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Early Bird Gets the Worm

Early to bed, early to rise, folks!!

This week, how about trying to waking up earlier than usual? Kick your day off with some exercises and a healthy breakfast. There’s not a more important meal, after all. Give yourself an energy booster as soon as the day begins. Don’t slack off and oversleep; it isn’t healthy for you, and you’d be wasting precious time you could be spending on something more productive and fun. Eight hours of snoozing is sufficient. If the rest of the day is a busy one, you at least have the energy to conquer whatever may come your way. Give it a shot, and once you get into the swing of regularly working out in the morning, your days will be much better!

Spring Fever

Spring is here! It’s the time for blooming flowers, animals coming out of hibernation, and a brand new season. Even YOU can change or start to better yourself today. Try something you’ve done before, like a sport you’ve never tried, or a hobby you’ve been meaning to pick up but have been putting it off. Whatever it is, there is an endless stream of possibilities. Put yourself out there by doing something completely unfamiliar. But be careful, for I should warn you to also take care of yourself. Be cautious, but don’t let fear or yourself intimidate you from doing something that you want. Just do it!

Health Nuts

To live a longer, healthier life, here are a few easy tips that will hopefully help you out and guide you on your way:

• Laugh! Not only is this awfully easy, but it relieves you from stress and boosts your immune system. Not to mention the fact that it also lowers your blood pressure. Besides, who doesn’t like to laugh or smile?
• Don’t just brush your teeth, you should floss as well. Brushing only gets to the surface, and doesn’t dig as deep as we would hope it would. Plus, the bacteria you might be leaving behind can actually increase risks for heart disease. Yikes!
• Eat fruits. And you know what, the more colorful they are, the better. They are packed with strong compounds that restrict harmful free radicals throughout your body, which then decreases inflammation.
• Take a deep breath. Close your eyes, relax yourself, and relieve yourself all of the stresses on your back and in your mind. Easy enough, right? This one tends to work wonders, and you can do it anywhere and everywhere. Literally.
• Sleep for at least seven hours a night. It helps lower your stress, strengthens your memory, and puts you in a  better mood the following morning. Stick to a specific bedtime. You’ll feel loads better, I guarantee it.

The Power of a Team

While we are capable of many great things on our own, it’s obvious that our world functions only with all of us working together, working with each other. While team work might be heavily preached upon and is a message constantly spread far and wide, not a lot of us take it as seriously as we should. In fact, perhaps many take it for granted. The world doesn’t run with a single leader. And the world most definitely does not revolve us, individually speaking.

That aside, it remains incredibly important not just for society, but for ourselves! By working with other people, by learning about them, we continue to explore our own selves, don’t we? Not only do we get to know ourselves a little bit better, but we also do a great service to others. It’s an all around win-win situation. By helping others, we help ourselves become better individuals.

I may be speaking generally, but this is truly a universal idea. Through working together in sports, at work, or at school, virtually anywhere, working with other people is as beneficial as you make it.

How do you plan on improving your team efforts in your workspace, school, or team?

Self-Myofascial Release: The Guidelines

Self-Myofascial Release (SMR) is a technique that enables fascia to go back to its original state. Not all of us are able to afford the assistance of a masseuse on a regular basis, and that’s where Self-Myofascial Release exercises can come in handy. They only require simple objects such as a foam roller or a tennis ball. Basically, Self-Myofascial Release techniques don’t only improve your flexibility, but they also improve your performance and even help lessen the possibility of injuries.

Here are the guidelines for having an effective SMR session:

1. You have three tools to choose from: a tennis ball, foam roller, or a massage stick. Grab one, then go ahead and use it to apply pressure to areas of the body.

2. Do 10-20 repetitions on each side. Make sure to do so slowly, but surely.

3. If you notice pain in any spot, hold it there for 30-45 seconds until the pain starts to fade away.

4. Proceed to increase the intensity and apply more pressure. Stack legs on the foam roller.

5. From origination to insertion, roll on the entirety of the muscle.

6. Stretch! This will escalate your flexibility.

Reflection: The Importance of Fitness Training

This past Tuesday, I spoke in front of a large group on the importance of fitness training. I was happy to receive the response that I’d gotten, for the audience seemed to not only understand the emphasis I put on the matter, but they also seemed to appreciate and really take it all in.

This is a topic I am extremely passionate about, for I feel that it is completely vital that the message is spread far and wide. To prolong the short lives we have, the only solution is to take care of ourselves as well as we possibly can. And with having good fitness, we do just that. Through good fitness, exercise, and eating healthy, life is better in plenty of ways. By staying fit, the feeling of satisfaction not only lasts for a day, but it lasts for as long you are able to maintain it. When you get there, it won’t be so hard. In fact, once you get the swing of things, with the correct guidance, maintenance will be the least of your worries.

