The Smoking Ban

Hi! It's Laura.

I read this over last weekend and thought it very interesting.  I know there is probably alot of controversy over it as well. 
I can't say that I disagree.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/story/2012-01-03/health-care-jobs-no-smoking/52394782/1

Play hard !

Laura

The art of technique

Laura here.

I have been trying to write this entry since Friday of last week. It’s amazing the amount of stuff that needs to get done. Add one long weekend when The Husband is off and everything pretty much takes on a life of its own. But that's enough of my excuses.

Before we get started, I would like to mention that I got through a pool workout this morning with no incidents (there was an incident and it could have been mine but it was not). YAY!

I don't know if it’s my keen observation skills or that I am just plain nosey, but I like to watch people and what they are doing (mind out of the gutter please! This is not that kind of show). Some days this provides me great pleasure (I said out of the gutter) and other days, amazement or even disgust. On really good days, both!

Which brings me to my fellow gym goers. It pains me deeply (and I am sure them the next day) to watch bad technique. This is mostly during resistance training (I would like to mention how difficult life is without Wikipedia today). I rarely observe bad technique on cardio equipment other than holding onto the hand rails and I still need to look away.

Let me share some examples of what not to do:

1)    Don’t short change your muscle. You want to use the full range of motion and engage the entire muscle. There is a woman at NYSC that I used to see every day doing bicep curls on the cable machine, if she moved her arm 5 degrees I would be shocked. It’s a waste of time and she was accomplishing nothing.

2)    Don’t hold your breath! Inhale during the lift and exhale during the lowering.

 

3)    Don’t rush through the exercise.  If you are rushing through you are probably  not using proper technique and probably using too much or too little weight( how much to use? different blog on a different day)

Yesterday morning I got to observe "the trainer that wears too much cologne" at the JCC train a client and I was appalled.  Not only was the trainer carrying around a cup of coffee, every time the client did an exercise the trainer was off setting up the next one. I watched the client and he will be sore today but not for the right reasons. The last I knew, a session with a trainer is a business meeting but in shorts.

4)    Don't be afraid to ask.  If you do not know what a piece of equipment does, ask someone that works there. That is what they are there to do. Every gym ultimately has the same equipment but from different manufacturers so they can all look different. Some even have multiple uses and you may see someone doing some move you have never seen before. So ask and you might learn something.

This part is going to be a little creepy. During my primetime gym visit last week, I was struck by the bad technique that I was observing I recorded it with my phone. You don't want to be this woman:

So as Sensei Montes used to say “Perfect practice leads to perfect performance” or something really close to that.

Play hard & do it right!

Laura

Dear Abby,...

Yesterday I got the chance to be in the gym at “Prime Time” and was sorely reminded of why I do not go at “Prime Time”. OMG!  First the pool (yes, again). When the pool is crowded, please refrain from standing in the water, at the end of the lane while having a conversation with a person standing on deck.  Not only is this rude it is dangerous for the other swimmers. If you want to have a conversation, GET OUT OF THE POOL. I am new to swimming but I am pretty sure that is proper etiquette

Why is it so difficult to have manners in the gym?

I like to think that I walk fast enough on the streets and that when I do need to stop, I move to the side and out of the way. If I am "texting and driving" (not real driving, I am still talking about walking) I am aware that I walk slower, and move closer to the buildings looking up often.

When I wear earphones, I have not forgotten that I am wearing them and start singing like I am in the shower (I don't actually sing in the shower, even I don't want to hear me sing).

I also know that technology has improved greatly over the last 10 years that I do not need to scream into my cell phone for the other person to hear me.

So if all that is not bad enough, the gym seems to be worse. So here we go with “Gym Etiquette 101”.

·         Be Polite and Wipe - If you sweat on a machine, wipe it off.  If the person before you left it sweaty, you would be peeved. Don’t be that person.

·         Maintain Radio Silence - Don’t talk on the phone.  If you are talking on a phone, you’re not working hard enough (yeah, forget that “should be able to talk” line a few blogs ago. That was guideline not an order). No one wants to hear your conversation at the gym or anywhere else for that matter.

