1. Strengthens the shoulder girdle
2. Strengthens the wrist and elbow joints
3. Increases abdominal strength
4. Opens the chest which increases lung capacity
5. Tones and strengthens the body

Exercises:

1. Basic side plank (elbow or hand/bottom knee bent or straight) – hold as long as you can
2. Hip drops
3. Leg lift (abductor)
4. Leg lift, front, back and down

Do 12 repetitions on each side.

To make them harder make sure both legs are straight and/or place legs onto a bosu or bench.

Watch the clip from NBC and do the side planks with me.

More side plank variations coming in May.  Have fun toning your entire body.

I have to say, the month of March flew by.

This is a hard one for me as I am a private person when it comes to personal things and this is way out of my comfort zone, but here it goes…

Even though I have loving, hard working parents who gave us a comfortable life, the one thing they never gave us were compliments or praise, especially in sports where my brother and I really excelled.  I know they have always wanted us to be the best we could, but instead it brought anger, jealousy of others, and the need to seek attention.

Even though I was born with a happy, positive soul, I have always had a deep, underlying anger since I can remember.  I always longed to have parents that you could come home to and tell them just about anything.  Parents that let you be you.  Parents that would try to relate to you, understand and help or God forbid you could cry to and express your feelings to.  As mentioned above, they are great people just not very deep.  There were never talks about how you felt about something or what you thought about this or that.

Now at 40, I felt that I was searching.  Who am I now?  I have done everything I set out to do.  Maxwell is in LA and on his own, I have owned two businesses, I have the most amazing husband ever, wonderful friends, family, home, we travel, etc., now what?  Who am I now?  Have I really ever known?  This is a strange spot for me.  So it started me thinking about life coaches, therapists, psychologists, etc.  I have to admit, I was one of those people that thought a therapist our psychologist were great for others, just not for me. “Why would I need help, I should just be able to figure it out.”

After talking to a dear friend about my past and contemplating meeting with someone, she recommended Sharon Hale.  Knowing that Sharon was a Christian was a must.  I knew that if I were going to work on this, that I needed God to be apart of the healing.  I do not believe that a therapist or psychologist alone can “heal” someone.  I also do not believe you can “heal” yourself on your own.

I have to say, I was very nervous.  I can talk about anything, just not about how I feel.  What was I so afraid of?  That I would cry? (anyone that knows me well, knows I only cry in my closet)  That I would feel stupid?  Vulnerable?  Who cares, so dumb.

I met with Sharon and she was very sweet, soft spoken, nonjudgmental and kind.  I was surprised that I enjoyed it at all.  Getting answers and insight seemed to give me some peace at the time.  What I learned from meeting with her so far is:

1. Anger covers something else up, what is it covering up for me?  I am still working on this one.

2. Parents are supposed to be a mirror for their children, giving them feedback so later in life they know who they are.  This never happened for me as a child, which has made it hard for me to feel like I ever really fit in.  This is why now at this stage in life, I am wondering who I really am.

3. We need to look at our experiences so we can know why we are reacting and feeling the way we do about ourselves currently.

4. Journaling for 20 minutes without stopping or thinking.  The 20 minutes is important as the inner critic will shut down by then.  When one journals it makes us more aware of ourselves and is a way of knowing ourselves at another level.  Experiencing God’s presence with us, says Sharon.

5. Part of my anger is sadness.  Sadness that I was never able to open my heart to my parents.  I never went to them with any problems, I wasn’t brought up that way.  I was brought up to figure it out, and that everything would be “fine”, a word commonly used in our home.

I am not blaming my parents.  I know they did the best they could do with what they had and how they were raised.  We are all products of our own childhood.  I don’t want anyone to feel bad about any of this, as I know this will be the first time many are hearing this.  It is real and is something that needs to be looked at so I can move forward as a healthier, more aware person.  It is also important for parents to realize how extremely important their words are to their children.  That children do need feedback, the good and the not so good.  Giving a child all compliments and praise is not healthy either.

It has been great to have Maxwell.  Everything that I wanted from my parents, I gave to him.  We have always had a strong and open relationship.  I don’t judge him, I just let him be who he is at that moment.  I have always told him I love you every day and multiple times in a day.  I listen to him.  I ask him a ton of questions about himself, which also helps him find himself.  I told him when he was being a turd.  I stepped back as he became a teenager and let him have his falls, but was always there to help him get up, even though I was angry with his actions.  I let him be who he was meant to be and for him to figure it out.  I have always supported him and I have always loved him more than anything on this earth.

