Question of the Week

The first installment of Gillian Mounsey's Question of the Week is up and running!  Check it out here.

Environmental Waste

I have a confession to make...

I am not green.  I am the antithesis of green.  I am a wasteful, resource gobbling demon.

What I'm referring to, specifically, is my use of Ziploc baggies.  I love them. Last night's flank steak dinner leftovers were carefully measured into individual portions, baggied, and then placed within a larger freezer safe bag.  They then joined the pre-measured and double-bagged chicken breast on the shelf in the refridgerator.  This evening, whatever I don't think I'll consume within the next few days will be relegated to the freezer.

Ah, the baggie.  They come in a myriad of sizes, even ones with a real zipper, in the shape of a cube!  If you've got a storage need, food or otherwise, I bet you that there is a baggie for it.  Seriously.  I'll put money on it.

But when it comes to food - well, let's just say the baggie rules supreme.  Don't get me wrong, I've got a tupperware (gladware, etc) cabinet that is so overfilled you need a hardhat to protect  your noggin when you dare to open the door.  But I can never reach the container I need (I'm a pipsqueak), and if I can find the one I want you'd better believe that the top is nowhere to be found.  Probably hanging out with my missing socks behind the gym, sneaking a siggy and wasting their youth.

I've got bento boxes.  Boxes with built in ice packs, sectioned off to hold a full meal. 

But I always come back to my baggies.

I can see what is in them.  I can fit 7 days worth of meals on one fridge drawer.  My lunch bucket (cooler) actually closes without me breaking a sweat.

Of course, there is the occasional mishap.  Sometimes the zip top doesn't entirely close and I wind up with oatmeal scattered across the bottom of my cooler like fertilizer.  But generally, I can get to work without a hitch.

And, not to pat myself on the back - I do reuse any baggies that held dry goods (bread, oats, powders, etc).  So, I'm not such a terrible person, right?

Right?

There you have it.  I am not a perfect, green, organic, saver of nature.  Whew.  Feels good to get that off my chest!

How about you?  If you're a brown-bagger, how do you transport your meals from home?

Q&A

If you've got a burning fitness question, swing by Gillian's blog.  She's fielding questions - submit your question via email, and she'll be answering one weekly on her blog, every Friday.

From her website:

The primary reason that I have started this blog is to interact with the community. As a health and fitness professional, I take great pride in sharing with you my knowledge and experience. My wish is that each of you will pass this knowledge on in a meaningful way and help someone else.  Beginning this week, I will be answering one question a week on my blog. I will choose the questions that appeal to the broadest audience to answer in this public forum. I encourage you to ask questions about injuries, programming, specific skills, health, performance or even a specific challenge that you may be facing with a client. It is my hope that these questions and answers will begin a dialogue that we can all learn from.  If you have a question, please send an email to me at info@gillianmounsey.com and specify “Question of the Week” in the subject line. Your identity will be kept confidential.  Please stay tuned for the first “Question of the Week” that I will be answering this Friday (1/15/10).

You are also welcome to ask me questions, as long as you don't mind smart-alec answers having no basis in science, reality or good manners ;)

Up, Up, and Away....

I think my niece is trying to show me up :)

It's never too early to work on your pull-ups :)

Speaking of which - a while back I was perusing the internet and came across Operation Pull Your Own Weight, an organization devoted to ending childhood obesity through natural means within one decade or less.  How?  By making it their mission to help 95% of all school aged children learn to perfom traditional pull-ups before they graduate.  They believe that once that has been accomplished, childhood obesity will be all but erased.

Check out their website, and see what they have to say about the power of the pull-up. 

And with that, I'm off to work on my own!

Heels over Head

If you've ever wondered how to either teach a handstand, or achieve one yourself, check out Gillian Mounsey's site for her recently released instructional video.

January 5, 2010 Gillian's instructional video on Handstands

Just scroll down to the bottom of the page to the videos that are exclusive to her website, and you'll see it there!  Check back often, as she's planning to continue to post a series of instructional vids addressing the gymnastics skills that she's (in)famous for.

Also, if you're in the New York Tri State area, she'll be teaching a one day Fundamentals of Gymnastics workshop in Fairfield, CT on March 13, 2010 at CrossFit Performance.



See Gillian's Seminar page for more information and details on how you can register.

Shake that Money Maker

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. 



















Two pictures are worth even more...















But it's the actual commercial, as well as the parady video that's gone viral over the internet that is truly priceless.

Behold the future of exercise:


....you'll have to google the dirty version for yourselves ;)

Changing the Channel

What a difference a year makes!  It's been just over a year since I left my big-nationwide-chain health club and joined my current gym.  This morning, as I walked back to my office after my workout, I passed ye old health club.  It was packed.  Every single piece of cardio equipment that I could see through the streetside windows was occupied. 

Now, rewind to my earlier workout - the gym was also pretty packed.  In fact, I had to wait to use the assisted chin/dip station once I was done with my squats, lunges and bench.  Biggest differences were that the treadmills, steppers and recumbant bikes were mostly empty, and I was one of perhaps 3 women training during the typical lunchtime rush.

A friend asked me why I thought there were so few women at my gym - my response, while a bit tongue in cheek is most likely accurate: because there are no personal televisions at each cardio machine.

I totally understand, too.  Unless it's an intense interval workout, I can't stand to do "cardio" unless I'm in front of the boob tube.  At home, my Tivo is my best friend while I'm on the treadmill.  I can read while on a bike or a stepper, but give me television if I'm running indoors or slaving away on the elliptical :)  But as much as I enjoyed the personal TVs at my old gym, I had to leave.  It was virtually impossible to get a decent lifting workout.  And in the long run, that was more important to me than keeping up with daytime television. 

Which leaves me wondering how I (we) can get more women under a barbell, rather than devoting all their energy on "burning calories" or the next biggest new-age studio workout (ps, I love yoga, but I hate when yoga studios advertise how many calories you're burning.  Oy.).

Any suggestions?