Top 10 Fitness Gifts for 2011
Post by Pamela | November 24th, 2011
image by Shandi-LeeI honestly cannot believe I am writing my 3rd list of Top Holiday Fitness Gifts. I don’t know which surprises me more: the speed at which Christmas has rolled around or the fact that I’ve been blogging for over 2 years.
Yet here we are. We’re ready to shop for those fitness buffs in our lives and to select items for our own wish lists. Here are some suggestions based on my favorite things and wished for items.
- SPRI High Density Black Foam Roller
: I am a new convert to foam rolling. Think of it as the poor man’s (or woman’s massage). I do this with all my clients now. Recovery is key to your success and this tool helps you be ready for the next challenging workout.
- Kusmi Russian Tea Sampler Gourmet Gift Pack
: I discovered Kusmi tea on my recent trip to Paris. They have the most amazing blends of tea, I just adore them. Tea has wonderful anti-inflammatory properties and can be relaxing at the end of a long day.
- Tanita BC-549 Plus Ironman Full Body Composition Monitor
: Traditional scales just give you weight, which doesn’t tell the whole story. Checking your body composition on a regular basis can show you how your body is changing when your weight doesn’t. I’ve had a Tanita scale for over a decade and they make great quality products.
- Under Armour Must Have Bag
: I must have one of these bags. This stylish tote is on my wish list to replace my battered back pack.
- Lebert Equalizer
: I just added this piece of equipment to my own arsenal of tools. You can do inverted rows and knee ups in the comfort of your own home with these handy and portable bars.
- Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector
: This makes a great stocking stuffer for the person who is always washing their hands. I wash over and over and my hands get very dry. This works miracles for me.
- Stainless Steel CamelBak Groove Water Bottle
: This sturdy bottle comes with its own filter letting you fill up anywhere. It makes for stylish and easy hydration.
- GoFit 15lbs KettleBell
: I love kettlebells for a quick full body workout. Need an indoor cardio option? Try intervals of kettlebell swings.
- Apex Deluxe 3 Tier Dumbbell Rack
: If you leave your weights lying around you’re just an accident waiting to happen. I have one of these at home and one at the studio to keep everything nice and tidy.
- Ryka Women’s Assist XT Fitness Show
: This is the shoe I am wearing now. They are comfortable with good support for high impact plyometrics. Pretty stylish too.
You can also check out my lists from previous years:
Top 10 Health and Fitness Gifts for 2010
Top 10 Health and Fitness Gifts for 2009
Top 10 Health and Fitness Books for Gifts
Stay tuned, next week I’ll share my Top 10 Fitness Books for 2011.
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Training with Pamela: Goal Setting
Post by Linden | September 1st, 2011
Week 2: Goal Setting
This week was rough, but good. I work from home, so I usually get to sleep in as long as I can—until the puppy wakes me up. But this week, I got up at 7:20 five mornings to meet my best friend and running partner, Sarah Austin, and go running.
We ran the South Creek Trail and traded off pushing her 9-month-old in the jogging stroller (hello, shoulder work out!). We met one morning at Phelps Grove Park to do pace work. Five mornings, up before the sun. This is good for me; I can feel it. Just 10 weeks until the half marathon.
Pamela and I did some really great training sessions this week, too. I am learning lots of new exercises to strengthen my core and firm up some areas that are too flabby—I just know I’m going to get “teacher wings,” the under-arm flab that sways as you erase the board, so we’ve been targeting my arms.
My favorite part of this week was goal-setting.
At the end of each session, Pamela and I sit down and talk. Early on, we looked at the half-marathon training plan I had put together. Another day, we discussed some of the small healthy changes Pamela wants me to make with my eating. Drinking only 12 ounces of Dr. Pepper a day is one that I am doing pretty good at so far—I’ve had 8 Dr. Pepper-free days since I started working with Pamela!
This week, we looked at long-term goals. Here’s what I’m aiming for.
