FIT BLOG:
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Guess what regulates both the temperature of the Human Body and the Earth? WATER And water can help your Body with Recovery, Rehab, or Relaxation depending on its temperature. For Recovery (cold plunges/ice baths), you want the temperature between 46.4-59°F (8-15° C). For Rehab (aquatic therapy), water temp needs to be greater than 89°F with the sweet spot typically around 96°F (33-38° C). For Aquatic Exercise (swimming or aerobics), it can be cooler 83-86°F (28-30° C). RECOVERY You may wonder why ice baths are so popular right now. There has definitely been a progression from using them post workout for speeding up muscle recovery to using them on a regular basis for the other health benefits. Benefits of ice baths: increased fat burning, immunity, & resilience (toning the vagus nerve to handle stress better). They can also help improve sleep, reduce inflammation & migraines, and be good for your skin. You’re wanting it cold enough to elicit a shiver which switches your body into burning fat for fuel. Note that new research shows women may not need to get as “cold” for the ice baths due to having a more sensitive vascular response to cold than men. Caution with ice baths: you need to build up slowly if you’re doing it on your own and new to it. Unless you are training heavily every day in a particular sport, full body ice baths aren’t something you typically do more than a few times a week or max of 11 minutes total per week. **None of the extremes temp wise are safe for those with cardiac issues unless cleared by a physician. Those with Raynaud’s phenomenon should avoid extreme cold temps. REHAB We use aquatic therapy for both ortho and neuro patients. It’s wonderful for pain relief from arthritis to spasticity. It’s fabulous for working on flexibility, balance, core strengthening, and pre-gait activities. You can unload joints and decompress the spine depending on the depth of the water. At waist deep, you unload your body weight by 50%. At chest deep, by 75%. At neck deep, by 90%. You can change the depth, the position (supine, prone, sideways, kneeling, standing, one leg), and balance in or on the water using mats/noodles/boards. In fact, I used to work on balancing in the pool using therapy mats way before I did SUP on lakes/oceans. We have a ton of pool tools we can use to challenge patients. Remember water can assist or resist you as you move. You can work on walking all directions or jogging at all depths. As you can imagine, pedi patients love it. It brings out playfulness in adults too and gives them so much freedom of movement and pain relief. So good for mental health especially for those dealing with chronic pain. Insurance will cover it under outpatient physical therapy or occupational therapy if you have a medical diagnosis and the therapist has aquatic certification. RELAX Floating in water is probably the most relaxing way to enjoy it. One of my favorite Relaxation Bodywork in water is called Watsu. Watsu is a form of Shiatsu (bodywork) in the water that involves a therapist moving you through different positions to stretch & massage for relaxation, pain relief, and improved mobility. You’re floating & moving slowly through the water. Imagine that calming sensation you get swinging in a hammock, resting on the front of a catamaran or enjoying a piece of chocolate melting in your mouth. Ah, feels so good! BTW Ender is great at this technique. *Hot Tub Temps are great for Recovery & Relaxation- can really help with spasms and pain. *Contrast baths where you alternate cold and hot temps on an injured body part. Helps with swelling, injuries, inflammation and pain. OVER TO YOU Water has so many therapeutic benefits. Match the temperature to what you need it for- recovery, rehab, or relaxation. Find some ways to add it to your Rest Toolbox and remember it if you get injured or are dealing with some chronic pain issues. You can resume exercise and movement a lot earlier in water than you can on land. And don’t forget there is aquatic therapy for your pets too, if they have arthritis or need some rehab from an injury.   *If you have diabetes or cardiac conditions like uncontrolled hypertension, you'll need clearance from your physician to exercise safely in water. P.S. Can’t get in the water or it’s not time for a vacation yet? Use the 12 Days of Bliss Challenge- ONE simple REST Move in just 5-10 minutes a day to help you Recharge & anytime you need a Reset. Download the FREE Challenge here.
