SOMA GET FIT. | BLOG

Pilates vs. Personal Training

kmatthews — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:54:33 +0000

By Kristen Matthews

I recently took a workshop on “The Science of Pilates.” We discussed the parallels and differences between Personal training and Pilates, and how we (Pilates instructors) fit into the gym world. Pilates has been around for many years, but it’s really only been the past few that it’s become more mainstream. With that being said, it can sometimes be a challenge making gym members see the benefits of Pilates. My goal is to help people realize that Pilates can be an important foundation to any type of physical activity. Both Pilates and PT take clients through workouts that are based on their level from beginner up to advanced. And in both you work on hypertrophy (changing the muscle), muscular endurance, and muscular strength. The goal in any type of exercise is to change your body and variety in your workouts will help to reach that goal.

Personal training focuses mostly on concentric motion, which occurs when a muscle shortens in length and develops tension. An example of this is the upward movement in a bicep curl. In a training session you typically tear muscle fibers, which creates muscle soreness, lactic acid build-up, and degrades flexibility. On the other hand, Pilates focuses mostly on eccentric motion. This is the development of tension while the muscle is being lengthened. Picture the lowering of the arm in a bicep curl. Pilates typically stretches muscle fibers because of the focus on eccentric motion and the goal is to find symmetry between strength and flexibility. Pilates will restructure your body from the inside out, starting at your core. It’s an all over workout, with many muscle groups working for each exercise.

When putting together your own workout schedule, think about how you can vary it. As much as I love doing Pilates I’d get bored pretty fast if that was the only type of physical activity that I was doing. I mix it up by going to yoga classes, hiking with friends, and working with my Personal trainer, Laura Hebert of Santa Monica Sweat. In every one of those activities I am engaging my core. My yoga is stronger because of my Pilates practice. The training I’m doing with Laura is helping me see weaknesses that I wasn’t noticing when doing Pilates. And hiking is a way to get my cardio in and spend time with friends. Who said working out should be boring! Remember that the more you do something, the faster you will see results. If you’re thinking of adding Personal training or Pilates to your routine, aim for doing each two times a week. You can even start with doing Pilates two times a week and training one day a week or vice versa. Your body will thank you and so will your health.

BRENDA PAPIERNIK, SKINNY JEANS BOOTCAMP, BUTTERFLY BEACH, MONTECITO

scrawford — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:53:32 +0000

Moving to California from the East coast made a huge impression on me spiritually and physically. Seeing the beautiful  landscape of the West Coast inspired me to be active and outdoors as much as possible. It truly became my lifestyle.  I’d like to bring this same inspiration to my clients. Not only am I helping people achieve good health, I am also getting them to appreciate and utilize the nature and beauty around them. My workouts are driven by the outdoors, from beach workouts to mountain hiking to ocean surfing/swimming. I train outdoors with little or no equipment. Some of my best workouts focus on exercises that use only the resistance offered by your own body weight.

On a personal level, I enjoy hiking, skiing, beach running, boxing, aerobic exercises, yoga and meditation. These activities help me maintain balance in my life, which I think is a very important aspect of healthy living. Santa Barbara is the perfect environment to live a healthy lifestyle, and I help my clients achieve this. With so many options for outdoor activity, my programs can either enhance some one’s gym workouts or provide a good alternative for those unmotivated to go to the gym. This environment allows me to keep it fresh and interesting for my clients.

My passion is helping people gain strength and endurance, lose weight, gain energy, and feel great. I love knowing I help  people feel better about themselves in achieving their health goals. I enjoy working with people of all ages and fitness levels, encouraging, motivating, and inspiring them to achieve their maximum fitness potential. I believe that anyone can reach their fitness goals by working hard. I have patience, determination, and guidance as clients progress to a healthy  body and mind.

My desire is to help others become fit and healthy as a means to truly living life to its fullest. My philosophy about fitness is that any type of exercises can and will tap into the body’s wisdom and connect the mind, body and spirit. I believe the trainer/client relationship is “team work” and as a team we will reach the client’s goal. I enjoy the one-on-one relationship that is built between the trainer and the client and I thrive on the direct impact that I have on their health  and lives.

The appeal of boot camp is that clients have a chance to work out in a team environment and meet others with like-minded fitness goals. I am eager to get started with boot camp and becoming a motivated and inspirational addition to this industry.

