October 2015 VEF Classes

Tight? Tired? In Pain? Whether you have been working out with me or not...Whether you have been working out at all...The month of October is going to be dedicated to correcting form and function in your movements as well as addressing the pain caused by overuse and/or incorrect movement patterns. This month is a great time to start as a beginner as well as take a "recovery" month if you're a beast!!! See you there veryeffectivefitness.com!

Where's The Finish Line?

We get so focused on reaching our goals and "being done"...but there are no quick fixes or finish lines when it comes to good health and fitness. You either have good habits and a healthy lifestyle or you don't. A healthy lifestyle doesn't expire until you do.  The only finish line in these flesh bodies is the grave, and I don't know about you, but I'm in no hurry to cross that line. Need help getting started or bumping up the intensity?  I'm here:  cagib1@charter.net

Weekends

Don't let the weekends be your pitfall!!!! It is so easy sometimes to allow yourself to just "do whatever" on the weekends because you felt you did so well (or mostly well) during the week. This is not a good practice because not only can you undo all your good from the week, but you can actually make matters worse than just that. Try to stay focused on your goals, plan, motivation, and reasons for change by planning how you are going to handle the weekend before it arrives. Whether you are having to plan around a birthday party or dinner party or family time make sure you make wise choices and are including such events in your planned PI's. (To learn what PI's are and all the rest, check out http://www.veryeffective.blogspot.com/p/eating-supportively.html.)

Indulgences, whether they be planned or unplanned, are a part of life and should be enjoyable without being destructive. The majority of your PI's (or UPI's) should not be a day-long event or weekend-long event or even a whole meal event.  Sure this will be the case on occasion, but for the majority of your indulgences, make them one item and the rest of your meal (day, weekend) supportive choices. Try to also limit your physical indulgences on the weekends (a.k.a., couch time). Sure you need to rest, but you don't need to be a slug. Make time to be active with your family, friends, dogs, or just a date with yourself.....twister with the kids, fetch with the dogs, walk with your friends, whatever....you can be relaxed and have a good time and still get off the couch.

If you have a major splurge dinner before you, try to get in some intervals (15 minutes, 10 minutes, or even 4 minutes (20 seconds of intense work and 10 seconds of active rest for 8 rounds) of intervals is better on the front end than nothing) beforehand to help balance out your metabolism as well as your insulin response. A workout on a day you have a very indulgent PI on the agenda is also a great way to balance it out. Know that it does not do you any good to starve all day long so you can gorge at dinner....this will actually be more detrimental to your metabolism as well as your choices come dinnertime. Eat supportively throughout the day and make good choices around your indulgence at dinner.

Remember that this is not a fad diet you are doing here.....it is your life and you need to try to make it a balanced one. Will you be perfect every time with everything...no...but it's about making the best choices you can, and moving on from there and not beating yourself up for the bad ones. We all have our days, but those bad moments or days should not define who we are, who we become, or what our next day will be like. When you make a bad turn, just set your mind to make the next choice a good one....you'll get there....this is a journey not a sprint to a destination you never have to revisit. 

The One Most Important Nutritional Tidbit....

Don't give up trying! The biggest pitfall to eating supportively is we try to change all of our habits all at one time. We of course fail miserably because that's like climbing Mt. Everest without any training. Start basic and progress from there. Start exchanging a couple of bad habits for good ones, and then keep exchanging. Eating clean and healthy isn't a fad crash diet of deprivation, and like exercise has to begin where you are and move you to where you want to go gradually for success. At a loss of where to begin? Start by eating out less, eating less processed foods, and adding in a few more veggies to your daily eating. Want more steps? I'm working on just such a plan for you...coming forthwith! In the meantime, check out http://veryeffective.blogspot.com/p/eating-supportively.html

The Only Real Obstacle....

