Home Fitness/Time Management

Do you have 20 minutes? Or 10? If you are working full time, AND have kids, and/or school commitments, your time is be maxed out.A 10 minute walk can be a life-saver-it reduces your risk of heart attack and stroke.Add a 20 minute weight workout, and you’ll stave off METABOLIC SYNDROME, the triad of abdominal fat, high blood pressure and cholesterol, that lead to DIABETES. Exercise of course burns calories, which leads to body-sculpting with a narrower waist, and toned arms and legs.Look to http://www.acefitness.org/fitfacts/ for a multitude of free calorie burning and fitness tips.

Create a time and place in your home to workout, and gather:

A. Upper body free weights that you can lift 8-12 reps until you feel fatigue, and

B.Ankle cuff weights, kind of retro but they work great and cost little.

Start with 1 set for each major muscle group.

Add some calisthenics using your body weight.

Sample:Lying Down: Bench Press, Hip Bridges, Sit Ups

Side Lying: Top Leg Lift. (Don’t let your trunk wobble).see pic

Prone(medical term for face down!): Plank, Push Ups(Girlie style or manly-however you can perform and hold your gut from hanging!).Hamstring Curls.

Seated, leaning forward at the hip yet holding back straight: Rows.see pic. Looks easy but most people round their back and don’t engage the back muscles…

Sit to Stand:Squats. Drop weight back into heels to engage gluts as you  descend from standing to squat position.

Make it fun-with music, and a yoga mat or weight bench in a color you like.

If you have a pain problem that prevents you from working out, and you are female, find a Physical Therapist near you with http://www.womenshealthapta.org.Look back on other posts for Personal Training FITT Formulas,to safely guide your progression of exercises.Be BenchFit.

Best of luck,

Maureen

Maureen@BenchFit.com

Be BenchFit

What defines fitness? It is tested and ranked by age, and tests vary from schools to the fire/police force and the military. YOU KNOW if you are “strong”, it is a feeling and a confidence based on performance ability.If you are a female age 30-50 your ability to do push ups can be ranked from poor strength(less than 8 push ups)  to excellent (greater than 25 to 27).Partial curl ups rank fair for women ages 30-49 if you can only do 6 to 11, excellent if you can zip through 25.Who cares? Cringing at a memory of the presidents fitness test on a hard gym floor? Declining function in people over age 50 is highly correlated with strength loss. Lose Muscle, lose power and function.

Aside from competive tests, the fact is we lose 5-8% of our strength per decade. Lift weights and Be Fit; BenchFit fitness entails holding free weights with control and form
in a series of 20 motions, all of which can counteract aging.

Of course your ability to successfully lift weights depends on your exposure to appropriate fitness training, your natural genetics and body type, and your ability for self care with discipline and training. BenchFit focuses on the health benefits of exercise vs vanity, and therefore coaches an intro, intermediate and advanced level for safety and sustainability.

Engage in a workout safe for your level, at the gym or home, and a safe rule to follow is to increase reps for a several sessions (eg 2 to 3 sets of 10 reps each) before you increase weights.When you go up in weights, initially lower your reps to get use to the new level.You can use your body weight too, such as push ups and curl ups…to build strength,Let me know your success stories, and questions,

Power On!

Maureen

Maureen@BenchFit.com

BenchFit Lotus: Creating Fitness with Joy

Create Fitness with Joy.

Register a “gratitude list” for your body, soul and health.Give thanks for all your body parts, and if “judgement” enters your thoughts, just let it come and go, like a butterfly passing.It is remarkable to meditate upon thankfulness for toes and feet, and knees and hips that move us where we want to go. (My Physical Therapy work places me with those with challenges, some in wheelchairs, or needing other forms of help. Don’t take walking and moving for granted, nor the ability to “feel” from head to toe!)You may sit with your eyes closed as you process through the gratitude list, and if you can feel some sunshine on you as you do this that is great. Or if indoors, face the direction of the sun.

Visualize yourself enjoying moving, with dance, or walking in a garden, or warming your muscles with weight lifting if you choose too.See yourself with a strong heart and full breath, and embrace that vision. Create a color for your workout, perhaps blue for water, green for hiking, or orange for fire and energy. Reflect on the color you choose.Is your workout in black and white? Choose a color, or a few, for different workout moods you may want to create.

 

Outdoor Fitness

My family loves the kayaks that are “sit upons” for the ease of gliding along on a calm lake. The sparkle of the sun on the purple-blue-silver waves is a delight to the eyes. The pine scented mountain air, and the chance to play with the winds push or pull along the excursion, make for a “all senses engaged” workout, with rest and relaxation when arms tire.

