The Holidays are upon us! It seems that during this time of celebration we find ourselves busy, full of stress and always in a hurry.  It could be finances,  an abundance of obligations or a thought of a lost loved one. What do you do, what do I do to keep a healthier approach to the season?

Holiday Thoughts

• Prioritize the activities-no need to “do it all.”
• Set aside a specific time to process sad and lonely feelings. Don’t let the feelings control you..YOU decide to move onto the positive thoughts, take control.
• Maintain the healthy habits
• Set a budget and stick with it
• Don’t dwell in the past, use those experiences to keep the journey moving forward with strong resolve!
• Do something for someone else…maybe volunteering some time to help.
• Try something new…make a snowman, snow fort. No  snow? Make a sandcastle
• Always schedule time for yourself-read a book, movie etc.
• Keep up the fitness routine or start a new one.

Maybe a useful thought or two?  What do the holidays do for you? How do you celebrate?

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Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living! -Bradley

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With the weather turning cold and colder, brrr… we tend spend more time indoors.

To help me keep active,  I usually turn towards my Cardio Friends to get the burn on.  Some friends over a long winter…

Do you like to spin? A 60 minute high resistance for some solid muscle endurance.

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The Stepmill? Low impact,  nice lower body exercise, 20-60 minutes does the trick!

How about the Elliptical? Full body, I will occasionally hit this one for a light low zone workout for about 60 minutes.

A Treadmill is always a solid burn! I visit this one regularly. Sprints and/or long slow runs!

The Rowing machine is one of my favorites for a full body burn. Try this for 30 minutes…results!

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Often I will mix it up with some variety.  A good solid burn could be to tackle two or three machines at 10-30 minutes each.

Keep it interesting. Call on your Cardio Friends for help…don’t let the cold stop you!

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.“Above all challenge yourself. You may well surprise yourself at what strengths you have, what you can accomplish.” -Cecile Springer

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It is Sunday and for many of us we take on a much more relaxed approach.  Are you spending the day watching football?  Probably Brett Favre and the Vikings .  Maybe a movie or two are on the Sunday approach? I thought a bit of activity would keep my mind on the positive track.

The task is a light, higher rep routine to keep it simple. The Sunday Approach:

Squat Thrusts-3 sets of 20

.Wall Pushups-3 sets of 20

Bicycle Crunches- 3 sets of 20

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Rest and recovery are always important but occasionally a soft Sunday approach works for me !

. Decide what you want .. believe you can have it, believe you deserve it, believe it’s possible for you. -Byrne

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As children we are reminded to drink our milk, and I did do just that until adulthood. A few months back I started to drink milk regularly again. Not only did I include milk into my regular diet it has also become a favorite post work out refreshment. If my workout is a high intensity, with lots of sugar burned …I might make it a glass of Chocolate milk . Of course I do still enjoy a cold protein shake as well, but a glass of milk does the job nicely.

Why Milk?

Milk has Vitamin D and Calcium:

Vitamin D – plays a crucial role in maintaining bone health. When blood levels of calcium drop, the body responds in several ways. It promotes the conversion of vitamin D into its active form, which then travels to the intestines (to encourage greater calcium absorption into the blood) and to the kidneys (to minimize calcium loss in the urine).For bone health, an adequate intake of vitamin D is very important.

Calcium – Despite the debates involving milk & calcium, one thing is very clear: adequate calcium – both for bone development and for non-bone functions is key to reducing the risk of osteoporosis. Also reportedly helps reduce the incidence of tooth decay.

Is a glass of milk more beneficial for recovery than a sports drink?

Some say yes…

“The results found that, when consumed immediately after resistance-based muscle damaging exercise, both semi-skimmed milk and milk-based CHO-P helped to preserve more muscle than either the sports drink or water,” reports the Dairy Council.

“This study supports the growing volume of literature which suggests that milk is a powerful post exercise recovery aid,” said Dr Judith Bryans, a registered nutritionist and director of The Dairy Council in the UK.

Some options to consider if you have Lactose Intolerance.

My perspective:  Obviously there are other options for one to get similar benefits as milk but I do appreciate the fact that milk is a less expensive alternative than most and does seem to be working very well with me.

Maybe a glass of milk will work for you?

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Sources: Effects of Drinking Milk Following Exercise, Harvard School of Public Health

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