Fitness Tip of the Day: Something Different Saturday -- Yoga

What do you think of when you hear the word yoga? Do you envision the scene from eat, pray, love when Julia Robert's character is in India?  That is one of many different types of yoga. I've heard numerous people tell me that they didn't find yoga to be a good "workout," or others who expressed "yoga is really hard--I thought it was supposed to relaxing!"  Well, it can be both, it depends on the type of yoga you are doing.  Let me assure you, there is a type of yoga out there to fit your needs, and once you find it, you will be hooked!

Here is a list of  some of the more popular types of yoga (although there are many more) from a couple of different sources:

Hatha is an easy-to-learn basic form of yoga that has become very popular in the United States. Hatha Yoga is the foundation of all Yoga styles. It incorporates Asanas (postures), Pranayama (regulated breathing), meditation (Dharana & Dhyana) and kundalini (Laya Yoga) into a complete system that can be used to achieve enlightenment or self-realization. It has become very popular in America as a source of exercise and stress management. The ideal way to practice the Hatha Yoga poses (asanas) is to approach the practice session in a calm, meditative mood. Sit quietly for a few moments, then begin the series, slowly, with control and grace, being inwardly aware as the body performs the various poses selected for the practice session. Do not overdo the asanas or try to compete with others. Take it easy and enjoy. 

• Purpose: To introduce beginners to yoga with basic poses and relaxation techniques
• Benefits: Relieves stress, provides physical exercise, and improves breathing
• Good for: Beginners and people wanting to learn the basics of yoga

Iyengar Yoga, developed by yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar more than 60 years ago, promotes strength, flexibility, endurance, and balance through coordinated breathing and poses that require precise body alignment. The poses are generally held longer than in other styles of yoga. In Iyengar, you slowly move into a pose, hold it for a minute or so, and then rest for a few breaths before stretching into another. Equipment like cushions, blankets, straps, and blocks to help the less flexible also distinguishes Iyengar from other types of yoga. Although Iyengar incorporates the traditional postures, or asanas, that make up the broader category of hatha yoga, the cushions and other props revolutionized yoga by enabling everyone -- even the elderly, sick, and disabled -- to practice. Because of its slow pace, attention to detail, and use of props, Iyengar yoga can be especially good if you're recovering from an injury. Iyengar is still one of the most popular types of yoga taught today.

• Purpose: To strengthen and bring the body into alignment
• Benefits: Helps improve balance, speeds up recovery from an injury, and builds up body strength
• Good for: Beginners who want to learn the correct alignments in each pose and those with injuries, balance issues, and chronic medical conditions like arthritis

Vinyasa: Focuses on coordination of breath and movement and it is a very physically active form of yoga. It began with Krishnamacharya who later passed it on to Pattabhi Jois.  Much like Hatha, Vinyasa covers basic poses and breath-synchronized movement. This variety of Hatha yoga emphasizes on the Sun Salutation, a series of 12 poses where movement is matched to the breath.

• Purpose: To link the breath with movement and to build lean muscle mass throughout the body
• Benefits: Helps improve strength and flexibility, tones the abdominal muscles, and reduces the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes
• Good for: Beginners and advanced yogis alike seeking to strengthen their bodies

Bikram Yoga Also known as hot yoga, Bikram is practiced in a 95 to 100 degree room. It’s typically a series of 26 poses that allows for a loosening of tight muscles and sweating.

It is the method of yoga that is a comprehensive workout that includes all the components of fitness: muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular flexibility and weight loss. The founder, Bikram Choudhury, was a gold medal Olympic weight lifter in 1963 and is a disciple of Bishnu Ghosh, brother of Paramahansa Yogananda, (Autobiography of a Yogi). One of the unusual but most beneficial aspects of Bikram's yoga practice is the 95-105 degree temperature which promotes more flexibility, detoxification, and prevention of injuries. This is the only yoga style that specializes in using the heated environment.