This is a blue and green workout. It can have 5 sensory stars; *touch-feel,the kayak rocking along the water, the tension in the arms and trunk as you paddle.  *sight,the lake and trees and sky   *sound:loons!   *scent:water and pine      *flavor:the lake water has a mineral-rich, clean flavor.  (Sometimes I chew on pine needles-just one!).

The water lilies are found during the kayak, and they may be few, or ample, with closed tight buds on a cool overcast day, or open and bobbing in the waves and suns warmth.It is winter now, New Years Eve,as I write this summer infused post. Our fitness seasons can be under ice for a while, like the water lilies currently frozen under the northern ice.Or closed buds, waiting for the sunrise.

The lotus has so many petals, and we have so many paths we can take. Author Saundra Pelletier writes in her book “Saddle up your own White Horse” that we can be Victims, Flatliners, or Deliberate Creators, in life. Create your workout, with color, sensory engagement and joy. 

My hands and feet are cold from sitting stagnant while typing; I will now go make a fire and lift weights as I watch the flames; this will be an orange-red workout.

Let me hear from you; are you a current flatliner, or creator? What color is your workout? How many senses do you engage for your fitness?

Power On!

Maureen

www.BenchFit.com

HomeGymBenchFitBlog.com

Worried about financial stability at home and worldwide?Are you looking for new budget friendly solutions? And are you trainable, coachable, and motivated? Here is a profile of an easy home workout:You need to workout at your “level”, with a “dose” three times a week. Lift weights, do some cardio, and stretch a little.When you see the *, think:where can I get this? Often family members or friends have equipment they do not use;check out your local Craigs List for low cost items, or scope out garage sales too,

SAMPLE Workout:plan about 45 minutes for this.

Cardio:March in Place with gradually higher arm and leg lifts, 3 minutes. Jumping jacks 30 reps.”Step” on a step, or stepper*, 3 minutes.(Even add disco or hip hop moves if you want)

Weights*:Use those that fatigue you in 10-12 reps

With arm weights:Lying down: Bench Press, Pec Flys, Lat Pull Downs

With arm weights,Seated:Incline Rows, Overhead Press.   Standing:Squats, Heel Raises

Cardio Again:March, Step, and and Jumping Jacks, 6 minutes, or, hop on a stationary bike* or treadmill*.

Calisthenics time; 30 Sit Ups, 30-seconds Plank, and then 20 hip bridges.

You’re done! not really, just kidding-most people skip stretching, which is the “cool-down” and relaxation

phase:I’ll post some pictures of these soon, they are my favorites

Yoga ress up, downward dog

Hip:Piriformis stretches.

Neck and Back;Rotations.

If you have a gym routine that is stale, try out the above, and add music for spice.If you already work out, You can blend weights and core work with routines like this: Modified Pilates “100″ with ball squeeze and lat pull…(see pictures below) and then bridges advancing to single leg bridges.

You must hold your back stable…

One legged bridge: hold your back stable still….

These are BenchFit Level II workouts. Create your space and plan and and consistency will make it work,

Power On! Tell me about your HOME FITNESS SOLUTIONS, with thanks

www.BenchFit.com

Maureen@BenchFit.com

Female Fitness:Enjoy the Journey

I’m dealing with the current STRESS of modern living by choosing to drive slower, savor each moment,

and breathe with attention and focus as I exercise. If you google Female Fitness you find mostly vanity and

female-fitness models. Where is the intuitive and mind-body side of the Woman who Works Out? Mind you,

there is nothing wrong with looking great from regular exercise, but I see too many people killing

themselveswith exercise that creates injury and stress, all the while focused on what size waist they will

attain, or how great they will feel when they reach XYZ pounds. Here is an important question: When you are

exercising, are you looking forward to when it is finished, and multitasking as you exercise?

I just had a friend who died of a brain tumor at age 48, and it was lovely to meet someone at her memorial

service from a dance class she had enjoyed , as long as she could,… even to make it there to watch the other

dancers.It was standing room only at her service.I share this, not to be morbid, but to help you exercise and

move with passion and intent, and joy and gratitude, for each moment. Jon Kabat Zinn, in his book “Full

Catastrophe Living” reports that when elders are surveyed about their life experiences , they wish they had

“enjoyed the moments more”.

You have an exercise personality that is unique to you. You may be a racer, a competitor, a trekker, a

mind-body enthusiast, or another sort. You may like solo, or social workouts, and indoors, or outdoors.

Make sure your workout is fitting your personality, for an optimum exercise experience. I am a trekker,

nature lover, mind-body enthusiast, and sometimes a racer too. So I have multiple fitness recipes that

depend on my mood. Slow, medium tempo, and fast weight lifting workouts. Speedy bike rides. Slow yoga.

Breath-walking, with skipping, hopping and running mixed in.Female Fitness can follow the male-created

gym model, if that suits you. Strength training on indoor equipment produces benefits. Consider your fitness

personality, and blend and add new exercises that help you savor the moment.Add color and music to your

workout for spice.

