Osteopathic Running Seminar

Chris | July 12, 2011 - 6:52 pm

Scott Sternthal B.Sc., CSCS, D.O (in progress)

It’s amazing what the body can accomplish when it’s supple and ready for work.  That’s really what warming up is all about, getting the body ready for what’s ahead.   Many people don’t warm up efficiently enough.  They come in rushed, our of a traffic jam after a long day of work and skip the warm up to save time.  You are then also skipping out on a possible PB and increasing your chance for injury.

This can often happen to runners.  People think running is so portable.  Just need shoes and some space and you’re ready to go.  It’s also an extremely natural movement.   Our bodies were built to run.  What they were not built for however is the lifestyles most lead which includes lots of sitting and bad postures.   So with the Oasis Montreal Marathon coming up it only seems fitting that we offer  a seminar with elite runner Scott Sternthal offering his Osteopathic Approach To The Running Warm Up.

Join Scott and discover how to avoid injury, run faster, and recover more quickly. Wear your running shoes, and be prepared to participate in some gentle stretches and exercises.

Where: U.N.I Training Gym

When: July 26, 2011

Cost: Free!!!!

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Post Prego Comeback ch.5 (the 8 week mark)

Chris | July 8, 2011 - 5:33 pm

July 4th, 2010

The last couple of weeks I have been quite hard on myself.  When I look in the mirror in shorts or in my bathing suit I really started to beat myself up over the way I look.  Yes, I have accumulated a healthy (or not so) amount of cellulite on my ass and thighs and my stomach has more stretch marks and my arms are looking like two strings of cooked spaghetti. But if I compare my situation to a good number of women out there I really have no right to complain.  I think that since this is the second time around I feel even more impatient with the process of getting it all back.  Regardless, I am going to try to be kinder to myself.  I would never say the harsh criticisms I am so easily dishing out to any of my friends… why am I saying these things to me?  There is nothing constructive so I am attempting to fill my mind with kind words and compliments instead, and I encourage every woman, pregnant, post-, or not, to do so too.

This all stems from a week of hard dieting.  I tried, and realized I am so not ready.  I returned for 4 days to the Crossfit Zone lifestyle.  I am a small female therefore was to consume 5 2-block meals in the day.  In case you haven’t figured it out, this is not a lot of food.  Long story short, I was OK the first day, and was sick for the following 3 with headaches, back pain, weakness, fatigue and finally said SCREW this.  Nothing is worth this torture at this point in my ‘comeback’. I had no energy for my family nor myself.  Lesson learned.  Do not reduce your diet too much while breastfeeding or so soon after childbirth!  Coincidentally, Jude’s character changed too.  He cried a lot for the days when I was weakest, did not want to feed off me much, and he and I both broke out in a body rash as well.  This was the biggest wake-up call of all.

Now I am eating much more, but still clean:

Breakfast – 1 egg, 3 whites omelet with a couple of handfuls of on-hand veggies

Meal 2 – 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt (or Greek) with ½ cup of fruit and a sprinkle of walnuts

Lunch – approx. 4-6 oz of chicken or fish and a big salad with various veggies and 1 tbsp of dressing

Meal 4 – celery stcks, cucumber sticks, sliced bell pepper with 1 tbsp of almond butter

Dinner – same as lunch just different protein – and maybe a ton of BBQ-ed vegetables since it’s summertime!

Dessert – 2-3 squares of 85% chocolate and ½ cup of berries or whatever fruit I feel like

Post-workout is where I will add my starchy carbohydrate like ½ cup of quinoa or just more fruit like mango or a banana.

I’m drinking a lot of water still but it was starting to bore me so I have brought back on one of my favorite bevies: unsweetened coconut water.  I’ve been drinking a lot of sodium-free carbonated water too.

I know that a menu like this compliments my short but intense workouts that I do daily (but missed while I was sick).  I’ve removed the little bites of food here and there and am sticking to just my meals.  Feels good, and most importantly it feels like enough.  This will probably be the way I eat until the completion of breastfeeding.  After that transition is when I will re-evaluate all of my goals.

