We made it to 2023! Here at Kin Co it has been pretty quite on the business side, busy on the personal side. I am still trying to catch my stride with my new title as "mom of 2" but everday I get a little it better. New videos to come soon, and because I am soooooo self centered it will be an "ease back into it" series... because that's what I need. Hopefully you do too. I think I mentioned it last year, but I am a person who likes new years resolutions. It feels like a fresh slate with so many possibilities. Reflecting on my 2022 goals I was successful completed so goals (home renovations, mindfulness) and failed in other areas (personal finance, drinking water). I was half successful in saving and fitness. I am going to re-evaluate my failures and half successes into new year and plan for success in 2023. If you are interested in planning with intention find THIS blog from last January to give you some tips and tricks. The other area of my life I want to be intentional about is fitness. In the past I have just picked a program that burnt the most calories, but these old bones need more structure. So in 2023 I am going to be more strategic, focusing on fixing my posture, and functional training. Of course I will still mix in the HITT workouts because I just love them so. So come along for the ride! Keep an eye out for new workouts HERE Here is the best video from 2022... 44 VIEWS. Wahoo!
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Hey Hey! Kin Co is going through some changes and I want to take you along for the ride! August was a busy month for me! I started a new part time position in Kinesiology and also got some extra contracts to fill in the other days in workplace rehabilitation which was exciting for me! Plus Kin Co turned ONE! I also entered my 3rd trimester of pregnancy which probably isn't the best match for all this professional aping up BUT life is what happens when your busy making plans so here we are. With all this being said there are some changes coming to my business that I wanted to highlight! Personal Training - I will be pausing taking on new personal training clients for the time being. Fitness Classes - I wont be able to offer in person classes until 2023. I will also be looking at virtual options in 2023. YouTube classes - I am still going to aim to post 2 videos a month. Make sure you subscribe here so you don't miss one! Any work wellness needs I will try my best to fit into my schedule. Just know timelines might be a little longer. Check out the page here to see what is offered Thank you for all your support with these changes! If there are any fitness or kin things you want to see in the future comment below! On July 8th I took my fitness watch off and I have not put it back on since. The constant reminders to be active that I once found motivating were now just super annoying. So I let the battery die and it's been sitting on my night stand ever since.
Its normal to have these feelings about fitness, it's okay to become unmotivated. But it's time to dust of my running shoes and get back to it! Here are some things I have done to kick the fitness funk. 1) Acknowledge your feelings - I quit wearing the watch, with conditions. Tec can be super helpful in assisting you in achieving your goals, but when every push notification makes you want to roll your eyes.. or smash it with a hammer, it might be time for a break. So I told myself I would not wear it for July, and crush the challenges in August. BONUS no weird watch tan lines. 2) Switch it up - My fitness go tos are Cardio (usually running) and weights. I like 45 min max workouts that burn as many calories as possible. But for July I wasn't feeling the high intensity workouts anymore so I decided to switch it up. Walking and stretching became my go to, and because I ditched my watch the limited calories I was burning didn't phase me as much. 3) Have a plan to return - Taking a break from your fitness routine is healthy. Making a change to what you are doing can benefit your attitude towards fitness but also can be beneficial to your physical gains. One training principle is the principle of adaptation, " the process of the body getting accustomed to a particular exercise or training program through repeated exposure" in changing our workouts the body is challenged more, and gains are more noticeable. If you need to quit your routine all together because of an injury, changes in schedule, pregnancy, or travel it's good to have a plan to return. How are you going to accomplish this and not slip back into a sedentary life? Who can cheer you on, what can you do to avoid failure? One of my first blogs was on creating "SMART" Goals (you can find it here). Having a detailed plan will increase your success. What's my plan? To try to get back into lifting weights 2 times a week, and continue walking at least 3 times a week. I also want to focus more on stretching and mobility. So trying to get at least two 30 minute yoga or mobility classes into my schedule per week. I will track the workouts in my planner and stick to the schedule. So the moral of the story is fitness funks happen. We can finally travel, get social and leave our house. It's normal to not want to spend your new found freedom in a gym working out. I get it. BUT fitness is important to our health so finding alternatives is key! Go for a run with a friend, get our and garden, enjoy the outside as much as possible. September will be here soon and the gym will be waiting. Until next time , Jess Working the core is not a new thing in fitness. Magazine covers always have titles like "15 min to a 6 pack" or something about a bikini belly. Thankfully high wasted bikini bottoms are in style and we can finally just live our lives. Sorry fellas, you still have to deal with mid rise. These types of core workouts focus on what I like to call "vanity muscles" and yes they have a purpose in helping the body move, but there are deeper muscles in the core that are important to target because they help with stability of the spine. Working the deep muscles of the spine are important in injury prevention of the back, as well as helping with rehabilitation after suffering a back injury. Lets look at some anatomy to get a better idea of what is happening on the inside. In picture 1 you can see all the layers of the Core Muscles. These all help to move the spine through it's planes of movement but in picture 2 you can also see where it helps with stability. Looking at picture 2 you can see that there is a large white space in the middle. Organs and other tissue fill this space but they don't help with the stability of the spine. This makes it important to keep the muscles of the low back and core strong. The obliques and transversus are going to keep the structure around the organs to help with stability. See it's not just about the 6 pack! If you are feeling inspired give this workout a try! See you in the next one! It’s the March Break and for some of us this means nothing… because we are still at work grinding away. But for others it might mean an all-out adventure week. Full of the unexpected! Doing activities, you reserve for once or twice a year can be fun, but man the next day your body might be like “what the fresh” Speaking from personal experience as a recreation snowboarder, who will go out once a year and then may not pick the board up again for many years, I know the body aches are real. Scroll to the bottom from my post snowboard stretching video. But if you have participated in another activity this March Break here are some trade secrets to make your own stretch program.