K, so why all the "self-help" reflection posts interspersed throughout this blog instead of just the "typical" do this to get fit? Several reasons, with the main one being that the majority of everyone's (including my own) battle with getting fit and staying fit is mental...not knowing what to eat or how to work out is not what is holding you back. It matters little what your financial situation is or whether you workout this way or that way....What makes the difference is how you feel about yourself, what your motivation is, and what your goals are and how you feel about your success. Know that getting into a particular jean size is not going to solve how you feel about yourself.....Sure you'll feel great about it, but that is a fleeting feeling if how you feel about who you are and the balance of your life isn't okay. The first step of your journey needs to be acceptance of who you are and where you are in life. This doesn't mean that you have to have everything figured out before you begin, just that you are okay with who you are. Acceptance of you and your situation in the present does not mean there are not things to work on and change...that's growth, that's the journey of life, but mentally beating yourself up over what you don't like or want to fix or whatever, is not progressing you to anywhere you want to go. It is one thing to say I want to lose 20 pounds and I have a plan to accomplish that versus saying to yourself that you hate your body and you never are able to stick to anything you set out to do, etc., etc. Those 20 pounds, or whatever it is on your goal list is not what is making you anguish, but the dialogue in your head about it. Accept where you are, make a plan for what you want to change, improve, enhance, and set about doing just that. You are you regardless of jean size....love yourself the way you would a loved one and get about your journey!

Put another way: What you focus on and put your attention on is what prospers SO Negative thoughts and negative energy = Negative outcomes......STOP pouring your energy into what you don't want and instead INVEST your energy on what you do want!!!! Each and every day is a new opportunity to do better and achieve better in all  you do!

For more "self-help" beyond fitness and nutrition, be sure to visit my other blog at http://veryeffectiveliving.blogspot.com/.

Whoo Hoo

Finally!!! I took the time to weed through hundreds and hundreds of posts and have corrected all the embedded links!!! Wow, I embed a lot of links ;-) Should you find a link that does not work, please e-mail me at cagib1@charter.net to let me know so I can fix it!!!!

I am currently working on several Post Series (form, function, eating supportively and the like) and e-books, which I hope to have available to you by the end of the year. In the meantime, enjoy the weekly posts on fitness, nutrition, inspiration! 

Upper & Lower Crossed Syndrome

Why is posture so important? In absence of proper movement and posture we cause our muscles to work incorrectly. Over time, the muscles that should be strong become weak and vice versa. The muscles that should be the primary movers take a back seat to those tasked with jobs they are not designed to do. We incur primary, secondary, and tertiary trigger points that cause joint problems, aches and pains and inflammation leading to more impaired movement and avoidable compounded pain and limitations.

Learn, Grow, Repeat

I don't like when someone tells me 'what to do', but I love when someone shares with me their knowledge of what to do. None of us know everything, but it's the people continually seeking knowledge that know the most. There is never a time that I sit down and think to myself that I've learned all I need to know and that 'I've arrived and can relax now'. Just the opposite is true for me in fact. The more I learn, the more I know that I don't know....or something along the lines of that 'old saying' (as my son would say). My purpose is not to judge you or tell you what to do. We are all unique individuals walking walks of which we only share a small portion to another. To judge a whole building by peering into just one window would be foolish. To then tell someone how to go about 'fixing' their interior by only seeing a fraction of a room is pointless. When I coach, I speak from experience and education, but even at that am only effective to the degree the client allows me in the building (so to speak). I write my blogs on fitness, living, and Bible study not because I know everything or have experienced everything, but to share what I have thus far walked through and learned. I share the basic principles and knowledge of what I know through continuous study and experience to be true. It is up to the person reading or talking or working with me to then take what I offer and apply as it fits...or remold as they need based on where they find themselves. Me sharing my 'building' is not because it's finished, but because I'm happy to save you some time and some pain working on yours.

Regarding fitness, nutrition, and getting fit and healthy, I am always honing what I know through practice and continuing education. Assessing a client's body and goals is an ongoing process as the client changes. Designing programs to meet their needs is my priority and not something I regard lightly.  Why Workout With Me

Trigger Point Recap

Trigger Point Series:

Trigger Points
Referred Pain,Trigger Point & Symptoms
Shoulder Trigger Points
Back Trigger Points
Hip & Knee Trigger Points
Final Word On Trigger Points

Myofascia
What Is A Trigger Point?

