Power of language

Posted on January 11, 2010 by violetquartz

As some of you may already know I have been perusing the web to find great personal training quote to share and inspire you all as you sweat away. In the procress I found a variety of ‘common sayings’ which personal trainers use; and to my amusement I have also occasionally thrown some of them out there. Here is a sample:

The proverbial “we”, as in we are going to do……

This is going to be fun!

Get comfortable being uncomfortable.

Can’t means won’t, and won’t means push-ups. (I may start using this one)

The interesting thing was that it brought my attention to the phrases I use the most during my sessions, and I realized my catch phrase if you will would be “oh, this is one of my favorite exercises”, which really struck home the fact that I love to move, and be active. This lead me to examine my catch phrases in other areas of my life, and the language I use to speak to myself. I found that sometimes I was really negative when it came to talking to me and the way I perceived my world. All this to say, your reoccurring thoughts give you insight into how you really are and how you really feel. be careful what you tell yourself because it will become your reality if you say it to yourself enough. If you find your self saying I am tired, all of the time, you will become tired. So the next time you go to say or think to yourself negatively, STOP yourself, and choose your language carefully. Through language we define our perceptions, and our perceptions are how we experience the world.

Relapse: Returning to older behaviors, learning opportunities, transcendence

Posted on January 10, 2010 by violetquartz

Along the way to permanent cessation or stable reduction of a bad habit, most people experience relapse. In fact, it is much more common to have at least one relapse than not. Relapse is often accompanied by feelings of discouragement and seeing oneself as a failure. While relapse can be discouraging, the majority of people who successfully quit do not follow a straight path to a life time free of self-destructive bad habits. Rather, they cycle through the five stages several times before achieving a stable life style change. Consequently, the Stages of Change Model considers relapse to be normal.

There is a real risk that people who relapse will experience an immediate sense of failure that can seriously undermine their self-confidence. The important thing is that if they do slip not to give up and fall back on the unhealthy habits. Rather, they should analyze how the slip happened and use it as an opportunity to learn how to cope differently. In fact, relapses can be important opportunities for learning and becoming stronger.

Relapsing is like falling off a horse the best thing you can do is get right back on again. However, if you do relapse, it is important that you do not fall back to the precontemplation or contemplation stages. Rather, restart the process again at preparation, action or even the maintenance stages. People who have relapsed may need to learn to anticipate high-risk situations and more effectively, control and navigate environmental cues that tempt them to engage in their bad habits . It is important to learn how to handle unexpected episodes of stress without returning to the bad habit. This gives them a stronger sense of self control and the ability to get back on track.

If you have relapsed here are some questions to ask yourself:

What factors were involved in your setback?
How can you prevent self sabotage?
What did you find encouraging at the onset of your initial change?
Do you have a support network to turn to when the going gets tough?
What strategies can you devise to support your new habits?
What is the next step in your action plan?
What did you do to reward yourself with for your small victories and accomplishments?
What did you learn from this experience?

That covers all the stages of change model, however there is another stage which is not formally part of the model which needs to be mentioned. It is sometimes called transcendence. This is when we have been in the maintenance stage for a prolonged period of time and the unhealthy behaviours are far and well behind us. It is as this point that we can have successfully completed a lifestyle change. Transcendence is change at its best, it is actual transformation.

Action/Willpower: Changing behavior

Posted on January 8, 2010 by violetquartz

This is the stage where people believe they have the ability to change their behavior and are actively involved in taking steps to change their bad behavior by using a variety of different techniques. This is the shortest of all the stages. The amount of time people spend in action varies. It generally lasts about 6 months, but it can literally be as short as one hour! This is a stage when people most depend on their own willpower. They are making overt efforts to quit or change the behavior and are at greatest risk for relapse.

Mentally, they review their commitment to themselves and develop plans to deal with both personal and external pressures that may lead to slips. They may use short-term rewards to sustain their motivation, and analyze their behavior change efforts in a way that enhances their self-confidence. People in this stage also tend to be open to receiving help and are also likely to seek support from others which is a a very important element. Hopefully, if the are successful in this stage they move to maintenance. More on that tomorrow!

Precontemplation; not yet acknowledging that there is a problem behavior that needs to be changed

Posted on January 5, 2010 by violetquartz

In the precontemplation stage, people are not thinking seriously about changing and are not interested in any kind of help. People in this stage tend to defend their current bad habit(s) and do not feel it is a problem. They may be defensive in the face of other people’s efforts to pressure them to quit. They do not focus their attention on quitting and tend not to discuss their bad habit with others. At this stage people just do not yet see themselves as having a problem.

Are you in the precontemplation stage? No, because the fact that you are reading this shows that you are already ready to consider that you may have a problem with one or more bad habits. If you know someone in the precontemplation stage it will take patience; unless a person is willing to acknowledge their bad habits then spend your energy somewhere else; perhaps setting an example yourself by initiating healthier habits and hopefully your changes will inspire other to begin thinking about changing.

Did you get active today? Here is a little inspiration….

Posted on January 2, 2010 by violetquartz

Today was my first day back at Club Flex teaching classes and there was a moderate turn out, congrats to getting out there. I was also happy to see some of you working on your programs, you deserve a pat on the back too. Are you psyched for the new year, a new opportunity to surprise yourself with how much you can lift? how far you can run? how many burpees you can do?

I have a client who had just injured her leg, the first day of the new year, which will seriously affect her program and the time line for her goals. She is a huge inspiration to me because as opposed to getting upset and giving up (which would be the easy thing to do) she will push through and keep training what she can, and look at it as a great opportunity versus a setback.

If we can tap into ourselves and find that fighting spirit to inspire us to keep going no matter what obstacles big or small that stand in our way, anything is possible. You can and will create your best life, so what motivates and inspires you?

