Burn 60 clients are more susceptible to muscle pulls during class when they have chronically tight muscles. It can be several muscles or one in particular that can cause a pulled hamstring, quadriceps, calf, or back muscle. In addition, you can perform at higher levels when you are more flexible. To avoid a pulled muscle and maximize your performance in class it is essential to stretch and increase your flexibility post workout. It’s equally important to do a Dynamic Warm Up (mobility stretches) pre workout.

Take the extra 10 minutes after class to perform these few important stretches!
3. Downward Dog- Place the hands shoulder width apart and feet shoulder width apart. Lift hips towards the sky keeping the legs and back straight. Extend the heels towards the floor and lengthen the hamstrings, calves and low back.
4. Hip Flexor Stretch- Bring the left leg in a 90 degree position on the floor and right leg fully extended with just the toes on the floor. Pull belly button inward to avoid an anterior tilt of the pelvis and tighten the right glute for maximal stretch of the right hip flexor. Repeat on the other side.
5. Piriformis Stretch (figure 4 stretch, or pigeon pose)- In a seated position on the floor with the knees bent and feet flat on the floor, place your hands behind you to support your body. Bring your right ankle across your left thigh near the knee. You should feel the stretch in your hip and upper glute on the right side. Repeat on the left side.
6. Laying Trunk Rotation- Lying flat on your back, bring both knees up at 90 degrees and rotate them to the left, bringing them to the floor. Hold this stretch and repeat on the right side.

Best in Health,
Anna Renderer, MS
Fitness Director, Burn 60

I have an emotional relationship with both my food and my exercise! There’s just no way around it! We all have emotional changes, some good days or bad days depending on life, love, job, family, or whatever.  Since I eat everyday and do some form of activity everyday to stay fit, ultimately my emotions will effect my eating and fitness. Luckily my relationship is healthy with food and exercise.

How is your relationship?

EATING and EXERCISING when upset, happy, stressed, nervous, anxious, tired, bored, etc will change your behavior.  Think about your behavior during these emotions and how that carries over into your diet and exercise.

If emotion is taking over your healthy diet and consistent exercise then take a few steps to get better. I would recommend trying the following:

1. Make note of what you are eating during each emotion. Sounds funny but try it! May take a while depending on how moody you are. Hahaha!

2. Write down a healthier alternative food or meal to replace some of the bad choices you make during a time of weakness. I eat ice cream when I’m tired and just want to be a slug, so i’m going to replace it with a yogurt parfait (yogurt, honey, and strawberries).

3. Take 5 deep breaths and relax before each meal! It improves your digestion which is the ultimate goal.

4. Commit to exercising especially on days that you feel depressed, stressed, or sluggish! These are the days where exercise is most needed. You release endorphins and seritonin which improve mood and  you will less likely binge eat all the junk food you crave during stressful days.

Remember that your mood can sometimes take over your good judgement and healthy behavior. Fight it with all you can and don’t let your MOOD limit your fitness goals!

Health and Happiness,

Anna Renderer, MS

Fitness Director, Burn 60

TOP 5 “LIVING ROOM EXERCISES”
Plank and side step – Plank on the forearms and toes, keeping the body parallel to the ground. Bring the left leg out to the left and gently touch the ground. After bringing the left leg back to the center, repeat on the right side. Alternate for 20 repetitions.

Sidewinders – In a seated position on the floor, bring the knees into a bent position (feet off the floor, optional). Slightly lean back and rotate shoulders to the left and right to touch the hands gently side to side on the floor. Use the trunk and abdominals to support the body and twist. Alternate left and right twist for 20-30 repetitions.

Push up and Rotates- In a push up position, have the hands shoulder width apart and feet shoulder width apart. Perform a push up and as you fully extend your elbows, bring the left hand off the ground and open the arm chest to the sky. You should look towards the sky and keep your body straight and level from the ground. Repeat another push up and open the right arm up towards the sky. Continue to alternate for 10 total repetitions.

