Author Archives: Tom Leonard

A Yoga Flow That Works Your Legs and Butt

Source: http://greatist.com/move/yoga-video-a-flow-that-works-your-legs-and-butt?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

Ever feel like your usual yoga practice turns into a snoozefest? (And no, we don’t just mean ending in savasana or corpse pose). Do this unique flow focused on strengthening your lower body and butt instead.

The pace moves quickly, but you can simply pause the video if you need to slow down. Instructor Emily-Clare Hill offers less challenging modifications as well, so you can make every pose work for you at any skill level. Her clear cues will keep your form sharp from start to finish.

You don’t need anything but a yoga mat for this one. This class is about 37 minutes long, so give yourself enough time to complete it. Hit play to get started.

Looking for more short and effective at-home workouts? Grokker has thousands of routines, so you’ll never get bored. Bonus: For a limited time, Greatist readers get 40 percent off Grokker Premium (just $9 per month) and their first 14 days free. Sign up now!

Becoming the Best Coach You Can Be Is More Than Just Science

Source: http://www.theptdc.com/2016/06/art-science-of-becoming-the-best-coach-you-can-be/

Functional anatomy, biomechanics, exercise physiology, and motor learning are all important scientific elements to know that will help you become a successful coach. But to build successful relationships with clients, you must never forget human element.

This is why I believe coaching is like an art.

There are vague rules and a blank canvas. You bend the rules, mold new ones, and blend them with the science and proven methods to become a successful trainer. I and many others call this the “art of coaching.” When you blend it with the actual science, then you can become the best coach you can be for you and your clients.

Here are some practical examples that you can start using today with your clients.

1. Cater your weekly workout plan to your client’s needs.

We carefully lay a weekly plan with an optimal number of rest, light, and hard days in the name of exercise science. Our clients, however, are not science subjects. They have their own whims and behavioral quirks.

Let’s say you want to do an upper/lower split with a male client. “Scientifically” it would make sense to arrange your week like this:

Monday: Upper
Tuesday: Lower
Wednesday: Rest/light activity
Thursday: Upper
Friday: Lower
Saturday & Sunday: Rest/light activity

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7 Surprisingly Easy Clean Eating Dinners

Source: http://greatist.com/eat/clean-eating-ground-turkey-recipes?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=feed_http–greatistcom-

We spend a lot of time scouring the Web for tasty, trendy, and healthy recipes. It’s one of the many perks of working at Greatist. In the process, we come across some amazing resources for easy meals that prove cooking healthy doesn’t have to be expensive or a giant time suck. And now, we want to make a habit of sharing them with you!

Every week, we’re asking one of our favorite food bloggers to share some of their most popular recipes. Here, our friend Olena Osipov of iFOODreal.com shares her best clean eating dinners with tasty ground turkey as the main ingredient.

1. Stovetop Zucchini Noodles Lasagna

Stovetop Zucchini Noodles Lasagna

This recipe trades starchy pasta sheets for lighter, gluten-free zucchini noodles. The final product is a low-carb, high-protein, super satisfying meal.

2. White Bean, Turkey, and Kale Stew

<img src="http://greatist.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_main/public/RecipeBlogger_White-Bean-and-Kale-Stew.jpg?it…

All You Need, You Already Have

Source: http://zenhabits.net/tsukubai/

By Leo Babauta

There is a famous stone water basin (or “tsukubai”) outside of the even more famous Ryoan-ji Temple in Kyoto, with four characters that read: “ware tada shiru taru.”

This is a Zen saying that can be translated in a number of ways, all to do with contentment. But my favorite translation is:

“All you need, you already have.”

I think it’s such a lovely way of looking at life.

As you sit here reading this article, pause and take an assessment of your life right now. Chances are, you have enough food, clothing, shelter, and other basic necessities in your life. You might also have loved ones, people who care about you. You are (mostly) comfortable, without any desperate needs. All you need, you already have.

And yet we don’t see life this way … we are dissatisfied, looking for more comfort, more love, more knowledge, more certainty, more possessions, more food, more entertainment, more validation. I do this too — I’m not criticizing anyone. We don’t often embody the idea that we already have enough.

If we remember to do so, we can give thanks for what we have. We can appreciate the beauty, the preciousness, of every moment, of being alive. It is a miracle, and we don’t have to take it for granted.

So to me the question is: how can we learn to embody this idea?

“All you need, you already have.”

Learning to Embody Enough-…

Stop Client Excuses and Change Their Mindset to Help Them Succeed

Source: http://www.theptdc.com/2016/06/how-to-stop-client-excuses-change-their-mindset-for-success/

One of the biggest battles facing personal trainers and coaches has to do with how our clients’ brains work.  We’ve all seen how our clients can spin an impressive array of excuses to keep from holding themselves accountable to their progress. We know these are loopholes in their logic that stunt their progress. Thus, with a better understanding of where their common excuses come from or their ways of thinking, we can help clients overcome these faulty rationalizations and get them on the path to more and better progress.

As coaches, our job isn’t so much to call BS on our clients as it is to empower them to firmly, yet gently call BS on themselves. The first step is to create an awareness that these mindset problems exist and that they’re very common. Here are the five most common “mind traps” that veer your clients off track, and what to do about them.

