Friday Fitness: Grab Your Bike & Go!

We at H3  truly enjoy the sport of biking – especially time of year.  With more than 80 miles of trails and 12 miles of flat beaches, Hilton Head Island is the perfect place to enjoy the outdoors—and go for a bike ride.

As the spring weather is finally upon us, we challenge you to pull your bike out of the garage (if you haven’t already), lace up your sneakers and go for a bike ride! If biking is already a part of your fitness routine, spice it up by trying one of these ideas:

• Create your own SPIN session by using one of our H3Daily interval workouts on your bike


• Grab some friends and go on a nature bike tour—it’s a great opportunity to learn even more about where you live


• If possible, bike to work—it’s not only a great built-in workout at the beginning and end of your day, but it’s good for the environment

Fitness Friday: Sitting Less + Exercise = Feeling Better

Do you find that the thirty to sixty minutes your devoting to exercise just isn’t cutting it? One of our program staff came across a very intriguing video so I thought I’d share. If you have three minutes to spare please check this out. Your metabolism will thank you for it!



Also, I’ve been reading a great book called Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by John J. Ratey, MD. I always knew exercise made me feel better, but this book proves it through evidenced based research.  Research presented in this book shows that Aerobic exercise has the ability to physically remodel our brains to perform at their best.

Message for this Friday… Sitting less coupled with more exercise makes us feel better!

 

Coaching Corner: Excuse Busting

“If it’s important to you, you’ll find a way to do it … If it’s not you’ll find an excuse” – Frank Banks

We’re all guilty of finding excuses. Sure there are things that come up every now and then, but we can be at times our own worst enemy. I’m not telling you anything you don’t know. Every day life opens the door for excuses. I create at least one or two per day. What I’m getting at with this post is that it’s okay. Life asks so many responsibilities of you that it can be overwhelming. In order to successfully navigate, it’s important to recognize the difference between a significant obstacle and when it becomes an excuse.

Significant obstacles could be anything from a recent heart attack to a knee replacement or it could be that you work sixty hours a week and have three children and a wife at home. Or how about I’ve never been successful at this so why will it be different now? These things are obstacles. Injuries, time, and past failures are barriers. Each of these examples only become an excuse if three things happen:

1. Importance not identified – Did you miss the opening quote? If it’s not important to you. Move on. What’s your life going to be like if you do not change?


2. Planning Plummets – Not enough time to cook? Did you plan the meals? Go to the grocery store before the busy week started? I’ve found that when people have a plan they’re successful.


3. Honesty Halts – Can you look yourself in the mirror and believe that?

 

“I’ve never exercised before in my life” Allison Wolfe’s only form of physical activity was getting out of her car and walking into the office in the morning. Now she’s actively attending personal training sessions and in preparation for the Bay to Breakers 15K.

“I travel too much.” Lyle Orr successfully lost more weight in the first month of being home (traveling just about every weekend) than he did in his 1month at Hilton Head Health. Susan Ogelsby successful gets in purposeful exercise every time she travels to and from Italy.

“I’m intimidated.” When Kappy Strahan started exercising she was nervous, didn’t want to be seen going out for her morning jog, but now she’s completed the Boulder Boulder 2 times, a race which boasts 60,000 people.

The last step is looking at those living breathing examples of folks who’ve developed the skill to bust their excuses. If you build on the SKILL of busting your own excuses, change will happen.

Another good read from Active.com, Nine Excuse Busters. 

Friday Fun: Healthy Harmonies

Ever feel like you need a “pick me up” on Friday afternoons? With the addition of new team members Hilton Head Health is proud to announce the formation of a new musical group. Every Friday before our guests “Put it All Together” with nutrition guru Bob Wright, the Healthy Harmonies can be found busting jingles in the Calibogue room. It seemed to all start with the "Unwise, Better, Best" Diet Jingle and from there our guests wanted more. Ask and you shall receive the latest jingle from H3 Wellness Coach David Chesworth and Program Intern Brianna Friedt.

