Image credit: andrewmalone

Most exercises for colon health include a way to activate your lymph system. The lymph system is our body’s drainage and elimination system for toxins and overall health. It’s a natural way to detoxify, and a way to alleviate the stress on your colon to do all the work.

Today’s busy lifestyles make eating right and exercising regularly difficult to maintain without commitment. And, as a result, people may develop health problems such as issues with their colon. Many people who suffer from colon health issues are looking for a natural way to treat them. Conditions such as Crohn’s disease, colitis, Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), stress, and food sensitivities can irritate the colon.

In fact, it is estimated that 1.4 million Americans suffer from IBD, with that number split between Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis. It affects people of all ages and sexes, but is believed to be most prevalent in people ages 15 to 35. It primarily seems to stem from a typical American diet and lifestyle, although it’s inconclusive what the causes are.

Relief can be found in exercises for colon health and from making changes to one’s diet. Working with an experienced wellness and performance coach isn’t only for training for a triathlon or to shed unwanted pounds. It’s important to keep your body in optimal form and incorporate healthy routines in our everyday lives.  Everyone, however, can’t be expected to have time to go to the gym every day, so here are 5 exercises for colon health you can do at home or on the go:

1. Jogging and Jump Roping
2. Yoga and IntuFlow
3. Clubbell Training
4. Kettlebell Training
5. Core Training

There are also a number of exercises great for lymph system drainage on the Livestrong website.

Our trained staff has helped hundreds of people in the South Bay Area (with locations in both San Jose, CA and Campbell, CA) reach their fitness goals and create new habits for everyday healthy living. We use performance training methods and strategies from a wide range of resources to provide expansive mobility, strength, fitness and motor skill improvements. Call us today for an appointment!

Kettlebells, the 200 year old Russian Strength Training secret, is coming to you!  Join Chrome Fit from June 4th – July 9th in a 6 week journey for beginner and intermediate kettlebell rookies and enthusiasts!

Dates

6/4  through 7/9 — 6:00-7:00pm on Mondays.

Class Content

Learn foundational kettlebell movements, including the swing, goblet squat and Turkish Get Up, combined with bodyweight drills and mobility training for a full-body fat burning ex perience!

• WARM-UP — thoughtful joint and muscle prep to get you ready to move
• SKILL WORK — technique-based coaching to improve your movement proficiency and confidence
• INTERVALS — varied body weight and kettelbell conditioning and stre ngth work
• RECOVERY — A full body cool down to help you recover and feel great

BYOK

Bring.  Your. Own Kettlebell.  If you don’t have one, we can help you get one — email anne at chromefit.com for size and brand recommendations.  While I will have  few spare bells of varying sizes on hand, you are REQUIRED to purchase and bring your own bell and an exercise mat to every class.

Sign Up

Join us by visiting EventBrite today to sign up, make payment and get a coveted space in a program that’s sure to change your body, change your mind set and make you kettlebell TOUGH.

Sign-up and you’re on your way to lean muscle and a whole new outlook on exercise!

image credit: I, DL.

We always seem to be looking for the latest and the best anti-aging remedy, time-saving beauty product, perfect food, or amazing cure-all. Little did we know, coconut oil is all those things in one and it’s been around since nearly the beginning of time. Here are some applications for coconut oil that might amaze you!

15 Health and Beauty Uses for Coconut Oil

Because coconut oil is anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antifungal, antiviral, and improves nutrient absorption, it makes a powerful health and beauty aid. Here are some great ways to incorporate coconut oil into your daily routine:

1. Moisturizer/ After-shave – Prevents rashes and bumps, and heals nicks
2. Skin care – Treat everything from dry skin and acne to eczema, dandruff, and psoriasis
3. Hair care – Use as a shampoo or leave in conditioner
4. Make-up removal
5. Toothpaste
6. Deodorant
7. Athlete’s foot treatment
8. Body scrub – Mix with sugar and essential oils for a luxuriant and smoothing exfoliant!
9. Sun screen/ tan oil – Sounds counter-intuitive, but it really does work for both!
10. Bug bites – Sure smells better than citronella!
11. Massage oil – Mix with essential oils and calendula (or arnica) for relaxation and healing
12. Lubricant – Because coconut oil is safe both internally and externally, it’s great as a personal lubricant
13. Digestion – useful to treat digestive disorders such as Crohn’s disease and IBS
14. Cold/ flu/ illness – The human body converts lauric acid into monolaurin which is claimed to help in dealing with viruses and bacteria causing diseases such as herpes, influenza, cytomegalovirus, and even HIV
15. Weight loss – If you can’t stomach taking a spoonful a day, try melting it in your coffee

