I have to give kudos to those period piece types of movies and television shows when they cast women, or when they probably tell their actresses that they should really let their bodies look a certain way for the sake of realism. I just watched new episode of Game of Thrones, an HBO show that I’m absolutely obsessed with.

If you don’t know the show, it’s your typical HBO fare with quite a bit of nudity and adult themes. It’s superbly acted and the sets and costumes are amazing, making you feel exactly like you’ve gone back in time hundreds of years even though it is really a totally make believe fantasy world to begin with, not of this earth as we know it.

One thing I really love about the series is its authenticity and rawness. This can be seen in the thoughtful placement of not so white teeth, blackened faces and things that would be characteristic of that period and the amenities and lifestyles that abounded then.

This includes a different kind of femininity than we are accustomed to today. The women back then typically were not cut and toned like they are today. They were more lithe, perhaps a bit softer and less muscular, especially women of royal descent or of higher class because they didn’t really have to work for a living in a physical way unless they so chose to.

Something about the series’ portrayal of a softer, more feminine and perhaps a bit “pudgier” by today’s standards (although not pudgy really), makes me long for the days when women were not held to the hardbody standards they are today.

While it is true that this may be a healthier body type, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they were cardiovascularly fit from constant walks in the garden and the simple fact that there were not as many ways to get around back then so you had to do it the old fashioned way.

A few of the scenes in the show depict women who are much softer and less muscular, yet still very feminine. It’s very refreshing compared to the hyper-toned and skinny women we see on screen today with big fake boobs and other surgical enhancements.

I imagine they tell their actresses to lay off the working out, and perhaps if they need a waifish look, to just reduce their diet a bit but stop working out as well instead of the ridiculous standards of having to work out AND eat nothing that so many actresses seem relegated to these days.

Believe me, I still believe in working out. I still like when my body looks more muscular and sculpted. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. But I’m also a product of my generation and my society, which has placed a high value on physical fitness. Sometimes that feminine side of me just loves to see the softer curves of yesteryear, when Buns of Steel wasn’t even dreamt up yet and the fitness craze hadn’t yet invaded both the feminine and masculine world.

Happy New Year everyone!  It’s that time again. Can you believe that we are now in a new year already? It seems we just rang the bells for the new year of 2012 and here we are already in 2013. I remember when the year just would have sounded downright ridiculous to me when I was younger, but here it is.

It’s time to ask ourselves what we want to accomplish for ourselves in the coming year.  I’ve already got mine all figured out and it has to do with my financial security and my business endeavors. But it also has to do with my fitness!

I am committed to really challenging my body at least once a week as I posted previously. I think this is key is helping keep the body young, agile and fit as well as the key to keeping your heart in top condition.

I also want to commit to continuing to make sure I get a lot of dietary fiber every day to keep my digestion system cleansed and in proper order. This in my opinion, is another route to longer living and of course happiness as well – oh yeah and comfort!

Other than that I really just hope that 2013 is a better year for everyone. It seems a lot of people had a rough one in 2012, and I’d like to see that trend reverse itself this year. Starting with a better economy would be great for ALL of us!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!! WOOOHOOO!!!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas Day today. I hope that in addition to all the goodies in your stocking and under all those volumes of gift wrap that SOMEONE gave you the gift of fitness. 

This can be anything from a book on fitness or dieting to a piece of fitness equipment.  Or perhaps it can simply be a renewed sense of willpower and goal setting for your own fitness goals this year.

For me, it’s usually the feeling that comes with the inevitable pounds that tend to come on during the holidays that gets me into gear to set myself some fitness goals for the following year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

I’m actually sitting here, contemplating whether I’m going to work out right now. So I thought it would be kind of fun (as well as self-deprecating) to talk about something that we all do : make up excuses to skip workouts.  You know you do it too!

Even if, like me, you’ve become addicted to working out and really know that your body just needs it and craves it, you can just find it difficult to get up and move and have the motivation to put in that full workout that you know will make you feel like a million bucks. It’s all about the first steps of just unparking your butt and getting it moved out the door.  Or down in the basement or your gym, whatever the case may be for your regimen.

Excuse #1 : I’m not feeling that well or I’m feeling too tired.  This one is pretty common for me.  If I’m feeling the least bit run down or tired or just nauseous for some reason, I’ll look to make this an excuse for parking my butt for a longer time or just doing other things rather than working out.

This is probably the most common excuse and therefore the most dangerous one because it’s so easy to succumb to.  Try to remember how good you’ll feel after your workout. How it will infuse you with a new sense of energy and purpose, igniting the brain and making your endorphins all do a happy dance.  Remember how much exercise makes you feel better and puts you in a better mood all around.