·         Less is More - Overstaying your welcome on a cardio machine can cause animosity. (I am so guilty of this but I don't training during “Prime Time”.)

·         Put’m Back Where You Found’m - Put your toys away.  My mom said you can't play with another until you put the others away first. I didn’t get this until I got older. Be considerate and put the weights and equipment back where they belong. Who knows, if everyone did this, you could find it the next time you wanted it.

·         No Loitering - Don't hover over the machine you want (How would like it? It’s like reading over someone’s shoulder).

·         Don’t Be Late for Class – This is my biggest pet peeve.  Since when does a 6:00 start time mean 6:05 or even 6:20? (Only in the movies does it start 20 minutes after the start time but at least I get previews.)

·         Cover Up - The locker room is not your bathroom (and I don’t care how good you think you look naked).

·         If it IS Broke… - Be a good gym citizen. If the treadmill or TV on the treadmill is not working, let the staff know.

·         Play Nice - When you share a machine with someone and another person was there first, but the weight back to their weight (even if they don’t because you are better than that!).

·         That Doesn’t Go There – Workout equipment and exercise pieces are not lockers nor are they coat hangers. Put your shit away and keep it out of other people's way.

·         It feels good but It Ain’t Sex - Keep your grunts groans and singing to yourself.  Lifting too much weight or setting the resistance too high on the elliptical is a private matter.

Etiquette sounds simple enough I know but it is so difficult for so many people to do.  Use this rule of thumb, if you don't want to hear it, smell it or sit in it, neither does anyone else.

Happy MLK weekend!

Play hard & be courteous!

Laura

A reprint of a great article

Over the weekend, I came across this article in the WSJ.  I laughed, I cried...

27 Rules of Conquering the Gym

My favorite is #4.

Play Hard!
Laura

Get used to it

Normally I share my experiences during training and the epiphanies that come along the way. But today I would like to share something that came along in a conversation.

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."-Albert Einstein.

More often than not, I hear people complaining that they go to the gym, they eat right but they still can't lose weight. More often than not, I see people at the gym running the same three miles on the tread mill, lifting the same amount of weight & doing the same exercise or doing the same 30 minutes on the elliptical. Continuing on that path will yield you the same results (bad technique is bad also but that is a different day’s entry).

The answer is yes; your body can get used to exercise.  As your fitness level increases, you need to; push harder or you can change things up, to achieve your goal (eliminating goals isn’t very helpful).

There are physiological adaptions your body performances in order to make you more efficient. Changing that is called overload.  In order to combat these adaptions we use frequency, intensity, time & type. Using the F.I.T.T. principal allows you to break the cycle and achieve the results you are looking to achieve.

If you find you are always on the tread mill, try a cycling class. If you are always doing the same strength moves, add additional reps or additional sets. ideally you want to change your workout routine every four weeks and not get stuck in a rut.

If you are not sure how to change up what you are currently doing in the gym, email me. I will happily help you get unused to it.

Play hard & be sane!

Laura

Be selfish

 It's Laura.

Sometimes it just hurts and not in a good way

This morning I got a little bit of a later start. Since the only morning nourishment had been GU and half a cup of coffee, I opted to run along the Hudson River in Riverside Park as opposed to my usual four mile jaunt in Central Park.

The thought process was that I wouldn't have to work as hard along the Hudson because its flat. LOL! I really need to check the weather before I leave the apartment. Two miles up- no problem, two miles back against an unrelenting 12MPH wind…STINKS! (I swear the gusts were at least 50 MPH.) I did check the weather when I got home (yeah yeah, but how else would I know what to write?). If there were leaves on the trees or a flag flying somewhere, I may have made a different choice. So much for getting off easy, I would have been better running the big hill.

The late start was so I could take the dog to the park and let The Husband go to the gym. Poor guy has not been there since we got the dog (so we know who is going to be sore tomorrow). So while I was running (only solving my own problems today) I thought about how selfish exercise really is. Or is it?

