New Year's Resolutions Guide

New Year’s Resolutions

· Be reasonable: set realistic goals, don’t expect to drop all the weight in one or two weeks. Make smaller “mini goals”. Maybe chose to loose 2 pounds by the end of each month, instead of choosing to loose 30 pounds by the end of the year.

· Make a plan: come up with a plan that fits into your current lifestyle. Whether it’s exercising twice a week or even once a week, make sure you make it a commitment .

· Find a workout that you enjoy. If you don’t enjoy it, the likelihood that you will stick with it is pretty minimal.

· Don’t be disappointed if the scale hasn’t budged after a while. Do you feel better? Do your clothes fit better/loser? It might just be that you have replaced some of the fat with muscle. Remember fat and muscle weigh the same….but muscle takes up less space!

· Too much cake, candy, and cookies over the holidays can drive anyone to want to swear off sugar for good. But going extreme with your New Year's resolution and trying to completely cut out certain types of food might be too much for you to handle. If you know you have a sweet tooth or can't stay away from the bread basket, make a resolution to cut back instead of eliminating.

· Deciding to eat healthier is one of the best New Year's resolution you can make. It's the broadness of the goal that is the issue. It's best to define that goal with smaller, more specific goals such as "to eat green veggies at least once a day," or "eat fruit instead of ice cream for my after-dinner treat." These defined goals will be easier to follow, making you more successful at your original goal of eating healthier.

 

Zumba Sentao?

 

What is this Zumba Sentao?”(sen-ta-o) “It just looks like a lap dance class to me” I’m sure you and your friends will ask “what is it?”.That’s ok, I asked those same questions. But don’t worry it’s not a lap dance class (it can quickly become one, if you let it) Zumba Sentao is perfect for those who want to introduce strength and resistance training along with the existing cardio you do in your Zumba class. In Zumba Toning, you do a bit of balancing and not everyone is great at balancing or has hand eye coordination to maneuver the weights. Zumba Sentao uses a chair to help balance while you do squats, lunges & other moves. You can easily and quickly modify almost every move OR push yourself a little harder and feel safe you wont fall by holding on to the chair and focusing on your form. “oh I have bad knees” “Zumba Toning is hard enough” A guy was able to do this class with a broken leg, and a lady with a replaced hip was able to do it too, So when I say it’s for everyone it really is FOR EVERYONE

 

The Proper Squat...

Why is it important to do squats correctly?

While squatting with proper form is completely safe, squatting with poor form is extremely dangerous. Incorrect squat technique puts a lot of strain on the lower back and knees and can quickly lead to serious injury.

 

Here is the correct way to do squats as recommended by the American Council of Exercise:

1. Begin standing with your feet slightly wider than hip-width and your toes turned out slightly. Your hands are by your sides with your palms facing inward. Pull the shoulders down your back toward your hips
2. Engage your core muscles to stabilize your spine. Keep your chest lifted and your chin parallel to the floor. Shift your weight back into your heels as your hips begin to push toward the wall behind you.
3. Downward Phase: begin this phase by hinging at the hips, shifting them back and down. Your hips and knees bend simultaneously. As you lower your hips the knees bend and will start to shift forward slowly. Try to prevent your knees from traveling too far forward past the toes. Keep the core muscles engaged and try to keep your back flat, DO NOT TUCK THE TAIL OR ARCH THE LOWER BACK.
4. Continue to lower yourself until your thighs are parallel or almost parallel to the floor. If your heels begin to lift off the floor or your torso begins to round, return to start position. Be aware of any movement that may occur at your feet, ankles and knees. Work to ensure that the feet do not move, the ankles do not collapse in or out and the knees remain lined up with the second toe.
5. From the Lowered Position: keep the knees aligned with the second toe and body weight evenly distributed between the balls and heels of both feet. If you can view this from the side, your shinbone should be parallel with your torso and the low back should appear flat or may be showing the begining of some rounding.
6. Upward Phase: while mainting the position of your back, chest and head and with the abdominals engaged, exhale and return to start position by pushing your feet into the floor through your heels. The hips and torso should rise together. Keep the heels flat on the floor and knees aligned with the second toe.
7. Think about inhaling on the way down and exhaling while exerting on the way back to the initial standing position.