and this small brand. . . .

Entrance to Nike World Headquarters

Haven’t had my green scenery or cold weather fix in a while so I figured it was time to go. Kidding, this weekend is the Peak Pilates mat certification at the new Xtend Barre in Beaverton.

www.xtendbarrebeaverton.com

Not only do I get to do Pilates for 18 hours this weekend (Sat & Sun), we get to spend time with family and close friends.

Have a great weekend!

www.jacuzzihottubs.com

 In the 1950s, the Jacuzzi brothers utilized their expertise in hydraulics to benefit a young family member stricken with painful rheumatoid arthritis. They created an aerating pump designed to be submerged in a bathtub to provide pain-relieving hydrotherapeutic treatments.

In 1968, third-generation family member Roy Jacuzzi created a market for jetted bath products. He invented “the Roman,” the world’s first modern, self-contained whirlpool bath – setting in motion a new era in hydrotherapy by making its benefits accessible, efficient and desirable for all. Shortly after, the company invented the first portable hot tub. (JacuzziHotTubs.com)

Relaxation and Other Benefits of Hydrotheraphy

(from JacuzziHotTubs.com)

Warm water, or “hydro” therapy can promote relaxation, stress reduction and pain relief. Hot tubs are recognized for delivering soothing and stimulating hydrotherapy. The warm water and massage elements of a hot tub can clear your mind, reduce stress, and soothe overworked muscles. Heat, buoyancy and massage work together in hot tubs to bring about hydrotherapy benefits. Heat improves circulation and warms muscles and joints. Buoyancy lifts the pressure of weight from joints and muscles. Hydrotherapy massage stimulates muscles healing and soothes soreness, which also helps to ease arthritic pain surrounding joints. By facilitating the removal of lactic acid and encouraging the flow of endorphins, those with injuries and muscle pain also benefit from hydrotherapy.

The benefits of hydrotherapy include:   

• Relaxation   

• Pre-sports warm up   

• Targeted pain relief   

• Improved sleep habits

Whether you’re juggling work and family, recovering from a joint or muscle injury, or simply needing to unwind from the day’s stresses, hot tub therapy provides relaxation, healing effects, and nourishing rejuvenation. In addition, a hot tub is a natural place to get together with family and friends, so you could say that better communication and having fun socializing are benefits of hydrotherapy.

http://runrocknroll.competitor.com

Health & Wellness for Jacuzzi Employees

Jacuzzi not only promotes health & wellness in their products, they also sponsor the Rock n Roll Marathons, and promote health & wellness for their employees. As an employee, I’ve very grateful for this! A few months ago, I worked with company leaders at Jacuzzi’s corporate headquarters in Southern California to create a fitness program and offer company sponsored fitness classes to employees on site. Why not bring my love for fitness to work and share it with co-workers?

Currently, I teach 2-3 classes per week with yoga, Pilates, barre, Piloxing, and basic strengthening exercises to tone and sculpt the whole body. I also plan on adding a 30-min lunchtime class soon. The women who participate are amazing and love coming to class every week. Some are even starting to see results! Since I’m now known as the fitness lady at work, I talk to everyone about their fitness routine, progress in their diet, and provide encouragement to a healthier life. It brings me great joy hearing about the positive life changes they’re making!

Check out my interview about the program on Jacuzzi’s blog.

Last week for the blog interview I took a few photos in front a Jacuzzi hot tub. . . . . check them out:

Jacuzzi Warrior Two

Jacuzzi Tree Pose

Jacuzzi Dancer Pose

And since I was already pretending to be a Jacuzzi Hot Tub model, they asked to pose by some of the new products for the Jacuzzi blog:

New Jacuzzi J-415 Hot Tub

New Jacuzzi filter system on the J-415 hot tub

I so wanted to dive into warm water and let the jets soothe my sore muscles!

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Do you incorporate hydrotherapy as part of your personal exercise regimen?

 Does your employer offer health & wellness programs?

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One more thing . . . . . .Jacuzzi is a brand, not a generic name for a hot tub. Not all hot tubs are created equal!

