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Greetings!
How time flies! Hard to believe it is already mid-October. With the cooler temperatures and shorter days, it can be tempting to skip your workouts. Keep reading to learn how you can be more consistent with your exercise.
With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season fast approaching, stress can reach an all time high. Exercise and healthy eating are productive coping mechanisms, but so is taking a little time for mindfulness. A daily mediation, however short, pays huge dividends including stress relief, better sleep, a stronger immune system and overall improved health. Don't know where or how to start? We've included a beginner's guide to meditation below. After all, a healthy body deserves a healthy mind! We've also included a tasty seasonal recipe for a roasted pumpkin and pomegranate salad that is sure to impress. Rich in antioxidants, pumpkins are not only decorative, but delicious! Continue reading to learn about nature's performance enhancer - the little seed that packs a big punch. Improve your life with just one scoop!
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Be sure to make an appointment with your doctor for your annual breast exam. It is so important to get checked. Don't forget to do a self exam once a month - or whenever you can. It could save your life!
Our next boot camp series kicks off on Tuesday, October 23rd. It sells out quickly, so sign up now. It is the most effective, challenging, rewarding group workout in San Francisco. Click here for more information.
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Motivation
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Change Your Mindset, Change Your Mind
Megan Driscoll
 Having trouble gearing up for your next workout? It happens to the best of us. Next time it happens to you, ask yourself why you exercise. If you can't articulate it in say, 60 seconds or less, it isn't surprising that you are having trouble getting out the door. Bottom line: when it comes to the gym, if you don't have a good reason to go, you'll come up with a hundred reasons not to.
Working out takes effort. It requires energy and purpose. If you don't feel like you are getting something out of your hard work, or at least moving towards something, the couch is almost always going to be more appealing. So remind yourself why you work hard and what it is going to help you achieve.
Motivation is the energy that sustains a behavior. Some days, it oozes from your pores, while others, it's nowhere to be found. You know the feeling. Some mornings you can't wait to get after it in the gym, while on others there isn't a Nike poster in the world that speaks loud enough to you to put your gym clothes on. What happens when you just aren't feeling it?
Change the way you look at it. Don't think about the work, think about the pay-off. Why do you workout in the first place? Remind yourself. Break it down. Identify a concrete reason that really speaks to you. Something compelling enough to get you to jump out of bed, throw on your running shoes and fly out the door even when it's dark and cold. Something that makes the gym enticing even when all your co-workers are going to happy hour. Something that pushes you off the couch in the middle of your favorite sitcom's all-day marathon.
Maybe you workout to manage your stress, to be healthy or to maintain a quality of life, or because the strength you build in the gym fortifies you for the rest of your day. It might be because you want to be faster/stronger/leaner for your athletic endeavors. Or maybe you train because you love the way it makes you feel - your heart beating out of your chest. Because no one can take it away from you. Or because the days you sweat are better than the days you don't. Or maybe you just want to look better naked. Fair enough. But know what that reason is. It'll help get you out the door on those days when your discipline is in the red.
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Healthy Mind, Healthy Body
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Mindful Meditation
When was the last time you took a moment to calm your frantic mind - a brief time-out of sorts to clear your head?
It's hard to imagine ever being fully present in the moment, without "to-do" lists, thoughts of the past, or worries for the future invading your head space. But such a thing is possible, according to Andy Puddicombe, and it's easier to achieve than you'd think. Taking a few minutes each day to calm your mind and re-connect with your body is not as hard or time-consuming as it sounds. In fact, it may even save you time because it will sharpen your brain and help keep you focused.
Meditation is currently a hot health topic as recent research from the University of California, Los Angeles, showed people who meditate have bigger brains (known as neuroplasticity) and stronger connections between different parts of the brain. The study also found meditators' brains showed less age-related atrophy, or wasting away.
Like any skill, you have to learn to meditate and you can't expect to get it right straight away.
"Your mind won't automatically stop when you sit down to meditate," says Puddicombe. It will take a little practice.
Practice For Meditation
Getting ready:
1) Find a comfortable place to sit down, keeping a tall posture.
2) Ensure you'll be left undisturbed (switch off your phone).
3) Set the timer for 10 minutes.
Checking in:
1) Take five deep breaths, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. Gently close your eyes.
