Tone Your Triceps with the Tricep-Punch Combo

I’m down to a week for my next black belt test; wow.  There really is no way to cram years of training into a week of prep so all I can do now is walk through (mentally and physically) my material as much as possible and then trust in myself.  So, I have a whole week to combat any jitters that pop up with a mental pep talk of: “come on, I can do this!  I’ve got this!  I will get through it and I will do great!” etc. But to be honest, once you have the training and the practice, it’s your confidence and faith in yourself that is one of the biggest determining factors for how you will perform.

Today is a lovely dare-I-say (almost) Fall weather day.  I’m sitting here enjoying a bowl of freshly cut peaches, kiwi, and purple grapes (so sweet and satisfying who could need candy!) with a spaghetti squash in the oven to eat with my fresh picked tomato, zucchini, and pepper meat sauce.  Yum, yum, yum!  It’s an ultra healthy food day that makes me really appreciate the warm weather and the delicious foods we can grow.    I have a small garden in the back and although it’s my first year with it, and I definitely could have done a better job, there is still something so special and rewarding about going out to pick my own fruits and vegetables (especially with my son).

If you haven’t jumped into gardening, there is still time to jump in and try it out.  Broccoli and kale are two super green foods that love the cooler Fall weather.  Although we are past the prime time to plant, head to your local nursery to find matured vegetables you can still plant and harvest.  Plus, they can fill you in on what you need to do to help them thrive.  Later this Fall I will write up some of my favorite broccoli and kale recipes so we can all savor the bounty of our efforts together!  Live here in Kansas City?  I love going in to Soil Service Nursery Center on 71^st and Troost; I always find them to be knowledgeable, helpful, and with quality plants.

This week we are going to focus on the arms with the:

Tricep-Punch Combo

Note:  You will want to use a hand weight to kick up the volume on this exercise.   Don’t have a hand weight?  Grab a can of soup, a bottle of water, or any other weighted item you can hold onto. 

Start in a mini lunge position with your left foot in front.  Pull your belly in, open and lift your chest, and relax your shoulders.  In addition, activate your thigh muscles and feel as though everything is pulling into your middle.  Hold the weight in your right hand and bring your hand up to your armpit (consider this your starting position).  From here, extend your hand out behind you, lifting up until your feel your tricep muscle activate; reset to your starting position.  Now punch out in front of you, pressing out with your tricep and pulling back in with your bicep.  This is one repetition.  Do 10-20 reps on each side for 2-3 rounds.

Have a great week and good luck with the veggies!

Active Breathing -- Calm the mind and center yourself

The importance of silence…

It has been quite a week, make that a month.  Like I’ve said before, I am an optimist.  An optimist and what I have dubbed: a solution finder.  Basically that means I always try to see the best in the world and when an issue comes up, rather than getting all worked up or wrapped up in drama, I simply go to finding “solutions” to take care of the issue…rework the path for merely a slight detour instead of getting stopped in a construction zone.  However, sometimes things build up so much that even my optimistic nature and solution finding abilities start to crumble a bit; I have found myself in a situation this week.

I think my limit happened last Thursday evening when we had to rush my son to the ER to get stitches.  Man, the look in his eye when they held him down to put 5 stitches between his eyes…I think that scene (and his face when he initially got hurt) will haunt me for quite awhile.  But in the end, it’s not just this one event that has taken it’s toll on me, but rather all of the recent events that seem to have put a vice on my heart and a weight on my shoulders.  So what to do…

The answer came yesterday evening when I went out to sit on my front steps for a few minutes, all by myself:  I need some time alone to just be.  Being out in nature with nothing going on around me except the wind blowing in the trees allowed me to just sit and breathe; breathe in calm and peace and exhale out the tension and stress I was holding onto.  I finally felt some of the weight being lifted off my shoulders and as though I could re-center myself.  The 5 minutes I had definitely wasn’t enough so in the evening, after my tennis lesson (I picked up tennis lessons after my daughter was born for something fun to do), I went for “a drive”.  I had the windows down and drove through all the pretty streets in my area.  No music.  No phone.  Just the gentle breeze and warm night air coming in through the windows.  And I realized here how easy it is to get caught up in the chaos of life; to always have something going on to distract us from just being, centering, and connecting with ourselves.  In this day and age we are constantly bombarded with information, noise, activity, technology, etc. that even when we have a few moments with “nothing to do” we fill it up!  But, the thing is, sometimes it’s in the simplicity of the silence that we can find peace.

