Back On Pointe

storysmama: did it . 4/22/2013 today I did the “1,000 calorie”...

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:48:18 -0400

did it . 4/22/2013

today I did the “1,000 calorie” workout to see how true it was….

fitspo-for-ms: MS primer for personal trainers: A word about...

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:12:33 -0400

MS primer for personal trainers: A word about effort.

As we all know, in order to make strides in fitness, you have to push yourself. This is true whether or not your client has multiple sclerosis. And as a trainer, part of your job is to help your client push past what they think is possible. But I want to quickly address some differences between clients with MS and other, fully healthy, individuals: nerve damage.

As you know, muscles can’t contract without nerve impulses triggering them. As nerves become demeylinated, their ability to trigger muscle contraction may become compromised. This is important, because if a nerve doesn’t work, no amount of willpower will make its associated muscle contract.

Why is this important? Because you need to determine if your client isn’t doing something because he’s deconditioned (and needs pushing), or if he’s physiologically unable - at which point pushing becomes insulting, counter-productive, or both.

Take, for example, exercises involving the hip flexors. Speaking personally, my right hip flexor simply doesn’t function due to my MS. It doesn’t matter how determined I am or how hard I try, due to demeylination, I cannot lift my right leg off of a chair. No amount of encouragement (forceful or gentle) from a trainer will change that.

What can you do about it? Well… nothing really. Except accept. Your client should be able to bring information from her physical therapist guiding you to exercises that may be beneficial, and/or information from her neurologist stating that a particular muscle group is non-functional.

Remember that MS is not a disease that can be fought; just adapted to.

Yes helpful warning tag, I checked the FAQ. :P This may sound stupid just.... Things are kind of mad right now. I'm overwhelmed and stressed. I'm starting to work out but I can't go to the school gym because summer break just started and I can't afford the $5 a day. Just... I dunno, any ideas on how to calm down and organize and de-pressure my life? I know this is vague, and I realize this probably isn't an easy question to answer. Just thought I'd ask if you had any thoughts on my vagueness.

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:09:00 -0400

Take some time to yourself. You said that you’re overwhelmed, so you need some down time. Set aside 15-60 minutes a day to do something you enjoy. This could be reading in a hot bath, going for a jog around a local park, or baking cookies for your nice neighbors. But give yourself some time to be yourself and focus on yourself.
Don’t worry about a gym. If you can’t afford it, you don’t need it right now. It might be nice to go now and again to do some lifting, but you can still work out without it. Look into bodyweight exercises that you can do at home. Find a local pool or safe lake and go swimming with friends. Join an outdoor workout group. Invest in a few dumbbells or kettlebells to use at home.
Learn to breathe. Deep breaths, full breaths, all the time. It sounds weird, but trust me, it’ll help you relax. Before you go to sleep, just get comfortable in bed and breathe.
Get a planner. Schedule in the things you need to do, then write in (in pencil) the stuff you’d like to do, but are flexible with. Find an organization system that works for you so you have less to remember.
Replace things you don’t need and don’t want to do with things you enjoy. If you hate going to that book club every Wednesday night, stop going and try a yoga class instead. Take the money you’re spending on salty Chinese takeout and invest it into some Tupperware so you can bring your own delicious meals from home with you to work.

Hopefully some of that can help you!

Hi I just wanted to let you know that I did two fouettes on pointe tonight and before tonight I struggled to do a double and yeah I'm super happy and proud and yeah

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:48:00 -0400

That’s awesome! I absolutely hate fouettes, so that’s extra amazing in my eyes.

whenanimalsgetstuck: at some point during my freshman year of college, I bought a pair of dark...

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:30:20 -0400

whenanimalsgetstuck:

at some point during my freshman year of college, I bought a pair of dark brown “fashion” shorts. (I think of them as “fashion” shorts because they came from H&M, whereas the rest of my shorts come from camping gear stores and Walmart). I think these shorts were on sale. They were form-fitting. They looked pretty good on me and they made me feel good (which was and still is pretty rare). And I guess those were my main reasons for buying The Shorts. Also, I was dumb and extravagant with my cash.

I never wore them after I bought them. Like I would look at them in my dresser drawer, but I would always put on the shorts from Walmart/EMS/wherever. The Shorts were tight. Like, “probably not a good idea to bend at the waist” tight. But they were adorable and I really liked them, so I held onto them. It’s been like four years now. I still have The Shorts.

Last Friday we had a good, warm day, 75 degrees and breezy, so I dug out my collection of shorts and put on the old Walmart ones (best shorts ever — bleach stain, mystery barbecue stain, and extreme fading notwithstanding). The Shorts were at the bottom of the pile, and last night I finally tried them on again. There’s like this stereotype of women gauging their weight by this one “benchmark” item of clothing, and it’s a dumb stereotype but I guess there’s a grain of truth in it. I went ahead and tried on The Shorts. They were easy to button & zip, and there is loose fabric in the legs. They actually looked amazing on me. I immediately had a mini fashion show just to make sure this was the real deal. “Are you fucking kidding me right now” and “holy shit” were probably the two most-whispered phrases in my bathroom last night. I mean you should have seen my butt. Yeah girl.

and it made me think about myself differently. I started running last June. I’ve been running frequently since last fall. I’ve been running almost daily since January or February. I started because I was tired of sitting on the couch, and because I was sick of being “the slow one” when I went hiking with people. I just kind of wanted to be stronger so that I wouldn’t feel so bad about myself. And I don’t weigh myself, or measure my progress in any way other than miles and minutes. But then I tried on The Shorts. And they buttoned without resistance. And I went to bed feeling good about my progress.