2) Focus on the physical sensation of the body on the chair and the feet on the floor.
3) Scan down through the body and notice which parts feel comfortable and relaxed, and which parts feel uncomfortable and tense.
4) Notice how you're feeling - that is, what sort of mood you're in right now.
Focusing the mind:
1) Notice where you feel the rising and falling sensation of your breath most strongly.
2) Notice how each breath feels, the rhythm of it - whether it's long or short, deep or shallow, rough or smooth.
3) Gently count the breaths as you focus on the rising and falling sensation - one with the rise and two with the fall, upwards to a count of 10.
4) Repeat this cycle between five and 10 times, or for as long as you have time available.
Finishing off:
1) Let go of any focus at all, allowing the mind to be as busy or as still as it wants to be for 20 seconds.
2) Bring the mind back to the sensation of the body on the chair and the feet on the floor.
3) Gently open your eyes and stand up when you feel ready.
For information on Andy Puddicombe and meditation click here.
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Healthy & Delicious Seasonal Recipe
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Roasted Pumpkin and Pomegranate Salad
Servings: 4
Time: 15 min prep, 30 min cook
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 cups pumpkin, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 6 cups mixed winter salad greens
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
- 8 tsp lightly toasted pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
Vinaigrette: (makes 1/2 cup)
- 3 Tbsp pure pumpkin-seed oil (try Sprouts, Peoples or Whole Foods)
- 2 Tbsp champagne vinegar
- 3 Tbsp orange juice
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 small chopped shallot (1 Tbsp)
- 1 tsp honey
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss pumpkin with olive oil, salt, and pepper and arrange in one layer on a lipped baking sheet. Roast until pumpkin is tender-firm and edges are caramelized, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
- Combine all vinaigrette ingredients in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake until dressing emulsifies and has a creamy appearance.
- Divide the greens evenly among 4 salad plates. Scatter 1/2 cup roasted pumpkin, 1 tablespoon pomegranate seeds, 2 teaspoons pumpkin seeds, and 1 tablespoon goat cheese on top of each plate of greens. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette.
Per serving: 300 cal, 21 g fat (7 g sat), 23 g carbs, 410 mg sodium, 4 g fiber, 9 g protein
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Nature's Medicine
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Chia Seed: The Ancient Super Food Of The Future
 For centuries, the Chia seed was used as a staple food by the Indians of the southwest and Mexico. Known as the running food, its use as a high energy endurance food has been recorded as far back as the ancient Aztecs. It was said the Aztec warriors subsisted on the Chia seed during their conquests. Indians running form the Colorado River to the California coast to trade turquoise for seashells would bring only the Chia seed as nourishment. When mixed with water, the small black and white seed forms a gelatin-like substance. This gel-forming reaction is due to the high levels of soluble fiber in the Chia. It is believed that Chia seeds form a similar gel-like substance inside your stomach during digestion, which slows the conversion of carbohydrates to sugar. This allows your body to feel satiated for longer periods of time, gives it more consistent energy, and eliminates spikes in blood sugar. In addition, the Chia seed can absorb up to 12 times its weight in water, giving it extensive hydration properties, which makes it ideal for athletic performance and electrolyte balance. Because it is so easily absorbed, the Chia seed is very efficient at rapid tissue development and repair. This is especially meaningful during growth periods for children and adolescents, for the growth and regeneration of tissue during pregnancy and lactation, and the regeneration of muscle tissue for athletes. The Chia seed is not only one of the highest plant-based sources of complete protein, but it is the richest plant source for the essential omega-3 fatty acid and contains a healthy balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. This is crucial for heart health and maintaining proper cholesterol levels. The Chia seed is an excellent source of calcium because it contains the important mineral boron, which acts as catalyst for the absorption and utilization of the calcium by the body. It is also rich in antioxidants, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, zinc and iron. You can sprinkle Chia seeds in your salad, on your yogurt, in your cereal, add them to your smoothie, baked goods, eggs...knock yourself out! Unlike the flax seed, the Chia seed does not need to be ground in order to be absorbed and will not go rancid the way flax will. The Chia seed does not need to be refrigerated and because of its rich antioxidants, will last up to 2 years. |
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Stay healthy and strong!
See you in the gym,
Megan & Jakki
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