Sizeing matters

Hello All!

Wow...April is quickly coming to a close and summer is soon to be upon us.  At MVH Health & Fitness Academy we have a fun event to assist you in preparing for your summer activities and adding more movement into your lifestyle. Prepare to be Amazed and join our Sloth-A-Thon, where you get to play with triathlon events and have 30 days to complete the distances. For more details call HFA @ 557-2823.

Whether you want to participate in our bike event or just prepare for summer biking, we would like to share an article from REI.com that will give some great tips on how to fit a bike or your bike to you. Proper fit will assist in a more pleasant biking experience, not to mention unnecessary ouchies from improper body mechanics. Thank-you REI for this great information!

Bike Fitting Basics

A bike that fits well and is right for your height, flexibility and riding style is a bike you’ll love riding. A bike that fits poorly can lead to inefficient riding, muscle aches and pains, and general discomfort that might discourage you from riding as long or as far as you want.

Hands-on help: Whether you’re shopping for a brand-new bike, adjusting a used bike or just checking to make sure your fit is perfect on your current bike, a skilled bike tech or sales associate can help you. We recommend you head to your local REI or bike store to get personalized fit recommendations.
General Bike Sizing Tips

While there are some basic fit considerations for any bike you’ll buy, bike sizing can become quite intricate if you are a serious rider looking for specific performance characteristics. This article focuses on entry-level fit considerations.

Your bike should fit how you currently ride. You may aspire to match that low, long, aerodynamic position of the pros, but it’s important to set the bike up to match your current abilities. As you work on strength, flexibility and endurance, you can readjust your fit later.

Fine-tuning the fit. First, identify your overall bike frame size. If you don’t have the right frame from the outset, you’ll have difficulty getting it comfortable no matter what adjustments you make later. Some adjustments can be made easily with the bike’s existing components (seat height, angle, etc.) and some may require swapping out a component (e.g., a new stem can change the location of the handlebars for a more comfortable riding position).

A note about cleat fit: Though not discussed in the basic fit here, be aware that the placement of cleats on your bike shoes can also impact fit. Set too far forward, they can cause knee pain, Achilles discomfort, numbness or hotspots. Too far back and you won’t be getting the optimal power transfer from your muscles to the bike. Talk to a bike fitter to make sure your cleats are positioned correctly.

How Bikes are Sized

Different types of bikes are sized differently and will have slightly different fits:

Road bikes can come in both standard (S, M, L) sizes and numerical sizes. The same size across different brands can fit very differently and the number may not correlate to a common measurement. You might ride a size 54 Cannondale road bike, but a size 54 Diamondback road bike may feel quite different.

Mountain bikes come in standard sizes (S, M, L) and are generally similar across brands. For example, if you like your size small GHOST mountain bike, it’s likely (but not definite), that you’ll want a small in other brands as well.

Hybrid bikes, unsurprisingly, are a mix of the two, with more forgiving sizing than elite road bikes, but not quite as flexible as the sizing of most mountain bikes.

Bike Frame Standover Height

First, make sure you can straddle your bike with your feet flat on the floor. Be sure to wear your cycling shoes when evaluating standover height, since they add to your overall leg length.

Road bikes: If the bike has a traditional straight top tube that is parallel to the ground, you should have approximately 1" of clearance between the ground and tires when you lift the bike as you’re straddling it.

If the bike has a sloping top tube (semi-compact or compact design) expect to have clearance of 2" or more. Both men’s and women’s bikes can have compact frames.

Mountain bikes: When you lift the bike, you want 2" minimum clearance between the tires and the ground. If your bike has full suspension, it’s okay to have less initial clearance (1"–2") because the suspension compresses under your weight once you sit on the bike. That said, the amount of clearance is largely affected by the slope of the top tube down toward the rear wheel. For example, if the slope is dramatic, you'll likely have ample clearance no matter what size the frame is. Because of this, you can't rely solely on standover clearance to determine if a bike fits. 

Hybrid bikes: If your hybrid bike is a city commuter, use the road bike guidelines. If it’s a beach cruiser or a step-through style, you don’t really have to worry about standover height. Most of these have steeply sloping top tubes that let you step over easily and put your feet flat on the ground when seated.

Bike Standover Height: Online Shopping Tips

REI and most bike brand websites include sizing charts for bikes featured online. Look for listed standover heights, and compare that number to your inseam. The difference between your inseam and the standover height should fall within the target ranges. (For example, if you have a 30” inseam, you’ll want a road bike with a 29” standover height.)

