Yoga Is a Great Cross-Training Option for Athletes

Golf. Running. Swimming. Basketball. Football. Cycling. It's hard to find a sport for which yoga hasn't been suggested as a performance or injury-prevention aid. While there's not yet a whole lot of scientific research to quantify or qualify the benefits of yoga for athletes, it's easy to find sport-specific yoga DVDs, books, and testimonials from star athletes like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Sasha Cohen. (More common is research examining how yoga can help the elderly or people with diseases or disabilities.) So absent a pile of studies to thumb through, I thought it might be instructive to talk to a handful of experts about how yoga might spill over into the rest of your workout life. They said yoga:
Katherine Hobson
U.S. News & World Report
To read more of this story, click here.

Fitcorp is offering a 6 week Yoga/Pilates membership for only $150, click here for more information.

February 09, 2009 01:49 PM ET | Katherine Hobson | Permanent Link | Print

Making Your New Year's Resolutions

Making Your Resolutions Work All Year Long

I love a new year. It almost seems like we can start all over, finally become that wonderful, productive, healthy, happy person we've always wanted to be. The trouble is, the enthusiasm to make changes, especially with exercise and diet, tends to fade once we realize we can't change everything overnight. If you want to make lasting changes, there are three things you can do to make your resolutions work all year long: Adjust your attitude, change your lifestyle and come up with a plan for success.

Adjust Your Attitude
If you have the wrong attitude about fitness, you're already setting yourself up for failure. Most people look at exercise as:

* Punishment for bad eating
* An obligation
* Painful
* Time consuming
* Impossible to sustain over a long period of time
* Boring

If any of these sound familiar, how long do you think you'll stick with your program? Nobody wants to do something painful, boring or obligatory. Before you throw yourself into weight loss, suss out your attitudes about exercise and figure out whether these attitudes are true or just lies you've been telling yourself for years. Then, try a different perspective and look at exercise as:

* A break from a stressful workday
* A way to boost energy and mood
* The only time you'll have to yourself all day
* A chance to get totally physical and let your mind rest
* A chance to reward your body for working so hard
* A way to improve your quality of life immediately

And here are some more key points about exercise that you must understand:

1. Willpower won't work. Willpower is for short-term success. Long-term success requires planning, discipline and finding ways to motivate yourself every day.

2. Motivation will not magically happen. What motivates you will change from day to day. You have to recommit to your goals each day, tweak them to fit changes in your lifestyle and attitude and find new ways to motivate yourself over the course of your life.

3. You will not always want to exercise and eat healthy. Even the most committed exerciser doesn't always want to do it. Know that you will have to work on it every day.

4. Diets don't work. Stop wasting your time following someone else's plan for you. Make your own plan based on realistic changes--if you can't follow your chosen diet for the rest of your life, you're wasting precious time.

Adjust Your Lifestyle

The facts about being overweight:

* You can't be overweight unless your lifestyle is set up to encourage it.
* You can't be overweight if you haven't allowed yourself to eat too much.
* You can't be overweight if you've made a daily schedule that doesn't allow time for exercise.

Never forget that losing weight and maintaining that weight loss is a lifetime prospect. You will never stop working to maintain your fitness and weight. So, before you start that same old diet or exercise program, ask yourself this question: Can I sustain this diet for the long term? Is this exercise program something I can do every day?

Once you recognize the gravity of permanently losing weight, you'll need to change your lifestyle to accommodate this goal.

* Figure out your bad habits. Keep a food/activity journal for an entire week. Do it without judgment or shame--you're simply trying to figure out what you're doing every day that may be hurting your weight loss goals.
* Replace those bad habits, one at a time, with different habits. Experts know that you can't break bad habits without forming new ones. If you take away your daily Egg McMuffin and don't replace it with something else you'll drift right back into the old McDonald's habit.

This may sound simplistic, and it is. Giving up something yummy for something healthy isn't easy. You have to change your environment to make it impossible to have or even want that Egg McMuffin. Get started with these ideas:

* Decide what you'll eat instead of fast food. Stock up on breakfast foods you like, keep meal replacement bars in the car or try healthy fruit shakes or smoothies.
* Eat before you get in the car so you won't be starving and, therefore, tempted to hit the drive thru.
* Change your driving route to work so you don't even pass by McDonald's.
* Don't carry cash in the car (even if you DO have the urge to indulge, you won't be able to), write down your weight loss goal and tape it to your steering wheel or your glove compartment so, when you're reaching for your wallet, you're immediately reminded your goals.

