Monday, June 28, 2010

Self Defense For Women And Girls

Women and girls have to defend themselves differently than men. We aren't as strong so we have to be smarter.

The element of surprise is our strong point if we have to fight. Staying out of bad situations is key. Staying alert and aware of your environment is vital.

Being fit is necessary if you do find yourself in a situation where you have to fight and fight hard.

www.selfdefenseforgirls.com  is a new website I just launched to help women and girls have the information you need to defend yourselves.

I've been teaching self defense for over a decade. Since my surgery I've not been able to teach so I got stir crazy and developed this website. I just filmed the youtube videos and had to be very careful of my neck. I'm still healing from my spine surgery.

I'm almost a year into recovery but have another year before I'll be able to teach and then I'll need an assistant. Self defense classes do and should get very physical.

Hope you enjoy the website. Let me know what you think!

Your fitness expert

Lynn   www.getrealfit.org

Friday, June 25, 2010

Break The Comfort Food Habit

I hear, read and work with women who use food for comfort. I have to plead guilty on that account too.

Food can bring a decompressing quality when stress is overwhelming you. It relaxes me and lets me escape the world of pressures. The only problems is then it adds to the stress because gaining weight is stressful for most women. Me included. It's an ugly cycle.

Breaking the habit is not often easy. Denial seems easier than facing the fact that eating when you're not hungry is not healthy. Food lies to you. It will only bring momentary comfort. Telling yourself that over and over is helpful.

Having a list of things you can do to relax yourself when you feel a lot of stress, boredom or anger is so important.

I take short strolls around the block if my day is too much. I have a dogwood tree that is very beautiful when it blooms. I'll go in my back yard and just stare at it for a bit, focus on my breathing and then try to get at my day again.

At night focusing on my breathing and watching what I call a "stupid show" helps me. A comedy that has no apparent lesson or purpose other than to make me laugh. Laughter is healing.

My dogs bring me so much relief from stress I swear they are angels brought to help me get through this wild and crazy thing we call life.

It's far more fun to eat when you are truly hungry. Tell yourself messages like that over and over.

I'm not saying it's easy or that you'll be perfect at not giving into emotional eating. Having back ups is really important. So is forgiving yourself if you do have a slip.

You are not alone! Most women deal with the emotional eating nightmare. Talking about it helps too. Feel free to leave me comments and or questions about the issue.

Your fitness expert

Lynn   www.getrealfit.org

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Exercises For Your Back Using An Exercise Ball

Another free workout for you:)

It's so important to exercise your back. Often women focus on working the chest and abs but the back go by the way side. Not a good plan. That can cause serious spinal problems due to unbalanced muscles. You want your muscles to be equal in strength so they don't pull your body out of alignment. 




Hope you enjoy these exercises!

Feel free to ask questions and leave comments. I'd love to hear from you!

Your fitness expert

Lynn Hahn    www.getrealfit.org

Monday, June 21, 2010

The Danger Of Wanting To Be Perfect

My new podcast is not about a warm and fuzzy topic. It covers eating disorders. I hope you'll listen to this one and please feel free to talk to me about it. It's a topic I know about first hand.

Here's the link to the podcast

http://www.lynnhahnpodcast.libsyn.com/

Take care

Your fitness expert

Lynn  www.getrealfit.org

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Are You A Side Sleeper?


I'm a side sleeper. From the research I've done that's a good sleeping position. Makes sense to me. When you were in your mothers womb you curled up in the fetal position.

Chiropractors suggest sleeping on your side. I had a problem with it though. It made my lower back hurt. My physical therapist explained that you don't want your legs to be curled in too high. That allows the internal disc gelatin to migrate backward  toward your nerves. That explained why my lower back was hurting when I woke up.

My  physical therapist encourages me to sleep with a pillow between my knees. That does two things. It prevents me from bringing my knees up toward my belly button and it helps to unload the weight of my top leg from the muscles of my spine.

I had a problem with a regular pillow though. I toss and turn when I sleep so the regular pillow stopped me from being able to toss and turn so I would wake up. Great! Now I couldn't sleep. So was it going to be a painful lower back or no sleep humm...