To measure your inseam: Gather a large hardcover book or notebook, tape measure and pencil. Then:

• Stand against a wall (with bike shoes on).
• Straddle the book, spine up, as if you were sitting on a saddle.
• Use the pencil to mark where the spine of the book meets the wall.
• Measure from the mark to the floor. This is your inseam.
• Repeat the measurement another time or two to make sure it’s accurate.

Bike Fitting: Upper Body Position

For a bike to fit well, simply knowing your standover height may not be enough to ensure a great fit. A good second piece of data is the effective top tube (ETT) length.

ETT describes the horizontal distance between the head tube and the seat tube, regardless of whether you have a straight top tube or one that slopes. Having a bike with the correct ETT will help set you up to fine-tune your upper body position with smaller adjustments later.

Assessing Your Upper Body Position

Have a sales associate or bike tech assess your body position on your chosen bike.

Proper position: Aim for a riding position that gives you a modest amount of shock-absorbing bend in your arms without forcing you to reach too far to apply the brakes. If it feels as though you could comfortably play piano keys on your handlebar, your arms are in a good position.

For road bikes, your torso will form a 45-degree angle with your hips, and a 90-degree angle with your arms. If you have tight hamstrings or short arms, you can swap out the stem to bring the handlebar closer and keep the strain off your back and shoulders.

For mountain and hybrid bikes, these exact angles are not as critical since the riding positions are often more upright and relaxed. With mountain bikes especially, more time is spent out of the saddle, so dialing in the perfect seated pedaling position isn’t as crucial.

Bike Seat (Saddle) Height

With your seat height and position dialed in, you have the best chance of pedaling efficiently and powerfully using your major leg muscles.

To check your seat position, ask a sales associate or friend to hold the bike upright while you hop on the saddle.

Proper position: With your foot at the bottom of the pedal stroke, you should see a slight bend in the leg, reaching about 80-90 percent of full leg extension. This is true for road, mountain and hybrid bikes. (If you expect to progress quickly on your mountain bike, you may also want to look for bikes with height-adjustable seatposts. These bikes let you raise or lower the seat by pushing a button, helping you adjust instantly to changing terrain.)

Adjusting the seat height: Loosen the quick-release lever on the seatpost (or use a wrench if there’s a binder bolt) and raise or lower the post as needed. Be careful not to raise the post beyond the "minimum insertion mark" etched into its side. (If you need to change the seat height that dramatically, you may need a different frame size.)

Retighten the quick-release lever or binder bolt before riding. (Be careful not to overtighten the binder bolt. Use a torque wrench to tighten the bolt to the manufacturer's specification, or have a mechanic tighten this properly. Be especially careful with a carbon-fiber frame and/or seatpost.)

Bike Seat Fore/Aft Position

Proper position: When your right foot is at the 3 o’clock position of the pedal stroke, your knee should be aligned over your forefoot. A plumb line dropped from the bottom of your kneecap should fall straight to the ball of your foot and through the center of the pedal. In this position, your shin will be tilted forward slightly.

Adjusting the fore/aft position: Make adjustments by loosening the saddle binder bolt (sometimes called the seat fixing bolt) and sliding the saddle forward or backward as needed. This generally applies to road, mountain and hybrid bikes, but remember, this is just a starting point. As you become more experienced you may find you like to position your saddle a little differently.

Now check your saddle tilt. With few exceptions, the saddle should be parallel to the ground. To make saddle tilt adjustments, simply loosen the saddle binder bolt (or bolts) at the top of your seatpost (directly underneath your saddle) and adjust as needed.

(Note: The saddle binder bolt is different from the seatpost binder bolt.) Retighten the saddle bolt(s) before riding.

Fitting Women’s Bikes 

Women often have proportionately narrower shoulders and longer legs compared to their torsos than men, and women-specific bikes are designed to meet these needs. Women’s bikes often have narrower handlebars and shorter or more compact frame dimensions. Some women find that men’s bikes fit well and are comfortable, but women-specific bikes may provide a more precise fit for some.

Fitting Kids’ Bikes

If you’re buying a bike for a beginning rider, it’s easy to want one they’ll “grow into,” but it’s especially important to buy a bike that fits well so they can ride comfortably and confidently while they learn.

Standover height: As with adult bikes, first check the standover height. Whatever the top-tube style, look for about 2"–4" of clearance.

Seat height: Most kids’ bikes are designed so they ride in a more upright position. They should be able to sit comfortably, see around them easily and grip the handlebars with a slight bend in their elbows. Their legs should be slightly bent at the bottom of the pedal stroke.

