Personal Training Program Video 2
If you have a fitness goal you need a holistic fitness program, not the latest cookie cutter fad workouts. Here is the seconed of three video’s to educate you a little bit more.
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How To Choose A Personal Training Fitness Program For You in Santa Fe
How to choose Healthy Foods in Santa Fe
By Joris Van Cutsem
In my last blog post, I talked quite a bit about water intake and its importance to your body. So, I believe talking about (healthy) food would be a nice follow up. It is also a subject we talk about a lot on a daily bases at SolCore Fitness.
What are healthy foods? There is a lot of confusion about which foods are healthy or not. It definitely is a bit of a tricky question because everyone’s BODY is different and it depends on a myriad of issues from which a person may suffer, such as; ailment, disease, health issues, stress, sleep deprivation, exercise induced muscle soreness, hormonal health, exercise goals or food allergies.
In addition, we as a society are only at the beginning of learning how to heal various ailments and diseases with healthy foods, so there is a lot of confusion out there. Some of that confusion comes from the marketing and advertising companies hired to sell various products to the masses to turn a profit. Caring about ‘health’ is not of concern for them, money is. More confusion comes from the Pharmaceutical companies who would prefer to keep most people sick to make a financial gain, so they pour money into research for new drugs but not into research for prevention from foods. They sell you more pills and supplements to put into your cabinets that end up causing a slew of health issues and other ailments or side effects for which you will need even more pills – an endless cycle of pill popping. Preventative medicine comes in the form of lifestyle changes, not from taking pills.
So, what to do? First, it is important to know your body, so you will know what it needs to thrive. Find out what your metabolic type is to start you on the path to eating the foods that work for you. Connect to your body and if you feel like sleeping after you eat something then don’t eat it anymore, it’s probably not very good for you. Second, keep in mind that what we know today may not be true tomorrow because new research comes out every day as we evolve and learn more. Keep an open mind to unconventional methods of healing with whole foods and theories that run counter to mainstream. Questioning things, taking bits of truth from all and not getting stuck with tunnel vision are equally important. It’s not always easy, but these are things that I try to remind myself to do.
If you eat real foods, which are those that do not have an ingredient list that you can’t understand, that are not packaged, and that you can buy from a local farmer, then you are on your way to being healthier. Also, helping local farmers will create a rippling effect by keeping the bigger food companies from destroying our health with their genetically modified foods.
Hope all of this was helpful (for when you make your next grocery list).
Jo Van Cutsem
Healthy Foods
Proteins:
(grass or pasture fed) Beef, bison, lamb, pastured Liver, fresh/clean source Chicken, turkey, insect fed Pork – pastured only, Venison, Eggs – pastured chickens, Milk – raw or local Cheese, no additives Cottage cheese, no additives Ricotta Cheese, no additives Yogurt, Fish – cod, sole, etc., Gelatin Broth – homemade Shellfish
Fruits (organic):
Apples (ripe or cooked), Apricots, Cherries, Grapefruit, Nectarines, Oranges, Papaya, Peaches, Pears (ripe or cooked), Pineapple, Plums, Watermelon, whole fruit juices, Tropical Fruits, Vegetables: Cucumbers, Peppers, Avocado, Summer squash/Zucchini, Tomatoes
Vegetables (organic):
Bamboo shoots, Beets, Carrots, Potatoes, Pumpkin, Sweet potatoes/Yams, Winter squash, Asparagus, mixed greens, celery, kale (my new favorite super food)
Fats (organic):
Coconut oil, Butter – organic cream, salt, Olive oil – extra virgin, Cream – organic cream
Avoid these Foods as much as possible:
Vegetable Oils – Canola, Corn, Cottonseed, Grape seed, Safflower, Soy, Sunflower, Trans Fats- Margarine, Crisco, Fats in processed food
Soy Products – Tofu, Soy milk, Soy protein powder, Soy sauce
Fried Foods – Avoid foods not fried in butter, coconut oil
Artificial Ingredients – Avoid foods with long lists of ingredients that you do not understand
Food Additives – Aspartame, BHA and BHT, Carrageenan, Food colorings and dyes, Gums (guar, locus bean, etc.), High fructose corn syrup, Monosodium glutamate (MSG), Nitrates, rBGH (growth hormone in dairy), Sodium benzoate, Soy lecithin, Sulfur dioxide, Synthetic vitamins
(Soy blocks binding of important minerals like calcium and zinc, it is genetically modified here in the U.S., and it has been shown to possibly cause breast cancer because it acts like estrogen in the body and, although in Asian countries where women consume a lot of soybeans and have a lower incidence of cancer, it is not the same soybean as we get here in the United States and it’s now put into everything as an ‘unhealthy’ additive. Soybeans contain phytoestrogens that lower oxygen and thyroid levels and chemicals that lower protein digestion.)