I am not saying it was easy, and I am not saying “look at me, I am such a great parent”, but I always looked at it as if this were me in Maxwell’s shoes, what would I have wanted my parents to do.  It has brought me great joy to see what a well adjusted, smart, talented, humorous, kind, loving and compassionate young man Maxwell has become.  It warms my heart to know that he is independent, self sufficient, strong, adaptable, and able to do anything he truly desires.  And no matter how late at night it is, I always look forward to our conversations.

I have stopped the cycle and you can too.

How did your month go?  Are you learning anything about yourself?  Haven’t started your Happiness/Goals Project yet, start now, why wait?  Dealing with past anger?  Deal with it now and learn to get rid of it!  Wishing you a fabulous April of growth and openness.  Always happy to hear from you!

If you have weak abs or are new to exercising, please do all planks on your knees until you feel strong enough with good form to go to your toes.  Feel free to do the planks on your hands or elbows, you choose.

1. moving planks
2. knee tuck to opposite elbow
3. knee to elbow
4. opposite arm and leg extension
5. T plank

Watch the clip from NBC.

Next segment we’ll focus on side plank variations.  Let me know how the exercises are working for you and if you have any questions.  Have fun toning that core.

I have learned that things do not “just” happen.  What we do to ourselves and our bodies in our 20’s, 30’s and 40’s, we will eventually pay for.  Working multiple jobs, always being on the go, drinking energy drinks when I needed a pick me up, being a single mom for 9 years, owning my own businesses, teaching fitness classes when I was exhausted, keeping my home tidy when I should have been in bed, overtraining, etc., are all reasons I am experiencing all these symptoms.

My Symptoms:

• extreme exhaustion even after 9-10 hours of sleep
• do not recover quickly after any type of a work out
• get sick easily and it takes a long time to get well
• fatigue
• not very excited about things
• gas, bloating
• atopic dermatitis
• dry skin
• affected easily by temperature changes
• foggy brain
• more forgetful
• run down, sluggish, lethargic
• hair falling out

My thyroid is a bit slow so I have been on a low dose of Armour, a bioidentical hormone for over two years.  To be honest my blood tests have come back a bit better but I don’t feel any different.
I have done tons of blood work, a saliva test and a stool test.  Since the gut is the second brain it was very important for me to do the stool test.  It showed that I had yeast, parasites, fungus and opportunistic bacteria.  I also found out I wasn’t digesting my fat or my proteins like I should be, which none of us want that!

I have learned that when you have imbalances in the gut, you are more likely to have imbalances in other places, hence the reason for some of the symptoms above.

I have also been taking my temperature every morning and it has been low 95.9-97.9 (should be 97.6 or higher).  Your temps are huge!  You have more energy when your temps are higher, you feel so much better, you tend to have better health and weight loss success.  You will notice your temperature is higher during ovulation.  Tip for women who want to get prego.  If you have low temps and low progesterone your body cannot hold a baby, so you might want to check into that, just a thought.  I know coconut oil is a huge help with raising body temps, so I am getting my 2TBS in a day.

I am currently taking botanical remedies from the results of my stool test.  It has only been 2-1/2 weeks and to be honest, not a fun two weeks.  As warned, I felt worse before I felt better as my body seemed to be detoxing itself.  I finally feel better now and will continue to heal this gut as much as I can!  If the botanicals do not work, I will try the pharmaceutical route.

Sources I used (in order of help):

1. Tracie Hittman Nutrition
2. Ann Stanger, MD
3. Dr. Sheryl Spitzer-Resnick
4. Anunson Chiropractic
5. Acupuncture Centre of Madison

Not only was it important for me to get certain tests done and to work with certain people, but changing my workout routine was huge!  Due to not having any energy, hard core intense workouts were not going to help me, they would only make things worse (HINT: if you are working out hard and not losing weight and even gaining weight, your body is telling you something).

No one ever talks about how exercise can be bad for you.  I was so blessed to be able to work with Andy Anderson from CORE Athletic.  At CORE they have adopted the Seasonal Training philosophy as have I, which totally makes sense to me and my body!  Why, I thought I could go hard all the time, year after year, season after season, and my body would be fine?  I don’t feel the same way in the summer as I do in the winter.  I have more energy in the summer, I am warmer, I am more active, crave lighter foods, lose weight, etc.  It makes total sense to train differently based on the temperature outside and based on your own health.  Now I teach, train and workout differently during each season, especially since I live in Wisconsin.

