Pilates For Back Pain

How does a consistent Pilates practice relieve back pain? Pilates addresses the underlying structural imbalances in the body that leads to back pain. Issues like lack of core support, pelvic instability, muscular imbalances, poor posture, and lack of body awareness effect back health. Pilates develops core strength. Having core strength means that all the muscles in the trunk of your body are strong, flexible, and working together to support and stabilize the spine. Part of developing effective core strength is to train the body to know when to release, and when to activate. As body awareness increases, we move beyond the physical and mental holding patterns that back pain can create resulting in a positive change

Never Say Never

Well I was caught doing something I said I would never do again - yes.. run. After many injuries effecting, knees, psoas, hamstrings and calves, I just didn't think running was worth the rehab afterwards. So I announced to everyone who was listening that I would never run again. A wise women (yes you Jacquie), told me to never say never. Well I was certain I would never be tempted again. During one of my long walks I ran up a hill. Thats all it took - I was craving the feeling you get after a good run. I have been secretly running for about 3 weeks and was caught by one of my friends running down the same path towards me. Of course he yells as he runs by my "I though you weren't running anymore". So now I am coming clean. I am sticking to running 5 - 6km for a month and see how it goes - so far to good. I have been very ridged with stretching after warming up for 5 minutes and stretching completely after my run. Today I realized why I love it so much. The Niagara Region is so beautiful especially on a day like today. Its cool out no wind and the air feels and smells so clean. All of us from Niagara are so blessed to have the amazing paths, trails and parks available to us. Not sure if I'm up to competing again but I will never say never again.

Ringing in 2011 with Strength and Determination

Wow, its 2011 already. A new year with new beginnings - How Exciting. So many great ideas and plans for the year ahead. Many of us decide this is the year we are going to eat right and get fit. But, how are we going to stick to it this year? Something happens in February and all our great ambitions start falling to the wayside. How do we stick to it??? I think I have a plan that may just work.

Think of taking care of you body like a job. You have to go to your job to make a living so you can maintain your lifestyle. But what were to happen if you fall ill? All of a sudden your lifestyle changes. A drop in salary not to mention extra cost incurred for medical expenses can be very devastating.

Many illnesses can be avoided by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. With a little bit of organization and planning, healthy eating and daily exercise can easily be part of your lifestyle.

Join fitness classes. Going to the same classes each week help you keep motivated by the other members in the class. Don't think you have to do it by yourself. Recruit friends or family members to join you. Never make excuses - there are no valid excuses to stop. If your goal is to start running this year, join a running group to get you started. If there is a sport you want to try, do it. The only think that is stopping you is you.

To find a variety of fitness classes visit http://www.pilatespostures.com

Pilates Postures provides small classes for all levels. Everything from Pilates classes, Fusion classes and TRX classes. Sign up online to reserve your spot.

Tips For The Holidays

Its a busy times of year. With extra shopping to do and getting together with collegues and friends leaves less time to fit in exercise and concentrate on your diet. Here are a few tips that may help to avoid those extra pounds. Before every meal, drink 2 cups of water. The water will fill your stomach and you will be less hungry and eat less. When choosing what to eat at parties or restaurants, fill your plate mostly with vegetables and fruit. You won't feel so weighted down and bloated. Try to avoid appetizers with puffed pastery or deep fried. These bit-sized treats are packed with fat. Before every alcholic drink, have a cup of water. You will drink less and you will keep hydrated. Before you go out, spend at least 20 minutes doing some Pilates exercises. Guranteed, you will have more energy for the event ahead. Go out, enjoy yourself, just be aware of what you are consuming and keep exercising to keep up your energy level.

Benefits of Pilates

Pilates is more than a workout program it educates the mind. The biggest benefit of Pilates is personal awareness.

As I teach my classes or train my private and semi-private clients, I sometimes feel like a broken record repeating to lift the pelvic floor, engage the transverse muscles and stablilize shoulders. The reason I do this is for my clients to gain core strength even when they are not in class. When clients ask me what they should do when they are not in class, I tell them to lift their plevic floor and engage their transverse muscles when they are driving in the car - or stuck at a red light. Paying attention to ones posture with the knowledge of how to stabilize their shoulders engage abs and maintain a neutral spine and pelvis, will help them obtain better posture and prevent injury in everyday activities. Think of a tree - the strength is not in the limbs but in the trunk. If the trunk is not strong it will surely fall over. Well, exactly the same applies to human beings. If the core of our bodies is not concentrated upon, then this results in our bodies becoming tight in certain places and weak in others. This will result in injuries due to the drawbacks of certain occupations or our chosen form of exercise.

Pilates is not all you need to do. It should definately be part of you lifestyle along with a cardio program and healthy diet plan. I recommend at least 30 minutes of cardio 3 - 4 times weekly along with a healthy meal plan that includes raw food daily (ex. a big salad and fresh fruit).

The Big Move

Tomorrow I am participating in The Big Move Ride for Cancer. The money raised goes toward the new Walker Family Cancer Facility the Niagara Region located at 4th Avenue, St. Catharines. I am riding 50km with an old friend of mine. We both know people currently fighting cancer. The courage of these people is overwelming. If you would like to donate to this worthy cause, you can sponsor me online at https://www.bigmovecancerride.com/Pledge-a-Rider/Rider’s-Pledge-Page/ID/401/
There is a BBQ after the ride and everyone is welcome. Hope to see you there.

B-Vitamins - What they do

The topic of Vitamins and Minerals is so confusing to so many. We wonder if we should take supplements or if our diet is supplying all the vitamins we need. Today I will write about the B-Vitamin complex, defining what the vitamin does for us and why we need it. I will also provide foods that contain this vitamin. Then you can decide if your diet is covering your body's need for Vitamins.

The B-Vitamin complex is a group of eight water-soluble nutrients that are important for creating energy and keeping muscles healthy for physical activity. B Vitamins make new red blood cells, create new proteins, and help repair muscle tissue. B-vitamin complex consists of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, Vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, biotin, folate and vitamin B12.

If you have a high intensity fitness routine, you may need to double your intake riboflavin and B6 (Woolf & Manore 2006). High-intensity activity (more than 12 hours per week) may increase levels of homocysteine, an amino acid biomarker for heart desease that can be lowered by settinbg sufficienbt amounts of folate and vitamins B6 and B12 (Joubert & Manore2008)

A clinical deficiency in the B vitamins that assist with red blood cell production, may result in anemia, imparing the ability to transport oxygen throughout the body. This impact endurance athletes most. It can take about three months before the first signs of anemia are detected, so its a good idea to get adequate intake levels earlier rather than later in the training process. (M. Moon 2010)

Good sources for B Vitamins include whole grains, leafy greens, beans and peas, fish, lean poultry and meat, eggs, low fat or nonfat dairy.

B Vitamin deficiency will hurt performance, but there is currently not enough evidence to say that supplementation may improve it (ADA 2009).

The next vitamin on the list to discuss in Vitamin D. I would love to hear you comments or suggestions. Follow my blog to learn more.