This one hits home. I truly believe in this.
"Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow." Anthony J. D'Angelo
Monday, August 31, 2009
Break Time
It's that time of year! It's hot, school is back in session and the threat of hurricanes is on the horizon. We're on our seasonal break from August 26 - September 21, 2009.
I'll still be blogging and updating everyone on new events, workouts, etc. Retreats will resume in session as of September 21, 2009.
I'll still be blogging and updating everyone on new events, workouts, etc. Retreats will resume in session as of September 21, 2009.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Anne's Beach - What a Beautiful Little Florida Keys Treasure!
I spent the day at Anne's Beach today in Islamorada, Florida. I decided a much needed relaxing day in the sun was the way to spend my Sunday. Normally I wouldn't post about something of this nature but I had to post this because Anne's Beach is so amazing and such a hidden secret. There are many trails that have been carved in the seaweed which allow people to walk out into the Atlantic hundreds and hundreds of feet out. Most hang in the crystal blue waters all day with a beverage of choice. :) The shallow water only gets about waist deep and you can see straight to the sandy bottom! You'll see tons of fish and marine life and get a refresher in the cool water. There are beautiful views of the ocean, the surrounding keys and it's a great way to get a little workout in as you walk out and walk back into the beach.
Check it out...http://floridakeystreasures.com/Beaches/annesbeach.shtml
Check it out...http://floridakeystreasures.com/Beaches/annesbeach.shtml
Exercise Every Single Day? What About My Day Off?
Do you really need a recovery day?
My answer is, for the most part, no. We are meant to move and we are meant to move daily. Unless you are training for a bodybuilding show or figure competition, you don't need to adhere to the "recovery day" day off from working out. I know that disappoints some people because the thought of having to take a day off is almost comforting. What I mean by exercising and moving everyday isn't necessarily what you think. I believe moving everyday is important but that doesn't mean 7 intense workouts in a week. One or two of those can be a simple, relaxing 20 minute walk. What's most important is that you listen to your body. If you're extremely exhausted it may be time to take a rest but if you're extremely sore then the best way to alleviate the soreness is to get the blood flowing through the muscles again. Moving every single day is so important for a number of reasons:
1. Keep your joints lubricated by producing synovial fluid.
What is synovial fluid? Synovial fluid is a clear thixotropic fluid, the main function of which is to serve as a lubricant in a joint, tendon sheath, or bursa. It lubricates our joints so they can move with ease and the way to produce it is to move.
2. Feel Better Mentally
We need to work out to produce endorphins! "Endorphins are neurotransmitters produced in the brain that reduce pain," says Alan Hirsch, MD, neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago. "They have also been known to induce euphoria." Drugs such as morphine, heroine and cocaine are classic endorphin-releasing entities, according to Dr. Hirsch. But luckily for us, there are less-addictive ways of experiencing such sweet rhapsody such as working out.
3. Exercise Can Help You Sleep
Struggling to fall asleep? Or stay asleep? It might help to boost your physical activity during the day. A good night's sleep can improve your concentration, productivity and mood. And you guessed it — physical activity is sometimes the key to better sleep. Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep. There's a caveat, however. If you exercise too close to bedtime, you may be too energized to fall asleep. If you're having trouble sleeping, you might want to exercise earlier in the day. - Mayo Clinic
4. Increase Your Sex Drive!
Are you too tired to have sex? Or feeling too out of shape to enjoy physical intimacy? Physical activity to the rescue.
Regular physical activity can leave you feeling energized and looking better, which may have a positive effect on your sex life. But there's more to it than that. Regular physical activity can lead to enhanced arousal for women, and men who exercise regularly are less likely to have problems with erectile dysfunction than are men who don't exercise — especially as they get older. - Mayo Clinic
5. Exercise For More Energy
Winded by grocery shopping or household chores? Don't throw in the towel. Regular physical activity can leave you breathing easier.
