mission here
came to completion. Perhaps I am able to do that because Kevin lived his life
out loud, with passion, in faith and he loved even more intensely. It seems his
life was ‘complete’. So, that’s why it is okay that he had to go. I see God’s
plan at work despite my lack of understanding sometimes for how these things
make sense for those of us left behind.

This is how we celebrated his 35th birthday and I believe how he would have loved spending his day–with his best friend fishing and, of course, some fun cheerful balloons help us to envision Kevin flying free in heaven!

It doesn’t make sense for us until I take a long hard look
at what has happened in my recent history as a widow and single mom. I know
what it may seem like to others. Even for me it sounds bleak and unfathomable
when I hear the horror stories of other women losing their husbands or any
other untimely tragedy taking place in my peripheral.  But, when I stop to truly absorb the emotions
and absolve my experience, I am reassured that God’s plans are only good. Yes,
even if the pursuit of His purpose presses pain into the crevasses of our
lives.

Stress and struggle are necessary for even positive change
to take place. It’s when we are warm and moldable.

What’s more, I believe that Kevin would want nothing more
than for the girls and I to continue in gratitude for what we have and grace in
the walk we are on rather than digging a hole of despair to dwell in loneliness
for him.  The love and good intent we had
for each other in this life transcends death. We held each other in his last
days repeating, ‘in the blink of an eye’ knowing that we would meet again. And
so as his birthday approaches, it is with love and faith in my heart that I
honor his legacy from which I know I have grown and prospered.

My greatest loss has also been my biggest teacher. Yes,
God’s plans are good.

Grief changes people. It changed me. Dare I say…… for the
better.

My messages are clearer, my intent purer, my desire to drain
this life of all that is good deeper. The pangs of grief and loneliness are
ever present. Would I give anything in
a bargain with God to see and touch Kevin just once more!? YES! But, I
accept that ‘in the blink of an eye’ we will meet again where we are rewarded
for the journey we sometimes drudgingly walk in this life. I accept my new life
and, although I still struggle to see exactly where and how the pieces fit together,
I know that I am blessed beyond measure.

Happy Birthday to my Love who still lives in me!

Your legacy lives on in Your 3 Girls’ Lives.

Katie

Here I am, a few weeks into potty training my 2.5 year old, and it hits me.  What in the world am I doing using M&M’s as rewards?!

Well, I know what I’m doing.  I chose something that is extremely motivating for my kid, that’s why I chose it.  But I have to ashamedly admit that I didn’t put much thought into it.

Potty training just happened one day.  She just sat down and went after I randomly asked her if she wanted to, all to my surprise.  That’s great and all, but it caught me so off guard (and I was so proud) that I just threw out a reward that I knew would equally surprise and delight her in return- M&M’s.

Next thing I knew I bought a bag of M&M’s and put them in a container in our medicine cabinet.  I know, I know.  Call me a hypocrite.  This was not a mindful food purchase.  Not that I think I can even call M&M’s a food.  Had I thought a bit more about it, I would have never even started.

Hold up.

Maybe some of you are thinking this isn’t a big deal.  It’s just some M&M’s, right?  But, for me, it kinda is.  I don’t buy stuff like M&M’s on a regular basis, if at all really.  It’s junk, in my opinion, and until now, offered nothing redeeming.  I guess I had convinced myself that since it actually worked as a strong motivator for my daughter that somehow overshadowed the fact that M&M’s are sugar covered in artificial food dye.  I quickly came to realize that I wasn’t just going to be feeding her a few here and there as she quickly caught on to this new reward system.  2 days in and I found myself feeding her 10-15 M&M’s a day!  Good for advancing in the potty training arena.  Awful for what I was suddenly realizing was going into her body on a regular basis: sugar, fat and Blue 1 Lake, Red 40 Lake, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Red 40, Blue 1, Blue 2 Lake, Yellow 6 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, Blue 2.

I blame the lapse in judgement on child #2 in my womb, sucking my brain cells as he continues to grow his own.

That said, I threw away the rest of the M&M’s and tried a sticker chart.  Ha.  That worked about a day.  Now we have compromised with dark chocolate chips.  She seems to be ok with this.

So what’s the big deal with a little color in our food?

1. Some artificial dyes have been long known to cause allergic reactions in some people- Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6 specifically.
2. There have been numerous studies done, and confirmed, that dyes can cause hyperactivity in children.
3. Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 are the most widely used artificial dyes (about 90% of dyes).  Studies have shown they are tainted with low level cancer-causing compounds.
4. Some studies show that while certain dyes themselves may not cause cancer directly, there may be a synergestic effect which could lead to a higher cancer-causing effect.

If you eat a lot of processed foods, chances are you’re eating a decent amount of artificial food dye.  Start reading your list of ingredients.  You’d be surprised what our food industry decides needs some extra color.

There are some natural dyes as well.  Dyes derived from beets, beta-carotene and turmeric are a more natural substitute that won’t make the kids bounce off the walls or potentially expose us to yet one more thing that may give us cancer.  We don’t need any extra help on that.

