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30 day Social Media Challenge

Heather Morneau

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February 1, 2016

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Today I am starting a 30 day Social Media Challenge.

My husband, Doug, suggested it to me. I thought, OK, what does that mean and give me the details. I think the thought process he had was simple, try to do something you have not done before and let’s give it a try. I loved how he said “let’s”. Yeah, right, let’s. I know what that means. That means I do the writing and he does the checking to see if I got one done. Well, actually, I can live with that. After a few days to think this all over, I have decided that yes, I am willing to give this a try.

My Social Media Challenge will consist of:

Writing a blog post Monday to Friday for 30 days.
● As of right now, I write and publish two a week.

I will allow myself to take on a few guest writers.
● A challenge in itself, but I can do it.

Publishing a post daily.

So, that’s it. It should be simple and straightforward. As I begin on this journey of writing, I have to admit, I am a little stressed. I am a little worried. I have no idea what I am about to get myself into, but I have taken on lots of challenges, over the years. So here it goes!

It’s funny how it sometimes takes somebody else to get you doing something a little different. I started blogging only last year, and it scared the heck out of me. Doug, and I had thought a lot about launching this website, but in my mind, it was really something that I had no idea how I was going to contribute to. I am not the social media expert that he is. I am not the one who spends endless hours reading business books just to learn the newest, greatest trend. I am the one of the two of us that is still working toward my goal weight. Who was I to start writing about food, exercise, mental health, nutrition, a little tech, and all the topics that I have touched on. But, as it turns out, once I turn my laptop on, put the right music on, try to turn off the rest of the house, words start to tumble out of my finger tips.

What I have learned since I started blogging is that things change. Doug had mentioned about maybe blogging a little, but even though it has been a decade or two or three since I left school, I still remember writing those papers and I don’t remember any ‘A’s’. But then, I thought again. Back then, I was asked to write about I book that I had to read, whether I liked it or not. I was asked to write a story about the subject of someone else choice. Write a play, poem, report, whatever because I had to, not because I wanted to. This time it’s different.

Now, in my 5th decade, I get to do what I want. I don’t have to hold my breath, stomp my feet, have a tantrum, unless I really want to. I am writing what I want to write about. I am writing about my journey to being a grownup, a healthy grown up. If I am writing about a book, it’s because I wanted to read it. I pick subjects that I like. I enjoy the research that I am doing and I am really enjoying the learning.

I am writing as a kind of therapy for myself and hopefully for whoever is reading this. I want this to be a real growth challenge for me. I have managed to challenge myself for the past 4 years in the gym. I have had a tonne of personal growth. I can lift, pull, push more than I ever thought possible. I have healed not only my body from pain but my mind from some truly unhealthy thoughts. I have learned how to eat again. I have a whole new appreciation for athletes in general and I like the new me.

I believe the journey of this challenge will be a great new adventure.

Please send me ideas to keep my mind fresh with your thoughts.

Day 01 done!

Thank you Matthew West, this is the most perfect song for today.

Want to Prevent Colds? Have Sex Weekly

Health & Wellness

Heather Morneau

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January 28, 2016

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Stop reading now kids, mommy and daddy are talking. We are talking SEX.

My husband has been waiting for this blog post.

Now, I have an actual article to validate his long standing opinion that ‘more is better’.

If you knew me personally, this is not a subject that I generally feel comfortable talking about with people I really know let alone with people I don’t. BUT, after reading this study's results, I believe it should be shared.

Let’s face it, we are in the middle of cold and flu season now and if there is something natural and simple to help prevent us from getting sick. I say, OK, bring it on.

Want to Prevent Colds, Have Sex Weekly

People say you can't live without love, but I think oxygen is more important. – Anonymous

The Evil Bosu – 5 Simple Workouts

Heather Morneau

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January 26, 2016

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For most of my adult life I have been overweight. As a matter of fact for my 40th birthday my husband bought me an elliptical machine.

It was what I wanted. Really! At the time, I was overweight, running hurt my knees, I had no fitness clothes and I had no intention of going outside to let ‘everyone’ watch me jiggle down the street. The elliptical machine made sense. But like most people with great intentions, I started using it and then it became a clothing rack instead of a tool. Several years later, we tried again to shed some pounds and we bought a ‘gym machine’. You know the kind, it works your whole body, if you know what to do with it. But the reality is that again, it took up some space and collected dust. By the time we finally got serious about our fitness journey, we had accumulated a room full of equipment. It was all good equipment because we rarely bought cheap and it was hardly used. Our ‘workout room’ looked great. Our kids’ friends were all really impressed. We were so proud. We had free weights, a recumbent bike, the elliptical machine, the gym machine, a couple of stability balls, some risers with a step, and some bands.

When we sought a trainer in the fall of 2011, we wanted whoever it was, to come to our home so that we could use our great equipment. Fortunately for us, when Dean and Leigh Brandt made the brave decision to take us on, they agreed to come to our place and use our equipment. The room was small, but was perfect for what we needed. BUT, there was one piece of equipment that we didn’t have and soon purchased. It was what I still to this day call, ‘the evil bosu’.