Pull....Pull......Pull....

Rowing….

As you know our new summer quarter challenge here at HFA is the Sloth-a-thon. Now this training is meant to be totally doable for any level of athlete. In the period of time allotted for the 3^rd quarter challenge you must complete the distance of either a half ironman triathlon or for the ambitious a full ironman triathlon.  We intended that this challenge not only would get participants out moving, but would also encourage them to try some new forms of exercise.

The most intimidating sport in triathlon is by far the swimming events. Very few people have real confidence in the water. Since most triathletes start out as runners or bikers, most have to learn how to competitively swim to participate in this genre. Because we realize that learning to swim, for the non-swimmers out there for the sloth-a-thon was not a reasonable request for most we have also given you the rowing options.

The rowing machine as gained popularity in the last few years thanks to cross-fit gyms everywhere, but before that, I had named it the machine most likely to gather dust. You always saw one in the dark corner of most gyms, shiny and new, lonely and forlorn looking. I often asked myself why these great machines went without use. I have one word for those out there with the same quandary. HARD, rowing machines are hard. They are heart rate raising, upper body shredding, core and low back strengthening monsters. Even the most cardio fit people out there will find themselves worm out in a matter of meters, not minutes. Even CrossFit gyms are most likely to use them for warmups that last 5-10 minutes at most. Athletes that can stay on them for endurance training are some of the fittest people I know. This also makes them intimidating, but it is time to face your fears and climb on.

HFA has been proud owners of our own rowing machine for a couple of years now. This trainer was in fact gifted our machine from a client who had purchased a house in which the previous owners had left the machine behind. There loss was our gain however, and here are a few workout ideas to get you started on your road to rowing mastery.

The 30/30

This is simply the easiest way to build stamina. After a 2 minute warm up pair 30 minutes of high intensity rowing with low intensity recovery rowing. To really mix it up, Every 3 minutes jump off and perform 30 push-ups or sit ups depending on what your target muscle groups are.

The one minute pyramid

It’s time to watch the clock. Setting your meters per minute at a challenging pace, simply row for 1 minute, and then come to a complete stop for one minute. You think these sounds easy because you are getting to basically stop completely every minute but you will be surprised how challenging it will start to feel after the first 10 minutes. Keep up the intervals for at least 25 minutes, and don’t forget to cool down.

So get your cardio on and get with those challenge miles. Good luck!

ghouston@mvhospital.net

It is a summer water infusion!!

Second Quarter Challenge Prizes are in!!

HFA is very excited about our new water bottles for our second quarter challenge winners. The Minute Master Challenge competitors received these really cool water bottles with something called an infuser in them. This made me think about how little I know about infusing water and its benefits. Naturally, I went looking for information so I thought I would give you a few interesting facts I found.

There are many reasons to infuse your water beyond “just to make it taste good.” One of the main reasons to infuse water with fruits and or herbs is to enhance weight loss. One of the best habits you can gain in your weight loss journey is to increase you water intake. The bottled water industry knows this and has introduced many forms of either flavored water/teas or drops and powders that give your water a more pleasing taste. Many of the ingredients in these products are not actually that healthy for you, artificial sweeteners and preservatives do not have a place in your water. But natural water infusion has many benefits.

Just to name a few, it can

· Improve your mood.

· Flushes toxins from your system.

· Fills you up so you don’t eat as much.

· Naturally helps your body release fat cells for water weight loss.

· Keeps food moving through your system.

· Keeps your organs healthy while you’re sweating.

· Reduces muscle fatigue while working out.

· Helps you recuperate faster from a workout.

· Keeps you from feeling groggy in the afternoon.



Prep for water infusion is really easy too! You simply

1. Place desired fruits/vegetables in a small mixing bowl or directly in your infuser or water bottle. Use the end of a wooden spoon to slightly mash or breakdown the fruit/vegetables

2. Next add any herbs and spices. Don’t forget to gently bruise the leaf of any whole plant herbs such as mint or basil to help release the natural oils found in the plant.

3. Then place these ingredients in your bottle or container (or if you have our fancy bottles straight into your infuser) then add sparkling water or just good old filtered water to your bottle and enjoy!



Here are some ideas for ingredients to use.

