It wasn’t a technical climb (meaning no ropes, carabiners, etc), but there were times it was close.

I remember two very distinct moments when I said to myself, “If I miss a step here I’m dead.”

Obviously, since I lived to tell about it, I managed that step just fine.

It’s tough when you can’t trust your body

It can be scary, though, if you don’t feel you can trust that you are going to step where you need to and can maintain your balance while pulling your body weight across a 4 foot cravass (don’t tell my brother).

Navigating a cravass is an extreme example – and doing that is not just balance, but also strength, and overcoming the fear of falling. But, there were balance challenges every single day. Some days were hours on end of scrambling up and down rocks. For me, the more technical the hiking, the more fun I had. For others in my group, it was sheer torture.

I do a lot of balance training on my own and with clients. It’s simple and it reflects the balance skills you need in the real world. Here is a simplified version to get you started.

Basic Balance Training

• Stand on one leg.
• Quickly turn your head left (while still on on leg). Stay there for 10-15 seconds.
• Put your leg down and head back to center to reset.
• Get back on one leg and turn your head quickly to the right. Stay there for 10-15 seconds.
• Put your leg down and head back to center to reset.
• Repeat with the other leg

(You can also try other head positions and eventually graduate to eyes closed)

How did that go for you?

My guess is that simple did not equal easy in this case.

Yes, this training applies in real life

Sometimes I get asked, “but when would I do this in the real world.”  My answer is, “do you ever turn your head to talk to someone while walking?” About 80% of our gait cycle (walking) is on one leg or the other, so this most definitely reflects the real world. You can then expand this exercise to looking and down. And, for an added challenge, try doing it with your eyes closed. Why eyes closed? Ever blink, sneeze, or cough while walking?

These are the same drills I did to prepare for Kilimanjaro (in addition to actually climbing in similar conditions). I needed my body to be able to trust that it could safely be on one leg with my head in different positions, eyes open or eyes closed.

The drills, combined with my other training, worked great. I never questioned a foot position, wasn’t wobbly on one leg while going up or down, and was able to navigate the rocky conditions with ease.

Although some people would classify me as an adrenaline junkie — I’m so not. I’m very opposed to putting my life in danger, but I do like pushing myself. And, I believe there is a very distinct line between those two.

For more about balance training, check out the Z-Health Essentials of Elite Performance DVD.

For cardio training, most people I know simply go longer — either based upon time or distance. So, an extra 10 minutes on the bike, mile around the track, etc.

For strength training it is usually either additional weight or volume. So, in this case, it would be moving up to the next size kettlebell, performing another five lifts, etc.

However, there are a lot of other ways to still progress your training that is as, if not more, valuable that the methods I defined above. You may actually have NO NEED to run that extra mile, so why? Maybe you really don’t get any additional benefit from being able to press an additional 5 pounds.

BUT…..

The nervous system likes a target, and we always like to walk away from any training session feeling like we accomplished something. So, let’s change the rules of the game a little bit, shall we?

• Instead of going longer, try to cover the same ground in less time. For cardio training, instead of running a 9 minute mile, work to get to 8:30 mile.
• RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion). This is a fancy way of saying, how tired did you get from what you were doing? It is usually measured on a 0-10 scale, with 0 being no noticeable exertion, 5 is heavy, and 10 is very, very heavy. The goal would be to accomplish the same amount of work with a lower RPE rating at the end. That means it’s getting easier, so that’s GOOD! This works for both cardio and strength training.
• Reduce the rest between your cardio or strength sets. You can still do your 3 sets of 10, but instead of a minute or two between sets, drop your rest period down to 30 seconds. (Confused as to how this works for cardio? Think circuit training.)
• Change the temperature or time of day. I’m a temperate climate kind of girl and I hate training before mid-afternoon, so asking me to train when it’s hot or in the morning is some sort or torture for me. That same set of stairs that I have no problems with on a 50-degree afternoon is sheer torture on a 40-degree morning.

I listed out some of the easy ones, but there are a lot more ways to modify your training — for either novelty or progression — that I didn’t mention. The list is really only limited by your imagination.

List your favorites below!

I think most of us intuitively know that if we exercise during the day we’ll sleep better at night. After all, it is the premise behind getting the kids to play outside all afternoon, right? What we have always intuitively known and see anecdotally is now backed up by science.

For every hour of sedentary activity, the amount of time it takes kids to fall asleep increases by 3 minutes. That average of 5 hours that American watch TV every day (a number that absolutely ASTOUNDS me, BTW) is an extra 15 minutes to fall asleep. Here is where it gets really interesting….  In the kids studied, if they fell asleep 10 minutes sooner, they slept an hour longer. 20 minutes sooner, 2 hours longer. So, suddenly a couple of hours of play time — which doesn’t have to be anything crazy, just not plopped in front of the TV — gives you an extra hour or two to sleep, clean the house, call your best friend, get a workout in. Doesn’t that sound awesome?

