The RowZone® Blog

Exchange Your Coffee for a Calorie Blasting Break

 

Posted By:  Laura Violet (aka: LV), Certified Massage Therapist & Pilates Instructor

We have all had it happen now and again, those days where there just doesn’t seem to be a way to get that 45 minute RZ workout in.  Maybe your on the road or a plane this week for work, perhaps you have numerous deadlines and paperwork piled on your desk, or maybe the kids have exams coming up and you just have to help them study.  

Whatever the reason, instead of stopping for a brief 5 minute coffee break, grab a bottle of water and do this quick routine.  This can be done virtually anywhere and even in a business suit and instead of robbing your body of nutrients with caffeine, you will be toning your body, kicking up your metabolism, and releasing positive endorphins to improve your mood.

1.    Stand with your legs hip width apart, big toes in line with your heels.  Reach your arms out like you are reaching for the opposite walls, at shoulder height.  Keeping your torso steady, begin circling your arms forward for 30 seconds.  Make sure you keep your arms up, do not allow them to lower down at all from shoulder height.  Now start circling your arms backwards for 30 seconds.  Pause and keep your arms out there holding them at shoulder height for another count of 60.  Then lower down your arms and roll your shoulders back three times.  It is important that you never lower your arms down throughout these moves, the key is keeping them out reaching to the opposite walls at shoulder height for the full 2 minutes.

2.    Keeping your feet in parallel, big toes in line with your heel, move your legs out so that they are 3 feet wider than hip width.  Stand up tall and reach your arms to your hips.  Alternating arm to toe, start and take your right arm off of your hip, keeping the legs straight and belly button pulled into your spine, reach down for your left toe.  Then switch, taking your left arm off of your hip and reaching down for your right toe.  Do 25 sets.

3.    Returning to stand hip width apart big toe in line with your heel, take both hands to your hips again.  Start by stabilizing on your right leg and lift your left foot a few inches off the ground and find your balance.  Once you have found your balance, drive your left knee up, like you are trying to climb up a very tall hill.  Tap the foot back down to the ground again and then drive it back up.  Repeat this 15 times on each leg.  You want to make sure as you do this exercise that you don’t tip over to the side of the leg you are balancing on.  Keep trying to keep your body in one straight line and draw your belly button in deep to your spine, using your core to stabilize your body.

If you have questions about what I have discussed here or otherwise, don’t hesitate to reach out to me in between classes or via e-mail at lviolet@comcast.net  

IAN AND MAX PREDICT THE WINNERS OF SATURDAY'S RACE!!!

Hope you are watching Dave!

Come and join us for a great time on Saturday (1.31.09) @ 3pm sharp!

LV's Top Ten Posture Improvement Tips

Posted By:  Laura Violet (aka: LV), Certified Massage Therapist & Pilates Instructor

We’ve all seen it, everything from the best to the worst posture.  The fact of the matter is posture communicates a lot about our confidence and character to the world around us so whether you are looking to meet your future spouse or land that promotion, posture will play into it.

Below is my top ten posture improvement tips.  Posture has a lot to do with patterns of behavior, and we all know these can be hard to change.  With that in mind, take two a week to focus on over the next 5 weeks.  If you do, the results will speak for themselves.

1. Keep your feet in parallel position, big toe in line with your heel.

2. Align your knees like flashlights from your hips.

3. Draw your shoulders down away from your ears.

4. Crack a walnut in between your shoulder blades.

5. Relax your rib cage into your chest.

6. Keep your gaze straight out in front of you.

7. Draw your head back so it rests directly on top of your torse.

8. Tuck your chin in subtly towards your chest.

9. Imagine a string drawing you up out of the crown of your head.

10. Think positively!  

If you have questions about what I have discussed here or otherwise, don’t hesitate to reach out to me in between classes or via e-mail at lviolet@comcast.net  

Thanksgiving Day Schedule

RowZone Rittenhouse Schedule:

Wed:

Regular Schedule

Thurs:

9am - RZ Power Pump w/ Laura

10am - RZ Core w/ Ian

Fri:

8am - RZ Row w/ Sean

9am - RZ Power Pump w/ Laura

Noon - RZ Core Ian

Sat:

Regular Schedule

Sun:

Regular Schedule

RowZone Manayunk:

Wed:

Regular Schedule

Thurs:

8am - RZ Core w/ Sean

9am - RZ Core w/ Sean

Fri:

10am - RZ Core w/ Ian

5:30pm - RZ Core w/ Greg

Sat:

Regular Schedule

Sunday:

Regular Schedule

Releasing Muscle Tension

Posted By:  Laura Violet (aka: LV), Certified Massage Therapist & Pilates Instructor

Let’s face it, whether it is from working out, stress or injury, at one point or another we all find ourselves faced with muscle tension in varying degrees of intensity in different phases of our life.  There are many different ways to tackle releasing the tension, and different approaches are more or less appropriate depending on the intensity and your personal preferences.  While there are many options out there, some of the wholistic approaches you might try are stretching, massage therapy, arnica cream, and meditation exercises.  Below Is a meditation exercise that I use personally and often find effective.