Resistance to Change

I have been working at Hilton Head Health for about three and half years now and the one thing that I know about H3 is that things are always changing. A new pool in 2009, the Heavy A&E filming in 2010, Devin’s Dash, new Woodway Treadmills in 2011 and Lisette Cifaldi joining the H3 Family in 2012 (just to name a few). What has probably been the biggest change for me most recently is being named the Director of Fitness (a position I could have only dreamed of when I was an intern). It’s quite exciting when I take a look back at everything that’s happened in such a short time period.

I only think about these things now because the facility continues to evolve with many exciting changes taking place over the course of 2013. The point I would like to make today is that sometimes we have the tendency to look at change as a bad thing. What I am learning is that the most important thing about change is to expect it and embrace it. Through the changing times, Hilton Head Health has always remained a place to help others change their lives. At the end of the day, I am grateful to simply be a part of it.

With that said, have you ever felt like you’ve been resistant to change? Ever catch yourself saying one of the following?

1. I’m losing control – change interferes with our territory. We get comfortable with the control of situations and responsibilities. As I’ve mentioned in goal setting, people are motivated by autonomy (the desire to direct their own lives). The fact of the matter is when there’s a change we feel like we’re not the directors.


2. Geez, everything is different – humans are creatures of habit and change throws the creature off. It makes us think and operate differently. “Automatic” is what everyone is looking for in life. We want consistency so change makes us uncomfortable. The only day that is the same was yesterday; when things are different we have to embrace it.


3. This is going to be more work – is it really going to be more work? Will you have the same thoughts one year later? Human nature is to dismiss the things that don’t come easy but at the end of the day, typically, where there is little struggle there is little reward.

Fitness Friday: Does Exercise Influence Nutrition Choices?

Sometimes we equate the amount of exercise we do to the amount of food we can eat. We’ll often catch ourselves saying, man I really “worked up quite an appetite.” Do you think that’s true? Did you really work up an appetite?

Here’s another question, what are your food choices like on the days that you don’t exercise? I think for a lot people, myself included, exercising first thing in the morning sets the day. It seems exercising in the morning promotes healthier choices through the day.

New research out of Brigham Young University shows that 45 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise in the morning actually reduces a person’s motivation for food.

The study, published online, in the Fall 2012 issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, measured the food motivation of 18 normal weight women and 17 clinically obese women over two separate days.  The first day the woman exercised and were then shown images of 120 plated meals and 120 flowers (the control group). What they were measuring was increased neural activity. A week later they performed the same test without the exercise. What they found is that out of all 35 women, the response to the food pictures decreased after the workout day in comparison to their response on a day without exercise.  

Test for yourself… check your food log on the days you don’t exercise and see if you find a pattern.  


Citation: BYU study says exercise may reduce motivation for food. Brigham Young University. September 2012. March 2013.

Friday Fitness: Plate Magic

Need a new way to spice up your fitness routine at home? Check out this quick workout where the only equipment you need is a set of weighted plates.

Fitness Friday: Tabata Training

Are you looking for a twist to your 2013 fitness routine?  Does time happen to be your biggest obstacle when it comes to maintaining a fitness routine?  How about enjoyment?  Check out our newest class addition, “Tabata Training” that has become an instantaneous hit among our guests.

Tabata training is a form of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) that has proven to increase fitness levels quickly. The workout is very adaptable for different fitness levels and requires very little equipment. Tabata intervals alternate 20seconds of work and 10seconds of recovery.

We’re now offering Tabata Strength, Cardio, ABS and boxing!


Check out our handout for additional Tabata aerobic and resistance components.

Feet, Ankles, Calves … Is There A Better Way To Increase Range of Motion?

Stretching and flexibility training can get quite tedious and boring so I’m always looking for new ways to train and loosen up my muscles and the tight muscles of our guests’. Check out this quick resistance band stretch that will allow you to greatly increase the range of motion in the dorsiflexion of your feet. This is also a good one for those of you who have tight calves or ankles.

