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 Firefighters from Lynden pose in Warrior II with Summer from Fit Body Wellness. Firefighters at station 71 in Lynden got to try out a FREE demo yoga class, thanks to their dedicated Clubbell trainer Kelly LaBounty. She is the health & fitness coordinator for many of the county stations, and saw the benefit of having a professional come out and lead yoga. Firefighters handle a variety of high stress situations on a regular basis, and yoga is a great way for them to decompress. A key component of this particular class was strengthening the core as a preventative measure for low back pain. Often times, people won’t seek help or yoga until the problem is so bad that their backs and necks are in constant pain. However, by taking just one yoga class each week you can start to prevent chronic low back pain.
You may ask, how does yoga really help prevent low back pain? Well it does so in a variety of ways, most of which you won’t even notice because they are so well integrated into the class. First, vinyasa yoga is a flowing yoga that bathes the joints in what is called synovial fluid. Think of this as your WD-40 for the joints in the body. When the joints don’t get that juice, they become dry & more susceptible to injury. However, flowing yoga is a wonderful way to move the joints through their full range of motion (giving them the juice) while working on ’stress reduction breathing’. Which brings me to the second component of yoga: Breathing. Vinyasa yoga focuses on coordinating movement with breath, which can detox the body by exhaling Carbon Dioxide, facilitate meditative states and increase lung capacity. All of these elements contribute to the super relaxed feeling you may experience after a good yoga class. Lowering stress in the entire body can keep your muscles from seizing up in your low back. Lastly, your core is being worked in every single exercise because I will cue you to engage your internal trunk muscles. Expect to hold the postures until these three things are happening: navel is drawn in toward spine, lumbar (low back) muscles are contracted & pelvic floor muscles are engaged. You know you have a strong core when you can do all 3 at the same time. By increasing the muscle endurance of the internal core muscles, you will have less pressure between the vertabrae because the trunk muscles will contribute more. Good posture comes from strong internal core musculature, which is a result of proper core training. Poor posture can lead to stress on the joints and misalignment of the spine. Do yourself a favor and start yoga before the pain starts!
I love to do outreach in the community for local non-profit organizations, so if you work for one – call and schedule a free yoga demo for your employees (360)927-2710.
 Murray Chiropractic & Associates pose using the clubbell after their am group workout. Dr. Theresa Murray, of Murray Chiropractic and Associates, is a highly intelligent chiropractic practitioner here in Bellingham. But there is something about Theresa that sets her apart from most doctors in that she really takes the time to practice what she preaches. Theresa started training with me using the Clubbell, a weighted bat-like tool that trains the core in every exercise, as a way to improve her core strength. She liked it so much that now she offers a small clubbell class to her employees once a week! She demonstrates the importance of fitness as part of your wellness plan by leading by example. Now her employees enjoy taking an hour for exercise once a week, and everyone reaps the benefits! Our morning group workout looks a bit like this:
15 minute joint mobility warm up – using IntuFlow movements designed by Dr. Scott Sonnon
5 minutes of Flow Fit – a series of 7 yoga/body flow exercises sequenced together. This gets the muscles warmed up and ready for exercise.
25 minutes of Clubbell exercises – the clubbell is a unique training tool because you work arms/core/legs with each exercise instead of isolating muscle groups. This is a superior way to train compared to traditional weightlifting because you train the body as a whole and become functionally fit.
10-15 minutes of Yoga – this allows time to decompress after a short high-intensity clubbell session. Usually we target a few different joints to focus on. Holding yoga stretches for longer (2+ minutes) is relaxing and it reaches the connective tissues (ligaments & tendons) which keeps the joints healthy & happy.
If you would like to try a Clubbell class series at your work, Summer offers very affordable pricing of just $15 per person with a minimum of 6 people to hold a 4 week class series. Expect to work muscles that you didn’t know you had! The workout is fun & dynamic with tons of unique exercises that you have probably never done before.
