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Weekend Warriors Increase Performance

Posted on by Shelli Thompson
Weekend Warriors Racing for The Cure

Are you a weekend warrior?  Training for marathons, playing basketball with friends or just doing wild and crazy things.  You won’t be able to do those things if you don’t take care of your body.  Your performance can be increased for more fun, less tiredness and more competition.  It’s not hard to do and many of the things we do on the weekend can be enhanced in much the same ways.

 I’ve worked with a lot of weekend warriors, and there is one thing I tell all of them: you won’t get the best performance out of your body or have the most fun you could have if you limit your exercise to your weekly activity. by only exercising on the weekend you actually increases your chances of injury.

Here are some simple tips that I’ve found work for pretty much everyone.  These tips will allow  you to improve your performance and stay in the best possible shape for your weekend-warrior adventures.

 Stretching.

No matter what sport you’re into, your body will perform better if you continue to have your full range of motion. Supple muscles simply work better. I’ll be happy to give you advice on stretching exercises to enhance your performance at your chosen sport, or else you can look up Yoga stretches online. Just be sure to follow this simple rule: do not continue stretching into pain. Pain means you’re doing damage, and that won’t help your performance at all.

 Weight training.

 Weight training improves our bodies’ overall performance by making us stronger and increasing our endurance. Even if your sport depends on speed – like competitive running or swimming – you need strong muscles to make that speed happen. Weight training also improves our bone density and keeps our bones strong.

 Cardio work.

Cardio work is the ultimate means of improving your performance by increasing your endurance. There are a lot of possible cardio exercises you can try, from dancing to kickboxing. The point here is that you can’t expect your body to perform its best on weekends if you’re not working on your cardio fitness at least one or two times a week in between competitions.  Strengthening your heart is a great way to increase your performance.

 I know that these tips may sound as though I’m trying to take your weekend fun and turn it into a chore and we don’t like chores. But that’s not the case!  Any of these activities that you can do during the week will  improve your weekend performance and make your weekend activities more fun for you.

 You don’t have to decide to devote your life to fitness to achieve improved performance. Even if you spend a total of three hours a week on some combination of stretching, cardio, and weights, you’re going to see a measurable improvement in your ability to enjoy your weekend activity.  You will also feel better and more fit and there is nothing better than that.

 Now, if you do want to go all-out – for example, if you want to improve to the point you’re running 10ks instead of 5, or you’ve decided that, just once, you’re going to be able to dunk that basketball – of course you’re going to need to work harder. The more effort you put into anything, the more you’re going to improve.

 But if you just want to enjoy what you’re doing on the weekends more and perform a bit better, just scale the exercise tips I’ve given you to a level that will help you meet that goal. You can improve performance and your health with any additional amount of exercise than what you are doing right now.  Continuing to exercise during the week can be a challenge with work, family and a million other things that can get in the way.

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Impressive crowds at the Race for the Cure

Posted on by Shelli Thompson
Racing for the cure

We were so impressed by the crowds at this years Race for the Cure.

It was dark when I got up but I could see the sun coming up on the horizon and I knew it was going to be a beautiful day. Rain or shine we were on our way downtown Portland with 40,000 other people.

We put the harness and a race for the cure T shirt on our 100 pound Labrdoodle and headed to meet our team at the MAX tracks for our 7 AM train.

Lilee our Dog had never been on a Max train but she didn’t mind it at all, she likes people and seemed to have a pretty good time.

We got on the train at the end of the line, the farthest it goes from Portland. As we went along and made stops, more and more people continued to get on the train until the pup was just a little squished.

Finally the train stopped in downtown and we got off. The crowds were just as impressive off the train as on.

The Race for the Cure is always so much fun. Everyone there is celebrating life in general or in specific ways so the energy level is pretty intense.

I saw people meeting and hugging and crying, teams that were pretty “snazzed” up with silly costumes. beautiful balloons and other pets joining their masters on the walk. I saw a Cat and even a turtle in costume. (imagine that).

The crowds were overwhelming to say the least. When the race starts they actually seperate us up two main roads for about 6 or 7 blocks before both streets join, it is a complete sea of people where ever you look.

I watched the survivors come across the finish line and was totally amazed and inspired by what I saw. I saw women with only one breast or none. I saw survivors walking and in wheel chairs. I saw a survivor that was a Man. Then there were a few that didn’t look to be more than 20 years old. Everyone was happy and smiling. The support that was on the streets of Portland on Sunday September 20th 2009 was something that makes my heart swell with pride.

THEN I FOUND OUT WHY

PORTLAND HOLDS THE THIRD LARGEST RACE FOR THE CURE IN THE WORLD

reported by oregonian newspaper

We were honored to be a part of that celebration

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Yoga Feels good

Posted on by Shelli Thompson
Balance and Stretch click image to read more

Why Yoga feels so good.

Are you looking for a self-help treatment that you can give yourself? Look no farther than a local Yoga studio. Practicing Yoga regularly revitalizes every single part of the body right down to the cellular level. Nothing quite beats Yoga as a great source of natural health care.

There are many reasons to practice Yoga. Yoga grants physical health and vitality, relief from pain and stress, emotional strength and clarity during difficult times and the list goes on and on. Of course, not even Yoga can be touted as a cure all for everything but if I find myself needing a mental or physical boost, a little Yoga goes a long way.

How you look impacts the way you feel about your self and it goes the other way around too. One of the many blessings of practicing Yoga is a youthful appearance. Yoga poses tone your muscles much the same as isometric exercise When you add inner focus to Yoga stretches, there will be little or no chance of muscle injury. Toned muscles hold the posture erect, reduce the risk of injury and give you an awesome physique.

