Survival of the Fittest

February is heart month, and not just because Valentine’s Day is right in the middle of it.

According to a 2009 statistic of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is still the # 1 killer for women in the United States with 24%, followed by ALL cancers with 22% and stroke with 6%.

While there is a genetic component to heart disease, many factors leading up to it like diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol are under our control. I am not even talking about weight. It is well-known that excess weight can lead to all of the above, and that even a moderated weight loss can reduce the risk.

And exercise is the not so secret weapon that can help in the management of diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol.  When I see the barrage of pharmaceutical advertisement which promises help with all of the above, I am always struck by the qualifier “If diet and exercise is not enough, please ask your doctor if XYZ is right for you”. Sadly, the first half of this sentence is often conveniently blocked out, and XYZ is the preferred choice.

Please give “diet and exercise” a chance. It can help manage medical problems, does not have a list of side effects in fine print, and will make you feel a lot better.

Another Year Wiser?

I hope so. Definitely another year older as the calendar goes. Oh well.

It strikes me, though, how fortunate I am to have my own business as a personal trainer. If I had been able to stay with IBM where I worked for 18 years (and not being laid off years ago), I would bite my nails for fear of being let go now and hope that I can make it to retirement. No matter how one looks at it, age discrimination is alive and well in the work place, particularly when it comes to new hires.

How strange in some ways that my position as a self-employed person is so much more secure.

And I am so grateful that I am not counting down the days to a retirement day but instead look forward to every day with the joy of what I am doing.

Age? So what? 58? YESSSSSS !!!!! Happy Birthday to me !!!!!!

Yoga for a Dummy

It sure is easy to feel that way when an otherwise fit and healthy person (me) tries yoga. I began to be intrigued when participants in my MELT classes (or Pilates for that matter) all of a sudden told me that that ‘was yoga’.

I am not a yoga teacher, and I am also not a yoga practitioner but I respect this modality highly. I am also aware that there are many schools of yoga which can vary quite fundamentally from one another in addition to all the hybrid creations of the western world (my favorite is probably hip-hop yoga).

I have taken some yoga classes, all of them at the IDEA Conventions where the teachers tend to be the best in the country and are of a yogic ability to give the artists of Cirque du Soleil a run for their money.

Being a bit pressed for time and not having time for a class, I got some DVDs and instructions and went to work. Fortunately, I have a studio with huge mirrors and can inspect myself from every angle. I can also understand when cues on form are provided yet it is interesting to slip back into the role of a student and acquire a new set of movement skills. Also quite maddening when one understands the instructions but somehow the body fails to comply because it hasn’t been in that position in a while (maybe never). Yet, I am determined to give it a try.

Good thing I know how to MELT. MELT is a great lengthening technique, and it prepares the body well for any other fitness modality, particularly yoga.

Who knows: maybe one day I will be able to twist myself into a pretzel after all J

Some Assembly Required

Throughout the month of December, we have been giving our fitness studio a serious facelift. We replaced the office type flooring with light rubberized gym-flooring and painted the walls and ceiling. While we had everything out and about, it was a good opportunity to re-think the layout of the equipment which resulted in some rearranging of the larger machines.

And then there is the small stuff which – in a small studio – you don’t sweat but cherish. Unfortunately, over the years, we put some here and some there, and while it never became a mess, it started looking a little untidy.

So we bought two large shelf units which can hold 800 lbs. (!) each which came in two large and very heavy boxes. While I needed help getting them into the studio (they are over 100 lbs. each), once they were in place, I was in my element. I have always loved putting things together, and the words ‘Some Assembly Required’ hold more promise than threat for me.  So I rolled up my sleeves and went to work. After an hour one unit was put together, and now the studio is all shiny and organized.

I keep thinking about the satisfaction that I get from actually creating something with my hands. Something that I can hold and look at, point to (and brag about). Many people tell me the same thing; it must be part of human nature to have that desire to create things (even something as mundane as a shelf unit).

As my mind was meandering from gym flooring to shelf units to the workings of human nature, it struck me that it is our own mind that gives meaning to things. And after I floated a little while on the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, I remembered that there is still a pile of ‘stuff’ outside of the studio which will need a home inside. Once that is done, I can get back to floating.

I wish everybody a very happy and healthy New Year 2013!

Shouldering Up

This week, my husband and I attended a fabulous presentation by Dr. Eric Oestmann on Rotator Cuff Disorders. While designed as continued education for physical therapist, it had plenty of information for our use as personal trainers.  We see shoulder problems more often than we like, and I myself am intimately acquainted with impingement syndrome, shoulder surgeries and a frozen shoulder.