What Is A Trigger Point?

from NielAsher Advanced Trigger Point Techniques:

We will define a trigger point after Drs. Janet Travell and David Simmons (1998),

"A highly irritable localized spot of exquisite tenderness in a nodule in a palpable taut band of (skeletal) muscle."

These hyperirritable localized spots can vary in size, and have been described as "tiny lumps", "little peas", and "large lumps"; they can be felt beneath the surface, embedded within the muscle fibers. If these spots are tender to pressure they may well be "trigger points". The size of a trigger point nodule varies according to the size, shape, and type of muscle in which it is generated. What is consistent is that they are tender to pressure. So tender in fact (hyperalgesia) that when they are pressed, the patient often winces from the pain; this has been called the "jump sign". When pressed and held for six or more seconds this acute pain seems to melt into a specific and reproducible map of pain.

Myofascial trigger points may well be implicated in all types of musculoskeletal and mechanical muscular pain. Their presence has even been demonstrated in children and babies. Pain or symptoms may be directly due to active trigger points, or pain may "build up" over time from latent or inactive trigger points. Studies and investigations in selected patient populations have been carried out on various regions of the body. There is a growing amount of research evidence directly linking musculoskeletal pain to trigger points. A high prevalence of trigger points has been confirmed to be directly associated with myofascial pain, somatic dysfunction, psychological disturbance, and associated restricted daily functioning.

Poor posture is a powerful "activator and perpetuator" of myofascial trigger points (Simons et al. 1998) and is always worth considering in chronic trigger point syndromes. Postural muscles tend to have a greater percentage of type 1 fibers; this characteristic, as discussed, may lead to a more resistant type of trigger point. Human beings are four-limbed animals, and like our cousins, we are designed to move around and hunt for food. I am sure that if one put a gorilla in a chair all day, it would get a bad back!

Myofascia

What is Myofascia and why is it important? Myo means muscle and fascia is:

Imagine you are an orange. Your skin is (superficial) fascia embedded with hairs and receptors; the white tough pith beneath the skin is fascia; the bags that surround each segment are (deep) fascia; and, if  you look really closely, the juice of the orange is held in even smaller fascial bags. We are all similar to some extent: our fascia is ubiquitous--it wraps and supports organs, bones, and tendons. Where it wraps muscles, it is known as myofascia. Fascia is a living tissue and has memory; it also helps transport and move chemical and other substances around the body. When we refer to "myofascial trigger points," we are talking about a trigger point in a specific muscle and its fascial wrapping. Myofascia connects many of the areas of the body together, which is why it is sometimes referred to as a connective tissue. ~Niel-Asher Advanced Trigger Point Techniques

...In other words, it is the growth of fascia along lines of stress and strain that is the powerhouse of muscle orientation and development. This also explains why muscle action is not singular, but interconnected. For example, a contraction of the biceps brachii muscle will exert a force on the fascia of the whole arm, shoulder, and neck. Fascia has neither beginning nor end, and is described by anatomists according to location. On closer inspection the myofascial bags surrounding the muscles are actually part of a continuum. This may also go some way to explaining the referred pain patterns stimulated by pressing on a trigger point. ~Niel-Asher Advanced Trigger Point Techniques

Healthy & Yummy Recipes

Breakfast
~Be sure to scroll to bottom of PAGE for LINKS to other Recipe Posts~

Kashi Cereal Breakfast:

1 cup of Kashi GoLean Cereal

1 cup of Kashi Go Lean Crunch

1 large Banana

¾ cup 1% or Skim Milk

w/whole Grapefruit (or other Fruit of choice)

Rolled Oats with added Protein:

½ cup Rolled Oats

¾ cup Water

1 Scoop Whey Protein Shake

¼ cup of Walnuts

1 tsp of Cinnamon

w/whole Peach (or other Fruit of choice)

Breakfast Burrito

2 large Eggs scrambled w/a ¼ tablespoon of Olive Oil

2 Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Links cut up & scrambled w/eggs

1 ounce Colby Jack Cheese

1 FlatOut Light Flatbread

w/1 serving of Seapoint Farms Edamame Shelled on the side &/or 1 serving of Fruit