New baby goats at the Chivas Skin Care farm!

ljohanson — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:11:43 +0000

Soma Get Fit uses Chivas Skin Care products in its body treatments and bodywork. While you might already know that many of the Chivas products are made with goat milk, you might not know that the we actually raise French Alpine goats on our farm and use the fresh milk in our soaps. And you definitely don’t know that we just had 4 new baby goats on our farm (because I haven’t even posted this on our own website yet). We are super excited – the babies, also called “kids”, are adorable, friendly and healthy!

Our newest baby goat at the Chivas Skin Care farm (she is still in need of a fitting name, any ideas?)

The baby goats all get along pretty well. Sometimes they kiss & snuggle. Sometimes they fake fight.

They are all healthy and active, especially “Bart” who you can see here jumping up on the water bucket. (with his protective mother not far behind)

Bart is not only the most active, but also the most friendly. Here he is jumping up on my leg. He also likes when I hold his front feet and “dance” with him.

Can you tell I have a crush on Bart? Here he is kissing my hand. I told you he was friendly!

Want to see more pictures and videos of the goats? (coming soon)

Want to learn more about the benefits of goat milk skin care?

Want to learn more about how Soma Get Fit uses Chivas Skin Care in their spa packages?

NICOLE FRANZBLAU, SKINNY JEANS BOOTCAMP INSTRUCTOR

scrawford — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:36:48 +0000

Nicole Franzblau is an NASM certified personal trainer and holds a B.S. degree in Kinesiology, emphasis in Exercises Science. As a Santa Barbara native Nicole grew up living an active lifestyle full of competitive swimming and martial arts. Her passion for helping people and for maintaining an active lifestyle led her at a young age to dedicate her professional life to the fitness/rehabilitation field.

Nicole began her career assisting multiple top physical therapists in Santa Barbara. She evolved from there to personal training and teaching kickboxing at Bally Total Fitness in Long Beach, personal training at Gold’s Gym in Santa Barbara, coaching for Body Boot Camp of Santa Barbara and then starting her own Action Boot Camp of Long Beach.

Currently back in Santa Barbara Nicole is continuing personal training throughout the county and at the Cathedral Oaks Athletic Club where she also teaches multiple group fitness classes. She is also working as a licensed massage therapist.

She is very excited to join Soma Get Fit and Skinny Jeans Boot Camp! She loves a challenge and uses her endless energy to push her clients to their max. She is dedicated to making sure every client reaches their goals. Her passion for inspiring people to achieve their goals is apparent in the fun, yet challenging workouts she provides. There are no two workouts exactly the same, making her workouts very effective and anything but redundant.

Boot campers should expect to work with resistance bands, medicine balls and weights. There will be obstacle courses, circuits and partner activities all creating a fun, full body workout. The functional exercises focus on the core, decreasing muscle imbalances and creating a new, stronger and more functional body as well as mind. With Nicole as a coach participants can expect life impacting results inside and out!

Try Surf and Turf – SOMA Style

scrawford — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:20:20 +0000

Surf and Turf’s up with Stand up Paddle Surfing with Pro Kite Surfer Chris Gutzeit followed by Hatha Yoga with Karen Ketlner on beautiful Leadbetter Beach. Starting in April this bootcamp is sure to sell out fast. Call 805-689-8326

“Skinny Jeans” Launches Bootcamp at Alice Keck Park

Soma Get Fit Guest Writer — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:01:42 +0000

In the Upper State area? We’ve also launched our Skinny Jeans Bootcamp at Alice Keck Park. This bootcamp starts up in April and will be held on Monday and Wednesday evenings and Tuesday and Thursday afternoon.

To sign up at get on the list call 805-689-8326

Skinny Jeans Bootcamp Launches at Butterfly Beach

Soma Get Fit Guest Writer — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:54:46 +0000

Looking for a fun way to get in shape and spend time by the beach? Then our brand new “Skinny Jeans” bootcamp is perfect for you.

Monday, Wednesday and Friday we offer 4 morning and afternoon 1 hr sessions. Come out and try a session. You’ll be rocking those Skinny Jeans in no time.

Lose it! Keep it Off!

bcrouse — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:24:07 +0000

I recently read this article in Berkeley Wellness letter about losing weight and keeping it off (stopping the yo yo dieting) and it truly sounded like the workout ‘regime’ I’ve been following with my trainer- Scott Crawford – for over a year. It’s encouraging and exciting to think I will be able to maintain the great results I’ve had – just by continuing to do what I’ve been doing and staying focused. I’ve lost body fat – and at an accelerated rate when I combined a more structured diet plan with my workouts. We tracked heart rate, body fat measurements and food journal with Teri Tom, MS, RD – and I dropped from 22% body fat to 16.8% in a month and a half! And the best part about it – I feel great!