Call (360) 927-2710 today for a free consultation and Clubbell demonstration.
 Nicole does her research on foods! The other day I was shadowing Summer when she working with a client. The client mentioned how foods you eat can cause inflammation. This got me thinking; can I really make my own body irritated just from the foods I eat? I did a little research to find out more about this.
Inflammation is a reaction to irritation, injury, or infection, which leads to redness, swelling, pain, and loss of movement. It did not take me long to find that yes, the foods people eat every day really effect the inflammation of their bodies. Some of the foods that lead to inflammation include junk food, fatty meats, fast food, sugar, and processed foods such as lunchmeats. However, there is a way to minimize inflammation in your body by eating the right foods. Anti-inflammatory foods include large amount of omega-3 fatty acids such as fish, walnuts, flax seeds, canola oil, and pumpkins seeds. Red meats also lead to inflammation; therefore, eating more lean poultry, fish and seafood to get your daily protein is an excellent replacement. Eating a minimum of five servings of brilliantly colored fruits and vegetables a day is extremely important and helpful when warding off inflammation. In addition, berries such as blueberries and strawberries hold anti-inflammatory properties and are excellent to add to your diet.
Food however is not the only thing that brings on inflammation, the environment and stresses add to inflammation of the body. By choosing the right foods to eat, you can help your body reduce inflammation and ward off the inflammation caused by the environment and stress. So, pay attention to your diet, this is another reason to care about the things you put into your mouth.
 King Dancer Pose Want to try something new & refreshing? Summer will be teaching a mixed levels vinyasa class at the Yoga Room on Tuesdays & Thursdays in August. This Flow Yoga class is different every time & will help you increase flexibility, build strength and improve balance. The Yoga Room is actually an Ashtanga Yoga Studio, and the students there have their own independent practice. My class is Vinyasa style, which offers a little variety and a lot of guidance. When you walk in to the Yoga Room, a serene feeling takes over and the energy feels warm & inviting. That is why I am so excited to teach there!
I would really like to gear this class toward those who have a pretty good base of yoga knowledge and are able to complete sun salutes on their own. When you have a group that are well practiced, others in the group can feed off of that energy and challenge themselves (safely of course). We will do inversions, arm balances, gentle twists for the spine, hip opening postures and vinyasa sequences. Modifications are always offered & all levels are welcome. However, expect this class to be a little more vigorous than a gentle yoga class (be prepared to sweat a little & relax at the end).
August Flow Class Details
When: Tuesdays & Fridays in August, 10:00am-11:15am
Where: The Yoga Room, 1210 Bay Street (above 3 ohms studio)
Cost: $7 per class or 8 class punch card for $50 (drop ins are always welcome)
If you are planning on taking classes on either Tuesdays or Fridays or both days, please click here to RSVP soon so that I can count you in! Tell a friend about classes and let’s fill our yoga space with good energy.
 Nicole Huard, Fit Body Wellness intern. A while back Nicole met Summer while working at the Benefit Cosmetic counter in Bellingham. The two girls instantly connected sharing their love of health and fitness. It was not until a year or so later that Nicole was looking for an internship for her degree in Kinesiology that she reconnected with Summer. Now, Nicole is excited to be Summer’s intern at Fit Body Wellness and learn all that she can about the world of health and fitness.
Growing up in Bellingham, Nicole has always had a passion for movement. Her true love growing up was dance; she practiced ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, and adagio. She first started dancing at the age of four at Wendy Setter’s The Dance Studio. Once she graduated from Squalicum High School in 2007, she was excited to transition her education to Western Washington University. While Nicole keeps dance an important part of her life, she now focuses on fitness by studying for a degree in Kinesiology with a specialization in Movement Studies.
While going through school Nicole continues to work at the Benefit Cosmetic Counter as well as teaching fitness classes at the Western Washington University Recreational Center. She has taught Spinning, Powerflex, Step and Tone, and Ab Lab. Nicole is a huge fan of the Bellingham Slam Basketball team as she is a member of their dance team.
