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The Pulse - August 2015 Newsletter

Article – Achieve Your Goals in 3 Easy StepsSurf's Up

Have you ever had a goal that you just couldn’t seem to gain ground on? You really worked hard at achieving it by investing the time, at least you thought you did, but it just remained out of reach? What did you do? If you’re like most, you eventually chose to move on. You gave up in pursuit of something else. This was me and surfing. About three summers ago I watched my son go from never surfed in his life to riding his first wave into shore in a matter of hours. I was so impressed! Inspired, I borrowed a surf board and in a matter of hours…I wasn’t anywhere closer to surfing than I had been when I started. Frustrated, I gave up and resigned to pick it up another time.
Isn’t this the path we often take? We have a goal. We want to lose weight, get stronger, make more money, or get out of pain. We know what it is we want and we think we know how to make it happen. So we set out to accomplish “the thing”, but then obstacles present and we’re not prepared to deal with them. Failed attempts root and become impediments in our path. Eventually, we succumb to them and we trip and fall face first with a splat feeling defeated and resigned to return to our lives as they were.
I have good news! You don’t have to surrender in defeat. If you truly have the ambition to accomplish something, I think I can help. Read on to learn through my challenges and victories about how you can apply the same three success pointers that I did (or didn’t) to realize your own triumph.
If you’ll recall it was just three summers ago that my son learned to surf. And it was those same three summers ago that I did not. This leads to success point number one: If you are truly seeking success in achieving some kind of goal, look for the support of others who have been successful already at what you’re in pursuit of. You’ll remember I was so inspired as my son went from learning to surf to surfing his first waves that I borrowed a board of my own. Unfortunately for me though, I did not include him fully in teaching me. Of course I took the time to get some pointers from him but then I was off and wading on my own. Big mistake! The result of which was a lot of frustration and me turning in the board for that summer.
The next summer Kris set up a lesson for me the first Monday of our vacation. I was again focused on achieving the goal. Meanwhile Josh, now with his own board, was off in pursuit of honing his skills. We’ll check in with him later. For now, let’s explore success point number two: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, and try again.” This one is simple enough right? But so often we can get in such a rut that we don’t “try, try again”. Some of your greatest accomplishments have probably come when you refused to accept failure. When it comes to goals I encourage you to be just as single minded.
So I took my lesson which started first on land with some stretching and balance exercise on a Bongo board. I learned the three steps to getting up on a surf board after I’ve caught a wave. Push up my torso from the board with my arms. Slide one foot through so I’m in a ½ kneeling position. It’s as easy as 1, 2, and 3. Off I went to practice, practice, and practice some more. Although I was certainly more balanced lying on the board than I was the summer before, I really did not do much better toward the ultimate goal of standing up. But I did continue to try, try and try again. For those of you wondering where my son Josh was, he was surfing of course. He was trying to give me pointers but I had my lesson notes in mind and was focused on them. Clearly, I was still stubbornly missing success point number one.
If you know me, you know I am tenacious when it comes to achieving what I set out to do. So, it will come as no surprise to you that this most recent summer I was bound and determined again to surf. Fortunately for me, I also learned from the summer before and decided before we even got to the water that I was going to enlist my son this time. For the fellow dads out there, on a side note, I’d highly encourage positioning your son or daughter in the role of being your teacher or coach. You will be overjoyed with what it does to your relationship and their self-confidence.
My son was nervous at first at the idea of being my coach. But, after I assured him that I really wanted to learn from him, he accepted. And what a coach he was! He taught me a simplistic strategy that was so ingenious. He literally took the same 1, 2, and 3 steps I had learned the summer before but instead of having me work to get them all at once as was the socially accepted norm he broke them down into a progressive model. This leads to success point number three: When pursuing a goal that has eluded you, break it down into smaller more easily attainable parts.
My son was brilliant in presenting this success point to me! Never once the summer before did the professional instructor suggest that I work on one part only. But to my son, this was so simple. And, it turned out to be brilliant because in one day I was already riding waves in on my knees which was his extension of step one: push up your torso from the board. Once I mastered that, he then had me practice sliding my back leg through and riding waves in from what he called the “Tebow” position. If you are familiar with Tim Tebow you will recall his infamous ½ kneeling prayer pose in the end zone after a score. This position proved to be the hardest to master but eventually I got it. Finally, he had me work on going from Tebow to standing. It took nearly the full two weeks of our vacation to do it but it happened. With the smaller parts my son came up with and the progressive model he developed for me, I learned to surf!
As you seek to achieve your goals remember these three points: seek support from others who have already found success in the area of change you are pursuing, continue to keep trying even when you’re being faced with challenges, and break down your big audacious goal into smaller parts that are more easily accomplished. Doing these three things consistently will ensure your own personal victories!