FRUIT
Citrus | grapefruit, lemon, Meyer lemon, key lime, lime, blood orange, orange, tangerines
Berries | strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, cherries
Tropical | pear, pomegranate, mango, pineapple, banana, kiwi, starfruit
Melons | honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon
Other | apples, grapes, plums, peaches, nectarines

VEGETABLES
cucumber, carrots, celery, peppers (hot or sweet)

HERBS
mint, sage, rosemary, basil, cilantro, thyme, stevia, lavender

SPICES
ginger, cinnamon stick (ground cinnamon will float), black pepper

WATER
Filtered water, sparkling plain water (San Pellegrino, etc.)

And here are some of my favorite combinations to try!! 

grapefruit + sage//rosemary//mint//basil
lemon + mint//cilantro//basil
lemon + lime + cilantro
lemon + ginger
Meyer lemon + tangerine + pear + hot green pepper + cilantro
lemon + orange + ginger
blood orange + ginger + basil
cucumber + lemon + lime + mint//basil
cucumber + grapefruit + sage//rosemary
cucumber + watermelon + mint
carrots + apple + lemon + ginger
carrots + pomegranate + sage
honeydew + cantaloupe + watermelon + sage//mint
watermelon + mint//rosemary//basil
cantaloupe + blood orange + lemon
pear + rosemary//sage
banana + nectarine + basil
blackberries + raspberries + strawberries + mint
strawberries + grapefruit + sage
apple + plum + blueberries + mint//sage
cherries + lime + mint

Water never has to be dull again. If you have any questions never hesitate to hit us up at Health and Fitness Academy, we have gone water infusing crazy!!

G

ghouston@mvhospital.net
208.557.2823

Oodles and oodles of goggles!

Oodles and oodles of goggles

And we are off! Health & Fitness Academy’s first ever “Sloth-a-thon” is officially under way. What is a “Sloth-a-thon” you ask?! Well, you have 30 days to complete either a half-ironman triathlon OR a full-ironman triathlon. Just check off the distances (on the card at the end of this message) as you complete them and turn in your completed card by the dates listed. THEN we will have our final “Sloth-a-thon” Event to wrap up this challenge June 8. It’s going to be an exciting 2 months and we can’t wait to hear everyone’s progress!

Now, in the meantime, this may be the first time some of you have ever done some of these activities and the Health & Fitness Team is going to be putting together some tips and tricks to help you along the way.

Today’s tip is about finding the right goggles for swimming. For me…the DREADED swimming! Haha…ok, maybe not DREADED, but definitely not my strong point. I always love swimming after I am done, but definitely not leading up to and during. I’ve found that my eyes are fairly close together which has made finding goggles that are comfortable seem impossible to find. According to www.swimming.org, there are 3 things you should look for when looking for goggles.


1. The Fit
This is decided by the seal of the goggles (not the strap). Always try your goggles on before you buy and if you’re shopping online, check whether the retailer will offer a full refund if they do not fit. The most common style of goggles are oval-shaped with a silicone gasket seal. When you try them on, the seal should provide a split second of suction – anything less and they will let in water, anything more and they are unnecessarily tight and applying too much pressure. Be careful to check the goggles are not too wide either as they may leak water if they stretch too wide around the corners of your eyes. Competition styles of goggles are a much sleeker design to minimise drag through the water. They tend to be less adjustable so there is even more reason to find the right fit before you buy them.‘Swedish’ goggles are a popular example of a competitive style which have no gasket seal and sit on the eye socket. A final option is swimming masks which offer a wide range of vision because of their size – these are best suited to children or people swimming in open water.

2. The Comfort
Your goggles might seal perfectly around your eyes but a lack of comfort over the nose can be hugely irritating. Many goggles have adjustable nosepieces but if yours is too tight or rubbing against the bridge of your nose, try another pair on.The strap has little to do with the seal of your goggles but is imperative for holding them in place. Goggles worn too tight will merely add pressure to the sensitive parts of the eye. Many goggles now have split straps which are better at holding them in place – look for a split strap if you are likely to be swimming fast or turning quickly in the water.

3. The Sight
Nearly all goggles now come with an anti-fog coating and UV protection. If they don’t, you shouldn’t be paying as much for them. The majority of manufacturers will also produce prescription goggles. The final thing to consider is the colour of the lens. The six most common are described below:

a. Clear – designed for low light, overcast conditions where maximum visibility is required. Suited to indoor use.

b. Lilac – designed for the best contrast for objects against a green or blue background. Suited to indoor or outdoor use.

c. Smoke – designed to reduce light transmission and lower the overall brightness. Best suited to outdoor swimming – perfect in the sun.

d. Amber – designed to enhance vision in low-light levels and reduce glare in high light levels. Suited to indoor or outdoor use.

e. Blue – designed to allow a moderate level of light into the eye but maintain protection from glare in bright conditions. Suited to indoor or outdoor use.

f. Mirrored – designed to reduce brightness and glare with mirrored coated applied to tinted lens. Suited to outdoor use.


