If you belonged to a gym in the last 10 years, you’ve probably seen foam rollers lying around the stretching area—long, cylindrical tubes, usually in blue, black or white. Initially, foam rollers struck me as mysterious and slightly frightening objects. I observed their users rolling uncomfortably about, at times wincing with discomfort. Giving the tool some side eye, I’d move on with my runners lunge or butterfly stretch. I came to reconsider foam rollers when my husband and I took up running again during the pandemic. After taking our 347th walk around Brussels, running seemed a nice change of pace (literally). We signed up for a virtual race called the…
SF30 Day 20 — Rest Day with Flexibility & Mobility (45 minutes)
What does it mean to take a "rest day" from exercise? Not what you think. Try this flexibility and mobility routine for muscle recovery.
SF30 Day 12 — Mobility (25 minutes)
Today’s routine focuses on joint mobility. As you push your body through HIIT, weights, strengthening, running, and other types of challenging workouts, it’s important to give some love to those joints. I like this routine because it starts with the small joints in the fingers and wrists and works its way through the neck, shoulders, back, and hips. So it’s a total joint love fest. This video comes from GMB Fitness, a company co-created by three guys (Andy Fossett, Ryan Hurst and Jarlo Ilano) with backgrounds in martial arts and gymnastics, among others. GMB has several paid programs for gaining strength, increasing mobility, and enhancing motor control and agility. But…
SF30 Day 6 — Mobility (10 minutes) or Rest Day
If you’ve been following along with my daily fitness challenge, you may be ready for a rest day. Rest days are a critically important part of exercise. They allow your muscles and joints to recover and rebuild, ultimately making you stronger and better. Rest days also prevent you from “over training”, which can lead to a whole host of problems, including poor performance, injuries, sleep problems, and other physical symptoms. So when you’re ready for a rest day, take it. For those of you ready to move on to Day 6, here’s a great mobility session. I’ve talked about the mobility a couple of times on my blog, once while…
Part 2! Taking a Holistic View of Fitness and Wellness: Q&A with Ally Templeton, Personal Trainer
Last week, I posted Part 1 of my interview with Ally Templeton, personal trainer, yoga instructor, overall wellness coach, and purveyor of Alexandra Templeton Fit website and YouTube Channel. Here is the second part of our conversation, where we touch on trending wellness topics like intermittent fasting, COVID-19, exercise while traveling, and potential differences between the EU and US approach to fitness. I’ve included some video recommendations, so read until the end. Hope you enjoy it! What trends are you seeing in health, wellness, and fitness? I’ve been really interested in intermittent fasting. I see it as a valuable tool. While it sounds like a new thing, it’s been around…
Taking a Holistic View of Fitness and Wellness: Q&A with Ally Templeton, Personal Trainer (Part 1)
Alexandra (Ally) Templeton, a self-described “Wellness Ambassador,” has been coaching her clients on wellness, fitness, and healthy cooking for the past 5 years. I learned about Ally through a Brussels ex pat Facebook group. After checking out her website and YouTube Channel, I was smitten. Ally’s philosophy on health, wellness, and fitness is soothing and holistic. Her website’s landing page sums it up well: “I believe in an uncomplicated approach to health and fitness where ever you are in the world.” The Washington, DC, native became a fitness instructor after falling in love with fitness at the University of Georgia, where she studied Romance Languages (majoring in Spanish and Portuguese)…
Is the Fitness World Moving Online for Good? Not So Fast, Says Yoga Pilates Instructor Orsi Nagyistok
Orsolya (Orsi) Nagyistok started the year fresh in 2020. She left a personal training job at Aspria, a posh Brussels Spa, at the end of 2019 to open her own yoga and Pilates studio. She dreamed of having a startup company. And after ten years in the fitness industry, she was ready. She even found a local hotel to collaborate with her, allowing for expansion plans. “The idea was that in March, I would move the studio into [the hotel location], and we were going to co-create something.” Everything was falling into place. Then COVID-19 happened. Like so many start-up business owners, Orsi had to find ways to adapt and…
Review: Daily Burn 20 Minute Total Body Strength
When traveling at the end of last year, I was looking for an easy, no equipment workout program that I could do anywhere. I came across Daily Burn 365, a program offering a new group fitness class every day with a variety of styles and instructors. Since it was the year-end holiday season, Daily Burn made their daily classes equipment free, knowing that many people were traveling and wouldn’t have access to weights. It was a quick and handy 30 minute workout that built up a decent sweat. In addition to Daily Burn 365, I noticed that Daily Burn had a series of other programs. I was hesitant at first,…