*Hold for up to 2 minutes static then move on. Be sure to even out both sides!

Fitness Friday: Happy Holiday Workout

Hey there H3 Enthusiasts! It’s been awhile since we blasted a workout your way so I couldn’t think of a better time of year to get creative. Two years ago, I highlighted the 12 Days of Fitness Fun in full length workout, but today we’ve got a new twist to provide a little more holiday joy. Watch the video below and get back to us with comments as you complete it. Remember that safety is number one on any movements and smiling comes second!

Without a doubt, the true prescription for the Holiday Season is soaking in time with family, but don’t neglect your workouts just because the relatives are in town. Remember that the ultimate benefit of following an exercise plan is to impact your mood and how you feel—the non-scale victories. From the Hilton Head Health family to you all, have a great holiday season and look out for more Fitness Friday’s to come in 2013!

Complete 5 repetitions per exercise with solid form. Repeat 3x and call it a day.

H – Hollow Rock
O – Over Head Press
L – Lunges (both legs)
I – Isometric Plank Hold (15 sec)
D – Dips
A – All Out Jumping Jacks
Y – Yoga warrior I (15 sec)
S – Squats

When Setting Goals think E.T.A.

It couldn’t be a better time to start thinking about goal setting for 2013 right? When I think of goals, I think about them as the E.T.A. for perfecting a behavior. I mean look at the definition of a goal…

Goal  /gōl/ (noun).

A. The result or achievement toward which EFFORT is directed; aim. Every goal takes effort. Whether it’s inconsistent or consistent there's some sort of effort directed at the intention. The degree of your effort demonstrates the positive or negative results of the goal. Not to its entirety, but probably close to the 95% achievement threshold. Goals require re-training our brains and have a lot to do with being honest with ourselves. Did I put enough effort into that one? The stronger the effort, the faster you’ll get to a goal.  

B. The TERMINAL point in a race. Personally, I compete in plenty of races. You all know that. Crossing the finish line determines the success of the goal. Did I finish in the time I planned? What place did I come in against the field? With every goal we set there has to be some sort of measurement. For some, finishing a 5K is the terminal point for others planning their meals for all 42 meals and metabo meals is the terminal point. Terminal means "the deciding" point. This point decides if you've arrived at your goal. Without a terminal point, we’ll never know if we achieve our goals.

 C. The ACT of throwing, carrying, kicking, driving, etc., a ball or puck into such an area or object. I am almost positive that for the very best of goals that we achieve, we’re sometimes kicking, screaming and driving hard to meet that mark or to find consistency. This is especially true when creating a new behavior. If you want something as bad as you want to breathe, you will be successful. Goals require ACTION. They require sacrifice. The more you're willing to sacrifice the quicker you'll arrive.

Get thinking folks. Every New Year opens the door for a quicker E.T.A. on certain goals.

Friday Fitness: 10 Minute Travel Workout

Does your workout routine ever suffer when you find yourself traveling more often? Many Americans travel every single week for business. This is the story for many Hilton Head Health Guests as well. How do they make it work and stay consistent?

Traveling is one of the biggest barriers to keeping not only eating habits on point, but also a consistent fitness routine. I’d have to say this has a lot to do with not knowing what to do. You’re not always going to have a treadmill or set weights so sometimes you have to improvise. Time and time again you’ll hear from us that you need very little equipment to get a solid workout in. What’s even better is that with a few common hotel room items you can complete the entire workout with privacy in your very own room. Check out our quick 10minute video. Feel free to add time as you circuit through the movements. Don’t forget your towel and pillow!