I hope this helps get you started in the right direction when in search of goggles for swimming. Keep your eyes peeled for next week’s post for more tips and tricks!


Until next time,
Hayley Earley, BS, CSCS, Pn1
hearley@mvhospital.net

Am I Hungry?

Last month, we talked about the 3 second approach to bettering your nutrition habits. If you need a refresher on what this three second approach is all about, read it here: http://whatsupathfa.blogspot.com/2016/03/3-second-guide-to-better-nutrition.html . Hopefully though, you don’t need a refresher because you have been using the approach for the past few weeks. Today we are going to talk about question number one in detail. That question is, “am I hungry?”. Let’s jump right in.

The very first thing you should ask yourself before putting anything into your mouth is “am I hungry?”. Well, are you?

If the answer is no, but you are still wanting the food in front of you, congratulate yourself for recognizing that you are in an “emotional eating” situation. Now that you are aware of the situation you are in, you are in a better position to make a better decision.

If the answer to the question is yes, then we turn to the hunger scale. How hungry you are before and after you eat are critically important factors for controlling your weight. If you wait too long between meals, to the point that you are extremely hungry, it can lead you to binge eating and weight gain. On the other hand, over stuffing yourself to the point that you are over full can also lead to weight gain. For best results, you should keep your hunger at a happy medium.

Our bodies are designed to tell us when to eat and when not to. If we listen to our body, it can help us to manage our weight. The best way to do this is to use the hunger scale from 0-10. This can help you understand when to eat based on your body signals.

To keep yourself between a 3 and a 5, eat several small meals throughout the day, such as 3 meals and 2 snacks. When you ask yourself the “am I hungry” question, think of the hunger scale. If you find yourself at the bottom of the scale, eat very slowly and monitor your hunger rating as you eat. Because it takes about 15 minutes to feel full after we are actually full, eating slowly can help you avoid becoming “stuffed” from eating too much before your brain can register that you have had enough. If you focus on multiple small meals and snacks throughout the day, you lessen the chance of your hunger going outside of the 3 to 5 range. So make it a practice to never skip meals, especially breakfast.

The other challenges of not following our hunger messages are cravings, emotional eating, and temptations. These all fall into the category of eating without thought. If you ask yourself “am I hungry”, you are now entering the realm of thoughtful eating so you can now recognize when you are facing an emotional craving or temptation.

The next few things we will discuss are powerful approaches that are backed by scientific research to help you reduce cravings and achieve your goals.

Are You Hungry or Just Thirsty?

You know water is good for you, but did you know that what you drink has an impact on how full you feel? Also, did you know that what you drink can also help you to burn calories?

A ground breaking study found that water actually helps the body burn more calories. The scientists found that drinking water increases the metabolic rate by 30%.

Water also helps you to feel full. One study found that subjects that drank two glasses of water before a meal felt fuller during the meal. So, while you are burning more calories with water, it can also quench your hunger. And of course, it will also help you to stay hydrated.

In addition, sometimes our bodies confuse thirst for hunger; therefore, drinking more water can help you to quench your hunger in more than one way.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Did you know that putting tempting foods right in front of you will make them hard to resist? Of course you did, that’s why restaurants bring out dessert trays and waive them in front of you.

Researchers did a study on how much candy was eaten by women office workers when candy dishes filled with chocolate kisses were placed in a clearly visible spot versus in covered bowls. These women ate 2.2 more candies when the bowls were uncovered and conveniently located. While 2.2 more candies might not seem like a lot, that’s 275 extra calories over a five day work week, and 4 pounds of fat accumulated during the course of a year. Other researchers have shown that when more food is put on people’s plates, they eat more.

The message with these studies? When we see more food, we eat more food. The good news is that there are several things we can do so that we are less “tempted”.

1.      Be aware of the foods around you. Avoid surrounding yourself with foods that are too tempting or do not support your goals. Throw away the foods that you overeat with when you’re stressed or bored.

2.       Don’t buy foods at the grocery store that you think will be too tempting. If it isn’t in your cart, you won’t take it to the check out. If you don’t take it to the check out, you won’t buy it. If you don’t buy it, it won’t end up in your home. If it doesn’t end up in your home, it won’t end up in your mouth.

