Posts Tagged ‘health’

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Morning Mojo: Merry Christmas

By Tom Tognoli | December 19th, 2011 0 Comments

Can you believe it? Christmas is only six days away.

I would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and thank you for the wonderful gift. Thank you for the gift of opportunity to share Monday Morning MOJO with you.

By having to think, research and create ideas to share every week it has forced me to reaffirm what is important to me in my life.  By writing Monday Morning MOJO I have also attracted into my life more of the things which are important to my family, my friends, our company and me.

As we have discussed in past Monday Morning MOJO’s, one of the best ways to get more of what you want in life is to help others get more of what they want. I hope I have been able to help you do just that – you have certainly helped me. You have been my best accountability partner in 2011.

So, don’t forget to get more of what you want next year – help others get more of what they want. You have to give to get!

So, what do you want Monday Morning MOJO to provide you for Christmas?

I have been sending out Monday Morning MOJO now for nearly a decade and I thought I would ask you what you are struggling with in life, what breakthroughs are you wanting to accomplish but just can’t quite seem to make it happen? What questions do you want Monday Morning MOJO to help with? Do you have an inspirational story to share – one that you think can make a difference for the thousands of people who receive Monday Morning MOJO?  It’s the stories of real experiences that truly make the difference and have the largest impact.

My gift to you today for Christmas is MOJO. What exactly is MOJO you ask?

MOJO defined is:

  • A magic charm or spell
  • The art or practice of casting magic spells
  • An object, as an amulet or charm that is believed to carry a magic spell
  • MOJO is me sending you success, health, and happiness.

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

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Wednesday Wellness: The Mentally Tough Shall Prevail…

By Tammy Parkinson | August 24th, 2011 0 Comments

What differentiates someone who succeeds in life versus one who doesn’t? Luck? Genes? Money? Well, maybe for some, but I believe that those who are the “toughest” are the ones who ultimately succeed.

Now, when I say tough, I’m not referring to physical strength. Rather, I’m talking about mental toughness, or mental fortitude. Fortitude is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “Calm Courage”, and it takes a great deal of “calm courage” to succeed–whether it is on the physical playing field, or the playing field of life.

There are some people who are innately strong–both physically and mentally. Take the Tarahumara Tribe of Indians, who are known to run for days on end, in the grueling heat, traversing treacherous landscapes as a way of life, and as a way to have “fun.” Can you hear me laughing out loud? Yup. This is indeed fun for them, and they live their lives to run and run to live. In fact, Christopher Mc Dougall wrote a book about this band of people called, “Born to Run.”

But what about the rest of us, the mere mortals who find running two miles, or even two blocks, a daunting task? What makes us different than the Tarahumara?

Well, it turns out that the only thing that separates us is our mental fortitude. Indeed, these calm people run because they are not just physically strong, but they are MENTALLY strong. And we can all glean a HUGE lesson from this.

We all face challenges in life–some of us want to lose weight; some want to run our first marathon, 10K, 5K or simply walk a mile; some want to gain upper body strength; and some want to come back from injuries–ranging from near-crippling to something perhaps more simple like a sprained ankle. Whatever your particular challenge may be, in order to overcome it will require not just strength of body, but strength of mind.

Why is this so?

For me, I spent nearly 10 years racing endurance events ranging from mere marathons to Ironman distance triathlons–a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run, or a marathon. And yes, they were all in one day. And yes, they all followed each other sequentially. And yes, we “raced” to finish–we competed not simply completed. And how did we do it? We persevered.

From these years, I learned that I have far more fortitude than I ever thought I had. There were many times when I “beat” men and women who were stronger than me physically, but not stronger mentally–I never, ever gave up or give up. And I have carried this very important lesson into other areas of my life, so that when I tore my Achilles and chose not to run for a year (after much agony), and even when I’ve faced financial adversity, or break-ups or the loss of loved ones, I’ve KNOWN that I have enough “strength” to get through anything, because I will not give up. I have that calm courage.