Then when you’re done working out, you can give yourself an even bigger pat on the back because you fought the urge to not to do it and by sheer determination and passion, you WON over your brain and went!  It’s this willpower that helps build self-esteem and fosters a sense of self-empowerment.

Excuse #2 : I’ve been so good this week with my diet and with working out. I owe it to myself to skip a few.  This is another common one.  You really have to look at the facts about exercise and how much it is scientists are finding the human body needs in order to function at peak levels.

Science is finding that exercising five days a week at LEAST – even more if you have a desk job or are otherwise sedentary a lot of the time is absolutely imperative to prevent health issues and maintain a healthy weight throughout life. The need goes up even more as aging robs us of the ability to torch through calories, burn fat and build muscle like crazy like when we were young.

Excuse #3:  My neck is stiff and so is my back.  This is actually a common one too.  I know I used to use it as an excuse a lot before I realized that sitting still and not moving my body around was actually the culprit in making me stiff and sore.

Working out actually helps keep your joints and muscles flexible and in good shape. It lessens the likelihood that you’ll feel stiff.  When you sit for long periods of time, your muscles become stiff and bunched up. When you move around it may make them sore for a  day, but sitting makes it even worse.

I haven’t been working out as much as I should be. In fact, I took almost a whole week completely off of working out when my husband recently had hernia surgery.  He needed my constant help, and it was just too much of a distraction for me to get away and even work in a half hour workout.

Plus I just didn’t really want to leave his side too much, so I focused more on things I could do with still watching how he was doing like cooking and housework. So while I was still moving around a lot, I wasn’t really working my body like it was used to.

So after just a one week hiatus from exercising like I normally do, I worked out. It wasn’t anything too intense, just a half hour Gilad Total Body Workout I had taped off of Fit TV.  However, it was HARD to make it through the cardio segment, even though it’s only a few minutes long!

Not only that, but the next day my muscles hurt as if they hadn’t been worked out in a month!  This goes to show how quickly your body gets out of shape and out of the habit. However, at least I do have that muscle memory to where my body does seem to bounce back appearance-wise pretty quickly.

I already feel less “doughy” and like I’m a lot more fit just from that one workout.  But it really does hurt. My quads are sore, and my calves, so I must have worked them really hard without even realizing it.

My arms also feel really sore, and I only did a few minutes of arm exercise like backward kicks, bicep curls and some tricep kickbacks above my head (otherwise known as skull crushers).  It’s as if I had more of a workout than I actually did.

I don’t even think I could have made it through a more brutal and intense workout like a Jillian Michaels workout or a normal jog in the heat followed by floor work.  It goes to show that bodies that are in constant motion stay in motion much easier. Once you stop moving, your body begins to rebel against you very quickly.

This is just another example of why it is so important to keep your body moving and in top shape!

My beloved work-gym, which I am so incredibly lucky to have access to (as I’m reminded of by my husband a lot who doesn’t have a gym at his place of business), is going to be closed for approximately two weeks starting July 4th for renovations.  While I’m glad they’re renovating it, I’m not glad that I don’t have that optional outlet to blow off steam after a stressful day at work.

I usually will work out on my lunch time or even sometimes earlier in the day and use it as my lunch. It’s a real savior for me because I work 4 ten hour shifts and when I get home Monday through Thursday I’m so wiped out and hungry for dinner that all I can muster up is to whip up dinner, scarf it down (possibly with a glass of wine) and watch TV or play on the computer for a while before bed time, which usually ends up being between 10:30 and 11:00 on week days.

Hey what can I say? I live an exciting life!  But seriously, having a gym at your job is really a wonderful perk. I think it’s one of the things that makes my employer such a desirable employer to work for.  They are even so kind as to suspend the nominal amount they take from each paycheck for my member’s fees for the gym during the two weeks it will be closed.

It’s pretty much a full service gym. It has elliptical trainers, treadmills, recumbent bikes, all the fancy weight machines, balance balls, medicine balls, a sit up and chin up bar, a full service studio area where various classes are taught for an extra fee, and even a special yoga room off to the side.  In confess I’ve never been in the yoga room, but I’ve wanted to try yoga out once or twice there just to see what it’s like to do a downward dog and corpse pose at work!

Now I’m going to have to be creative and try to work in some physical activity during the work day. I’ll have to be mindful to take the steps at every chance I get. I’ll have to bring my jogging clothes too so that I can occasionally park at the nearby playground and jog in the nice residential area there.