10 Cooking and Household Uses for Coconut Oil

You may know that coconut oil is a heart healthy source of fat and can be super tasty, but did you know it also used to have a wide-spread use as a cleaning agent? Have you ever heard of Murphy’s Oil soap? Not only was oil used for bathing (scraping off dirt using a strigil), Roman warriors used it for protection against their opponent during war or competitions in the coliseum. Their enemy couldn’t get a hold on them! Here are few helpful household uses:

1. Cooking oil – Use to sauté vegetables as a flavorful alternative to olive oil
2. Vegan chocolate truffles – Great vegan alternative to butter fat
3. Cleaning agent – Combine with baking soda for a deep clean
4. Furniture polish – Mix with a little lemon juice and use it on wood furniture
5. Label/ Residue Removal – Works better than Goo Gone!
6. Removes gum from hair and furniture
7. Stain removal – Great for removing ink from plastic and vinyl furniture
8. Rust removal – Rub a little on your old knives and let sit for an hour before rinsing
9. Shoe polish – Works great to remove smudges and shine up your leather shoes
10. Creaky doors – Smudge a little on the hinges and voila!

The possibilities are endless! Actually, there are hundreds of recipes that use coconut oil. It’s affordable and can be found in both the cooking and the nutrition section of any grocery store or health food establishment. If you hear of any interesting ways to incorporate coconut oil into your fitness and training program, feel free to share them on the Chrome Fit Facebook page. We’d love to hear from you!

For More Information:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/dining/02Appe.html?pagewanted=all

http://healthimpactnews.com/2011/80-uses-for-coconut-oil/

http://www.crunchybetty.com/a-millionish-uncommon-and-not-so-uncommon-uses-for-coconut-oil

http://www.freecoconutrecipes.com/coconut_oil_recipes.htm

http://www.healingnaturallybybee.com/articles/coconut9.php

Join us next week for the Willow Glen 5K!

Our first race – the Guadalupe River Park 5K Fun Run – was a raging success with PR’s First time Finishes and lots of smiles.  Be a part of the great energy and sweat next weekend in Willow Glen!

Register now and come walk, jog, wog or run with us to support local schools!

“The Willow Glen 5K  RUN/WALK is a community event, supported by local and corporate sponsors to benefit local schools.  The annual event is a professionally-coordinated road race through downtown Willow Glen, a suburb of San Jose.  More than 1,800 racers registered for last year’s event, with a diverse crowd from nationally-recognized runners to parents pushing strollers. Local spectators cheered the racers on as they breezed through the flat and fast course through the quaint streets of Willow Glen.

Racers, families and neighbors all joined together at the finish line for an expanded post-race festival. The fun-filled morning included a jam-packed kids’ area, sponsor booths, product samples and a pancake breakfast.”

***

If you’re interested in joining us, be sure to email Anne At Chromefit.com and ask to be added to the Speed Demons email list!  We’ll send out race day information and more as we get close.

BE SURE YOU GET A CHROME FIT T-SHIRT to wear race day! Totally not required to be on our team, but we’d love to see a sea of gunmetal gray surging from the start line… (and Speed Demons get a 20% discount.)

Photo Credit : Scott McDonald Photography

Not white flour.

Not whole wheat flour.

And, not the prepackaged flours labeled “gluten-free” that house the likes of blood-spiking, fat-glomming tapioca, rice, corn and potato starches.

But…a variety of home-ground or found-in-store nut, seed and bean meals and flours. These meals and flours keep blood sugar stable and provide many heart healthy benefits.

Wheat Belly’s Safe Flour Blog, which was the inspiration for this blog, recommends 11 healthy nut, seed and bean meals and flours. Read on for highlights from the Wheat Belly Blog and additional info, including what flours didn’t quite make the cut and why.

Nut Meals

My go-to meal of choice for a stable high-quality baking experience is almond meal. You can find pre-ground almond meal at Trader Joes for about $3.99 a bag or for a similar price online — checkout the selection of gluten-free flours at nuts.com. Almond meal provides a super consistent result, tastes great in almost all baked goods and is much less expensive than almond flour [blanched almonds with oil extracted], which can cost about $12.00 for the same size bag. However, almond meal is more dense and oily than almond flour and since absorbancy is important in most baking recipes make sure you use the right one for the right job — or experiment until you find the right ratio for that specific recipe. I do use almond flour from time to time when I want an airier baked good. Coconut meal and coconut flour are also mainstays in my baking.  I have had excellent results by combining almond meal and coconut flour 50:50 in recipes.

Try these Pecan Pumpkin Pancakes and use pecan meal or almond meal for great results. **No need to add extra sweetener and please use regular ginger ale as opposed to the “sugar-free” variety — fake chemical “sugar” is toxic.