The truth is, we all have that calm courage. Sometimes, we just don’t realize that we have it and that we can use it ANYTIME we want.

How do we persevere? Just like how we finish a marathon–by putting one foot in front of the other. Over and over and over again….You can do IT, whatever IT is. Simply call upon that calm courage and persevere. And I guarantee you, you will succeed.

Written by Stacia Carney
CPT Body Firm Los Gatos, CA

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Wednesday Wellness : Is there a perfect body shape for all activities?

By Tammy Parkinson | August 18th, 2011 0 Comments

Over the weekend, I joined a riding group in the Sierra Foothills on a “bike shop” ride.  It was completely last minute and I went more for the comradery, exercise and scenery.  I only knew one or two of the 50+ riders.

As I hopped on my bike, bleary eyed at 7:30 in the morning, I was quickly humbled by the level of athleticism.  It was everything I could do to keep up with the “middle/slower paced” group.

On a 4 hour bike ride, you really have time to think and ponder ideas.  One that kept coming up for me was the varieties of shapes and sizes of each of the riders.

One might “assume” a fit rider would be tall, young, lean, and have muscular legs.  I have to tell you, the age range was from late 20’s to late 60’s, and just about every height and weight passed me by at some point!  (and  I mean ripped by me!)

I kept thinking about what “athleticism” or an “athletic” body is.  Society dubs what “should” be a perfect shape, yet these perfect shapes often have no strength or health.  We are “shaped” as apples, pears, eggplants, green beans and about any other vegetable or fruit we can dream up!  That doesn’t mean we aren’t “perfect” if we have something other than a magazine emphasized body.  What we DO with our shape, how we emphasize what we are designed by nature to do is up to us; and if we hone in on what our specific body is good at…we can improve in ways we can’t yet imagine!

I find that I excel better at endurance sports and get crushed at most fast quick activities (that doesn’t mean I don’t have fun…I just don’t do as well!)  I know several who have beautiful perfect “shapes” but are challenged on a 3 mile walk.

Who is to say what our “perfect” is except ourselves (and maybe our doctor).  As long as we try to do what we can with our physical bodies, our best is a gift!

Go out there, look around, notice what you like to do and what you find your body likes.  Explore new things; try your hand at activities you are inspired by.  No one but YOU can know what you are capable of! Maybe I’ll see you ripping by me on a bike ride!

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Wednesday Wellness: If there’s a will, there’s a way

By Tammy Parkinson | May 25th, 2011 0 Comments

Come up onto my soap box with me while I write this
Wednesday Wellness! It’s a funny perspective…

Have you ever gone to someone’s house and you “had” to eat what they made. I mean you had to eat ALL the appetizers, drink the wine, have the desserts, hey, they “made” you have seconds! REALLY? Were you in a Jack Bauer scene from “24” and your host tied you up and forced it down your throat?!

OK, maybe that’s a little extreme, yet so often I hear how when one dines out or goes to a game or someone’s home they are “forced” to make unhealthy choices.

How often have you felt like you were disrespectful if you didn’t eat everything someone made for you? Let’s put the perspective on the other side of the kitchen. How often have you hosted and noticed what everyone ate, how much they ate, if they had seconds, if they took 2 bites or 20 bites? Were you upset with them if they didn’t try every item and finish everything twice? I bet you barely notice what others do; you’re just happy to have company.

We so often make excuses for our own choices. We like to blame others for the inability to stay true to our commitments.

Here’s another one…

When you are traveling, is it true that there is NO WAY you can get any physical activity in during your trip? Were you chained to your chair only to be let free for bathroom breaks and sleep?

OK, maybe that too is extreme, yet how often are there opportunities to walk the stairs, walk during breaks and lunch, maybe sneak in 20 minutes at a hotel gym…even every OTHER day?

Again, this is a choice of what other duties take priority over your silent commitments to your health.

I know this comes out a little rough, but maybe because there’s a little bit of truth to this!