On Friday I taught my first 60 min Piloxing class at Xtend Barre and it went really well! So good I made it on the schedule! I was pretty nervous for my first official class in a real studio, and during the warm-up I actually found my legs shaking as I held a stretch. I took a deep breath, prayed a quick prayer, and looked at the 4 lovely ladies who came to class with me, all friends who were there to support me, not judge me. After that moment, I felt great and stepped up my confidence to lead them in a challenging class. I had a few flubs, but no one noticed. Things like getting off the 8-count beat and finishing a set 30 seconds too early, but I improvised and got us back on schedule. I know I’ll never be perfect with the routine, but I’m happy I was able to keep up with pace without breaking the rhythm.

My favorite part about teaching the class was challenging each student beyond their comfort zone. We all get comfortable during a workout and continue lifting our legs to a certain height, or punching with the same amount of intensity, and I was happy to push each person to go a little bit higher or harder. So fun! In the end, everyone was drenched in sweat and thankful for the intense workout. Piloxing is no joke!

The current plan is for me to teach Wednesdays at 6:00am and alternate a weekend class with Stephanie, the co-owner of XBMV. I really hope Piloxing takes off and people want more classes, cause I’m ready to make them sweat!!

www.xtendbarreworkout.com

I’m officially signed up for the Xtend Barre Instructor Training in March! I’m so excited to learn how to teach this amazing workout that’s transformed my body over the past 4 months!

It took me a while to sign on the dotted line and empty my wallet to register for Xtend Barre training, because I was apprehensive about a couple of things. Would I have teaching opportunities at Xtend Barre? Can I handle 3 instructor certifications in 6 weeks? After much prayer and talking to other fitness professionals and my husband, I decided to go for it.

One of the prerequisites for Xtend Barre is a Pilates mat certification. Last weekend, I went up to Los Angeles for the AFAA Practical Pilates workshop, which was a 8-hour course on basic Pilates. The instructor was a STOTT Pilates certified instructor, which is one of the premier Pilates organizations, and he gave us a wealth of knowledge on Pilates. Unfortunately, the course wasn’t a certification so I need to do another course. Blog reader, Caroline, a Xtend Barre instructor in New Orleans, warned me that the course might not be accepted for Xtend Barre, but I took my chances with the course anyways. Oh well, at least I got 8 hours of basic mat Pilates training! Time wasn’t wasted.

www.peakpilates.com

Thankfully, I found a Peak Pilates certification next weekend in Beaverton, Oregon at the new Xtend Barre studio. I have to travel to this training, but we were able to find cheap flights and since we have family and close friends in Beaverton, we have more of a reason to visit. Not only that, but it’ll be great training with other Xtend Barre instructors. The Peak Pilates certification course is 18 hours long over Saturday & Sunday.

Here’s my updated training schedule, 3 certifications in 4 weeks:

1. Feb 25-26 Peak Pilates mat certification
2. Mar 3-4 YogaFit Level 1 yoga training
3. Mar 16-18 Xtend Barre instructor training

So now I’m off to the races reading, studying, memorizing, and practicing all my prep work for the certifications. The more prepared I am, the better the training will go.

Peak Pilates mat certification materials - 2 DVDs & training manual

Study materials for Peak Pilates & Xtend Barre

Have a great weekend!

For my first class, I set a few goals:

• Lead them in a great workout, make them sweat and keep them safe
• Complete all the exercise blocks (11 of them) on time
• Cue the exercises and transitions effectively
• Only reference my cheat sheet a few times
• Have them want to do it again

Good News! I reached my goals 90%!! I give myself an A- because my transitions to new exercises were a little choppy and I need more practice on timing of the verbal cue. For example, when we were doing the jab-cross/shuffle block, you alternate jabs & crosses, but after a few sets you transition to a combo of jab, jab, cross, jab, & 4 feet shuffles. I forgot to make them aware a combo was coming so they stopped moving and watching me demonstrate the combo.

Cross punch - www.piloxing.com

Another thing I learned teaching to real people was that people react to different words and your verbal cue might not translate to them. Last night I taught a Piloxing workout to my friend, Nicole, and when we did the Tendus, she interpreted the movement as a toe tap forward but when I said, “glide your foot on the ground,” she understood what the move was. With practice I’ll discover which words are good trigger words to get people in the right position & movement.

One of my favorite parts about my first class were the screams of exhaustion at the end. The floorwork is very challenging! The first couple exercises are pushups from one knee while the other leg is kicking back or lifting up. Then, you do the Piloxing kick where you cross your knee behind the other knee, bring the knee up to the side like your peeing on a fire hydrant, and then extend the leg out to the side for a kick:

Cross the knee behind (www.piloxing.com)

Kick the leg out to the side (www.piloxing.com)

After the hip & butt work, you do a series of Pilates abs for about 3 minutes straight.

