“if we always choose comfort we never learn the deepest CAPABILITIES of our mind or body.” -wim hof
challenge of the week
Hi Siwicki Fit Fam! Challenge of the Week time! During this time I get flooded with requests from clients regarding toning their arms. Here are a few strength exercises you can incorporate to your every day schedule that are PROVEN to help tone, shape and strengthen your arms. This exercise will take about 15 minutes, but it’s worth it! Keep me updated on your progress!
tip of the week
My wife has been a school counselor for the past 10 years. Both of us have always agreed about the importance of not only physical health but emotional and mental wellness as well. We recently discovered Wim Hof. I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical at first. Wim is a bit quirky - but we ended up loving his attitude towards life, physical health and overall wellness. I have tested his breathing methods - and I must say, they work! His website outlines the basics.
Sitting at home, you can easily try it for yourself. While sitting in a comfortable place, take 30 quick, deep breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Then, take a deep breath and exhale; hold until you need to breathe in. Inhale again, as deep as you can, and hold it for 10 seconds. Repeat as many times as you like. Combined with repeated exposure to the cold, Hof says that his method will lead to tangible health benefits: more energy, lowered stress levels and an improved immune system. For him, it enables seemingly superhuman feats of endurance, brought on, he says, by the physiological changes that his breathing techniques impart.
My TIP this week is to try it out and let me know if it made any difference for you. I included his tutorial video below, where he walks you through a guided breathing session.
wim hof breathing technique:
MEAL+SNACK IDEAS
ALMOND SALMON CAKES
Canned salmon is an underappreciated protein source. It’s affordable, easy to find, and super easy to prepare. Please always try to purchase wild caught Sockeye salmon if you can - yes, this is sold in cans at grocery stores!
Ingredients:
2 (5-ounce) cans of wild caught Sockeye salmon, drained
1 egg, beaten
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/4 cup almond flour
2 tablespoons of olive oil, divided
Lemon wedges
Toppings of your choice: onion, lettice, tomato
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, combine the salmon, egg, red pepper flakes, almond flour, and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Mix together with a fork.
Form the mixture into 4 patties.
Transfer to a baking sheet and brush with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Bake for 20 minutes, turning once halfway through the cooking, until golden brown.
Serve with lemon wedges and toppings of your choice!
Coconut-crusted chicken strips
Shredded coconut gives a sweet flavor and a crunchy texture to these chicken fingers. If you’re craving fried chicken, go for these instead! Make extra and store in the freezer in a resealable bag, then pop in the oven for a quick dinner on a busy week night!
Ingredients:
2 egg whites
3 cups whole grain cereal, crushed into crumbs in a resealable bag
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Put the egg whites in a small, shallow bowl and whisk with a fork until frothy.
Put the cereal, coconut, salt, and pepper in a food processor (or blender) and pulse to combine. Transfer the mixture to a resealable plastic bag.
Dredge each chicken strip in the egg white and then put in the bag. Shake the strips to coat with the coconut mixture. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 7 to 8 minutes per side, until the chicken is cooked through.
Serve warm.
SIMPLE ROASTED SWEET POTATOES
Ingredients:
2 large or 3 small sweet potatoes
2 tsp olive oil or avocado oil (I use grapeseed or avocado oil for high heat)
1 tsp garlic powder, or to taste
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1 tsp black pepper, or to taste
If you live near a Trader Joe’s, use the “Everything but the Bagel Seasoning” as opposed to salt and pepper - you are going to love it, and you will thank Juliann (my wife) later.
Wash and scrub sweet potatoes thoroughly. There's no need to fully peel them, but I often quickly run a peeler over them and peel about half of the skin. Dry potatoes well with a towel or paper towel.
Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise, and then cut each half into 4 long strips. Chop each of the strips into small cubes, about 1/2 thick.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread onto baking sheet, drizzle with 2 teaspoons of olive oil, and sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Toss to coat.
Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until crisped, flipping once halfway through to make sure that both sides get crispy. Turn broiler on low for 60 seconds at the end if needed to get crispy.
Health Benefits of sweet potatoes:
7 grams of fiber per serving
contain large amounts of potassium
rich in beta-carotene
antioxidant rich
antibacterial & antifungal properties
helps skin stay clear
helps prevent rheumatoid arthritis
helps maintain collagen
contains iron
helps with inflammation & constipation
Summer Strawberry Spinach Salad
Ingredients for the salad:
1 cup sliced strawberries
1 handful thin sliced red onion
5 cups baby spinach leaves
3 cups mixed greens
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup feta cheese crumbles (optional)
1/2 cup Strawberry Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
Ingredients for the dressing:
1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Make the strawberry salad dressing: In an immersion blender, small blender or standard blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. (An immersion blender and small blender are the quickest, but you can also use a standard blender: just blend for a few minutes until fully combined.)
