Surprisingly great fashions at not surprisingly great prices! Check it out for yourself, or consider hosting a fundraiser or e-party. Contact us for details either at the store site or here. Did I mention...I LOVE doing fundraisers :)
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Show your support!
There are many ways to show your support for various causes. One of my favorites is to hold a fundraiser for your favorite cause. Many companies will offer you the opportunity to sell their products at a deep discount and the proceeds will benefit your favorite charity. You can also contact your favorite Zumba instructor about holding a Zumbathon, and those proceeds can be donated to your favorite organization. You'll support your group, get some awesome exercise, and have a blast!
Some companies also have sponsored products where the profits directly support a cause.
Two of my new favorites are:
To support the Breast Cancer Crusade:
Breast Cancer Crusade Tennis Bracelet
To support the fight against Domestic Violence:
2011 Empowerment Bracelet
Whatever your passion, there are many ways to show your support.
If you have a group or organization that you would like to support, please contact us here, we absolutely love to help you raise funds for your favorite cause...that's OUR passion!
If you're outside of the San Diego area, we can still work with you to develop a plan to fund your passion. If you'd like to start with an e-party, check out our store and see all the great items you can use to create your very own fundraiser.
For something a bit more of an 'event', contact us here or through our website at Partnership for Change and we'll develop a plan that's just right for you!
The possibilities are endless...
Some companies also have sponsored products where the profits directly support a cause.
Two of my new favorites are:
To support the Breast Cancer Crusade:
Breast Cancer Crusade Tennis Bracelet
To support the fight against Domestic Violence:
2011 Empowerment Bracelet
Whatever your passion, there are many ways to show your support.
If you have a group or organization that you would like to support, please contact us here, we absolutely love to help you raise funds for your favorite cause...that's OUR passion!
If you're outside of the San Diego area, we can still work with you to develop a plan to fund your passion. If you'd like to start with an e-party, check out our store and see all the great items you can use to create your very own fundraiser.
For something a bit more of an 'event', contact us here or through our website at Partnership for Change and we'll develop a plan that's just right for you!
The possibilities are endless...
Thursday, August 4, 2011
What's New :)
Great products at prices that understand our current economy! Our current vision is to focus on fundraisers, so while you're shopping for yourself (and saving some money we hope!) please be thinking of what organization you'd like to support and send a contact email from the store about setting up a fundraiser for your favorite organization!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Surviving Injured Reserve
So, you've been working out, probably pretty hard, and one wrong step and - boom! you're injured and your whole routine is out the window. What do you do now? If you think maintaining your workout was difficult, believe me, surviving life on injured reserve requires both patience and a level of commitment that far exceeds your previous training routine.
A minor injury with a one-week or less recovery can be dealt with pretty well, your body could probably use the rest anyway and getting back on track shouldn't take more than a day or so once you resume activity. But what do you do with a fairly severe injury where you're out for months at a time? A badly sprained ankle or worse can have you on crutches for weeks and it will be longer still before you can go back to a full program, especially if that involves things such as running, dancing, and weight training. An upper body injury can present challenges as well, but at least you should be able to walk or handle a stationary bike which will keep your cardiac fitness from suffering too much of a set-back. For lower body injuries, there's a specific challenge to finding cardio and strength training when you can't really walk well. You will suffer a considerable set-back in your calorie-burn, but there's no reason why you can't see progress or at the very least, maintain your fitness during this time.
The first thing you have to do is follow your healing protocol. Rest and heal. Sounds great, right? Just lay on the couch, watch TV, eat well and wait for your body to do its magic. HA! Resting is harder than it seems, especially for an athlete. Oh, and if you're not sure you're an athlete, you will be when all of a sudden it occurs to you that it hurt more when you realized how long you would be away from your sport than the injury itself. And returning to activity too soon, big mistake! You'll be sidelined even longer and that really is no fun!
Next thing, before you go completely stir-crazy on the couch, is to figure out what you can do, design some sort of workout that doesn't stress the injury. This is a good time to look into some cross-training with a flexibility program such as a comprehensive stretching routine, pilates, yoga, or modified body weight mat routines. Depending on the type and location of your injury, you'll find that lots of things can cause stress that you wouldn't think would be a problem, so you'll need to find modifications or alternate exercises. There are more options once you're weight-bearing but you still want to be very careful and continue modifications and watching how your body responds to new activities. Dialing back your previous level of intensity requires a lot of self-control, and it is admittedly quite frustrating. Pain is your friend here, listen well, it tells you when you are doing too much too soon. This is no time to push through the pain, healing is different, there's time enough to push yourself after you're completely healed and if you do it too soon you never will be. Also, be aware that taking pain-relievers pre-workout can mask the pain if you accidentally overdo something, which can cause a set-back. If you do need pain medication, it's best to take it after the activity with another healthy dose of rest.