Piloxing teaser (www.piloxing.com)

Loved hearing the screams of hard work! Sounds so mean of me to relish in their pain! Haha! But, it showed me that I challenged them to the right level. All of them said it was one of the hardest workouts they’ve done, but they want to do it again. Success to my ears!

On Monday, I’m planning on teaching a Piloxing class at my work fitness program and my goal is to teach the full 60 minutes without looking at my cheat sheet. I also want to move around the room more, engage the students, and challenge them more.

I’m having so much fun and love being a fitness instructor!

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Check out this video clip of Piloxing on ABC News

My previous Piloxing blog posts:

• Orange County Piloxing Classes
• Piloxing Training

Ever since I became hooked on barre classes, I knew that’s what I wanted to teach and set a goal to get certified as an instructor in 2012. Initially I wanted to get certified in Booty Barre, but I’m not connected to any local studios that offer Booty Barre. Then in November, I fell in love with Xtend Barre at a studio in Mission Viejo and really clicked with the owners, instructors and students there.

Me (2nd to left) with the fun instructors at Xtend Barre

On Thursday night at Xtend Barre, my instructor and friend, Courtney (the beautiful & talented lady below), told me about a Xtend Barre training coming up March 16-18 in San Diego. Isn’t is a super cute photo of Courtney? She’s going to be on the cover of Pilates Style magazine soon. So proud of her!

Courtney - Co-owner of Xtend Barre Mission Viejo

But, one of the requirements for Xtend Barre instructors is that you need a Pilates Mat certification, which I don’t have yet. I’ve been researching different Pilates Mat certifications and all of the nationally, and internationally, recognized Pilates organizations are very expensive ($500 to $1,000), require a ton of training hours (16-90 hours) and aren’t always offered here in SoCal.

www.AFAA.com

Thankfully AFAA (Aerobics & Fitness Assoc of America), who I got my group fitness certification through, is offering a 1-day Pilates course next weekend in LA for only $99! The timing works out perfectly and it meets the minimum requirement for Xtend Barre!

I was a little concerned about being overwhelmed with all of the instructor trainings crammed into 3 months, but the Pilates & Yoga courses are basic and don’t require you to test out. Xtend Barre will be the most intense training and I’ll have plenty of time afterwards to practice before the test.

With all that said, here’s my updated instructor training schedule:

As for a big name Pilates certification like Stott, BASI, or Balanced Body Pilates, I think I’m going to hold off and see if that’s something I really want to invest in. The fitness industry is constantly changing so I know there will be plenty more instructor trainings in the future.

Have a great weekend!!!

Body Sculpt Class

My first class on Monday, Jan 23rd was a one-hour total body workout that I called Body Sculpt. Seven committed ladies attended the class and worked very hard! Here’s what we did:

1. Warm-up: Smooth, limbering movements like side to side squat toe taps, arm movements, and light stretching
2. Arms: Light weight (2-3lbs), high repetition exercises to target all the arm muscles, and then a few push-ups and tricep dips.
3. Circuit: I set up 6 stations of exercises in a circle and had them do 2 rounds. Round 1 was 90 seconds per station (20 sec rest between stations) and Round 2 was 30 seconds per station (10 seconds rest). The stations were squats, push up/side plank combo, lunges, dumbbell rows, standing leg lifts, and bicycle abs.
4. Abs: We did a handful of ab exercises like roll downs to the center, right & left, reach for toes in the sky, and reach through legs in a narrow V.
5. Booty/Hips: On all 4′s we did straight leg lifts, knee flexion, heel to the sky, and knee to the side (fire hydrant lifts). For the hips we laid on our side with knees bent at 90 degrees and did leg lifts up, forward, back, in circles and the clamshell. All simple moves with no weight, but they burn like crazy!
6. Cool Down: Stretched out the muscles and let our bodies relax.

Overall, I felt the class went very well and everyone was excited for more classes. At least I didn’t scare them away! After doing the same class again this week, I got a suggestion from one of the girls to do the same exercises but as a group at the same time. I think this is a great idea because when everyone was at different stations doing different exercises, I had a hard time coaching and encouraging them. I was pulled left and right, and got distracted on the time. If we all do squats together I can show them the proper form and then challenge them with harder variations.