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Personal Training Success Story in Santa Fe
Personal Training Success Story – Carol Petersen
Carol has lived a full life. You wouldn’t know it while just casually talking to her. But when you sit down with her and really get to talk to her, you hear things that show you what a full life she has had.
In her 70 + years she been blessed with wonderful children and grandchildren. She has worked as a high level educator at UCLA and has traveled to exotic lands as a photographer. This drive for a full life has led her to our program. She was looking for a program to help her with some of the injuries and imbalances that she had acquired throughout her life. But even more than that, she was looking for a program that she could do and that would help her continue to live to her life to the fullest.
I am happy to say that Carol has not only achieved many of her goals, but she has thrived! And she did this while working through some challenges. So it is no surprise that she is the August personal training success member of the month. (Note: the reason you don’t see a photo of carol above is that as she puts it “I enjoy being on the other side on the camera.” She is in the shot above, but you’ll just have to guess who she is.) 😉
1) What made you decide you wanted/needed to start a program?
I was looking for something that would help me with past injuries and imbalances that I had. I was also looking for something that was doable and that helped me live my life to the fullest.
2) What did you do before?
Right before this I was just doing a regular gym workout of using the machines and some cardio. Prior to this I was really into Yoga for years but unfortunately had to stop due to the teacher pushing me too far.
3) What results have you achieved since starting your program that you are proud of?
My neck feels amazing! My posture is much better. I feel really aligned, which helps me move my best but also emotionally has me feeling my best. And unintended… I have really toned up and lost weight. (She asked me not to say how much, so we’ll just say double digits.)
4) Do you have a favorite exercise? Least? What do you like or don’t like about them?
I love the 90/90/90 (obturator internus – deep hip and pelvis muscle) it just feels so good afterward! I don’t hate any of the exercises, they all have such great benefits.
5) What are some challenges or goals you are currently working on?
I want to live my life to the fullest. At the start, it was really hard to show up to the classes and the exercises were challenging. But after 2-3 months, I found my groove and the results have been amazing. I had some internal challenges and personal challenges along them way, but I just kept coming. I want to continue this path and be respectful to my body.
6) What do you like best about our program/ having a trainer?
That I got my body back! It is not a good feeling to feel disconnected to your body and all the aches and pains that are associated with that feeling. I love the fact that you guys help me do it right and make adjustments.
7) What advice would you give to the other SolCore Fitness members?
Hey let’s do this!
8) What would you say to someone on the fence about joining our program?
Try it!
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What About Clean Water In Santa Fe?
Recently, at SolCore Fitness, I have had some conversations discussing the intake of water and I wanted to elaborate. Because we live in a dry, high desert environment, and the temperature has been rising in Santa Fe, staying hydrated is obviously very important. I also believe it is essential during exercise.
Water affects every organ and cell within your body. You may not have known this, but water even plays an enormous role in the health of your back and spine. The lack of proper hydration could affect your back and could be a cause of back pain. Between every two vertebrae lies a disc, which functions as a shock absorber. This disc has two parts: an outer, flexible and tough ring, and the inner, which is primarily water. All day long, as gravity works on our upright spine, water is slowly squeezed out of the discs.
At night, when we are lying down, the discs slowly rehydrate. Our daily dehydration and nightly rehydration of the discs is the reason why most of us shorter at night than when we woke up! Regular movement helps to keep discs hydrated – as the spine moves, the discs will absorb the water we have available in our bodies.
As long as there are adequate water levels within the body, nightly rehydration will occur. When there is not enough water available to fully hydrate the inner part of the disc, the whole piece becomes compromised. When the inner piece of the disc are dehydrated, it cannot support the load on your spine as intended, and it stresses your body causing pain. This means that drinking lots of clean water helps you to have less pain and easier movement. Don’t wait until you are thirsty to drink, that means you are already dehydrated.
Because discs do not have a blood supply, they exchange nutrients when pressure is decreased. This is why when you lie down or sleep at night, the discs will rehydrate. This process nutrient exchange can be increased even further and have more lasting results when ELDOA exercises are performed. One of the benefits of the ELDOAs is that they assist to reinforce the tissue responsible for supporting the spine in a more elongated state. The result is that the spine becomes more resilient to the compressive forces placed upon it throughout the day, as there is less water loss from the discs. However, there needs to be enough free water available in the body for the ELDOAs to be affective.
So, be honest with yourself, are you drinking enough water? Take responsibility for the health and longevity of your spine by doing these 3 simple things:
1. Drink water first thing in the morning before your coffee or tea and breakfast
2. Carry a water bottle that you really like – this will help keep you drinking throughout the day to reach your daily target of fluid ounces
3. Do 2 or 3 ELDOA exercises each night before bed
Happy Hydrating!!
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