Clearing your driveway... for time!

If you are a PR Fitness Athlete, you better be clearing the snow from your driveway and sidewalk like this...

Not like this...

The training we do at PR Fitness isn't just about delivering fitness and performance, it's about being more fit for every day tasks and physical chores such as shoveling snow from your sidewalk and driveway.

When you wake up to a fresh snow, it's too easy and too common to think, "Oh crap! Now I gotta shovel my way outta here before I can get to work (or whatever)!" It's too easy to view a buried driveway as a nuisance rather than a training opportunity or a chance to do some "real" work. Why would you pass on a chance to engage in something as physical as clearing snow?

Often, tools of convenience, such as snow blowers, remove us from the physical labor that our ancestors had to do just to survive. Rarely do we have to hunt or farm for our food, chop wood to stay warm, or fetch water for the day. Done correctly, shoveling your snow covered sidewalk becomes not only a form of exercise, it can also be relaxing and energizing if you really focus on what you are doing and bring mindfulness to the task. Plus, you have an excuse to be outside and get fresh air and sunshine, something that most of us lack during the winter months.

NOTE:

Ladies - don't let shoveling the snow be something you rely on, or expect, your husband/boyfriend/other male do it for you! Grab a shovel and get crackin'.

Those with exceptionally large driveways: Where I grew up, and my parents still live, the driveway is 1/2 mile long. Shoveling is not a realistic option, duh! So, if you have an exceptionally long driveway, you can keep it real. Just do your sidewalks and a path to the car etc. Feel guilt-free in using a snow blower or snow clearing service for the big stuff. Hey, better yet, call Coach D's husband - he's a professional!

So, park the snow blower, grab a shovel and "whistle while you work". Oh, but before you do, check out the video below...

Tick Tock...

The deadline for applying for Project: Bridging the Wellness Gap is midnight tomorrow! If you are on the fence, now is the time to jump. Email your application today and embrace the life you deserve to live. Or, go ahead and procrastinate another 48 hours, let the deadline pass and take a sigh of relief knowing that you have an excuse to not make a life change and to stay in your comfort zone. It's a choice and if you are not ready to pull the trigger and submit your application, you are not ready for the BTWG program. If you are ready, then get crackin' on that essay and send it in before midnight tomorrow. www.BridgingTheWellnessGap.com

Click on "how to join", follow the instructions, and get to typing your essay. What are you waiting for?

Email applications to: chris@prfitness.net

Everyday Paleo

It doesn't get any easier than this, gang - baked chicken. Prep time = 10:00. Bake time = 1 hour. Jeff turned me on to this recipe via "Everyday Paleo" a fantastic Paleo eating web resource: www.everydaypaleo.com.

For me to suggest a recipe it has to fit within the PR Fitness nutritional philosophy, and it also has to be simple, fast, and few ingredients, otherwise most people won't use it (myself include).

In this case you simply purchase a whole chicken (organic/free-range preferred), wash it and dry it (inside and out) and lightly sprinkle with sea salt (inside and out). Place it in a baking dish and put it in a 450 degree oven for 1 hour. Feel free to get creative with the seasoning, I added a little "Old Bay", but just sea salt alone makes for a fantastic dish!

While I didn't mess around with "presentation" for the photo - it turned out perfect - golden brown, super moist and tender; way better, way cheaper, and way more healthful than anything I could have purchased at a restaurant.

Leftovers make for a healthful version of chicken salad. Oh, and don't be freaked out about "dark meat", especially if your chicken is organic/free range - the whole "dark meat is bad for you" thing is a myth. Yes, it is higher in calories, so you have to watch that, otherwise, throw down and enjoy!

Super simple baked chicken ("sorry" to my vegetarian friends), I served it with steamed broccoli.
For dessert? Blueberries and slivered almonds - yum!

Personal Training, PR Fitness Style

When you personal train at PR Fitness, you never know what you might be getting into. One thing I can assure you, no one compares to our trainers and no one gets you better results than our trainers!

