Wednesday 14 October 2015

Sweat, Love and HILARIOUS Cheesy videos

I attended rounds last week which discussed Exercise related Emergencies. The rounds were very well done and they re-sparked my love for my favorite workout couple. 
Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod! 
If you want to learn more about them check out my previous blog post: http://sweatisthesolution.blogspot.ca/2012/03/my-favorite-couple-sweating-together.html

I've been spending a lot of time in front of the computer working on a variety of projects and well...it's turned into me spending most of my time watching old PARTICIPACTION videos and very little time doing actual work. Let me show you why! 

I have to hand it to Hal and Joanne. They truly know how to get their workout everyday, even while doing simple activities such as:

Shopping:
- STOP that online shopping and get to that grocery store:
Traveling:
On the flight/train ride/car ride:

"Don't worry, no one will notice."

And lastly - just in case you develop any injury from your exercising: 


I hope you can all share the same enjoyment I have for these videos. 

Tuesday 6 October 2015

The Sedentary Sniffles



I’m sick,  the simple cold sick, but enough to prevent me from going to my favourite aerobics class back home. It's just a runny nose and a little dry cough, but it’s enough to make me out of breath even after 3 high kicks. So what have I been doing? Well other surfing the interwebs for wonderful new workout clothes and music? A lot of stretching, foam rolling and drinking juice. It’s quite lovely actually.

Some less cardiovascular challenging activities I have been doing are: walking (fall is the perfect season for the breeze and a great opportunity to see fall fashions (which again leads me to my online shopping interests),  yoga videos at home (this way I can keep my coughing to myself and take a break when I need to) and stretching with straps.

Research dating back to the late 1990s shows that taking a break from repetitive strain and stress of exercise on the body is beneficial to the body to allow it to adapt and become stronger. So despite being sick and going through a box of tissue a day, I’ll consider this wee little cold a blessing and I hope I’ll look forward to aerobics next week stronger than last week! That's right - I'm a SURVIVOR.



Saturday 3 October 2015

High kicks for happiness, High kicks for warmth, High kicks for YOU

Hello my high kicking friends. As we head into colder temperatures our workout goals may also including BRINGING THE HEAT in addition to staying fit and having fun. I thought I would re-post one of my favourite posts and the inspiration for this blog. 

Happy High Kicking! The HIGH kick is FOR YOU. Not for anyone else. 

Those of you who know me - or have every come to aerobics with me, or HECK - even spent more than 2 hours with me know I LOVE the HIGH KICK. It is quite possibly my favorite body movement in life. Let me explain the High Kick before I go into great detail about why I LOVE it so much.

Basic High Kick

Throughout the High Kick series remember to breathe and enjoy yourself - it always helps to SMILE.

1) Start with both feet together and your hands on your hips.
2) Ensure strong posture by tightening your core, chin up, shoulders down and back.
3) Before you HIGH KICK it is important to understand that you must acknowledge your limits. You kick to your limits - not to the level of the lady, man or child next to you.  
The High Kick is FOR YOU - not for anyone else.
With one SMOOTH and SWIFT motion you kick your right leg up but KEEP your left leg stable, strong and supportive until you reach YOUR LIMIT.
4) Gently place your right foot back in place with your left.
5) Repeat on the left side.

If you are injured or cannot do the high kick for health or mobility reasons HAVE NO FEAR!!!
You can still get the benefits by choosing a part of your body you do want to fling in a CONTROLLED manner and  give that a try. Perhaps your arm? Forearm? Finger?

How good do you feel?

I love the high kick for a variety of reasons. Here are are the top 5:
1) I always feel alive when I High Kick - if I can kick that high I must be living right?
2) The feeling of being able to High Kick higher than previous times is a feeling of accomplishment.
3) High Kicking in a room of strangers at aerobics gives me a feeling of unity achievable in no other manner.
4) Health Benefits of High Kicks: Flexibility in your Hamstrings, Strength in only your core but also your entire lower body. Win -Win!
5) High Kicks can cause for hilarious events (falls) to occur and as long as everyone is okay at the end it can make for some funny stories and laughs.

I invite you to try some high kicks to this fabulous workout tune: