Springing back to the gym.

It's the time of year again. We remember those New Year's resolutions. Oh Yea - it'll be time to wear bathing suits again. Everyone is trying to fit the trip to the gym into the schedule as well as the budget.

When will I have time to go to the gym? Where is the money going to come from for the gym?

Well neither happens for me right now. I fit exercise in all through out my day. Just Do It!! It's so easy.

Just like my business, IT'S ALL ABOUT POSTURE. Like those mothers say - Just Suck It Up. Just keeping good posture will improve your overall fitness level.  After 3 children, I had to learn to isolate and control all those vitally important core or powerhouse muscles. This can be really hard to do. The place to start is the posture. Previously, I recommended that you get a professional to assess your posture. DO THIS!

Now I do work at home. So I move all day long. I will walk while I'm talking on the phone whether I'm giving a presentation or a training call.

Any time I'm in a chair, I'll do leg lifts, or ankle exercises. In waiting rooms, doesn't matter whose if you are gonna keep me sitting waiting to se you then I'm going to be doing any exercise I can do in a seated position. Doctor's offices, car shops, school meetings, scout meetings -  you name it I'm there and exercising too.

Every time I'm in the car, I practice pulling my belly button into the seat back (Posture what else lol). I make games to see how long I can hold my stomach muscles tight. Whether it's while I'm typing this blog or sitting through a stoplight, in a drive thru I'm working on my fitness. Here's the deal when it comes to those baby stretched stomach muscles - YOU HAVE TO SHORTEN THEM - they way you do that is by tightening them. The more you do it and the longer you hold the muscle contraction, the muscles start forming muscle memory. You know you are getting there when you pull up to that stop light and your muscles start contracting before your brain really tells them to. One of the first times that this effect really impacted on my brain was 3-4 months after I started trail riding with my children. I was doing a walk at home program at the same time, that was really focused on strengthening the abs. We were on a trail more difficult than I was use too and was unfamiliar with when we had a small culvert we had to cross and before my brain registered that I needed to tighten up for the jump my body was already doing it. Muscle memory just like mental memory has to be developed and its takes practice.

With regained muscle control, I work my abs with mini crunches and the TA muscle with pelvic tilts in the car as well as the all important kegels. I do crunches, seated twists all the standard ab work that most all of us dread. As I have restructured my posture, I've found I don't dread these so much. They are easier to do and I no longer have back & neck pain when I do them. It's all about the posture - physical and mental.

Now if you are like me and had baby belly weight to go with those slack muscles. You need to understand that this is not going to cause the pounds to fall away as you breathe. Good old fashion cardio does that part of the equation. WALK WALK WALK.

I'll do arm work even if its with pretend weights (isometrics) while I'm on the phone, in the car and while walking. I make an interesting picture doing my laps on the track at the middle school. I bebop to my mp3. I hop, skip jump,walk backwards just everything I can do.

When I'm cleaning house or any tasks that require me to walk from one place to another, I'll stop half way and throw in a few squats or take 30 seconds and do a stretch. So STOP on the way to the washer and do 5-10 squats.

You're at home,  who cares if you crab walk to the kitchen for an Access boost. Are my children gonna laugh at me probably but who cares- laughing is good exercise too. I'm setting a fitness example for them too.

DANCE anytime you can even if its just a quick step to elevator music. I dance on the track too.

Anytime, Anywhere You Can Move! If you are moving you are improving your fitness. There are limitless exercises you can do quickly. You do not have to have a dedicated 30 minutes to an hour plus travel time to the gym and money for the gym to incorporate good daily exercise into your already hectic schedule.

One of the most popular methods today for losing fat and training/growing muscles is the BLAST. You are going to surprise your muscles by asking the unexpected. You are walking along at your normal pace and suddenly pick up the pace, push it for a few minutes and then go back to the regular pace - this is the blast. You will burn more calories and build more responsive muscles quicker.  This is some of the principle behind including exercise as part of your whole day. You are going through the day and suddenly skip through the house instead of walking. You have surprised your muscles and forced them to work unexpectedly and they will rise to the challenge and get stronger because of it.

Even if it's only a minute at a time, you can work a lot of exercise into your day. JUST DO IT!

Till next week
Bananas are great for athletic and fitness activity because they replenish necessary carbohydrates, glycogen and body fluids burned during exercise.

Are You Listing?

It's another Wild, Wonderful Wednesday.

Today I was going through my lists. You know them - to do, grocery, honey-do - the list goes on.

I've always been a list maker. The mere act of making a list, plants that info in the brain recesses some where.
Now  to find where it is stored when we need it.

I practice with my lists. When I make a grocery list, I go through the store and shop without the list. As I get ready to go to the register, I pull out that list to see if I missed anything or got something that wasn't on the list.
That's the other reason for a list - to battle the budget.

Now why would you do that? I do it to exercise my brain muscle. Just like all the muscles in our body, the use it or lose it axiom applies. I really didn't think about it when I was younger. Now having crossed over the half century mark, I think about it more. I do more puzzles, anything that will challenge that really hard headed muscle of mine.

Fitness is about a TOTAL Body & Soul. The core is our powerhouse for our bodies but the brain is the master mind ( well of course what else would it be LOL) and it needs to work to stay healthy.

Even the best worked brain can not always overcome the environmental damages that we are exposed to daily. Where are we exposed to the most environmental pollutants and toxins?
IN OUR VERY OWN HOMES. Yes, that's right and you can do the research to verify this. It's out there by the long ton.