25 Jumping Jacks
20 Chair Squats
10 Pillow Push Ups
5 Bicycle Crunches

Here are some great applications to find different no equipment needed workouts on your next trip…
1) Shape Travelista ($1.99)
2) ExerciseTV (Free)
3) CrossFit Travel ($1.99)

Fitness Friday: Devin’s Dash Dynamic Warm Up

Hey there, Hilton Head Health enthusiasts! Can you believe we are now only 8 days away from Devin’s Dash 2012?! We are geared up for another amazing race day. This year we expect close to 250 participants along with many of our past guest’s in attendance. It’s not only a morning to celebrate Devin’s life, but another opportunity for the entire Hilton Head Health family to reunite forces and catch up on old memories.

With that said, let’s get you ready for race morning. It’s imperative that you not only warm up before running a 5K, but you must also have a plan. Check out the video below for the OFFICIAL Devin’s Dash Dynamic warm up. Practice a few times before your running or walking this week, that way you’ll be prepared for race day. We’ll see you soon!

Get H3 Inspired: Leigh

I am 49 years old. I have been overweight my entire life. This is very difficult to write about because it is very personal. I have been generally successful in everything I have done in my life that is important (such as, I have a wonderful family and a great career); the exception of my success has always been my repeated failure at weight loss. This has caused me enormous frustration and heartache over the years. Beginning in my early teens until I came to H3 last September, I tried every diet and failed miserably over and over again. Making it more difficult for me to succeed at weight loss is that my husband is a gourmet chef and everything he cooks includes butter and cream. Everything he cooks is so delicious and sadly, I loved great food and hated exercise.

Last September [2011] I went to Hilton Head Health. At that time, my only exercise was walking from my car in my office’s garage to my office. In addition, my lifestyle was very unhealthy. I have a stressful job and I worked about 70-75 hours a week, slept maybe 5-6 hours per night, and only ate one meal a day. This combination was my recipe for being overweight and unhealthy (and probably a recipe for an eventual heart attack). When I arrived at H3, all my blood tests (cholesterol, diabetes, etc) were in the high range, just a bit over, but still over the “high” mark. My doctor wasn’t overly concerned except that he was worried about pre-diabetes. I decided that I needed to diet and needed a “kick start” to a diet. All I wanted to do was lose 20 pounds since I understood from Adam in one of his seminars that losing 10% of body weight would result in significant health improvements. (Yes, I was over 200 pounds at that time, which is now very hard to believe.)

During my first week (of two that I stayed at H3) I met Jeff. He was leading Treading. I happened to select a treadmill in front of Jeff (he had not arrived when I selected my treadmill). I thought I was going to die in the class or at least have a heart attack. I asked Jeff if he knew CPR. I will never forget that hour … Jeff was yelling, in an encouraging way, at the class and doing all kinds of crazy stunts but between all that craziness, he was talking to me very softly and compassionately. He was encouraging and telling me what to do so I could keep going. By some miracle, I finished the class (albeit on a very remedial level). Because I took the treading class, I started training with Jeff. It was hard, he pushed me and he was very tough on me. It is what I needed. I decided to train with him two more times and never tried another trainer.I left H3 and Jeff was my H3 at Home health coach. Health coaching started in early October 2011 after I left H3.

Friday Fitness: Wall Ball Workout

Only have 10 minutes? No problem. Watch the video, grab your soft medicine ball and knock out this 10minute, 10 rep Wall Ball Workout. Make sure you’ve warmed up properly and double check your technique. Chest up, knees out, weight in your heals! Please post how many total rounds you end up getting to the comments section. If you don’t happen to have a soft medicine ball, feel free to modify with squats and sit-ups.

10min (as many rounds as possible)

• 10 Wall Balls


• 10 Wall Ball Sit-Ups

Modify with:

• 10 Squats


• 10 Sit-Ups

Coaching Corner: 8 questions that will lead you to success

Being a Wellness Coach, I like to stay up with the times. I feel like it is my duty to constantly look for new and ways to ask my clients intuitive questions in hopes that they’ll take a different perspective on their lifestyle goals. Each week I am not only encouraging progress, but looking for new innovative ways to push my clients close to their goals. This week, I came across a recent Ted Talk on the “Secrets to Success,” by Richard St. John and bam! I knew I had uncovered excellent perspective to share in future coaching calls.