 

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Post Prego Comeback ch.4

Chris | July 5, 2011 - 2:49 pm

June 25, 2011

 

Yes, it’s Saturday night around 10pm… long gone are the days of partying and socializing with friends… JUST KIDDING.  The last two nights we’ve partied like rock stars so you can still do it!  It just takes some (a lot of) planning!

OK, so it’s now 6 weeks and a few days.  I have started into my training again and am so happy!  I can release some of the stress!  I feel like handle things much better after a session.  Or maybe I just don’t have the energy to stick to my guns… “Fine have another cookie.  Ok ONE more episode of Mickey Mouse.  I suppose two cobs of corn is sufficient for supper.” This is me with my 3 year old.  No wonder she’s all for it when I say I’m going to exercise now.

I started last Monday with this whole elaborate training plan.  45 minute training sessions of body weight, kettlebells and my stability ball – this is gonna be great!  Yeah, that bubble burst after I warmed up, like, 5 separate times because the baby kept waking up and I would have to feed him, change him, or play with him, etc, etc..  I ended up frustrated and decided to put him in the stroller and go outside for a walk/run for 10 minutes until he drifted off.  We came back inside and I got in about 15 minutes of exercise before he woke.  I decided to call it a day and rethink my regimen.

On the weekends when my husband is home is when I can do a longer 40-45 minute session that includes more weight and sufficient rest.  On my own it’s short 15-20 minute workouts that are as intense as I can make them.  I’m also trying to do them daily and taking just one day off a week.  Notice I said trying.  Last week I got Monday to Thursday in.  This week I’ve actually gotten them in everyday and today I did my longer session.

These sessions are not complicated.  I try to do interval-style exercises with little to no rest.  I’m actually incorporating a lot of skipping since I don’t have any cardio equipment (and really you don’t need it!)  For example, one day I did 20/10 seconds skipping/rest for 5 minutes followed by 25 stability ball jackknifes and repeated it 3 times.  The next day I warmed up and did as many burpees as I could in 10 minutes (a very tiring – and measly – 92).  Everyday incorporates full body movements.  In my long weekend sessions is when I do lots of deadlifts, cleans, swings, etc with my kettlebells.  I have a few videos that I really enjoy by an RKC instructor (my next aspiration for 2012!).

Eating is a challenge but eventually I’ll keep it on track – I would SO love to just diet hard but that is not going to happen as long as I am breastfeeding.  Our bodies sometimes hang onto fat during this process.  Once that ends some women have dropped up to 10 pounds and changed nothing in their habits!  My diet is pretty much the same as in the last post.  The work week is not so bad but being home all the time and spending half of my day in the kitchen makes it hard to stay on track.  A piece of cheese here, couple squares of chocolate there…. I wish I didn’t love food and cooking so much!  Weekends lately have been a debauchery of (arrowroot or my own baked) cookies, frozen yogurt, skinny cows (my FAVORITE), and  wine…  but it’s time to recommit and get back on track!  New meal plan in my next post!

 

 

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Friends Make You Fat?

Chris | June 25, 2011 - 5:12 pm
Here’s a read with more sense of humour than apparently researched facts.
Written 4 years ago, the data might have changed but…I really love old sayings so this article is a nice reminder that birds of a feather...
We are affected by our environment and often changing lifestyle means adding or removing elements (or people) that surround us. Change is hard, deciding to do it and making that choice is even harder.   When the people around us support our opinions, moods and habits half the work is already done.  Nothing or no one should stop you from being disciplined when you choose to improve your life.
Look around you, are you surrounded by people who strive to be better?  I know I am… Now I only have to decide.
-Skye Moseley-

How Friends Make You Fat


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Change Coming Soon!

Chris | June 23, 2011 - 7:46 pm

Some new and fun stuff coming in to the gym soon!  Including two Olympic Lifting  platforms from Hammer Strength .  Olympic lifting is often associated with ENORMOUS individuals lifting tons of weight looking like severe injury is right around the corner.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Truth is Olympic lifting done properly is extremely safe.  Partly because you are using the body the way the body was supposed to be used.   It’s a great way to increase speed, strength, power, balance, and coordination, all of which can be applied to EVERY activity and sport you may want to do.   Even if your interest is just keeping in shape, it is a great way to increase or maintain muscle mass and bone density.  The key is proper instruction which you will no doubt get with our awesome U.N.I Trainers.  Here’s a video of us getting some world class instruction from world class person Dutch Lowy.  So that we’re ready to serve our loyal clients.