Looking to fight the battle of cellulite? Yoga can help you to do that because rather than building muscle, Yoga builds muscle tone. Yoga stretches muscles lengthwise, causing fat to be eliminated around the cells and that is what reduces cellulite. Because Yoga helps to maintain balanced metabolism, Yoga also helps to regulate weight.

You can help your self to look years younger than you are. In India, age is measured by flexibility of the body and especially the spine. The spine works as the messenger for the brain, when the spine is flexible; the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain and other organs is unrestricted. Many poses and exercises in Yoga are aimed at keeping the spine flexible by gently moving, twisting and flexing the spine in all directions.

We all know that stress will zap your energy faster than anything. Finding ways to relax and enjoy life will bring more energy. Yoga gives you tools to turn stress into energy by allowing you to recognize the stress when it begins before it becomes too large to manage because Yoga will give you a greater self awareness.

With your higher awareness will come peace of mind and that equals freedom. Freedom from the load on our minds that we often carry unconsciously, that load, you will realize, holds you back. Becoming aware of how your mind works is your first step to peace of mind.

After you practice Yoga for a while it may help you to overcome some self-limitations you may be placing on your self. When you are able to do that you will feel lighter and you will have an “acceptance” of your life as it is. You start to learn that challenges have their place in your life but they will not “rule” your life.

Yoga helps you realize your true potential and it encourages you to grow and improve towards that potential always striving to reach peace of mind.

Yoga helps you to focus on your breath. Breathing is the first thing we do when we come into this life and it is the last thing we do as we leave. However many of us are often not even aware that we are breathing.

Have you ever forgotten to breathe? There are some things in life that are so frightening, exciting, dangerous or amazing you may momentarily forget. Think about the way that you are breathing and how it relates to what is happening in your life.

Your breathe is rapid and shallow if you are afraid, or you take short sharp breaths when you have exerted your self with intense work. We take in a deep long breath when we are tired, we yawn to draw in additional oxygen. A sigh releases anxiety and if you were to stand on a windy cliff over looking the ocean you would likely take a deep long breath.

Taking the unconscious process of breathing and making it conscious is an essential aspect of yoga. The Sages of old found that as they became aware of their breathing as it moved in and out the mind could be consciously controlled. They then began to use the mind to control the breath, which happened to benefit the entire body and mind.

The ancient yogis were aware of the life energy that all things on this earth are made of. They revered the vital energy that enters on the breath. The exhale or releasing energy of the out-breath also being vital. The interplay of the two, inhale and exhale is what keeps us alive by circulating the vital life force and eliminating the used-up energy.

To read more about Health Pulse and Shelli Thompson visit our blog

http://www.meetgordonandshelli.com

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What are you doing to you?

Posted on by Shelli Thompson
Looks can be deceiving click picture to read more

Our bodies are a miraculous thing. Sometimes we get out of whack. Our bodies start behaving “out of whack” and suddenly everything goes “crazy”. There are changes to our bodies that we would love to reverse if we just understood how. So what are you doing to yourself by…..

Drinking soda

Diet soda does NOT help you to lose weight. Quite the contrary it is actually responsible for excess eating and resulting weight gain. The sweet taste causes Insulin to be produced by the pancreas (which is a “storage” hormone) and tells the liver to stop converting fat to sugar for energy because an influx is on the way. When it does not arrive, your brain tells you to eat. This is particularly dangerous to diabetics. Sugar, wine, refined carbohydrates in our diet causes our blood sugar to go up. When it crashes quickly we release a stress hormone called Cortisol.

Cortisol is responsible for shutting down the metabolism and locking down fat. That puts the body into the mode of burning sugar instead of fat. It is the cause of “belly fat”. Cortisol creates a craving for sugar. The brain is the only organ that actually needs sugar. Without sugar we die. The sugar we Need is NATURAL SUGAR. Drink Your Water. Many of us are not sick, we are just thirsty but we have misinterpreted. Every 24 hours our bodies recycle the equivalent of four thousand glasses of water to maintain the normal physiological functions. It does this each and every day, day in and day out.

During this recycling procedure the body comes up short about 6 to 10 eight ounce glasses each day depending on environmental conditions. If we are to replace the deficit we would need to drink 1/2 our body weight daily. THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR WATER. Water is a nutrient. Water dissolves all proteins, starch, minerals and other compounds so that the blood can distribute them to the rest of the body. The start of many diseases in the body is caused by dehydration. The body does not know the difference between hungry and thirsty. Most people walk around severely dehydrated.

What should a meal look like? Your meal needs to include lean protein and be “vegetable heavy”, your diet needs to have some fat in it, good fats such as oil and vinegar dressing or use olive oil. 400 to 600 calories will look something like this. 6 to 8 cup salad (not ice burg) 1 1/2 cups any other vegetable Protein (5 to 6 ounces of lean meat for example).

ALL PROCESSED FOODS ARE LOADED WITH MSG.

Things like Taco Bell, Lean Cuisine and Weight Watchers frozen meals (along with the ones at the store) include MSG. MSG is a brain-toxin. It is highly addictive and affects the same receptors in the brain as Valium.

MSG stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin and it stimulates your appetite. Many people in the United States live on a “processed diet”. No wonder our nation as a whole has become more and more unhealthy. Have you seen the lines at the drive thru? When we make a habit of eating poorly it will change the way your body functions and we need to be patient in restoring our good health, sometimes the damage is irreversible.

You can have all the money in the world but you can not buy good health.

click here to visit our blog about eating

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