If you don’t know what a bosu is, it is a half an inflated ball sitting on a flat base. It has become a staple in most gyms and has a tremendous number of uses and applications. It can be used flat side up or flat side down. Some are inflated really hard, some really soft. Either way, I have a love/hate relationship with it.

The bosu has become a staple in the gym for me. I use one a lot. First and foremost, please use caution when using a new piece of equipment. This one looks so simple, but because of that, people don’t use as much caution as they should. One of the first things that we ever tried to do with it was stand on it. Flat side down, slowly stepping carefully on, it will be a challenge for balance. Your feet will not be flat, your knees will wobble and you will need to concentrate. From there, we would try to do squats. Sounds simple, but when you are just starting out, it is really tough.

Now that we have been using one for a while we do much more complex things with it. But it all comes down to using it properly, having proper form, and remembering that the outcome is worth the work.

Some Bosu workout exercises

Bosu Squats

Place Bosu flat side down. Gently step up with feet comfortably apart. You may need a hand or something to help with balance.
Squat.
At first, your squats will be shallow, you may lose balance, but do what you can.

Bosu Lunges

With Bosu flat side down, step forward on to the Bosu, and back with one foot.
Make sure your foot is placed in the centre to reduce the chance of the ball sliding forward.
You can either alternate feet or one side at a time.

Bosu Mountain Climbers

Place Bosu flat side up and place hands on the outside edge, shoulder width apart.
Tuck alternating knees in.
You should look like you are in a push-up position and running in place at the same time.

Bosu Burpee

Stand holding the Bosu with the flat side facing you.
Place the soft side on the floor.
Now, jump both feet back, so that you look like you are in a push-up and quickly pull both feet back in.
Stand back up with Bosu in hand pushing it overhead

Bosu Situps

Place Bosu flat side down and sit on it.
The top should be in the small of your back as you lean back.
With hand across your chest, sit up.
You may need to adjust your feet and bum so that you get the most out of it and so that you don’t slide.

There are so many things to do on this evil little piece of equipment. One list I found online had 41 different things to do with it. I hope you understand that although I call it evil, I still use it in most of my workouts. It’s evil, simply because it does it’s job and if I use it properly, I will be sore.

As I have said in other posts, you need to find what works for you. But, this simple piece of equipment can and should be used by everyone. From beginner to expert, this little beasty works!

Is Orange the New You?

Heather Morneau

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January 21, 2016

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Orange is the new you, so they say.

So here we go, new year new you, new workout routine. Each year there are a few new classes, pieces of equipment, and trends that seem really exciting and we run to try them out. Maybe this new ‘thing’ will be the thing that my body will love and therefore I will finally love getting out there and my life will be complete, well, at least as far as being active is concerned. Gyms are always trying new and different things to get us in the door. But in the end it all comes down to getting in the door, getting our butts into gear and just getting it done. There is a never ending supply of classes to try but what is it that we are actually looking for? First of all, you have to enjoy it, at least on some level, the activity you have chosen to do. But after that, why are we doing these activities anyway?

If you consume more than you use, you will expand. Not complicated.

Calories in vs calories out. Plain and simple. As we were heading to the gym a few days ago, we heard about a few new fitness routines. One peaked my interest and I have done a little research. Coming to our neighbourhood is a new gym concept. Orangetheory Fitness. This new gym caught my eye for a couple of reasons. I like to check out the new things. I have been watching a couple of new gyms actually being built in our little neck of the woods (Gold’s Gym being one). But, this new gym, OrangeTheory, belongs to one of our local hockey heroes, Trevor Linden.

Trevor Linden played for our Vancouver Canucks for most of his career. He is kind of a big deal in our town. Although retired from playing, he is still involved with the Canucks as President of Hockey Operations, he is also a business developer. He has a chain of gyms, Trevor Linden Fitness. So, when his name is linked to a new venture, we as Vancouverites, take notice.

OrangeTheory Fitness is a gym franchise that is currently in 9 countries. It’s concept is basic; “Base. Push. All Out. Fitness, meet science. The idea of Orangetheory is this: a 60-minute workout designed to push you into the Orange Zone. This create “Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption,” or EPOC. It’s what burns calories after your workout and gives you noticeable lasting results with Orangetheory Fitness.”

So, what does this mean? It means that during your workout you track your heart rate. If you know how hard you are actually working, you can work to your best potential. Therefore burn more calories. Therefore get more from your workout. We have tracked our heart rate for a very long time using our Wahoo monitors. One of the reasons was that our trainer wanted to make sure we were not going to have a heart attack during our workout. But also, if you don’t see results, you are less likely to continue. So, working at your best heart rate zone give you the best chance of seeing results from your effort. That is how your metabolism works.

As I have said in past posts, find what works for you.

It should push you.

It should be achievable.

It should be enjoyable.

It should be something sustainable.

Most of all, whatever it is, it just needs to get done.

“I spend my time at the gym doing diddly squats” -Unknown