Nutrition is a key factor, especially when your body has become accustomed to a certain level of activity, you won't be able to supply it with the amount of fuel you're used to. You will, however, need an additional 200 calories a day to support the healing process and a significant portion of that should be protein. By significant, I mean about 30-40%, balancing out the rest with healthy choices and keeping well-hydrated. If you're on a weight-loss program, you will want to significantly slow down your goals to no more than a 1lb or less per week option, in fact you would do well to eat at maintenance during this time. Recovery should be your primary goal. You should also consider taking a high quality multivitamin. It is difficult to keep from over-eating when you're bored and 'resting', so if you aren't already doing this (and you really should be) it's a good idea to keep a food diary with both calorie and macro nutrient tracking. To calculate your daily calorie needs, you will need to know your basal metabolic rate. If you don't already know your BMR, it's a good time to find that out. There are several online versions specific to men or women and activity level. You'll probably want to adjust it down to sedentary during long periods of rest just to ensure that you don't over-estimate your calorie needs. There's a real balance to be struck here, sufficient calories for healing but not too much to cause unwanted weight gain.
Returning to activity, whether it's been weeks or months, is an exciting time and there's a natural tendency to want to go right back to exactly what you were doing before - as quickly as possible. Sadly, that's not going to happen. Follow your re-training protocol, adding in activities as tolerated. I know that's not what you want to hear, but you will get back to where you were, and even surpass it, but only if you heal and strengthen properly. Long-term damage often results from too little rest and too much activity too soon, let's not do that!
A minor injury with a one-week or less recovery can be dealt with pretty well, your body could probably use the rest anyway and getting back on track shouldn't take more than a day or so once you resume activity. But what do you do with a fairly severe injury where you're out for months at a time? A badly sprained ankle or worse can have you on crutches for weeks and it will be longer still before you can go back to a full program, especially if that involves things such as running, dancing, and weight training. An upper body injury can present challenges as well, but at least you should be able to walk or handle a stationary bike which will keep your cardiac fitness from suffering too much of a set-back. For lower body injuries, there's a specific challenge to finding cardio and strength training when you can't really walk well. You will suffer a considerable set-back in your calorie-burn, but there's no reason why you can't see progress or at the very least, maintain your fitness during this time.
The first thing you have to do is follow your healing protocol. Rest and heal. Sounds great, right? Just lay on the couch, watch TV, eat well and wait for your body to do its magic. HA! Resting is harder than it seems, especially for an athlete. Oh, and if you're not sure you're an athlete, you will be when all of a sudden it occurs to you that it hurt more when you realized how long you would be away from your sport than the injury itself. And returning to activity too soon, big mistake! You'll be sidelined even longer and that really is no fun!
Next thing, before you go completely stir-crazy on the couch, is to figure out what you can do, design some sort of workout that doesn't stress the injury. This is a good time to look into some cross-training with a flexibility program such as a comprehensive stretching routine, pilates, yoga, or modified body weight mat routines. Depending on the type and location of your injury, you'll find that lots of things can cause stress that you wouldn't think would be a problem, so you'll need to find modifications or alternate exercises. There are more options once you're weight-bearing but you still want to be very careful and continue modifications and watching how your body responds to new activities. Dialing back your previous level of intensity requires a lot of self-control, and it is admittedly quite frustrating. Pain is your friend here, listen well, it tells you when you are doing too much too soon. This is no time to push through the pain, healing is different, there's time enough to push yourself after you're completely healed and if you do it too soon you never will be. Also, be aware that taking pain-relievers pre-workout can mask the pain if you accidentally overdo something, which can cause a set-back. If you do need pain medication, it's best to take it after the activity with another healthy dose of rest.
