Exercises

Here at To Fit You Fitness Studio, we focus on ways to improve your health and well-being by giving each client a customized fitness program. These are designed to fit your individual goals, whether they involve strength training, weight loss, stress relief or cognitive functioning. Thanks to recent understandings, we know that exercise also enhances cognitive function. That is, enhancing the strength of our brain to help grow new brain cells that improve communication between existing cells. This allows faster cognition, better recall and improved dexterity skills.

I work with all kinds of clients and see improvement when they learn new skills. Especially clients who have experienced a stroke. When they focus on their ability to move their body, their brain is actually retraining itself to communicate to the body. I help them from thinking about how they will move differently to doing movements that enhance that skill and then to being that person who can actually perform the skill.

So here are a few examples to improve the mind–body connection:

• Meditate. This will help you slow your brain waves down and decrease anxiety and stress.
• Get a massage and exercise regularly. This is a great way to relieve tension and improve your mood.
• Take up a hobby. Anything you enjoy will help you get into a meditative state.
• Practice alternative therapies. Yoga, breathwork and tai chi all increase relaxation, improve the immune system and help with mental focus.

Customized Fitness Experience Leads to Healing
My client, Tamar Acar, is recovering from pontine ischemic stroke. Find out how a personalized fitness approach allowed her to continue to heal. Tamar was also able to strengthen mental and physical resilience when physical therapy was no longer viable.

When it comes to strengthening core muscles, it goes beyond solely focusing on the abs and back — as a matter of fact, it involves glutes, hamstrings and quads. If we want to emphasize muscles that surround the spine, the focus needs to be on inner and outer musculature that allows natural mobility in bending, extending, rotating and stabilizing movement. When I work with clients, I do an assessment to see what they can actually do in these planes of motion. Then I can design a custom-fit routine that enables them to perform the movements correctly.

• There are many ways to strengthen your core. What is most important is that I know each one of my clients’ capabilities. In any exercise, you are using your core muscles, yet if you want to emphasize certain muscles to enhance overall strength, here are some tips to consider.
• Begin a new exercise with the easiest balance position and use controlled movements at every point in that range.
• As you master the move, progress by manipulating balance change variables (going from the ball to the floor to weights, adding a movement or an external stimulus, such as a weighted ball or dumbbell).
  As you progress, decrease range of motion until you learn the new motor pattern.
• Make sure you are aware of your breath and know how to get safely from the floor to the ball/BOSU^® or other piece of exercise equipment.

Strengthen Core Muscles
Now that you have some ideas on “muffin top” reduction or increasing core strength, remember that all exercises incorporate your core. Watch the video on how to get the most benefit to increase your strength!

Did you know that the glutes and the hamstrings are the largest muscles in your body? They extend, rotate and abduct the hips. They also contribute to stabilization of the pelvis during walking and climbing. Not only do you want your glutes to look good, but you want them to work well. Strong glutes and hamstrings help improve posture, alleviate lower-back pain and increase bone density. When you increase your muscle mass, you burn more calories at rest. For every pound of muscle mass, you burn an extra 50 calories.

• Posture Improvement:
  Many of us suffer from poor posture, tight and short hip flexors, weak and overstretched hip extensors, and glutes that forget how to activate properly. This contributes to posture deviations such as lordosis (also known as “swayback”) and kyphosis (hunched back). The quickest way to slim your profile is improve your posture.
• Alleviation of Lower-Back Pain:
  Strong glutes support the lower back, and when they aren’t strong enough to perform their hip extension function, other muscles will perform the job and may become overstressed, resulting in compression of the spine, hips and knees. The glutes are hip stabilizers. When weak, poor alignment of the lower body will leave you prone to injuries such as shin splints, Achilles’ tendonitis, sprains and tears of the anterior cruciate ligament (knee ligament), and iliotibial band syndrome (side of leg). Improve your hips by strengthening your glutes with hip thrusts and by performing bridging exercises.
• Increase of Bone Density:
  Bone density peaks five to 10 years after we reach skeletal maturity. By the time you are 30 years old, damaged bone is reabsorbed faster. The new bone is formed, resulting in increased risked of osteopenia (lower-than-normal bone density) and osteoporosis. Exercises that place mechanical stress on the bones include lower-body exercises, running and walking and can even reverse the effects of age-related bone density loss. The sooner you start strengthening your bone density, the greater the benefit to the skeletal system.

Video: Hip Stretches – Loosen Stiff Hips
Now that you know the benefits to strengthening the hips, it’s time to get into action by clicking the video link above. You will see me demonstrate some powerful stretches that will loosen stiff hips and get you moving, for a happier, healthier you.

Did you know the human head weighs about 12 pounds — the equivalent of a medium bowling ball? As you look down at your phone, the weight on your neck begins to increase. To give some perspective, the human head at a 15° angle, is about 27 pounds. At 30°, it weighs about 40 pounds, and at 45°, it weighs about 49 pounds. At 60°, the point in which your head is hunched over your phone, your head weighs about 69 pounds! That’s like carrying a small child.

Many of my clients come to me feeling stiff with discomfort as a result of repetitive actions or motions that do not add much to their overall health. This includes looking down at their phone to check emails or slouching because they are working at their desk all day long. Over time, their posture slumps inward, which creates tension on the neck and shoulders. I call this “Slumpy Dumpy.”

To combat Slumpy Dumpy, I give my clients suggestions on how to get moving throughout their day so they don’t suffer the consequences of a sedentary work environment. Instead of “cracking” my clients into perfect posture, I work with their unique situation. I give them small achievable steps to take them where they need to be (see the video below).

Simple and easy things you can do to help ease neck tension:
• Purchase an iRing (attachable accessory that allows you to comfortably grip your device).
• Look at your devices with your eyes without flexing your neck.
• Exercises for your neck (see the video below).

Neck Exercises Right at Your Desk

Click the video above to learn how you can stretch those neck muscles to ease the tension on your neck while increasing blood flow and circulation.