Friday, August 14

Don't Be A Victim

Paul Plakas is the personal trainer on the show 'X-Weighted' and has tons of knowledge and experience in the health and fitness industry. He's one of the reasons I wrote my entry about elliptical machines, which he's known for hating. Although he can seem a bit pompous at times, and I've seen him play a pretty mean drill sergeant role on 'X-Weighted', I really think he knows his stuff.

I've been having a bit of a rough time over the past several weeks, for personal reasons, and was unable to sleep last night so I decided to get online rather than continue to toss and turn. I jumped onto his website and read an article about self-pity and found myself nodding throughout in agreement with everything he said and felt in his own experiences. I can relate in so many ways. Not only have I had clients who were of that mindset, I've experienced it myself. After my ankle injury I felt frustrated and depressed that I couldn't run like I wanted to. I went through the "why me?" stage, and the "why bother?" stage. I'm still working on overcoming the drawbacks that I let myself endure, and this article helped big time.

We're our own worst enemy most of the time. It's true. I think everyone goes through self-doubt and self-pity at some point in their life. The goal is to get through it, quickly, before it does a lot of damage.

Check out the article on self-pity here.

Thursday, August 13

New Fav Cereal!

I have a new favorite cereal: Mom's Healthy Secrets VibraBerry.

Breakfast is, by far, the most important meal of the day. We've all heard that eating a good breakfast within an hour of waking up is a must, but some of us still refuse to make it a priority. Some people claim that it makes them hungrier throughout the day- my guess is those people are also ignoring the fact that you need to snack too! You should be eating something every 3 hours. Hunger is your body's way of telling you it needs something. Start your day off right with a healthy breakfast to wake up your body, and when you are hungry, eat! Keep healthy snacks on hand and it won't be an issue.

The VibraBerry cereal is great! It's organic, low fat, very high in fibre and has organic goji berries, blueberries, and raisins which are rich in antioxidants and vitamins. Oh, and it's yummy! I like to mix in some fresh fruit but it's delicious on its own too.

If you're one of those breakfast skipping rebels, I think you just need to find something you enjoy eating in order to make it a habit. Time shouldn't be an issue, because, seriously, how long does it take to eat cereal? And if cereal's not your thing, toast is quick, easy, and portable!

If you have a favorite cereal or are a regular breakfast eater and have a great meal idea you'd like to share, let me know!

Sunday, August 9

Try Intervals

My ankle is a bit messed up ever since I ran the marathon 2 yrs ago, and because of the injury I can't run long distances anymore. I think I can work back up to it, and am going to try my hardest to (aiming for next years Blue Nose Marathon). Because I can't run long distances yet, I've been trying out an interval workout that I came up with a few weeks ago. So far, it's working fantastically! I haven't experienced pain and it is amazing for the cardiovascular system. I do a minute of brisk walking, 2 minutes of jogging at a good even pace, and then I RUN, as hard as I can for 1 minute, then repeat until I get where I'm going.

Interval training is fantastic! It seems to be putting less stress on my ankle, but definitely isn't any less demanding cardio-wise. I'm getting to train for endurance, as well as speed and power. Whether you're a regular jogger, or a newbie, I recommend trying out an interval routine like the one I'm doing, or you can even make up one of your own.

Intervals are quickly becoming a preferred method of training and should be included, in one way or another, in every exercise program. You'll burn tons of calories and train different energy systems, making you a more efficient machine!