L-Glutamine

When it comes to supplements, I generally believe that if you are eating a healthy diet full of fruits and veggies than you will not need additional vitamins and supplements. The rare exception I have is for L-glutamine. L-glutamine is an essential amino acid that the body cannot create itself and it is stored in the muscles. When the body is placed under stress (like during exercise), L-glutamine stores are depleted. You can get this in your diet from plant and animal proteins such as beef, pork and poultry, milk, yogurt, ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, raw spinach, raw parsley, and cabbage, but when you are placed under really high amounts of stress (including exercise) you may want to add this supplement to your routine.

On a normal day I probably exercise for four to five hours between bicycling from place to place, teaching classes and doing my own personal workouts. Some days I wake up and feel like every muscle in my body is exhausted, when I take L-glutamine I do not experience this. Athletes and non-athletes should consider taking this supplement as it does have a variety of benefits in addition to lessening recovery time.

These benefits include:
Prevents muscle breakdown
Helps produce new muscles through protein synthesis
Enhances immune system function
Improves mental sharpness
Expedites wound and burn healing. L-glutamine is very helpful post-surgery and for cancer and burn patients.
Boosts the body's production of growth hormones by over 400%
Promotes a healthy intestinal tract - has the ability to repair "leaky gut syndrome" without surgery and has a 92% cure rate for ulcers when used for four weeks.

Dosage is generally 5-10 grams and it comes in the form of chewables, capsules, and quick dissolving powders. Find the form that fits best in your routine and begin to feel the difference! Talk to a nutritionist or doctor for the best information specific to your needs.

Schedule It

I am going to make it brief today. When something is important to you, make sure you schedule it in. It doesn't matter if that means it is a workout, time to relax, or time with a loved one, just write it down in your calender and stick to the time and date. Life gets busy and chaotic so making time to do what is important to you helps keep your life in balance. This will help prevent you from getting wrapped up in the day to day and start enjoying it!

Fruit Salad with a Twist!

Tossing fruit in a lemon infused syrup gives it a light sweet taste and prevents the fruit from turning brown when it is sliced and stirred. Feel free to pick your own favorite variety of fruit rather than what I have listed. This recipe makes 8 servings, so modify if you need to!

1/3 cup of sugar OR 1/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves or lemon verbena leaves
2tbs. lemon or lime juice
2 cups seedless grapes, halved
2 peaches or nectarines, sliced
1 cup sliced strawberries or whole raspberries
1 cup blueberries

Bring sugar or agave nectar and 1/2 cup of water to a boil in saucepan. Let simmer for two minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice and mint leaves. Steep for 15 minutes and then strain out the mint leaves.

Combine fruit in a large bowl. Stir in sugar syrup, cover and chill for two hours or overnight.

Calories 91
Fat 1
Carbohydrates 23
Fiber 2
Protein 1

DO NOT SQUAT!

Last year I started working for Helena Collins at her studio in Boston called Life in Synergy. Amazing studio with amazing owners! If you are ever in Boston, you should definitely drop by and if not visit www.lifeinsynergy.com since she also offers an excellent online training program.

Anyways, I learned a great deal from Helena and it all started during my first audition. For the first time in my fitness career I was told not to have clients do squats and if they absolutely must be done, they should only be done with feet hip width apart like chair pose in yoga. This instruction shocked me - I taught squats in just about every single class I instructed! As Helena educated me I began to understand the importance of eliminating this exercise from my repertoire, my classes, and my clients workouts. Hopefully, I can make you understand this too!

Structurally, doing squats will overdevelop the outer sweep of the thigh (vastus lateralis) causing an imbalance to the knees, and will also tighten your hip flexors putting additional strain on your spine. In order to keep it brief, I am going to focus on the tight hip flexors and lower back pain as the main reason NOT to do squats.

The problem with our society today is that we spend most of our time sitting down. Whether it is in a car, an airplane, on a bike, at meals, at our computer, or even in fetal position while we sleep - our hip flexors are in a contracted, shortened position. When in this position for an extended period of time, our hip flexors want to stay this length, making it harder for them to return to their correct length. Since the hip flexors attach to the lumbar vertabrae, when they keep getting shorter and tighter, they pull on the lower back. Now, think back to the squats. If we spend the majority of our time in this shortened position - should we take the hour or less we actually spend moving around and working out repetitively reinforcing this position?