I found a solution. I found the pillow in this photo. Love it! It's small enough that I can toss and turn and it comes right with me. It doesn't get stuck in the bedding. It's far more comfortable than a regular pillow too because it's made to go right between your legs. The cut out curve makes it fit better.

So if you are a side sleeper you might want to give this pillow a try. Had to pass this one your way:)

I'm an amazon associate so I'm able to offer it to you right here. How cool is that?

Your fitness expert

Lynn   www.getrealfit.org

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Snap, Crackle ,Pop

Some of my clients make what I call "joint music" when they exercise. A snap or pop occurs in their joints. Several women have it in their hip bone area. Some have it in the knees or elbows.

My body is like a melody of snaps and pops. My knees pop when I get up and down. My elbows like to "catch" and now my neck sings a crunching noise.

I've always been like that, other than my neck that's a new thing. My body music can be really loud and a bit embarrassing when I'm in church or the library. People sometimes look at me with concern, some with annoyance.

My clients often ask me if it's okay to continue to exercise when they hear their joints snapping. Here's my reply...

If there's pain with the noise than you should stop exercising and you do need to see your doctor. There could be problems but if there is no pain I'm told generally it's not a problem. I work with a lot of physical therapists so I've posed this question to them many times.

There are several things that could be happening when you hear the popping noise. It can be escaping of gases or the movement of your tendons and ligaments within your joint.

Your joint is bone surrounded by cartilage. The cartilage is protected by a capsule filled with synovial membranes that produce a fluid. The fluid contains oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen gases. When your joint cracks it can be because your joint capsule is stretched which can cause gas bubbles to form. When the gas is released that is the popping noise heard.

It can also be from the friction caused when your joints are compressed and expanded and the tendons get out of place. The noise occurs when they snap back in place.

Again, if there's no pain it generally causes no damage. If there is pain it's time to give your doctor a visit.

Your fitness expert

Lynn   www.getrealfit.org

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Losing Weight The Safe Way

Losing weight can be darn right frustrating. Trying to take the "fast" road is extremely tempting but that road generally goes no where.

I have a new podcast episode "Losing Weight the Safe Way". It helps bust the myth about the quick weight loss gimmicks.

Here's the link to my podcasts or you can click on the icon on the right side of this page.

http://lynnhahnpodcast.libsyn.com/

For fantastic information about eating healthy visit www.mypyramid.gov it's the best website for finding the facts on healthy eating.

your fitness expert

Lynn   www.getrealfit.org

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

A Free Short Workout For Women!

I'm adding a new workout for you to include on your journey to health. This is a very good little workout. Add it to the others and end them with a stretch. Hope you'll check out my workout DVDs and give them a try too.



Hope you like it!

Feel free to leave comments and ask questions. I'd love to hear from you!

Your fitness expert

Lynn www.getrealfit.org

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

The Weight Loss Maze

I just got through writing another podcast which I will be taping soon and will pass on to you but I just had to blog about the challenge many face with weight control.

In researching this topic I was reminded just how crazy it is out there. If you only eat protein you will get thin. If you stop eating past 4 pm the weight will melt off. If you eat just healthy food you don't have to count calories. Just exercise and the weight will come off. Don't exercise because that make you gain weight. Wow...my head was spinning.

Why common sense has been thrown to the wind amazes me. There truly is no secret or magic potion to weight control. The body isn't that complicated. Calories in versis calories used adds up to the end product. A healthy body or an over weight body.

There are certain things like alcohol that are big culprits because alcohol  is not used by the body but stored as fat. Junk food is laden with calories and most of it empty calories so your body doesn't get the nutrients it needs even if your calories of it are reasonable. You'll be thin but unhealthy.

It's really confusing out there. The best choice is to stay away from extremes. Anything that's extreme is generally extremely dangerous.

I understand the desperation that can come with being unhappy with your weight and not having the know how to deal with it. I always suggest going to your doctor for help. Going to a good licensed nutritionist is the best answer!

Unfortunately some people don't have insurance. That is getting to be a better situation but some are still without medical help. If that's the case then make sure you get your advise from professionals. Make sure  the website or blog you're reading was written by a certified professional. If they don't have their credentials listed it generally means they don't have any. Contact them if need be and ask what their background is before following any of their advise.