Fried Egg Sandwich

2 large Fried Eggs

1 tablespoon of Flaxseed (sprinkled on top of cooking eggs)

1 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper

1 Arnold Select Sandwich Whole Wheat Thin

w/1 serving of Seapoint Farms Edamame Shelled on the side

w/1 serving of Fruit

Spicy Fried Egg Scramble

¼ tablespoon of Olive Oil

½ whole Bell Pepper (red, yellow, or orange) sautéed just before cracking eggs in skillet

½ Jalapeno Pepper cut up & mixed w/Bell Pepper before cracking eggs in skillet

2-3 large Eggs cracked on top of sauté (as if to fry but once eggs start to fry, cut up to almost a scrambled state w/sauté; season with ½ teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper

Top served mix with a ¼ cup of Athenos Feta Cheese Crumbled &

½ cup of Seapoint Farms Edamame Shelled

w/1 serving of Fruit

Spicy Flaxseed Scramble

2 large Eggs scrambled w/a ¼ tablespoon of Olive Oil

½ Jalapeno Pepper cut up & scrambled w/eggs

2 tablespoons of Flaxseed scrambled w/eggs

½ cup Bell Pepper (red, yellow, or orange) sautéed just before pouring egg mix in skillet

1 cup of wilted Spinach (served under eggs)

½ cup of diced Tomatoes (served on top of eggs)

¼ cup of Athenos Feta Cheese Crumbled (served on top of tomatoes)

w/1 serving of Fruit

Cheesy Scrambled Eggs w/Quinoa

2 large Eggs scrambled w/a ¼ tablespoon of Olive Oil

2 Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Links cut up & scrambled w/eggs

1 ounce of Colby Jack Cheese

1 serving of Seapoint Farms Edamame Shelled or 1 cup of fresh, chopped Asparagus

1 cup cooked Quinoa

w/1 serving of Fruit

Healthy Pancakes

1½ cups Rolled Oats

1 cup Low Fat Cottage Cheese

7 Egg Whites

1½ tablespoons Cinnamon

3 pkts SweetLeaf Stevia Sweetener

Dairy Free/Gluten Free Pancakes

2 cups Garbanzo Bean Flour

4 teaspoons Baking Powder

3 Large Eggs

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

2 tablespoons Sugar (or SweetLeaf Stevia Sweetener)

½ teaspoons Salt

2 cups Water

2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

2 tablespoons Cinnamon

Greek Yogurt Parfait

1 cup of Fage 0% Greek Yogurt

1 cup of Blueberries

½ cup of Strawberries

2 tablespoons Flaxseed (sprinkled on top of mix)

½ cup of Kashi Go Lean Crunch (sprinkled on top of mix)

Simple Fruit Smoothie

1 cup of Blueberries

1 cup of Strawberries

1 large Banana

1 cup of Fage 0% Greek Yogurt

 Simple Green Smoothie

1 cup of Blueberries

1 cup of Strawberries

3 cups of Spinach (or 2 cups of Spinach & 1 cup of Kale)

1 med-large Apple (or 1 med-large Banana)

1 serving Protein Shake mix (or 1 cup of Fage 0% Greek Yogurt)

Green Smoothie

1 med-large Apple

1 cup of frozen Blueberries (if fresh, 1 cup of ice)

1 cup of Strawberries (or Raspberries)

2 cups of Spinach

2 cup of Kale

1 Cucumber w/peel (or 1 cup of Water)

1 serving Protein Shake mix (or 1 cup of Fage 0% Greek Yogurt) in or on the side

Variations: you can also add Banana and/or carrots, beets puree w/ginger, wheat grass, etc.