Exercise can change the way you look: tone arms, legs & abs. It builds your endurance: you can continue to do a thing for a longer period of time (work, exercise, sex). Exercise can help lower your blood pressure, boost your immune system, aide in lowering your cholesterol all while you improve your self-esteem & mood.

How dare you take an hour for yourself to reap all those benefits!  Oh wait I am forgetting the guilt.  You don't want to leave work early (or go in late), take time away from the family & friends or let the spouse forage for food on their own at dinner time. In one hour most days of the week you can make a huge difference in you. So I say, be selfish.

Who wants to hang around a person who is healthy, looks good and radiates confidence?

Play hard!

Laura

Eat, Papa, Eat

Welcome back everyone! The Husband, The Dog and I have returned from our "cross training" and ready to hit it.

Apparently everyone else is trying to stick to those New Year's resolutions too (that they won't keep). Most people won't keep their resolutions past the end of this month. Meanwhile they are just getting in my way at the gym and in the pool.

 I would love to waste your time complaining about how crowded the gym is this time of year, but what I really wanted to talk about is food (another obsessive topic of mine).

Since the day after Christmas, we have been assaulted with television commercials begging us to lose weight with “Jenny Craig” or “Jillian Michael’s” or “Nutrisystem” or “Weight Watchers” (you know my thoughts on that one!).

You can choose from diet drinking (Slim Fast), quick diet, slow diet, taking a magic pill (Hydroxycut), special plants (Hoodia) or the latest & greatest (LOOK LIKE THE PRINCESS) Dukan diet. The fact is all diets work. As for the special & magical, that is how the separate you from your money.

Any time you restrict your calories, whether you do it by eliminating carbs, eliminating protein or eliminating food all together (not recommended), you will lose weight. 

But the bottom line is: THERE IS NO MAGIC. The only true formula for sustained weight loss and maintenance of a healthy lifestyle is calories in versus calories out (dead horse? I hope so).

But where should you start?  First you need to know how many calories per day you need to function, your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). The formula can be found here: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/bmr-formula.php. There are plenty of BMR calculators out there that you can Google to help you get started. All of these calculators take into account you age and activity level so you can adjust them yourself as your needs and circumstances change.

Now, what do you do with it? If you are looking to lose weight, you want to cut  at least 500 calories a day for a 1- 2 lbs weight loss per week. If you are looking to gain add 500 calories (I know I know, but they are out there and you are allowed to hate them silently). You can do weight management with diet, exercise (I can help with this part) or a combination of the two (I can still help).

If you are going to embark on a diet plan, I do not recommend going below 1200 calories per day. Always seek advice of a medical professional before starting any diet or exercise activity.

Nutrition can get very complicated when you start boiling it down to proteins, carbs and fats  and, although I am not a nutritionist, I can provide some suggested guidelines.  

Your diet should be:

·         55-65% carbohydrate ( not all carbs are pasta & potatoes)

·         15% from protein ( most far exceed this guideline)

·         20% fat (the good kind like olive oil & avocados) .

Once you understand what all these do for your body, you will mostly likely eat carbs once again.

And now (to me) the most important point: Frequency of Meals.  Eating several small meals during the course of the day keeps you metabolism continuously burning. Eating regularly and the right amount of food allows your body to function and keeps it out of starvation mode (in starvation, your body stores the food you have eaten as fat). The body works with water the same way. If you don't drink water, your body holds on to it. Once you start drinking water on a regular basis retained water is released. Ideally you should eat six meals a day. I know this is not practical for everyone but you should consider a piece of fruit and one once of cheese a meal (there is a fruit stand on almost everyone corner and most bodegas carry string cheese). You can do it!

Most people don't eat enough food during the course of a day which is why normal looking people can't or don't lose weight. You would be surprised how much food (the right food) 1500 calories really is.

There are many naysayers out there about the frequency of meals.

Question: Whether you eat three meal or 6 meals, as long as you eat the same amount of calories, isn't it the same thing?

Answer: Yes & No

I am happy to discuss and open the blog to comments for further discussion.

Play hard & eat often!

Laura