So here’s your Sunday Challenge. Watch the 3 ½ minute video below and after you’ve unveiled the secrets of success, ask yourself these 8 questions in the direction of 1 LIFESTYLE GOAL you’re currently working on.  This exercise will help you discover if you’re really doing everything you can to be successful!

1)      Passion – what drives you to meet this current lifestyle goal?

2)      Work – how much fun are you having working toward this goal? In what ways?

3)      Good – how are you practicing to achieve this goal?

4)      Focus – what are your top two focuses in regard to this goal?

5)      Push – are you making excuses or pushing closer to your goal?

6)      Serve – how will hitting this goal add value to your life?

7)      Ideas – what ideas can you come up with right now that will move you closer?

8)      Persist – how are you going to move thru your biggest challenge?

Friday Fitness: Triathlon Transitions

Ever imagine competing in your first Triathlon? For some of us, it sounds like the impossible but what a great way to challenge your fitness level. Only about a year ago, I fell in love with the sport and what’s really cool is my Dad is getting into it now. He started running again, has lost about 30 pounds, and will be competing in his first Sprint Triathlon August 19^th. It is very exciting to see him get into the activities I love. I think the most rewarding thing for me is always showing someone the fun in not only fitness, but in leading a healthy lifestyle.

Anyway, what I am getting at here is that you shouldn’t rule anything out. You don’t know what you’re capable of until YOU DECIDE to put yourself out there. Tomorrow, four of our very own H3 Guests will put themselves out there on the Beach Bum Course to push the envelope on a goal they’ve been thinking about for months. Amber and I will be joining in the fun and we cannot wait to tell you all about the entire race experience.

Check out this video for your “how to” on approaching triathlon transition number 1 (T1). It will give you a little taste of what our guests are getting into tomorrow. Wish us luck!

Coaching Corner: Are you holding yourself back?

Have you ever envisioned a day or set a goal and it seemed to work out exactly as you imagined? Ever talk to yourself about the possibility of something going wrong and it does? I like to think that how we perceive things and the perspective we place on our actions each day will dictate the sail to of our ship.  Whether you think positively or think negatively usually you’re going to be correct. I’d say roughly nine times out of ten this true.

Time and time again, I have heard in coaching calls or said this to myself “I hope to do this” or “I may do that this week” and it never gets done. To be honest, that’s weak thinking, weak self-talk. Are you really going to commit to that? Does hope have anything to do with you getting up early and completing a workout? Does maybe preparing your food on Sunday for 2 hours set you up for success? What I am getting at is that how we think about things and even the words we use with our intentions each week will ultimately affect your behavior, your ability to achieve. Words create worlds.

Let’s think about this … It’s the beginning of your week you have all these plans in your head, but you only end up getting to one out of the three things you wanted to complete. Let’s look at the two you errands or action steps you didn’t make happen, this is how it went down:

I think I’ll get a haircut on Wednesday night. I am visiting my family in a couple weeks and it might be good to get cleaned up. Sunday rolls around again and no haircut, what did this person do wrong?

Well, number one they said “I think” when how should they have self-talked it? “I WILL” get my haircut on Wednesday night because “I NEED” to get cleaned up before I see my family. Do we see how much more power there is behind those words? When you need to pay the bills you do, when you NEED to fix breakfast for the kids it typically happens.

Now on to example number two: I’ll probably prepare my meals on Sunday and Wednesday. There will potentially be time after work.

Right away, ouch to my ears. How would we fix this one? I am going to prepare my meals on Sunday at 4pm and Wednesday night 8pm after dinner. I’ll focus on these two times to better set up my week. Starting to see the difference? In this example the person go more specific on their intentions. They placed specific times and though about the other things that would be going on during the course of that day. What also happened is that they threw in the benefit “better set up my week.”