Your best chance at making your resolutions last is to make a plan for success. A few simple steps taken ahead of time can save you time and energy.

Make a Plan

You've figured out how to change your bad eating habits by replacing them with good ones and you've learned to create an environment that doesn't allow those bad habits to exist. Now, you need to make a plan for what you really want.

Set Your Goals

Write down specific goals you have (not just 'I want to lose weight.'). List everything, for example:

* How much weight you want to lose. Make sure the amount of weight you want to lose is reasonable for your height and frame. This Ideal Weight Calculator will give you a starting point for setting your goals.
* A target date to reach your goals. Make sure you've given yourself a reasonable time to reach that goal - (a safe bet would be to lose a pound a week)
* Why you want to lose this weight (i.e., I want to look good in a bathing suit for summer)
* What you think will happen if you reach your goal
* How you'll maintain your weight loss once you reach your goal (remember, it's a lifetime thing--even when you reach your goal, you can't quit!)

For more, check out Setting Realistic Fitness Goals or How to Set Weight Loss Goals to make sure you're setting goals you can really reach.

Set Up Your Program

To set up a good routine, you'll need to know the basics of a complete program. You're program will involve cardio, strength training and stretching.

Ensure Your Success

Success involves using every resource you have to keep you going. Do whatever it takes to be consistent including:

* Enlist all family members to get involved. If everyone eats healthy, you won't have to fight to avoid that bag of chips your spouse munches on every night
* Hire a personal trainer
* Get a friend to exercise with you
* Take time every week to schedule your exercise routines
* Keep a workout bag packed so you don't have to scramble for your gear
* Keep a fitness journal to track your workouts and progress
* Reward yourself often with massages, new clothes or a vacation
* Change your program every 6 weeks to avoid plateaus
* Re-visit your goals every six months and gauge your progress. If you're not reaching your goals, maybe you should change them to something more accessible

The important thing to remember is that losing weight requires that you change your lifestyle. You have to change the way you think about exercise and eating, change the way you schedule your day and how you prioritize your tasks. It's easy to lose a few pounds, but it's hard to keep them off for good. Being prepared for what's ahead is your first step in the right direction.

By Paige Waehner, About.com

Updated: December 9, 2008

About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board

Expert: Don't Allow Money Woes To Affect Health

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) ― Worrying about your financial future can have a real impact on your state of mind. CBS station KYW-TV's medical reporter Stephanie Stahl has advice on how to deal with your anxiety.

With big swings in the market and high-profile bank closings, Americans are worried about the bottom line. The market is down, and anxiety is up.

"I would say at the end of my day, it's one more thing to keep me up at night," said Adrienne Marks.

"I don't have the time to make up the money. I can't recoup what I lost," lamented Betsy Williams. "I think I'll be working forever."

"It is more on my mind that it was before," said Anthony Foy.

With the news everywhere, and with President Bush warning we could experience a long and painful recession, it's hard to ignore.

Therapist Ruthy Kaiser said, "It's probably not an overstatement to say that people are in a state of panic."

That includes therapists like her.

"I, being human, called my financial advisor this morning and said, 'Do I need to panic?'" said Kaiser.

But Kaiser knows how to approach her anxiety.

First step: take what actions you can take. "Just sit down and look at the concrete things that can actually be done," said Kaiser.

Then find a way to deal with your anxiety. "Would it help to go for a walk or run? You've done the steps that need to be taken, so now what do you do with your anxiety?" said Kaiser.

Your stress over a troubled financial future can have a domino effect on your life. "It impacts marriages and families and individuals in every way, because people are frightened," said Kaiser.

Kaiser also told us it's important to recognize what you have to worry about today, because sometimes the big picture can be overwhelming.
CBS News Interactive: Healthwatch

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Keeping It Positive

Too many times I have heard people mutter, “I’m not here because I want to be here….but because I have to be here.” The first step to success is changing that losing attitude to a winning attitude. A negative mindset is automatically going to set you two steps back from where you are and is only going to make it that much harder to achieve your goals, whether they be fitness oriented or not. Do not forget that no one likes a Negative Nancy anyways.


I myself do not like to fluff anything or anyone up so I have a tendency to shoot straight from the hip. Performing moderate to vigorous exercise whether it be some sort of resistance, flexibility or cardiovascular training, is commonly referred to as working out. Now ask yourself this; do you truly enjoy going to work? If you are one of the few able to confidently answer “yes” to that question then consider yourself one of the lucky ones. Can you see where I am going with this yet? To make the point again, exercising is called working out. My point is this: Yes, it is hard. Yes, you will be doing things that you may not want to do and no, you will not necessarily enjoy doing it at times. It still needs to be done and at the end of the day it makes you a better person for doing so.

