2016

So here we are again, faced with the start of another new year! Resolutions abound to try and promise changes....but why continue the promises and continue to not change? Rather than making resolutions this year, instead make obtainable goals and plans for those goals!!! Whether it's physical or emotional or spiritual or all of the above....stop the cycle of just dreaming change and this year actually make the plans to accomplish real change in your life...You're worth it!!!

Bare Realness

So, I know lots about a lot. How to eat, workout, have good posture, take care of my physical/emotional/spiritual self, etc. Knowing is not the same as doing. I've experienced the gambit of not knowing and trying; learning and practicing; knowing and doing; knowing and trying; knowing and not doing; giving up; trying again; starting over; giving up and starting over again; etc. Having an extensive amount of knowledge of what works doesn't mean it's always applied. When I am doing everything I am supposed to for my body, mind, and spirit, it's awesome....when I'm not, it sucks. When I'm in balance and juggling all the balls in the air, it's freeing and great. When life piles in on me and I drop all of the balls, it sucks. That's life. I'm not perfect and never claim to be anything other than very human. I find myself in a transition that has gone on for a couple of years now. It's a process, and one that I have learned more than I think I'm capable of sharing in it's entirety, but I will certainly share what I can as I continue to breathe. While I am still in transition, I feel it's nearing the end where I can just live and juggle all the balls I have. I am finally in the head space to again "start over" in living what I know. As I go through this process, I want to be able to help you in whatever part of your journey you find yourself. Help if you are beginning, in transition, starting over, trying to juggle and balance. There are tips for every stage I have certainly learned the hard way and know what works and doesn't for each stage. Let me save you some unnecessary stress and help you apply what works (sans all the trial and error)! I will be posting as I go and try to provide tools/tips/practices/inspiration and also always available at veryeffectivefitness@gmail.com. 

Gratitude....Update....

We are reaching the end of 2015, and I wanted to give special thanks and appreciation to those kind and wonderful hearts who have been in my life and touched my soul. I am very lucky to have long time friends who are present in whatever capacity life and situations allow!!! Further, I am very blessed to have the clients who have come into my life and taught me as much as I have taught them....thank you for sharing your struggles and your successes with me, as you enrich my pe...rsonal growth in doing so....you guys all rock!!!

To the few that are aware of the health struggles I am currently dealing with, and who have kept me in their prayers, and supported me by being functional wonderful human beings honoring my boundaries with love and gracious kindness...THANK YOU so, so much!!!! Your care allows me the space for my own growth and healing!

This past year has been one of transition, and as I reach the end of this year I am filled with a new purpose and have a new direction by which to help others. In the months to come, I will have a completely new approach to delivering both my experiences and knowledge to better assist you on your fitness and health journeys. The final Fitness Class at the current VEF Studio will be 12/29/15. I am in the process of reorganizing the venue & delivery by which I offer one-on-one and group fitness coaching. As I finalize this, I will be updating my web site and blogs accordingly....In the meantime, please keep up-to-date on all workout information, eating supportively tips, and inspiration on my free blogs and my Facebook page .... https://www.facebook.com/pages/Very-Effective-Fitness/501193266624220 & veryeffective.blogspot.com & veryeffectiveliving.blogspot.com .... veryeffectivefitness.com

"Getting Back To It" Workout

Fallen "off the wagon" and out of your workouts and healthy eating? Here's a workout to get you back going:

10 Rep Circuit (2-4 times through)

Push Ups

Bodyweight Squats

Forearm Plank Hold 20-40 seconds

Bodyweight Reverse Lunges each leg

Forearm Side Plank Hold 20-40 seconds each side

Burpees (thrusters)


As for the healthy eating: veryeffective.blogspot.com/p/eating-supportively 

Versatile Beans

Beans are so good in so many ways. Protein, fiber, cheap, easy, and versatile. I cooked an entire bag of mixed dried beans and a bag of lentil beans, lightly seasoned. I then used them for two weeks' worth of meals.....Awesome beans!

1) veggie side
2) mixed with marinara sauce and put with whole wheat spaghetti noodles (kids didn't notice that it was beans instead of hamburger (have you seen the cost of hamburger lately?))
3) mixed with cut up stewed tomatoes, mixed soup veggies, cajun seasoning and quinoa
4) mixed with cottage cheese, salsa, and flax seed (second best only to the kidney beans usually used)
5) mixed with ground turkey (or hamburger), diced onions, stewed tomatoes, one egg, and seasonings for a yummy bread free meatloaf
6) mixed with ground turkey (or hamburger) for sloppy joes

Know Your Muscles

Before we begin on posture and body mechanics, let's first delve into muscle names, locations, and groups so you can better understand your body. We will break the body into groups and then go into the mechanics of typical incorrect movement patterns and how you can adjust those in your daily life to have correct mechanics and free your body from pain.