Breakfast Sides:

Blueberry Syrup:  1 cup of Blueberries microwaved until a little soupy (part berry, part soupy), mixed w/1-3 tablespoons Flaxseed (optional) and/or (1 tablespoon of Sugar-Free Maple Syrup) (optional) 

Protein Shake Coffee Latte:  1 Protein Shake mixed with 2½ + cups of Coffee

Raspberry Chocolate Protein Coffee:  Brew coffee as normal but add one tea bag to the actual pot the coffee drips into so it steeps while your coffee is brewing.  The magic tea bag to add is: Lipton Superfruit (red goji and raspberry) Green Tea.  Leave the tea bag in until you have drunk all the coffee just gets better with age.  This alone makes an excellent flavored coffee.  If you either let the coffee cool to room temperature or chill it then add 1 scoop of your chocolate protein shake mix to your desired amount of the coffee/tea (I use about 2 ½ cups) & mix (in blender bottle or whatever you usually mix your protein shake in)…do not add extra water, just the coffee/tea/shake mix.  Such as super yummy treat!!!

Lunch/Dinner

Feta Olive Salad

3 cups Romaine Mix

2 cups Spinach

½ large Cucumber w/peel

½ Bell Pepper (red, yellow, or orange)

1 cup diced Tomatoes

¼ cup of Athenos Feta Cheese Crumbled

1 serving Mezzetta Calamata Olives

1 serving Spanish Olives

2-3 ounces of Chicken diced or strips

2 tablespoons Kraft Light Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

(you can add Radishes, carrots, etc.)

Cajun Chicken Salad

3 cups Romaine Mix

2 cups Spinach

½ large Cucumber w/peel

½ Bell Pepper (red, yellow, or orange)

1 cup diced Tomatoes

3 ounce of Chicken strips sautéed previously in Olive Oil & Cajun Seasoning

4 tablespoons Salsa

(you can add any veggie and/or a ¼ cup of Fage 0% Greek Yogurt)

Spicy Chicken and Avocado

3 ounces of Chicken cut into strips & sautéed w/Olive Oil & seasoned w/Cajun or Cayenne

½ Bell Pepper (red, yellow, or orange) sautéed w/Chicken when Chicken is almost cooked

3 cups of Spinach wilted in w/Chicken & Bell Pepper

½ diced Avocado mixed w/3-4 tablespoons Salsa & ¼ cup Fage 0% Greek Yogurt (served on top of cooked Chicken mix)

w/1 Serving Black Beans mixed w/1 Serving Kernel Corn

Sautéed Chicken and Veggies

3-4 ounce Chicken Breast sautéed w/previously sautéed to caramel (yellow) Onions & Olive Oil

(if cooking 3-5 Chicken Breasts=1 tablespoon Olive Oil & 1 med-large Onion)

w/any veggie mix (such as 1-2 cups steamed Broccoli & 1 cup steamed Carrots) and Brown Rice, or Quinoa, or Sweet Potato, etc.

Kale Pepper Chicken

½ TBL Olive Oil

1 Whole Red or Orange or Yellow Bell Pepper cut in chunks

1 Whole (or half depending on taste for the spicy and size of the pepper) Jalapeno Pepper diced

3 Cups chopped Kale

3 Ounces diced or shredded cooked Chicken

½ Cup cooked Quinoa

Dash of Cayenne Pepper

Heat up olive oil in skillet then add chopped peppers and sautee for a few minutes before adding all of the kale.  Cook added kale and peppers until the kale is just starting to get wilted as you want the kale to still have some crunch; so just long enough on the heat to absorb some oil and bring out the deeper flavor of the kale.  Add the cooked peppers and kale mix to the warmed chicken and quinoa.  Mix then sprinkle with a dash of cayenne pepper. 

Curry Kale Lentil Soup

4 cup Vegetable Broth (for lower sodium omit broth and just season with desired Herbs & Spices)
1 cup Lentils
2 tsp. Curry Powder
4 cup Fresh Kale  (Cook lentils in vegetable broth. When almost done add curry powder and fresh kale. When kale has wilted down serve.)