Take a step away and see these two circumstances without emotion. You are at someone’s home and all the food looks like it came from a Southern fried restaurant, not a vegetable to be found. Did you consider offering to bring a salad or a healthy appetizer to help out your host (as well as yourself!?) Did you consider the notion of having a couple bites, to manage your saturated fat intake so you were able to nibble, but not over do it?

How about when you traveled, did you check out the hotel’s gym, or even more basic, bust out a few lunges, some pushups and a few bathtub dips in your room?

The old saying, “If there’s a will, there’s a way.” is so appropriate here!

The best strategy in situations like this is to think about your priorities before you get to the potential debacle! Consider how you could come out with your “best case scenario” and commit. The end result is you will feel healthier, happier and even more solid in your commitment to your health.  You can talk it out with your favorite fitness professional or your favorite fitness friend! There are many ways to navigate in tough waters ~ just think “how” instead of “can’t” or “won’t”. You’ll come out ahead every time.

Thanks for sharing the soap box with me! Have a great week and strategize on healthy choices in any situation!

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Wedneday Wellness: Feeling Tried?

By Tammy Parkinson | May 4th, 2011 0 Comments

Lately I have been hearing a lot of “tiring” stories. I don’t mean this as, “I am so bored with this subject” stories, but rather, a lot of folks out there are really tired! The first and most obvious question I ask is, “Are you getting enough rest?” Beyond this, however, there are some indicators we all want to look at in one’s diet.

Are you eating food which is really hard to digest? Our bodies need to work very hard to break down red meat, pork, fats (saturated) and dense foods like nuts (in large amounts) and cheese. Take a look at what you are eating and imagine your body breaking down this food. Does your metabolism have to work overtime just to get that slice of ham from your mouth to your stomach? How hard does your body have to work to utilize and process this food?

Are you drinking pure water, or water which has lots of chemicals in it?

Are you eating and drinking your vitamins, or do you depend on a pill to do the work? The purer the food (vegetables and fruit) the easier it is for our bodies to take in the nutrients and use these nutrients to give our mind and body energy.

Are you getting in enough B-Complex? When we aren’t getting in enough B vitamins, the carbohydrates we do eat sometimes cannot be utilized to its full potential. Having a good source of B complex like bee pollen or time released B complex vitamins are essential to our energy systems.

Do you drink vegetable juice, like wheat grass or beet juice? One of the best sources of “clean” fuel isn’t for your car, but for your body, and this comes in the form of vegetables and phytonutrients blended and drank!

Next time you feel you are sluggish and sleepy, take a look first at your sleep patterns, then start checking the above! You could be missing some vital information in order to ramp up your own gas tank!

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Wednesday Wellness: The choice is yours

By Tammy Parkinson | April 20th, 2011 0 Comments

As some of you might know, my favorite little treat is a chocolate covered peanut butter malt ball. I love them! Now, hey, I’m human and if you put 10 in front of me, I’d eat all 10! So, how I work it is when I am at my favorite grocery store, Whole Foods, I buy one. Yep, one. So, I was at the checkout and the cashier was giving me a hard time (in a fun way) about only buying one, so I told him I buy one at a time, but I do this nearly every day! The cashier then enlightened me that at the end of the year, I could pile up 365 malt balls to show how much I had eaten! Wow, now that was depressing! I quickly bantered however that if I piled up how many vegetables I had in the course of a year, I could fill up a room (or two!). When I put that in perspective, it didn’t seem so out of balance; especially when I add on the hours of workouts each week I am dedicated to.

This is life, we make small choices every day which we don’t think mean much, but when we make the choice say to go for a 10 minute workout, thinking it won’t add up to much, in the course of a year that’s over 60 hours of training and could equal as much as 10 pounds of calories burned!! The flip side is when we choose NOT to workout, thinking it doesn’t add up, that could potentially tack ON 10 pounds in the course of a year!