Hope this helps with all your March Break Aches. Cya in the next one! It’s so easy to forget about the heart during happy times. It’s just beating away, doing its thing. But when we are scared or nervous or even must climb up a couple flights of stairs this guy lets us know, “hey- you are alive, and I am working hard to keep it that way” In the last blog we talked about how chronic stress and even a single traumatic event can negatively impact that heart. But there are so many things we can do to support the heart.
3. Stay Active- It is recommended by the heart and stroke foundation that you accumulate 150 minutes of activity a week. This can be done in as little as 10-minute intervals. Exercise will keep your heart happy and strong. Today’s blog video is ANOTHER 15 min cardio workout. This time we take it up a bit so get ready to sweat. It can seem overwhelming to fit all this into your regular routine. An area I really struggle with is proper nutrition. So, I have also included some heart healthy recipes below to help with that respect. Burrito Bowls and Chili are great because you can make a huge batch and have leftovers for ever! Bonne Appetit. References
Dietary Fiber – Essential for health living Mayo Clinic 2021 https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/fiber/art-20043983 Managing Cholesterol Heart and Stroke Foundation https://www.heartandstroke.ca/heart-disease/risk-and-prevention/condition-risk-factors/high-cholesterol?gclid=Cj0KCQiAjJOQBhCkARIsAEKMtO3r6eGgV9sxB7cSvRrgxG1I-hRjdZC61jgAxScZuZ-nxSUg5W4ObKsaAvHlEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds How much physical activity do you need Heart and Stroke Foundation https://www.heartandstroke.ca/healthy-living/stay-active/how-much-physical-activity-do-you-need February is Heart Month. So let’s send some love to the muscle with the most endurance. Yes glutes are cool and having killer abdominals is neat… but the hearts got… well heart. I can totally nerd out on the function of the heart, but I will *try* to keep it chill. I also want to dive into why love and emotions are connected to the heart. I have totally experience chest wrenching heart break but why does this happen… on that later. Your heart pumps blood to the muscles of the body, bringing oxygenated blood to the muscles and back to the lungs to get re-oxygenated again. The anatomy of the heart is what accomplishes this oxidization of the blood. The heart has 4 chambers and these chambers contracting at different times pushing the blood to the lungs and then back out the body. The thump thump you hear is the valves in these chambers opening and closing. The heart has 2 nodes made up of both muscle and nervous tissue that regulate the heartbeat, yes it’s own pacemaker (Thought Co, 2019). The heart decides what the demand for oxygen is an adjusts the heart rate accordingly. The heart beats about 100 thousand times a day! But why is the heart linked to emotion? I remember watching this Greys anatomy episode about a woman who had a heart attack every year because it was linked to a traumatic event she experienced (Season 2 Episode 5). She was ultimately diagnosed with “Stress Induced Cardio Myopathy”. This is actually documented by the medical community and is also known as "Broken Heart Syndrome. The coronary arteries go into spasm causing the heart to not contract normally and a decreased blood supply to the heart. (Abbott 2017). Chronic depression can cause “Sad Heart Syndrome” due stressors like high blood pressure and increase stress hormones like cortisol. This stress can actually put patients are a greater risk of heart disease (American Heart Association, 2021). These syndromes explain why the heart is often linked to emotion and why the heart has been connected to emotions even before we had the science to support it. Although we can’t control when our lives get turned upside down, we can support the heart with lifestyle, diet, and exercise. This week’s video is part of the 15 minutes for… series. And you guess it today we are focusing on cardio. This workout is great on its own, but you can also use it to warm up the body to prepare for a workout. References
Verna Bradley Episode 5 Season 2 Retrieved from : https://greysanatomy.fandom.com/wiki/Verna_Bradley Heart Nodes and Electrical Conduction, John Hopkins Medicine. Retrieved from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/anatomy-and-function-of-the-hearts-electrical-system What Science Tells Us About Emotions and our Hearts, 2017. Abbott Retrieved from: https://www.abbott.com/corpnewsroom/healthy-heart/heart-emotion.html How to depression affect the heart, 2021. American Heart Association Retrieved from: https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/mental-health-and-wellbeing/how-does-depression-affect-the-heart Are you stressed the fresh out? Me too! Even if you’re not stressed out right now, I am sure you have experienced it at some point in the past. For me it can show up in different ways, but when I am MEGA stressed my neck feels the burn… and not in a good way. The American Psychological Association explains that our muscle tense up with stress because our body goes into protection mode. This reaction is to avoid injury or pain. The problem is many of us experience CHRONIC STRESS which puts us in a constant state of guarded muscles. OUCH. This can cause headaches, neck, and shoulder pain. Phew I am normal! How can we stop this perpetual stress cycle? Obviously run away from all our troubles and triggers. Just kidding. Here are some things that help me.