U.N.I Olympic Weight lifting

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Sitting is NOT GOOD!

Chris | June 14, 2011 - 8:28 pm

Saw a study today about the affects of sitting on Insulin activity and the affects on the body.   It was really long and boring.  So instead of posting that I found this infograph at howtogeek.com that sums it up.

Sitting Is Killing You [Infographic]

 

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Post Prego Comeback ch.3

Chris | June 13, 2011 - 11:14 am

One month in and Mel is giving it her all.   Amazing what the body can accomplish with some discipline.

June 11, 2011 –  Day 30

Jude has been with us for exactly one month.  Time flies!  Almost lost my mind a number of times trying to deal with the two kids but thankfully I was able to regain composure!  My walking has decreased as I had a set back this week with some dental surgery.  Teeth and babies… I’m a magnet for bodily trauma.

Anyways yesterday I made it my goal to run.  Fed Jude and away we went. 10 minute walking warm-up gradually increasing my speed and the n 16 minutes of 1 minute on 1 minute off run/walk and a 9 minute walking cool down.  All-in-all it felt great – I was fairly winded by the last run and I was by no means ‘running’… more like a slow jog.  I have a lot of work ahead if this is my cardiovascular starting point.

Eating has decreased somewhat.  I eat more like 6 times a day than the 8 or 9 times like before.  This is what my meals look like generally (when I can stick to it):

Breakfast – glass of water, cup of coffee, 2 eggs, 1 piece of Ezekiel bread, 1 tbsp almond butter

Snack – handful of raw nuts, 1 serving of dried fruit (like prunes and apricots)

Lunch - 1/2 cup quinoa, 1/2 can tuna, 1 tbsp dried cherries, sprinkle of walnuts, any veggies I have around

Snack - veggies and fruit and hummus and peanut butter and maybe a rice cake or two if I’m craving carbs

Dinner - 1/2 turkey breast, sweet potatoes baked or BBQ-ed, any veggies on hand

Dessert – changes every night.. sometimes I am good and have yogurt with fruit; sometimes I will make something like rice pudding MMMMMmmmmm….. or a peanut butter and nutella sandwich.

Today, I intended on going for a 5k run but the weather looks threatening… I skipped this morning for the first time doing 100 reps/30-45 sec rest for about 8 rounds.  Then I was interrupted to go pick up dog business as my husband was mowing the lawn.

OK. 5k time.  Put on my lulu leggings (to hold in the jiggle) and Nikes and off I went.  5k.  Rain or shine.  I had no concrete plan.  I intended on walking the first 10 minutes and running for at least two minutes, seeing how I felt, and either continue running or jogging but I was capping it at 5 minutes and doing a 1:1 run:walk ratio.  Ya that sounded good.  Walked the first 5 minutes and then felt I was ready to run. No paved bike paths or sidewalks for me anymore! I’m on the gravel shoulder of a real road now.  Hard core.  Ran 5 minutes and started to feel my left knee.  During my 5 minute walk interval I cursed at myself for not warming up better and asking myself who the heck I think I am?…  Second run interval the knee pain was gone.  Trying to keep my feet light and not run sloppy.  Core tight, hips swinging….  encouraging myself through my inner monologue that I had to make it back home and hoping my husband wasn’t losing his mind with the 2 kids already.  The run continued in this manner and I made it home in 40 minutes.  I was quite pleased that I did it.  I am so not a runner and will not be doing this once I start lifting again but it’s something of an accomplishment and I revelled in it with a peanut butter nutella sandwich.

 

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Wiki-Doctor?

Chris | June 7, 2011 - 9:04 pm

Not a fan of Doctors myself.  I try and do whatever I can to stay away from them such as living healthy.  Barring a limb being severed, I’d rather never step foot inside a hospital or Doctor’s office.   Interesting little fact I learned a couple years ago at a fitness convention is that 80% of Med School curriculums these days have anatomy as an elective and Pharmacology type courses as mandatory.

So it was no surprise to me when this article came to me today.

