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Do guys need to do "core strengthening" exercises?

According to this Wall Street Journal article, by Kevin Helliker yes they do.  Core strength is the new buzzword in exercise circles.  Everyone from elite athletes to weekend warriors are finding their inner strength (pun intended).

To quote Helliker:

After years of conquering the treadmill and bench press, I am now striking poses and performing movements that I had always considered “girly,” and the difficulty of it is humbling.

While he doesn’t specifically use the word Pilates, the three exercises illustrated in the article, glute bridge, pillar bridge and plank, look very similar to Pilates moves I do with my clients.

According to the author: “After three months of two core-training sessions a week, my body-fat percentage is down five points. My cruising speed on the treadmill has risen a full mile per hour, even though my weekly mileage plummeted to make time for the core exercises.”

Want to improve your running time?  Try adding some core strengthening exercises to your program.

Here are three simple and effective core strengtheners.  Shoot for one minute of each of these:

Plank hold:  Make a straight line from your shoulder to your knee.  Pull your belly button in and relax your neck.

Crunches: Rest your hands behind your head and slowly curl head and shoulders off the ground.  This is about half as much effort as a traditional sit up.  Think of flattening your abdominals and breathing.

Pilates Bridge:  Press into your heels to lift your hips towards the ceiling without gripping with your glutes.  Imagine your spine getting longer and your neck relaxing.

Try these moves two to three times a week for the next month and see if you notice a difference in your strength workouts.

Walk For Water is happening this Sunday at the World Trade Center Plaza, downtown Portland

Help Portland Roasting Coffee support World Water Day Sunday March 21st.  This family friendly event includes live music and a fundraising walk around the Willamette.  This event benefits nonprofits working to provide access to clean drinking water to regions in need.

The party continues Monday night with a concert at the Aladdin Theater.  Performers include Obo Addy, 3 Leg Torso and Loveness Wesa.  Look for Fluid’s massage gift certificate in the silent auction before the show.

For more information about either of these events go to WorldWaterDayPDX.com.

Hope to see you there!

Can Being Happy Protect Your Heart?

According to a recent study your outlook can and does affect your heart health.  People with the most negative emotions had the highest risk for heart disease and people who scored highest for happiness had the lowest risk.  One possible explanation was that happier people tend to lead healthier lives; eating better, sleeping better and getting more exercise.

“Naturally happy people certainly do experience depression and other negative emotions from time to time”, lead researcher Karina W. Davidson, PhD, of Columbia University Medical Center tells WebMD. “But this is usually situational and transient.”

“If we are able to change people’s level of positive effect we may be able to lower their risk for heart disease,” Davidson says.

She recommends devoting at least 15 to 20 minutes a day to doing something enjoyable and relaxing. And make sure this activity is not the first thing to be abandoned on a busy day.

As with a lot of things in life deciding to be happy is a simple concept, but not always easy to implement.  Here are some tips on how you can bring more happiness to your life:

  • Express gratitude to those around you.  Say “thank you” and “I appreciate you” often.
  • Take a moment at the beginning of the day and imagine your day going smoothly as if you were watching it unfold on a movie screen.
  • Practice forgiveness.
  • Take note of even small good things that happen to you during the day.  Did someone let you in on the freeway?  Did you step right up at the coffee shop without having to wait in line?

I recently heard the phrase “inverse paranoid” which means instead of believing the world is out to get you, you believe that everyone is plotting to do good things for you.  What a great concept!

Five Tips to Keep You From Getting Sick.

Here are five tips to keep you and your family healthy this winter:

1. Wash your hands – especially before and after you eat, and if someone in your home or office is sick.  I know this one is a no brainer but you’d be surprised how important this is. Most germs get into our system when we touch a contaminated object and them touch our eyes, nose or mouth. A recent study found that college students sitting at their computers touched their faces on average 40 times an hour. For small children this number is nearly 60 times an hour.

2. Follow the new ‘cough etiquette’, which the American Academy of Pediatrics describes as teaching children to turn their heads and cough or sneeze into a disposable tissue or the inside of their elbow if they don’t have a tissue, instead of simply coughing or sneezing onto their hands, which will then spread their germs onto everything they touch.

3. Avoid close contact with people when you are sick. It isn’t really possible to completely avoid people who are sick, so it is likely better if you just avoid exposing other people to your germs when you or your kids are sick. So don’t go to school, daycare, work, etc., if you are sick with the flu.

4. Drink Water.  Lots of water.  I shoot for at least 60 -80 ounces per day.  If you get sick of drinking plain water jazz it up with a shot of juice or kombucha.

5. Get a massage.  Regular massage treatments are not only for pain relief and relaxation.  Massage increases your circulation and lymph flow which in turn boosts your immune system.  I receive massage at least once or twice a month.

What is your wellness plan for this winter?

Baked Acorn Squash

Acorn Squash is high in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Potassium, dietary fiber, manganese, folate, Vitamin B complex, omega 3 fatty acids, copper and tryptophan.

Try this yummy side dish at your next holiday dinner.

4 acorn squash, halved and seeded
½ cup maple syrup
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
8 teaspoons unsalted butter
Fresh grated nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375º. Place the squash halves, cut side up, in a large baking dish. In a small bowl, stir together the maple syrup, vinegar and lemon juice. Brush the squash with the maple syrup mixture, and then dot each squash with a teaspoon of butter and sprinkle of nutmeg. Bake about an hour, or until tender.

When I made this recipe I found the easiest way to halve the squash is to stand them stem side down on a cutting board and work a sharp chef’s knife seesaw-style down the squash from the point to the stem.