There are 680 muscles, 206 bones, and 360 joints in the human body. That's a lot of working parts that need to work well together in order for us to function and be pain free. The majority of us deal with pain to chronic pain daily due in large part to poor posture, overuse, and incorrect body mechanics. This can be corrected with knowledge of how to stretch, move, and adjust patterns of movement. You do not need to know all of the muscles, bones, and joints, but you do need to have a working knowledge of the main groups that contribute to some of the more common problems in posture and movement patterns. We will take these group by group in forthcoming Posts.

Aging Fruits & Veggies

A great way to not waste aging fruits and veggies that are not yet throw away material but are not visually as appealing as you would want them to be in order to eat them, is to throw them in a smoothie. I definitely hate to waste food, but there are times when I don't want to munch down turning spinach either. I have found that throwing expiring produce into the blender is an excellent way to consume them. Saturday I had such a need and threw the remaining 3 cups of spinach into the blender with a large orange and cup of strawberries no one would have eaten otherwise. It was delicious; didn't waste the food; provided me with the produce I was needing with my breakfast; and was a new flavor discovery for me for future smoothies. Try it....you'll be surprised what combinations you end up doing again. I have thrown carrots and tomatoes in with kale, apples, and blueberries before and was surprised at the taste...no not in a bad way ;-)  Know too that tossing in those wonderful herbs and spices you can't always get into your day, are also awesome added to smoothies! 

Recap Before We Begin

This series on body alignment and how to obtain it will be over the course of weeks and possibly months and scattered among other fitness/nutrition posts. In case you missed some of the preseries posts and/or want a refresher:

Reworking Your Path To Pain Series
Postural Alignment
Just A Couple Of Things About Muscles & Joints
What's Core Got To Do With It?
Sweet Anatomy Breakdown

Reworking Your Path To Pain Series

Medicine/medical system/doctors are necessary, but understanding that it is not always the best solution to what your body needs is paramount! More times than not, the real solution is within your own power to obtain, and not in the masking of pain that is so often sought through the medical system. Addressing your body's alignment, structure, and fundamental movement patterns (body mechanics), and making the necessary changes is a lot of times all that is needed to permanently relieve your daily aches and pains. Your body is not just individual parts, but the interdependency of all parts working together properly. In other words, a system that is anatomically connected and functionally related with not any one part incorrectly having to perform another's tasks.

"....the Path to Pain begins with muscle imbalance issues. A muscle imbalance is a discrepancy in length and strength between two opposing muscle groups. That is, muscles that oppose each other (pull in opposite directions) need to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship. They should have corresponding lengths and strengths that allow a joint to move equally and within its normal range of motion." The Pain-Free Program by Anthony B. Carey, M.A., C.S.C.S

This is the beginning of a series of Posts that I will be doing over the next months to assist you on the self-examination to adjusting your body mechanics in order for you to rework your paths from pain to permanent relief.

Holidays and New Year

So here we are in the midst of the holidays and all the eating and stress that goes along with them...followed by all the New Year resolutions and then it's shorts and bathing suit weather. If you are on the roller coaster of contending with head trips and body issues, etc., then this is an agonizing up and down mess. So, just get off the ride! It doesn't matter what time of year it is, what weather attire you are needing to fit into, who you need to look a certain way for.....It only matters if you are healthy, balanced, and feeling good about yourself (inside/out and not the other way around). Be vulnerable, but be you! You are ok and will be ok, if you take care of yourself. Start today! Let me help you!

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Positive Stream....

We all are insecure about (fill in the blank...body, work, abilities, finances, parenting, etc., etc., etc.). The real danger with not getting a grip on reality of your insecurities and putting them into perspective is that you will make long lasting and regrettable decisions based on them. It puts you in a negative approach to whatever you try to do as long as what's leading your decisions is fear and insecurity. 

Was it easy getting to a positive stream of thought on a consistent and daily basis? No, but it was worth all the trials and tribulations to achieve it!  Life is a funny road of twists and turns, pitfalls and pedestals.  Time and again the road I was on took a sharp turn to what felt like nowhere and sometimes despair. Today I have understanding and positivity that eluded me in my younger years. When we check ourselves, we realize in times of trouble just how deeply desperate and ugly things can become. Just as our bodies do not remember pain or appreciate our good health and working parts until one is not in such good working order…Our souls and mind forget how sunshine is just around the corner on our darkest days. However trite it seems….”this too shall pass” and pass it shall. Grab your boot straps and pull yourself up and move onwards and upwards!! This is not to say that there are not still the trials and tribulations of life, just that I now have the skills and perspective necessary to contend with each and every one I am faced.  The journey I am on continues to be one of self discovery, and one I am happy to share with you in hopes it in some way helps you on yours!!!