Italian Chicken

3-4 ounce Chicken Breast baked w/Light Italian Salad Dressing on 350º or Grilled (after marinating in dressing)

w/any veggie mix and grains or as a Sandwich w/Lettuce or Spinach & Tomato & Turkey Bacon and 1 tablespoon Honey Mustard Dressing

Barbecue Chicken

3-4 ounce Chicken Breast baked w/Barbecue Sauce on 375º til extra tender, then fork shred chicken

Served a top any Salad configuration or as a Sandwich w/Bush’s Grillin Beans Smokehouse Tradition & Kernel Corn

Chicken and Pasta

3-4 ounce Chicken Breast sautéed w/previously sautéed (red) Onions & Olive Oil

(if cooking 3-5 Chicken Breasts=1 tablespoon Olive Oil & ¾ of large Onion)

1 ½ cups of following previously sautéed mix:          1-2 Zucchini chopped

                                                                                    1 Red Bell Pepper

                                                                                    1 Orange Bell Pepper

                                                                                    ¾ large Red Onion

                                                                                    ¾ tablespoon Olive Oil

w/1 Serving of Whole Wheat Angel Hair or Linguini Pasta & 1 Serving Marinara Sauce

Tuna Salad

5 ounce can of Chunk Light Tuna in Water

1 hard boiled Egg

½ cup diced Cucumber w/peel

½ cup diced Tomato

1 tablespoon Kraft Light Mayo (or Kraft w/Olive Oil Mayo)

1 teaspoon Yellow Mustard

w/Arnold Select Sandwich Whole Wheat Thin as a Sandwich or as a Salad w/Greens, etc.

Cottage Cheese & Red Beans

1 cup Small Curd Cottage Cheese

1 cup Red Beans (dark or light)

3 tablespoons Flaxseed

4-6 tablespoons Salsa

Greek Yogurt w/Grapes & Walnuts

1 cup Fage 0% Greek Yogurt

1 cup Red Seedless Grapes

¼ Diamond Shelled Walnuts

3 tablespoons Flaxseed

Greek Yogurt/Cottage Cheese

½ cup Cottage Cheese

½ cup Greek Yogurt

3 TBL Flaxseed

½ TBL Cinnamon

1 medium Peach

Variation: 1/4 cup Cottage Cheese with ½ cup to ¾ cup Greek Yogurt with the flaxseed/cinnamon and added ¼ cup Walnuts and fruit on the side

Peanut Butter Sandwich

2 tablespoons creamy Peanut Butter

3 tablespoons Flaxseed (mixed w/Peanut Butter)

1 Arnold Select Sandwich Whole Wheat Thin (spread Peanut Butter mixture on thins)

¾ tablespoon Honey (a top spread)

w/Fruit Serving

Lunch/Dinner Sides:

Sweet Potato: (cook in microwave til done then open up & mix in 1 tsp Cinnamon & ¼ tsp Ginger)

Sweet Potato Wedges:  Sliced Sweet Potatoes, lightly sprayed w/Olive Oil and seasoned w/Cinnamon & Ginger or Cajun Season & baked at 350º for about an hour

Kale Chips:  Wash & pat dry Kale, tear in pieces & spread out on baking sheet, lightly spray w/Olive Oil then season w/Cajun Season or Cayenne Pepper or Sea Salt/Ground Pepper or Red Wine Vinegar or Balsamic Vinegar & then bake at 350º for 10-15 min (until crisp)

Snacks

Protein Shake & Large Apple

Think Thin Brownie Crunch Bar w/Fruit Serving

Nuts & Fruit

1 Serving of Nuts (Almonds, Walnuts) & 1 Fruit Serving

Peanut Butter Banana

2 tablespoons creamy Peanut Butter

2 tablespoons Flaxseed (mixed w/Peanut Butter)

1 large Banana (spread Peanut Butter mixture on Banana)

Side Fruit Treat

½ cup sliced fresh Strawberries

½ cup fresh Blueberries

½ cup – 1 cup fresh sliced Banana

1 tsp Cinnamon (just sprinkle then mix in the Cinnamon on the fruit)

w/side of protein or as dessert following a meal with protein

Any Yogurt or Lighter Meal Options from Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Links to Posts with Recipes: 
Case of the Mondays? 
Aging Fruits & Veggies
Versatile Beans
What Was Your Dinner?
Additional Recipes
Yummy Sweet Lunch
Veggie Yumminess
Savory Eggs