These little choices appear every day. How many nibbles do you have of your kids’ leftovers (every day)? Do you conversely take the time to workout to balance out the added calories? How often do you leave a meeting early, learning a little less than your coworkers? How often do you take steps 2 at a time instead of one at a time? There are so many paths we can take towards health, vitality, healing, energy and so many paths we can take towards sickness, obesity, lethargy and laziness.

Now I can tell you I am savoring each delicious daily malt ball, and to be honest, I did take some time out during the holidays when I wasn’t having any treats at all, so my malt ball pile might be a little smaller; but I do try to be more focused on the nutritious food I eat and the healthy choices I create in my life. This isn’t always easy, it isn’t always without struggle, but it is a lifestyle and one I hope all of us can dedicate a little attention to; one which needs patience and daily care.

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Wednesday Wellness: Perfectly Imperfect

By Tammy Parkinson | March 23rd, 2011 0 Comments

Why is it so hard for some of us to admit that we aren’t perfect? Why do we expect ourselves to be excellent at something we’ve never even tried before?

As a trainer, I’m used to people saying to me, “Oh, I’m terrible at balance.” Or, “I must whine and complain more than any other client you have!” And I always assure them, no, you’re not terrible at balancing–that’s why you’re practicing. And no, you’re not whining and complaining; what you’re doing is hard because it’s new and you’re not expected to do it “right” the first time out. Yet we continue to have these unrealistic expectations and sometimes, if you’re like me, you can take it to an extreme and truly beat yourself up for not doing it “right” or doing enough of a given activity. (As though there was some measured amount and the “enough” police are on the lookout for me!)

In order to be perfect, it would mean we reached the pinnacle of what we are doing–there is no more room for growth and there is no error. Which is of course IMPOSSIBLE. When I meet a client for the first time, I try to assure them that I expect them NOT to understand what I’m saying, to ask questions and to make mistakes. Just like I tell my 8-year old daughter–homework is for learning and for making mistakes so we can keep practicing and learning. Training is homework. Life is homework. The challenge I have is in applying that to myself…

If you’re at all like me (anal retentive with perfectionist qualities, and in denial that you’re a perfectionist because you’re not perfect yet!), you struggle to accept that you are exactly where you are supposed to be at any given moment. And that life is messy. Not everybody shows up; not everybody does it my way; not everybody sees it my way; and each day is meant to be different than the preceding and following one. Grrrr….I’ve been a salmon swimming upstream my whole life fighting (literally) this truism of life.

It’s only been since I started “practicing” yoga (I love that we call it that!) about a year ago that I began to see the beauty of making mistakes, of falling down, of striving to be better for oneself but not necessarily to “prove” anything to anyone else. That is why yoga is a called a practice because we never arrive at a destination. Instead, we “practice” in order to do the act repeatedly so as to gain skill. And one day may be “easier” or “better” than the next, but we are taught to just let it be. Tall order for this girl! But I’m learning, slowly, gently, that it is indeed easier to be perfectly imperfect and at ease in my own skin, rather than itchy and scratchy because I never QUITE do it good enough.

I used to live my live by the credo, “I’m not enough.” You could truly fill in the blank with any word and it would describe me. As of late, I’ve adopted the motto, “I love myself the way I am, and still I want to grow.” –Jai Josefs

Try it on for size. Be perfectly imperfect. You might just find that you like it.

Written by Stacia Carney
Body Firm Certified Personal Trainer

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Wednesday Wellness: The Ripple Effect

By Tammy Parkinson | March 16th, 2011 0 Comments

Could you imagine in the span of a few years you could accomplish over 30 world fitness records including 52,003 sit-ups in 32 hrs 17 min., 30,000 jumping jacks in 7.5 hrs, 13,013 leg lifts in 5 hours 45 min., 1,000 sit-ups with a 45 lb. pound weight on your chest in 39 min., cycling over 500 miles without a bike seat, and finishing 5,428 crunches in an hour on your 47th birthday?

These are just a few of the accolades completed by my friend, mentor, and trainer Steve Sokol. To put it lightly, he was an inspiration. I would watch him work with clients of all fitness levels, all ages and even though he could out train almost everyone, (on the planet!) he was humble.