Physical activity delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. In fact, regular physical activity helps your entire cardiovascular system — the circulation of blood through your heart and blood vessels — work more efficiently. Big deal? You bet! When your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you'll have more energy to do the things you enjoy. - Mayo Clinic
My answer is, for the most part, no. We are meant to move and we are meant to move daily. Unless you are training for a bodybuilding show or figure competition, you don't need to adhere to the "recovery day" day off from working out. I know that disappoints some people because the thought of having to take a day off is almost comforting. What I mean by exercising and moving everyday isn't necessarily what you think. I believe moving everyday is important but that doesn't mean 7 intense workouts in a week. One or two of those can be a simple, relaxing 20 minute walk. What's most important is that you listen to your body. If you're extremely exhausted it may be time to take a rest but if you're extremely sore then the best way to alleviate the soreness is to get the blood flowing through the muscles again. Moving every single day is so important for a number of reasons:
1. Keep your joints lubricated by producing synovial fluid.
What is synovial fluid? Synovial fluid is a clear thixotropic fluid, the main function of which is to serve as a lubricant in a joint, tendon sheath, or bursa. It lubricates our joints so they can move with ease and the way to produce it is to move.
2. Feel Better Mentally
We need to work out to produce endorphins! "Endorphins are neurotransmitters produced in the brain that reduce pain," says Alan Hirsch, MD, neurological director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago. "They have also been known to induce euphoria." Drugs such as morphine, heroine and cocaine are classic endorphin-releasing entities, according to Dr. Hirsch. But luckily for us, there are less-addictive ways of experiencing such sweet rhapsody such as working out.
3. Exercise Can Help You Sleep
Struggling to fall asleep? Or stay asleep? It might help to boost your physical activity during the day. A good night's sleep can improve your concentration, productivity and mood. And you guessed it — physical activity is sometimes the key to better sleep. Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep. There's a caveat, however. If you exercise too close to bedtime, you may be too energized to fall asleep. If you're having trouble sleeping, you might want to exercise earlier in the day. - Mayo Clinic
4. Increase Your Sex Drive!
Are you too tired to have sex? Or feeling too out of shape to enjoy physical intimacy? Physical activity to the rescue.
Regular physical activity can leave you feeling energized and looking better, which may have a positive effect on your sex life. But there's more to it than that. Regular physical activity can lead to enhanced arousal for women, and men who exercise regularly are less likely to have problems with erectile dysfunction than are men who don't exercise — especially as they get older. - Mayo Clinic
5. Exercise For More Energy
Winded by grocery shopping or household chores? Don't throw in the towel. Regular physical activity can leave you breathing easier.
Physical activity delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. In fact, regular physical activity helps your entire cardiovascular system — the circulation of blood through your heart and blood vessels — work more efficiently. Big deal? You bet! When your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you'll have more energy to do the things you enjoy. - Mayo Clinic
Saturday, August 29, 2009
It's Never Ruined
Anyone ever have those days where you have a bad lunch and then figure the day is ruined? Then snacks, dinner and dessert somehow end up completely out of control... I've been there too. You just have to remember that it is never ruined! Your body (blood sugar) may be out of whack for 5-7 hours but the BEST WAY to recover is eat your next meal healthy and balanced.
Have a great Saturday! Enjoy a little treat tonight but just remember...back to healthy eating first thing in the morning! :)
Have a great Saturday! Enjoy a little treat tonight but just remember...back to healthy eating first thing in the morning! :)
Bodyweight 500 Workout
This is my workout for today. Hope I survive! It's a fantastic workout and you can cut it down to 300 or 200, etc. You can also break down the 500 into sets which helps. Check this video out. This is great way to work out without much in the way of equipment!
Starts with:
50 Prisoner Squats
50 Push Ups
25 Squat Jumps/25 Ball Curls
50 Jack Knife w/Stability Ball...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_5TX_uoagg
Starts with:
50 Prisoner Squats
50 Push Ups
25 Squat Jumps/25 Ball Curls
50 Jack Knife w/Stability Ball...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_5TX_uoagg
Benefits of Green Tea
As I'm attempting to wake up right now and write a blog entry, I have a nice glass of green tea to accompany me. Green Tea has many benefits so I thought I would add an article I found at WebMD for you to read.
Health Benefits of Green Tea
Experts explain green tea's potential benefits for everything from fighting cancer to helping your heart.
By Julie Edgar
WebMD Feature
It's difficult not to gush about green tea.
More than a decade's worth of research about green tea's health benefits -- particularly its potential to fight cancer and heart disease -- has been more than intriguing, as have limited studies about green tea's role in lowering cholesterol, burning fat, preventing diabetes and stroke, and staving off dementia.