Say goodbye to lower back pain by replacing the time you would waste doing squats to stretch your hip flexors instead! Try the kneeling hip flexor stretch in the image above - make sure you tilt your hips forward and for an added stretch reach your arms overhead...

Intuition or Logic?

Recently, I have encountered a decision I need to make and I have been battling between following my heart or following my head. Every day I have been mulling my options over and over again. Instead of really thinking about the decision I have been distracted by thinking about whether you should follow your intuition or your logic - not just in this situation, but in every situation. I have come to the conclusion that you should follow your heart.

Now for me to say this feels almost contradictory because I am one to always make logical decisions and I try not to let my emotions ever come into play. But there is a difference between following your heart and acting rashly based on an emotion. Hopefully, most decisions in life don't require you to make a choice but here is my thought process in case you ever encounter a situation where you have to choose.

The heart is your soul, it is who you are. It is your morals, values, personality, your gut instinct - if you do something out of alignment then you will have a little nagging feeling, that subconcious thought, that feeling that something is off. It may not affect you immediately or you may be unaware of it until the situation is reversed but it plays a role in how you feel on a day-to-day basis. I think a good example would be someone who sticks with a job they hate because they need to support their family, then, somehow, a turn of events causes them to lose their job and instead of being stressed, they feel relieved. They feel as if a burden has been lifted off their shoulders instead of placed on them. Their heart was telling them to quit, but their brain was telling them to persevere through for the sake of their family.

When your brain presents all the logical reasons why you need to do something, it is difficult to do the opposite - but you will feel better if you just follow your heart. The brain is a complex and powerful tool. No matter what happens, your brain will always find a way to make things work. It's logical, it is there to help you solve your problems. I know I am just scratching the surface of this topic but I guess the moral of the story is to follow your heart and your head will make it all work out!

Summer Smoothie

A nice light smoothie recipe! It is low-calorie so it is best used as a quick snack. It's a nice way to recharge after the summer sun and will hold you over until you have the energy to fix your next meal..

1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup cubed cantaloupe
1 tsp. honey
1/2 cup ice cubes

Place juice, fruit and honey in the blender. Blend on high speed for 30 seconds.
Add ice and blend until smooth.

Calories 84
Fat 0
Carbs 20
Protein 2

What Opens Your Eyes?

I have really been thinking about what profound mind/body tip that I could give you today. I think the best thing I could really say to you is to just sit for a moment and think about what works best for you. What helps you take a step back and gets you out of your head to see the bigger picture? Leave a comment and share it with the rest of us!! Here are my favorites:

1. Get up high. I like to get up high and look down on the world below. No matter where I live I always seem to find a special spot for this. In Boston I had two favorites - the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge and the Zen Garden on the rooftop at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Yawkey Building. In Miami I have found a few different nice high bridges. In Maine and Alaska, I could always hike up to some place. When I am so high above the city and can look and see all the people that make up my little piece of the world it makes me realize just how small I am. It helps give me the reality check I need.

2. Beach time. No matter what, when I go to the beach all my problems seem to disolve. My mom used to tell me that the waves take your troubles away. In the Bahamas I was told that the beach is therapeutic to all people because it is where all of the earth's elements are at their greatest. The sky, the water, the sun, the sand - everything is huge. It's a time to just enjoy the moment and forget about the rest.

3. Work it out. Exercise is extremely therapeutic to me. When I am stressed, upset, trying to figure things out - I like to work out. I love riding my bike because it is a moving meditation. Sitting down to meditate is difficult when you have a lot on your mind. When you get on the bike, the repetitive motion helps calm the mind. Some people call it the "runner's high". Dr. Herbert Benson wrote a great book about how to get the Runner's High without all that running - it's called the Breakout Principle.

Now it's your turn! Share your tips by leaving a comment.

The Plank

Don't be fooled by this exercise! Even though you are not moving at all, it can be one of the hardest exercises and can increase your heart rate quickly. The plank will help strengthen the stabilizer muscles in the lower back and abdominals. The goal is to hold it for two minutes, so give it a shot and see what you've got!

Get in push up position and drop down to your forearms.

Push back through your heels so that the feet are flexed.

Make sure the elbows are straight below the shoulders.
Tilt the hips under so your butt is not in the air.
Pull the belly button up to your spine.
HOLD!

Time for a Challenge!

Challenge yourself this week. Whether it is trying a new exercise in the gym, a new class, or a new method of exercise all together - challenge yourself to do something out of the ordinary.