Adults have similar benefits

Just 30-40 minutes of moderate intensity exercises (which was defined by the study as a brisk walk) each day can significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to fall asleep, and improve the overall quality of sleep. In the study linked to above, the participants fell asleep 11 minutes faster and slept 42 minutes longer. Suddenly, that 30-minute walk has bought you almost an extra hour of sleep. And, if you are in the large portion of the population that gets less than the healthy minimum of 7 hours a night, this is a huge win.

And with that, I’m off for a brisk walk with my pup. Daylight savings confuses my body for several days, so I need whatever help I can get!

P.S. Is it just me, or isn’t “sedentary activity,” by definition, a bit of a misnomer? If you are sedentary, you aren’t moving, which is then NOT an activity.

Study after study is concluding that regular exercise is the only well-established fountain of youth, and it’s free.

Today’s Personal Health column in the NYT has a really nicely researched article about the many, many health benefits of exercise to defend against both physical and cognitive deterioration.

My Move It Monday for this week is short and sweet. I want you to read about how you can use consistent exercise program reduce your odds of breast cancer 16%, reduce your odds of a stroke by 40%, and significantly cut your chances of developing diabetes, osteoporosis, and dementia.

Since that time, the people at FitNow have added in a whole lot more accountability in to the application, and made it a whole lot harder to “forget” to track your food intake.

• Facebook and Twitter updates. Clearly not for the faint of heart, but you can post your exercise logging, your weight gain/loss, or when you hit your goal.
• Mealtime logging reminders. Now that the iPhone has push capability, Lose It! has taken advantage of it, and you can configured reminders to go off up to 4 times a day to ping you to enter your food and exercise. Personally, a HUGE win in terms of remembering to use it!
• Friends. This isn’t my favorite feature, but I’ll mention it for the sake of completeness. You can invite people to be your friends on loseit.com, and watch their stats as well (overall weight gain or loss, calories consumed, and last logging date). I love the idea, but I don’t have the energy to create another network.
• Emailed reports. You can set up daily and/or weekly spreadsheets of goals, food intake, exercise to be emailed to any email address. As a coach, this is super-cool for me (and if you are one of my clients, beware) — I want this from my clients, and now I don’t have to ask them to double-log. And, it comes straight to my inbox, in Excel, where I can use my Excel ninja skills to get exactly what I want.

To set any and all of these settings, go to http://loseit.com, and sign up for a free account. The settings are all under the aptly-named tab, “Motivators” (except Friends, which is under the “Friends” tab). You can’t enter any food or exercise in on the web site, but even if you don’t want to take advantage of the Motivators, it does have some really nice reporting on it that you can’t find in the app.

My only complaint is that it is limited to the Apple ecosystem (iPhone and iTouch), but if you are an iPhone user, I definitely suggest you check it out!

Keeping your back loose, mobile, and moving well makes you resilient against an awful lot of injuries, and will help you sleep better, breathe better, and reduce stress.

Learn one simple, but uber-powerful and effective exercise for the mid and upper back, in just a minute a day, for instant results. It’s so good that my clients typically tell me they fell taller after doing the exercise.  (Really, I couldn’t make that up if I tried!)

If you are like a lot of people, you don’t like doing bodyweight exercises. When pushed as to why it’s not a part of their training, I generally hear one of two reasons from clients and friends.

Why people hate bodyweight exercises

1. It’s “just” bodyweight so it doesn’t really count as exercises
2. They are HARD (actually, they usually use a different word that starts with an “s,” but I’m keeping this family-friendly)

I admit, for years I was in the first camp, but over the past few years have moved in to the second. I’m also incorporating more bodyweight work in to my own, and my clients’, training.

Regardless of which camp you are in, I’m going to ask that you consider adding some bodyweight work to your training.

Why bodyweight exercises actually rock

1. It’s NOT WIMPY. For many of us, we weigh more than we can press, bench, or deadlift. If you are confused about how to “press” using just your body, might I suggest a handstand.
2. It’s INEXPENSIVE, something that isn’t to be overlooked in this economic climate. No equipment required — you already have everything you need.
3. It takes up VERY LITTLE ROOM. You can do everything you need to in a room not much larger than your bathroom.
4. It’s a perfect TRAVEL TRAINING solution.
5. It can be BOTH CARDIO and STRENGTH. How? Burpees. If you aren’t familiar with burpees, I like this example on YouTube. You can modify it to jump straight up to simplify and save space.
6. Get in BETTER IN TOUCH WITH YOUR BODY by focusing on your body and not a tool (kettlebell, barbell, dumbbell, machine).