• • Purpose: To flush out toxins and to deeply stretch the muscles
  • Benefits: Speeds up recovery from an injury, enhances flexibility, and cleanses the body
  • Good for: Beginners and advanced yogis alike who want to push themselves and those with physical injuries

Ashtanga (or Astanga) Yoga is the name given to the system of yoga taught by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. This style of yoga is physically demanding as it involves synchronizing breathing with progressive and continuous series of postures-a process producing intense internal heat and a profuse, purifying sweat that detoxifies muscles and organs. The result is improved circulation, flexibility, stamina, a light and strong body, and a calm mind. Ashtanga is an athletic yoga practice and is not for beginners.

• Purpose: To help improve one’s spiritual self
• Benefits: Relieves stress, improves coordination, and helps with weight loss
• Good for: Fit people looking to maintain strength and stamina, and those who want to get in touch with their spiritual side

Power Yoga is essentially yoga with brawn. It's the American interpretation of ashtanga yoga, a discipline that combines stretching, strength training, and meditative breathing. But power yoga takes ashtanga one step further. Many of the poses (also called postures or their Sanskrit name, asanas) resemble basic calisthenics -- push-ups and handstands, toe touches and side bends -- but the key to power yoga's sweat-producing, muscle-building power is the pace. Instead of pausing between poses as you would in traditional yoga, each move flows into the next, making it an intense aerobic workout.

Restorative Yoga: In a restorative yoga class you'll spend long periods of time lying on blocks, blankets and yoga bolsters - passively allowing muscles to relax.

The video I chose is a beginner video showing Hatha Yoga.  There are many free yoga classes on this YouTube Channel.

Namaste

Fitness Tip of the Day: Friday's Facts and Findings- Exercise Prevents Disease

In past blog posts I've given you the recommended guidelines for cardiovascular, muscular and flexibility training, but I didn't list all the benefits of doing these types of exercises.

Here is an article that explains many reasons to exercise.  Exercise Prevents Disease.  Do you watch The Biggest Loser? (yes I admit, I watch it, even though I don't necessarily agree with the extreme measures and quick weight loss) At the beginning of the season, they always have a doctor telling the contestants what diseases they have or will potentially get if they continue to live their lives the way they have been.  Then toward the end of the season, after they have lost weight, they rerun these tests.  A good deal of the time, contestants are either able to cut the dose of medications they are on or go off of them all together.  These meds are usually for diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension) and high cholesterol.

If you don't have any of these diseases, and you begin exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet, you can help prevent getting these diseases all together.  My husband is a great example of this.  His blood sugar was at nearing the Diabetes II side, so he started exercising and eating better thereby losing about 25 pounds.  While he still monitors his blood sugar, he is no longer in the pre-diabetic range and does not have to be on meds.  Other aspects of his health improved quite a bit too. While genetics does play a role in some of these diseases, exercise and healthy eating can also lessen the severity or the help the onset start later rather that sooner in life.

This article from Idea Fit goes into more detail:  Exercise Prevents Disease

Also on this subject--taken from my personal training text.  The many Benefits of Cardiorespiratory Fitness (American College of Sports Medicine, 2006a)

      Reduction in coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors

• Reduced resting blood pressure
• Increased HDL (good) cholesterol
• Decreased triglycerides
• Reduced body fat and intra-abdominal fat
• Reduced insulin needs, and improved glucose tolerance
• Reduced blood platelet adhesiveness and aggregation

     Improvement in cardiovascular and respiratory function

• Increased VO2 max (maximal oxygen uptake)
• Increased stroke volume
• Stronger heart
• Decreased heart rate (HR) and blood pressure at submaximal workloads
• Increased capillary density in skeletal muscle
• Increased anaerobic threshold
• Increased stamina, endurance, energy

    Other benefits

• Decreased anxiety and depression
• Enhanced feelings of well-being
• Enhanced performance of work and sports activities
• Enhanced function and independent living in older persons
• Improved sleep
• Improved immune function
• Increased quality of life
• Decreased morbidity and mortality

...and that's just cardiovascular exercise!!!

