Month: March 2015

Everyday Athletes

March 21, 2015

You’re not the athletic type. You never went out for high school sports, don’t carry a tennis racquet, or Yoga mat. You may be under 35, or over 50.  Weight rooms are not your thing, nor trampolines, or swinging a baseball bat.   But yet, you qualify for the title “Everyday Athlete”.  How is that?

You may need to rush to a meeting in a snowstorm, or hop over urban puddles on your way to catch a taxi.  You may be carrying a cord of wood to fire up your wood burning stove.  The activities of daily living, we take for granted, require strength, agility, fortitude, and stamina.  Congratulations, you’ve earned the title, “Everyday Athlete”.

THE PROFILE OF AN EVERYDAY ATHLETE

– Stays slim.  Knows that gluttony isn’t cool.

– Climbs stairs at work, instead of taking the elevator.

– Abides by the less driving rule.

– Rides a bicycle, or walks to work.

– Grabs an umbrella, and strides through the rain.

– Unafraid to slog through snow.

– Stays strong through blustery winds.

– Tackles tire changing, and wiping down a snowy windshield.

WHAT’S YOUR SECRET?

The Everyday Athlete knows the importance of strengthening the core muscles.  That’s why they can fly over puddles, tackle snowstorms, zip up a flight of stairs, and never shrink from life’s difficult moments.  

 

 

Copyright Irene Pastore and Tour de Core Personal Training

 

 

 

 

 

It Started With A Meatball

March 13, 2015

A Canine Adventure Story for  For Animal LoversTeam Peak Performance says that after six days, they "crossed the finish line with 5 members instead of 4 as the 12th top team in the world."

Team Peak Members and Arthur the Homeless Dog

A lonely, homeless, dog, followed a Swedish race team through water, rough terrain, and muck, after they took pity on him, and fed him Swedish meatballs, while on an endurance race in Ecuador.

The story received international attention, appearing in the Washington Post, NPR, The Daily Mail, The Telegraph, and the BBC, to name a few.  The team named the dog Arthur, who is now a global celebrity.

The team traveled 430 miles in six days and six nights, using maps as their only guide.  After two-thirds of their journey, they were adopted by Arthur.

Known as Team Peak Performance, they walked through Amazon rain forests, and kayaked through rivers.  At first they hesitated about having the dog travel in a kayak, and decided to leave him.  But the dog prevailed, after jumping into the water after them.  They took him on board, where Arthur rode in one of the kayaks.  The team came in 12th in the Adventure Racing World Championship.

Long story short.  Happy ending.  Arthur was adopted by one of the team members, Mikael Lindnord, and now lives in Sweden.  Read more on the Team Peak Performance Facebook page, where there are plenty of photographs of the team, and their mascot, Arthur.  A lucky dog.

Copyright 2015 Irene Pastore and Tour De Core Personal Training

 

Get Hired: Improve Your Posture

March 6, 2015

What does your posture say about you when you walk in to a job interview?  Is your head jutting forward, and down? Are your shoulders rounded?  Is your appearance slouched?  If so, you’re not exactly portraying an air of confidence.

MOBILE DEVICES AND YOUR POSTURE

 

In today’s era of electronic devices, most working adults are in the habit of bending their neck forward, with the chin toward the chest.

As they slouch at their desk, use their cell phone, watch TV,  videos, or surfing the web, their shoulders and upper back round forward,  while the head juts forward and down.

Over time, looking down at your cell phone, removes the natural curve of your neck, puts strain on the muscles of your cervical spine, causing pinched nerves, and herniated discs.  Doctors are seeing more patients with mobile technology-induced head, neck and back pain.

Chronic downward tilting of your head, is the result of lifestyle habits that encourage what chiropractors, and orthopedic doctors refer to as, forward head posture, and thoracic kyphosis, a rounding of the upper back.

Frequent cell phone texting is an example of a lifestyle habit that may result in poor spinal health.

Forward leaning of your head tightens chest muscles, and weakens the upper back. When your upper back weakens, it develops a rounded appearance, while your chest appears caved in, and your shoulders collapse forward.

On a job interview, you’ll want to look healthy and confident. Slumping forward with your head down conveys the opposite.

CORRECTIVE EXERCISE

Take heart, there is a solution to your problem.  It’s called corrective exercise.  Poor upper back, and neck posture can be reversed with strengthening exercises that target your upper back, stretching exercises that open the chest, and strengthening exercises for the back of your neck.

Copyright 2015 Irene Pastore, and Tour De Core Personal Training