Florida Agenda

DEAR EDITOR,

Two weeks ago, I began advertising my fitness, nutritional and yoga services in your publication. The response has been nothing short of overwhelming! Not only has my customer base for private training sessions increased, I have received and accepted invitations to do group yoga session at the Pineapple Point Guesthouse & Resort, speak on fitness and health at the monthly meeting of a nudist club, conduct multiple private yoga sessions, do exercise rehabilitation on a senior citizen with a shoulder injury, and teach a class in nutritional cooking. Each of these opportunities was directly related to the responses to my advertisements. In these days of economic strife, and increasing customer dissatisfaction, I wanted to take a moment to compliment not only your professional staff and the help they provided, but also the amazing reach of your multiple publications.

Again my thanks, many times over.

SINCERELY,
ANDY KRESS, SET, CFT

Dear Editor,
I found last week’s cover story on the local historian extremely fascinating. I think it is wonderful that someone wants to take the time in preserving our history. At the end of the day without this much of what we have achieved and done here in Florida will be forgotten. Organizations like Stonewall and what Fred Frejes is doing are what will be around for the future generations to see what life was like here. I for one remember when Wilton Manors wasn’t the cosmopolitan area it is now but rather a ghetto, an outsider’s area that was rough and raw and now look at it. To have that chronicled and reported will show the future and other communities what happens to benefit areas and to benefit people when the community works together.

Thank you, Stan Hart

Please send all your comments and letters to Editor@FloridaAgenda.com

Tone Your Body and Soothe Your Mind

If you’re looking for a fitness routine that will tone your body and soothe your mind, you may want to try yoga. This 5000-year old workout involves moving in and out of a series of positions and postures while focusing on relaxing breathing techniques. Yoga will improve flexibility and strengthen core muscles while relieving stress and tension. Whether you’re a couch potato, a muscle bound body builder or a seasoned gymnast, there’s a yoga workout just for you.

According to fitness professional and yoga instructor, Kerci Stroud, the aim of yoga is to create harmony between the mind and body. This low impact workout won’t just give you inner peace – it will also give you great muscles. After a few sessions, many folks feel stronger, more flexible and less stressed. Yoga also improves balance and posture, sharpens concentration and makes you feel centered.

Yoga workouts run the gamut from slow and serene to fast and sweaty. Whether you want to improve muscle tone and lose fat, heighten your inner awareness or all of the above, you can choose a workout to meet your fitness goals.

Beginners start with Hatha Yoga, which teaches the basic poses in a relaxed manner. Lyengar Yoga is more precise and involves focusing on proper muscle alignment by holding poses for extended periods of time. Ashtanga Yoga will kick your butt with its athletic routine of moving through a series of killer positions in rapid succession. A popular form of yoga is Bikram or “hot” yoga. This 26 pose routine will make you sweat, since it is practiced in a room that is around 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

You can find classes in all of the above yoga styles at yoga studios and many gyms. Classes can be private or in a group and usually last an hour to 90 minutes. Yoga instructors insist upon certain etiquette: no shoes or cell phones! Many experts suggest that yoga is best on an empty stomach.

If you’re a little squeamish about twisting around like a pretzel in public, you can try yoga at home with one of the many books, DVD’s or on-line tutorials available. This way you can work freely at your own pace. The downside is that you won’t have a seasoned guru on hand to help you correct and perfect your poses.

What you wear to your yoga class is important, unless of course your bag is naked yoga. In that case, arrive tidy, groomed and fresh. Otherwise wear clothes that are comfy and unrestrictive.

To create a dynamite fitness plan, you can compliment your weekly yoga sessions with cardio workouts. The muscles you build in yoga class will enhance your cardio and your cardio will build up your endurance for yoga. For seasoned body builders who just can’t give up the iron, some low impact yoga will make you more flexible – and greater flexibility translates into fewer injuries and better workouts.

Tom Bonanti, is a certified personal trainer and owner of Pump’n Inc gym at 1271 NE 9th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304, Facebook: TrainerTomB. www.pumpnincgym.com

The term flexibility refers to the range of motion around a joint. Flexibility is an essential component of overall fitness – just as important as muscular strength and cardio-vascular health. An adequate degree of flexibility will improve performance, speed up gains, and help prevent injuries.

Stretching before your work out will warm up your joints and muscles and prepare them for the work ahead. Stretch briefly before weight training and more extensively between sets and after your work outs. Longer stretchi

ng periods should precede every heavy duty cardio session from pounding a treadmill to outdoor interval training. Stretching after a workout of any kind will help your muscles and the body’s systems to cool down and aid in reducing muscle soreness.

When stretching, only go as far as your body allows. Stretch until you begin to feel a slight tension. Hold this position for 20-30 seconds. Never bounce or force a stretch. Breathe in deeply as you go into a stretch and then exhale as you reach the point of tension. Slowly exhale and relax as you let go. Flexibility is not hard to develop or improve. It only takes a few minutes every day. So why not relax, go with the flow and try these stretches in the morning before work, preceding a run on the beach, or after a killer routine in the gym?

Stretch One- lower back ; hamstrings and calf.

Stand with your feet about six inches wider than shoulder width apart. Slightly bend your knees into a relaxed position and roll your head and shoulders all the way over until level with your knees, or lower. Be sure your weight is forward, over the balls of your feet, and just relax into position.

Stretch Two- low back; hamstrings and lats.

Move right into this stretch from stretch one, reach with both arms over your right leg and try and touch your forehead to your right knee.

Stretch Three- hamstrings and hip sockets.

Continue from stretch two by placing both hands on the floor and lunge over to the right, bending the right knee to a 90 degree angle and leaving the left leg straight while flexing the left foot.

Stretch Four- quadriceps, lats and shoulders.

Stand up and lunge forward with your right leg. Place your left hand on your right knee for support, lift your left foot off the floor and grasp it with your right hand. Keep your back straight and lean slightly over your right knee as you hold the stretch.

Stretch Five- pectorals and shoulders.

Stand in a doorway. Move to your left and place your left raised forearm inside the doorframe and step slightly forward as you torque your upper body to the left. Hold the stretch, release it, and then do the same on your right side.

It takes lots of sacrifice and several weeks to lose 5 pounds of fat. It requires work, consistent dedication and sweat to improve cardio vascular health. Long hours of hard work in the gym is the only way to build solid muscle. It takes only minutes a day to increase flexibility – so what are you waiting for?

Tom Bonanti, is a certified personal
trainer and owner of Pump’n Inc gym
at 1271 NE 9th Avenue, Fort
Lauderdale, FL 33304, Facebook:
TrainerTomB. www.pumpnincgym.com