http://yakshealthylifestyles.zoomshare.com/8.shtml YAK'S HEALTHY LIFESTYLES: Personal Trainer/Lifestyle Coach: Fitness/Nutriti Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:30:48 -0500 http://yakshealthylifestyles.zoomshare.com/8.shtml/3334c2b7d64db4859a61d4f37f19bfd2_48036a6d.writeback Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:30:05 -0500 I must say that I've never done a blog, but I am very excited about starting this one. I am in the process of having my Fitness & Nutrition manual published which has always been a dream of mine, to have written work published. My fitness and nutrition manual is my baby really. It is made up of practical steps you can take that will help you fit exercise and relaxation into your life. These are steps that I have taken and steps I give my clients to help them fit exercise into their life and they work. The manual contains over 100 different exercise and stretches, all with written instruction as well as diagrams. It contains so much more, but I'll get into all that at a later date. I created this blog to help women who want to lose weight and live life a healthier all the way around. I do know first hand how difficult it can be to take time out for ourselves but it is so important. Our houses will not fall down, our kids will not suffer and the house work will still be there for us when we are done exercising. It really only take 20 minutes 3-4 times a week to reap the benefits of exercise. So my goal here is to get some chatter going, have women ask questions, get to know one another and to give and get support. I will also be blogginig on the site of my publisher. You can check that out at http://www.shulamitepublishinghouse.com/blog/sphblo g/blog.html Please post and have fun! Wendy Yak's Healthy Lifestyles Personal Trainer/Lifestyle Coach http://yakshealthylifestyles.zoomshare.com/8.shtml/38f3d0af266d7667ad0d774a8beaf052_47fd48c4.writeback Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:52:52 -0500 I am getting ready to launch my Fitness & Nutrition Manual. It's full of some great information that will help you fit exercise and relaxation into your day. It is designed to help you decide what type of exercise program is best for you and more. The practical steps in it I have done myself and I apply them to every client I work with. As many of us are getting ready for short weather and dreading it, I thought it would be a good idea to start a blog, share with you all some of the things that are in the manual, get some input and hopefully I can help many women get excited about taking some time to exercise, stretch and relax. We all deserve it. This will also be a good chance to ask me questions on more of a regular basis. I'm hoping some chatter will start and we can share exercise tips and just give and get some support. Thanks so much! Wendy Yak's Healthy Lifestyles Personal Trainer/Lifestyle Coach http://yakshealthylifestyles.zoomshare.com/8.shtml/6f82fd38af2c06db60eb3544d84beca4_45d9ce2f.writeback Mon, 19 Feb 2007 10:19:59 -0600 If you're finding that you exercise for a couple of weeks, then stop for a week or so, don't lose heart. That is very normal. But don't give up. It takes time to introduce good habits into your life. They key is to keep at it. Find some toning exercises that you don't really mind doing. Set a short amount of time for yourself, 3 times a week, maybe 15 or 20 minutes where you can do some toning exercises and some stretching. If you find something that you don't mind doing, you'll have a better chance of sticking with it and becoming more consistent with your workouts. Wendy Yak's Healthy Lifestyles Personal Trainer/Lifestyle Coach http://www.yakshealthylifestyles.zoomshare.com/ http://yakshealthylifestyles.zoomshare.com/8.shtml/f1c1fa5f8cce3658748392d34bbe8edd_4534e763.writeback Tue, 17 Oct 2006 09:23:31 -0500 Hi Everyone This internet is great, but I do find that when I e-mail people, I sometimes get into trouble. I am a very straight forward person and sometimes in an email I guess I come across as sounding rude. Anyone who really knows me I don't have a problem with, but unfortunately when we meet eachother over this internet we don't really get to know each other. Anyone have this trouble? There should be a course on internet savey or something. Wendy http://yakshealthylifestyles.zoomshare.com/8.shtml/f3f3b13d6eb50894b1f0486ea98d050e_45314735.writeback Sat, 14 Oct 2006 15:23:17 -0500 It is certainly important to know how to do your exercises properly. I do recommend that you work with a personal trainer until you are comfortable