Personal training

I started working at Cornerstone Fitness Clinic in Manchester, VT, last week. Since I became an American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) certified personal trainer earlier this year, I've wanted to incorporate more fitness and training work with my clients. Working at Cornerstorne allows me to learn from a group of professionals, including physical therapists and personal trainers.

Personal training is all about listening to people. I ask people why they decided to join Cornerstone instead of one of the other gyms in town. I'm curious about why they're exercising at all; what do they want to achieve by spending time in the gym each week? We look at both short term and long term goals. Finally, we develop a program that will help them meet their goals.

"I work out because I have to; I don't really like it" is a common theme for many of the people I work with at Cornerstone. They typically have some type of physical problem that limits their daily activity, as well as their enjoyment of other activities (golf and skiing are big ones here in Vermont). They may not really enjoy the time they spend working out, but they definitely appreciate the increased flexibility, strength, and fitness they achieve.

Everybody leaves the gym with higher energy levels and more spring in their step. In fact, one man told me today that he uses working out as a mid-afternoon energy booster. Instead of taking a nap or turning to caffeine, he works out. More energy, less negative side effects - what could be better?

Keep on moving!

Lynn

carb control yogurt

The things I do in the name of research.

Last week I was working on a piece about probiotics for Today's Diet and Nutrition magazine http://www.todaysdietandnutrition.com/. I not only researched probiotics and the various types of foods that contain them, but I also tried a bunch of different yogurts that contain probiotics.

While I was skulking around the yogurt section of the grocery store, I found Dannon's Light & Fit Carb and Sugar Control yogurt. I bought some, along with Activia and Silk's Live! smoothie as part of my research.

Now, I really like yogurt. I first started eating it when I was an exchange student in Germany back in the 1970's. I routinely eat 1-2 cups of yogurt per day, either in a smoothie, mixed with fruit and granola, or just plain. But I have to say, the Carb Control stuff tastes nasty.

It has only 60 calories in each 4-ounce cup, and also contains probiotics. According to the marketing, it's supposed to help control your appetite, especially for sugar and carbohydrates. My appetite didn't change after I ate it, and what I really noticed was the strange aftertaste.

These are the ingredients according to the Dannon website:

Ingredients:
Water, ultra-filtered skim milk, cream, raspberry puree, contains less than 1% of whey protein concentrate, modified corn starch,kosher gelatin, natural and artificial flavors, sucralose, potassium sorbate (to maintain freshness), Red 40, malic acid, Blue 1, sodium citrate. Contains active yogurt cultures.

I don't really see anything there that might be responsible for the aftertaste. Maybe it's just me; this looks like a healthy product and could certainly work well for many people. I'm just not one of them.

If you've tried the Carb Control yogurt, let me know! For now, I think I'll stick with my favorites: plain fat-free and Cabot brand yogurts.

Lynn

Yoga beat me up!

I took a 1.5 hour power flow yoga class yesterday, and I feel like I've been run over by a truck.

This is bad because I consider myself a fit person. I ran a marathon 2 weeks ago, lift weights regularly, do 15 minutes of abdominal/Pilates exercises every morning, and completed a bike century this summer. I may be in my late 40's, but I'm no slouch!

I felt great during the yoga class, but could definitely feel my muscles working in new ways. The class moved quickly, but not at a cardiovascular-improving level. Yesterday I felt a bit sore, but NOTHING like this morning!

DOMS hit me hard (delayed onset muscle soreness), especially in my arms (from all those downward dogs) and trunk (lots of trunk-twisting poses). Even my quads and glutes are sore today, and I always consider my legs the strongest part of my body! I'm far more sore today than I was after finishing the Philly marathon two weeks ago!

I took the yoga class because I want to add some new types of lower-key exercises to my program. I also decided to purposefully NOT schedule a race for the next two months, both to give my body a break but also to give myself an opportunity to try some new things.

Hence the power yoga class. The instructor was wonderfully helpful and patient, and everyone in the class welcomed this newbie. I'm planning on taking a different yoga class tomorrow, and then try the power yoga again next week. The stiff and sore feelings are a great reminder of how important it is to switch up exercise programs regularly, to keep challenging our body - and our mind.

Lynn