In the future Nicole wishes to work with children and help them live active healthy lives. She also hopes to one day making exercise videos and open a gym. Most importantly, Nicole wants to share her love of health and fitness with the world around her.
 Summer with yoga student Tyler, about to climb. It is July and the sun is finally coming out more often, which means we CAN do many outdoor sports that we can’t do all winter (which in Bellingham, seems to last from about October through June). If you are wanting to get ready for your activity of choice, there are ways that you can condition & prepare your body for it. Some examples of activities to train for are: kayaking, hiking, swimming, even slack-lining. I am going to focus on Rock Climbing to show you how to figure out what exercises to do to train for your activity. Humor me for a moment, and think like an exercise specialist. When finding out what the best training protocol would be, you must first look at the movement being performed and then find the best way to mimic that in a safe environment (a gym or your living room).
When I think of Rock Climbing, I realize that it is a very intense sport that requires a lot of upper body strength, lower body endurance & overall core strength. So, in order to have that muscle strength & endurance ready by the time I bring it to the rock wall, I should probably focus on a few different areas: forearms, legs, back muscles and core.
 Summer climbing at Oyster Dome. One thing that will help you get the most out of your indoor workout is to train at the same intensity as your activity.For example, if I am climbing a rock face and I need to reach for a hold about two feet out of my reach, I am going to have to focus, use my legs to launch me up and then grip efficiently. Keep this mindset of uniting different muscle groups during your workout so that your movements are precise and effective.
For the forearms, some ideas for basic gym exercises are to do wrist curls & reverse wrist curls. If you have a pull up bar, you can do single arm hangs or try and pull yourself partially up. Even better, if you have access to a clubbell – perform rock-it drills or front swings. If you have never heard of a clubbell, I suggest you start googling it, because it is the best performance tool I have ever seen for improving your musckuloskelatal system. I use the clubbell in my private personal training sessions and find that people improve their grip strength & forearm strength naturally in about 3-4 weeks. If you are able to do pull ups from your fingers using a strong door frame, that is a great way to build muscle strength in those tiny muscles.
For the legs, try frog squats (wide leg stance, trunk engaged, touch the floor and jump up high – repeat). You can also work the calves by doing calf raises. Try jumping lunges to improve your muscle endurances (start in a lunge position, jump up and land in a lunge with the opposite foot forward). Wall sits are another way to build endurance for those climbs where you aren’t able to find your ideal grip for a few minutes.
For the back, try pull ups in all sorts of different positions. Make sure your feet aren’t always right underneath of your body. You can switch your hand grip (one overhand & one underhand grip) or change the distance of your hands, move your feet to one side and pull yourself up. You are mimicking your movement so that you can train specifically for your sport. Lastly, try corner reverse pushouts to strengthen your rhomboids. Stand in a corner (arms bent to 90 degrees and lifted to shoulder height) with your elbows touching the wall and your feet about a foot ahead of your body. Pull your shoulder blades together (which will bring your body directly over your feet). If you don’t understand this exercise, you can always do seated rows.
For your core, try plank and side plank (make sure your wrist is directly underneath your shoulder joint). Another sport specific exercise would be hanging knee ups (hanging either from a pull up bar or elbow harnesses), starting with straight legs and bringing the knees to chest, then to opposite sides.
To improve flexibility, try taking one of my community yoga classes. Or do a guided yoga workout online or from a dvd. If you are a climber, a novice or a non-climber, and you have unique exercises that you use for your sport, please comment below. Enjoy your climbs (& workouts) and I will see you at the top.
Small businesses in Bellingham are starting to catch on that providing ‘fitness & yoga at work’ really means something to their employees. A handful of businesses in Whatcom County already have some form of Wellness built into their company structure, but the trend is likely to increase in the very near future. A recent article from the American Council on Exercise reported that Obama’s new health care reform legislation will allow small businesses to apply for grants to cover up to 50% of their incurred costs of employee wellness. This is a huge step forward for businesses, employees and wellness consultants (like myself).