Prepare the salad ingredients: Slice off the tops of the strawberries, then slice them long-wise. Thinly slice the red onion. If necessary, wash the spinach and mixed greens. Chop the pecans (if time, toast them to enhance the flavors).
To serve, place the greens on plates and top with all ingredients, then drizzle with the strawberry vinaigrette salad dressing (about 2 tablespoons per serving). Refrigerate the remaining dressing for up to 1 week.
industry news
Hollywood Trainer Jeanette Jenkins Shares Healthy Living and Weight-Loss Tips
BY: MARCELLE HUTCHINS
When it comes to toning up those abs and losing weight, Jeanette Jenkins is one of the most sought after fitness trainers and healthy lifestyle coaches. Jenkins helps thousands of men and women achieve their health and fitness goals, and is the celebrity trainer behind Hollywood’s hottest bodies, including Kelly Rowland, P!nk, Tia Mowry and Alicia Keys, to name a few. Jenkins works every day to revolutionize the way people think about health, fitness, and happiness, and to find out the best way to get in shape and keep off the extra pounds.
Introduce yourself.
Jenkins: I am the founder and President of The Hollywood Trainer and creator of The Hollywood Trainer Club, a virtual weight loss and healthy living club. I am also the author of The Hollywood Trainer Weight-Loss Plan: 21 Days to Make Healthy Living a Lifetime Habit, and creator of the highly successful Bikini Bootcamp, Cardio Kickboxing & Sexy Abs with Kelly Rowland as part of my internationally successful Hollywood Trainer DVD Collection, created to inspire and motivate men and women to live a healthy life.
What motivates you to go the extra mile in your workouts and reach your fitness goals?
I am motivated by the benefits of healthy living. I want to feel good internally. I want to have energy throughout the day, confidence, a positive mindset, a healthy heart, a strong immune system, strong bones and the ability to function at my best so I can also enjoy the other areas of my life in good health. These are just a few of the things that motivate me to go the extra mile in a workout. My goal in everything I do is to be great and do the best I can because you get out what you put in. I fully believe if you want more, you must give more.
What has helped you stay disciplined in the midst of chaos and helped you manage your daily schedule?
I don’t accept chaos. My life is not and will never be chaos. I stay disciplined by creating a strategic plan to achieve my goals and when new projects and opportunities or requests come my way, if I cannot find a way to fit it into my strategic plan then I let it go or just say “No”. You cannot be everything for everyone. In order to be successful, you must have a plan and stick to your plan until you achieve your goal. I take one to two days off a week, typically Saturday and Sunday so I can fill my cup back up, rest, renew and get ready for the week ahead. Most people need one to two days a week to recharge the mind, body and spirit and taking those days off always makes me stronger for the week ahead. Those who don’t take time off usually end up sick, run down, unmotivated and lose creativity because the body needs rest.
As one of the country’s leading lifestyle coaches, what are some of the workout mistakes that people make?
I believe the number one workout mistake that people make is not accepting exercise as a daily part of their every day regimen. It needs to be part of your life just like brushing your teeth in the morning. It’s your internal hygiene to clean your hormones, heart, blood stream, nervous system, strengthen bones, muscles, connective tissue, improve cardio vascular system, flexibility, especially spinal and hip flexibility and so much more.
The second workout mistake I think people make is not following a healthy meal plan, designed to achieve their goals & refueling the body with empty calories (calories with no nutritional value). You must eat for your own specific goals and health considerations.
The third workout mistake I watch people make is doing the same form of exercise 4-5x a week — highly repetitive running, spinning, cycling, kickboxing, dance and then they suffer from joint issues and wear and tear of repeating the same motion over and over again. For longevity of the joints, it is important to have a balanced training program that includes strength training, cardio and flexibility work. If you repeat the same motion over and over again, you will get repetitive stress injuries.
5 Fitness Myths, Busted!
Myth No. 1: You need cardio to lose weight.
FALSE: You don’t need cardio to lose weight. All you need to lose weight is proper hormone distribution and a calorie negative at the end of the day. Remember also that weight is the total of your muscles, bones, connective tissue, internal organs and water. 60% of your body weight is water. You can lose 10lbs of water by doing a cleanse or a fast and sweating or steaming. So are you trying to lose weight or are you trying to burn fat?