I’m sure I can do squats intermittently too throughout the day. It’s just so nice to have somewhere that you can change your clothes, really get into the workout mode, and even jump in the sauna or a shower after you’re done!  Forever grateful for that….it will be tough to adjust if I ever have to leave this job!

Happy Fourth of July to everyone!  Enjoy the day off from work. Hopefully you took a long weekend to enjoy the (hopefully) beautiful July weather.  Wishing you all a happy, safe and fun Fourth. Let’s not forget about all those troops abroad who are fighting for our freedom.

I can feel the power of stress busting and exercise even as I sit here and write this. What am I talking about exactly? Well, I just got done with a workout after a stressful first half of the day. I can feel my endorphins going, my blood pressure rate has gone down and even my breathing has slowed from frenzied quickness and hurries rapidity to a nice, slow tempo again.

In short, I’ve experienced the wonderful, healing, calming and stress busting effects of getting up, moving, and sweating. There is something to be said about how exercise makes your brain work. I feel much smarter, more confident and generally more mentally “quick” and capable when I’ve been working out regularly.

Exercise definitely has a calming effect on the brain and other important organs and bodily functions.  It has a definitive physiological effect on the body and mind that is utterly undisputed.

I look to my own experience as proof.  When I think about the periods I go through where I tend to be a vegetable and a couch potato, I also realize that, although parts of that type of lifestyle can be fun at times, I’m also sometimes a mental mess.

Lack of exercise, for me, also correlates to a general apathy toward life.  If I’m not up and moving around, it sort of translates to where I am in life and how I feel about my life – stagnant!

It’s football season.  And I, like so many others here in the US, are going to be sitting on our duffs for the majority of our Sundays, watching America’s favorite sport. It’s not because I’m a huge football fan. In fact, I’m not. I prefer sports that are faster paced like basketball and hockey. Even those sports, I could take or leave.

On of my flaws and simultaneous strengths is that I find sports to be a huge waste of time. I’m too goal oriented and workaholic-minded to be able to sit and watch anything for hours on end without feeling huge pangs of guilt for doing so. But football sundays are a little different for me.

I view them as a time to hang out with our friends, who come over every Sunday at one o’clock and often don’t leave until seven or so, and a time to eat some sort of fun junky foods that I usually don’t indulge in. I also have begun to view it as a time to sit on my laptop and get work done.

Yes, I’m one of those people who is sitting on their laptop while everyone else enjoys the game!  But I do get quite a lot accomplished, and I don’t feel as horribly guilty for sitting all day long.

What I have begun to pledge to myself, which helps with the guilt immensely and also helps with the falling asleep feeling in my butt, is work out before everyone gets here. I work out fairly quickly, but very intensely, making sure I get a lot of bang for my buck with my workout.

This helps me sit and not be fidgety the whole day (which still does happen sometimes). It also allows me to enjoy something without feeling like a piece of garbage for sitting down all day.

I just got done with a very hot and sweaty day of mowing the lawn, weeding, and doing all that other fun summer stuff that sometimes feels like a bit of a stress reliever, and when you’re not in the mood, feels like a major ball and chain.

Sometimes it can be the bain of home ownership, which is otherwise pretty freakin awesome if you ask me. But if I’m not in the mood to sweat it out, watch out because I tend to pout about it.

I’ve grown to really like sweating though – especially outdoors, where you really feel at one with nature and you can just kind of turn off everythign else about your life and listen to the hum of the locusts, the buzzing of the bees, and the hum of crickets, and just shut everything else out. It is then that I don’t mind sweating, and when I feel my most in the element.

Do you have to sweat to burn calories though? Well, it certainly doesn’t hurt. The mere act of sweating means that your body temperature is elevated. When your body is working to keep itself cooler, or trying to warm itself up in the cold, you automatically switch into a higher metabolism gear.

This is because your body is forcing something that isn’t coming naturally. Much like when you work out really hard. You are pushing your body’s boundaries, and testing it. It rewards you with a higher metabolism, even if only for a few hours. This is how you can lose weight if you combine diet and exercise.

Sweating can be incredibly detoxifying as well. It rids the body of excessive toxic buildup in the body by taking it and transporting it out, along with lots of water and lots of salt, through the skin’s pores and out onto a towel, the back of your shirt, your hand, or evaporated out in to the air.

Have you ever accidentlly tasted your skin after sweating? You’ll notice that it tastes salty, and you can even feel the grit of the salt crystalizing on your skin as it dries out sometimes. It’s pretty cool!  This is your body’s way of ridding itself of excess sodium as well, so sweating also benefits you by ridding it of water retention and excess sodium intake, which can help with hyptertension.