Sharing something good: 8 Ways To Get More From Your Yoga Practice — Femme Fitale Fit Club Blog

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Yoga has been good to me.  I’ve used it during and after PT to increase flexibility and help me ease through mild to moderate pain flares.  I read this post earlier and had to share.  If you don’t want to practice at home, find a class and give it a try. 

 

If you are a yoga fan, and you find yourself at peace during the session and are looking for ways to get more out of your routine, then there is a lot more to learn. Yoga is a great practice that relaxes your mind and body from all the world’s troubles. Yoga can be practiced…

via 8 Ways To Get More From Your Yoga Practice — Femme Fitale Fit Club Blog

One week ago

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This time last Saturday,  your friendly neighborhood Sherrie walked her first 5K.

The original plan was to walk/run, but the joints were not having it.

I arrived late and started after everyone was gone.  Adele was singing her heart out in my ears and I was near tears myself.   But I kept going.  Besides, Charleston needed to see me repping for #TeamVegan.  I had someone ask about my shirt and plant-based living, which is what I’d hoped.

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And this band was my mantra.  I was there to compete with the Sherrie from a few months ago.  The Sherrie who wouldn’t have pushed the crowd out of her head and just walked.

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But I did it!  Black Girls Run Charleston,  Vegan Bodybuilding and Fitness community, Official Team Green, Vegan N3rd Squad,  and my Facebook fitness families and running clubs, thank you.  To my family,  thanks.   To Sherrie from a few months ago,  see what you did?  We’ve got this!

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On to the next one!

 

 

Review and giveaway – Garcinia Cambogia Advanced and Slender Cleanse Advanced

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This review is a little different because I haven’t tried the products myself. I did put in some research and want to let you know what they are and how they may help in your fat loss efforts.

I am all for finding help where fat loss is concerned. Eating in the right combination at the right times, adding or removing specific foods, stepping up the cardio intensity, and any number of tips, hints, and supplements are available. For the moment, tweaking my eating plan is my go-to since my body decided to rebel and not work well. For some others, adding supplements to the menu is the go-to. One that gets mentioned quite a bit is Garcinia Cambogia. Magazine articles and mentions on daytime talk shows put the spotlight on this Indonesian tree fruit and its benefits.

In the 1960s, scientists discovered that the acid in the Malabar tamarind is similar to the acid in citrus fruit. If you’ve ever heard of the Grapefruit Diet, you’ve heard that fruit helps block and burn fat. Consider Garcinia Cambogia the acid without the grapefruit. You could keep eating your clean diet, add the supplement, and burn more fat. Garcinia Cambogia also helps suppress the appetite somewhat, so you may not feel tempted to snack more than usual. Sounds easy, right? It is, but you have to take the right Garcinia supplement.

Team Innovations Labs developed Garcinia Cambogia Advanced based on recommendations by experts. Their 60% HCA formula is gluten-free, comes in a vegetarian capsule and has no fillers, binders, or artificial ingredients, and is made in the USA. Just take one pill 30 minutes before a meal twice a day for optimal results. Try it before breakfast and dinner.

Team Innovations Labs combines its Garcinia Cambogia Advanced with an all-natural cleansing supplement to create a fat loss kit guaranteed to work. Slender Cleanse Advanced is a seven-day cleanse designed to help kick start a new plan or help break a plateau. Pick up this dynamic duo from Team Innovations on Amazon for $37.95.

You can win your own Fat Loss Kit from Team Innovations Labs. Just comment on this post to enter.  What are your fat loss tips or tricks?

This contest is only open to contestants in the USA.  Only one entrant will win.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Review: Naturalico Speed Rope

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I don’t always jump rope, but when I do, I make sure I have lots of padding on the floor, my awesome shoes on, and the Naturalico Speed Rope.

I loved jumping rope when I was younger. I did when I was a little older, too. My last rope had wood handles and was a heavy fiberous rope. I had to put knots in it to cut the length a bit so I wouldn’t trip and I think it wound up on the donate pile before we moved. I know the kids used it with friends when they were smaller. It was long enough for 7-8 year olds to use for team jumping. What made me think I could use it alone easily? Granted, the jumping was all before my back issues made themselves clear, but I loved it. It was one of the few forms of cardio that I loved.