"I believe in green tea based on everything written about it," says Katherine Tallmadge, RD, LD, a nutritionist and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "Green tea, white tea, black tea -- I like all of them."
Still, real-world evidence is lacking; most of the consistent findings about green tea's health benefits have come out of the lab.
The few large-scale human studies that have focused on green tea's impact on heart disease and cancer are promising, but many of those were conducted in the East, where green tea is a dietary mainstay. The outcomes are likely influenced by other lifestyle factors such as high consumption of fish and soy protein, says cardiologist Nieca Goldberg, MD, a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association and medical director of the New York University Women's Heart Center.
But Goldberg agrees with other health professionals: green tea has important antioxidants and compounds that help in maintaining good health.
Green Tea's Powerful Antioxidants
Green tea's antioxidants, called catechins, scavenge for free radicals that can damage DNA and contribute to cancer, blood clots, and atherosclerosis. Grapes and berries, red wine, and dark chocolate also have potent antioxidants.
Because of green tea's minimal processing -- its leaves are withered and steamed, not fermented like black and oolong teas -- green tea's unique catechins, especially epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), are more concentrated.
But there's still a question of how much green tea you need to drink to reap its health benefits. EGCG is not readily "available" to the body; in other words, EGCG is not always fully used by the body.
"We must overcome the issue of poor bioavailability [and other issues] in order to get the most out of their benefits," says Tak-Hang Chan, PhD, professor emeritus in the department of chemistry at McGill University in Montreal. Chan has studied the use of a synthetic form of EGCG in shrinking prostate cancer tumors in mice, with success.
Green Tea vs. Cancer
Marji McCullough, ScD, RD, the American Cancer Society's strategic director of nutritional epidemiology, says human studies haven't yet proven what researchers like Chan have discovered in the lab: green tea's EGCG regulates and inhibits cancer growth and kills cells that are growing inappropriately.
"Epidemiologically, one of the challenges is finding populations that drink enough green tea and have for a long time," she says. "With cancer, it's always difficult to find the exposure time," or the point at which cancer cells begin to develop.
To read the rest of this article, click here: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/health-benefits-of-green-tea
Health Benefits of Green Tea
Experts explain green tea's potential benefits for everything from fighting cancer to helping your heart.
By Julie Edgar
WebMD Feature
It's difficult not to gush about green tea.
More than a decade's worth of research about green tea's health benefits -- particularly its potential to fight cancer and heart disease -- has been more than intriguing, as have limited studies about green tea's role in lowering cholesterol, burning fat, preventing diabetes and stroke, and staving off dementia.
"I believe in green tea based on everything written about it," says Katherine Tallmadge, RD, LD, a nutritionist and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "Green tea, white tea, black tea -- I like all of them."
Still, real-world evidence is lacking; most of the consistent findings about green tea's health benefits have come out of the lab.
The few large-scale human studies that have focused on green tea's impact on heart disease and cancer are promising, but many of those were conducted in the East, where green tea is a dietary mainstay. The outcomes are likely influenced by other lifestyle factors such as high consumption of fish and soy protein, says cardiologist Nieca Goldberg, MD, a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association and medical director of the New York University Women's Heart Center.
But Goldberg agrees with other health professionals: green tea has important antioxidants and compounds that help in maintaining good health.
Green Tea's Powerful Antioxidants
Green tea's antioxidants, called catechins, scavenge for free radicals that can damage DNA and contribute to cancer, blood clots, and atherosclerosis. Grapes and berries, red wine, and dark chocolate also have potent antioxidants.
Because of green tea's minimal processing -- its leaves are withered and steamed, not fermented like black and oolong teas -- green tea's unique catechins, especially epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), are more concentrated.
But there's still a question of how much green tea you need to drink to reap its health benefits. EGCG is not readily "available" to the body; in other words, EGCG is not always fully used by the body.
"We must overcome the issue of poor bioavailability [and other issues] in order to get the most out of their benefits," says Tak-Hang Chan, PhD, professor emeritus in the department of chemistry at McGill University in Montreal. Chan has studied the use of a synthetic form of EGCG in shrinking prostate cancer tumors in mice, with success.
Green Tea vs. Cancer
Marji McCullough, ScD, RD, the American Cancer Society's strategic director of nutritional epidemiology, says human studies haven't yet proven what researchers like Chan have discovered in the lab: green tea's EGCG regulates and inhibits cancer growth and kills cells that are growing inappropriately.