The Seasonal Training Philosophy:

Spring (April, May): anabolic strength training at a tempo of 2-1-2, 3x a week and 30-60 minutes of moderate impact aerobics on off days (yoga fusion, piyo, jogging, stair climber)

Summer (June, July, August): catabolic strength training 3x+ a week and 30-60 minutes of higher impact anaerobic activity on off days (turbokick, zumba, boot camps, running, plyometrics)

Fall (September, October): anabolic strength training at a tempo of 2-1-2, 3x a week and 30-60 minutes of moderate impact aerobics on off days (yoga fusion, piyo, jogging, stair climbers, elliptical)

Winter (November, December, January, February, March): anabolic strength training at a tempo of 3-2-3, 3x a week and 30-60 minutes of low impact aerobic activity on off days (energy yoga, flow yoga, walking, elliptical)

My wish is that you are living a healthy, joy filled and peaceful life!  If any of the info above helps you in your journey, then it has all been worth it!

Health and Happiness Always!

The pod casts were a big fat goose egg.  I think I listened to one.  I would forget all about them.  I would like to get into the habit of listening to one or two while in the kitchen on the weekends instead of listening to music or watching a tv show.

Super excited to move into February and work on my energy and physical health (already reading a book on this so I am killing two birds with one stone).  Hope you had a successful first month, I would love to hear about ti!

The core of a “happiness/goal project” is to…
• identify elements of your life that you want to change
• find concrete, measurable resolutions that, if kept, will help you bring about that change
• hold yourself accountable for keep your resolutions
• decide whether you want to adjust, toss, or re-commit to a resolution

One Tip: resolutions work best when they’re very specific, so you know whether you’ve kept your resolution or not.  Accountability is key!

So join in!  Post your project, share this, add suggestions or do it in the privacy of your own home or with friends.  Let this be the happiest year yet!

Steps:

1. Purchase The Happiness Project book so we can read it together.

2. There are no rules or a certain way to do it, it has to work for you.  For some it is one big goal and you are breaking it down into 12 smaller steps, for some of us they are all extremely different from month to month.  Let it be organic and flow.

3. Pick 12 areas you want to work on (one for each month, this is harder than you think, so take some time with it).  Be mindful of what areas you give to what month.

4. Start right away.  I know we are in the third week of January but better late than never, right!?

After each month, I will blog about the previous month and how it went – struggles and successes.  Please add yours as well, love to hear how it goes!

Ali’s 12

1. January: Knowledge
Read more (daily devotionals, the bible, fitness & health journals, The Happiness Project, etc.) and listen to pod casts.

2. February: Energy/Physical Health
Work on hormones, adrenals, gut, thyroid, nutrition, sleep, etc.

3. March: Mental Health
Heal issues from the past, work on past anger, work on a light heart and figure out who I really am.

4. April: God/Eternity
What does God expect of me? Am I living for him or for myself?  Do I care more about what the world thinks of me or what He thinks of me?  Am I doing what He put me on this earth to do?

5. May: Work
Focus on education, blogging, enjoy the fun, ask for help, work smarter, enjoy the now.

6. June: Free Spirit/Playful/Young at Heart
Act and say what I feel and not worry about what others think.  Don’t take things so seriously and have more fun.  Play, laugh, and be true to self.

7. July: Friends
Spend more time with friends, listen better, give more, love more.

8. August: Lean Down/Great Shape
Journal food 5x a week, count protein, focus on enjoying workouts, try different classes and workouts.

9. September: Let Go, Stop Controlling
Be ok with others making plans or if plans change at the last minute.  Roll with things if they don’t go the way I think they should, etc.

10. October: Embrace Confrontation
Speak up even if someone will get mad. Learn not to be affected by someone else’s irritation or defensiveness.  Do not get defensive myself.  Learn to choose my words better.

11. November: Music
Enjoy music more, mix my own for classes, listen to new artists, just enjoy it more.

12. December: Gratitude
Learn to give thanks for the ordinary and gray days, for trials and worries.  Be more grateful for everything I currently have.

“Research shoes that happy people are more altruistic, more productive, more helpful, more likable, more creative, more resilient, more interested in others, friendlier, and healthier.  Happy people make better friends, colleagues, and citizens.” 
- excerpt from The Happiness Project

Exercises that force you to brace your spine and pelvis activate more muscle fibers and help build definition.

The nice thing about planks is you can do them anywhere and you there is no equipment needed. They are also great when short on time, traveling, or moms that want to get their tummies back.

If you have weak abs or are new to exercising, please do all planks on your knees until you feel strong enough with good form to go to your toes.  Feel free to do the planks on your hands or elbows, you choose.

1. regular plank – hands or elbows
2. plank with alternating hand taps
3. plank intervals (10 sec. hold / 2 sec. rest) 6x
4. walking planks

Watch the clip from NBC.

More variations coming in February.  Let me know how the exercises are working for you and if you have any questions.  Have fun toning that core.