What your take from this should be is that when you set a goal, an intention; make sure of three things or else it won’t get done:

#1 – Use words that have power: hope has nothing to do with a goal

#2 – Get specific: When is it going to happen? What factors are there to consider?

#3 – Think about the benefit: How does this action impact your week positively?

If you’ve been holding yourself back forget about it. Use my examples and get down to business. There is no reason now for you not to create change or better yet get your haircut!

Friday Fitness: Impactful Self-Myofascial Release

Before we breakdown the video, ask yourself three quick questions and give yourself a rating of 1 out of 10. “1” being I am not currently doing any at all and “10” being I am a rock-star at executing this in my fitness routine. Here goes:

1)      Are you stretching before exercise?

2)      Are you stretching after exercise?

3)      Are you currently using an SMR method (foam roller, trigger point ball, etc.)?

4)      Do you stretch or SMR first thing in the morning?

5)      Do you stretch or SMR before going to bed at night?

I’ve talked about flexibility in the past as being the most important component of fitness, but sometimes it’s tough for us to see the value in executing it as part of our normal routine. Don’t get me wrong, finding the motivation is a challenge, but the benefits far outweigh the difficulty of getting it done.

So here’s the deal:

There is this thing called fascia that is fixed to our muscles as we move; exercise and sit for long periods of time and this thing called scar tissue builds up. Scar tissue retracts our movements and limits our range of motion. What we need to understand is the impact of mobilizing one joint or muscle of the body affects all others. Check out the video and you’ll see what I am talking about!


To learn more and purchase SMR tools check out these resources:

• Trigger Point Performance Therapy


• Rumble Roller

Coaching Corner: Clearing House - What makes you RARE?

This month our H3@Home members are working on a month long Coaches’ Challenge that involves letting go of two things each week that may be impeding progress within their lives. We’ve encouraged removal of things such as household clutter, toxic relationships, stress and other negative habits, perspectives and attitudes. What’s important to note here is that we aren’t focusing on creating a tangible healthy habit, but it’s more about taking things out of our lives so that these healthy habits become possible.

Many of us get in this thinking of more is better and we’re all guilty of trying to add, add, add to the routine. News flash: more typically isn’t better. The issue here is that a lot of the time the only way to actually move forward lies in the removal of something holding us back and our assertiveness to do so.

From a personal standpoint, I’ve been in spots where I’ve tried to bite off more than I can chew. I’ve said yes when the clear cut answer should have been no. I’ve been in a relationship where the benefit wasn’t mutual. I’ve taken on more than is capable within a given timeframe and even gone so far to put others before my own well-being. We’ve all been there right? Those of us who can recognize when these times or symptoms come about are what separate individuals in control of their wellness from the out-of-control person.

Personal responsibility and the awareness to recognize the things we can and can’t control are critical to ultimate well-being. This world continues to get busier and busier. Cell phones, iPADs the instant gratification and sensory material, plus the responsibilities we have around us can be overwhelming. Do you think your life would be different if you never had kids? What would you notice about your day if you weren’t able to text message or check email? I’m not saying don’t pick up your kids from school or text message, but what I am saying is weigh the pros and cons of the “RARE” things within your life. This is how I define what’s RARE:

1)      Responsibilities

-What things would you continue doing even if it killed you? (In a good way) Think about the responsibilities within your life that you feel good about. The ones that benefit you and your family’s well-being.

2)      Assets

-What possessions do you own that allow you to live your life? What necessities? Anything else that doesn’t impact your happiness directly should be removed. Clutter is no good.

3)      Relationships

- Who are the people that make you smile? Who is it that you can rely on at any given moment? Brainstorm the relationships that are mutually beneficial. To simplify it, the relationships that make you a better a person.

4)      Emotions

- What thoughts and feelings allow you to thrive? What emotions do you call on during the toughest of days? Any emotions that impact you negatively, time to remove.

Given the above, what do you need to clear house of? What makes you RARE?