It's a New Day

I feel like people all over the world are being extremely inspirational today. Perhaps the colder weather is bringing people TOGETHER for warmth, or perhaps I'm just living in a fairy tale world (in which case, I never want to leave). I logged onto Twitter to see numerous posts with "inspirational sayings" & it made me feel so good. We are almost to the end of 2008. For me, 2008 has been one hell of a ride, and frankly, I'm so excited for 2009 to get here - I feel like I have grown so much, and IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, and I cannot wait to continue on that path.

Inspirational quotes allow me to take a step back and unwind. They show me that it's OK to mess up, fall down, and get lost. They accept ME for who I AM. In addition, they show me that I better get up, I better start moving forward, and I better stay true to myself.

So once you log off from the computer today, I want you to think about inspiration. Who has inspired you? Do you inspire others? How has your year been? What can you improve? What are your goals?

You should:

♥ Hold hands with a loved one, boy or girl.

♥ Smile to strangers.

♥ Donate $ to charity.

♥ Walk an extra mile in your workout, for those who can't walk.

♥ Take advantage of all of your senses, smell, touch, sight, hearing.

♥ Tell someone WHY you love them, instead of simply stating "I love you".

♥ Sit up straight and proud, learn to focus on posture.

& remember... Tomorrow is a New Day, make it special.

Stretch It Out

1 in 100 people stretch after a workout. Are you a part of this alarming statistic? I REALLY hope not because stretching is such a vital part of exercise.

Stretching does the following for your body:

♥ Allows the athlete to achieve their best performance.


♥ Extends that performance for years by avoiding the consequences of long-term muscle strain.

♥ Enhanced ability to learn and perform skilled movements.

♥ Reduced muscular soreness & muscle tension.

♥ Reduced severity of painful menstruation (dysmenorrhea) in females.

Important Note: Stretching is NOT warming up! Warming up should be done before your workout & before you stretch. The goals of warming up according to Kurz is: "an increased awareness, improved coordination, improved elasticity and contractibility of muscles, and a greater efficiency of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems."

When you are stretching, remember to BREATHE! It sounds ridiculous but it's true! Proper breathing control is important for a successful stretch. Proper breathing helps to relax the body, increases blood flow throughout the body, and helps to mechanically remove lactic acid and other by-products of exercise.

ALL WARMED UP & READY TO STRETCH? ---

The best time to stretch is when your muscles are warmed up. If they are not already warm before you wish to stretch, then you need to warm them up yourself, usually by performing some type of brief aerobic activity.

Important Note: If the weather is very cold, or if you are feeling very stiff, then you need to take extra care to warm-up before you stretch in order to reduce the risk of injuring yourself.

Ideally, a particular stretch should work only the muscles you are trying to stretch. Isolating the muscles worked by a given stretch means that you do not have to worry about having to overcome the resistance offered by more than one group of muscles. In general, the fewer muscles you try to stretch at once, the better. For example, you are better off trying to stretch one hamstring at a time than both hamstrings at once. By isolating the muscle you are stretching, you experience resistance from fewer muscle groups, which gives you greater control over the stretch and allows you to more easily change its intensity. As it turns out, the splits is not one of the best stretching exercises. Not only does it stretch several different muscle groups all at once, it also stretches them in both legs at once.

PLEASE don't forget to stretch next time you workout, it's a super important exercise tool that only takes ten to fifteen minutes to complete. Use this time to unwind and concentrate on YOU. It's time to be selfish.

Reducing Stress: "Dropping the ball"

I took a stroll though the "Self-Help" section of the bookstore just to take a look at what they had to offer. I grabbed a few, and sat down to skim through. I didn't end up buying anything because frankly, I don't really know what I was looking to find . As humans, especially females, we search everyday for the answers of why we're aging quickly, fighting with our significant others, or gaining weight. We spend countless dollars and energy into looking for why we're stressed and upset. As I closed the last book, I began to wonder, "I hope Monica found her phone", "I wonder if Danny looked into his application process", "I wonder if my Uncle found out how to work the internet"... then I gasped.

I have been spending countless hours struggling within because I'm onboard with other people's problems. All of the people listed above have asked me in some way, shape, or form to "catch their ball". And instead of walking away and simply stating, listen- I need ME time.. I seriously caught that ball and held onto it.

When you catch someone's ball (AKA problem), you end up putting aside what you were doing in the first place and later on, you're STRESSED because you're behind schedule. So what do we do, just leave our friends to fend for themselves? No. There are times when catching this ball is necessary - however, we are probably catching it alot more than we should. Just because we state that "I'm sorry, I really cannot afford to help you out at this moment, let me get my own stuff straightened out and I'll call you back" does not mean that you don't care for your friend.

Instead, "the key is to know when we're catching another ball so that we won't feel victimized, resentful, or overwhelmed (Carslon, 1997).

Carlson also says that:

♥ By simply answering your phone when you're really too busy to talk is a form of catching the ball. By answering, you're willingly taking part in the interaction that you may not have the time, energy, or mind-set for at the present time.

So this week - let's try to drop the ball a few times, for our own sanity's sake. Good luck!