I just wanted to say thank you. Before I found BoP I only read blogs that were like: don't eat this, don't eat that or you'll ruin everything. I felt guilty as soon as I took a bite of my friend's pizza. But you taught me it's about moderation and feeling good and enjoying it and that brought me closer to my goals than all the restriction ever has and ever will. I actually like my body, I like making it even better, and I like to have ice cream if I feel like it. :) P.S. your icon is beautiful!

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:00:00 -0400

You just summarized exactly what I’ve set out to do. It means a lot to me that I’ve been able to inspire you to love yourself and treat yourself well. I’m very proud of you.

"No one is perfect, this has to be remembered. Not necessarily as an excuse to be imperfect, but as a..."

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:30:34 -0400

“No one is perfect, this has to be remembered. Not necessarily as an excuse to be imperfect, but as a way to deal with those imperfections. When you fall down or slip up, you can take a second to realize that this is not the end, but just a part of the journey as a whole. You do not necessarily “start over”, but you continue on. Not all failures are ends, many times they are steps to a future that is far better than what you imagined in the beginning.”

- -M Redden

THWID

(via thatshowwinningisdone)

Photo

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:31:56 -0400

Kettlebell Row and Back Extension Set up a kettlebell at the...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:03:34 -0400

Kettlebell Row and Back Extension

Set up a kettlebell at the base of the back extension machine. (I am using 20lbs, but any weight you can row is fine.) If you cannot reach the kettlebell on the floor, raise it up on some books, a block, or a mat.
Get onto the machine and bend forward to grasp the kettlebell by the corners of the handle with both hands. (Picture number 1.)
Perform a row by pulling the elbows back, keeping them as close to the body as you can. (Picture number 2.)
Sliding your grip to the sides of the kettlebell handle, raise your upper body by contracting the glutes, hamstrings, and back muscles. Keep the kettlebell close to your body. (Picture number 3.)
Holding the kettlebell against your chest, bend backwards, tightening the glutes and stretching the front of your body. (Picture number 4.)
In fluid movement, change your grip to the top of the handle and lower your body back down, ending in the starting position. That is one rep. Perform three sets of 10 reps.

Works your triceps, upper back, glutes, and hamstrings.

Austin Grill-Out?

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:43:31 -0400

Austin Grill-Out?:

The other day at the pool at my apartment, I was thinking about how fun it would be to have a Back On Pointe get-together there. Today, Jeremy said that he and I should host a grill-out by the pool and invite my readers. And, well, if we both think of it independently, it must be a good idea, right?

So if you’re in the Austin area and would be interested in a grill-out and pool party at my apartment’s pool, please fill out this form and you’ll be put on the list of people to contact with more details if/when this happens!

Food for Thought #10.

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:01:09 -0400

fyoured:

I once asked my (eating disorded) friend why she rounded up her calories so much. I guess I knew the answer, because I used to do the very same thing, but I wanted to see what it meant to her.

She said, “Oh, it’s just in case.”

Which leads us, of course, to the following: just in case what? Just in case you break the ‘limit’ your ED has set you? Why would that be a bad thing, eating more than you had ‘planned’ beforehand?

Do you sometimes feel the same?

Breaking any ED compulsion - be it rounding up calories, or compulsively weighing yourself “just to make sure”, or anything - is always a very brave and very right thing to do.

Scrambled eggs, homemade breakfast potatoes, baby spinach, and...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:26:04 -0400

Scrambled eggs, homemade breakfast potatoes, baby spinach, and shredded cheese on a wheat tortilla. Breakfast time!

We don't know your name....lol what is it??

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:02:00 -0400

Yes you do! :D

(But for those of you reading this on a phone or something, my name’s Lita.)

If you’ve done my Perfect Port de Bras workout, please head over to the video on YouTube and...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:57:25 -0400

If you’ve done my Perfect Port de Bras workout, please head over to the video on YouTube and leave a comment! Tell me what you liked and what you didn’t, tell me your favorite move in the video, tell me anything!

Yesterday at work a woman noticed my name tag and gushed over my name. She’s currently trying...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:55:12 -0400

Yesterday at work a woman noticed my name tag and gushed over my name. She’s currently trying for a second child, which she’s hoping will be a girl, and has been looking for a good L name. My name may live on!

Also yesterday at work, a guy told me that I look like Alyson Hannigan. I don’t, like at all, but it still made me happy.

thecakebar: Tropical Mango Yogurt Smoothie Green Ginger Peach...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:30:16 -0400

thecakebar:

Tropical Mango Yogurt Smoothie

Green Ginger Peach Smoothie

Hearty Fruit and Oat Smoothie

Tropical Blueberry Smoothie

kick-asstake-names: My yoga studio did Yoga Glow this weekend!...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:57:07 -0400

kick-asstake-names:

My yoga studio did Yoga Glow this weekend! Blacklights, glowing paint, glow sticks, rave music, the works! It was so badass. I had such a great time. :) Hard to get really good pictures in the dark, but check out this sweet glowing garland pose.

This is so cool. I want to find a yoga studio in Austin that does this, or at least one I could rent out and do this in. (And yes, you’d be invited.)

52 days left to pledge and help me out!

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:25:27 -0400

52 days left to pledge and help me out!

What are some good exercises to make legs stronger for pointe? I start pre-pointe in September but want to start working on strengthening my legs now. Would running be good?

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:00:00 -0400

I actually have a workout to help with getting ready for pointe!

Running’s going to be hit or miss. Some dancers love it, some find that it reduces their flexibility in their legs. I prefer swimming and trying other forms of dance as training.

What are your thoughts on Cassey Ho (blogilates) ?

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:59:00 -0400

You can read the things I’ve written/reblogged about her here.

Also, I should add, I’m sure she’s sweet as a friend. I’m just not a fan of her style of workouts and I’ve been very upset by her fat- and health-shaming in the past.