The world lost Steve last Monday to an automobile accident. In the last week, hundreds of friends, clients, (who were also friends) family and fitness associates spoke up about Steve. So much has struck me about what a committed and dedicated man Steve was, but what was a common theme was the “pebble in the pond” effect he had on so many lives. Yes, he held 30 world records, yet his every day commitment to his health, family and integrity, day in, day out was what inspired people. Steve walked the talk. He never asked anyone to do anything that he wasn’t willing to do himself.

Even the tiny things Steve said and did so many of us will remember and carry on because of his faith in himself and in all of us. Even greater than his love of fitness was his love of his family. He knew beyond anything he could claim in The Guinness Book of World Records, the honor and commitment he held towards his wife and son were greater. He was an example of what it is like to love passionately and live beyond boundaries.

No, he wasn’t born with an Olympic gene pool; he actually had a severe illness when he was young. He found a love of cycling when he decided to ride to work at HP way back when because gas prices were soaring. His mind was strong and his will even fiercer.

Not all of us can ride 500 miles on a bike without sitting down, shoot, I complain about how sore I get in 30 miles while I AM sitting down, but we all have within us honor, strength, commitment and humility.

In honor of this amazing man, I hope to inspire you to be your own pebble in a pond, one whose ripple effect continues over a lifetime.

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Wednesday Wellness: You are strong!

By Tammy Parkinson | March 2nd, 2011 0 Comments

A few of us at Body Firm cycle with a great group anywhere from 10-25 riders Saturday mornings. We are ramping up for the Century Ride around Lake Tahoe in June. We have committed to start training around the 8:30 am hour so those who have families can train, and then spend time with their children later in the day.

Well…that’s all well and good in the spring and summer, but this past Saturday the weather forecast was calling for possible SNOW!

Now, I am not best known as a “morning person” and even worse, I am well known for disliking (putting it mildly) cold weather. Here we are, double whammy. I was hoping secretly it would be pouring rain Saturday morning so the ride would be called off!

Well, sure enough, we woke up early and with frost on the ground, the sun was shining brightly to say, come on Tammy, time to ride! So, I layered 8 pieces of clothing (just enough to barely move) and was ready to go at 8:30…with 35 degrees showing on my car temperature gauge. I seriously lost a little sleep worrying I would freeze to death on this ride!

We all got on our bikes, everyone’s fingers froze for the first hour or so, but something pretty cool happened. I had a great time! Everyone had a great time! As a team, we were all cold, but we proved to ourselves we could do it! I can’t believe I am admitting this…but I am HAPPY I did it! Not just for the ride, or the camaraderie (although that in itself is very special), but because I proved to myself I can endure something for a short amount of time and come out on the other side with a smile.

You see, too often, we give up too early because we think it’s too hard. Maybe it is, but maybe trying something a little beyond our comfort zones helps us to broaden our boundaries and teach ourselves we are stronger than we believe.

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Create a little chaos

By Tammy Parkinson | February 16th, 2011 0 Comments

At Body Firm we work with many who are looking to lose weight, eat healthy, lose fat, gain muscle and in general feel awesome!

Often when someone starts a new health or workout program, our bodies respond fairly quickly…at first. Then all of a sudden they hit a “plateau” which can cause frustration and decreased motivation.

This happens outside the gym too! We gain momentum, get detoured and our attention shifts elsewhere, leading us to disappointment.

As my trainers and I can attest, this is when it’s time to mix things up! I see food diaries all the time and the client is doing great, their bodies have just gotten used to the same foods and the same movements.

If this happens to you, in fitness AND in life, consider a different routine. Do things your body and mind aren’t used to! Try foods you haven’t had for a while. Get out of your normal habits and step out of the boundaries!

I have one client who takes belly dancing, another who just started running and conversely another who is only lifting heavy weights for the next few months!

Not only will different movements create a little “chaos” in your body, your mind will be challenged as well.

Consider trying this if you are in a plateau in your body or your mind!

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