This week, I encourage all of you to give yourself a few minutes to just sit and be.  Sit outside or sit inside, it really doesn’t matter (although outside adds in the meditative component of watching the breeze in the trees, the birds chirping, etc.); the key is to put away all of your distractions and just breathe.  Breathe in the silence, the calm, and all the potential life holds; and breathe out whatever is running you frazzled or weighting you down.

Active Breathing

This will be our exercise of the week.  Although it doesn't seem like much, learning how to breathe properly takes effort and dedication, just like toning your arms or your backside.  We will do this exercise standing but you can do it just as easily from a seated position. 

Start with your feet about hip width apart; roll you pelvis forward slightly feeling the lengthening in your lower back.  Pull your belly in, open and lift your chest, and relax your shoulders.  Feel your feet grounding you to the Earth and the crown of your head lifting up to the heavens.  Maintaining this position, inhale thru your nose, breathing all the way down into your lower lungs; this means your shoulders should stay stationary while your floating ribs (bottom ones) expand out.  Pause at the peak of the inhale, feeling the expansion in your body.  Now, slowly exhale from your belly, sighing out any tension or stress, centering your body and mind (your exhale should be audible).  Continue this breathing, in and out. 

Now, as you inhale, reach your arms out to the sides and up overhead, opening your chest as you go.  Again, pause at the peak of the inhale, lengthening your spine.  Exhale, slowly bringing your arms back down by your sides.  Inhale, lengthen; exhale, relax.  Repeat for 5-10 breaths.  Then, just stand or sit, continuing to fill up your body with good and center back in to yourself.  With proper breathing, you should feel at peace and yet invigorated at the end.

Cheers to all of us having a calming and centering week.

How to: Get-Into-Shape-Immediately

It's official. I just found out I'm testing for my 3rd degree black belt in a month.  As you know, I just had my baby girl 3 months ago so instead of excitement, I'm filled with nerves. So, I have now started the "must-get-back-into-shape-immediately" game plan. Now, here's the great thing about this plan: I'm not doing anything crazy to get back into shape. Come on, I have to be realistic!  I am still taking care of 2 kiddos all day and having to provide the exclusive sustenance for 1 of them (nursing); I have to take in enough calories and have enough energy to do both of those things. 

This is important because it makes what I'm going to do to get back into shape is something all of you can do.  Yes, we all want to look and feel great in as little time as possible, but who wants to do some crazy workout-2-hours-every-day plan to get there?  Very few people.  And you know what?  Only very, very, very few people will maintain the results they get from doing it that way; it's just not sustainable.  Instead, overall good health and fitness is something you have to work at every day and every week.  Sorry!  But, if you want (or in my case need) to step it up for a bit, you can do it by simply making the most out of the time you have to workout.

I'm going to be doing at least a little bit each day to help tone my muscles, build endurance, and remembering my material (since for me I am working toward attaining that 3rd degree).  And the times that I have a scheduled workout planned, I am going to push myself as hard as I can.  Yes, that means I expect to be dripping sweat at the end of my workouts, and to be sore, but that's what I need to do to get results.  When I do squats (or a horse stance in martial arts), I'm going to push my limits and get my legs burn.  When I punch, I'm going to punch with gusto and put my whole body into it, and when I do my "break" exercises (like jogging in place), I'm going to try and go just that little bit faster than my normal pace.  And that last bit is what is key: just do that little bit extra....that little bit more effort....that little bit lower or harder...that is what is going to get me into shape and ready for my test.

For all of you out there, if you are trying to reach a goal, start with something you can do. 
1. Give yourself an "end date" that is in the near future (for me, that's my test).  This way you know that you need to do that little bit extra for just ____ weeks; then you can re-evaluate at that time.
2. Do a little something each day to bring you closer to your goal.  It can be as simple as taking the stairs instead of the elevator, going up and down the stairs twice instead of once, parking farther away from the store entrance, and walking briskly. 
3. In all of your scheduled workouts, do just that little bit extra.
4. Lastly, if you really want to get in shape, you need to workout (and by workout I mean get yourself sweating) at least 3 days a week (ideally 4).