Make sure the books you read are written by medical professionals. I know even that can require common sense thinking. Dr. Atkins started with a radical approach to weight control but if you follow the adjustments in that diet it did sway toward more balanced eating.

I believe and was taught that this is the best website for weight loss information

http://www.mypyramid.gov/

Don't get lost in the Weight loss maze. There are many of us professionals that can help you see the light.

Feel free to ask questions and leave comments. I'd love to hear from you!

Your fitness expert

Lynn    www.getrealfit.org

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Keep Thinking Healthy!

Hearing, reading and thinking about your health is very important.

It's very easy to make bad choices. We have access to lots of junk foods and exercise is something we have to find time to do instead of what most of our days activities bring to us. Sitting is the main position for the majority of us due to all the technical advancements we've made.

I created this blog to help you do just that, take time to think about your health. It's a place you can gain knowledge, ask questions and get answers from a certified expert in the health industry.

So much information is at your finger tips due to the internet but is that good or bad? If you don't have the background to figure it out that information can do more harm than good.

Take advantage of the podcasts  http://www.lynnhahnpodcast.libsyn.com/

the website dedicated to tips for women  www.realwomensfitnesstips.com

and information on this blog to keep you going forward on your journey to health! It's all free information.

Hope your day is full of healthy choices!

Feel free to ask questions and leave comments. I'd love to hear from you!

Your fitness expert

Lynn   www.getrealfit.org

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

How Do You Eat Healthy?

It gets so confusing knowing what to eat, when to eat and what to eat. My new podcast "Healthy Eating" will help guide you so you can figure out what the best choices are for you!

Here's the link to the new podcast "Healthy Eating"

http://www.lynnhahnpodcast.libsyn.com/


Feel free to ask questions and leave comments. I'd love to hear from you!

Your fitness expert

Lynn     www.getrealfit.org

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Another Free Workout Get Ready To Stretch



Another free workout for you...enjoy!

feel free to ask questions and leave comments. I'd love to hear from you!

Your fitness expert

Lynn www.getrealfit.org

Friday, June 4, 2010

Get Your Beauty Sleep!

Sleep does make you beautiful! My new podcast tells you why. Give it a listen then leave me a comment or question. I'd love to hear from you!

Here's the link  http://lynnhahnpodcast.libsyn.com/

Your fitness expert

Lynn   www.getrealfit.org

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Hats Off To Working Moms

I wanted to take the time to tell you working moms that I believe it's okay to work. I run across articles that chastise women for working, especially women who don't really "have to" work.

My mom is one of those women who should have worked. She was highly creative and driven but in her time women were expected to stay home.

She went through a lot of depression due to not full filling her dreams. It affected her parenting. I believe she would have been a much better mother if she had gone for her dreams.

My mom is very old now and has some dementia. She has the journalist pass she used when she worked for a newspaper briefly when my dad was between jobs next to her at all times. It's the first thing she talks about when we visit. It's her main topic.

Seeing how much not working toward her dreams saddened her keeps me taking steps toward mine.

I believe if a women is truly in need of creating things she should do so.

I've always put my family first while I've been taking baby steps toward my dreams. I didn't have the need to work that my mother did but I did have the need to walk toward my dreams.

Now that my son is grown I'm running toward my dreams LOL

Taking care of yourself allows you to take care of others. I just had to share that story with you...hope it helps someone.

Feel free to ask questions and leave comments. I would love to hear from you!

Your fitness expert

Lynn     www.getrealfit.org

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Workout That Gets It All!

Life gets so busy for all of us. That's why I created this workout. It gets it all! Both aerobics and strength training.

I did it this morning and loved it. I do the low impact now due to my new neck. I kept in motion during the short water breaks and stored my weights up high so I didn't have to bend down to get them. I was able to keep moving through out the whole workout. I needed the break when I did the high impact LOL




You can get it on my website http://www.getrealfit.org/products.html

Feel free to ask questions and leave comments. I'd love to hear from you!

Your fitness expert

Lynn  www.getrealfit.org

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