 Yoga helps prevent low back pain through exercises like these. Some organizations in Whatcom County who provide a Wellness program to employees are: British Petroleum in Blaine, Western Washington University (I helped start that one in 2007), ALCOA, Trident Seafoods, Marlys Bourm CPA, ValuPak and others. If you have a business who is offering some form of employee wellness at your workplace, please comment below! You deserve credit for being ahead of the curve.
Employee Wellness Programs come in all shapes and sizes depending on the amount of funding available, the employee demographic, the company culture, the wellness program structure, etc. Typically, large corporations are interested in saving money on their health insurance premiums by implementing some form of prevention program through wellness. They often have employees complete a health risk analysis (HRA), which helps categorize high risk employees. A really pro-active company may then provide a financial incentive for those folks who take it upon themselves to improve their health, specifically by improving BMI, cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar levels (an indicator of type II diabetes). Other companies will have a weight loss challenge once a year or have an occasional wellness seminar to help employees learn healthy habits. The cheapest and most effective way to improve employee health is through improved nutrition and proper exercise – but everyone knows that already, right? So the next question is how do we get those two vital things into the company culture?
One of the most important ways that you can improve your employees’ health is by providing an actual fitness class as part of their work day. Even if it is just yoga twice a week, you know that they are actually participating in the activity and getting the benefits of it. Another option is to hire a wellness consultant (like myself) who can help you structure a program that fits your company’s needs. As a personal trainer and wellness consultant, I often provide fitness assessments and wellness plans for corporate clients.
Corporate Wellness is really making headway because it is such a win-win solution for both employees and business owners. Employees feel more valued, the get an outlet for stress, they get a workout in without having to take away from their personal time and it helps keep their body healthy. Business owners can benefit with increased employee productivity, boosted employee morale, decreased absenteeism and a more sustainable business model. If you would like to learn more about corporate wellness in a free consultation, please don’t hesitate to call Summer at (360)927-2710 or contact her via email. She has a very strong background in corporate wellness, and another great resource is WELCOA (Wellness Councils of America).
After many requests to share my cookie recipe… I finally decided to give away one of my best kept secrets. Firstoff, I have to admit that I do have a sweet tooth, but over the years my sweet tooth has become somewhat picky. As a child I was drawn to refined sugar, fruit snacks, candies, and little debby’s because that is what my parents gave us kids and what media projected as a good after school snack. As I became older (and I like to think a little wiser), I realized that there was more out there than the junky sugar I had become accustomed to. Now, my sweet cravings are for something richer, unprocessed and a bit more healthy.
I am going to share a healthy cookie recipe eventually, but first I’d like to talk about the wonders of dark chocolate (that means at least 65% cacao). Now we all know that dark chocolate has antioxidants, but there is more to this magical treat. Here are some more fun facts that I just learned today!
- Dark chocolate has been shown in some studies to lower blood pressure
- It can also help lower your bad cholesterol levels (LDLs)
- Eating dark chocolate releases serotonin (a natural mood booster) & releases pleasure inducing endorphins
To make a fabulous heart healthy batch of cookies, I recommend splurging on a decedent 65% cacao or higher chocolate bar and chopping it up to use instead of chocolate chips. Cookies done right are phenomenal and they leave you feeling like you did something good for your tummy. Here is my recipe:
Wet Ingredients
1 egg (or 2 egg whites for low cholesterol version)
1/2 cup agave (or organic brown sugar)
1 small apple blended with 1/4 cup of water (or 1/3 cup applesauce if your blending skills are rusty)
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of peanut or almond butter
dash of vanilla
*Step 1: Mix all of the wet ingredients together in a smaller bowl until uniform
*Step 2: In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt and baking powder and half of the oats – then add the wet ingredients, mix and add the rest of the oats.