Look under you kitchen or bathroom sink, in the laundry room every where you store cleaning products. Oh I know, we all sorta know about the cleaning products. But are you aware that your personal care products are culprits in the indoor air pollution in our homes.

There are many alternatives out there and no matter which one you choose -  YOU NEED TO CHOOSE HEALTHIER, SAFER PRODUCTS FOR YOUR HOME. Get to researching, find the ones that work for you and Green up your home and the environment at the same time.

Don't let your brain, or your ship, or your body list. The only listing needs to be on paper. Make that to do list now. Wednesday's are great days to over come procrastination - it's own list of to dos.

And now I can cross this off my To Do List.

Till Next week

Did You Know - Banana Trees aren't trees at all but perennial herbs. It doesn't have a true trunk but a single stem with many leaves wrapped around it. The stem emerges at the top where it produces edible flowers & fruits.

You're Really Gonna Hate to Hear This

I know - what a way to start a blog that's suppose to make you laugh - right?

Today's Tale - is about our back and rehabilitation.

The Beginning - or it should be. It was actually in the middle for me.

I started my 5 year quest to rebuild the - rode hard & put up wet - body. I had a bulging L5S1, bone spurs on all left cervical vertebrae, compounded by the onset of fibromyalgia due to Lyme's disease.

I am one of THOSE PEOPLE. You know them or maybe you are one. I am an uncooperative patient. I will not have back surgery until I'm crawling on all fours. I refuse steroid shots.

The body feels pain for a reason. To tell my inner dummy to STOP NOW!

I have never been as thankful as when my bulging disc herniated. No, I am not a masochist. Yes, after living with chronic pain for many years, I have developed a special relationship with pain. A bulging disc typically has swelling associated with it and this was the source of 70% of my sciatic pain. When the disc herniated, I no longer had any swelling.

Here's a tidbit I learned; the hard way of course. Not all sciatic pain is caused by the low back. Neck vertebrae out of place will cause the same sciatic pain.

My Favorite Pain Mantra is from the movie, GI Jane
Master Chief: Pain is your friend, your ally, it will tell you when you are seriously injured, it will keep you awake and angry, and remind you to finish the job and get the hell home. But you know the best thing about pain?
Lt. Jordan O'Neil: Don't know!
Master Chief: It lets you know you're not dead yet!

I know I'm alive and I have a job to do.

Where do you start, when your body is no longer doing the job you want or need it to do?

This is where you really aren't going to believe I'm saying this.


Your Mother was RIGHT. There I said it. Now that's eating a really green banana.


My mother, her mother, your mother, every mother and mother before - All Said It.


Stand up straight, sit up straight, don't slump, suck it in, good posture is everything.


You are getting the benefit of my 20/20 hindsight when it comes to rehab & recovery for back, joint, muscle injuries and pain.

The very first place to start is with your posture.

I thought I had good posture till I decided to ask a professional. It's about my 3rd or 4th trip thru physical therapy. Gee, if I had only thought of this the first time around.

Get a Professional to assess your posture. They will help you correct your posture.

I was standing to to wide - more like shoulder width and those are linebacker shoulders on this woman. I had to narrow my stance to about 5 inches between the balls of my feet. As soon as I did that, everything else had to change.

I came up with a plan to learn this new posture. I threw neon colored 3x5 cards all around my house and carport. As I walked through my day, each time I came to a card, I had to stop and strike THE POSE.

MY POSE 1. STOP - get feet 5 inches apart.
                  2. Soften the knees - DO NOT LOCK THOSE JOINTS.
                  3. Tuck the derriere under then relax the glutes
                  4. Suck the stomach in
                  5. Shoulders down & back
                  6. Sternum down
                  7. Chin down, ears over shoulders

How long does it take to restore good posture? It depends on the individual and how long they have had poor posture and the number of corrections they need to make. I spent about 4 months with the 3x5 cards and during the last 2 years have gotten where I only need an occasional posture check. You muscles will remember the more you practice and they will begin to self correct without conscious thought on your part.I just love it when I catch my body working when I'm not thinking about it. Just Practice, Practice, Practice, it will become a habit again.

With every injury - we compensate for the pain by adjusting the posture which throws even more parts out of whack. Regaining a correct posture as soon as possible is critical to any and all future recoveries. Correct posture also facilitates faster healing and muscle development.

I absolutely live by chiropractic care. and highly recommend it, even for those who have never had serious injuries. This is usually my first stop with a new injury. Improper alignment of your spine can lead to head aches, joint aches, neck aches, back pain and so much more. The core of the body, all those abs and back muscles,is the powerhouse for the body. And that powerhouse supports our spine. My children and I get regular chiropractic care as preventative maintenance for the body.

No discourse on correct posture is complete without taking about the other 2 postures we possess. I found that the correct posture for my body was linked to my mental and attitude postures. As I corrected the physical posture the other 2 followed suit. Now the mental and attitude postures require a lot more work in my opinion, since they are the ones that determine our success in life.

Once again the mothers were right.


Find your postures and work like crazy to improve and keep them.

Green bananas are safe to eat and they contain resistant starch which has less effect on blood glucose levels. This is great for those who need to control their blood sugar. The way to eat them is to cook them. Slice them or cut like fries and fry them in butter until browned.


A Wonderfully Blessed Wednesday to you all.