Quips & Quotes

I intended to go to The Balance Institute temporarily for just a couple of months after finishing my rehab for a badly broken ankle. I was looking for a trainer with credentials, experience, and a little older. I'm long past my planned two months and am amazed at what I can do with this ankle!  --AK

Is it healthy to be muscle-bound? Not really. Muscle-bound people tend to have thick hearts, get short of breath with endurance activities, and have problems with range of motion in their joints. Overall health is better with a healthy balance of aerobic or cardiovascular activity and moderate strength training that works all muscle parts and allows the body to be flexible.

"Jan Shaw, the personal trainer, is phenomenal at working with "couch potatos" like me who want to be more active, and people with just about any physical problems. She's wonderfully motivational without being at all like a drill sargeant..." BD.

If you're starting a weight loss effort, do it sensibly. Increase your activity by 20% over what you're currently doing, and eat only the amount of food at each meal that you could fit in your cupped hands.

"The less capable the body, the more narrow the world." Jan Shaw

Try massage/bodywork therapy for painful conditions such as shoulder tension, neck tension, muscle aches, joint tightness, back pain, knee pain, and foot pain.

Massage/bodywork therapies give you much needed "down-time", an opportunity to re-connect with yourself, who you are, where you've been, and where you're going.

Myofascial release therapy is a slow stretching of the body's most proliforative tissue. It works great for chronic pain and problems moving. When you can't get enough stretch by stretching your muscles, try myofascial release therapy. It also treats plantar fasciitis without exercise or lasers.

How much exercise is enough for you to get and stay healthy? This varies by person. Start by checking with your doctor to make sure it is safe for you to exercise. Then choose an activity that you like. Move intensely enough to get winded but still be able to carry on a conversation. Do this for 20 - 30 minutes most days of the week. Or, do this for ten minutes several times a day, most days of the week. This is a good and easy start to good health.

If you are a first-time client of massage/bodywork therapy, we suggest you begin with Swedish massage to experience the relaxing and safe benefits of massage treatment.  Swedish massage can lower blood pressure, improve blood and lymph flow, improve skin tone and appearance and—in our Center—has even caused weight loss.

Which is better? Heavy weights or cardiovascular workouts? From my trainer's perspective, I would choose cardio. Both heavy weights and cardio workouts cut fat, lower blood pressure and improve blood work; but heavy weights usually require close attention to protein intake, supplements and lots of time in the gym. In addition, heavy weights create thick hearts that are unhealthy and pump small amounts of blood per heartbeat. Cardio workouts produce more overall benefits and can be done anywhere. They build healthy and strong hearts that expand and pump more blood with each heartbeat.

I'm a middle-aged woman and not athletic. A lot of trainers cater to younger and more able clients and roll their eyes when someone like me pops through the door. Not Jan. I can honestly say that I never dread going to my workouts. I started on the treadmill at 1 mph. In under six months she had me in shape to take a long-planned hiking trip overseas.--AK

So what if you fall off the wagon? If you forgot to brush your teeth yesterday, would you think you're a terrible person and never brush again? No! If you get off of your healthy routine, just get right back on it. Success is the culmination of repeated small successes.

I was 62, diabetic, overweight, and with high blood pressure. As a former coach, myself, I wasn't sure I could find a trainer I was comfortable with and accepting of where I was. Jan understood my situation, was respectful and compassionate.  I've lowered my blood pressure, insuline dependence, and weight, and I'm sticking with it!    -LH

My back ached all the time. I have ankylosing spondolosis so I don't move well. Jan used the myofascial release therapy on my back. It took a while of sessions but I can feel warmth in my back again, that constant achiness is gone, I can move much better, and it's lasting. I recently travelled out of the country and never felt the first back ache.  -TO

The staff don't boast themselves. They provide great treatments and that speaks for itself. They're professional orgainization members, board members, and community activists. You won't hear them cuss, gossip, or put anybody down. I'm comfortable here. --JS

My goals were to get motivated to start running again and work on my shoulder that was dislocated a few years ago. I've only been training with Jan a month but am already running several times a week on my own, and we're working on the shoulder with exercises I never thought of. Thank goodness she did the testing at the start of my program. It proved how high my blood pressure can get when I don't take my medicine regularly!

--Jeff

I consider my regular massage a significant part of my health plan. --JD