One day you are getting strong in the gym...

Sherri, personal training client with Richard, strict curling 95#. Who is up for the challenge to top that?

One day you are doing Richards favorite workout, "Dragging the Line"...

On the rails in Lizton, taking a short break for a photo op. I've done this workout with Coach Richard several times. It's one of the best training sessions you will find!

Or, dodging a train while "dragging the line".

No worries. Sherri's training at PR Fitness helped her to possess the skills to jump the rails before the "Last Train to Pittsboro" could get the best of her... : )

Or doing some Old School Strongman Kettlebell work...

Bob, performing the "Two Hand Anyhow".

Get some! Contact Richard for details and to schedule your first session!

Walk, Don't Run...

"Walk, Don't Run" - Not just one of my favorite tunes from the legendary band, "The Ventures"...

... it's also the title of the latest installment on the PR Fitness blog written by PRF Coach, Richard Stent.

To improve your running, you may want to try walking. At the recent Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, the women's 20 kilometer walk was won in one hour and 32 minutes, and the lady finishing 4th, was 42 years old, and turned in a time of one hour and 40 minutes. So that is basically your half marathon distance, and those are times we would love to turn in as runners. The "small" difference is that there is a "big" difference between race walking and normal, fast walking. Race walking is a difficult technique to master and tough on lower portion of the body. However, hard walking (not race walking ) is what we were born to do, way more than running. You can walk at a good pace all day, and be recovered to do it again day after day. You have none of the pounding that comes with running, and if you are walking hard (and that means swinging your arms like runners/race walkers ), your metabolism gets a massive boost, as does your strength and overall fitness. You can spend long hours on your feet....which is critical to longer running races.

Another major benefit is that if you are a traditional heel/toe runner, it's mechanically the same, heel to toe. Irrespective of how you run, you can use walking as a recovery from running, or as serious training for a race. Try walking as hard as you can for two hours one weekend, you will be amazed at how tough it initially is, but also how good you feel afterwards. You can walk a half marathon in "normal" style, as long as you swing those arms, in around 2 and a half hours. Often, ego prevents us from this type of training. You know.." hey, I'm a runner, can't let people see I'm walking!" Hard walking is a good way to recover from the post running race BLUES. You have that depressed feeling, with no motivation to train. So, get out and walk and see how your mood recovers along with your body.

Once you graduate to marathons and Ultras, you will find that walking hard in training is invaluable, because of the time on your feet, and also because you will very much feel the need to walk during a long race, and hard and skillful walking will ensure you eat up the miles as well as resting vital running muscles. As you become a better runner, you will be able to outpace runners!

Hard walking will keep you seriously fit AND healthy. Runners tend to overdo training, especially the wrong training, and are fit but most often not healthy. Try it. Most runners ARE NOT doing it...so it must be good!

Coach Richard is PR Fitness' Lead Personal Trainer, offering the best one-on-one coaching you will find in the area. He also teaches the PR Fitness "Intro" program, which all new PR Fitness athletes must complete.
Richard is a lifetime athlete, competing in various sports as well as endurance racing that includes multiple finishes of the Comrades Marathon (difficult 56 mile race), Ironman distance triathlons, multi-day kayak races, and more. He is also a veteran of the elite Rhodesian Light Infantry, a legendary airborne commando unit of the Rhodesian Army.
To schedule a consultation or appointment with Richard, email him at: richard@prfitness.net

A Body Bewildered

By, PR Fitness Athlete, Kelly Rota-Autry.

I can make my body do a lot of things, especially now, after a year of PR Fitness training.

• I can make my core and arms lift really heavy stuff off the ground, sometimes even over my head.
• I can make my legs run 13.1 miles on a crowded Indianapolis street or a hilly Eagle Creek trail.
  