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**Note- We shared this blog post about a week before the devastating 4th of July floods in the Texas Hill Country. We are sending so much love to all of those impacted by this tragedy & gratitude to all of the responders who continue to support these communities. If you need some Rest & Recovery Tools to help you manage the stress or trauma of this event, the next blog post has resources for you. You can find it here. Be extra kind to yourself right now. XO- Mollie & Ender We’ve all seen the power of water by what happens in flash flooding events. Trees, cars, buildings are no match. Water will WIN every time. We can take advantage of that force when we exercise IN water. Water provides 12-14% more resistance than on land. The more you push, the harder the water pushes back. Exercise IN water is not just for cardio workouts like swimming. You can get a full body, low impact, strength training workout IN water. A gentle yet challenging way to workout. It’s great to build strength AND work on your posture and balance. It’s a safe place for you to exercise if you have pain or arthritis. Anything you can do on land exercise wise, you can do in the water. The water can assist or resist your muscles. 30 minutes of pool exercise can give you the benefits of closer to a 2 hour land workout. Less time, same or better results. You can change the intensity by moving:
You can add weights or bands to increase resistance or just use the water itself. When you change the shape of what you’re pushing or moving through water, it changes the resistance (i.e. hand closed vs open or with a fin vs without). You can do your arm or leg strength workouts in the water- punch, lift, kick, squat, lunge. Walking in water is a great full body workout for your strength, cardio, & balance. Walk forward then turn around and walk through the current you just made to increase the resistance and intensity. Do that all directions (front, side, back). Kick Boards are great for pressing through the water to workout your core and arms or across the water to workout your core and legs. Group exercise classes in the water are getting more varied lately as well. Some classes might focus more on strength training vs cardio or do a combo of both. I’m seeing more Mind Body Exercise classes pop up especially at the YMCA. Yoga Aquatic classes or even ‘Ai Chi’ classes that involve breathing & resistance training to relax and strengthen your Body using Qi Gong and Tai Chi Movements. Water exercise can make your strength training more fun, varied, and full bodied. Remember to Start Slow! If you aren’t used to water exercise, start with 15 minutes and build up slowly overtime especially if you have an injury or chronic pain. Monitor how you feel into the next day to see if you overdid it or not. Aim for 2-3 times a week of strength training whether it's on land or in water. NEXT UP: I’ll share how to use water for recovery or rehab. In the meantime… jump in. The YMCA is one of the best places to find an indoor pool. If it's Summer where you are right now, you should be able to find an outdoor pool to exercise in.   *If you have diabetes or cardiac conditions like uncontrolled hypertension, you'll need clearance from your physician to exercise safely in water. P.S. Ready to be active & agile at any age? Download your FREE Relaxed Body Toolkit to get started here.
Today's the day! Time to Celebrate Earth Day AND National Beagle Day! Beagles & Nature- 2 of my favs that bring me so much joy. Here are 5 ways to tweak how you SHOP so you can make healthier choices for not only your Body & Home but also Animals and the Environment: 1. Shop Cruelty Free: Look for the BUNNY LABEL to find brands that don’t do testing on animals especially beagles & rabbits. Download the cruelty cutter app to make it easier to shop cruelty free. Check that all your skin care, cosmetics, and household cleaning products have the bunny on them. 2. Shop with Certified B Corporations™: B Corps are for profit businesses that commit to balance both profit and purpose. These brands meet legal standards to consider not only the needs of their customer and employees in their decision making but also the environment and larger global community. Check the labels of products you already buy from and see if they are one. 3. Chemical Free Home: keep chemicals, plastics and pesticides out of your home.
4. Clean Eating:
5. Donate: Find organizations that help the environment & find their brand partners (like seatrees.org has on their webpage or Climate Neutral and 1% For The Planet). The brands you choose matter for not only you and your home but our planet. OVER TO YOU: What's ONE thing you can change about how you SHOP that'll help support your Body, Home & the Environment? BONUS MOVES: In honor of National Beagle Day, add some Yoga "Dog" Poses to help you stretch and strengthen your core. You can do all of these on a counter or wall if you don't have the shoulder range of motion to do them on the floor. Warm up a little before you do them. Listen to your Body & do the ones that you can do with good form and still breathe well. You can either pick one move & do a few reps of it or do a few sets of the entire sequence.  Now get outside & celebrate this beautiful Earth (& National Beagle) Day!  P.S. Every sale of our online Rest Camps support organizations that improve the health & welfare of animals including Beagles. One of our favs to support is Beagle Freedom Project. They rescue and rehome beagles & other animals who have been used for lab testing in the U.S. and abroad. They also work tirelessly to champion laws & legislation to ban the cruel practice of animal testing nationwide.
