​A foam roller is a piece of hard-celled foam in the shape of a cylinder, or ball.  It comes in different levels of densities from soft to hard, which allow different levels of pressure to be applied to your muscles.  You can get them in 1’ or 3’ lengths or 6” – 8” posture balls.  They could be smooth, ridged or …… and some even vibrate. You could even use a tennis ball to get at some hard to reach areas like behind the shoulder blades. 
 
Foam rolling is also called myofascial release and is done to work out the “knots” in your muscles, much like therapeutic massage or self-massage. The knots are myofascial adhesions that develop in our muscles through stress, overuse, movement imbalances or just everyday training.

​Like many professional women, whether an entrepreneur, executive, or administrator, you probably spend the majority of your workday sitting at your desk.  I’m also willing to bet you don’t just work 9 – 5.  I think those days ended back in the 80’s. 
 
Sitting for long periods of time has such a damaging impact on your health it is now being referred to as the new “smoking” Check out my article The Dangers of Sitting for more information.

If you're like most people, your day is filled with work, household chores, errands, taking care of kids, grandkids, or aging parents and trying to squeeze in a little "me time".  Part of that me time, is mostly likely fitting in a workout. And not just any workout, you want one that's effective, time efficient & that you can do right at home. I mean, who has time to drive to the gym? You're a busy woman! Even if you do, you've been running around all day, and don't want to take up any more of your time in the car.
 

​We all know that if you want to lose weight you need to burn off more calories than you take in. Well that’s a very simplified way of looking at it, but in general this is what needs to happen in order to burn body fat.
 
What complicates matters is that we all digest foods a little differently and how many calories we burn through out the day is also very individual. 

​With all the activity trackers out there, I think it’s safe to say that most people know it’s important to get your steps in each and every day. The surgeon general recommends you strive for 10,000 steps per day to maintain a healthy fitness level. That equals about five miles a day. This is also approximately the equivalent to 30 minutes of physical activity. 

​Lately there has been a lot of research into the ill effects being sedentary has on our bodies.   During the day most of us are tied to a desk and remain there for long stretches of time.   We commute to and from work in our cars, and return home only to sit in front of the TV.   

​The average heart beats approximately 100,000 times per day.  That’s nearly 3.5 billion times in the course of a lifetime.   The heart is only about the size of a fist and weighs between 7 and 15 ounces, yet it pumps up to 2,000 gallons of blood throughout your body per day.  This is how our organs and other tissues receive oxygen and nutrients needed to stay healthy.  Most of us don’t ever give this a second thought, but that’s a lot of work for one muscle and a huge responsibility with very little rest!  So why not take some time to take care of the most important muscle in your body

The gyms are now filled with men and women who have vowed that this year they are going to get fit, lose weight, tone up, slim down and reduce their body fat. Whatever your goal is, in order to succeed, you need to have a plan.   And by a plan I don’t mean workout 3 times a week and try to eat better.  
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A lot of people believe you need to change what you do every work out so you surprise your muscles; this is what I call chaos training.  Whether you go to the gym or workout at home, your workouts need structure and a specific goal. Let’s talk progressive overload and periodization.

​Do you know someone who constantly works out and is constantly on a diet, yet his or her body never changes?  Maybe this person is you. Most of my clients, who are woman over 50, come to me with the same complaint; I joined a gym, and I go about 3 or 4 times a week, I eat healthy but nothing is happening.  What am I doing wrong?

Why go through hours of exercise to lose weight?  Cut back on your portion sizes and you’ll be sure to drop a few pounds. 

If you want to be able to eat pizza, ice cream, heaping bowls of pasta and enjoy bread and butter before your meal just exercise harder or longer. 

Calories in versus calories out:  simple right, and doesn’t It makes sense?  Well, I hate to break it to you but it’s not quite that simple.  In order to get resultS, and I mean lasting results, you’ll need to do both.