3.       Not on your plate, not in your mouth. The same is true about the food on our plates.  There are three ways to accomplish this. First, use smaller plates. Second, put food on the plates then serve meals. Leave the serving dishes and the rest of the food in the kitchen. Also, if you eat out, ask the staff to cut your entrée in half before it comes out to you and bring half of it out on the plate, and the other half in a to-go bag.

4.       Don’t leave high calorie foods out in your home. If you need to have candy, cake, and high calorie foods out in your home for special occasions, put them way out of sight until the limited time that they need to be out.

Changing your nutrition habits can seem like a hard and daunting task, but starting with the 3 second approach to eating and changing the way you think about food can make it much easier.

Keep practicing asking yourself the three questions before putting anything into your mouth over the next few weeks (1. Am I Hungry, 2. Is It Smart, and 3. How Much Do I need), and I’ll be back in a few weeks to discuss, in detail, the “is it smart” question.

Until next time,

Miranda Harris, CSCS, HFS

mharris@mvhospital.net

Cutting a hole in the dark

OK, so sometimes sitting down to write this blog can really bog me down and become an energy sucker. Why?  Because the voices in my head really start to chattering about what I should write about, will I even know what to say, will anybody care and will it be any good. Yep, really makes me wanna sit down, be with my thoughts and write.

Well, I have had lots of things run through my head this week and this morning as I was running free through the hills and experiencing the dirt, the fresh smells of sage and grasses, the hills and their beautiful formations, it finally came to me.  It came as easy and gently as the breeze that accompanied us and both were refreshing. " It" is what I knew I would write about today.

Earlier in the week I was out running in the early hours of the morning which required a headlamp to see the way.  Oh, I love running to the light of a headlamp and haven't done so in a while and I found it refreshing and new again.

I enjoyed watching the dust particles in the lamp, the light bob with every step and revealing new things with every footfall. I remembered how eery it was to see glowing eyes from the fields I was running in and hoping they belonged to some nice kitty and not something that wanted to jump out and eat me. As I moved along the dirt path my ears were filled with bird songs, my nose with sweet morning air and my heart with my rediscovered courage to take steps in the dark.

That my friends is my message to you today.  I don't know about you but I like to have things planned out and planned out well before I take action. It's safer that way, right? I like to see the picture way out in front of me and have every step carefully thought out so I know exactly what I'm doing. I've never been a fan of falling down or failing.

However, I also know differently and that is not how my life actually works. I've had to learn this over and over again and I hope to actually start remembering it more and more. For me, I know it best to paint the picture or set the destination I desire to create way out there, and then...put on my head lamp and start "cutting a hole in the dark."  This was a phrase I learned when I started trail running and was buying my first headlamp, a marmot that the salesman said would "cut a hole in the dark."  I liked the sound of that and it has assisted me since that time many years ago.

Cutting a hole in the dark requires courage to make a plan, purchase the necessary items to assist with your success and find the people to guide you as you go. Then...start moving!  Like me, you know your destination/goal is out there...somewhere... and you start putting one foot in front of the other.  As you do so, your lamp cuts a hole to reveal the next steps that are important for you in that very moment. You are focused on what is right in front of you. I love this because I am not weighed down by the whole picture and all the steps that must be taken...just the few I can see in my headlamp.  I am required to be present...at all times!

When we face the darkness in this way it becomes easier to move  through it and before we know it we have reached our destination. And...if we're lucky, we may get to experience an Amazing sunrise upon arrival!  Yes, there will be moments when your mind will want to wander and wonder what is lurking in the bushes. You may wonder what might want to eat you. You will most likely fall down and even get scraped up. When this happens, stare down the glowing eyes (your thoughts), reassess your thinking, thank them for showing up, bring yourself back to the present moment and keep moving forward. If real obstacles appear in your light or you take a stumble, deal with them as they appear and then keep on keepin on.

I have had many headlamp moments both actual and metaphorically and I love what I have learned from each experience. It's a lesson I never get tired of learning and hope one day it just becomes my natural instinct.  I encourage you to put on your headlamps! Whatever your goals/desires are, start cutting holes in your dark places a little at a time until you reach them.

I look forward to hearing about and/or assisting you with your amazing headlamp adventures. Please contact me if you would like assistance with

cutting holes in your dark places.

Until Next Time...
Go BE Great!

Jennifer J. Saunders
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
Reiki Energy Therapy
ButtinGear
Life Coach, Behavior Change Specialist
Everyday Superhero