Breakfast

2 hardboiled eggs and carrots
Banana (or any fruit) and 3 slices of white cheddar cheese
2 scrambled eggs (coconut oil) w/cheese and fruit
2 fried eggs (coconut oil) on 1/2 a toasted Ezekiel muffin
1c Fage 2% yogurt with 1/3c blueberries and 2TBS of honey
1c Fage 2% yogurt with all natural preserves
Mini Egg Bakes (recipe from Tracie Hittman Nutrition)

Snack Ideas (mid-morning and mid-afternoon)

2 cheese sticks and any fruit (banana, peeled apple, pear, etc 100% fruit stick or carrots
2 hard boiled eggs and carrots or fruit
4oz of Simply Orange Juice, 2oz of water and 4TBS of hydrolyzed gelatin (drink for breakfast sometimes)
Green or yellow beans with feta cheese and pine nuts
Watermelon, feta and pine nuts
Carrots, feta, olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper  (recipe from Tracie Hittman Nutrition)
Applesauce with 1TBS of gelatin
Smoothie w/coconut milk or whole milk, 2TBS gelatin, 2 egg yolks, banana, maple syrup and ice
2 slices of sausage (venison or beef) and some fruit
Cottage cheese and fruit
Kale chips with sea salt and vinegar (Kaia foods)

Lunch/Dinner

3-4oz steak with squash and 1 TBS of butter (real butter)
3-4oz salmon or any kind of fish with steamed yellow and green beans
Small can of tuna in water, olive oil, grapes & pine nuts with sauteed asparagus
Hamburger with mustard and cheddar cheese on it with cooked carrots with butter
Venison steak with grilled veggies (squash, zucchini, carrots)
Chili/Spaghetti sauce with liver (recipe from Tracie Hittman Nutrition)- but I add more butter, cheese and gelatin) with roasted root veggies (carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips, etc)
Crock pot chicken (recipe from Tracie Hittman Nutrition) with sweet potato and 1TBS of butter
Grilled chicken with a baked sweet potato and butter
Pulled pork/beef/chicken using the Sammy’s Barbecue Sauce (recipe by Tracie Hittman Nutrition)
Shrimp stir fry with veggies

Beverages

Club soda with a lime
Coconut probiotic drink (KeVita)
Coconut water (the Zico brand has everything in it it says it does unlike other brands)
Iced coffee
Tea (green and others – I add 1TBS of coconut oil)
Water always with lemons (helps create stomach acid which helps you break down your food better)
Rare occasions, high quality infused vodka with club soda and a lime

Snacks and Treats

Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream (the real deal, only 5 ingredients,you can pronounce them and you know what they are)
Popcorn

Favorite fruits

Bananas
Blackberries
Blueberries
Cantaloupe
Cherries
Dates
Mangoes
Pears
Pineapple
Raspberries
Watermelon

Favorite veggies:

Carrots
Green or yellow beans
Squash
Sweet potatoes
Zucchini

Ingredients:

6oz of OJ or 1C of berries, or 1 small banana (I prefer the banana option)

1C of milk (from grass fed cows and I use whole milk, we need good fats people)

2 egg yolks (preferably from cage free chickens that are not injected with growth hormones)

1t vanilla

1t of maple syrup

2T hydrolyzed gelatin

Ice (optional – I love it with ice)

Instructions:

Mix in a blender and enjoy

2% Milk – C = 35g  P=20g  F=12g  342 calories per serving

I make this in my magic bullet and it is quick and easy!  I even make two at a time to save more time during the day.  There is a direct link on my home page that takes you to the magic bullet sold through Amazon.

Signs of Overtraining:

Lack of appetite

Fatigue

Depression

Heavy Muscles

Decreased Performance

Injury

Illness

Restlessness

Rest and recovery is not the same as skipping a workout.  If you are working out 6 days a week, it is imperative that you rest and recover properly.  Listen to your body, for everyone that is something different (yoga, Pilates, a causal walk, playing outside with your kids, reading a book, taking a bath, getting a massage, etc.).

Who is at risk?

1. Endurance athletes – marathon runners, ultra-runners, tri-athletes, etc.

2. Youth athletes – they tend to be pushed too hard or too fast by coaches

3. Anyone who works out for more than 90+ minutes a day or who runs upwards of 60 miles a week.

Under eating, not getting enough sleep and jet leg are factors that can make you more vulnerable to overtraining.  If you do not get enough calories in, your body will start to burn muscle and store fat.

Regular (5 times a week), moderate exercise is the most beneficial (no more than 60 min. a day).

Suggestions:

1. Mix up your cardio so you are not always biking, running or going to the same group fitness class each week.

2. Train the upper body one day and the lower body another day.  The body should be fully recovered within 48hrs of training.

3. Train chest, shoulders and triceps one day; legs the next; back and biceps on the third day.  You can do cardio in between these days or treat yourself to a yoga or Pilates class.

Remember, you don’t have to work harder to get results.