Long Term Goals
- Reduce weight to 170 pounds by June 1, 2012
- Reduce body fat percentage to 32% by Thanksgiving
- Complete half-marathon October 23, 2011 with a time of 2:38 or under
Short Term Goals
- Complete all runs as outlined for the next 4 weeks
- Daily completion of food log
- 3-5 servings of vegetables per day
Eek. I love that these are specific, doable goals, but I hate that I’ve let myself go so far. How did I get to 34.9% body fat?! How did I get to the 211 pounds I weighed during our first session?!
Alas, I know exactly how. I stress eat. I don’t watch my portions. I don’t consciously to eat healthful meals every day. I stopped running.
But I have hope for change! Pamela is a great leader. She is asking me to step out of my comfort zone and make some small eating changes that I have trouble making on my own.
She’s teaching me to think differently about snacks and food and—another weakness of mine—beer. She accepts my excuses, and then reminds me that it is exactly those reasons that I am in this problem in the first place.
I’ll leave you this week with one final thought. We’re creatures of habit. We like our comfort zone. But how comfortable is your comfort zone really?
Is it comfortable to stand in front of the closet wishing you could still fit into that cute top? Is it comfortable wishing you could skip a social because you feel so self-conscious and fat in my clothes? Wanting to melt into the floor at work because your pants are so tight or your clothes so baggy?
No. That is no comfort zone. And it always takes some doing to undone what we’ve done to ourselves.
Did you miss one of Linden's Posts? See them all at this link!
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Vote for Me! Best Personal Trainer in 417!
Post by Pamela | August 29th, 2011
It’s that time of year again! No, not back to school or football. It’s time for the voting for the Best of issue of 417 Magazine! I need your help to voted, once again, the Best Personal Trainer in 417.
I am asking for your vote for Best Personal Trainer because I am not one to rest on my laurels. You were kind enough to make me the winner for 2011 and I still feel I owe you a huge thank you for that one! I hope that every day this year I have not just lived up to your expectations but exceeded them.
You see, I’ve never been happy just “getting by”. I was the girl in high school striving for the 4.0 and wouldn’t be satisfied with performance assessments that said “meets expectations”. I want to be the best, to go above and beyond. Since you named me the Best in 417, I have worked every day to be the best.
I don’t think being the best means putting together the hardest workouts and shouting at you to “Give me 20!”. Being the best isn’t about making you run extra sprints as punishment for missed workouts or margaritas. Being the best isn’t about having the biggest gym or the latest fad equipment. To me being the best is helping you feel that YOU are the BEST.
Everyone comes to me with a different goal, a different definition of what their BEST is. My goal as a personal trainer is to move you forward on this journey, to meet those goals and find your personal BEST. How I do that is by giving you my BEST:
- We start were you are. My goal is not to break you but build you up.
- It’s the one time were it really is all about you. I design your program for you, not by picking a program to fit you into.
- You won’t get lost in the group because there are no groups, just you and me. I’m putting the PERSONAL back in personal training.
- It’s not just about the session. I am full service, when you need me I am there.
I believe these things make me the best and I hope you do too. If so, then please take a few minutes to vote for me as the Best Personal Trainer in 417-land. Here’s how:
- Go to the 2012 Best of 417 Readers' Choice Awards Page
- Vote for all your 417-land favorites.
- Be sure to Enter the Math answer and Click Next Page at the bottom of each page/tab.
- On page 4 (Shopping + Services) enter the following for Best Personal Trainer:
Pamela Hernandez, Thrive Personal Fitness
- Finish the survey by entering your information on the last page.
Thank you for your vote and all of your support all year long!
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USDA Plate Out of Touch with Real American Diet
Post by Pamela | June 13th, 2011
Last Thursday the USDA put to rest the Food Pyramid we’ve all known, memorized and talked to for decades and launched their brand new tool for teaching people how to eat.
A plate.
To me, this is the first sign of how out of touch the USDA is with the issues facing most Americans when it comes to eating.
The problem is most Americans don’t eat meals involving plates. They are lucky to eat at a table at all. Many eat in their cars, at their desks, on the couch or at their children’s baseball practice but not at the actual dinner table. They eat whatever is easy to grab and doesn’t require cooking or utensils.