Hundreds of GPs admit to using the website Wikipedia as a medical research tool

 

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Post Prego Comeback!! Ch.2

Chris | May 31, 2011 - 6:09 pm

Another chapter from the new but already super popular, blog series from our veteran trainer and now mother of 2, Melissa Scarpelli.

May 29th – Day 18

I have really started to get my energy back now and have no pain in my abdomen anymore.  I’ve been consistently walking for a half hour or so everyday which feels amazing.  And the dog is looking great too!I am down – even under – my pre-pregnancy weight but find myself in a completley different body.  I’ve never been obsessed with body weight, but for those who are, the focus should be more on body fat.  Obviuosly I am not ready for that bikini and my skinny jeans are loose around my thighs and too tight at my waist…  I have this stomach that looks like there’s still a baby inside (not to mention the extra skin) and I’ve definitely got some extra booty- and thigh-fat happening.  I must have lost at least 5 pounds of muscle.  I look in the mirror and have to look twice because I don’t recognize myself.   I’ve always been thin and been in shape and feel a little overwhelmed at the amount of work I have to do.   It’s easy to see how instead of working hard to get rid of the weight, many women just accept that they cannot lose the weight and choose to eat and hide instead.  I am going to do just the opposite.

I have the most random and ferrocious appetite right now!  I have to eat about every 2 hours.  I keep my meals small and I can honestly say I have licked plates clean and have trouble not going for more food.  I’m pounding back so much water and tea to curb my appetite that I spend half the day in the bathroom.  I am eating 8 times a day approximately (sometimes I’ll have something extra before bed) but if you’re not breastfeeding 5-6 times a day should suffice.  Once I start lifting and the high intensity workouts begin my ratio of proteins, carbs, and fats will change.  Right now my carbs are higher to provide enough breastmilk for my baby.  I hope that keeping my portions small will help shrink this belly!My cat even had to stop and stare….. (see pic 2)

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The Old “Should I Eat After 8p.m.” Question

Chris | May 27, 2011 - 5:52 pm

Saw this article in the New York Times and it resonated immediately because in the 12 yrs I have been a personal trainer I must have been asked this about 10 million times.

Does Late-Night Eating Cause Weight Gain?

Instead of commenting myself this time, I asked our new friend and Registered Dietitian Bonnie Zylberberg to comment:

To answer the question posed in the article’s title, no, weight gain is not necessarily caused by late night eating alone, but it may very well be a contributing factor!

In the few hours before we hit the sack most of us are likely catching up on our favorite TV shows or doing some other fairly sedentary activity, which means that any extra calories we take in don’t stand a chance at getting burned off.  Keep in mind however that it’s usually the type and the amount of food, rather than the time of day, which can really affect your waistline. A calorie is a calorie, so whether it’s consumed at noon or at midnight, if you’re eating more than your body needs, you will be sabotaging your weight loss efforts. Consider this: eat an extra 100 calories every night (say, 4 Hershey’s chocolate kisses) and at the end of the year this will have cost you an extra 10 pounds!

For many people, late night eating is a result of habit, stress, boredom, fatigue, or some other factor unrelated to actual hunger. Here are a few tips which may help you to avoid those late night refrigerator raids:

-Eat a satisfying dinner. Try to include a source of lean protein (such as chicken or fish) as well as a source of fibre (such as brown rice or whole wheat pasta) at each meal. Protein and fibre will help fill you up.

-Eat slowly and savor your food. Remember that it takes about 15-20 minutes after you finish eating for your brain to register that you are full!

-Finish off dinner with a healthy dessert to satisfy a sweet tooth. Try some fat-free Greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey or some frozen grapes.

-Close the kitchen for the night after dinner. Aim to finish dinner around 2-3 hours before bedtime.

-Sip on herbal tea or water flavored with lemon. Hunger is often confused for what is really thirst!

-Brush your teeth right after dinner. It’s easier to resist a snack when your mouth is minty fresh!

-Keep a written copy of your diet and weight loss goals in view at all times. This will help you to stay on track.

Bonnie now does Nutritional consultations, follow-ups, and meal plans at U.N.I GYM.  Contact us for schedule and other info.


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