with your routine. Once you are confident that you have the proper positioning down for each exercise you are doing, it's quite easy for you to adjust your routine on your own. I have tips for toning that you would be wise to follow when doing any exercise. ✓ Concentrate (focus) on specific muscle(s) you are working ✓ If feeling fatigued, mix stretches in with exercises ✓ Inter-mingling exercises is also a good way to avoid fatigue example: do 1 set of bicep work on both arms, then switch to a leg exercise, then back to bicep work. ✓ If knees or elbows are popping, reposition yourself ✓ If it hurts, don't do it ✓ Remember your breathing ✓ ENJOY! As women, we know our bodies quite well. We know when we're retaining fluids, we know when we're PMSing (even though we don't like to admit it), we know when we've put on five pounds. Trust those same instincts to lead you in your workout routine. After a few shorts weeks of faithful exercising, you will soon begin to FEEL the improvement in your muscle tone. This will not be visable immediately but know that underneath your skin, your muscles are taking shape. Around and about the 6-12 week period, depending on the frequency of your workout, you will no longer feel changes in your body. This is your body saying, "I'm bored, I'm getting stronger, challenge me". This is when you need to weigh your options. If you are new at this, I strongly recommend that you consult with your personal trainer as to which options suit you best in the way of increasing your exercising routine. Simply increase your repetitions. Usually, when you have reached 3 sets of 24 repetitions for any exercise, it is then time to introduce some weight into your program. If you are not already using weights, this would be the time to start. Often when we add or increase the amount of weight we are working with, we decrease our repetitions until we are comfortable with the changes. For example, if you are doing 3 sets, 16 repetitions of a bicep curl, using a 2 lb weight, when you increase the weight to 5 lbs, but do 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions. Find a different exercise that works the same muscle. For example, the bicep curl works the bicep, the cross-curl works the bicep. However, each exercise has it's own unique way of working the surrounding muscles differently. Creating just the amount of change that your workout may need. There are benefits in knowing a couple of different exercises per muscle group. For me, I do the more intense exercises when I have the energy. The days when I'm tired because it's the end of the week or my little one has had a few sleepless nights, I'll do my exercises that allow me to be on the floor for the most part. Toning is toning girls. Enjoy getting fit, enjoy your stretching, enjoy getting oxygen into your body and increasing your circulation. Enjoy your increased energy level, enjoy setting YOU in a place of importance in your life. Wendy http://yakshealthylifestyles.zoomshare.com/8.shtml/bc059c276b5bbc419e8d094f25dc4d64_453146e6.writeback Sat, 14 Oct 2006 15:21:58 -0500 First let me tell you that being a mom of 3 boys, very different ages, I have had to readjust my workouts over the years. When my first son was born, I would do a step routine and some toning in my home for about 45 minutes to an hour. This was when I first wanted to drop my weight. As soon as my son went for his morning nap, I exercised. The dishes, the vacuuming, nothing came first. All that other stuff could wait, I could do it all when he was awake if I needed to but I couldn't work out when he was up. When the morning naps ended, I did the same thing when he went for his afternoon naps. I also changed my eating habits, which I will go into further detail in another post. Now, 17 years later, I work out 3-4 times a week for about 20 minutes. I do some toning, get on my stepper, more toning, back on my stepper, abdominal work, back on my stepper and then stretches. I have a variety of exercises I choose from, it depends on my mood, all of which you will find in my manual. I have continued with the healthy eating habits I started all those years ago. They have become second nature for me, therefore, I have absolutely no need to diet. What I have done over the years is to have my workouts accomodate my lifestyle. I don't expect too much from myself, therefore avoiding failure. It works, I would love to help you in this. I believe that we are all unique, with our own unique, busy lives, therefore, our workouts need to be unique and suited to us as well. Wendy