Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic Exercise: Repetitive rhythmic movement involving large muscle groups and preformed continuously over a period of time.

Examples- Running, Jogging, Cycling, Step Aerobics, Zumba, Swimming, Rowing, etc

Aerobic exercise is also commonly referred to as "Cardio" because it also exercises your heart; increasing your heart rate and blood pressure (temporarily and necessarily) while  strengthening your heart muscle.  Being aerobically active increases your circulation, strengthens your heart, uses up calories and is helpful in weight loss and disease prevention.  The harder and more frequently you work, the higher the benefits are (within reason of course, you can over train but that's another topic).

In general I like to suggest you try to get at least three sessions of cardio in per week, preferably alternating on and off days.  If you are just staring out and haven't exercised in more than 6 months; make it a walk.  Get used to walking 3-4 times a week for 20-30 minutes and make it a manageable routine.  Getting out there is the first and often the hardest step so don't go out to fast or two hard.  Pushing yourself too hard right from the beginning can lead to unnecessary injuries and discouragement.  We don't either one!

If you have been walking and are comfortable with that it's time to step it up!  Keep your routine and add a little spice (much like my coffee going from summer coffee to fall pumpkin spice lattes ;-).  Start your session out with your walk, 5 minutes in try a little jog.  Not too fast, it's not time to sprint, its just time to get your body used to the feeling of jogging.  It's higher impact so make sure you have good shoes and comfortable clothes on.  Shoot for jogging 5 minutes then going back to your walk for 5 minutes.  If you feel okay start the next 5 jogging again.  Do, what you can, it will most likely be a bitfor as long as you're comfortable with and walk when you need to.  Just make sure you walk first and last because that is your warm-up and your cool-down.

Keep it up- keep getting outside or to the gym.  Keep working towards 5 minutes jogging and 5 minutes walking.  If that becomes comfortable up it to 8-10 minutes on (jogging) and 5 minutes off (walking).

The longer you stick with it the better it will feel, the better it feels for you to get out there and do it the better you will feel, the better you feel, the harder you can work, the harder you can work, the more you can do, the more you can do and who doesn't love it when they feel they are doing a great job and are fit to be mom?!?!

Fit to Be Mom!

I have recently been given the opportunity to work with a fantastic group of moms and I am very excited to start a program for these Mammas called Fit To Be Mom! 

Fit To Be Mom is a group of like-minded moms looking for an extra push towards their fitness goals.  Because it is a fairly large group I will focus on the general training principles to meet their collective goals and offer unlimited online support and motivation.  For the moms who need a little extra insight into the fitness world, I will tailor a few specific exercises for them to master each week.

As I get to know each mom I will work to make their fitness routines the best for each individual woman.  We all have our own specific time contstraints, body concerns and limitations; I hope to help us all work through them to accomplish our goals as a team. 

Roll on!

Change

  It's not our favorite thing to do.  Not for most of us anyway.  We tend to be creatures of habit, us humans.  We get used to things and a lot of the time we stick to it without much thought.  Sometimes we even fight change when it could do us a whole world of good.

  There are, of course, some changes that we like and welcome; the changes that effortlessly happen to us and jsut so happen to benefit us in some way too.  How convenient!  Those are nice and easy changes, the ones that we don't have to work for but we get something out of.  But very often when we are told we need to make a CHANGE we don't like it very much.  Even if the person telling us that it needs to be done is ourself.

  Knowing and accepting that you need to make a change in your life to become healthier, happier, better adjusted or avoid diseases of lethargy is a huge step with potentially great rewards.  Deciding to become more active, eat better and make healthier choices in general is BIG.  So, set that goal to change and stick with it.  Soon that goal to change will morph into an actual act of changing.  It isn't easy, feel blissful or taste like sunshine; but stick with it because it will get easier, feel better and maybe you'll get a taste of  sweet victory.

A Few Places to Find Me

Idea Fit - A great resource to find out more about your trainer.  It is also a great place to find a local trainer to face to face sessions.  I hope you stick with me but I'd like it even more if you found your perfect fit!

Facebook - I will post articles I find to be interesting, contests and special deals so check in and see what's going on!

HudsonValleyPeakPerformance@gmail.com

Getting Started with your Postpartum Body

Ok so, here we are.  Now, what do YOU want?

I'll tell you what I wanted this year, I wanted my old body back.  You know, the one that took me 26 years to get used to.  The one I watched grow up, get bigger and smaller, fed good things and bad, the one I beat up and healed; the one that gave birth to my super awesome now one year old daughter and DIDN'T snap back into place the next day.  Yeah, that one!  The one that will never be the same!  But if you think about it, it never was the same and it doesn't need to be the same.  What it does need to be is well nourished, healthy, active and loved by you.

So that begs the second question, what do WE do about it?

Easy, get active and fuel your blessing of a body with the best! It's the easiest most logical thing you've ever heard, right?  By now you are either laughing out loud or furiously angry with me for having the audacity to even think of saying such a thing, let alone posting it out here for all to see; and I hope that is where I can come in to help.

Whether you are local or across the country, a support system is a good first step in accomplishing your goals.  While I aim to open a small local gym I available now for telephone and online personal training sessions, consults, goal setting sessions and regular motivation.  If you have any questions on how to get started, how to pinpoint your personal wellness goals and/or how to go about attaining them, I am here to help!  Just shoot me an email HudsonValleyPeakPerformance@gmail.com, message me on facebook https://www.facebook.com/HVPeakPerformance or call me 845-240-0587 between 10am and 8pm Eastern time to set up a session.

Be Well,
~Cortney

Welcome!

Hello and Welcome to my first Blog!

First of all I'd like to thank you for taking the time to check in and see what Hudson Valley Peak Performance is all about!

If I was a big established business I might say something like:  "Hudson Valley Peak Performance, long name, big results."  But I'd just be stealing a local add catchphrase and sound a little strange in the process.

About me personally, I am currently a stay at home mom with a Masters Degree in Exercise Physiology that I'm itching to put back to good use!  My goal is to start up my own little Exercise and Wellness company here in my hometown and branching out over the Internet. 

My ideas over the past few years have been continuously morphing as I mull them over and it is high time I start trying to put one or two of them to good use!  I hope to provide insight, direction, motivation and correct information to those who are looking to improve their lifestyle through exercise and lifestyle modification.

In my next post I'll get a bit more specific and hopefully provide some inspiration!

Be Well!
~Cortney