If you decide to take up my challenge, remember that hard does not get you off the hook from perfect form. That means that you need to develop a training progression that you can do safely. For push-ups, start with a wall, move to a bench or steps, rest on your knees rather than toes, etc. As you get comfortable with one position, move on to a more difficult position. While you may feel it takes too long this way, you will be developing proper form the entire time — which will keep you from getting hurt. You’ve spent years not being able to do something. If it takes an extra month or two does it really matter?

Where to Start

If you need some ideas for bodyweight work, my two favorite resources are the Z-Health S-Phase video and Naked Warrior. They are two completely different training programs, and are both excellent.

• S-Phase is for athletic excellence — I recommend it for everyone, but I consider it a MUST if you are any sort of weekend athlete. I HIGHLY recommend it.
• Naked Warrior is by Pavel Tsatsouline, the man who brought kettlebells to the US. It’s all about wiry strength using just your bodyweight (one-arm push-ups, anyone).

With 24 million Americans living with this disease, and another 57 million at risk, chances are you or someone you know lives with this disease. Every 20 seconds someone is diagnosed with this disease — that’s 4,320 in 24 hours. It was both of my grandmothers.

Because diabetes and its symptoms are significantly impacted by diet and lifestyle, there is a lot YOU can do to keep from developing the disease and helping diabetic loved ones.

• Physical Activity. Get out and walk, ride a bike, dance in your basement — I really don’t care. But, physical activity is a great antidote. And, as you can see, it doesn’t have to be much.
• Diet. As always, it comes down to what Mom told you — eat your fruits and veggies, and limit the desserts. Because everyone is different, you need to find the right diet for you — I define the right diet as one that is easy to follow, you feel good when adhering to, and is anti-inflammatory for your body. If you want help with at-home food testing, let me know, and I can point you in the right direction.

This week, I want you to call or email someone you know is diabetic or pre-diabetic and make plans to get out and MOVE with them. If they are too far away, get a commitment from them to find a buddy there.

You can learn more or share your diabetes story at stopdiabetes.com.

Anyone (or anything) that can tell you they know exactly how many calories you burn in any activity is flat-out lying to you. The best anyone can do is make an educated guessed based on the “average” person – however you define that. Current weight, muscle mass, metabolism, and how hard you are working all get factored in.

So, the only thing we can REALLY do is count our intake. The National Weight Control Registry shows that individuals that manage to lose 30+ pounds and keep it off 5+ years eat between 1400 and 1800 calories per day. That is a tried and true model for success, so I think it’s a good one to work from. (NOTE: They also exercise an hour a day – it’s not ALL about the food.)

My favorite iPhone app for tracking calories is an application called Lose It!

• It’s Free
• It allows you to save your meals so you can easily repeat from day to day
• It allows you to create your own foods
• It lets you choose what nutrients you want to track (I like to track my protein)
• It has a fantastic food database. I’m super-impressed with the food database
• It remembers the portion size you last used with that food
• It lets you enter your weight and weight loss goals and helps you determine your daily caloric target (which you can also override)

It also lets you enter your exercise, but I have to admit, I have yet to use that feature.

P.S. If you really can’t live without a number to put to your training session, you can assume 400 cals for good, solid hour of work. Yep, that’s it.

We model the behaviors of those around us.

This subject line comes from an article posted Friday on the BBC. I really like this article for a lot of different reasons, not the least of which being that I’m still mentally processing the latest Z-Health 9S Course: Sustenance & Spirit. The article is really common sense – we hang out with our friends because we like them and we are like them. Or, we want to be like them.

Growing up, my Mom always wanted me to have as friends the “good kids”, so was not happy when my first boyfriend was on probation for stealing a car at the time we met. She intuitively understood that my behavior was going to match that as of who I was spending time with in order to be accepted by them. Ironically, I later found out that the reason my then-boyfriend started dating me (a straight-A student) was that he wanted to be more like me.

Behavior extends well beyond hanging out at the mall and doing your homework (or not) and in to eating and exercise behaviors. If you spend you time with friends who get their lunch out of the vending machine, you are going to get your lunch out of the vending machine. As an adult, if you work some place where the culture is to eat lunch out every day, do you start forgoing that turkey sandwich that you brought to grab something with your co-workers? If happy hour is the ritual, do you eventually find yourself giving in instead of hitting the gym after work?

Are the people you surround yourself with emulating the behaviors you wish to have? If not, how are you going to change that to be the person you want to be?