The National Weight Control Registry has been looking into information on over 5000 people who maintained a weight loss of at least 30 pounds for more than 5 years. Here are the successful strategies that these maintainers had for losing the weight and keeping it off:

1. Eat a high carbohydrate, low fat diet. Most calories (55-60%) should come from ‘good complex’ carbs – like whole grains, veggies, fruit and high fiber foods – NOT high sugar foods. 24% of calories come from fat and the rest (16-21%) from protein.

2. Be aware of calories consumed – total calories count – no matter what you eat.

3. Eat breakfast

4. Monitor and watch yourself – weigh yourself once a week and keep a food journal of what you eat

5. Exercise – A LOT – 60-90 minutes a day. Carve out time every day and plan to do something. Look for ways to keep active during the day and walk. Walking is the #1 activity.

And one more point about protein. Most Americans consume way more protein than they need -and you don’t need more protein if you exercise. The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for adults is .8 grams/day for each kilogram (2.2 lbs) of weight. That would be 64 grams for a 175# man and 47 grams for a 130# woman. (1 ounce of chicken or 1 cup milk = 8 grams) …so it adds up quickly.

By Bonnie Crouse

Brooks Green Silence: Taking the Eco-Running Shoe to The Next Level

Soma Get Fit Guest Writer — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:19:16 +0000

It has been argued that the greening of athletic shoes is often the most difficult because of all of the different components involved in creating a shoe.

That fact didn’t stop The Brooks Running Company who just released The Green Silence Running Shoe made from 75% post consumer materials and non-toxic soy-based dyes. In fact, the Green Silence uses less than half as many parts compared to a regular running shoe. The components are even biodegradable and whatever needs to be held together is done with water-based adhesives. Basically, when it comes to sustainability, this shoe has set the “Green Standard.”

All of these environmental strides are great, but only if the shoe really works. As you may know we’ve launched the We Run Green Campaign here on YDT as I train for the Los Angeles Marathon, so as a part of my training regimen I took these puppies out for a spin.

The first thing I noticed was how light weight the shoe felt; I use to think my Asics were pretty light, but they seem like clogs compared to these. I also enjoyed the breathability the shoe provided, keeping my feet cool and comfortable. There was plenty of cushion and support too, no different than my regular gear.

The verdict: Brooks achieved its goal of creating a shoe that “incorporates sustainability, without sacrificing performance.” I’m going to keep training in them and use them for the big day. After the 26.2 miles, I’ll let you know if I still like them.

There is just one request I have from a more stylistic perspective – more color selection please! Perhaps if I were part of the German national running team I might feel different, but red, yellow and black are not my favorite color combos.

You can purchase the Brooks Green Silence Online for $100.

Learn More: Check out Brooks’ commitment to the environment and what happens to the lifecycle of your shoe on its website.

Don’t forget, when you’re done with these or any athletic shoes, be sure to recycle them.

We are all Different for a Reason

mbeaugrand — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:03:29 +0000

My friend recently sent me a message saying that in the past 15 minutes, she had eaten 5 Cookies and Cream Good Humor bars. She followed that up with the fact that she went to her freezer for the 6th, but then remembered that she had eaten it for breakfast.

My first reaction to this is quick. Envy. Followed by a shaking of my head.

You see, this friend is 5′7″ and weighs maybe 110 pounds. She is skinny as a rail, and has been her entire life. I remember when we were growing up together, her mother couldn’t find pants that fit her because she has always been skin and bones. The pants that fit on her waist were too short.

My second reaction is how actually BAD that is for someone’s body. All of that sugar and preservatives and colorings and chemicals just isn’t good for you. Follow that up with the chemistry that then wreaks havoc on the inside trying to deal with all the fat and calories.

I on the other hand have to watch every little calorie that I put in my body. Always have. Always will. I have embraced this as I am who I am and I have the body that I was born with. My calories just want to stick around – they want to join my thighs. (In all fairness, my thighs are pretty fun to hang out with… )

So am I happy that I can’t eat a box of ice cream bars? Yes, actually. Why would I want to do that to my body? Perspective is everything and so I am taking this time to be thankful that I am not that skinny girl that can eat whatever, whenever I want. I have the opportunity to be mindful of what goes into my body. I wish the same for you.

Melissa Beaugrand, SOMA GET FIT CHEF.