Best way to avoid artificial dyes?

Eat a diet rich in whole foods.  Avoid processed foods.  Read your list of ingredients before purchasing.  Stay away from ingredients that have a color followed by a number as well as anything listing “artificial color.”

It’s almost here!  I can feel it in the air, can’t you?

The tank tops are sneaking their way back up to the top of my drawer, and you know what that means, right? EXPOSED ARMS, OH MY!  I thought this might be a good time to repost a blog from a while ago.  It’s not too late to start thinking about toning your beautiful arms.

There are so many exercises for every muscle in our body that just one move does not totally work that muscle. This month I’ll be blogging about the muscle called triceps brachii. Women in all walks of life struggle to avoid those jiggly, wiggly arms. In the Midwest, we start worrying about how to tone our triceps in about March, when we know sleeveless weather is just around the corner. But really, wouldn’t it be smarter to tone and strengthen all our muscles all year round? Then we wouldn’t stress out in March when we think about sleeveless Summer clothes!

The triceps brachii muscle (Latin for “three-headed arm muscle”) is the large muscle on the back of the upper limb. It is the muscle principally responsible for extension of the elbow joint (straightening of the arm).

I could tell you more about what the triceps do, but I know you really want to read about how to make them more tone, look good and stop jiggling! So here are the top 3 triceps exercises. They were determined the top three by a study done at the University of Wisconsin – LaCrosse. If you want to read about the details of the study you can go to:http://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/1562/ to read the entire article.

TRIANGLE PUSH-UPS
The triangle push-up derives its name from the placement of the hands during the exercise. Unlike a traditional push-up, with hands positioned beneath the shoulders, the triangle push-up involves placing the thumbs and forefingers together to form a triangle position.

Stiffen your torso by contracting your core/abdominal, gluteal and quadriceps muscles and align your head with your spine. Place your feet together with your toes pointed toward your shins. Due to the challenging nature of this position, however, you may want to start with a modified version of the exercise by placing your knees on the floor.

For the downward phase, slowly lower your body toward the floor while maintaining a rigid torso and keeping your head aligned with your spine. Do not allow your low back to sag or your hips to hike upward during this downward phase. Continue to lower yourself until your chest or chin touches the mat/floor.

For the upward phase, press up through your arms while maintaining a rigid torso and keeping your head aligned with your spine. For extra strength, think about pushing the floor away from you. Do not allow your low back to sag or your hips to hike upward. Continue pressing until the arms are fully extended at the elbows.

DIPS

In the picture dips are performed using a low bench, but just about any sturdy chair or ledge can be used. Begin by placing your hands on either side of your hips so your palms are resting on the bench and your fingers are hanging over the edge. With your feet together, extend your legs out in front of you. For a modified version, you can bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor. However, you need to focus on your arms doing the work and not your legs.

Carefully move your buttocks off the bench, while leaving your hands in place. Lower your hips toward the floor until your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Push back up using your hands rather than your legs, and repeat.

TRICEPS KICKBACK
Proper form in performing the triceps kickback exercise is important not only for targeting triceps activity, but also for safety reasons to prevent additional loading on your spine.

Begin by holding a dumbbell in your left hand and assume a split-stance position. Place your right leg forward, but keep your weight evenly distributed through the heels of both feet. Stiffen your torso by contracting your abdominal and core muscles. Place your right hand on your right thigh or knee and slowly lean forward, transferring most of your upper-extremity body weight onto that right side. Depress and retract your left scapula—pull your shoulder down and back—and maintain this position throughout the exercise. Your head should be aligned with your spine.

Position your left upper arm parallel to, and close to, your torso. Bend your elbow to 90 degrees or at least to a point where your forearm hangs vertical to the floor.

For the upward phase, exhale and slowly extend (straighten) your elbow by contracting your triceps muscles until your elbow is fully extended. Your upper arm should remain stationary next to your torso and not raised during the movement. Avoid any arching or sagging in your low back or any rotation in your torso.

For the downward phase, inhale and slowly return your arm to your starting position, without changing your torso position. Keep your upper arm parallel and close to your torso.

One of the best things about these exercises, is that you need very little equipment to do these 3 exercises. For push-ups all you need is your body weight. For Dips you only need a sturdy chair or coffee table and your body weight. And for Kickbacks a dumbbell that is a challenging weight is it. You can even use a filled water bottle or soup can. They really don’t take too much time. You can even do them while watching your favorite TV show. If you travel, the first 2 exercises can be done in any hotel room!

Just think, if you start now you will have the strongest, most well defined triceps just in time for sleeveless weather! If you love winter sports like I do, you will also notice that strong triceps will help you when you X-Country Ski, Downhill Ski, Snowshoe and pull you kids up and down the sledding hill! You will also find it easy to do so many more everyday moves with strong triceps. Let’s get started. Send me a message and let me know how your triceps workout is going!