Research has shown that the fastest and most effective way to burn body fat is to do a combination of Cardio and Weight Training.
Myth No. 2: One plan will work for everyone.
FALSE: We are all BIOGENETICALLY UNIQUE and although we all need to exercise and eat healthy, we do need small tweaks and customizations for each individual’s health considerations & genetics.
Myth No. 3: You shouldn’t workout everyday.
FALSE: You can workout everyday, you just have to change up the method of training and the intensity. So for example here is a 7-day program:
Monday: 3 mile run & Ab Blast
Tuesday: Bootcamp
Wednesday: Power Yoga
Thursday: Cardio Kickboxing
Friday: Chisel Camp (Sculpting)
Saturday: Hike & Pilates
Sunday: Relaxing Yoga
Myth No. 4: Crunches are the best moves for your core.
FALSE: There is no such thing as a best move for your core. You train your core just like every other muscle on your body. The core wraps around the spine and the movements of the core and spine are flexion, extension, lateral flexion and rotation. You make sure your training regimen for your core is balanced and includes exercises that improve all of the movements of the core and spine.
Myth No. 5: Women shouldn’t lift heavy weights or they’ll get bulky joints.
FALSE: This is actually complicated. Everyone is biogenetically unique and there are three scientific body types: Mesomorph, Ectomorph and Endomorph. You can take three women of three different body types and give them the exact same heavy weight training program, and the exact same healthy meal plan designed for their body size and staying lean and all of their bodies will have a different response because they are made up of different muscle fiber types and their hormone distribution is also different. Mesomorph is a muscular athletic body type like a Serena Williams or Hope Solo; Ectomorph is a tall long lean model like body type like a Chanel Iman or Gigi Hadid; Endomorph is more voluptuous like a Kim Kardashian or Amber Rose. Now just imagine taking all six of these ladies and putting through the same heavy weight training program and the same healthy meal plan. All of their bodies will respond differently. Serena Williams and Hope Solo will end up being the most muscular and bulky because their body types respond the best to weight training, because they have a large amount of “medium fast twitch” muscle fibers that hypertrophy (increase in size) the most. Chanel Iman and Gigi Hadid are the ectomorphs and they will definitely get toned but they will remain lean and tight because they do not have a large amount of “medium fast twitch fibers,” and Amber Rose and Kim Kardashian have to be very careful because they can definitely get toned and they have “medium fast twitch” fibers; but if they keep a layer of fat over their muscles, then they will in the end look bulkier.
So the moral of the story is that it is important to know your body type and the stage of your life. The hormone distribution and condition of your joints will change over the years so some women need to lift heavy especially after their 30’s to defy gravity, and some women need to train heavy to protect their joints and keep them strong. While other women want to lift heavy because they love the feeling and appearance of being strong, it is very gratifying and safe to know that you have the strength to push or pull your entire body weight out of any situation and to enjoy sports like snowboarding, skiing, rock climbing and much more. If you were in an accident or stuck in any dangerous situation and you do not have the strength to push or pull your own body weight to safety, this could be a disaster.
All women should train for their goals, which is hopefully to have a balanced, strong, healthy, flexible and cardiovascular conditioned body so they can enjoy the rest of their lives in good health!
Health & Wellness
Wim Hof: The Man and the Method
RETRIEVED FROM: HEALTHLINE MAGAZINE
Developing your breath
Your breathing rate and pattern is a process within the autonomic nervous system that you can control to some extent to achieve different results. You may not be aware of your breath all of the time, but through practice you can gain a greater awareness of your breath and learn how to manipulate it to your advantage.
The Wim Hof Method breathing techniques have been developed by Wim Hof, who is also known as The Iceman. He believes you can accomplish incredible feats by developing command over your body through use of specific breathing techniques.
This is said to help you improve your productivity, performance, and overall well-being. Hof believes that learning to develop mastery over your nervous, immune, and cardiovascular systems will help you be happier, stronger, and healthier.
Who is Wim Hof?
Wim Hof is considered by some to be an adventurer, an endurance athlete, and a Dutch philosopher.
Wim started engaging with different breathing techniques and meditation after his wife took her own life in 1995. Now he’s using his achievements and records as a platform to prove, with scientific backing, that his method of breathing can be used by anyone to eradicate depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), amongst other things.
Wim Hof aka “The Iceman” holds 20 world records including[1]:
Total immersion to his neck in ice for 1 hour and 52 minutes.
Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in 2 days in only shorts.
Climbing Mount Everest beyond the “Death Zone” altitude (21,982 ft) in only shorts.
