Ghosts of Games Past

There are several things I enjoyed about last Saturday’s Oregon-Washington Football game. Obviously, as a Duck fan, I enjoyed seeing Oregon wing its way to a substantial victory over the Huskies. The weather was gorgeous, the view over Portage Bay and Lake Washington was postcard-perfect. It was football weather at its best. Because it was homecoming at UW, the stands were filled with purple and gold. After some disappointing seasons, it was heartening to see the bleachers packed, instead of conspicuously vacant.

Because we were using tickets that were given to us through an undisclosed source, we found ourselves seated amid a sea of purple and gold. And these were not congenial folks. They did not appreciate our green and yellow, and were not shy about letting us know that we were in hostile territory. We returned their frostiness with what we hoped were gestures of good-humored passivity, and tried to laugh it off. We started out not cheering as loud as we would have had we been in Autzen Stadium, but by the end of the game, we found it difficult not to infuse our cheering with just the tiniest bit of arrogance.

What I was heartened to learn, however, is the Ducks took the game in stride. They played their game, they played well, and they won without punching anyone out. An article in the Seattle Times described their workmanlike approach to the game.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/budwithers/2010131220_withers25.html

Defensive end Will Tukuafu made this comment concerning the USC matchup on the 31st: "I'm guessing it'll be fired-up," said Tukuafu, referring to Eugene. "We aren't really too worried about getting involved in the hype."

I guess they learned their lesson about talking smack without having something to back it up. (Don’t let your mouth write no checks that your defense can’t cash, or something like that). As well as the Ducks have played, they will be forever haunted by the pre-game and post-game nonsense in Boise that threatened to define their playing style, as well as their ability to win games.

Coach Chip Kelly says of his team, "They love to practice and they love to play." Let’s hope that when they play USC this weekend, the ghosts of games past will just be a bad dream. Go Ducks!

The Power of Two

This morning at 4:30 as my husband headed out the door on the way to the gym, he facetiously commented, “Oh this ought to be a great day to run!” In fact, it had been pouring all night, it was dark, nasty, and windy. A 5 AM run in such conditions is not usually considered to be ideal. But there was at least one other runner who was waiting for him, so he soldiered up and joined his running partner, and actually had a really good 5 mile run. The power of two.

One of my clients often has evening social engagements that preclude her from getting a really good night’s sleep. She meets with me two days a week at 6 AM. There are often days that she does not feel like getting up and coming to our workout, but she does it because she knows I’m waiting there for her. She usually feels better by the time she heads to work. The power of two.

As people trained for the Komen 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk, they had training partners and groups. I often trained by myself, but I was amazed at how fast the time went by when I did an 8 or 9-mile walk with one or two others. The power of the group.
If you have difficulty getting motivate to exercise, whether it’s at 5 AM or 10 PM, you might want to consider finding a workout partner. One point of caution, however: try to find someone who is a little more committed than you are, otherwise it’s too easy for one person to “un-motivate” the other.

Here are some helpful tips:
• Set some goals. For example, if you want to run a 10K, walk 20 miles, or compete in a triathlon, challenge your workout partner so you can start working towards achieving your goal.
• If you want to get toned, or lose weight, you might want to engage the services of a personal trainer for awhile—they can help you get a workout set up that both people can do. The other benefit to that is that you share the cost of the trainer.
• Set a time, and specify the days of the week you want to work out. Don’t deviate from those times or days, unless someone is traveling or ill. This will help you to set up some consistency.
• Working out with a spouse or life partner can be fun, but it can also be intimidating if one person is making progress and the other person isn’t. You might want to evaluate your compatibility quotient as it applies to this endeavor. You want to make sure you don’t end up sabotaging one another.

How do you find a workout partner?

• There are several websites that can help you find a workout partner. Some of them are singles only websites. Be cautious as you share personal information. You can do a search for “workout partners,” and you will see several sites listed.
• Put a note up at your gym to see if someone wants to have a partner.
• Your office. You might be able to get someone to take a walk at lunchtime, instead of going out to Mickey D’s for lunch.
• Get a dog, or find a neighbor who needs to have their dog walked, but can’t get out to do it.
• Join a class, which is a whole lot of partners.
• Family members, including kids, can be good partners. When I took walks with my daughters, it was amazing to me how much talking they could do in an hour.

Do you have some suggestions to help motivate a friend? How do you stay motivated? Is it with a workout partner, alone, or in a group?