Get on the interest list for our next online Rest Camp here. Do you have some "ME" time scheduled for this Valentine's weekend? It's a great weekend to tap into some "guilt free" rest & pamper yourself energy that our hustle culture encourages around the festivities. The challenge is to give yourself permission to slow down and prioritize yourself and your daily rest practices EVERY day. So tap into that energy this weekend and keep it going because you deserve to be first on your list before nurturing everyone else. If you're not used to slowing down, you might not know what Rest Move to choose. The cool thing is your body will tell you IF you're listening. Here's a simple breathing & short meditation exercise (Cherished Body Exercise) to help you tune into what Rest Move your body needs today: LISTEN HERE Or you can read it to yourself below: Sit or lie down in a comfortable position. Hand on your heart or over your belly if you have tight shoulders. Close your eyes. Inhale through your nose. Exhale through your mouth. Relax your shoulders. Inhale through your nose. Exhale through your mouth. Soften your arms. Inhale through your nose. Exhale through your mouth. Let go from head to toe. Inhale through your nose. Exhale. Ask yourself “What would I do if I cherished myself?” Inhale through your nose. Exhale. Listen to your body. “What would I do if I cherished myself?” Keep breathing. "What would I do if I cherished myself?" Keep listening. "What would I do if I cherished myself?" When you're ready. Open your eyes. What came up (a thought, a word, a picture) when you asked your body the question? What does it need to feel cherished or nourished today? How can you schedule that into your day or take one baby step toward adding that to your day? If you didn’t get an answer right away, don't worry. Tune in throughout the day as it'll probably come to you later. You can repeat the Cherished Body Exercise daily to help you tune into what your body needs each day to feel more energy, ease, & flow. Your body knows best so make sure to check in daily. It’ll tell you what it needs to feel, move, perform better. Indulge in the chocolate & flowers but also pick one thing to refresh your body & brain this weekend. Let it be the start to cherishing yourself every day. Be kind to yourself!  P.S. Need ideas on how to cherish yourself daily? Take the 12 Days of Bliss Challenge- ONE simple REST Move in just 5-10 minutes a day to help you Recharge & Reset.
Let the Adventure to a Peaceful, Playful, Powerful Body Begin- Download the FREE Challenge here. Are you a snacker? Food snacks especially protein ones can help stabilize your blood sugar and boost your energy. It applies to workouts also. Exercise Snacks are 1-2 minute bursts of activity that you repeat several times throughout the day instead of one longer workout. They can increase your metabolic health, endurance, and even help your muscles use protein to repair and build strength depending on the exercise you perform. You can pick any activity that’ll boost your heart rate and do it for 1-2 minutes several times a day. Exercise Snacks Examples:
IT ALL ADDS UP! Exercise snacks or movement breaks throughout the day will boost your energy, metabolism, and stamina. They’ll also help with reducing cognitive fatigue (brain fog) and completing stress cycles. The key is to do them consistently throughout the day and overtime so you get the full benefits. PRO TIP: Sitting is so hard on your body that you still need to break up your sitting time with exercise snacks even if you're going to get in a good workout that day. Do some exercise snacks for 2 minutes for every 20-30 minutes of sitting. It can be as simple as standing up and doing a round of squats. Listen to your body. It’ll tell you whether it needs food, hydration, rest, or movement breaks (Mini Moves) to feel more energy, ease, and flow each day.  P.S. Ready to be active & agile at any age? Download your FREE Relaxed Body Toolkit to get started here.
