SUMMER CLASSES START JUNE 28th - sign up now!

Dynabody Total Fitness Summer Classes are set for Tuesdays and Thursdays evenings

 

starting June 28th  

 

and runs through September

 

6:30 – 7:30 pm.

 

ALL classes throughout the summer for just $100*!

Bring a Partner for an additional $60. That’s $160* FOR TWO!

 

*gst extra

Email me at dynabody@gmail.com for more information.

PHYSICAL LITERACY

At a recent Manitoba Fitness Council conference there was a very interesting Presentation by Dr. Dean Kriellaars on Physical Literacy.  Not only a professor at the U of M, but also a Doctor for the Cirque de Soleil performers training centre in Montreal, he knows first hand the importance of movement and the need to have people active.

 

Simply put, YOU CANNOT GET FIT WITHOUT PARTICIPATION!

Dr. Kriellaars would know, he was one of the key players in developing Canada’s Physical Literacy program which is now well known and used throughout the world.   Just like reading and writing, children need to learn how to move.  If we want children to be active for life, they need to develop physical literacy at a young age.

In many countries the Literacy Model has been improved upon.  Not only is it (1) Learning your ABC’s but; (2) Numerical Literacy (1,2,3’s) (3) Musical Literacy (Do Re Mi) and (4) Physical Literacy – movement vocabulary. 

Without the ability, confidence and desire to be physically active just knowing the fundamental land based skills are lost.  Unstructured play become extinct, obesity and diabetes increases and bone density decreases. Eg: Obesity went from 9% in 1970 to over 26% in 2015 and is estimated to be 2/3 by 2030!   How many kids do you see playing outside after school or on weekends?  What are YOU doing after work???

 

And, what about Happiness and Physical Activity?  At Age 5 all kids love it.  At the Age of 10 -13, most Girls feel unhappy with Physical Activity!

  

This doesn’t have to be.  Functional Fitness is in the right direction.  Something that I have been emphasizing since I started teaching fitness classes over 9 years ago….mainly to adults, however, the requirements are the same.

Physical Literacy enrichs the core – involves strength, endurance, flexibility, cardio and body mass.  Does this sound familiar?  Dynabods can agree with this.  And talent is owning the movement – not being on the podium.  This is where you build confidence.  If it’s fun, you will want to do it again.

Dr. Kriellaars had mentioned that the Bone mass in the Cirque de Soleil performers aged 20 to 65 years of age did NOT change.  They have a low injury rate (half that of gymnists) and only train 270 minutes per week.

So what is the take on all this?

YOUR MIND AND BODY ARE ONE.  LEARNING TO MOVE IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS LEARNING TO READ AND WRITE.

As Dr. Dean Kriellaars stated “You can learn at any age”. 

And Remember – “USE IT OR LOSE IT”

Power of the Mind - the Placebo Effect

Last month I discussed the key to happiness is to write things down, on the second installment of

Improving your life for the better I’m going to get into your mind.

 According to the book "59 Seconds - Think a Little, Change a Lot" from Richard Wiseman, Researchers at Harvard University studied over 80 hotel room cleaning attendants from 7 different hotels.   What they wanted to find out was;  Would telling the participants that their work was great exercise improve their health compared to those that didn't realize their work was in fact "exercise"?

  

Neither group changed their lifestyle.

Remarkably those who had been told how many calories they burned on a daily basis had lost a significant amount of weight, lowered their body mass index and waist-to-hip ration and decreased blood pressure.  The other group showed no similar change.

It was the power of the placebo that caused the health boost.  By reminding the attendants of the amount of exercise that they were getting on a daily basis, the researchers altered the attendant’s beliefs about themselves and their bodies responded to make these beliefs a reality. 

So merely thinking about their normal daily exercise made them healthier. 

That’s why at my classes I emphasis focus and giving effort.  If you are too busy talking to your exercise buddy than concentrating on your workout you drastically reduce your success.  .  I have a wide variety of participants and it’s that mental focus that tells them apart.  

At a recent Fitness Conference, one of the presenters Dr. Dean Kriellaars…. who is involved with the Cirque de Solei in Montreal stated that the Body and Mind are all one.  Working with some of the best conditioned athletes in the world he would know.  He also stated that you cannot get fit without participation.

So, when it comes to improving your health, don’t underestimate the power of your mind.  Visualize.  And remember, you may already be putting in the necessary effort, you just need to realize it…..

