Fit and Female

My "Do It Right" Videos On Shape.com

I was recently asked to do a bunch of "Do It Right" videos for Shape.com's new website.   We shot about 30 and they'll be releasing them over the next few weeks.  Click here to check out the first batch.

 

My Latest Dr. Oz Segment Aired This Week

The good folks at Dr. Oz asked me to design a "saddlebag workout" for them recently.  The segment aired this past Wednesday with the entire audience getting into the act.

Keep in mind that no exercise will burn fat off of a particular body part.  Fat loss is the result of two things principally: 1) doing cardiovascular exercise most days of the week for at least 30 min and 2) watching your diet so that you're not eating more than you burn. 

Together these two things can help create "negative energy balance" which is the key to weight loss.  The resistance moves that I show in the segment will tone the muscles in these "problem areas" and can contribute to raising metabolism by increasing lean body tissue. 

Click here to view the segment.

Stories We Tell Ourselves About Who We Are -- Or Could Be

Mythologizing - A Guest Blog from Small Blue Pearls by my buddy, "Loo".

"Loo" and I recently reconnected after an almost 30 year separation (gotta love Facebook).  Back in junior high both of us detested anything physical, mostly because we thought we were more "artistic" types who couldn't be successful in that arena.  Ironically, now physical activity is a major part of both of our lives.

She shared this with me and I think it's so good I wanted to share it with all of you.

 

   

Loo on her bike: "No helmets! Not even on my baby brother! Ahhh, those laisse-faire 1970s"

 

 

I was the last kid in my grade to learn how to ride a bike.

Despite having a super-cool banana bike with tasseled handlebars and the classic thumb-operated byrngg-byrngg bell, I was terrified and wobbly and ashamed of myself. The grownups all threw their hands up in frustration. I somehow screwed up enough courage and learned after everyone had given up on me. And sure enough, it wasn't long before I was zooming around town on my bike (sans helmet) with all the rest of the kids, but I still carried that kernel of fear deep inside. And still do. Despite having logged hundreds of miles on two wheels since then, I'm still not 100% comfortable on a bike.

In the third grade a despicable gym teacher whose name I have blocked from memory decided to "teach" me how to dribble a basketball. I was having a hard time controlling it and I guess she'd had enough. So she had the whole class sit in the center of the gymnasium and made me dribble the ball around the perimeter three times. Zero instruction, just pure humiliation. I made it the three times around because I was stubborn even then, but I could barely see through the Niagara of tears I shed let alone master the skill of dribbling. The rest of the class sat in mute horror and pity, not one of them even remotely inclined to heckle. Several of the boys helpfully fetched the ball when it would roll away from me. As soon as this sadistic lesson was over I ran from the gym to the Principal's office where they phoned my Mom. She came and took me home for the day but not before lacing into anyone within earshot about child cruelty.

These two dramatic incidents certainly contributed to, but were definitely not the sole reason for, the creation of the myth that I'm unable to do anything requiring large motor skills.

My Mom inadvertently participated in it's creation as well. As kids, my siblings and I liked to color and draw and put on puppet plays. We were verbal and literate and artistic. We read constantly. She'd repeat like a mantra "you have fine motor control, none of us is any good at large motor control" by which she meant sports or anything athletic. I internalized this message well.

I now know that she was just trying to spare us the hurt and humiliation she'd suffered from not being "good" at sports. By letting us off the hook prematurely, we learned to disbelieve even our own senses that were telling us that just maybe this wasn't entirely true. We may not be Olympic material, but all of us possess a certain physical grace and coordination that makes us anything but ungainly. It's confidence that I lack. Not motor skills.

The strangest part is of course my Mom's own natural physical abilities. It wasn't until many years later that I found her awards for archery and shooting a rifle, or saw the home movies of her skating and skiing and snowshoeing. She was always physically active and still is. But she will tell you if you ask her that she is "bad" at anything to do with sports.

Creation myths are just that. Myths. And myths are not the truth. Ever. We all have at least one that we tell ourselves despite evidence to the contrary. We believe them because they help "explain" who we are and where we come from, they help identify who we "are" — long past the time when that is necessary or needed. Mine was that since I was "artistic" I was "bad" at athletics. In the world that I inhabited, there was an uncrossable border between those two worlds. You simply could not be good at both. If you were good at sports this would somehow detract from your status as an artist and since I was heavily invested in being seen as artistic it meant I had to shun anything physical to preserve my self-identity.

And so I had a hard time learning to balance on a bike, or dribble a basketball, or hit a softball, or run very far. I gave up before I began. I made my myth true.

I spent my entire pre-college school days creatively avoiding gym class but I would go play soccer with the neighborhood boys any chance I got. There were always cracks in the myth, always a part of me that never fully believed in it. As long as whatever it was I was doing was not officially sanctioned as "sport" I was fine and could play as well as any other kid.

I recently met up with an old friend from Junior High — one of my cohorts in gym-avoidance — who is now a personal trainer and heads up a national fitness chain's training program. We sat in a coffee shop in New York shaking our heads at the wasted years, both agreeing that adolescence would have been so much easier if we'd had a physical outlet. But we were young women right at the cusp after Title IX was passed to equalize girl's sports. Beyond gymnastics (terrifying!) and field hockey (unfeminine! crushed ankles!) there were few options available for us.