What is your reflection on “female fitness?”.

What is your workout personality?

Thanks for commenting,

Maureen@BenchFit.com

ps if you are a blogger lets get some more posts up on Female Fitness, beyond the “models”.

send me your posts please!

Post Partum Exercises:BenchFit Pearls for New Moms

What do women need after delivering a baby? Help!

Women need a concise format to put their body back together, on their own time.And to tighten and stabilize key body areas that become lax with pregnancy and delivery.As a Physical Therapist specializing in Womens Health care, it is not uncommon for me to see women one, three, or even eight years after delivery with back, hip, and/or pelvic pain that is traced back to the Post -Partum time.

Moms need gentle, regular, progressive exercise that they can fit into what one of my experienced mom-friends calls the “Fog Zone”. The fog zone starts with the excitement and joy and sleep deprivation that occurs in the first few months, where moms may feel brain dead and overwhelmed.While some moms barely experience the fog zone, others may feel a mental and physical disruption for months or even years post partum! So moms need help, and taking time to perform “self-care” such as exercise can help moms feel that they are back on track. Exercise is a mood booster, and of course a key for re-building strength, toning muscles , and a key ingredient for health and wellness.

We now know that serious hormone shifts that occur in the post-partum period, and in addition to mental effects, ligaments can remain lax and loose, and that can mean pain and loss of power. Just imagine your car with a loose axle-the wheels would not be held in proper alignment or stability! So women need to correctly exercise the kegels, deep low back, inner and outer hip muscles, and the abdominals, to re-stabilize the pelvis.

Exercise Pearls for New Moms is a resource found on www.BenchFit.com, and it is of value in defining the weak links post-partum, and offering “Pearls” that can be done as small doses of exercise throughout the day, or combined into a standard 20 to 45 or even 60 minute workout. Unique tips for pelvic stabilization are provided,as well as posture, yoga, cardio, and stress management-relaxation tips.

If you are pregnant and reading this,help yourself with a roadmap for stability and power Post-Partum with BenchFit:Exercise Pearls for New Moms. This is also a great baby-shower gift, or treat for moms several years post-partum.

BenchFit Relax-Release: Part I

How do you relax? And what does it mean to relax? And do you need to add relaxation to your mad schedule? Here are some tips for you on relaxation, and it’s importance:

Healthy relaxation is an antidote for stress, and spending time away from work and “the clock” is one of the main joys of vacations.(Many individuals watch TV for apparent relaxation, but the volume of negative, and emotionally charged programs,does not often promote true relaxation ).Our current San Diego stress involves FIRE DANGER, and now even as the fires are more contained, and will be eventually controlled, most San Diegans are on alert and cannot concentrate well, sleep well, or perform work! Relaxation techniques can help re-set the immune and nervous systems so they do not remain in the fight or flight mode when it is not necessary.
Relaxation involves activating the calming, quieting functions of the nervous system, such as slowing the pulse, lowering the blood pressure, and calming the mind. And an important part of relaxation is that it allows you the sense of “being in the moment” with no pressure to think towards the future, or re-hash the past. Medically, the immune system is at it’s optimum when we truly enjoy some time for “peace and tranquility”, or total relaxation. The key to relaxation involves breath awareness and control. Once the breath, or more specifically the rate and depth of breathing, is brought to awareness, we also can focus on a positive mental image to calm the heart and mind.

You don’t need a swimming pool, sunset, or the perfect grass and barefoot feet to relax.Simply capture your breath, inhale and exhale slowly, and focus on a nice mental image. The ability to engage positive emotions and respiratory control will help you no matter where you are and what you are doing. And when you are feeling overloaded, engage the relax-release technique with breathing and visualization . Living on the edge with stress and frenzied schedules has health consequences: individuals are more likely to experience health problems, from recurring colds, to heart attacks, and strokes, if they feel chronically stressed.

Here are specific techniques, explained to move you towards finding peace and tranquility,and total relaxation:

BREATHING:

Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth as if you are saying the letter “n” , and hold your tongue softly in that position, with your jaw relaxed, and lips lightly closed. Inhale through your nose ,slowly. Exhale slowly, and pause. That is the basic physical technique. And as you exhale, relax and release all your muscles, and even pause a few seconds before inhaling again.

You may use one of the following techniques to deepen your relaxation.

1. Visualize colors, such as green, on the inhalation(the air is cooler on your nostrils when you inhale), and purple, as you exhale(the air is warmed by your lungs).In order to slow the breathing rate, you may take twice as long to exhale-relax-release, as inhale…and you may recite to yourself(without speaking)colors such as green(inhale), purple, blue(as you exhale)…pause, repeat. Practice cycling colors, and breathing, for a few minutes every day

2. Imagine your “peace and tranquility” spot, floating on that raft, or whatever engages your sense of calm and comfort.It is unique and important for you.(Look for a picture of my peace and tranquility spot on the next relax-release post!).
3. Perform 20 breaths, with the sense of relax-release, on every exhale, and allow the relaxation to flow in gentle waves down your body. Engage a sense of the deep relaxation at the conclusion of the session, and shift to that deep -calm -relaxed state several times during the day.

