Joy Fitness # 9 - Keeping It Balanced

       What's going on people, how was everyone's work week!? Hopefully everything has been bearable for you guys. I figured this rainy Friday would be a good day to sit down and reflect on a topic that I have been thinking about over the last week or so. Today, I wanted to talk about keeping a balanced health and wellness program. In today's world, most people's workout routines are specifically designed to enhance their physical appearance. Nothing wrong with that, in fact I encourage everyone to do so; it helps in every area of your life, not just appearance! So often strength training and cardiovascular exercise are the focal point in our routines, yet flexibility is overlooked. I know it can be boring, yada yada yada...the fact is that flexibility is just as important in creating a balanced look for our bodies. Shoulder injuries, knee injuries, ankle injures, hip injuries...all of these troublesome parts of our anatomy stem from lack of mobility/flexibility. Although it can be a bit tedious and tiresome, it is necessary.
       Foam rolling in particular has recently been one of my new additions to my workout routine that I have neglected for years...keeping it simple, a foam rollers' purpose is to break down adhesions and scar tissue that form on soft tissues. Basically a fancy way of saying breaking down tight muscles...Certain areas such as your hip flexors, tensor fasciae latae, iliotibial band (IT band), quadriceps, hamstrings, and lower back are the most common parts that need treatment. Following foam rolling, static stretching (traditional stretching) is ideal directly after for best results. It will enhance your ROM (range of motion), which allows you to devote yourself to a more vigorous and intense free weight strength training program. This will result in better appearance! Also, your injury risk will significantly be lowered when a foam rolling and static stretching routine is incorporated into your weekly workouts. Too many times people forget about long-term health, and how their lower back will feel 20 years from now. If you start now, you will reap the benefits short-term and long-term...maybe if I told you that foam rolling was a form of a deep tissue massage, more people would do it!

Joy Fitness # 8 - Empower Yourself

       What's going on everybody, hope your week has been going well so far. The weather has been great recently; the only bad thing about fall is that you know that winter is right around the corner. Hopefully we get lucky with another warm winter just like last year. Anyway, today I want to talk about a specific word - Empower. The definition of empower is the following: 1-Give someone the authority or power to do something; 2-Enable someone to do something. The reason I wanted to touch on this word is because it has so much meaning, yet most people don't apply it into their own lives. Whether it be diet and fitness related, or financially related, empowering yourself is what it takes to be successful in whatever your goal may be. Every morning, you make the decision of what you're going to do that day. Let me repeat...YOU make the decision. There are always obstacles present in any goal, but at the end of the day the responsibility falls onto the individual striving to achieve that goal. If you tell your best friend you are going to pick him/her up at work at 5:00 p.m. and you don't show, you are accountable for not being there. Suppose your sister or brother told you that they would have the car home in time for you to pick up your friend by 5:00 p.m. and failed to do so, YOU are still accountable for not being there to pick up your friend. The point is, regardless of the excuse, it is just that...an excuse! If you have a specific goal and you know what the protocol is to successfully attain that goal, then do it! If not, then the blame is put on yourself. Empowering yourself is applying your energy to something that is important to you; most of the time when people make excuses, it's simply because whatever they are aiming to do is not important enough to them. If you actually want to make a change, start by empowering yourself and make yourself accountable for your actions!