As I get on the mat each day, I know that a big part of the work I'm doing is rewriting this creation story, this myth about myself and who I am and what is true. Whole sections have to be scrapped. It's all up for grabs. And I believe that this is the essence of what Ashtanga is all about — by meeting ourselves on the mat each day doing the same thing each time, it allows us the space to take a hard look at who we think we are and hopefully allows us to discover just a little bit about who we may actually be.

Holiday-Proof Your Body With Moves I Demo-ed on The CBS Early Show

The little things we do around the holidays can add up to a lot of aches and pains. Here are some simple moves that I did last Tuesday on The CBS Morning Show in a segment on "Holiday-Proofing Your Body".

Check Out My ViPR Workout for Shape Magazine with Jenna from Glee!

I recently had the pleasure of taking the lovely Jenna Ushkowitz from Glee through her first ViPR workout. Lots of fun -- and lots of sweat!

My "60 Second Workout" On The Dr. Oz Show

Click here to view my segment on today's Dr. Oz Show.

They asked me to design a workout that could be done in 60 seconds. While 60 seconds alone won't do it, frequent breaks like this (every 30 min or hour) can help improve blood flow, wake up muscles and get us out of bad postures.

 

 

Skinny Pina Colada

Had this last week in San Diego at a dive restaurant famous for it's fish tacos -- South Beach Bar and Grill.

Circoc Coconut Vodka

Pineapple juice

Splash of club soda

Yum-bo!!!!  Helps if you have a Mahi Mahi taco to go with it, but not necessary.  Had to buy the ingredients today and make myself one.  Heaven!

Secrets of The Centenarians

Did you know that there are more people over 100 years of age living in the US than in any other country in the world?  It’s true! 

Believe it or not there are an estimated 131,000 centenarians living in the US today.  Even more surprisingly (due to cutting-edge medical technology and the aging of The Baby Boomers) centenarians are actually the fastest growing age group in the country.  It’s been estimated that by 2050 there will be almost one million people in the US who’ve had 100 candles on their birthday cakes.

Scientists around the world are studying these rare individuals with research projects such as The New England Centenarian Study and the Okinawan Centenarian Study so that all of us may benefit. 

Which begs the question, “is living longer primarily a function of nature or nurture”.  In other words, how much control do we really have?  Can we really do something to dramatically impact the length of our lives -- or is it just a matter of having good “luck-of-the-draw” genes?”    

Well, twin studies would suggest that genetics are probably responsible for about 25% of longevity.  That’s good news because it means that about 75% is related to lifestyle and environmental factors.  In other words, although genes are part of the equation, reaching a ripe old age is mostly a result of things over which we have more control. 

When centenarians are analyzed as a group, there are common factors in their behaviors and mental outlook that emerge time and time again.  So here are some of their secrets to help you increase your chances of hitting The Big One Double Zero.

Maintain an Ideal Weight.   As a group, the “over 100 set” are overwhelmingly either lean or of normal body weight.  They tended not to go to extremes when it comes to food, avoiding both overeating and fad dieting.

Eat A Healthful Diet.  In the Okinawan study centenarians ate mostly plant-based diets low in saturated fat with lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains and legumes.  They drank alcohol only in moderation.

Watch Your Cholesterol – Having high HDLs (the good cholesterol) and low LDLs (the bad cholesterol) were significant physical markers of longevity.  Poor blood lipid profiles are associated with some of the leading causes of death including cardiovascular disease and hypertension.

Don’t Smoke.  Smokers are at least twice as likely to die at any age than non-smokers.

Exercise Daily – Centenarians are much more physically active than the average person.  They tend to have been avid walkers or recreational cyclists throughout their lives.  Most of them still lived independently in homes where they had to climb up several flights of stairs on a daily basis.  Interestingly, these people are usually not former “athletes” but rather people who have made moderate physical activity a natural part of their daily lives. 

Develop A Happy-Go-Lucky Attitude – Centenarians have positive personality characteristics that seem to support their longevity.  Specifically, they tend to be optimistic, even tempered, with a good sense of humor.  They tend not to hold grudges and generally manage stress well. 

Stay Connected – Those who hit the century mark typically have a strong network of family and friends – as well as strong spiritual or religious beliefs.  Feelings of belonging and connectedness have been associated with healthier immune function and faster rates of healing. 

Keep Your Mind Active– A recent Scottish study showed the centenarians as a group tended to have higher IQs.  They are also likely to be life-long learners.  In fact, one of the women in The New England Centenarian study started painting when she was 95!  Learning new things increases communications between various parts of the brain, keeping the mind sharp.  

Take Good Care of Your Health Throughout Your Lifespan.  As a group people over 100 tended to have unusually good health throughout their entire lifespan.  They get regular check-ups and practice good preventative care Interestingly, however, they did not have high health care costs.  In fact, the health care costs for a centenarian averages about $8000 a year vs. and average of $24,000 for folks who died between the ages of 60 and 70.   

 Long life isn’t something that you can cram for at the very end, like a college final.  Collectively, these studies of centenarians would suggest that their ability to live about 25 years longer most of us isn’t a function of any one thing, but rather the cumulative effect of years of making smarter choices every single day.

 

Geralyn Coopersmith, MA, CSCS is an exercise physiologist, certified personal trainer and the creator of The Best Me Ever, a comprehensive weight loss and wellness system just for women

 

Bitten By ViPR - Part Deux

Here's a segment I shot recently (aired today) on ViPR training.  What is and its benefits.  Great total body workout that combines cardio and resistance training into one time-efficient workout.

My Segment on Exercise and Pregnancy on Good Day NY Today

Here's a segment I did live today on Fox 5 on basic tips for exercise during pregnancy.