The plate, found at www.choosemyplate.gov, is sound in its advice. I often tell clients to think of their plate in 4 quarters: ¼ for protein, ¼ for starches (grains, fruits, starchy veggies) and half for the fibrous or leafy veggies. This is the advice I give them for parties or business meeting buffets where they need to manage food without the advantage of tools like measuring cups and scales.
This advice comes with much coaching about good choices. Why a premium chicken breast at Mickey D’s, with its multitude of additives, is different than a chicken breast you buy at the grocery or your local farmer. Why a real fruit smoothie at the same establishment, pumped up with sugar and flavoring, is not the same as a smoothie you make at home with fresh fruit.
People are confused about food, what’s good and what’s not, and the new guidelines don’t help make it any clearer. If a person gets most of their nutrition from a drive up window or the frozen food isle, the plate is a nice ideal but it doesn’t help them make that transition from junk food to real food. After all, I could meet the guidelines of the plate with mashed potatoes, peaches in syrup, a pork chop, rice and ice cream. Yet this plate would still be somewhat of nutritional nightmare.
When I suggest to someone they stop eating a breakfast burrito from the drive up as their usual breakfast their first question is “Well…then what do I eat?” Real food is often something exotic and foreign, like tofu to a meat eater. To me it’s an easy question to answer-make your own burrito. Scramble some egg whites, add peppers, onions, mushrooms and low fat cheese. Wrap in a whole grain tortilla. It doesn’t fit the plate but you have protein, whole grains, dairy and veggies. Grab a banana and you’ve got an on the go breakfast. This makes sense to most people. A breakfast plate just isn’t a realistic goal for many in our on the go world.
The issue is food and real world norms about food have to change, not the symbol. You can use a pyramid, a plate, a map or Legos but nothing is going to work until we stop accepting overly processed junk as food and start teaching people what real food is all about.
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Thrive Personal Fitness Grand Opening Extravaganza!
Post by Pamela | May 23rd, 2011
I am the luckiest girl in the world.
photo by IPBrianI know, I say that all the time but I really do mean it. I just have to say it again because I was reminded over the weekend how fortunate I am to have the most supportive and amazing people in my life.
Last Saturday was the Grand Opening celebration at the new location I share with Dunham’s Martial Arts. Chris Dunham, the owner, is so patient and gracious when I get the wild idea to have an open house. It kind of creates chaos for a few weeks, but I think they are so much fun and I really wanted to show off the new space to friends, family, family of clients and anyone else who just might happen to wonder in.
When you decide to have an open house you never really know what to expect. It’s like moving, your buddies say they’ll be there to help but on the big day you really know who your friends are.
Yesterday I was blessed with more friends than I could have imagined.
We started at noon with a slow trickle but by about 12:30 people really started rolling in. Some I knew and some I didn’t. Always a good sign. It really kicked into high gear shortly after that when my friend Connie Shoemaker, from Spa Salubrious, set up to do chair massages (of which I did not have time to partake) and my other friend Abba Anderson, Acupuncturist, arrived to start sticking needles in those willing to give acupuncture a try.
photo by IPBrianPerhaps it was the promise of free relaxation or Seedy Bars from Black Owl Bread Company or the smell of burgers and brats on the grill from Middletons All Natural Meats , but people just kept coming. I was running around like a crazy fool for almost 3 hours. It was the best 3 hours any girl could have asked for.
How could it not be? It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon with a million other things going on and yet my friends, family, clients and business associates made the time to come see me, let me show off my space and listen to me babble about how great the new location was. While it may not have seemed like much to them, it meant everything to me.
photo by IPBrianIn fitness and in life it’s a hard path when you don’t have the support of others. You can go it alone, but it makes it 100 times harder. In fitness, I’ve been lucky to always have support at home from my wonderful husband. When we started the business, it seemed like it was just me and him against the world.
Yesterday proved that is the farthest thing from the truth there could be.
I want to thank everyone who came Saturday, everyone who sent wishes from a far and everyone everyday who makes me smile and keeps me pushing forward when I don’t think I can.
photo by IPBrianSee you at the next open house.
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