Warrior 2 (www.health.com)

Yoga

On Wednesday, we changed up the class and did a yoga session. 6 out of the 7 ladies had never done yoga before so we took it very slow and did basic poses for a short amount of time. Here’s a breakdown of the class:

• Vinyasa Flow warm-up
• Warrior poses: High lunge, Warrior 1, Warrior 2, and Reverse Warrior
• Hip opener poses & pigeon
• Balance poses: tree & single leg holds with bent knee to the front and side
• Core: Modified boat pose, toe taps from table top and slow bicycle. For the lower back, we did Superman upper body lifts and ended with bridge.
• Final relaxation in Shavasana, corpse pose

The class was pretty hard for most of the women last week and we took a lot of breaks, but we did the class again yesterday and they improved 100% in their 2nd class! I was such a proud instructor! I got the “teacher’s high” too!

Teaching group fitness classes is incredibly rewarding to me and it brings me joy seeing people take steps towards a healthier life. I’m so thankful I’ve found what I’m SHAPEd to do!

I’m Shaped For Fitness!

What is a Pilates reformer? The reformer is the most commonly used Pilates equipment created by Joseph Pilates, which is used to assist and resist the students through the range of motion of a Pilates exercise. Here’s a great breakdown of a standard reformer:

(source)

The Pilates Reformer has a sliding platform attached with springs at one end and it can be moved by pulling on ropes or pushing off from a stationary foot bar. The nickel-plated steel springs glide smoothly or move back and forth on the rollers. The springs are used for resistance instead of weights. These springs provide variable or measured resistance — from light to heavy — to the muscles while exercising. The springs offer more resistance at the strongest point of muscle contraction and less resistance at the starting and finishing point. This type of resistance reduces stress on the tendons and ligaments in the body. ~www.pilatesreformer.com~

Generally, Pilates reformer classes are very expensive, ranging from $25-$50 per class and upwards of $100 for a semi-private session. Certified Pilates reformer instructors have gone through rigorous training on movement and anatomy (300+ hours), and class sizes are typically small (5-10 people), which is why it costs so much.

Since Pilates is one of the fitness disciplines I’m interested in teaching, I wanted to get experience on the reformers. Thankfully, I got a great Plum District deal to a new studio, Desa Prana, in Dana Point, CA for 5 classes for $39. Awesome, right?! Even though Dana Point is a 25-30 min drive for me, I jumped at the opportunity to try a reformer class.

Desa Prana is located on the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Capistrano Beach and looks straight out to the beach and crashing waves. Talk about beautiful views to gaze at as you workout!

View from balcony in the Desa Prana studio

Desa Prana offers Pilates reformer, yoga, barre and Zumba classes, Mon – Sat. (schedule) It’s a boutique studio with room for 6 reformers so you’re always guaranteed a small class with individual attention.

Empty Desa Prana studio

Desa Prana studio - small classes with max 6 students for reformer classes. (5 reformers set up in photo)

Jeannie McCormack - Desa Prana

The studio owner and instructor, Jeannie McCormack, has been teaching movement (yoga, Pilates, barre) for over 30 years and has a tremendous amount of knowledge and creativity in her classes. She’s definitely a free spirit and has her own twist to the standard Pilates reformer class. Her classes are more like a graceful dance than a patterned workout. Jeannie treats every one of her clients like best friends and has a genuine interest in their lives. Since the studio is privately owned and operated, you get the personal attention with a personalized workout, but you don’t get the benefits of a large, multifaceted gym like 24 Fitness. There’s no receptionist taking your phone calls or answering emails, so you may not get a hold of Jeannie immediately, but she cares about you and will respond to you in between classes.

Breakdown of Pilates Reformer Workout:

Warm-up:

Laying flat on the platform with your feet on the bar and shoulders pressed against the shoulder rests, you glide back & forth warming up the muscles and connecting your breath to the movement.