Spring Sessions start  soon – on Tuesday April 12 & Thursday April 14^th, 2016.

Register online at  http://www.localcourses.com : DYNABODY
See: St.James Continuing Education: 

Fitness / Aerobics / Challenging   SFT12-16 or SFT12-16
or type in "Dynabody" in the search box

or call: 832-9637 to Register by phone

 

 

** Crum, A.J. & Langer, E.J. (2007) Mind-set maters: Exercise and the placebo effect. Psychological Science, 18, 165-171

 

Are you Exercising or Training?

Ok,

Are you Exercising or Training?

Exercising - is moving without full engagement.

Exercising is physical movement.
Exercising is going through the motions.

Training is goal oriented.
Training is with a purpose, outcome and a result.
Training is pushing yourself to get optimum results.

So what are you doing????

Regrets

Not happy with your body but finding it difficult to motivate yourself to go to the gym? Harness the power of regret and avoid reflection.    According to Richard Wiseman, the author of 59 Seconds: Change your life in under a minute, taking a few moments thinking about how much you will regret NOT going to the gym will help motivate you to get going.

And when you get there, stay away from mirrors.  Researchers believe that the mirrors may encourage people to focus on their less than perfect bodies and do more harm than good.

Better yet, come out to this weeks Dynabody Total Fitness class.  You definitely won’t regret coming and you don’t have to worry about mirrors :0)

This Tuesday March 15 – Bannatyne School 6:30 pm

This Thursday March 17– Strathmillan School  6:30 pm

Can’t make it?  Mark it on your calendar – the spring session starts April 12^th and 14^th and goes until mid June. 

Hope to see you there!

Doug

A KEY TO HAPPINESS - WRITE IT DOWN!

I am reading an interesting book "59 Seconds - Think a Little, Change a Lot" from Richard Wiseman.

What I found was quite interesting is that a Key to Happiness boils down to writing things down.   Many people keep diaries on events but the important thing is to express gratitude for what transpired during the day.

This is even more important if you have been affected by an unfortunate event.  Writing encourages the creation of a story line and structure that help people make sense of what has happened and work toward a solution.

Expressing gratitude by writing down what transpired during the day rather than  on events makes you happier, more optimistic about the future and physically healthier – they even exercised more!

Professor Wiseman also suggested that you think about a perfect future and write about topics that will help create that happier future.  Just spend a couple of moments each day to write something into your "Affectionate Diary" and you will quickly notice a difference in mood and happiness.

Start today!

59 SECONDS – THINK A LITTLE, CHANGE A LOT  (page 20-22)  Richard Wiseman Copyright 2010 RandomHouse Canada

Newest trend? Not for the Dynabods!!

Well I just heard what’s the newest fad of fitness trends.   Can you guess?

Single Dumbbell workouts!

Wow!  I’ve been doing it for years at my fitness classes.  All the Dynabods would agree that doing a multi-functional workout with a single dumbbell not only works your major muscle groups but also activates your core stabilizer muscles.

Single Dumbbell workouts would be considered specialized Functional Training – the meat and potatoes of my classes.    This not only improves your strength and mobility but carries over into better posture and control as you have to isometrically maintain stability while working the other side of the body. 

And for those that do make it to my classes know, you need to use a heavy enough weight to make it worthwhile. I usually only bring 5 or 10 lb dumbbells at my first class of the session and hide them off in the corner – lol.   

Most of the newbies are surprised at what they can do when they take on a “can do” attitude and stop thinking that they “can’t” do that weight.  Of course safety is always number one priority, and when using a heavier weight maintaining the load throughout the motion is much easier on the body.  With a heavier weight there is less jerking and snapping of the joints, and thus, less chance of injury.

Plus you build strength rather than just go through the motions.   I like to use the example of painting a ceiling, you can do it for a long time and your shoulder gets sore.  But you didn’t strengthen the shoulder.  It’s just like going to the gym and seeing someone grab that 10 lb weight and rattle of 20 reps while chatting to their buddy.  A total waste of time!

Use of Single Dumbbells helps your body learn to adapt. This neurological adaptation brings a natural progression of your fitness abilities.  You activate more muscles fibers while concentrating form.  It has been a staple of my workouts for years! 

If you haven’t tried Single Dumbbell training I high recommend it.  It’s a great way to stay motivated, challenged and have fun. So grab that 20, 30 or 40 lb dumbbell and try it - you’ll love it!