Pics from Lululemon Class

Looks like fun! Come join us for my Body Burn class at Lululemon Rush on Thursday, April 29th from 7-8pm.

Walk MS Lakefront

I am pleased to announce that I have been asked to be the official trainer to warm up over 4,000 Walk MS participants on the Grant Park stage on Sunday, May 2nd! As some of you know, I have a couple of friends with MS, so getting people to participate and raising money for this event is important to me. After I warm everybody up, the team I will be walking with is the "J-Walkers".

So if you are interested in walking with our team or donating that would be terrific! Your donation will make it possible for the Greater Illinois Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to provide programs and services for people with multiple sclerosis while also funding important research that will bring us closer to a cure for this chronic disease.

It is faster and easier than ever to support this great cause - you can make a tax-deductible donation online simply by clicking on the link at the bottom of this message. After you make a donation, look for your name scrolling in the fundraising honor roll. You can be a part of joining the movement to achieve a world free of MS!

Click here to view the team page for J-Walkers
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/ILDWalkEvents?team_id=207176&pg=team&fr_id=13144&s_tafId=166069

Thanks for your support! Hope to see you there!

Personal Training with Skype

One of my regular clients called me last week and said he was going to be unable to train for the next couple of weeks, but really wanted to get his training in, so he suggested we Skype each other during our appointment time. I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical about doing this, but it actually turned out great once we got going! I Skyped him at his normal appointment time. We had to adjust his camera a little so that I could get a full view of his body (for biomechanical corrections and cuing). I had my camera set up so that I could demonstrate the exercises for him if necessary. It was really just like being there in person, except for the occasional couple second time delay. He had a Total Gym, bands, and a stability ball. We got in 4 circuits with 12 total exercises, and by half way through, he had a good sweat going!

So it looks like there is another option for people who can't make it to the gym or clients who are traveling and need that push to get out of bed and workout in their hotel room. Glad I tried Skype personal training! Thanks Tom!

20 Minute Abs

Do you get stumped trying to be creative with your abdominal routine? If you do the same abdominal routine every time you go to the gym, you may have noticed that it stopped working. Many people don't realize how or what exactly they are working when exercising. If you can focus more on where you should be feeling the exercise, you will get more out of your routine.

The abdominal muscles include, and are not limited to, the rectus abdominis (all four sections), transverse abdominis (upper and lower fibers), internal/external obliques (anterior and lateral fibers), pyramidalis, and yes, even that psoas! That's a lot of ground to cover with your routine. I am going to give you a full abdominal workout, but here are some helpful hints before you start your exercises:

1) Make sure you lift the shoulder blades off the ground or ball when crunching.
2) If you are on the ball, stretch all the way back as you come back down from crunching up so that you get a slight curve in your lumbar spine and get those spinal erectors involved in the movement.
3) Feeling pain in your back with exercise is not okay! Make sure that you can do the exercises pain free, if not, then you need to ease up on repetitions and build more strength.

Here's the routine:

Stretch Back Ball Crunches (20-30 reps)
Alternating Oblique Ball Crunches (30-40 reps)
Plank Holds (60 seconds)
Side Plank Ups (15 reps each side repeat twice)
Side Lying Leg Lifts (feet together lifting both, 15 reps each side repeat twice)
Pilates 100s (count 100 bounces with arms)
V-ups (20-30 reps)
Lower Abdominal Knee Tucks on Ground (30-40 reps)
Bicycle (30-40 reps)
Alternating Lower Abdominal Leg Extensions on Ground(20-30 reps)
Reverse Crunches (20 reps)
Lower Abdominal Scissors on Ground (20-30 reps)

April Lululemon Class

A big thanks to everyone that attended my "Booty/Abs" class at Lululemon Rush Street in March! I will be teaching another class on Thursday, April 29th, from 7-9 pm. The "Body Burn" class will be a full body workout and promises not to disappoint! So if you are ready to get going for summer (while learning some great exercises), come join us at Lululemon Rush on the 29th!