Awesome Arms

The Illusion of Fitness

2010-07-25T11:21:00.000-07:00

I just came from a Body Building and Fitness contest in Los Angeles. It was a bizarre mélange of enormous Umpa-lumpa colored men and bikini beauty queens with 6% body fat teetering in four inch lucite heels. A vision to be sure.

After a few hours of watching the pose routines, each competitor begins to morph into an anonymous grouping of muscles, hands, feet and hair. All things being equal, it comes down to genetics and illusion. Certain attributes are easy to spot: A competitor whose arms are so short, he won't be able to do a number of poses; An asymmetrical back muscle; Long-waisted male competitors whose muscularity will never be able to compete with their shorter-waisted brothers because the visual illusion their build creates.

No matter how much someone tries, even if they destroy their bodies with steroids, if their genetics don't create the visual illusion of symmetry, their efforts will go unrewarded. Not to mention that nearly every competitor there walked on stage in an unhealthy, dehydrated, unsustainable physical state to give the illusion of fitness. While some of the female Figure and Bikini competitors are probably healthy athletes, in order to compete, they have to get temporarily unhealthy.

When you take stock of why you want to lose weight or change your body, I suggest you start with your genetics and go from there. If you and your female family all have luscious hips, then don't bother trying to loose them. Instead, make healthy changes that will serve you in the long run(antioxidant rich greens, fruits, lean proteins and whole grains). If you read a lot of Gossip magazines and think you're supposed to look like a celebrity whose genetics are considered culturally desirable, you will never be satisfied.

Love what you've got. Treat your body well by feeding excellent nutrition. Give your body plenty of exercise and let it look like it does. Healthy is beautiful.

For Beautiful Ab's... Do Push-Ups??

2010-07-10T19:24:00.000-07:00

In traditional fitness philosophy, the spine is kept neutral during a plank or push-up position. And while I appreciate the stability that this alignment offers during a bracing ab exercise like the plank, it manages to by pass the lower fibers of your abdominal muscles (aka: the belly). So a portion of your abdominals is being neglected.

You don't actually need to do the push up. Just holding a plank position, even on your forearms if your wrists get sore, is a great way to firm, tone and strengthen your abs. But to get the full monty, you've got to tuck your tail. Scoop your hips underneath you, rounding your lower back is if you’re going to curl up in a ball. If you are arching your low back like a sway-back horse who has had a saddle on too long, you’re going the wrong direction. Go the opposite way.

You'll know when you're doing it right when you start to tremble and shake like an 8.0 earthquake! The lower (belly) abdominals are usually so under trained that when you finally ask them to work, they do a lot of back talking (shaking) which is normal. Abs can be sassy like that. Keep at it until you can hold the position for 2 minutes at a time.

Not only will you feel your abs in a whole new way, you will get the benefit of a stronger core and beautifully toned muscles.

Stressing In

2010-06-24T06:41:00.000-07:00

It's not often I meet someone who isn't experiencing an inordinate amount of stress. I don't think I've ever met anyone in LA who is easy, breezy happy. Don't get me wrong, most people are reasonably happy but boy to they have to navigate a torrent of external stressors!

Stress is one of the most insidious, chronic pollutants that we are exposed to every day. So much so, we barely notice it. The body chemistry stress produces keeps us in a 'fight or flight' loop and our bodies don't get time to calm down, to 'rest and digest.'

In times like these, it's more important than ever to feed your body healthy nutrients to counter-act the potential damage of our environment. Even one salad of fresh organic mixed greens a day could be the life line that our bodies need to stay healthy.

Stress will suppress our immune system so it's extra important to bolster our inner-defenses with as much fresh, live food (fruits, veg) as we can.

Oh, and don't forget the dark chocolate!

Have Your Health And Eat It Too!

2010-06-03T14:46:00.000-07:00

So many times I hear my clients lament how they have to give up all their feel-good, mood-enhancing delicious foods to reach their goals.

I would like to set the record straight. There are multitudes of very satisfying foods that can be a part of any clean diet.

For example, dark chocolate (65% or more) is a great mood-enhancing antioxidant packed food. It's so rich, you won't want to eat the whole bar, trust me. And there are so many varieties of non-dairy and/or non-fat frozen treats that can be part of your slim down.

In the savory department, just cutting back on cheese can save you big time calories. Get a veggie and chicken pizza with light cheese, eat a big salad and have a couple of slices. Great option and totally satisfying.

If you're willing to get a little creative, do some research into foods you have not eaten before, there's a whole world of undiscovered delectables just waiting to be part of your healthy eating program!

Get Smart!

2010-05-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

Today, my husband and I had a craving for burritos. Chipotle and Baja Fresh are our favorites. I always want to eat as healthy as I can and had this idea that Baja was more healthy. Since I'm totally a control freak, I had to know for sure.

Lucky for us, many chains are posting nutritional information on their sites. It's fantastic!

In less than 60 seconds, I had complete calorie, fat, protein, and carb counts on my favorite burritos at both places. As someone who grew up without the web, this still blows my mind. So fast!