Legs:

There are many different leg exercises on the reformer, but generally you do leg presses against the bar in different positions like feet narrow, feet wide, on your toes, on your heels, one leg, leg raises, etc. Another way to workout your legs is to put your feet in the straps, which are attached to cables above your head:

Straight leg raises with feet in straps

You can do many different moves that isolate different leg muscles. The tough part about having your feet in the straps, is that the movement is “free”, not attached throughout the range of motion, and you have to control the movement by engaging your core and other surrounding muscles. Otherwise, your legs will go flying in every direction. Here are some of my favorite, graceful leg exercises:

Side to side leg extensions and flexion

Controlled inner thigh adduction (moving together)

Heel presses “Frog Legs"

Other leg exercises can also be done using an accessory called a jump board (my favorite):

Pilates reformer jump board

Lying flat on your back you put your feet against the board and explosively press away from it. You actually “jump” off the board, sending yourself and the platform to the other end, but then the springs pull you back to the board where you land and jump again. I felt like I was on a trampoline but horizontal to the ground. It was so fun! And, it’s an awesome cardio workout, I’m drenched afterwards!

Core:

Throughout the entire workout, you engage your core so your abs are completely exhausted by the end (if you’re doing it right). But, there are also many core focussed movements like the shoulder stand. With your feet in the straps, you lift your straight legs to 90 degrees to the ceiling and slowly lift your hips and booty off the platform. What’s challenging is that the cables are pulling you backwards so if you don’t control the movement you’ll flip over in a backwards somersault. After holding the shoulder stand for a couple of seconds, you slowly lower back to the platform one vertebrae at a time and then lower your legs to 45 degrees.

Shoulder Stand - Very hard, but I love it!

Lower legs to 45 degrees after shoulder stand (www.desaprana.com)

Arms:

Like the leg exercises, there are many movements you can do to isolate the different arm muscles. Many times we put a box on top of the platform and sit on it while we use the straps/cables for resistance. Again, the free movement of the cables requires all muscles to fire and your core to stabilize your body. Here are some of my favorite arm exercises:

Overhead Press or tricep extensions (www.desaprana.com)

“Superman Fly” staring point (I forgot the real name)

Sweep your arms around to the front, engaging back muscles, abs and arms.

Cool Down & Stretch: After a challenging Pilates reformer class your muscles are exhausted and it feels so good to stretch everything out on the reformer. The reformer also assists you in different stretches and helps you move smoothly through dynamic stretches. At Desa Prana you also get a nice warm cup of tea at the end of your session.

Every time I take a Pilates reformer class I walk away feeling longer, leaner, and stronger. And the best part is no joint pain!! The reformer allows you to workout all the muscles, without the resistance of gravity. Plus, all the exercises teach you to engage your core to stabilize your body, which carries over to any movement you do during the day.

Thanks Jeannie for all the great workouts at Desa Prana!

After being patient for 2 months, my first Body Sculpt class is scheduled for Monday. I have a list of 18 people who have already expressed interest and 6 have confirmed for Monday’s class. Another huge praise is that my company decided to sponsor the program and paid for all the equipment including exercise mats, dumbbells, exercise balls, and a stereo for music.

I called the class Body Sculpt because it’s going to be a total body, 1-hour workout that tones all the muscles and includes a blend of cardio, boxing, Pilates, yoga, and barre exercises. The class will be a multi-level class that challenges advanced students and encourages beginners with exercises they CAN do. Right now I’ve scheduled 2 classes per week after work and if there’s continued or increased interest, I’ll add classes.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers for my journey towards becoming a fitness instructor. . . .here I go!

I’m ready to kick some booty!!!

On Saturday it was so beautiful here, I went out to the pool and practiced teaching yoga to myself.

After practicing, I went over to my friend, Christina’s house and taught her and her friend, Lilly, their very first yoga class. We did a basic, “level 1” yoga session and I was so happy I remembered all the poses and sequence of poses. I even got the “teacher’s high”! Afterwards, I couldn’t stop talking about the benefits of yoga and all the different poses you can do. Lesson learned, I need to take a breath after class and just thank them for coming. Thankfully, they didn’t mind me being a chatter box and are excited for more sessions!

This week was a busy work week for me so I didn’t make it every workout, but I was still able to go to 3 Xtend Barre classes. One of the instructors, Sara, has a strong background in dance (dance major at San Diego State) and taught us some fun ballerina moves, which challenged our leg strength and balance.

And. . . . .This weekend I’m going to my first instructor training for Piloxing! (Prior posts about Piloxing here and here). The training is all day Sunday in San Diego so we’re spending the weekend there for a little get-away. Here we go! Sleek. . . .Sexy. . . Powerful. . . . PILOXING!!!

www.Piloxing.com