"Epidemiologically, one of the challenges is finding populations that drink enough green tea and have for a long time," she says. "With cancer, it's always difficult to find the exposure time," or the point at which cancer cells begin to develop.
To read the rest of this article, click here: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/health-benefits-of-green-tea
Friday, August 28, 2009
Quotes I Love...
The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about. ~ Wayne Dyer
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Expanding Your Waistline May Cause Your Brain to Shrink
Even more the reason to come to Bella Boot Camp and shed those extra pounds! :)
Brain regions which are essential for cognition are smaller in older people who are obese, making their brains look up to 16 years older than their true age. Brain shrinkage is linked to dementia.
Previous studies suggest that obesity in middle age increases the risk of dementia decades later. Now, brain scans of older people have revealed the areas that are hardest hit, as well as the full extent of brain size differences between obese people and those of average weight.
People with higher body mass indexes had smaller brains on average, with the frontal and temporal lobes -- important for planning and memory, respectively -- particularly affected.
Source: http://blogs.mercola.com/sites/vitalvotes/archive/2009/08/27/Expanding-Your-Waistline-May-Cause-Your-Brain-to-Shrink.aspx
Brain regions which are essential for cognition are smaller in older people who are obese, making their brains look up to 16 years older than their true age. Brain shrinkage is linked to dementia.
Previous studies suggest that obesity in middle age increases the risk of dementia decades later. Now, brain scans of older people have revealed the areas that are hardest hit, as well as the full extent of brain size differences between obese people and those of average weight.
People with higher body mass indexes had smaller brains on average, with the frontal and temporal lobes -- important for planning and memory, respectively -- particularly affected.
Source: http://blogs.mercola.com/sites/vitalvotes/archive/2009/08/27/Expanding-Your-Waistline-May-Cause-Your-Brain-to-Shrink.aspx
Headed Out For a Run...
What's your workout going to consist of today? One of the most important parts to being consistent in your health and fitness plan is to have just that...a plan. If you have a hard time fitting in or showing up to your own workouts then it may be time for a new approach.
Here are a few tips:
Here are a few tips:
- Schedule workouts like you do any other appointment.
- Schedule a session with a trainer once or twice a week.
- Try classes - this way you have an instructor giving you direction and watching out for your form.
I'm off for a run and then some yoga...
~Margot
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Put Your Phone Down!
Here's some tough love for everyone!
As of September 14, 2009, cell phones will not be allowed in class unless they are turned off or in silence or vibrate mode. In addition, talking on cell phones will be prohibited during all classes. These little gadgets that we love (including myself!) can be distracting to the instructor and everyone around you. This retreat is meant to be an environment where people come to focus on themselves. It's very difficult to do that when you're distracted by what's going on in cyberworld.
Don't be mad...it's for everyone's benefit! :) ~Margot
As of September 14, 2009, cell phones will not be allowed in class unless they are turned off or in silence or vibrate mode. In addition, talking on cell phones will be prohibited during all classes. These little gadgets that we love (including myself!) can be distracting to the instructor and everyone around you. This retreat is meant to be an environment where people come to focus on themselves. It's very difficult to do that when you're distracted by what's going on in cyberworld.
Don't be mad...it's for everyone's benefit! :) ~Margot
We're Officially Up & Running!
Welcome everyone! Thanks for stopping by! I look forward to keeping everyone informed and updated daily via our new blog. Hope to see you on the blog again soon! ~Margot
P.S. Have you worked out today? What about water? Are you hydrated?
P.S. Have you worked out today? What about water? Are you hydrated?
If You Can't Say Anything Nice...
It takes 10x more energy to be miserable than it does to be positive. Why waste that energy on focusing on the negative? Especially when you have the opportunity to channel that into a great workout! Next time you feel yourself instigating or getting caught up in negative chatter...think again! There's no need for it and with the challenging times we've all been facing over the last year, we need to be encouraging others and ourselves. Smile :)
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
You get what you give...
Much like the song by New Radicals, You Get What You Give, the same is true with your efforts in everyday life and with health and fitness. If you give 50%, you're sure to get 50% in return or your result will be 50%. If you give 100%, your result will be 100%. I think it's much more important to go through life giving it 100%. Who just wants to go through the motions?
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