Turns out, Chipotle is only a few more calories for a chicken burrito with no sour cream, cheese nor guac. But had way more fat per serving, so something in their "clean" ingredients is adding nearly 10 extra grams. I don't know what, but that's not really the point.

The point is it's easy to get information these days. There's no reason you can't educate yourself so you know what your putting in your body. If you want to eat the less healthier version of something, fine. Just do it consciously.

Every Day A Change

2010-05-18T05:52:00.000-07:00

You have a lot to juggle. You are spinning many plates. Were it not for your ability to magically grow additional arms to constantly multi-task, one of the plates would come crashing to the ground.

How could anyone realistically expect to add habit change to that pile??

If you consider the whole package of exercising more, cutting back on foods that are, quite frankly, currently making your work load bearable, figuring out which new foods you're supposed to eat, deal with the deprivation, oh, and you'll need to take a shower somewhere in there... it's too much! Change over-load.

Not necessary. Think of one thing you could do to make your life more healthy.

Maybe it's stress reduction. Do you REALLY need to do EVERYTHING you're doing? Is there a way to spread the workload around or even let go of something on your list but you resist this out of guilt or feelings of obligation? Just asking...

Are you a fast or fried food fanatic? Is there one food item that is your feel-good drug that you could dial adjust? By that I mean, instead of a fast food burger, get a chicken sandwich or instead of fried, get grilled.

Is there a fruit blight in your life? Nary an apple? Ixnay on erries chay? Nicht banana? Put a glass of oj in your day. Anywhere will do.

Pick one of these ideas or make a list of your own. Just one change. Realistically, you may not be able to handle more than one adjustment per day/week/month. Most importantly, you must think about change once a day. Then shoot for concrete change once a week.

If you want something different, you've got to do something different. If you want change in your body, you will need to change your mind. Once a week is a great start!

Just Dance!

2010-05-11T22:30:00.000-07:00

Maybe you've seen the fridge magnet that declares, "sing like no one is listening and dance like no one is watching." Not only is this excellent advice to live a joyful and spontaneous life, it's a wonderful way to stay physically healthy.

A yoga instructor I know left me a voice mail recently explaining that if I called back in the next 30 minutes, she wouldn't be able to answer since she would be dancing for her workout that day. My favorite thing about this is not only that she was doing something so free and fun to stay healthy, but she had scheduled it for herself. She put time aside to dance in her house.

It's a perfect example of how just about any kind of movement contributes to your fit lifestyle. Get creative. Figure out what you like. Put some time aside and enjoy yourself! If you happen to work up a sweat and a smile, all the better!

Safe Splurge Ahead!

2010-04-23T16:41:00.000-07:00

Here's an idea, don't try to "diet" on vacation.

I recently went to Seattle to visit my brother. I was so excited to share local wines, beers and gourmet fare with him. I couldn't have lived with myself if I hadn't tried the sweet potato and lump crab meat crab cakes with a locally produced Cabernet and truffled french fries. These simple but wonderful treats were part of the rich memory-scape that was my Seattle trip. I will have to hit the cardio machines for a few extra minutes and days each week to get back to my regular self. A trade off that is totally worth it!

Along the path of culinary sacrifice as a means of being healthy, reserve your rich, high fat/cholesterol/calorie/sodium splurges for your little getaways. As long as you practice clean, healthy eating on a regular basis, you can still stay within your weight loss or maintenance goals. If you go a little overboard, just be committed to cleaning up your act until your back on track with your regular regime.

Life is short. Don't forget to enjoy yourself!

All Ab's All The Time

2010-04-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, you can tone your ab's anytime all the time. In fact, some back pain and problems could be alleviated if you conditioned your "front" more often.

The idea is to keep your entire abdominal wall active but not fully contracted. It's the difference between gently drawing your belly button in and up and crunching your ab's as tightly as you can to get that final sit up. Holding your abdominal wall consciously "taut" with minimal effort is a great way to keep your low back engaged. When your front is active, so is your back. They are connected.

When you're taking a shower, activate your ab's (draw in and up). When you're making breakfast, sitting in the car, at your desk, in line every where you go, activate your ab's.

Not only can this constant, small effort help tone your ab's and keep your low back healthy, it's great for your internal organ health!

Soup Eatin' Grin

2010-04-09T12:52:00.000-07:00

I think one of the most frustrating parts changing my diet to loose weight was always feeling like I wasn't getting enough to eat. I don't like feeling unsatisfied or hungry. Who does?

Drinking protein shakes and eating a "small salad" with a wedge of lemon? Are you kidding me?? I'm from the Mid-West and we have a saying, "Eat 'till you're sleepy, sleep 'till you're hungry." Now, this is not a healthy way to live but I refuse to go on a diet that doesn't let me eat my head off in some way. What can I say? I am portion challenged.

After getting hired to do a series of exercise videos, I realized I would need to get "camera ready" which meant changing my diet. So I came up with some soup variations that were ridiculously healthy, allowed me eat until I literally couldn't eat anymore AND still drop pounds.