Some simple ideas:
Running - sprint from one telephone pole to the next, then recover with a light jog until you can do it again.
Biking - go find a big hill or bridge, the view from the top will be even better when you work so hard to get there!


You will gain self-confidence from accomplishing your challenge, and release more endorphins giving you a great boost and a huge smile!

Wild Rice with Cranberry & Walnuts

This is one of my all time favorite side dishes and it goes well with almost any main course! It is full of antioxidants and vitamins, so not only does it taste good but it is good for you. Beware that this recipe makes 12 servings - so adjust accordingly or make it all and seperate servings into tupperware for leftovers!

1/2 onion quartered
1 carrot peeled and quartered
1 stalk celery quartered
1 cup wild rice (2 - 4 oz. packages)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 large finely chopped shallot
3 ounces dried cranberries (1/2 of a 6 oz. package)
3 granny smith apples, unpeeled and cut into small dice
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
4 stalks thinly sliced scallions
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper

1. Wash the rice in a strainer under running water until water is clear.
2. Place the rice, onion, carrot and celery in a pot. Season with salt and pepper and cover with water.
3. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until the rice is tender and fully fluffed, about 45 to 60 minutes.
4. Drain the rice and remove the onion, carrot and celery pieces.
5. Combine the rice in a bowl with the remaining ingredients. Adjust seasoning.
6. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serving Size: about 1/2 cup
Calories 150
Fat 4g
Carbohydrate 26g
Fiber 2g
Protein 3g

Abdominal Breathing

The quickest way to realize the strength you have to connect your mind and body is to reconnect with your breath. Abdominal breathing, also known as diaphragmatic breathing, is the quickest way to calm down and destress. Plus, it is free and can be done anywhere!

If you ever watch a baby breathe you will notice their entire belly rises and falls with each breath. If you watch an adult breathe you will generally notice the chest rising and falling. Our diaphragm was made to help us breathe, so why as adults do we stop using it? Instead we start using our neck, shoulders and chest - causing even more tension in our upper bodies! Breathing this way is not the most efficient way to get oxygen circulating to our brain and muscles. It's time to retrain your body!

Try this:
1. Place one hand on your abdomen right below the rib cage.
2. Inhale slowly through your nose to the base of your lungs, your chest should barely move and your belly should expand and rise, pushing your hand up.
3. When you have fully inhaled, pause for a moment and then exhale very slowly through your mouth. Imagine you are blowing on a hot spoonful of soup. As you exhale, release your mind and body - let everything relax and go limp. It should take twice as long to exhale as it does to inhale. Try it again and keep count of the inhale and try to double the exhale.
4. In order to fully relax, take and release ten abdominal breaths. Try to connect the breath so you cannot differentiate where the inhale ends and the exhale begins.

With so many benefits, it's time to make a conscious effort to start changing the way you breathe. In addition to stress relief, abdominal breathing helps activate the lymphatic system which releases toxins and improves immunity. This deep slow breathing will help you feel calmer but energized at the same time, and it will also help strengthen your abdominal muscles!

Stabilize Your Core

The core is where all movement begins. A well developed core allows for optimum performance, decreased incidence of injuries, and is a cure for lower back pain! The simplest exercise to begin training your core is the drawing-in maneuver. This exercise helps strengthen the transverse abdominus - think of it as your internal girdle. By strengthening and tightening your internal girdle it helps give you the appearance of a flatter stomach and it will also prevent you from losing bladder control as you age! This exercise can be done anywhere - walking down the street, sitting in your car or at your desk, and should be done while performing all exercises. Learn it and use it as often as possible!

Drawing In Maneuver
To put it simply, all you need to do is pull your belly button in towards your spine. If that doesn't quite make sense to you, I will give you two different ways to try it!
1. Lay down on your stomach. Try to pull your bully button up towards your spine. If you are thin, this should lift your belly right up off the floor. Hold for 10 seconds while continuing to breathe. This should not be confused with sucking in - if you suck in with your lungs, it may pull your belly in but you will not be able to breathe and you will be using your diaphragm not your transverse abdominus.
2. Lay down on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Place a small object on your belly button - a paperback book, CD - anything handy! Pull the belly button towards your spine - try to make the object sink as low as you can.

Once you have the hang of it, try doing it the next time you go for a walk. Do it again while you type your next e-mail. Next, when you drive home from work. Again, and again, and again! It will eventually become second nature and you will find yourself sitting up taller, looking thinner, and have less back pain!

If you have any questions, just leave me a comment or e-mail me directly at hilery@fitnessforwellness.org