4. Traditional relaxation techniques involve tensing and relaxing muscles groups as you work down your body from head to toe, and also listening to peaceful music or nature sounds.Lying in a comfortable position with arms and legs turned out (as in savasana yoga pose) at the conclusion of the tensing and relaxing of the muscles, allows you to focus on your breathing and finding your quiet, still point.

5. Business coaches and psychologists teach individuals to capture an awareness of their thoughts and any worries; it is desirable to choose a specific place, such as a chair in your office, to be the “worry spot”, and to only focus on the problems when you are in that location.This frees the mind and heart from constant attempts to problem solve , and helps one to engage an awareness in the present moment.So when you find you are stressing out, pick a worry spot, and then engage a relax-release technique to calm your being.

6. Finally, engage in a feeling of gratitude, appreciation ,or joy by focusing on something or someone you feel good about. It is impossible to feel stressed at the same time as you feel positive emotions. It turns out there are nerve bundles, or a so called “brain” in the heart which interacts with, and influences the rest of our body. Focus on the feeling of gratitude as you breathe deeply and calmly.
If you’d like to learn more about stress, its medical consequences, stress management and relaxation techniques : books available on Amazon:
Cardiologist Dr Mimi Guarneri has a lovely book describing the heart-mind-stress connection, The Heart Speaks.

Doc Childre and Howard Martin delve into the physiology of stress, and techniques for re-focusing (freeze frame, coherance) in The Heart Math Solution.

Did you learn anything new here? I’m new to blogging , please rate the overall value of this and let me know 1: a dud 2. ok 3. good 4. helpful, interesting 5. Excellent

With appreciation,

Maureen@BenchFit.com

BenchFit Fitness and Business: Links

Thinking of starting a fitness business? Or, are you looking to save money and time by obtaining free Fitness Facts and Nutrition information online? We are in an age of information explosion, and time management and multi -tasking stress. The consumer needs correct information at a rapid speed, and you don’t have the time (or money) to learn everything on your own. Here is a list of recommended sites, and over the past three years, these sites have impressed me with their value.BenchFit is currently collaborating with a few of these sites to bring you expanded products and services. Several of these sites have helped me move to a creative and pro-active position beyond my wildest dreams. If you are looking for any insight as a worker, I am proud of my brother Patricks book: Making the Job Work for You; Balancing Work and the Rest of Your Life. He is recently published, and has a won a few awards this year. He bikes, swims, coaches tennis,does swiss ball and BenchFit workouts, and uses his BenchFit Bench for massage AND as a meditation/relaxation focal point topped with candles. You can check out his link to his book at www.customsports.biz.

BenchFit Links: Resources and Free Information Sites for Consumers

Ace Fitness lists an extensive resource library on workouts, check it out! And idea fitness is hosting their international conference in San Diego in July; we’ll update you on cutting edge workouts, and ideas for new exercise experiences gleaned from seminars.
Fitness
www.acefitness.org/fitfacts
www.mobilehf.com
www.fitnessotm.com
www.ideafit.com

Physical Therapy
www.comprehensivetherapy.com

Womens Health
www.womenshealthapta.org
www.4women.gov
www.kegelme.com
www.fibromyalgiaaware.com

Nutrition
www.mypyramid.gov
www.healthydiresctionspoway.com
www.usana.com

Stress Management
www.heartmath.org
Coaching-Well Being
www.jongordon.com

Business
www.RedTeamAdvisors.com
www.customsports.biz
www.sendoutcards.com

DVD Production
www.alluneedvideo.com

Graphics/Marketing/Design
www.cocoassociates.com

IT/Communications
innovativemediamix.com
www.worlddigitalinnovations.com
Web Integration/Internet Marketing
www.esonicspider.com
www.magicinwords.com

Spiritual
www.purposedrivenlife.com
Community/ Charitable Causes
www.foundationforwomen.org
www.worldvision.org
www.solarcookers.org

Why are spiritual and charitable sites on this list? Because businesses NEED PASSIONS and foundations to succeed, and, beyond the focus on Fitness and providing “vital personal training, health education, and home decor exercise equipment,” BenchFit seeks to give back to the local and worldwide community from the foundation of our mission statement. What passion fuels your business?
Feel free to contact me with further reference details and to whom you should contact at the sites listed above for any of your needs. And I’d appreciate any comments or critiques on your web surfing with these sites.
Power On! Maureen

www.Maureen@BenchFit.com