Words to Sweat By

To Strength, Compassion, and Peace in 2010!

While people are discussing how this new year should be pronounced, I’m actively planning what this blog will look like throughout the year as well as how to continue to build my towels business meant to keep people motivated to stay fit and healthy.

Words to Sweat By(tm) towel by Whimsical Walney

This month’s topics will revolve around the towel “Strength. Compassion. Peace.” because those three words are a great reminder on how we should approach this new year and the opportunities it brings.

What do you hope to accomplish this year related to your health and fitness? What do you think your greatest obstacles will be?

If there is a topic you would like us to discuss, please leave a comment and let us know.

Crunches, not Cookies – Ab Exercise #4

The last of the exercises may have you put down the weights, but does not having you working any less hard than before.

Exercise Four

On a mat on the floor, come down onto all fours, hands below shoulders and knees hip width apart.

On an exhale round the spine up towards the ceiling, tucking your chin in towards your chest. Tailbone tucks under, and keeping the arms strong, squeezing muscle to bone, lift the knees about one foot off the mat and bring all the strength and power into your abdominals.

Visualize your core lifting your arms and feet off of the mat, stay in this rounded positions and squeeze naval to spine for as long as you can hold it.

Works rectus abdominis, transverse abdominals, internal and external obliques.

Goal: Hold at least 30 seconds, 2 – 3 times.

In health,

Kacie

Crunches, Not Cookies – Ab Exercise #3

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed the first two exercises so far. The third exercise of this series requires solid engagement of the core to do properly so I know you’ll feel this one once you’re done!

Exercise three

With 5 to 10 pound weights in each hand, stand with your feet hip-width apart, bend the knees and bring the torso forward so you are in a table-top position.

Lift your arms out to the side with the weights so they form a T, keeping your head and neck aligned with your spine and naval contracted back towards your spine.

Inhale and lengthen through the crown of your head and spine, exhale keeping the arms strong out to a T and in your bent-over, table-top position, twist right, inhale come center, exhale twist left.

Remember: these movements are all done in table-top position. Keep your knees slightly bent and your tail bone slightly tucked to protect the low back.

If your arms get tired and you feel too much pressure on the shoulders, lower the amount of weight or do the exercise without weights.

Works internal and external obliques.

Goal: 3 sets, 12 repetitions

In health,

Kacie

Crunches, Not Cookies – Ab Exercise #2

Yesterday, I presented the first of four exercises meant to help you keep your core strong throughout the holiday festivities. Below is the second of the four exercises.

Exercise Two

With a 5 to 10 pound weight, stand with your legs together squeezing your inner thighs and glutes to protect the low back and maintain balance.
Holding the weight horizontally, bring the weight up over your head, biceps by the ears, inhale and lengthen through the spine up and over to the right, keeping your shoulders squared and hips squared.

Exhale and come back to standing so the torso is center, inhale torso up and over to the left, keep shoulders down, exhale use the center belly to come back to center.

Works the tranverse abdominals.

Goal: 3 sets 12 repetitions.

In health,

Kacie

Healthy Holiday Cookie Ideas

Many of you have already baked dozens of holiday cookies while still others were waiting for vacation to start so that you could dive into your baking with reckless abandon. Since it’s so easy to lose count of the cookies we eat during the season, it’s a good idea to ensure that we’ve included some healthier options in our repertoire. Below are some great recipes I found that should add some healthy options to your recipe box. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Times – Spice Guys

Beautiful Japanese Confections

This Mama Cooks – Peppermint Meringue Crisps

Rebecca Wood’s Coconut Macaroons

Keeping Your Core Strength Despite Holiday Cookies

It’s hard to imagine that “C is for crunches not cookies” during the holiday sweets barrage. It’s even harder when you think of crunches in the traditional sense of how they are executed. One crunch up, one crunch down, however many times you can manage on the cold floor or sticky mat. Your gaze is glued to the pale, boring ceiling hoping and praying that the nightmare will end soon.

In this regard, who wouldn’t want to stop their crunch doom and quickly skip out to the kitchen and grab a nice big chocolate chip cookie from last night’s holiday work party? It sounds so much more freeing and satisfying, am I right?

As a personal trainer, one of the main complaints I get during the holidays is, “my stomach is growing at a fast and rapid rate due to the holiday cheer and I hate doing crunches. Help!”

I have had my fair share of keeping clients’ core toned during the holidays and have found success by introducing creative and effective core exercises that eliminate the dull basic floor crunches.

Over the next several days, I am going to share a different core exercise each day in the hopes that you can maintain your core strength during the festivities this season.

The exercises are fun, quick, and effective. Enjoy!

Exercise one

With a 5 to 10 pound weight, stand with your feet hip width apart, knees slightly bent, and tailbone slightly tucked to avoid hyper extension in the low back.

Hold the weight horizontal in both hands and lift your arms up towards the ceiling so the biceps are by the ears.

Keep the arms strong but not locked out, inhale and lengthen through the spine, then exhale and round your torso forward as you come into a standing crunch.

Keep the arms by the ears and taut as you are crunching forward, inhale come back up into a standing upright position.

This works the rectus abdominis.

Goal: 3 sets, 12 repetitions

In health,

Kacie

December is “Crunches, Not Cookies” Month

There are a variety of products out there to assist you in your fitness and weight loss goals, and Words to Sweat By™ workout towels are meant to ensure that you remember to laugh while you strive to meet those goals. When I decided to start a blog related to this business, I didn’t want it to be another blog focused on the building of my business, as interesting my day-to-day tasks may be to a handful of people out there.

I decided that it should instead focus on health and fitness – but with the plethora of information out there, I didn’t want to recreate the wheel. In thinking about it, I realized that what I don’t find a lot of on the interwebs are fitness websites that regularly give you a round-up of some of the better posts out there.

This will therefore be an informational site (not a review site) to get you jump started from a single place, as well as provide specific pointers when appropriate. To keep it focused, each month will feature a mantra from one of the Words to Sweat By towels and information related to that mantra from recipes, to workout tips, to advice on how to stay on track.

I’m thrilled to have Kacie, a certified personal trainer, dancer, and yoga instructor as part of my blogging team and I know you will enjoy her insights and tips.

So, to kick it off, December’s mantra is “‘C’ is for crunches, not cookies.” We all know that it’s rude to unbutton our pants at the end of a holiday meal so this month will focus on how we can nibble on those delicious holiday cookies and sip that hot chocolate with marshmallows but not sabotage all the hard work we’ve been putting in until now.

Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season!

Entire Line of Designs Available 1st Week in December

After coming up with the idea for the Words to Sweat By product line, it has been a lot of fun writing the various mantras. In fact, it’s been so much fun what I thought would only be 6 – 8 ideas has morphed into 15+ and I have decided to offer them all for this 2009 holiday season. The store currently has 7 of the 15 designs and the remainder of them will be posted by the first week of December.

Once all of the mantras are posted, I would really enjoy your overall feedback as well as learn which of the mantras is your favorite.

Workout Towels With Attitude

Keep your funny bone in shape with the rest of you when you purchase a Words to Sweat By workout towel. I’m excited to introduce you to Whimsical Walney’s new product line which is meant not only to motivate you but also make you laugh while you focus on your exercise goals.

This blog will focus on a variety of health and fitness topics with a handful of product-related posts and annoucements along the way.