Woohoo, we did it! We launched our Texas sized Tandem SUP. Besides being a ton of fun to be back on the water, it felt good to accomplish something we had talked about doing for years. It all started when we saw a group paddling on the lake with these huge inflatable boards that held their dogs, coolers, and 2-3 people on each board. Literally a paddle party! It seemed like the solution to our dogs crying when they were separated on the boards or about wanting all of us on one board. The inflatable tandem board also does better on open water or the rougher water of a Texas lake. Unfortunately, Tyson (our 16 year old dog) passed away before we got it going but this summer we decided it was time to go all in and it would be part of our 20 year anniversary celebration. The weather cooperated and it was a success with only a few hiccups, so it was good we tested it without Teddie (our now 14 year old dog). It’s always exciting & healthy for your body & brain to start something new. Here's a video of the journey so far...  We love SUP because it’s a FULL body workout that challenges both your body & brain. An excellent way to turn on your postural muscles and get into flow. You get the benefits of the calming meditative powers of nature AND the core challenge to your balance & coordination from stabilizing on the water. Tandem paddle boarding requires even more coordination and teamwork. It felt more like sculling as the board is sensitive to our every move. We need more practice before we bring Teddie out but are loving being back on the water. We’ll be taking advantage of the cooler weather over the next few months to get comfortable with the board. It’s a great time to try SUP if you’ve never tried or get back to it if you have before. If you can’t get near a body of water, here are 4 exercises to help you experience the healing power of water no matter where you are. 1. Cooling Breathwork: visualize or sit in nature or near water and do some Cooling Breathwork. 2. The Fountain: try this Qi Gong "Fountain" exercise. It’s a moving meditation to help you get in the flow and “just be water.” It can be done in sitting or standing. Kids love it. It’s a fun one to do when you need a quick break to clear your mind, calm your body, or recharge. Just 7 reps can make a difference and help you find your flow. Watch this short video to learn how simple it is to do. 3. Water Meditation: lie down in a comfortable position and visualize a waterfall pouring over you. Inhale In the good healing powers of the water. Imagine absorbing all the “energy” or “power” of the waterfall. Exhale and release anything you want to let go of (i.e. toxic thoughts, pain, etc). Continue for 3 minutes or longer if it feels good to you. You’re letting the water refresh you and wash away anything you no longer need deep into the ground below you. Pro Tip: if you have a hard time visualizing, try this version in the shower. Close your eyes, get present with a few deep breath and feel the water as it flows over you from head to toe. Imagine all the toxins, negative feelings, or events from your day washing down the drain. 4. Soak in the Tub: take an Epsom salt bath with lavender to release toxins and relax your body and mind. These exercises help release toxins, recharge your energy, and even get your creativity flowing. Find time to get outside & refresh near water as much as possible before the winter months hit. Use these exercises to fill in the gaps when you can't get outside. Which one feels best in your body? Schedule regular "water" breaks into your day.  P.S. Ready to find your flow & tap into your creative energy? SHINE™ and info on how you can join the next Rest Crew is coming soon. Get on the interest list here.
Did you figure out your Peak Time to workout yet? If so, did you shift anything around in your schedule and see changes in your energy or performance? Hope so. I've got another fitness hack to help you plan your workouts. Cycle syncing. You can use your monthly cycle to help guide you with exercise. Cycle check in (for females): Where are you in your monthly cycle? Your body needs different activity and has different energy levels based on the changes in hormones you go through each monthly cycle. Paying attention to and respecting these needs throughout the month will help your body have more energy and perform better with less effort. In general, you want to be gentle and take it easy while you are bleeding and start to ramp up exercise during the middle of your cycle. You want to ramp down as you approach the end of your cycle. Beginning of your cycle (Days 1-5): focus on Rest/Reflect/Relax activities (i.e. naps, meditate, gentle stretching/walking). Middle of your cycle (Days 6-20): you can train harder and increase the intensity (i.e. strength, cardio, interval training). End of your cycle (Days 21-28): start to taper down training (i.e. yoga, pilates). To dig deeper into this, check out the:
Not bleeding regularly or at all? You can use the lunar cycle to guide you. Kate's book talks about this in detail but basically:
If you are male, you can do this too. You actually go through all these hormone cycles in a 24 hour period. Every. Single. Day. You've got a few options:
Cycle syncing + working out at your Peak Time will help you get better results with less effort! If you test it out, you'll see what I mean. Give it a go and let me know your results in the comments below.  P.S. Want to feel, move, & perform better in 3 minutes or less? Download the Relaxed Body Toolkit & Daily Energy Planner here.
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Mollie, Ender, Ty & Teddie
Mollie Miller, PT
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