Training the fundamentals

Posted on March 31, 2010 by violetquartz

Interesting blog post from fitness anywhere:

Trainees want workouts to be challenging, and with the TRX, it’s easy to provide that challenge. Anyone can push trainees to go harder, faster and for longer. But “good” training should do much more than just provide an intense conditioning challenge. It should help trainees to build sound movement patterns before moving on to strength, power and metabolic components.

This was a detail entry, rewrote it twice… computers though amazing cam some times be so frustrating! More to come later.

Exciting announcement!

Posted on March 23, 2010 by violetquartz

This is the first time this year I have gone so long without writing my blog, time to get back at it! I do have a very exciting reason why I have been absent recently…. I am opening a fitness and wellness studio in May!!! Get ready for something unlike anything else is Squamish! I will post more information as the big day approaches.

Stay active!

Body Awareness

Posted on March 16, 2010 by violetquartz

As you progress along healthy lifestyle changes you can not help learning more about your body and build body awareness. Body awareness is not only proprioception (knowing where where your body is in relation to itself in space), emotional state, and frame of mind. This is a useful full tool for many reasons; firstly being body aware in an exercise context will award you greater in gains in stability and proper form. From an emotional standpoint the ability to identify where feelings arise can assist in navigated them more proactively.

A great body awarenss building exercise is as follows:

Sitting on your chair eyes closed, bring attention to your breathing, do not controll it, just observe.

Switch your focus to your buttocks in the seat, feel the chair support you. Feel your cloths on your back, the fabric, the weight of your clothing.

Bring your attention to your heartbeat, feel it pulse through your body, nourishing it.

Choosing a relaxed and peaceful emotional state slowly bring your attention back to your breathing. Count back from 10 and slowly open your eyes.

Remember awareness is what is fostered in meditation, so take some time to tune and and find a moment of inner peace…. every day.

Latest research

Posted on March 12, 2010 by violetquartz

Exciting news for those of you trying to reduce your waistlines…

Obesity is a prevalent public health problem associated with a number of severe health effects and those over 40 are at increased risk of being overweight. This risk may be due to a decrease in energy expenditure, reduced energy requirements, or an increased susceptibility to excess energy consumption in this stage of life. Increasing daily water consumption is widely recognized as a weight loss strategy, yet there is actually little data to support this. From studies that are available, it has been shown that:

Energy intake (EI) is significantly lower in water drinkers than non-water drinkers (1),
substituting water for energy-containing beverages decreases self-reported EI (2)
increasing self-reported daily water consumption by 1 litre or more in overweight women is associated with increased weight loss (3), and
water consumption with a meal reduces ratings of hunger and increases ratings of satiety (4,5).

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that pre-meal water consumption would lead to greater weight loss in older overweight and obese individuals consuming a hypocaloric diet. The secondary objective was to determine if water intake before a meal to reduce meal EI is sustained after a 12-week period of increased water consumption in older overweight and obese adults.

Both groups (with and without water prior to eating) experienced significant weight loss but a greater decline in weight (44% greater) was found for the water group.
The decline in total fat mass was greater for the water group.
Mean daily EI, energy and ED (energy density) from food, and beverage ED declined similarly in both groups.
Total dietary ED from food and beverage declined more in the water group as compared to the non-water group.
The water group participants demonstrated greater increases in water and total fluid consumption than the non-water group participants.
There were no differences between groups for all other outcome measures.
No gender differences were found for measures in the groups.

A little note from the universe

Posted on March 12, 2010 by violetquartz

Check out a neat little addition to my website; daily notes on my meditation page… for daily inspiration.

Special offer

Posted on March 9, 2010 by violetquartz

To introduce some of the new techniques I learn while away at my course I am offering a special promotion. The first 4 people to email me who are in the Sqamish area will get a complementary functional muscular and motor pattern imbalance assessment this Saturday.

To find out what that it click here.

violetquartzwellness@gmail.com

Latest research!

Posted on March 5, 2010 by violetquartz

A study has just been published about the training effect on mucked tendons. When starting a weight training program initial changes in strength are displayed in the nerveous system; more
efficient neural conduction and mucle recruitment. After 8 to 12 weeks and consotstent loading the mucles would then hypertrophy or grow. However tendon tension increases which are necesary to be able to effectively lift heavier weights without injury takes 11 to 16 weeks. Therefore it is important to start gradulally to build up tension in the tendons for safe lifting.

The most interesting applications of the study are in regards to the detraining effect. After 1 month of not training the tendon becomes slack and you lose your gains, where as mucsle takes 2-3 months. If you stop training with weights you have to give yourself time to rebuild tendon tension when starting back up again to prevent injury.

Check this out…

Posted on March 1, 2010 by violetquartz

Recently I took a course called Power to Parent, which was life changing. It was about more than just parenting, it was about attachment and relationships in general. I would recommend it to anyone working with people, for those looking to deepen their marriages, and continue to grow their relationships with their children.

Power To Parent

Part I: The Vital Connection

(A video course & discussion group facilitated by Laila Presotto)

This eight-session video course has been developed by internationally renowned Developmental Psychologist Dr. Gordon Neufeld, a best selling and award winning author. His revolutionary yet scientific approach turns parenting right-side up, restoring natural intuition to parenting and putting parents back in the driver’s seat.

In order for parenting to work, children – including teenagers – must be in right relationship to their parents. Nothing is more crucial or pivotal in parenting than this seldom-recognized or addressed factor. Dr. Neufeld explains the concept of right relationship, providing practical suggestions for parenting children of all ages with attachment in mind.

Some of the many topics addressed include:

dealing with resistance and oppositionality

addressing the roots of aggression

how to keep from losing a child to competing attachments

addressing separation problems and anxieties

raising children who are capable of deep and fulfilling relationships

dealing with children who seek to dominate instead of depend on their parents

disciplining that is attachment-safe and developmentally friendly

Firmly rooted in developmental psychology, this approach is not technique or behavior based, but rather seeks to make sense of children from the inside out to provide insight for those who wish to understand and connect with children of all ages.

For course schedule and more information, please contact:

Laila Presotto at HYPERLINK “mailto:lailapresotto@yahoo.ca” lailapresotto@yahoo.ca or call 604 849 0034.

Laila Presotto, M.A. Psych, RCC

Psychotherapist

Certified Neufeld Course Facilitator