Bean Meals

After a friend brought hanna’s gluten-free chocolate cake to my birthday party, I started cruising hanna’s other gluten-free recipes and this one caught my eye — Pudla Besan [Indian chickpea flatbread]. Since then, I’ve made it three times and can officially say that I have added chickpea flour [aka garbanzo bean flour] to my savory baking arsenal.

Other bean meal and flour options — fava, white and black bean flours and green pea flour.

Seed Meals

Harness the amazing and diverse health benefits of seeds by including them in your baked goods. Use sesame seed meal to make breads or crackers or other savory baking selections, add some substance to a lighter flour with a weightier flour like pumpkin, chia or sunflower or balance a heavier flour with an airier flour such as sesame. Most seed meals and flours will serve as a great secondary flour.

Standing in line next to Corn Starch

Other flours that didn’t make the Wheat Belly cut, getting “done” for their insulin spiking properties include, chestnut flour, teff flour, amaranth flour, and sorghum flour. Just like the starches listed above — corn, potato, rice and tapioca — these flours should not be on your go-to gluten-free list.

Start your mixers!

Trying to eat healthfully? There’s no need to go without the occasional piece of cake or cookie! Start experimenting and you might discover, as I have — baking with these meals and flours yield tastier brownies, muffins and naan and … than traditional white and wheat flours.

What’s in your gluten-free cookie jar?

The race — and especially the training! — was huge accomplishment for all as we saw injuries managed and healed through movement, conditioning workouts take effect and big smiles even through the sweat.

It was a beautiful, sunny day with a slight breeze — the perfect day for a run.  If you’re ever looking for a flat, beautiful run, Guadalupe River Park is amazing!  Just one small hill on the course and – as it was an out and back, it was a perfect breather coming back down as we neared the finish line.

It was a very relaxed run… cardboard boxes for a starting gate and orange markers for a finish line — but everyone had a blast!  The best part of the run was passing fellow Demons as we finished the second half of the out-and-back trail.  Big smiles and high fives all around!

Carol moves through mile one! Credit : Scott McDonald Photography

Our next race is coming up on May 12 in Willow Glen, and we’d love to have you join us!  Weekend warrior…walker…jogger…or race enthusiast, we’re looking for a few good feet to team up and bring the heat.  Email anne .at. chromefit.com to join our training email list and get updates on races and more!

Pat Represents! Credit : Scott McDonald Photography

A big thank you to Chrome Fit client and artist extraordinaire Scott McDonald of Scott McDonald Photography for coming out, cheering us on and capturing the event for us!  A cycling enthusiast, he was always one step ahead of us on his bike….waiting to catch someone smoking up the trail!

Donning Oakland Banshee garb, [think Raider colors] sent on a long pass route up midfield… when time disappeared. It was just me, the lofted ball and the field of play. No cheering [or booing] fans, just my footsteps and breath. I knew what to do, what my next move was, everything just streamed.

Ever watch For the Love of the Game with Kevin Costner? Clear the mechanism.

Oh yeah. I caught the ball. Every time I was in flow. I caught the ball. Somehow, flow would end… not when I would get cleaned out by the opposing team’s safety or DB [I never even felt the hit], but when I would toss the ball back to the ref and jog back to the huddle.

Mihaly explains how it feels to be in flow during this TED talk — [14:00].

The challenge must suit your current level of proficiency

Flow can occur when you are working, creating, competing or anytime that your are engaged in an activity and your skill matches the challenge. Arousal [orange] and Control [olive] are gateways to Flow [yellow]. In order to move from Arousal to Flow you must improve your skill and to move from Control to Flow you must increase the challenge. Think — passion, focus, immersion, skill, challenge.

ESU Rugger Ciampitti in the zone

Athletes sometimes think of flow as being in the zone. In the picture below, East Stroudsburg University rugger, Gabs Ciampitti is intensely focused and appears to know exactly what she wants to do and how to do it — she knows that her goal is achievable and at the same time, difficult. She is now experiencing a heightened sense of clarity and is in her element. I SMELL A TRY. Timeless ecstasy — that is flow.

Take a step toward flow

Want a few tips for achieving flow during your next training session?

1. Choose something that is possible to do, even though difficult
2. Train with clear purpose
3. Immerse yourself into the movement
4. Tap into all sources of feedback

Flow is relative to you

Flow is relative to you, the activity, the level of challenge and your skill. Flow will be achieved only if:

1. The challenge and your skill are higher than your average or “set point” [see chart above]
2. The challenge aligns with your individual skill level as it intersects with that specific activity

So, let’s hear it… give me your best FLOW STORY!