Introducing the 15 minutes for…. Series. In this YouTube series I will bring you through videos for healthier living from rehabilitation to general health practice. Always exercise based, Always 15 mins. This week is 15 minutes for Stress. So lets do it! References
APA - Stress effects on the body Retrieved from: https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/body Mayo Clinic - Stress Management retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/exercise-and-stress/art-20044469 Welcome to 2022. Isn’t there something magical about January? The possibilities seem endless, and you have the whole year in front of you to become the person you always wanted to be. I know the jury is out on new years resolutions, but I am in the camp of LET’S DO IT! I totally can see why people are anti new years resolution… because it’s usually surrounded around making yourself a better human, which typically means you need to lose weight, or wear more sunscreen, get sleep more blah blah blah. And then the shame spiral starts. Let’s reframe our thinking. What in life isn’t working for you? What do you want to change, no shame… just gain! I think another reason why people hate new years resolutions is it just feels like they are being set up to fail. Being successful takes planning, and just saying I am going to get 8 hours of sleep every night isn’t going to get you there. Planning is key. So here is what I am doing to make my 2022 goals a reality. Step 1: Write down the goals. Here are some mine.
A very common way to plan is to use the “SMART” goals. This is an acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely. Using a specific goal, lets break this down. Let’s go for the Visa bill. We start with I will pay off debt Make it Specific - I am going to reduce the balance on my visa bill Make it measurable – I am going to pay off $5000 by the end of the year Make it Attainable – I will prioritize paying off debt to buying new things Make it Realistic – I can afford $200 biweekly to pay down debt, but still pay other bills and live my life! Make it Timely - I will complete this goal by the end of the year and check in quarterly to adjust my goal if needed. There! The plan is made. If you have a planner, I will write in the dates to check in with your goals. This year I am using Passion Planner for an agenda and am loving it so far. On top of your normal agenda stuff, it also has goal setting strategies we just reviewed embedded right in the planner. The best part is they have tons of digital prints on their website for FREE!! I love when companies offer things for free! Here is the link . I am not affiliated with Passion Planner; I just think it’s a great tool if you’re an agenda lovin’ human like me. Alright so before your get your pen and paper to write down all the amazing things you’re going to achieve this year lets move a little bit. This workout is going to focus on a lot of large movements to build your confidence. I watched a ted talk how body language can shape who you are, and by making yourself “big” you can make yourself feel more confident in situations like interviews or public speaking, so let’s get to it! The Workout Posture Adjustment Deep Breaths, Arms out Shoulder Mobilization Hip openers, Hip swings Goddess Pose Sequence – Reach up, Twist, Side Bend, forward fold, bent elbows, Squat Wrist Mobility 30 sec jumping jacks, 30 sec star jumps. Repeat Goddess Pose Sequence but hold “squat” Cya in the next one! Does anyone out their love Christmas, but at the same time it can be overwhelming and kind of make you sad? I lost my job 2 years ago and haven’t really been able to find meaningful work since. {insert trying to start my own business.} And really struggle with not having money that is mine. My husband is great, and he supports us, as a family we are fine. It’s me and my own things. At the end of the day, I know I am super lucky, I get to spend tons of time with my toddler, I don’t have to work a job I hate plus so many other benefits. At moments Christmas just makes me feel like a loser. It’s weird buying anything with money you don’t feel is yours… Christmas gifts included. And at moments it makes me sad. If holidays can be triggering for you just know you’re not alone. Things will get better, and then probably worse and then better again, because that seems to be the general projection of life. Here is how I am dealing with this whole money thing and maybe you can apply some of it to your Christmas hang ups
Happy Holiday Everyone |
AuthorJessica Johnson R.Kin Archives
January 2023
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