Take any Ramen type packaged soup with baked wheat or rice noodles, add a little no fat chicken broth to the water to increase the volume, add lots of veggies (broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash etc), a lean protein (pre cooked chicken etc.) then pour the whole kit'n'kaboodle over two big handfuls of raw spinach. Top with a few thin slices of avocado and you've got yourself a giant bowl of delicious, healthy soup that will fill you up completely. Don't bother with desert, you won't have room!

I created many more variations on this theme with salads too and put them all in the Awesome Arms nutrition guide. I'm convinced that one of the reasons the program works is because the food suggestions in the guide are so delicious, everyone was excited to stay on the plan!

Proud Mary

2010-04-02T18:02:00.000-07:00

I think the biggest obstacle to success in becoming more healthy via a lifestyle change is making the change stick. It seems when the inevitable moment of truth arrives, instead of holding fast to a commitment we made to ourselves, we fold like a cheap card table and dive head long into a deep bowl of fettuccini Alfredo without a second thought.

I have just one question for you: How would you feel if someone you loved broke a commitment they made to you? I know I would loose my mind! I would call them to the carpet demanding an explanation. I wouldn't tolerate that kind of disregard for me and lack of respect for their own word. I get riled up just thinking about it!

Why is it the the promises other's make to us are so much more valuable than the promises we make to ourselves?

This fascinates me.

Mainly because I'm guilty of it. I would go to ridiculous lengths to keep my word to a perfect stranger. Yet, I find myself reaching into the freezer for an evil and delicious Reece’s chocolate-peanut butter egg during a 6-week break from sugar. Not even a hesitation.

The way to make progress is to make yourself make progress. What I've found is when the moment of truth arrives and your truth is, "No thank you. I'm on a mission. Offer it to me next month." The amount of pride you will feel for treating yourself with the integrity and respect you deserve is always more satisfying than what's in the freezer.

Vanity Fare

2010-03-28T18:32:00.000-07:00

No matter how you slice it, we all want to look desirable. To others and to ourselves. When the notion of loosing weight, changing habits and learning how to eat right can seem insurmountable, it's easy to get overwhelmed by it all. Often times, the more dissatisfied we are with ourselves, the more vain we become, obsessing over tiny details. Details we feel we have control over.

Personally, I am ridiculously vain. I look in the mirror more times than I should admit and I get in way too close, panicking over lines, bumps and marks that can only been seen through a jeweler's loop. Eventually, I am able to finally stand back and say, "This is me. This is how I look today."

I accept who I am and realize that if it's important to me, I can change my body any time I decide to. If I practice some unhealthy habits for a few weeks on vacation and prefer my pre-vacation body, I clean up my food choices, workout five times a week and get on with my life.

There are other times when I actually enjoy having a little extra weight and I can show off my new curves. The bottom line is we are so much more than what we think of our bottom's. You will always be a unique individual. You are leaving your special finger print on this world through the people who’s lives you have touched. Be healthy and strong no matter what you look like. If a particular body shape/size is important to you, clean up your diet, exercise five times a week and get on with the business of being you.

Dine Out, Slim In

2010-03-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

You know how it is. You're determined to loose some weight. You muster the discipline to change your eating habits and even find time to exercise 3 or 4 times a week. You're doing great! Then, like a diet-ninja, a dinner date comes along at fantastic restaurant. One rich meal could to set you back days in your progress! We forget what a huge part food plays in our social world.

So, getting back to your ideal weight means being sequestered to your home, digging into your low-fat fox hole, protected by fruit and vegetable barricades?? Not so much.

The good news is you can eat out and continue to make progress toward your goal. All it takes is some conscious choosing. While you are in the process of loosing weight, shrinking your waist line and getting healthier, stick to the clean, reliable menu items.

If you are in the losing phase of your journey, order:

* Vegetable puree soups that are vegan (no butter, cream)
* Salad with lean protein (grilled chicken, lean beef or fish), before you put the dressing on, cut it and toss it. You may find it doesn’t even need dressing.
* Any animal protein (chicken, lean beef, turkey or fish) that is baked or grilled
* Substitute vegetables for starches (potatoes, pasta)
* Have a couple of bites of dessert you’re sharing
* Avoid - anything fried, mashed potatoes, crème anything, bread, pasta dishes

Remember, this is a short-term strategy designed to get you to your goal, which is to maintain your ideal, healthy weight. Once you’re in maintenance, balance your higher calorie dinners with leaner eating the next day and regular exercise.

You can be healthy, beautiful and enjoy delicious dinner’s with friends. Eat to live so you can live to eat!

Two Minutes To A New You!

2010-03-12T22:16:00.000-08:00

It couldn't be simpler: If you change what you're doing, you will change. Whether you do the Awesome Arms dvd, two minutes of stretching or simply practice mindfulness, transformation begins when you take action. The key to change is action. It's fine to think about it, it's great to talk about it, but the moment you DO something, you begin anew.

Success Stories

2010-02-17T18:39:00.001-08:00

Check out some Awesome Arms success stories.

http://www.youtube.com/user/AwesomeArms

Welcome to Awesome Arms

2010-02-16T17:55:00.000-08:00