1. Save time and money
2. Keep your energy level and going strong right up to dinner time
3. Help you get or stay lean and feel good

Okay, you are right, you will have to chop a lot of raw veggies …but really …it’s not all that tough at all. You can pack a healthy cooler in 10 minutes or less.

Here is one of my recent healthy cooler spreads for long day of driving and training clients.

1. Sliced chicken and avocado
2. Strawberries
3. Apples with cinnamon and almond butter
4. Cucumbers
5. Whole raw walnuts and almonds
6. Carrots and hummus

To make your experience a success:

1. Chop veggies ahead of time for 2-3 days
2. Buy already chopped veggies or baby veggies
3. Cook extra for dinner the night before and use left-overs
4. When you go grocery shopping, stock up on organic cooler-friendly produce
5. Have a system – packing-up the night before can make your morning a lot easier

Do you pack food for your work day? What’s in your healthy lunch cooler?

Need more suggestions? Just ask!

1. Coconut Oil

Coconuts come from “The Tree of Life” and coconut oil has emerged as the healthiest go-to oil for cooking, baking and whole lot more. Put a spoonful in your coffee or tea in the morning for some instant, natural energy! Choose unrefined to maximize health benefits and refined for those times that you just don’t want that coconutty flavor …like coconut scrambled eggs.

2.  Almond Butter

One ingredient – almonds. I go for the Creamy Raw variety found at Trader Joes. They have the best price at $4.99 for a normal size nut butter jar, compared to $10.99 and up at places like Whole Foods and Nob Hill. TJ’s also carries some other delicious varieties like Toasted Flaxseed Almond Butter with sea salt. Get your celery and apple sticks ready!

3.  Nut Meal

Most commonly sold as almond meal or almond flour, you can use a food processor to grind up your own nut of choice or purchase the pre-ground meal or flour at your local health food store. Use this meal in recipes that you would normally use white or whole wheat flour and steer clear of those crazy insulin spikes and food cravings!

4.  Flax Meal

Sprinkle a bit in your get up and go Green Monster Smoothie or on your bowl of chopped up Medjool dates, organic apples, pears and blueberries dusted with cinnamon and lazing about in almond milk. Flax meal levels the playing field with the more abundant Omega-6’s, by upping your Omega-3 anti, helping you to stave off inflammation and more!

5.  Raw Honey

Want to sweeten up your day? Give raw honey a try. Raw honey is an anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal; giving your immune system a serious boost. For some delicious locally grown organic raw honey, make a trip to your local farmer’s market or search the National Honey Board for honey near you.

What else do you have in your healthy cupboards?

Just what is snagging?
Fascia. Fascia is a layer of connective tissue that surrounds, supports and protects your muscles, bones and joints. Trigger points, or areas of muscle that hurt to touch, in the fascia restrict or change how your joints move. In addition to being inefficient, this can lead to fatigue, chronic pain and injury.

Why dedicate time to unsnagging?
Trigger points compromise the tissue structure in which they are located, placing a greater strain on other tissues that must compensate for its weakness, thus creating a domino effect. Trigger points in the fascia can restrict motion and force you to repeatedly work around or alter your motion about a joint (or several joints) resulting in faulty movement pattern which changes the normal neural feedback to the central nervous system. I smell undue wear and tear or worse…an injury.

How to unsnag
Grab a lacrosse or field hockey ball, foam roller (check out the Rumble Roller or Trigger Point’s Grid roller), clubbell, bar or other object that you can use to roll on, move round on or move around on you. Basic self myofasical release (SMR) can be achieved by placing the ball or roller on the floor, then putting the area in need on the ball or roller. Use your body weight to apply the correct amount of pressure and move around on the ball or roller; working out any and all tight spots or areas that seem to be grabbing or causing pain. Get creative…get in there and release those knots!

Unsnagging in motion and pictures
For all you desk jockies out there, Mobility Wod shows a few self myofascial releases to try to relieve common back and neck trigger points (starts about one minute in). No Meat Athlete and Sport Fitness Advisor also provide several exercises you can do at home to help.

Guidelines for the new unsnagger

1. Spend 1-2 minutes per technique and on each side.

2. When a trigger point is found, hold for 30-45 seconds.

3. Breathe slowly as this will help to reduce any tense reflexes caused by discomfort.

4. Release areas above and below the snag.

5. Stay committed to making a difference. Repeat on a daily basis until the knot is gone.

SMR is an important part of your healthy lifestyle. Working out those tight spots can improve quality of life, allow you to perform at higher levels more frequently as well as prevent injury. Your body and mind will thank you for it!