Client Mind Trap 1: “I’ll start tomorrow.”

We think we have infinite amounts of time to complete all of the things we want to accomplish. This, of course, leads your clients to the notorious “I’ll start tomorrow” rationale. This stems from misconceptions about time.

Yummy cheesecake when they’re trying to lose fat? Start the diet tomorrow. Get to the gym? Not when Netflix beckons.

This is the source of procrastinati…

Why Yoga Is Beneficial for Children

Source: http://www.sonima.com/videos/yoga-for-kids/

Watch video on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCk_u16IfIg

Yoga master Sharath Jois wasn’t always passionate about his practice. At age seven, he preferred to be playing the most popular sport in India, cricket, rather than be getting bendy on the mat. To build his practice, however, his guru grandfather, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, would encourage him to perform a few yoga postures before he joined his friends in a game out in the streets of Mysore, India. Thus began Jois’ early journey to becoming the world’s most advance practitioner of Astanga Yoga. In this video interview with Sonima.com founder, Sonia Jones, Jois takes a break from his 2016 U.S. Tour to discuss the importance of teaching children yoga. Learning discipline, focus, and how to manage stress are just a few of the ways yoga can help your child be better prepared to have a good, calm, healthy life.

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Why We Have Heroes (And How to Become Your Own)

Source: http://www.niashanks.com/heroes-become-your-own/

why we have heroes and how to become your ownOne reason we have heroes is because we admire their actions and characteristics that we assume we could never do or possess. After all, if those characteristics were common, there wouldn’t be heroes because everyone would do the right things. The challenging things. The, often, unpopular things.

Our heroes are not flawless or perfect, but that certainly doesn’t stop us from looking up to them. We admire them because despite facing adversity, grave tragedies, daunting setbacks, they don’t stop. They don’t give up. They refuse to accept defeat.

As the poet Dylan Thomas said, our heroes do not go gentle into that good night; they rage against the dying of the light.

They most certainly have moments of weakness and even ask, What’s the point? when facing yet another perilous situation. Our heroes, despite what some believe, are not fearless; they feel fear the same as a coward, but they act anyway. And that is why they are our heroes.

Where most turn back, they charge forward. When others quit, they knuckle down. When many accept failure as their ultimate defeat, they learn and become even better. When some place the blame on others, they admit their mistakes and commit to learning from them. When …

Making Healthy Living Sustainable

Source: http://www.fannetasticfood.com/2016/06/09/making-healthy-living-sustainable/

This is a sponsored post that contains affiliate links.

As you guys know, I’m all about making healthy living a sustainable, long term thing. Unlike most diets will tell you, you don’t have to eat perfectly or exercise for 4 hours a day to be healthy. And living a healthier lifestyle does NOT mean depriving yourself of things you love, either – that’s not sustainable! The key is to focus on healthy habits most of the time, while also allowing yourself some leeway for indulgence when it’s worthwhile because life it too short to avoid your favorite foods (and that will backfire long term, anyway).

In my opinion, working to become healthier in a sustainable way means making a simple tweak, then making some more, until they slowly become habit. Breaking it up into small, actionable changes like this not only makes living healthier a lot more manageable, but it also makes the changes more sustainable, because you’re not trying to change too much at once, getting overwhelmed, and giving up.

Going along with the spirit of healthy, sustainable changes and balancing fitness and food, a few weeks ago I attended the John Hancock Hosts the Cooking Light & Health Fit Foodie Race Weekend in the Mosaic District in Fairfax, Virginia.

<img style="float: none;padding-top: 0px;padding-left: 0px;margin: 0px auto;padding-right: 0px;border-width: 0px" title="John Hancock Fit Foodie_Starting Line" src="http://www.fannetasticfood.com/wp-c…

7 Surprising Reasons You Can’t Concentrate

Source: http://www.sonima.com/meditation/lose-focus/

Meditation can do wonders for the mind, but no amount of time spent on the cushion is going to help you get your focus back if an underlying health issue or poor lifestyle choices are throwing you off track. Use this checklist of mind-messing reasons to crack the nut why you’ve got the attention span of a squirrel and what you can do about it.

1. You’re suffering from seasonal allergies.

If you’re one of 40 to 60 million Americans who experience allergic rhinitis symptoms, like a stuffy nose, itchy eyes, congestion, and fatigue, you may also have decreased concentration and focus due to your allergies, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.
Strengthen your attention: Check the day’s breathing conditions on Weather.com’s Allergy Tracker. If the pollen count is high, keep windows closed to reduce your exposure to those outdoor allergens, like pollen, in your home. Also, wash bedding weekly to minimize exposure to dust mites, which also cause allergy symptoms. Since some antihistamines may make you sleepy, talk to your allergist about the best treatments that will help alleviate symptoms and not make you feel “out of it.”

2. You have food sensitivities.

Do you regularly feel bloated, fatigued, and moody after eating a particular food like ice cream or a bagel? This could be a sign that you have food sensitivities, possibly to dairy or gluten.
Strengthen your attention: Amy Shah, M.D….