 

Client Spotlight – Kim Griesmer Kim Griesmer

Many of you know our client spotlight for August, Kim Griesmer. But you may not know just how amazing this young woman truly is. Kim’s life forever changed in May of 1992 when her skull was crushed in the sun roof of a Nissan Pathfinder. The trauma to her precious brain was significant. Her life was on the brink of ending. Fast forward several years to 1999. Kim, now seven years survived from her accident, was wheeled into Chris’s original stomping grounds Metro Fitness seeking personal training. She had been recently discharged from physical therapy and told that she had “plateaued”. Her parents knew that in order for Kim to have some quality of life she needed to continue to exercise. The connection was made between Chris and Kim and the initial goals were set: to get Kim some range of motion and try and get her out of her wheel chair and walking.

It’s been 16 amazing years now since those initial goals were set. And, happily, Kim not only improved her range of motion, she gained much needed balance, incredible core strength and stability, and amazing body control. All of this leading to her most triumphant victory, getting rid of her wheel chair and replacing it with a walker! Kim is a shining example of what we can accomplish with the perfect blend of grit, coaching, and consistency.

In the words of her care giver and cousin Michelle Brobeck, “Kim is healthy and agile because of Chris, Mike, and Amber. BodyBasics is by far the best place for her.”

 

Welcome New and Returning Clients

The greatest compliment we can receive is a referral from one of our clients!

Yvonne Coffman – from Dr. Jalowsky at Tucson Family Medicine

Teri Greif – from Ric’s presentation at NOVA Home Loans

Letty Huffman – from Ric’s presentation at NOVA Home Loans

Olga Jordan – from Dr. Jalowsky at Tucson Family Medicine

Robin Loomis – from Ric’s presentation at NOVA Home Loans

Irma Moreno – Ric’s mother-in-law

Lisa Richardson – from Dennis Gyllenhaal at Adient-Gyllenhaal Physical Therapy

Glenn Smart – from Ric’s presentation at NOVA Home Loans

 

New Fall Prevention Group Class

Many falls can be prevented by participating in a tailored exercise program that:Mary balance

Improves Balance

Reduces further bone loss

Improves posture

Builds strength

Our Fall Prevention Class has all of this in a fun group environment. Call the studio for more details and to get started!

 

“Shout Outs”

Shout outs are about us voicing victories we witness you all having at BodyBasics. What you don’t know is that we start every Wednesday staff meeting with our shout outs. After doing this for several months and realizing how many incredible experiences are being shared, We thought it would be excellent to position a place within our newsletter to share also with all of you. We’ll keep it to our top 5 each month.

Shayne Spude – for continuing to have an enthusiastic mindset and furthering her fitness by including additional workouts outside of BodyBasics

Sherry Hansen – for providing Mike with a list of equipment she will have access to so he could prepare a workout she can do on the road while she is away for the next month

Donal Drayne – for not losing any ground because he worked out on his own while being out of the country on travel for nearly a month

Paula Kulahjian – for being diligent about completing her workouts, home based and at the studio, resulting in much improved awareness of her form and eliminating back pain. With her new found self-empowerment she now has her sights on a new goal,  Fitness Fusion classes

Martin Koenig – Due to his dedication Martin is realizing he is not only meeting his functional goals but beginning to make great strides in strength and movement

 

Recipe – No-Churn Mango Sorbet

What is better than a nice cold, fruity sorbet on a hot August night?  Not much!  This is a great easy to do recipe I hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:

2 ripe mangoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), ChoppedMango pic

1/2 cup sweetened cream of coconut

1/2 cup pineapple juice

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, toasted for serving (optional)

Directions:

Spread the mangoes in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Freeze until solid, at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Place the frozen mango, cream of coconut, pineapple juice, lime juice, maple syrup and salt in food processor.  Pulse until the mangoes are finely chopped.  Continue to process until smooth, 6 to 8 minutes, scraping down the sides as necessary.

Transfer the sorbet to an airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 1 hour up to 4 days.

Serve sprinkled with coconut if desired.

 

Video – 4 Point Plank

Team BodyBasics

Chris, Kris,  Amber, Maureen, Mike, Myrya,  Mary, Ric

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