All of you can do those 4 steps, just like I am.


Only have a few minutes?  Try this quick workout to get your blood pumping and tone your body.

20 Jumping Jacks
20 sets of Front Two-Knuckle Punches
10 Squat Front-ball Kicks
5 Push-ups
15 Mountain Climbers

Repeat 2-4 more times.

Great Arms and Legs - Plus, Baby Girl is Comin'!

We are in the final week before our baby girl is born; in fact, once this blog goes up she might already be with us.  This is a fact that I am both super excited for, and yet, a little stressed about.  I’m excited because I know that from the moment she is placed on my belly I will love her completely, thinking (knowing) that she is the most wonderful being ever.  And I can’t wait to see my husband holding our little baby girl, with love in his eyes, knowing he is totally going to be wrapped around her little tiny finger.  With big sister, I see them playing for years to come, as big sis teaches her how to do her hair and look cute while still being tough, strong, a great athlete and a seriously smart cookie.  As for our son, the awesome, super, little ninja that he is, I just hope and pray every day that they are close and that he always knows that we love and support him. 

But on the stress side, there’s just so much to do and to get done!  And how will having a baby girl affect our lives?  At work this week one of our instructors said to me “you seem stressed”.  My response was   “well, yeah, I am.  There is so much I want to happen and I only have a week left to get it all done”.  But here’s the thing with stress: it can be both good and detrimental.  It’s not good to be a wound-up ball of stress; however, if you care about something, and want to get something done, you’ve got to want it so much that you do get a little stressed about it, because that is what is going to push you to do more, strive to achieve, and get results. 

So for now, I’m going to keep plowing forward and taking what’s good, to great; because soon, very soon, it will be time to relax and focus on our family while celebrating our new, wonderful, and beautiful baby girl.

This week is Arm Week!  (With the added bonus of working your core and legs as well!)

 
Squat with Shoulder Press
This is one of my favorite exercises to end a class with (and yes, I still do this one, even now, very prego).

Begin with feet wide for a squat position with weights in your relaxed arms.  Pull your belly in to support your lower back, open your chest up, and relax your shoulders.  As always, maintain this position throughout the exercise.  Now it’s time to work our muscles!  Remember, as you squat down to keep your toes over your ankles to support your knees (do not let your knees come forward past your toes or buckle in).  As you squat down, curl your weights up under your chin; at the bottom of your squat, press the weights up over head.  Return to your starting position.  That’s it!  Do 3-5 rounds of 10-20 reps.

 

For more information on Janell and her classes, visit: www.kempofitnesskc.com

Plus, stay tuned to www.bewellwithjanell.com to see how she is getting back into shape after having her baby girl!

Rising Knee/Front Kick PLUS How to Keep Your Spirits Up and Ahieve Your Goals

 

It is now the last week on January, 2013, and I hope all of you are experiencing some success and results from the changes you have made for the New Year.  Like the tides of the oceans, your journey will have some ups and some downs, but the key is to just keep moving forward. 

To help you do this, I recommend writing down what you are experiencing related to your goal each month.  Sometimes, when the change happens slowly over time we forget how much better we feel or even how far we’ve come.  We see this in our business all the time; people come in, and after a few months or a year, they have greatly improved their energy levels, endurance, flexibility, etc, but if they didn’t write down their accomplishments along the way, they have a hard time seeing how much progress they have actually made; they can’t look back and be reminded of all of their achievements.

So, each month, write down what you have made improvements in in addition to what you would like to accomplish over the next month (be realistic).  It can be as simple as “I was able to do 1 pushup on my toes” or “I now have an extra inch in the waistband of my pants”.  Try to be specific and use actual numbers or measurements whenever you can; this will make it easier to see definite improvements over the months.  Next, write out your goals for the next month (relating back to your overall long-term goals).  Examples are: “I want to be able to do 5 full pushups by the end of next month” or “I want to be down a pant size by the end of next month”.  Repeat this process each month.  Then, when you are having a hard day, or feeling discouraged, you can look back at where you were when you started this new journey and actually see, in writing, how far you have come. 

