Why Yoga ISN’T for everyone

jjflizanes — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 21:26:54 +0000

Not all exercises are for all people.

Now I didn’t say yoga was bad. Please hear me correctly. I do yoga from time to time. My clients do yoga. But what bugs me more than anything is that some people think it’s MAGIC- it’s not. No more than any other form of physical activity.

What yoga provides for some that other exercises don’t is QUIET. How many of you run around all day and multi-task your life away? How many of us stop to BREATHE? Most of us don’t. Yoga can provide a sanctuary where the mind can slow down or shut off and the body is still working hard. There is an emotional component in yoga that mystify some.

But like all exercises, some poses were not made for you. Forward Fold is a position where you are bent over at the hips. For very tall people, their legs and hamstrings may not allow them to bend at the hips so they end up bending from the spine. This puts more pressure on the back and often feels very uncomfortable or unusually hard. That’s because tall people may need to bend their knees to allow the forward fold to come from the hip and not the back.

When taking yoga, I would advise you listen very very carefully to your own body. Unless you look exactly like the instructor in terms of limb lengths and size of all bones and placement of all joints, your ability to match them in each pose may mean you compromise your safety to get there.

I have heard as many people getting hurt as I have people having great success with Yoga. Just remember that your body is unique and you should treat it that way!

For more about stretching, I have posted the short segment from the 90 Day DVD about Stretching. It’s such a complex issue. There will be more to come!

Running On Air - Elliptical Trainer Tips

jjflizanes — Mon, 21 May 2007 18:45:35 +0000

Last issue we focused on the treadmill. Because of that, I have to inform you that there is no “best” machine. What determines the type of machine that is “best” for you at each stage of your fitness routine depends on many factors. The elliptical trainer is probably most known for having less impact on the joints, esp. the knees–this is true. Your feet stay planted on the legs of the machine and in contact throughout your workout. This constant contact decreases the force of pounding on your ankles, knees, hips and spine.

For anyone with injuries in these areas- this is a great thing! I actually have a client now who went from running on the treadmill to loving the elliptical because he broke his toe! He didn’t want to lose momentum in his program so he found this machine to provide him a good workout that would even help him last longer and burn more calories and not put pressure on his broken toe. Talk about dedication! But he has one major component of all cardio training down in our system and that is the use of the Heart Rate Monitor. Let’s go over how to maximize your time on the elliptical trainer.

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Gyms Myths for the Beginner

jjflizanes — Mon, 21 May 2007 18:43:05 +0000

As a beginner in the gym, you might be highly intimidated to look around at all the people who are already in their “routine”. You know that you are there to lose weight, build muscle, improve your health and so on but where do you start? There are many myths about the gym, how to workout, what works and what doesn’t. Some trainers have even named some of these myths “Gym Science” because many techniques often lack any scientific information–only experience of individuals. These myths that I am going to point out might seem very basic but I assure you that if we all understood these basic facts, our workouts would be very different and the industry would not have the same amount of gimmicks out there to confuse you. Once you read this article, you will start asking questions- lots of questions. You may send them to the magazine at ______________________ or to me directly at jj_flizanes@invisiblefitness.com. I will try to incorporate the answers either into the Q& A section of this magazine or in the second half of this article, Gym Myths for the more advanced. The first myth I would like to point out is that “everyone knows how to workout”. So relax… you are not suppose to know.

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5 Tips for Building Your Booty

jjflizanes — Mon, 21 May 2007 18:37:52 +0000

Ladies don’t be afraid of leg exercises. A lot of women think that building their legs will only make them “bigger”. Well they will get bigger if you only do resistance training and forget to tweak your diet and add cardio! Most lower-body exercises include the glutes, otherwise known as the “toosh”, and will help firm and tone that backside.
Kickboxing is a great form of cardio that uses the quads and glutes to lift and push. I have seen all my female clients improve their glutes through this and get their own “butt lift”.
Spinning also can kick your butt literally if you climb those hills!!!!
Stair climbing- and I don’t mean the stair master. Try taking every other stair next time you have steps to climb. Be sure to have your entire foot secure on the step ahead of you though before you transfer your body weight. GO SLOWLY. The slower the better. Caution- don’t do this in heels please!
Isometric training- depending on the state of your knees, a wall sit or isometric squat will burn your bottom into shape! Start to perform a squat, stick you butt back behind you as you lower yourself down like you were going to sit back on a chair. When you get 75% of the way down to where you can still hold yourself upright, stop and hold! Hold it for 60-90 seconds. Repeat as many times as you can handle

About the author:

J.J. Flizanes is the director and founder behind Invisible Fitness and the creator of the 90 Day Health and Body Makeover: http://www.90dayhealthandbodymakeover.com She was selected as one of the top six personal trainers for 2003 by Shape Magazine and was named the Best Personal Trainer in Los Angeles for 2007 by Elite Traveler Magazine’s Global Black Book “Best of the Best”. J.J. has been featured on NBC, KTLA CBS and has appeared in many national magazines such as Fitness, Muscle and Fitness HERS, Elegant Bride, E Pregnancy, and more. Invisible Fitness can be reached at 1 800 571 5722, www.invisiblefitness.com

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What is the most important exercise?

jjflizanes — Mon, 21 May 2007 18:35:00 +0000

Resistance Training: Yes this mean weights. But it also means water, tubing, sand, wind, babies, people…. whatever force provides your movements with resistance. Why resistance? Your metabolism is based mostly on how much muscle you have. Muscle is active, fat is not. Muscle requires energy, fat does not. If you are made up of mostly muscle, you will need more energy then someone made up mostly of fat.

Make sense? YOU WILL NOT LOOK LIKE A BODYBUILDER. Unless you want to train for that and take steroids or creatine– building muscle does not mean looking like a body builder. This would be why most of us do the WRONG exercises and wonder why it’s so hard to keep the weight off. Resistance training builds bone, increases your metabolism, and helps you burn more fat and energy when you are NOT working out. Sound pretty simple? It’s not. Picking up a weight and pushing or pulling it won’t be very effective if you have no idea why you are doing it exactly and what you hope to gain from it.

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