Nutrition is a key factor, especially when your body has become accustomed to a certain level of activity, you won't be able to supply it with the amount of fuel you're used to. You will, however, need an additional 200 calories a day to support the healing process and a significant portion of that should be protein. By significant, I mean about 30-40%, balancing out the rest with healthy choices and keeping well-hydrated. If you're on a weight-loss program, you will want to significantly slow down your goals to no more than a 1lb or less per week option, in fact you would do well to eat at maintenance during this time. Recovery should be your primary goal. You should also consider taking a high quality multivitamin. It is difficult to keep from over-eating when you're bored and 'resting', so if you aren't already doing this (and you really should be) it's a good idea to keep a food diary with both calorie and macro nutrient tracking. To calculate your daily calorie needs, you will need to know your basal metabolic rate. If you don't already know your BMR, it's a good time to find that out. There are several online versions specific to men or women and activity level. You'll probably want to adjust it down to sedentary during long periods of rest just to ensure that you don't over-estimate your calorie needs. There's a real balance to be struck here, sufficient calories for healing but not too much to cause unwanted weight gain.
Returning to activity, whether it's been weeks or months, is an exciting time and there's a natural tendency to want to go right back to exactly what you were doing before - as quickly as possible. Sadly, that's not going to happen. Follow your re-training protocol, adding in activities as tolerated. I know that's not what you want to hear, but you will get back to where you were, and even surpass it, but only if you heal and strengthen properly. Long-term damage often results from too little rest and too much activity too soon, let's not do that!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
What's your favorite Cardio?
Do you even have a favorite cardio? I really used to pretty much hate all things cardio. I like the weight training and used to tolerate the cardio because I knew it needed to be done. Sometimes I can find one I tolerate more than others, sometimes it's just the specific results I like and deal with it. Recently I've found some I actually look forward to, but more on that in later issues. There are so many choices, and I think I've tried them all. Classes, dvd's, cycling, walking, stairs, ellipticals, and even running. They all have great benefits, some work parts of your body better than others. Some are easier on certain joints than others. Some you just hate less than others :)
Are you a class person? Most people either love classes or hate them. I don't love them, but if you do, there's a lot of energy and support there. There are so many options: from dance to spin, from body pump to yoga. Find your favorite instructor and type of class and jump right in. You'll have fun and might make a few new friends too!
Not a class person? Still like the energy of dance, step or other aerobics? If you prefer to go it alone, you can rent dvds, check them out at the local library, search youtube, check out donated ones at thrift stores, even borrow a friends to see if you like it. I prefer the try-before-you-buy option because you never know whether you're going to like it enough to stick with it. The benefit of this is you can do it in the privacy of your own home, any time of day or night that works for you.
Machines? Bikes, Ellipticals, Stairs and Treadmills oh my! Of course bikes will focus on your legs, stairs will focus on your legs and butt, ellipticals can be whole body trainers if you use the arms too, and treadmills give you the option of a walking or running program, flat ground or incline. Pick your focus and what works best for you and hit the machine of your choice. Switch them up, even split your time between 2 different machines for variety and maximum muscle confusion.
Take it outside! If you don't have a machine at home, or access to one at the gym, you can bike, walk or run outside. You can climb stairs anywhere they have them. I haven't seen elliptical options, but that's just about the only one that doesn't translate!
And can I suggest you check out HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training or sprint interval training) as part of your cardio protocol. 20 minutes max for an all day calorie after-burn. Can be done with any type of cardio, and there are different kinds. NOT to be done on weight-training days and generally not more than 3 times/week depending on the type you choose.
REST DAY! Take one! You will get better results if you do...
Are you a class person? Most people either love classes or hate them. I don't love them, but if you do, there's a lot of energy and support there. There are so many options: from dance to spin, from body pump to yoga. Find your favorite instructor and type of class and jump right in. You'll have fun and might make a few new friends too!
Not a class person? Still like the energy of dance, step or other aerobics? If you prefer to go it alone, you can rent dvds, check them out at the local library, search youtube, check out donated ones at thrift stores, even borrow a friends to see if you like it. I prefer the try-before-you-buy option because you never know whether you're going to like it enough to stick with it. The benefit of this is you can do it in the privacy of your own home, any time of day or night that works for you.
Machines? Bikes, Ellipticals, Stairs and Treadmills oh my! Of course bikes will focus on your legs, stairs will focus on your legs and butt, ellipticals can be whole body trainers if you use the arms too, and treadmills give you the option of a walking or running program, flat ground or incline. Pick your focus and what works best for you and hit the machine of your choice. Switch them up, even split your time between 2 different machines for variety and maximum muscle confusion.