At this point you should give yourself some kudos and some back-patting!  This is very important in order to keep your spirits up and keep you moving forward!

Rising Knee/Front Ball Kick

This week we are going to do the Rising Knee/Front Ball Kick combo.  This exercise will specifically work your core, hip-flexors (the little muscles in the crease of your leg and pelvis that help you lift your legs up), and legs.  Plus, if you really reach your arms up in the air and pull them down hard for the rising knee you will also activate all your arm muscles.  Do this combination as fast as you can while still keeping your knee up at waist level (or higher); this will get your cardio up, up, up!

Put your weight on your left leg and reach your right leg back to the angle.  In order to really work the muscles in your standing leg you will want to keep your left leg bent as if you are in a mini-lunge position; the deeper you bend, the more you will work your standing leg and the harder it will be.  Pull your belly in toward your spine, open your chest, and relax your shoulders.  This is your starting position. 

Reach Your arms up over you.  Now, forcefully pull down with your arms as you rise your knee up into your chest (the “Rising Knee”).  In our martial arts (or self defense), this would be used to knee an attacker in the groin or belly (pulling them down into the knee adds more power and would knock the wind out of your assailant).  Reset your legs to the starting position, keeping the weight on the left (front) leg.  Next comes your “Front Ball Kick”.  This time, keep your arms in front of your chest, lift your knee up to belly level, and extend the ball of your foot out in a kick.  To activate your hamstrings, after your kick keep your knee up and pull your foot back in; only after this “re-chamber” do you step back to your starting position.  Repeat.

Go as fast as you can for 30 seconds – 1 minute on each leg; repeat 1-3 more times.

 

To see this in action you can also watch our Fox 4 KC fitness segment at: http://fox4kc.com/2013/01/27/kempo-fitness-jan-27/

Enjoy!

 

ps.  Yay!  Pictures are back!  I will try and post all the past MIA pictures as well

Happy New Year! - Jump Like a Punching Frog

Congratulations!  You have now made it through all the holiday parties, desserts, extra get-togethers with friends and family, and the added stress that typically comes with the jam-packed schedule.  Now it’s time for a whole new year.  And here’s the best part: you can create the year that you want, and now is the time to begin the steps to make it a reality.  This is important: don’t wait to figure out what you what to achieve in 2013!  You need to figure out what you want, and make a game plan, now. 

Every holiday season we drive up to visit my family in Omaha.  And, every year, my husband and I spend the hours in the car talking about the past year, what was good, what we wanted to be different.  Then we talk about the next year and all we want to accomplish in every area of our life; family, business, health, personal.  Next, we begin to set up our game plan and time line.  This way, by the time the new year hits, we have already made adjustments to our path and we are hitting the road running.  So again, if you haven’t done this yet, don’t wait!  Take some time with yourself and your significant other to figure out where you want to be one year from now; then it’s time to take action!

One of the major aspects of our lives we should always be working on is our health and fitness; this will help to make sure we have many more active and enjoyable years ahead of us.  And what better place to get started then right here!  For our fitness move of the week we are going to do one of the most challenging, and fun, exercises we do in my cardio kickboxing classes; the frog leap with double hook punches.

Jump Like a Punching Frog

First Goal: Get your feet off the ground (even if it’s just an inch to start)
Advanced Goal: Pull your knees up to your chest

Begin with your feet past shoulder-width apart.  Keep your belly pulled in toward your spine, chest up, and shoulders down; maintain this position throughout the exercise.  Now, drop into a squat position, aiming for your thighs being parallel to the ground. Do a double hook punch at belly level, focusing on using your back, core, and chest to pull your arms in with the most force.  And here comes the exciting part:  press your feet into the ground, pull your belly in, and spring into the air (like a frog).  While in the air, do another double hook punch at belly level.  Repeat for 3 rounds of 10-15 jumps.  Remember to have some fun with it…you get to jump like a punching frog!

If you want to jump start your fitness program, refer to the “Hail Mary” Get Toned - Do this EVERY day until pic for the next week from the 12/17/12 post.