Completing a full marathon (42.195 kilometers (26.219 mi)), above the arctic circle in Finland, in temperatures close to −20 °C (−4 °F) again in only shorts.
Completed a full marathon in the Namib Desert without water proving he can deal with heat as well as cold.
Hof has an uncanny ability to endure cold temperatures in extreme circumstances. He developed this ability through extensive training that allows him to control his breathing, heart rate, and blood circulation. Hof believes that ordinary people can control their bodies to accomplish difficult feats, and he teaches these techniques through online and in-person classes.
He developed the Wim Hof Method to teach people how to learn to control their bodies to achieve exceptional goals.
What science says about it
Hof has worked with scientists to gain credibility by proving that his techniques work to bring about health benefits. Currently, there are several studies underway researching the physical effects of the Wim Hof Method.
Scientists are learning about how Hof’s breathing techniques affect brain and metabolic activity, inflammation, and pain. More research is needed to understand exactly how the method works to bring about benefits. Scientists need to learn if the results are due to the breathing exercises, meditation, or cold exposure.
Participants in a 2014 study performed breathing techniques such as consciously hyperventilating and retaining the breath, meditated, and were immersed in ice cold water. Results showed that the sympathetic nervous system and the immune system can be voluntarily influenced. This could be due to the anti-inflammatory effect produced by the techniques.
Scientists believe this could be especially useful in treating inflammatory conditions, especially autoimmune conditions. People who learned the Wim Hof Method also had fewer flu-like symptoms and increased plasma epinephrine levels.
A 2014 report studied the effectiveness of the Wim Hof Method to reduce acute mountain sickness (AMS). A group of 26 trekkers used the technique while hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro. It was useful in preventing AMS and reversing symptoms that developed. More research is needed to expand upon these findings.
More recently, a 2017 case study of Wim Hof found that he is able to tolerate extreme cold by creating an artificial stress response in his body. Scientists believe the brain rather than the body helped Hof to respond to cold exposure. The study suggests that people can learn to control their autonomic nervous system to bring about similar changes.
Wim Hof method benefits
According to the Wim Hof Method website, consistent practice offers many potential benefits, including:
boosting your immune system
improving concentration
improving your mental well-being
increasing willpower
increasing your energy
managing some fibromyalgia symptoms
relieving some symptoms of depression
relieving stress
improving sleep
Benefits of Deep Breathing
BY:UB therapist Andrea Watkins, LCSW
Breathe in. Breathe out. We do this all day, every day without a thought. Ask yourself this- when was the last time you took a deep breath? Probably not as frequently as you think. I would venture to say only a few times a day. But did you know that deep breathing is one of our easiest, most convenient and natural tools to combat issues like stress and anxiety, reduce pain, high blood pressure and even aide in digestion?
So why should you do this? Simply put- extra oxygen does wonders for the body and mind. It cleanses, opens and soothes different parts of our being and is overall something extremely healthy we can all do. Here are a few benefits to deep breathing:
1) Decreases stress, increases calm. When you become stressed or anxious, your brain releases cortisol, the “stress hormone.” By taking deep breaths, your heart rate slows, more oxygen enters our blood stream and ultimately communicates with the brain to relax. Deep breathing also ups your endorphins, the “feel good” chemical.
2) Relieves pain. As stated above, deep breathing triggers the release of endorphins, which not only helps create a feeling ing, but also combats pain.
3) Stimulates the lymphatic system (Detoxifies the body). Breathing releases carbon monoxide, which is important to fully release. Actually, breathing is in charge of 70% of cleansing the body of toxins (the other 30% is through bladder and bowels.) If you do not breathe fully, your body must work overtime to release these toxins.
4) Improves immunity. When your blood is fully oxygenated, it carries and absorbs nutrients and vitamins more efficiently. Essentially, the cleaner the blood, the harder it is for illnesses to stay put in your system.
5) Increases energy. The more oxygen that is in the blood, the better our body functions. It also improves our stamina.
6) Lowers blood pressure. As your muscles relax, this allows your blood vessels to dialate, which improves circulation and lowers blood pressure. Deep breathing also slows and regulates the heart rate, which also helps with lowering your BP.
7) Improves digestion. The more you breathe deep, the more healthier blood flow you will produce, which in turn promotes your organs to function more effectively, including your intestines.
8) Helps support correct posture. Next time you breathe in, notice that you simultaneously lengthen and straighten your spine. In order to take a deep breath in, your lungs take up maximum space, your diaphragm pulls down, so in turn your torso straightens in order for this to be possible.