http://yakshealthylifestyles.zoomshare.com/8.shtml/25d02944635a3d06477da2222d8e4f19_453145da.writeback Sat, 14 Oct 2006 15:17:30 -0500 With life being so, so busy for most of us, I really see a need for making it a point throughout our day to relax. Many relaxation techniques take very little time, are really easy to do and you can to them anywhere. You really will become far more relaxed, less stressed if you incorporate relaxation exerxices into your day, at least 2-3 times a day, every day. By the time the stress of x-mas hits, it'll be smooth sailin' for you. Most of us apply relaxation techniques automatically as soon as we feel stress. That's a natural thing to do. What I want to teach you is that if you do these relaxation exercises every day, more than once, those peek stress times won't be so difficult because you will be working your way into being just generally a more relaxed person. Make sense? First - find a quiet place, if possible, close your eyes, breath deeply and evenly and relax your muscles. Deep breaths by the way, get oxygen into your body, increasing your circulation. Next - Apply any stretch or relaxation exercise you already know. Deep breath every time you do a stretch. My fitness & nutrition manual has over 100 different exercises and stretches in it. So if you are in need of either, please e-mail me to find out how you can purchase one of my manuals. If you have back problems, siatica problems, there's awesome stretches in there for that. I found them about 14-15 years ago when I first put my back out. I was misdiagnosed at physio therapy, the exercises they gave me hurt and I'm a firm believer that if it hurts, don't do it. So I did some investigating on my own and discovered these exercises. I won't go on and on now about them, but if anyone does have back problems and wants more info on these exercises and what worked for me, I'd be happy to talk to anyone of you in more detail. Now that we've talked about a maintenance relaxation program, I want to give you some tips on what to do when you feel a headache coming on. First though, keep in mind that the deep, relaxed breathing and a lot of those stretches can be done anywhere, even in the car, during a red light. Just remember, be consistent in doing them. I really can't stress the importance of consistency enough. FIRST SIGN OF A HEADACHE: Stop whatever it is you are doing, breath deeply and relax with one or more of the following: ✷ relax the muscles around the pain ✷ relax your neck and shoulder muscles ✷ let it ride like a wave ✷ imagine the pain as a dial and turn it down ✷ close your eyes and give your eyes, neck, face and scalp a mini massage, think of a favorite place ✷ sit or lie down comfortably and progressively relax your muscles. Start with your toes and work your way up to your head. ✷ Mental concentration seems to be the secret when it comes to making any type of relaxation technique work. It is not necessary to take a ½ hour or an hour to relax. Unfortunately, most of us don't have that kind of time. Taking a deep breath, a couple of stretches and just staring out of the window for a few minutes is really all you need. Realizing when you can take those 2-3 minutes to relax and use them to your advantage. These mini-breaks will truly be beneficial to your health. Often we go into a meditative state, but are unaware of them because they are so subtle. This happens to us often when we are doing a boring job. Take advantage of these moments and their relaxing qualities. Years ago, I read an interview of people who were over 100 years old. They revealed these two prevailing attitudes. First, take life as it comes, accept it's curve balls, savor its sweet surprises. Second, do the best you can and let go of what happens after that. My mother in law who is not even close to 100 but is certainly mature enough to have earned the right to pass on a life lesson or two says this, "do your best and God will do the rest". That one is my personal favorite. You know, the older I get the more this old saying "life is too short not be be enjoyed" just makes so much more sense to me. If you're living a hectic, stressful lifestyle, think about making some positive lifestyle changes with ➴ Exercise ➵ better eating habits ➶ consistent sleep and daytime activity schedule. A regular routine is not a bad thing. Part of my job as lifestyle coach is to try and help women incorporate some of these things into your already busy day. I do have a message board where you can ask me your questions and if you want to get real personal, always feel free to e- mail me. Wendy