Happy New Year!

 

Olympic Mindset

Olympic Mindset

It’s Olympic time and I am always thrilled to watch the sheer athleticism, focus, and determination of these Olympic competitors.  Imagine the time each athlete has given to make it to this level.  Imagine all the many obstacles and hurdles these individuals have overcome to get to where they are now.  To compete at this level, it is not merely due to physical skill, but to a complete perseverance of mind and emotions as well….truly impressive on every level.

But what is it that makes some of these athletes rise above the rest?  What is it that makes the underdog (even at this level) suddenly perform their all time best and surpass the others?  What is it that makes the top athletes waiver and suddenly perform far under par?  Of course, some of these instances could be due to a physical cause: slept bad, slept good…energized, drained…healthy, sick.

But what about the mental aspect? 

There have been multiple instances in these Olympic Games that an athlete “getting in their head” has been the topic of discussion.  At one point, I even heard the commenter’s talking of how an athlete had been pointing to her head as if saying….something’s not right…and it’s all up here (in her mind).  Basically, if an athlete thinks they are going to win, they perform better, and if that athlete’s confidence is down, they perform worse.  This line of thought has been called many things…”The Power of Positive Thinking” and “The Law of Attraction” to name just a few.  The idea being that we must conquer what we think…train our mind to work for us, not just constantly chatter.

I have used this concept time and time again in my life with great success.  As an example, two weeks before I was supposed to test for my 2nd degree black belt I became sick; one week before I was supposed to test I came down with pneumonia and bronchitis.  My doctor told me to rest and not test….I said no way, I absolutely was going to test, period.  The entire day before my test I relaxed and meditated with the entire goal being to restore and rejuvenate my body.  Test day came, and I conquered each step one at a time.  And you better believe that during the ENTIRE test I was doing positive self talk: “come on, Janell, you can do this…come on, another thing down…just breathe…come one, you can do this…”  After the test, I was tired, yes, but so proud of myself and what I had just accomplished.  And my illness, I think I kicked it to the curb with each strike on that test and each positive affirmation I said to myself.

This is the very same technique that I use every day, while exercising and my muscles burn (!), going out to market for our business, getting up with our son when I am so tired, and going in for an exam at school….all times for a little positive self-talk and cheerleading.  Any time my confidence or drive begins to waiver, I do this.  And, any time I feel confident but I’m going in to do something important, I do this.  This ‘Olympic Mindset’ is a way of life.

Here are some tips to help you conquer your ‘Olympic Mindset’

1.Develop your mantra!  (This is a powerful, concise, statement about what you want to be/achieve such as “I am powerful”, “I am healthy”, and “I can do this!”)

2.Practice giving yourself compliments

3.Practice walking tall with your chest lifted high, shoulders back, neck long, and head high

4.Practice looking people in the eye.  If you have a tendency to waiver, here is a good time to practice some positive self-talk (such as “I am strong”)

5.Work on active meditation.  (A favorite one of mine is to get into a squat position (horse stance for all your Kempo martial art lovers).  Focus on your breathing, full, deep, long breaths.  As your legs start to burn, bring your attention to various other parts of your body: is your chest lifted high, your neck relaxed, your belly in strong, your thighs pressing out, your strong glutes supporting you, etc.  Finally, throw in some positive self talk as well.  Time yourself doing the lowest squat you can do without any of these techniques.  Rest.  Now, time yourself again alternating between focusing your mind on your breathing, your body, and your positive self-talk….it will take practice but I think you’ll be surprised to see how much more you can do with these techniques implemented.)

6.When you have a failure, argh (!), acknowledge it, and then move right on back to step #1.

As you can see during these Olympic Games, even Olympic athletes can let their mind get the best of them, so be easy on yourself.  As with any new skill, it is going to take time to develop.  Just keep repeating the steps and the ‘Active Meditation’ where ever you can.  And with time, you too can achieve an ‘Olympic Mindset’!  Go get that gold!

Some websites to visit on ‘mindfulness’

http://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/mindfulness

http://mindfulhub.com/archives/2011/08/mindfulness-can-enhance-athletic-performance/