The first step, and probably the most important one, towards accomplishing your goals is by making the effort to smile while you are working out. Now I do not mean that one needs to maintain an ear-to-ear grin the entire time they are sweating to the oldies, but make the effort and find some enjoyment from the activity. I dare everyone to try this little experiment out….bust out a wall squat or an intense plank and attempt to hold the pose for at least a minute. As the pose really begins to get difficult, do your best not to cuss me out, instead put on your happy face and watch how your misery slowly lessons and you push on through the time stronger than anticipated.

Do you want more reasons to keep it positive? When we exercise we are not just making our heart and muscles stronger, we are actually reversing our bodies aging process instead of slowing it down. How is this possible you ask? According to Dr. Henry Lodge, our entire body constantly goes through a cycle where each cell dies and is replaced with a new one. Roughly we replace about 1% of our body with new cells from our blood cells to lung tissue each and every day. Here we have the choice of whether this new tissue is stronger than the original or will continue its path of early decay. Honestly, I myself am not one who is interested in living 140 years but what ever my life expectancy is, I want my body to be as strong as possible for whatever obstacle I may come across.

By Angelo Gala, Elite Trainer, Fitcorp, RKC Level II

The “Core Group”

One day about five years ago, I was making my way through a boring workout when I noticed Mike Parent, Senior VP at Fitcorp, working out with two members. It looked like a tough ab workout. It actually looked like Mike was trying to drive them into submission. I joked with him and asked if he was doing some type of fitness survival test. Shortly after, I was invited to join them.

When we started this, there were four members. We’d meet once or twice a week for an hour and do a core workout created by Mike. Looking back, we would do a plank routine where we held a single plank position for 60 seconds, which seemed like an eternity back then. We would set up spin bikes and alternate between doing three different exercises and riding spin bikes. These exercises weren’t done with heavy weights, but they pushed us to our limits. At the end of each session, we felt exhausted and thoroughly worked over, but we kept coming back for more. Each time, a new wrinkle was thrown in… a new piece of equipment, a different exercise or a completely new routine. The challenge was always taking us to the next level.

Over the past five years, this workout has morphed into a circuit of exercises with a ten-minute plank series that will test anyone’s mental stamina. The class is constantly changing and always creates a new challenge.

We meet at 5:30am in the Fitcorp at Prudential Center’s group exercise room. There is a $10 fine and heckling if you are late, so I am always on time. Our initial five-person “Core Group” has grown to 12-15 members, both men and women, from twentysomethings to older guys like me. Occasionally, “newbies” comes in, full of vim and vigor, and they are rewarded with constant taunts that are peppered with words of encouragement.

A major reason I come back is because of the camaraderie and support that has been built up. We commiserate over particular exercises, and lament over coming back to class next week, but no matter how grueling the workout may seem at the time, we wouldn’t miss it for the world!

As a parent of a 14-year-old, the best part has been the ability to actively coach him and his soccer team. I recently attended a coaches’ clinic where they showed us different exercises and routines to do with the kids. I smiled to myself as I saw other coaches struggle to get through it, while I was able to keep up without a problem. At games, I watch these other coaches stand on the side and order their kids to do better push-ups, but I do the push-ups with my team.

Am I ready to turn pro? Not a chance, but I love not worrying about it anymore. I have worked up to the point where I can do more than ever before. Bike rides, power walks, yard work, snow shoveling… anything physical is no longer a struggle. Instead of feeling sore, I just feel a little drained, but in a good way. My doctor says my blood pressure, heart rate and general health is great. Overall, I feel fantastic, and I’ve made friends while getting physically fit.

Do I hate getting up at 4am? Yes. But I love how great I feel, both physically and mentally, after such a challenging workout. .So if you are not challenged by your usual workouts, I encourage you to try one of Fitcorp’s core training classes.

Prudential Center: Journey To The Core
Tuesday: 7:30-8:30am
Wednesday: 11am -12noon
Thursday: 7:00 – 8:00 am

Longwood Core Strength & Conditioning
Wednesday 11:30 am – 12:00 pm

One Beacon Street FitCORE
Wednesday 1:00 – 1:30 pm

Copley Core Fitness Challenge
Tuesday and Thursday 5:15 -6:00 pm

125 Summer Street Fitcorp Roll Call
Tuesday 6:00 am

Tech Square Core Team Training
Wednesday 6:30-7:30 pm