• I can drag a 100 pound tire behind me, throw a 14 pound medicine ball high against a wall, pull my chin up over a bar (with a little help from my rubber-band friend)
• I can hold a crane pose – even side crane sometimes – and stand on my head.
• I can wash away the day’s stress and funk in a bath of sweat, wood pellets and chalk dust – and my body just keeps saying "yes, yes, yes".
  
• I can make my face smile through all of this, because quite frankly, it just makes me smile

But, here’s the rub:

• I can’t make my uterus bleed.
• I can’t command my hair to stop graying.
• I can’t summon my sweat glands to stop soaking my t-shirts as I wrestle with sleep.
• I can’t tell my body that it is not time to stop ovulating, not time to make THAT change.

I can find the mental focus to count down reps from 21 to 15 to 9, (even while lifting heavy stuff), but I can’t seem to control the urge to scream, to cry, or to not blank out at the most unpredictable moments.

I love all foods "paleo", yet crave to eat my weight in Pixie Stix (and would, given the time and the pixie stix!) I am so powerful, yet so powerless over this new phase of my life as a woman.

I remember in my 20s, how much damage I did to my body – no sleep, no real food, smoke, sporadic exercise and other unhealthy extracurriculars. Still, with a few sit-ups, a short run now and again, and a fad diet - BAM!, things were not perfect, but better (at least looking better).

Then, in my 30s I became a mother and lost any real connection to my body. It was just something I threw clothes on to get out the door and floated behind the children in a family photo. I did less damage, but also paid less attention. And under the weight of work and family and my own neglect, my body swelled – perhaps to fill the space left by my inattention, insecurity, and invisibility.

I'm now smack dab in the middle of my 40s, and my body is one big question mark. “Yes,” it says agreeably, “I will lighten up and tone up. But I will also ache all day for no apparent reason. I will wrinkle and blotch and sag in all the wrong places (is there a right place?) I will play ping-pong with your emotions and tease you with tireless energy and endless exhaustion. Game on, watch the curveballs … “

For a time, I was in denial, thinking "any day now, my period will start and life will go back to its pre, pre-menopausal state." And when it didn’t, I sent my husband on a 6 a.m. run to the pharmacy for a pregnancy test, just to be sure. Yep, certain now that this endless state of PMS is not going to end in a maternity leave, I accept this transition; it's not welcome and it's not not pretty. In between the tears and rages and melancholy, I know it is not hard, either. Losing loved ones is hard. Being a parent is hard. Balancing work and family is hard. Aging is not hard. It just is. And it is ironic to know that, along with the mania, there are some perks:

• The beautiful strong women I am surrounded by who are aging right along with me.
• The opportunity to share sage wisdom and life experiences with those who will listen, those who want to know.
• The crazy confidence to finally live life in real time: To wear a bathing suit without shorts or a sarong! To speak my mind. To share my heart. To follow my gut.

If you read this, and you get it, awesome. I hope this speaks to you, in whatever life stage you are in, whatever change you face; whether you embrace it, or ignore it, it will happen. I’m just trying to live the best way I know – with an open heart, a kettlebell, a Paleo cookbook, a great community, and a wrinkly smile.

Peace,

Kelly

Kelly is a PR Fitness "O.G." - one of the Crew that has been there since Day 1. Kelly started her training with Chris several years ago as one of his Power Yoga students, seeking better health and life balance. In 2008 she enrolled in Chris' 12 week wellness program, "Project: Bridging the Wellness Gap" (BTWG). BTWG was a transformative experience for her and a true awakening. Not only did she lose unwanted fat and become more fit, she truly changed her life in all facets of wellness. Kelly has gone on to compete in sprint triathlons, road and trail half marathons, a 100K team relay ultramarathon, and more. These days you can find Kelly, and her husband, Matt, kicking butt in the workouts at PR Fitness, running the trails of central Indiana, and walking the talk of health, fitness, and well-being. Check out her BTWG blog by clicking HERE

'Tis the Season...

For allergies...