Single Legged Bridge (Laying on your back, hold your right knee towards the chest and place the left leg at 90 degrees on the floor. Press through the heel of your left foot and squeeze your glute to lift your hips up off the floor and bridge away from the floor. This is a small movement and you want to be sure not to compensate with your low back to lift, so be sure t press through your heel and squeeze the glutes. Complete 15 repetitions on each leg.

Squats: This is one of the most essential exercises to practice and master. You must be able to perform this movement correctly before adding weight. Keep feet about shoulder width apart. Your first movement is to tilt the hips anteriorly, as if you were going to sit while keeping the chest upright and back flat, you will slightly bend forward from the hips. As you tilt your hips back, bend the knees and lower the body. You should only go as low as your able without pain or losing form, no lower than thighs parallel to the floor. Keep your knees behind or even with your toes. Push weight through the heels to complete the movement and come into a standing position. When training for speed or strength, add squat jumps into your routine by adding a jump when coming into a standing position. Combining weighted squats and body weight squat jumps (add a weight vest or sand bag for extra resistance) will maximize your strength, speed, and power. Complete 15-20 repetitions.

Anna Renderer, MS

The Zone Chart Sheet1

1. Snack on a big plate of veggies before going to a Christmas party or dinner. This will fill you up on the good stuff, and then you’re not starving at the dinner.
2. When making a plate of food, take a smaller portion than normal and plan on maybe having seconds if you’re still hungry. Plus, this will force you to eat more slowly.
3. Drink a glass of water between each glass of wine or cocktail. This makes you less hungry and less thirsty for alcohol.
4. If you’re craving the sweets have just 1 of your favorites and eat slowly, enjoy it completely. If possible, eat half of it and save the other half for later to feel that your sweet tooth can get another taste but without the extra calories.
5. When making a plate for dinner, fill half your plate with the good healthy stuff (veggies, fruit, salad, etc.) and the other half with a mix of your carbs and protein.
6. Eat slowly during your meals to allow yourself to enjoy the meal and not overeat! It is about 15 minutes after you eat that your body feels the fullness completely. Eating slowly allows the body to feel its fullness before you’ve eaten too much.
7. When tempted to have seconds, wait for at least 15 minutes after eating to make a final decision. Most likely you will feel too full by then.
8. Encourage your family and friends to engage in a nice walk around the neighborhood after dinner. This helps digestion tremendously and will help burn off a couple hundred calories from dinner. If we can do it in Massachusetts 5-degree weather, SO CAN YOU!
9. Exercise every day! Try and walk or run for at least 30 minutes every day. This is the best way to keep your metabolism running high and to burn hundreds of extra calories!
10. Before taking a cookie, piece of chocolate, piece of pie, candy, or any sweet, make a deal with yourself…. For every one that you eat, you owe yourself 15 minutes of cardio exercise that day!

Happy Holidays!
Anna Renderer, MS

WAKE UP PEOPLE! It’s time to stretch. Your body is your daily machine. It gets you to work, runs all day so that you can breathe, eat, and think. Then it works extra hard to exercise, elevate the heart rate, burn calories, and use muscle. This machine that helps you live and thrive each day needs “Tune Ups”! A “Tune Up” for the body is stretching the muscles, tendons and joints. Using a foam roller to release tightness in the muscle tissue from a build up of repetitive movement. When you neglect this “Tune Up” for months at a time, it will be like a late oil change; only hurts a new car a little, but as that car ages and continues to get late oil changes, it will begin to run poorly.

Stretching and foam rolling once a month is not good enough! Your body is your machine for life, no replacement! Lucky are some, who will get a new heart, kidney, or liver if that someday fails. There is no replacing your spinal muscles, quads, hamstrings, and gluteals. People can now replace their knees and hips, yet it is painful for many years before that happens and your quality of life is compromised.
Be good to your body, it’s good to you! Stretch!

Health and Happiness,
Anna Renderer, MS