Berry, Berry Good

One of my friends, and once-in-a-while client asked me today about acai. More specifically, she had been asked to participate in a multi-level marketing plan to distribute this berry juice. She wanted to know if it really is worth all the hype it gets. The first time I heard about it,(maybe 5 or 6 years ago), my sister had received a couple of sample bottles from a good friend. They were sold at around $20 a bottle, and you only had to drink 5 oz (three times a day) to have your life transformed. Okay…… such a deal. Well she found the juice to be pleasant, drank it, but didn’t really feel any different. I suppose if she had continued to purchase this product, and drunk many more 5 oz. portions, it probably would have changed her life. But at the time, she needed to pay her mortgage, so she opted for the latter, which was actually more beneficial for her mental health.
Here’s the deal: over the years, we have never been at a loss for snake-oil salesmen ( and women). I latched onto Dr. Atkins in the 70’s, and ate my weight in eggs and bacon. In the 80’s oat bran was touted as a wonder food, guaranteed to reduce cholesterol and cure heart disease (probably from all the bacon and eggs). The bagel industry ballooned as a result of being marketed as low cal and low fat. Then we ballooned because of our addiction to these 300-400 calorie taste temptations shmeared with cream cheese. The 90’s brought us those great low fat options, which morphed into sugar and additive-filled morsels because they tasted so wretched as low fat selections, which probably helped contribute to our diabetes problem. And then Dr. Atkins came back!! Hurray! You get my point.
So now, we are all about anti-oxidants. And many fruits have anti-oxidant qualities. So do tea and coffee, and --praise the Lord!—wine. A landmark study shows that just one cup of berries provides all the disease-fighting antioxidants you need in a single day. Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, goji berries, grapes, acai, blackberries—it’s a long list. Acai is one of those berries, and up to now, it has tested out very well in the antioxidant category. My objection is when the mass marketing mega moguls decide to drive a good thing into the ground, and attempt to get rich doing it. Don’t be drawn into the multi-level distribution crap. If you want to drink acai, go to your grocer, or drug store, or local health food store and get some. But include it along with a healthy, well-balanced regimen of good food, exercise and a restful night’s sleep.

Sculpt, shape and tone

I was reading a popular women’s fitness magazine the other day. (they’ve been publishing for 30 years) One of the main articles for that issue was titled, “Sculpt the Sexiest Curves,” and proceeded to show how one would go about shaping and toning the abs, triceps, shoulders, back, glutes and calves. I did not have a problem with the exercises themselves. They were easy to follow, safe and sound. What bothered me a bit was the fitness model who was demonstrating the exercises. She had a 25 year old’s face with a 12 year-old’s body. That led me to believe that this was the before picture, but it looked like the finished product. There wasn’t a curve to be found on this poor woman! And for goodness sake, she had to be working with at least 3 pound dumbbells!! The woman looked emaciated. I wanted to invite her over for dinner and fatten her up, or at least get her some protein. You see, this is what’s wrong with much of the fitness industry: they say one thing, and they picture something else, giving many people a very mixed message. What the heck is wrong with curves? And if they can be enhanced and perfected by some honest-to-goodness weight training, I say let Pandora out of the box!! (and then we’ll feed her)

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

To sleep, perchance to dream… This morning, one of my clients listed her health priorities in this order: 1)Sleep, 2) Food, 3) Exercise. Now, as a fitness professional, I could have corrected her and suggested that she put EXERCISE at the top of her list, but her priority list actually gave me pause. I “binged” sleep clinics in Seattle, and found no less than 20 listed there, so I guess sleep is important to a lot of people—or should I say the lack of sleep is problematic for many people. Here are a few benefits of restful sleep:
• Sleep helps to repair your body;
• Sleep helps keep your heart healthy;
• Sleep reduces stress;
• Sleep improves your memory;
• Sleeping properly can help you to control your body weight.
So without proper sleep, your body does not repair itself from exhausting workouts. All the cardiovascular exercise we foist on people might be for naught if lack sleep affects heart health. Health clubs hawk memberships and exercise as a means of reducing stress, but getting a good night’s sleep can help to lower blood pressure and rejuvenate our hormone production. “Foggy” memory? That’s probably not from too much exercise, but rather too little sleep. In fact, if you get on a piece of equipment at the gym, and you are virtually exhausted, you might do more harm than good. There are several studies that have pointed to the lack of sleep as a direct link to bulging waistlines. There are other contributing factors, but lack of adequate and restful sleep affects our cortisol and leptin levels in such a way to inhibit our body’s ability to manage fat production around our middles. When a new client comes in, and complains of weight gain, one of the first things I ask is how much sleep she is getting. http://www.wellnessresources.com/weight/articles/lack_of_sleep_stress_adrenals_and_obesity/
So, if there are people you know who brag about their ability to get through the day on 4-6 hours of sleep, pay them no mind. Work hard, breathe, and get a good night’s sleep. See how good you can feel!

Happy Birthday Jack Lalanne - Google Search

Happy Birthday Jack Lalanne - Google Search

Dark Days, Slow Bodies

When it's still dark when you get up, and the rain is pouring down, and you oh so slowly drag your unwilling body out of your warm bed, do you hit the showers, make some coffee, or go to the gym? Maybe you do all three. Here's a suggestion. Have the coffee on a timer, so it's ready to go as soon as you get up. Have a big (8-12 oz) glass of water, have some coffee, grab an easy to transport snack (banana, protein bar, or similar), and head to the gym. Don't think about how tired you are, don't think about all the stuff you have to do that day. Just get up and GO. By the time you're done at the gym, you are energized, and everything else falls into place, because both your body as well as your brain got a great am boost. You are ready to face the day.