Most interesting for me were the assessment modalities to determine range of motion of the two shoulder joints. Yes, indeed, two! Not just right and left but two per side. The one we always think of is the one of the arm called glenohumeral joint. The other one is a little more obscure, and we may not even think of it as a joint: it is called scapula-thoracic joint and is the movement of the shoulder blade against the rib cage. The movement of those joints can be assessed individually, and the result can give valuable information as to what needs to be stretched or strengthened.

What struck me during the presentation is how much overlap there is between physical therapy and personal training. For me, manual manipulation is off limits; won’t do it, it’s not in my scope of practice. At the same time, I can instruct people in the use of the foam roller with MELT thus empowering people to mobilize their connective tissue. And while I must not and cannot diagnose and treat a problem, it is within my scope of practice to identify muscular imbalances and address those.

As I listened to Dr. Oestmann who approached from the field of physical therapy, I realized how lucky I am to be a personal trainer. I only see people who actually WANT to exercise and don’t have to give a second thought to those who don’t. Physical therapists are also limited in time and often must be done after a given number of visits whether their patient is sufficiently better or not.

One take home assessment immediately became a challenge to the students in my MELT class the following day. It is called clock exercise and goes as follows: lie on your right side, right leg almost straight, left leg bent and left knee touching the floor. Put your left hand on a straight arm on the floor near the left knee.  Keep your left arm straight and your knee on the floor as you circle your arm around your head and to the backside of your body. The goal is to keep the hand in touch with the floor at all times. Repeat on the other side. This should indeed be possible, and it would be an indication of ideal shoulder range of motion.  We did this at the beginning of the class as an adjunct to the MELT assessment. After some serious MELTing, we checked the same assessment again and – voilà – it was improved for many participants. 

Thanksgiving Skydive

It’s the old question: “Why would anybody jump out of a perfectly good airplane?” Well, I have an answer now: “It is exhilarating!”

I came to this piece of wisdom yesterday, November 24, when, after several weather-related re-schedules, my day had come and I went up in an airplane, jumped out and landed a few minutes later. Mind you, it was a tandem jump. I was perfectly secured and strapped onto an experienced instructor and had nothing else to do but to enjoy the ride. But enjoy the ride I did.

When my assigned time came, I was first strapped into a tight harness over a jumpsuit (that’s where that word comes from), talked with the instructor for just a few basic instructions, and then into the airplane we loaded. The first time ever that I went into the backdoor of what looked like a cargo hold. We sat like sardines on the benches along the side with additional jumpers squeezed in the middle.

When it was time to prepare, Greg repeated the instructions and then attached my harness to his. Once I was secured, the backdoor opened again, and reality hit: that was my way out. At an altitude of 13,500 feet (that’s over 4,100 meters for the rest of us), the individual jumpers just left, and I was the first of the tandem jumpers. Before I even had time to wonder whether I was afraid or not, I was already out the door.

The sensation is difficult to describe. I did not even have the sense of falling. Rather shortly after the exit, I found myself in the proper position with arms and feet out as if face down. It must have been Greg’s doing because I would not have known how to get there. He got us into a spin at which time I was glad to have chosen a light lunch. Next thing I know, Jeff, the videographer, came flying toward us. Eventually, we locked hands and did a few circles. It must have been awfully cold up there but I didn’t notice any of it.

After about a minute (as I was told afterwards) of free-fall, Greg deployed the parachute, and all of a sudden it got very quiet. It’s amazing how these big chutes can be controlled in terms of speed and direction.

Landing was as easy as the rest of it because I only needed to do as I was told, and that is: “Keep your feet up until your butt has come to a complete stop.”

I now have memories of an amazing experience. I also got a certificate of the jump which I will keep with my ‘important’ papers. And I have a video which will give me a chance to relive the moment. And if you are interested to see it as well, here is the link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu45MbMPLuw&feature=youtu.be

Turkey Alert

Thanksgiving is almost upon us. Even though I have lived in the US now for well over 20 years, I have not yet quite warmed up to it.

Befuddled is probably the best way to describe my reaction. I understand the tradition of family getting together. I also understand that, at its beginnings, having one day of the year where food is abundant must have felt nothing short of paradise. I realize that those poor pilgrims, sitting there with the Indians and sharing a meal, had no guarantee for another good meal for some time in the future.

That was then. And where are we today?

Sadly, I realize that there are people even here in the US who go hungry and who do not know where their next meal will come from. I also must say that I personally do not know a single person who fits that description. Quite the contrary; almost everybody I know keeps a keen eye on the bathroom scale in the effort to reduce or maintain.  

So why do look at the entire holiday season as a gigantic feeding trough as if we were still stuck in the days where you eat when you can, and as much as possible at that, just to have some reserves for the lean times that used to lie ahead?

I want to appeal to everybody reading this to give it just a little thought before sitting down for a huge meal. Take your time to enjoy every bite of it. Usually, even the best meal loses its initial appeal after the first few spoonfuls.

I wish everybody a happy Thanksgiving!