Dry Stuff
1/2 cup of gluten free baking flour (or whole wheat flour)
2 cups of rolled oats
tsp. of baking powder
dash of salt
Add these ingredients after you have your cookie dough base:
1/3 cup of walnuts
1/2 cup of chopped dark chocolate
Optional: Flaxseeds, Shredded Coconut, Dried Cranberries
*Step 3: Place 12 lightly flattened balls of dough on a non-stick cookie sheet and bake for approximately 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees.
 The fitness industry continues to fascinate me for many reasons, especially the creative fads that people come up with. The latest buzzword of “muscle confusion” seems to be spreading all over google like wild fire. Media friendly programs that employ this technique of training include Crossfit & P90x, among others. The term “muscle confusion” refers to a training technique in which you constantly change different variables in your workout to prevent plateau. It is advantageous to avoid plateau, because when your body adapts to the workout… you will cease to see results like improved strength, muscle endurance or fat loss. Some of the variables that you can change when employing the “muscle confusion” technique are:
MUSCLE CONFUSION VARIABLES
1. Number of sets
2. Number of repetitions
3. Exercise choice
4. Exercise order
5. Length of rest periods
All of my clients are on a 4 week adaptation cycle, meaning we do a program for only four weeks, then change it. I often vary how many sets we do or how much rest time there is. If you want to try a new way of working out to ‘confuse your muscles’, try picking 6 to 8 exercises (preferably as many functional body weight exercises as possible) that you can do in one place. Do each exercise continuously for 60 seconds back to back, then take 1 minute rest. Then do each exercise continously (as many quality reps as possible) for 40 seconds each, then take a 1 minute break. Lastly do all exercises as fast or strong as you can for 20 seconds each. This technique will stimulate a different training response than your typical 2 sets of 15 reps with lots of rest. Your heart rate will increase, which means burning more calories. Your muscles will be challenged to exhaustion, which means they will have to adapt to that workload by growing. If you don’t believe me, try it for yourself and then leave feedback in the comment section.
My favorite web personal trainer does programs from her home everyday, and her name is Zuzana and she works out for 30 minutes a day and has an AMAZING body. Check her stuff out on www.bodyrock.tv. Some examples of body weight exercises are:
Burpies – jump up while reaching up, then jump into a push up position & repeat.
Depth Squats - keep feet flat on the floor, inhale on the way up & exhale on the way down.
Pull Ups – use your whole body to swing you up, or have someone assist you at your bent knees.
Tricep Dips – use a table or surface that is about waist high to do dips on. Brace yourself with fingers facing out, bend the elbows to a 90 degree angle and press yourself up.
Lunges – step out with one foot, make sure knee doesn’t extend over toe. Lower the back knee close to the floor. If you want more of a challenge try jumping lunges, switching from one foot in front to the other with a jump.
Mountain Climbers – start in a push-up position, bring one foot forward near the hands, use a small jumping maneuver to switch feet. Note that both feet should be in the air during the transition.
 I have great news for Ski to Sea athletes & patrons!
Look for the Fit Body Wellness booth on the grass at the finish line at Ski to Sea this Sunday May 30th for FREE mini yoga classes on the hour every hour.
When: 11:00am to 5:00pm – every hour on the hour
What: FREE Vinyasa Style stretching/yoga session
Who: Athletes, patrons, fitness enthusiasts, yogis, dogs, anyone! Open to all fitness levels and skill levels – modifications are always offered.
Where: On the grass at the finish line
I will also be holding a raffle for 12 single personal training sessions and Fit Body Wellness water bottles. Come drop a business card or a raffle slip in the jar to enter. Lastly, I will bring my clubbells and do some demos of clubbells after each yoga class! Come show your support and wear some athletic clothes so that you are comfy.
Much love to Bellingham and Ski to Sea’ers!
Namaste 
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