From the same text, The Benefits of Muscular Fitness:

• Increased physical work capacity (increased functional ability) resulting in improved ability to perform activities of daily living
• Increased bone density
• Increased fat-free mass resulting in decreased sarcopenia (age-related muscle mass loss) and potentially resulting in increased metabolism
• Increased strength of connective tissue
• Decreased risk of injury
• Increased motor performance
• Enhanced feelings of well-being and self-confidence
• Improved quality of life

I listed these when I posted the stretch video--but worth reading again since this is the workout we skip the most.  

    The Benefits of Flexibility Training

• Decreased risk of injury
• Decreased chronic muscle tension
• Decreased low-back pain
• Improved posture
• Increased motor performance
• Decreased stress
• Relief of muscle soreness
• Increased mind/body connection
• Improved ability to perform activities of daily living (increased functional ability)

All these benefits from exercise!   I say take it a step further and add a healthier eating plan into your life as well :)

Fitness Tip of the Day: Thursday's Total Body--Walking

I realized that some of the videos that I posted previously may have been a bit advanced for some people.  So, I decided to post one of Leslie Sansone's Walking videos.  She has made many walking videos with ranges from 3 to 5 miles.  The great thing about these videos is that you can do the walking in your own living room.  In this video, she incorporates the use of a "special" exercise band that is attached to a belt.  If you have a regular resistance band, you can do the exercises with the band around your waist or upper back and you will get the same benefits.  While you are walking, just put the band around your neck and hold onto the handles--it won't go anywhere.  Leslie is very bubbly, chatty and quirky, but in a good way.  She constantly reminds you about your posture and form--which is the way I teach as well.  She keeps it fun and light.  If this type of routine was taught by someone very serious, it could get very boring, very quickly.  This video runs about 45 mins (there's a short commercial for the resistance band belt at the beginning) and you will walk approximately 3 miles.

You could also do this video as a recovery workout if you did a more challenging workout the day before, but still want to do something.  Or if you did a shorter high intensity workout of only 20 minutes or so, you could do this workout in addition to further burn calories and fat without having to do any higher impact moves, thus avoiding potential injury. If you already did resistance training, you could easily do this workout without the band and just focus on getting the cardio work in.

She cools you down, but doesn't stretch at the end, so once again, I'd do the stretch video following this routine.

Fitness Tip of the Day: Wednesday's Website -- Eat This, Not That

I'm sure you have seen the multiple books with this title written by David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding.
I have two of them that I recently took out of the library.  Some of the nutritional information, especially on restaurant food, really surprised me.  Some of the foods that I would have considered healthier choices, turned out to be anything but that.  I like the fact that supermarket foods are also included as well as recipes to make healthier versions of your favorite restaurant items.  While looking through the books, I came across the free website that is featured here today and decided to check it out.

Eat This, Not That

There is a lot of great information on this website.  There are free trackers.  There's a section entitled "Top Swaps" that features top pick items and top items to pass up from many different restaurant chains. I referenced this website before my latest visit to The Cheesecake Factory.  It helped me pick my healthier entree (they do have a new Skinny menu there now).  Yes, I still ordered the wonderfully decadent cheesecake--Rick and I split it.  C'mon, even I can't go to The Cheesecake Factory without ordering cheesecake--and not the low carb, low fat one--eeww.  But, even though I knew that the cheesecake was a crazy amount of fat and calories, I didn't feel as guilty knowing that my entree was a good choice--and that I don't eat cheesecake on a daily basis.  Thankfully, many restaurants are now offering lighter fare food choices.  I know I will be visiting this website again to help me make better choices when eating out.  You do have to sign up for free membership either through facebook or entering your name and email.  Note--I did get some emails from Men's Health after I signed in via facebook that I will have to unsubscribe from.