Take it outside! If you don't have a machine at home, or access to one at the gym, you can bike, walk or run outside. You can climb stairs anywhere they have them. I haven't seen elliptical options, but that's just about the only one that doesn't translate!
And can I suggest you check out HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training or sprint interval training) as part of your cardio protocol. 20 minutes max for an all day calorie after-burn. Can be done with any type of cardio, and there are different kinds. NOT to be done on weight-training days and generally not more than 3 times/week depending on the type you choose.
REST DAY! Take one! You will get better results if you do...
Friday, August 13, 2010
Product Recommendations: Lose It App for iphone/ipod touch
I've reviewed several products lately, some free, some not, and thought I'd share my thoughts about some of them. We'll start with the totally free :)
The Lose It app for the iphone/ipod touch is a completely free program that helps you keep on track for weight loss or maintenance. I've spoken about food diaries before, they are one of the best tools for assessing and tracking your progress, and I've rarely seen any long-term success without them.
The Lose It app has a robust database of pre-programmed foods and the ability to add your own custom foods and recipes. There's also a database of exercises so that you can log in your activity level. You will enter in your current and goal weight and how fast you want to lose and it will give you a calorie budget for the day. Logging your food and exercise will automatically update your budget in real time and allow you to see how much more you can still eat that day and stay on track. There are daily and weekly reports, which can be emailed to you, with lots of pretty graphs if you like that sort of thing (I do, especially when they go the direction I want them to). A friend feature allows you to add friends to help with motivation and accountability.
The only downside I see to this program is that it does require an iphone or ipod touch as there's no current ability to use the web to enter the data. The web will allow you to view the reports and there's a forum group where you can connect with other users for motivation and support.
If you have an iphone or ipod touch, give this program a try...it's totally free and not a trial version either.
The Lose It app for the iphone/ipod touch is a completely free program that helps you keep on track for weight loss or maintenance. I've spoken about food diaries before, they are one of the best tools for assessing and tracking your progress, and I've rarely seen any long-term success without them.
The Lose It app has a robust database of pre-programmed foods and the ability to add your own custom foods and recipes. There's also a database of exercises so that you can log in your activity level. You will enter in your current and goal weight and how fast you want to lose and it will give you a calorie budget for the day. Logging your food and exercise will automatically update your budget in real time and allow you to see how much more you can still eat that day and stay on track. There are daily and weekly reports, which can be emailed to you, with lots of pretty graphs if you like that sort of thing (I do, especially when they go the direction I want them to). A friend feature allows you to add friends to help with motivation and accountability.
The only downside I see to this program is that it does require an iphone or ipod touch as there's no current ability to use the web to enter the data. The web will allow you to view the reports and there's a forum group where you can connect with other users for motivation and support.
If you have an iphone or ipod touch, give this program a try...it's totally free and not a trial version either.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Switch it up
Plateaus are no fun and maintaining continual progress is hard work. Doing this without additional calorie reduction is challenging, especially because our calorie needs keep declining proportionately with the scale. Now that's depressing! So, let's not cut calories just yet, since we all like to eat - well, at least I like to eat.
Exercise should be the cornerstone of any weight loss strategy, and fitness progression correlates quite nicely. Changing your exercise routine every 4 - 6 weeks will result in muscle confusion which will keep you progressing through those inevitable plateaus, and result in greater fitness gains. Switch from the treadmill to the bike, or the elliptical to the stairmaster, something different but still challenging. Also, make sure it' something you don't completely hate too, there are so many options that there's no sense at all in dreading this portion of your workout.
Now, cardio burns calories DURING exercise, but weight training continues to burn calories AFTER exercise, so make changes to your strength training routine as well. For this, you can increase weights or reps, or do something completely different. Anything that tells your body "oh...this is new".
Change is good, so keep moving and have fun!
Exercise should be the cornerstone of any weight loss strategy, and fitness progression correlates quite nicely. Changing your exercise routine every 4 - 6 weeks will result in muscle confusion which will keep you progressing through those inevitable plateaus, and result in greater fitness gains. Switch from the treadmill to the bike, or the elliptical to the stairmaster, something different but still challenging. Also, make sure it' something you don't completely hate too, there are so many options that there's no sense at all in dreading this portion of your workout.
Now, cardio burns calories DURING exercise, but weight training continues to burn calories AFTER exercise, so make changes to your strength training routine as well. For this, you can increase weights or reps, or do something completely different. Anything that tells your body "oh...this is new".
Change is good, so keep moving and have fun!
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