Many of us here in the Mid-West suffer from seasonal related allergies and turn to over-the-counter medicines or prescription medications to offer relief. However, there are several practices and tools you can employ to help reduce the symptoms of seasonal allergies, or in many cases, avoid them all together. The following tips have helped many of my clients overcome serious seasonal allergy issues and I'm confident they will help you as well. If you don't suffer from allergies, read on and incorporate these practices as well for good health!

Among other things, allergens trigger inflammation in the body. If you already have elevated levels of inflammation you are more prone to the symptoms of seasonal allergies. Additionally, if your immune system is deficient, you will not be able to naturally defend against the allergens present. Therefore, it is crucial to keep your immunity strong and inflammation low. Here are a few basics:

• Clean up your diet - a diet that is high in starchy carbohydrates, especially grain-based carbs and sugar promotes inflammation. Wheat is a major culprit and should be avoided by seasonal allergy sufferers (or, in my opinion, avoided at all times!). I also suggest keeping dairy to a minimum if you suffer from seasonal allergies as milk can compound the problem of excess mucus.
  
• Fish Oil - Omega 3 fish oil has many health benefits, including strong anti-inflammatory properties. I suggest taking 3-5 grams of high quality Omega 3 fish oil on a daily basis.
  
• Train smart, rest well - As previous posts on this blog have suggested, recovery and knowing when to back off are essential to avoiding the pitfalls of over training syndrome (aka - under-resting). One of the many side effects of inadequate rest and recovery is inflammation. Include silent time/meditation into your weekly practice along with self-care and intelligent training to avoid unnecessary inflammation.
• Green and/or White Tea - Both green tea and white tea are high in antioxidants which support immune function and good health. I suggest drinking at least 2 cups per day.
  

And, of course, I had to add my "secret weapon" for keeping the sinuses clear at all times, regardless of the season, yet it's also a powerful tool in the seasonal allergy fight...

Neti pot - Well, it's not such a secret anymore, thanks to the likes of Dr. Oz, Dr. Andrew Weil, but just a few short years ago if you mentioned the neti pot people looked at you like you had two heads. If you told them what it was and what you did with it, they ran the other way. Looking much like a genie bottle, you simply add a mixture of warm water and sea salt, lean over the sink, insert the spout into your nostril, tilt your head to the side and pour. Allow the water to run into one nostril and out the other. It takes some practice and getting used to, but once you get the hang of it you will quickly see the value of doing the neti pot on a daily basis.

The dastardly Neti Pot. Get one, rub the side, and make a wish for clear sinuses and allergy relief. If that doesn't work, read the instructions on the box, use it, and see what happens.

The neti pot is a practice that stems from yoga and has been used for countless years by yogis to keep the nostrils and sinuses clear and healthy. For the yogi, this enhances the practice of pranayama (breath work) and the ability for one to uptake Prana (Prana, as in life force, not the climbing apparel). For us, the neti pot is a simple, drug free manner in which to flush allergens from the nostrils. Additionally, the high sodium content solution works to kill viruses and dry up mucus (lovely, right?). Of all the tips suggested in this article, the neti pot is superior to each and every one. Many of my clients/students have found total relief from allergies by simply using the neti pot on a daily basis.

Even if you do not suffer from seasonal allergies, I recommend using the neti pot year-round. Daily, we pick up dirt and debris from the air and environment. I find the use of a neti pot highly beneficial after a long trail run, after mowing the lawn, or after being outside for a long period of time where we are exposed to airborne particles. Along with keeping dust, dirt, and allergens out of the nostrils, keeping the breathing passages clear and healthy enhances nasal breathing during training sessions (running, gym workouts, yoga, meditation, et al.) which is vital to performance.

There was a time when you could only find a neti pot at a yoga studio, or perhaps a real-deal health food store. These days you can find them at just about any pharmacy - I've seen them in Kroger's, Marsh, CVS, and Walgreen's, so there is no excuse for you to not have one and get started using it today!

Let me know if you have questions!

Chris