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Be Kind, For Everyone You Meet is Fighting a Hard Battle.

Motivational, YogaRhea6 Comments
There is a famous quote that has been attributed to Plato and John Watson (aka, Ian MacLaren) that goes: Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. This quote is my mantra of teaching. It is also the hardest part of teaching. I know that people come to class expecting to suffer. I know how hard it is to have a body that might have been neglected or traumatized by injuries, aging or disease. The courage that it takes to focus on something that most people choose to ignore is immense. When we challenge ourselves with any…

112 Simple Ways To Break Your Plateau

Fitness, MotivationalRhea2 Comments
According to the law of overload, we must place new demands on the body in order to make it change. For example, if you want to lower your fat percentage, you must exercise in order to burn more calories and become thinner. If you want to make your muscles stronger or faster, you must load your muscles with heavier weights or train in a way that makes you faster. We add some recovery and rest to the formula so the body has time to adapt and what you have is a stronger, faster, bigger or smaller frame. Once your body…

Yoga and the Art of Letting Go

Motivational, YogaRhea9 Comments
We tackled poses such as eagle or cow. We crossed our legs tight and bound our arms; so when we finally opened up and let go, it felt so good. I could feel myself shedding my skin, not just the trauma and stress I hold in my hips and shoulders, but the silly restrictions I have put on myself by planning out my life.

A Breakdown of Popular Diets from a Registered Dietician’s Perspective

Fitness, NutritionRhea1 Comment
Sona Donayan MS, RD is a registered dietitian who has been teaching at Glendale Community College and Calstate Northridge for last ten years while doing  outpatient nutrition consulting. She recently joined the food service management company Sodexo as a patient services manager at Huntington Memorial Hospital. I interviewed her so that my followers can get expert advice on things to consider when starting a dieting plan. Sona’s knowledge is vital when considering what kind of diet program to use if you plan to lose weight, especially if you wish to make weight loss a permanent goal that doesn’t jeopardize your…

Warm Up For Injury Prevention and Enhanced Performance

Fitness, YogaRhea5 Comments
A proper warm up can not only prevent injuries, it can enhance your athletic performance and bring greater strength and fitness gains. I often hear older enthusiast tell me that they have to warm up more as they get older. However, I have been reading many studies on young athletes revealing that a proper warm up can decrease the chance of overuse and severe injuries. This blog offers guidelines on how to create a proper warm up depending on what you are warming up to do. A proper warm up consists of the following factors: Kinesthetic Awareness: Use your warm…

If You Don’t Stand for Something, You’ll Fall For Anything

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Last year 17.5 million people died of lifestyle related diseases that could have been prevented with a change of diet or exercise.  More than 75% of people who start a fitness program give up within three months.   Exercise is prescribed by doctors. It is a must for staying healthy, yet only 10% of the population exercises regularly. The rest are leaving it up to their doctors to keep them alive, relying on prescription drugs to solve problems they would not have if they only got off the couch. Yet, while the average American spends seven hours a day entertaining themselves…

Belly Fat and Muscle, Part III of my series on what to do about belly bulge

FitnessRhea2 Comments
Sometimes a large belly can be a sign of excess body fat. The best way to get rid of this body fat is to adapt to a fitness lifestyle of proper nutrition and exercise.  To burn of this fat, you must burn more calories than you are taking in. This doesn’t mean that you should starve yourself. Self starvation can lead to stress which can cause belly fat to be stored in the mid section. (for more on how stress can lead to belly fat check out this post: https://heroestraining.com/?p=417 Starvation can also lead to a lowered metabolism and an…

How Bloating can lead to a Large Belly, Part II of my series on what to do about belly bulge

Fitness, NutritionRhea6 Comments
The human gastrointestinal tract is over 30 feet long. When it is not functioning properly, along with your digestive organs, this can lead to swelling and bloating in the abdominal region. Swelling can be caused by overeating, stress, food sensitivities or allergies, poor nutrition, gastrointestinal disorders; or eating too much salt, sugar or msg. On overeating: When you gorge yourself with food, you are taking in more than your body has time to digest. This can throw your digestive system out of whack and lead to bloating. Remember to eat slowly, as it takes time for the body to realize…

How Stress Leads to Belly Fat, Part I of my series on what to do about belly bulge

FitnessRhea3 Comments
This is how having too many stress hormones can lead to belly fat: When under pressure, we release stress hormones from our adrenal glands. These hormones help the body work into overdrive in order to cope with hardship, fear, lack of rest or overtraining. Norepinephrine is first released, stopping your body from producing insulin. This is an example of how stress can lead to diabetes. Ephinephrine relaxes your digestive organs so blood can go to other parts of the body in case you need to run or fight. Then cortisol is released which tells these hormones to stop working so…

How To Fill Your Pants

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Recently people have been asking me how they can tone their buns and “fill their pants.” In order to bring shape to that problem area, you need to wake up those gluteus muscles. Lunges are one of the best ways to fire up your buns. Also, you can isolate this area by using resistance bands and movements that target the glutes. This video demonstrates some floor exercises you can do using resistance bands that work out every angle of the gluteus muscles. Make sure you really squeeze your buns while you do these moves: For the video, click here: How…
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