I still need cardio and still hate most forms of it. But I do have a new toy to play with. The Naturalico Speed Rope is adjustable, lightweight, and comes with a storage bag. I can’t always go as hard as I’d like for long (doc’s orders), but I can break up my sessions with a jump break. I jump on the balls of my feet and only on double-padded floors to save my joints.

Why a jump rope?  I’ve realized that I can go hard for short bursts of time and love the idea of increased fat burning in a shorter amount of time (it’s one of the reasons I adore 10 Minute Trainer).  According to Naturalico, 10 minutes of jumping can provide the same calorie burn as 30 mins of slow cardio and these short, intense jump circuits burn calories during and after a workout.

The rope is very light.  It’s almost as if I’m going through the jump rope motions without a rope.  It’s 10 feet long, so almost anyone can use it.  Since I’m the only one at home interested in jumping, I adjusted it to the perfect length for me.  The bearings are pretty solid and have handled drops on the floor and snatching by the dogs perfectly.  I wasn’t sure I still had it in me, but I can still get in those cross-armers jumps and double unders just fine.

And thanks to the added padding, I don’t ache any more than usual after a session.  I do limit them to four a month just in case.  You know, wonky spine and all.

The fine folks of Naturalico provide awesome customer service.  My rope arrived very quickly and cs followed up to make sure I received it in good condition. In addition, the rope comes with a limited lifetime manufacturer guarantee.  I love it when a company stands behind a product.

Want one?  Swing by Amazon and pick up yours for $29.99.  If you need a rope that’s going to stand up to steady use, go get Naturalico’s.

Note:  I received this product for free but it in no way had an effect on my review. My views are my own.  

See ya, January! Happy February!

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I’m glad to see January 2015 go. It was a craptacular month and I don’t think I could easily handle a second month of it. An annoying reason I hated the month is the setback. Grr, the setback. But, January is over and February is here. I’m ready for it.

I tried to post this yesterday, but the January Kick Ass continued for an extra day. My saved pots disappeared three times.  I was not amused.

My goals this month are to get my eating back on track and learn more about what ails me. Research might drive some people crazy, but it helps me feel like I have more control. The Fibromyalgia quirks and tummy issues don’t bother me as much since I have an idea what to expect. I hope that makes sense. I wonder sometimes if it does. If it doesn’t, I blame Fibro Brain. 🙂

And speaking of research, I picked up this goodie a few days ago. candida

Ricki Heller‘s blog is one of my favorite stops and I know the advice in this book in my hands will make a huge difference.  I’ll share more about the book and recipes here and in my Examiner column.  If you need sugar-free, gut-healing whole food recipes, take a look.

I was advised to consider the possibility of candida overgrowth a little over a year ago.  I took the assessment and scored in the top range before I completed the whole thing.  Oy.  Overachiever, I am.  These recipes work with my eating plan.  I just have to tweak things here and there.

For fitness, I’m starting another round of 21 Day Fix starting on February 8.  21 Day Fix Extreme drops today, but I am not ready for that one.  Both 21DF and 21DFX are designed to get you on track with 30 minute workouts (yes), an easy clean eating plan, and quick results.  All moves include a modifier front and center and only minimum equipment is required.  I’ll use resistance bands and my favorite exercise mat.  If you’d like more information on either program, give me a shout or visit my store.

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30 minutes a day, clean eats, and modified moves that even I can do. Love it!

 

Do you have specific plans or goals for February? If you need or want support and encouragement, give me a shout.  If you’re following a different program, it’s all good. This is all about support for whatever your goals are. Swing by Facebook and say hi.

Until next time, be good to yourself.  Remember that you are not alone and that you are your competition.

Peace!

 

Throwback Thursday

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How do you get your fitness on? If you’re like me and not a big fan of traditional workouts, get more active in general. Play a team sport, dance, actively play with the kids and dogs, or get out and do more. Hubs and I are spending our free time on weekends going around and playing tourist. Sometimes it involves longer car rides, but we make up for the time seated with time walking around the sites. The sheer number of historic sites in Charleston makes it easy to find something to see.

We visited the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial

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Drayton Hall

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Charles Pinkney Site

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and looked at the water for a while

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We also went in search of a 4,000 year old Shell Ring, but it was getting a little late to hit this trail.

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I don’t care that hubs had a flashlight. Besides, the mosquitoes were pretty fierce and hungry. We’ll go back another day.