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2010 by violetquartz

The there are many factors to getting new habits to stick. To start my new habit off on the right foot I decided there was no better day to start writing in my blog regularly than today, but it is not as simple as that, you have to implement strategies that will prime you for success.

Firstly, you must want to change, if you are resolving to do something because others tell you, you should then you will not be successful. I have been told by many business professionals that blogging is a great addition to a website and I should really get into the habit of it. To be honest I really did not feel like it until now, which is one of the reasons why I have not been successful at it.

Secondly, are you confident you are able to make the change. It is the single most important factor in determining whether or not you will achieve your resolutions.

Here is a video of a clinical psychologist Wendy Walsh discussing how to be effective at your resolutions.

Resolutions, goal setting, and transformation

Posted on December 31, 2009 by violetquartz

As you all know I have been trying to get this blog off the ground for several months now, and have been unsuccessful. I do not see this as a failure, but a learning opportunity; what did I do or did not do which led to this end result. After giving it much thought I have come to the conclusion that the problem was that I tried versus just doing it. So I am going to give it all I have and just do it. My career goal this year: I will regularly update my blog a minimum of three times a week.

At this time of year many people are talking about resolutions; whether they do or do not work, how to achieve them, and how to make them stick. To be effective in creating your best life and maintaining new behaviors goal setting is an important tool. Well written S.M.A.R.T. goals solidify your commitment to working towards accomplishing them.

This year I am taking a new approach, one I learned form one of my clients (because I learn as much from you as you do from me); I have written my short and long term goals for the year on some paper and have sealed them in an envelope. In three months I will revisit what I have written and see what I accomplished and what fell to the way side. This will allow me to evaluated my successes and reevaluate my ares for opportunity.

I challenge you to do the same. Remember goals do not have to be life changing it would be something as simple as drinking more water in a day.

As many of you know I worked for lululemon for many years. Their format for goal setting is quite effective to get started. As a wise man said; why reinvent the wheel. For information on S.M.A.R.T. goal setting courtesy of lululemon click here.

Energy Balance and its importance in training

Posted on October 9, 2009 by violetquartz

When training it is imporatnt to make sure you are eating nough calories and geting enough nutrient to supoort physiological adapation, even if you are trying to loose weight. Here is an exerpt from a postistion statement compiled by: American College of Sports Medicine: Nancy R. Rodriguez (University of Connecticut); American Dietetic Association: Nancy M. DiMarco (Texas Woman’s University); Dietitians of Canada: Susie Langley

Energy balance occurs when energy intake (the sum of energy from foods, fluids, and supplement products) equals energy expenditure (sum of energy expended as basal metabolic rate, the thermic effect of food, the thermic effect of activity, which is the energy expended in planned physical activity, and non-exercise activity thermogenesis).

Energy expenditure for different types of exercise is dependent on the duration, frequency, and intensity of the exercise, the sex of the athlete, and prior nutritional status in addition to heredity, age, body size, and fat free mass. The more energy used in activity, the more calories needed to achieve energy balance.

Inadequate energy intake compromises performance and negates the benefits of training. With limited energy intake, fat and lean tissue will be used for fuel by the body resulting in a loss of lean tissue. The concern here is that loss of strength and endurance, as well as compromised immune, endocrine, and musculoskeletal function can result.

Well-rounded Fitness

Posted on April 21, 2009 by violetquartz

There are five components of fitness which together determine your overall physical well-being and ability; Cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and balance.

Together these components provide general health benefits also known as functional fitness. Functional fitness is comprised of exercises and activities which includes two or more of these components. They are all equally important because they contribute to a longer and more importantly independent life.

Cardiovascular endurance is essential to a healthy circulatory system and heart; your body’s transportation system to nourish itself. Because heart health is so vital for everyday living regular cardiovascular exercise, is a sure fire way to ensure it is optimal for as long as possible

Muscular strength is important in everyday movement, getting out of bed, getting dressed etc. These are things we take for granted until we are no longer able to perform them for ourselves. Because we lose muscle mass as we age it is important to build and maintain as much as possible so that you can live independently for as long as possible.

Muscular endurance is the ability to repeatedly move a muscle without tiring and allows us to participate in sport, gardening, hiking; activities which contribute to our quality of life and are essential to our overall well-being.

Flexibility helps us maintain range of motion around our joints reducing stiffness and tension. The more flexible we are the less likely we are to get injured because we can more easily move our joints properly.

Balance is critical in injury prevention especially as we age. Participating in physical activity which requires us to balance helps us build and maintain our stabilization muscle which helps prevent falls and related injuries.

Warm ups, cool downs and stretching

Posted on April 13, 2009 by violetquartz

When you are participating in physical activity and or exercise it is important to make sure you warm up, cool down and stretch.

Warming up prepares the body for more strenuous work, or exercise. It takes a few minutes for the body to gear up to work optimally during an exercise bout. Firstly blood has to be redistributed from your internal organs to your working muscle, your heart and lungs. The movement of blood to your muscle warms them which reduces your risk of injury as your move your body more strenuously. Therefore a warm up is important to prepare your body for exercise and reduce your risk of injury.

Similarly a cool down in important because as you exercise your heart rate is increased, and your body temperature is higher. A gradual cool down is an effective way of reducing post exercise muscle soreness.

Stretching is an important part of a cool down down for many reasons. Stretching is important in maintaing range of motion around a joint a.k.a. flexibility. It also reduces muscular tension built up in the muscle during exercise, thus improving recovery time. Stretching must be done while your muscle are still warm to prevent injuring yourself, and is a great way to cool down; you are still moving, but you are giving your body a chance to recover gradually.