If you prefer books, this is one of the books that I have checked out.

I really liked it because it stresses that this is NOT a diet.  It's a healthier way of eating and looking at the foods that you buy from the grocery store and at restaurants.  These healthier swaps and choices are lifelong changes that you can make and not feel deprived.  There are also recipes for healthier versions of things like French Toast Stuffed with Strawberries and Tiramisu.

It also gives you food matrix-es.  For example, the first one is for trail mix.  You start by choosing a nut from the list, a seed, an extra crunch, and a sweetener.  You can make up your own combination or follow the recipes on the next page.  There's also a matrix for fruit salad, vegetable salad, deli salad, smoothies and snacks.

Subjects like high blood pressure and cholesterol are also addressed.  There is a section on exercise.  There's a good amount of  humor thrown in as well.  I do think this is one I will be purchasing in the near future.    

Fitness Tip of the Day: Tuesday Trunk and Core

Who remembers Tae Bo?  Well, Billy Blanks--the founder of Tae Bo is still going strong.  I found an Ab Boot Camp workout from him on YouTube that really hones in on the abdominal muscles.  I could only find it divided into 4 separate segments.  I'm posting segments 1, 2 and 3.  Segment 4 is pretty advanced--there are some exercises there that can really hurt your lower back if not done properly (if you want to view it, it should show up in the side bar when you are doing the other segments).  Instead, I suggest doing some planks-- which again is one of if not the best core exercise you can do--holding each one for 15 seconds up to a minute each--doing as many as you can with good form.

I'm not a fan of all the counting done during the workout, but I understand his point--if you are counting, you are breathing--so once again--make sure you BREATHE!!!  If you don't want to count, make sure you are exhaling when they are counting out the number.  The counting also allows him to give more instruction during the video and  not have to worry about what rep you're on.  Note--he does this in all his videos.

I also don't like some of the stretches that he chose to do at the end--so I added a stretch video that focuses on stretching the lower body.

**Do the warm up video first**

Segments 1 and 2 are both done standing; this helps keep it cardio which equals fat burning.

Segment 3 is done on the floor

I couldn't get the video to load here, so click the link title and it will take you to the video

Billy Blanks Abs boot camp part 3

Here's a stretch video that focuses on  your lower body.

Fitness Tip of the Day: Monday Muscles --Cardio + Lower Body

Last Monday I posted a Cardio + Upper Body routine, so I thought I'd post one with lower body this week.

Your lower body already gets a lot of work during the cardio portion of a routine because it's the movement of the bigger muscles of your body--your legs--that gets your heart rate up.  This is more endurance work of the muscle--the ability to do something for a longer period of time.  I've said this before, when you train a muscle for strength, it's more about the ability to do something once or just a few times, like lifting something heavy--USE YOUR LEGS, NOT YOUR BACK!!!

There's no real warm up, so I posted one on the sidebar above the stretch routine that you can follow.  Remember, modify when you need to and breathe out on the exertion portion of the exercises, naval to your spine the whole time, chest up, shoulders back--no slouching!  Most important, have fun with it--you CAN do it!!!

Fitness Tip of the Day: Sunday Recipe Share

Happy Easter!!!

One of the great things about blogs, is that you can write posts ahead of time and then schedule them to publish whenever you want...so no, I'm not writing this post on Easter morning!

Today I decided to share a salad with you that I made for dinner last night.  It is written as a cold salad, but I served it warm and did a bit of substituting to fit what I had in my pantry/fridge.

Gemelli Salad with Green Beans, Pistachios, and Lemon-Thyme Vinaigrette

I used cavatappi pasta instead of gemelli--you could also use rotini--you want pasta with grooves or twists to hold the dressing.  I also subbed chopped walnuts for the pistachios and lemon juice for the vinegar, and I used frozen thin green beans.  I served it with burgers; it was delicious.  I can't wait to eat the leftovers!

Enjoy!!!