How do you do non-traditional fitness?

Until next time, peace.

All of the pictures are mine.  If you want to use them, give me photo credit and send me a link.  Don’t be the guy who steals pictures. 

Endless pool + migraine = bad idea

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Happy Migraine Wednesday.

I’m two days in and not feeling fine.  I went to my regularly scheduled aquatic therapy session this morning and kept it at 45 minutes.  It felt pretty good even though my head was spinning.

This is part of my old habit of not listening to the inner voice that tells me to stop.  Ignoring it is rarely a good idea. 

Fast forward to 6:15 pm and I’m about done.  We’d planned a short workout at our potential new gym, but I don’t think I can make it. Yeah, it’s an early bedtime for Sherrie tonight.

Hope your Wednesday is better.

August is here!

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Yes, it’s a new month complete with a new tropical storm (hi, Bertha).  Kids are heading back to school, tax-free shopping weekend sales are starting,  and the thought of a quiet house between 8 and 3 pm is making parents giddy.

Sorry, kids.  Well, no, not really.

To me, the start of a new month is time to reflect on the gains of the previous month and set new targets for the current month.  Notice I said gains?  It’s my way of focusing on the positive.  In July I increased resistance, speed, and strength.  I hit a smaller size.  I wanted to shop for clothing instead of just grabbing whatever I thought would fit.  It sunk in that I need to eat if I’m going to succeed.  No more drastic cuts to calorie intake.   For August I want to increase my aquatic therapy sessions.  I want to wear a certain top and have it look good.  I want to improve on July’s fitness targets.  See, all positive and also realistic and attainable.   It took years to fall apart and it takes time to fully recover, heal, and thrive.

What are your August targets?  You can reach them.  I’ll be right here, cheering you on.

Stormy Weather

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Just call me the human barometer.

A nasty thunderstorm popped up a little over an hour ago.  I knew it was coming because I felt it in my bones.  My already sore knee and ankle went into overdrive.  Pain that burns, tingles, and feels numb at once.  Then my shoulder decided to join in.  The day went from awesome to holy crap in just a few hours.  The plan before the flare was to get some cooking and organization going.  It hasn’t changed,  but the timetable has.  Instead of going nuts in there, I’ll tackle cooking today and finish organizing over the weekend.   Listening to my body makes a huge difference in my good and bad days.  I hope you listen to yours.

What are you up to?  How’s the weather where you are?  No matter what it’s like,  I hope you have a great weekend.

Happy Friday, all! What’s shaking?

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So, what’s shaking?  The same old thing here, but with a little more happy.

If it seems like I’m extra happy right now it’s because I am.  I went to physical therapy as usual on Wednesday and was released as a pt client.  That means I’ve improved enough that I can start the work on my own.  While I plan to stay on as a wellness client (to use that fab Endless Pool), I’m also going to slowly get back to my old activity level.  Part of my ramped up activity includes more low impact bodywork, including PiYo.

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I’m sure you’ve heard of PiYo by now because it’s the newest Beachbody release from Chalene Johnson – love her!  It’s a home version of the PiYo classes offered in clubs all over the place.  I need low impact workouts like Pilates and yoga so that I don’t hurt myself or slow my recovery.    As much as I love 21-Day Fix, even the modified movements are too much for me right now.  I’ll go back to it when I get the all-clear to do so.

There’s no shame in admitting that you need a change and moving on.  Never feel ashamed or let anyone tell you that you’re lazy because you recognize your limits and are working around them .  Do not ignore them for the sake of proving you’re not lazy.  It’s better to work harder and smarter than to go all out when you’re body is unable.   Trust me, I fell into that trap and did much more harm than good.  

Now back to my regularly scheduled message. 

PiYo has a six days on, one off weekly schedule.  Because I’m going to listen to my body, my plan is to start with three days of PiYo with one day of aquatic therapy each week.  I’ll train for a day and take the following day off.  On my rest days, I’ll still get in my usual five to ten minutes of gentle yoga and walking.   My eating plan will stay about the same for now with one exception.   Gluten has to go, doc’s orders.

So that’s what I’m up to.  If you want to know more about PiYo, my eating plan (regular and cheat day), or how I modify fitness and eating plans to suit my needs, give me a shout.   I’m on Facebook and all over social media.  Just look for Sherrie Thompson or WAHMinSC.  I’d love to hear from you.