Don’t forget to constantly take care of yourself. Eat healthy, exercise regularly, and most of all, laugh and smile as much as possible! Your emotional health matters just as much as your physical.

Arriving At the Finish Line of Your Goals

It isn’t much of a secret: shedding those pounds you just don’t want is certainly not easy work. However, the more persistent you are when it comes to working on your personal fitness, the easier it’ll get over time.

Stories of successes in weight loss vary from person to person – it all depends on how hard you are willing to work to get the results you so desire. In spite of the differences, though, one thing remains as clear as daylight: it all pays off.

As a fitness trainer, I’ve helped and watched many people triumph through the countless ups and struggle through the many downs of bettering their physiques. I understand, beginnings can be difficult, and often times they’re the most difficult part of the process.

Just think, it’s only the beginning. But once you zoom right past that, you’ll be well on your way to that finish line.

Reflections On A Runner’s Adventure

A few days ago I had the pleasure to speak with a runner named Mark who was training for an upcoming relay race. Two years ago, Mark participated in a 200+ mile relay race through the mountains and coastal shores of New Hampshire. He prepared physically for months to complete the strenuous journey, but nothing could truly prepare him for the hardships that occurred along the way. Reflecting on this, he provided me with three tips…

Don’t underestimate the value of a team. Do you have your own personal team for motivational support? Look to your family and friends!

Get inspired. Do you have a favorite song? Do you love walking through a certain part of town? Enjoy yourself to reap the full benefits of great exercise!

Give your routine a kick-start. Like the tip above, try making your workouts fun! By checking out different activities, you might pick up a fresh favorite!

Reflect and Prepare for Life’s Next Adventure

Congratulations! At Ryan Krane, Inc. we believe that hard work deserves praise. Take a few seconds right now to reflect back on your work from 2010. With the arrival of the New Year, we need to take a step back from ourselves to acknowledge and truly appreciate our own work. What did you accomplish?

Did you give your all during training?

Spend valuable time with your family?

Meet a new friend?

Reach a new milestone in your business?

Even if the result of one adventure didn’t end as expected, learn to appreciate the journey. Stay motivated to reach your goals—or completely start new goals this year. Never forget that as humans, we’re able to accomplish literally anything we put our minds to. As famed Roman poet Horace used to say, CARPE DIEM! Take advantage of 2011 and do your best!

Exercises to Improve your Tennis Serve

When watching the likes of Roddick and Murray performing their monstrously powerful serves during big Tennis tournaments, you might assume that it is pure brute force that fuels their 150mph + efforts. While a degree of strength and muscularity is required to produce the sufficient forced required to propel the ball at such meteoric speeds, technique and power are king when it comes to hitting aces set after set. Tecnique is something that can only be perfected with years of practice on the court but power is an attribute you can work on in the weights room.

You might think that differentiating ‘speed’ and ‘power’ is splitting hairs but there are distinct differences between the two. While strength refers to the amount of weight you can move, power is a measure of how fast you can move it. Being able to bench press 300 pounds is a great achievement, but if you can’t do it explosively, i.e. with power (speed) then it is not relevant for any sports field.

Thus developing power is all about performing your reps quickly, while still maintaining good form. It’s no good twisting your spine in an attempt to haul a personal best as quickly as possible because a slipped disc will put your Tennis career on the rocks. Here are some great exercises that will develop your explosive power and possibly add a few mph to your serve:

Power Clean:

Starting from a standing position, holding a barbell so it hangs in front of you, bend at the knees and drive the bar upwards using your entire body. Twist your hands around and ‘catch’ the bar so your arms are pressed against your chest and the bar rests across your clavicles (upper chest).

Clean and Press:

The first phase of this move is very similar to a clean and press but it finishes with an over head press. Once the bar is resting on the upper chest, explode up with the legs and press the bar straight up above your head. Lower and repeat

Jump Squat:

The standard squat is a great exercise for adding size and strength to the lower body, but their lesser know cousin, the jump squat is much more adept at developing explosive power. Rest a barbell across the trapezius and squat down as if performing a regular version of the exercise, rather than simply standing up, jump as high as possible, landing with bent knees in preparation for the next rep

Plank:

While not strictly a power exercise, the plank address core stability which is crucial in transferring power from the lower to the upper body.

Increasing power is not rocket science and doesn’t require a fancy program full of elaborate exercises. Sticking to the basics will allow you to maintain focus and strive to improve each week. Here is a sample routine that could be used to incorporate these moves:

Powerclean – 5×5

Clean and Press – 5×5

Jump Squat – 3×8

Plank – 2x 30 secs

(Repeat once )

Joe is a copywriter working for a company that lease cars.He is also a part time gym instructor specializing in sports specific training.

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