Begin by positioning yourself comfortably, either lying down on your back or in a supportive chair.  Make sure that your arms and legs are loose and uncrossed.  Close your eyes softly and begin to bring your awareness to your breath.  Take a few deep inhales and exhales, centering into your breath and the awareness of it deep in your chest, ribcage and abdomen.  Once you find that you are truly feeling present in your body and your breath, take your awareness down to your toes.  This is where your journey will begin.  Starting at the toes and traveling up through your body until you end at the tip top of your head, settle your awareness into each area of your body you move through.  As you do, notice areas of tension.  Each time you hit an area that you feel is tight, focus on moving your breath to that area and letting go.   Be patient with yourself as you take this journey through your body.  Rather than try to force the tension out, think about letting your breath expand into the area and softly release.  

When you first begin this exercise you may find that it seems challenging to stay focused and that your mind will want to drift to other things.  Rather than get frustrated with that, just take notice of it and then bring your focus back to your breath and your body awareness.  While you can do this exercise for long periods of focused time, you can definitely benefit from spending 5 – 10 minutes.  You will find that the more you practice this, the easier it will become as well as more effective in terms of muscle tension release.

If you have questions about what I have discussed here or otherwise, don’t hesitate to reach out to me in between classes or via e-mail at lviolet@comcast.net 

 

 

 

The Hydration Dilemma

Posted By:  Laura Violet (aka: LV), Certified Massage Therapist & Pilates Instructor

Hopefully you are one of the fortunate individuals out there that truly enjoys drinking water and therefore drinks an ample supply to meet your body’s hydration needs.  The reality is far too often, people are walking around dehydrated and don’t even realize it. This leads to everything from headaches, to muscle cramps, mental fatigue, and the list goes on…..

Our bodies on average are composed of 65% water.  The reason I say average is because individual body composition varies.  Interestingly lean muscle tissue holds more water than fat.  

I am often faced with the challenge of answering the question, “how much water should I drink?”  This question is not something that can be easily answered because each person is unique and his or her hydration needs are therefore also individualized.  I prefer to answer the question with a list of important tips and thoughts to consider which will help you monitor and personally regulate your hydration.

1.  Are you thirsty?  If you answered yes to this question, you are probably already dehydrated.  

2.  When you urinate, is it clear like water?  Generally speaking, when your urine is yellow that is a signal that you are not drinking enough and the darker it is the worse.

3.  Do you drink caffeinated beverages or other diuretics such as alcohol?  If you answered yes to this question, remember that these beverages not only do not hydrate you but they actually rob your body of hydration.  Therefore, a good rule of thumb is to match every one of these beverages with an equal non-caffeinated replacement beverage.

4.  When you exercise do you hydrate throughout the activity?  While generally speaking if you sweat a lot during exercise you know you need to replace fluids lost, even if you do not sweat a lot, you are likely loosing fluids during exercise but it is at a slower rate and just evaporating.  So a good rule of thumb is to hydrate throughout exercise.

You may have noticed that throughout this write up I have somewhat refrained from limiting hydration to water.  The reason is that I know personally that I struggle with drinking plain water.  I just simply don’t like it.  While I know it is truly the best beverage for hydration, I have had to personally be creative to ensure that I meet my hydration needs.  I do a variety of different things ranging from adding lime wedges to water, drinking herbal tea, eating foods with a high water concentration such as celery, and one of my favorite finds has been Ayala’s herbal water (no calories, organic, and tastes amazing to me).

So, if you fall into the camp of just not enjoying water, I suggest you get creative while you work on monitoring your hydration.  You will feel much better when you make sure you are properly hydrated, so make it a priority in your health and wellness routine.

Don't hesitate to reach out to me via e-mail at lviolet@comcast.net or in between class if I can be of help to you.  

Why RowZone is the BEST...

Each 45 class is led by one of our RowZone Personal Trainer's and consists of:

35 PERCENT ROWING

35 PERCENT RESISTANCE TRAINING

15 PERCENT FLEXIBILITY/POSTURE

15 PERCENT ABS/CORE

Our 45 minute workouts will make you fire your expensive trainer, discontinue your McGym membership, and put the fun back into fitness!!!

Rowers of the Week...

Ricky has lost 35 lbs and Sam has lost 20. If you see them walking down the street give them a HIGH 5!!!

Chewing Gum Helps Lose Weight...

Studies performed at the University of Rhode Island by Kathleen Melanson showed:

1) Chewing sugarfree gum in the morning reduces calorie intake at lunch by 68 calories.

2) When participants chewed gum at a relaxed pace before eating, their energy expenditure was higher by approximately five percent, as compared to when they did not chew gum.

Hmmmmm

RowZone Thought for the Day...

Do you know that:

Exercise Strengthens Your Immune System It keeps your heart strong, helps you sleep better, decreases stress hormones and increases endorphins, which are natural chemicals in your body that lift your mood.