Wellness Wednesday – July 9, 2008: Happiness, Post Recovery Nutrition, and Green Smoothies!

I hope you had a Happy 4th of July and that this newsletter finds you well.

I heard on the news last week that the Dow Jones Industrial Average had its worst June performance since 1930, and that the first six months of 2008 were the worst first six months of the year for the Dow since 1970. I also heard that people cut back on their holiday travel plans because of the high price of gas.

I could go on and on about the current state of our economy, but who wants to be constantly bombarded with such information, particularly when there is little we can do to influence such news? It is much more useful to focus on things we can control, such as our health and our relationships, that will make us happier. A study was just released yesterday that ranked Denmark as the happiest country in the world. Denmark has consistently been ranked as one of the happiest places on earth, and to read more about life in Denmark, take a look at this ABC News story from last year.

Happiness was also in the news a couple of weeks ago, with the release of a study looking at the links between money and happiness. The study concluded that while income did contribute to happiness up to a point, the quality of family relationships was much more important.

I hope you get the chance to spend time this summer with family and friends, since that will likely make it a happy and fulfilling summer.

One Year Anniversary Fast Approaching!

July 30 will be our 1-year anniversary, and I want to take the time to thank all of the clients who have helped us to reach this milestone. I can still remember pacing around the outside of the building while Chris was talking to our first potential client. To my great relief, she invested in one of our training packages, and we were off and running.

While it is still a thrill to get a new client, our real satisfaction comes when a client renews. To us, that is a sign that we are surpassing our clients’ expectations, and they are seeing the value in their personal training services. Our current renewal rate is over 80%, but we would like to see that even higher. Another positive sign is when a client refers us to a friend or relative. The number of such referrals is starting to grow, and we certainly appreciate it when you recommend us to your friends and family!

As most of you know, this is my first business venture, and I have been thrilled with how the first year has gone. It has been a tremendous learning experience, but I realize there is still a great deal more to learn. I appreciated your patience as we went through our growing pains, as well as your willingness to share your suggestions and feedback. I have set some ambitious goals for the second year, and with the help of the great team we have in place, I am confident those goals can be accomplished. I also look forward to seeing each of our clients achieve their unique set of goals, so please continue to let us know how we can best accomplish that objective.

Post Workout Recovery: Act Fast

from the Training Room at Yahoo! Health

When you work out, especially if it is intense, you need to plan time for your body to recover and replenish itself. Exercise is a powerful stimulus that is transformational in terms of what it can do to your body, both inside and out.

The key is to apply that stimulus, and then allow for adequate recovery. It is during the recovery phase that gains are actually made. Is your recovery plan optimal? There are many ways to enhance recovery in the minutes, hours and days after a workout, but one often missed window of opportunity occurs immediately after your workout. There is a 15-30 minute “golden period” in which some simple nutritional interventions can make all the difference.

During exercise, your muscles rely on glycogen that is stored in the muscle tissue and cells. Ideally, your muscles would have been well stocked with glycogen from a high quality complex carbohydrate meal either the evening before exercise, or at least two to three hours before your exercise routine.

Once you start your intense workout, your muscles’ glycogen gas tank begins to empty. Immediately following exercise, when the gauge is on E, it is ideal and much more efficient to restock those muscles. The perfect post-workout food or drink…

To continue reading the article, click here.

The Training Room blog is written by Havertown’s own Dr. Nick DiNubile, an orthopoedic surgeon and Orthopedic Consultant to the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team and the Pennsylvania Ballet. He is also the author of Framework, a great book I have mentioned in previous newsletters.

Green Smoothies

Many of you have been curious about the smoothies you often see me drinking at the studio. The type of smoothie I usually drink is often referred to as a green smoothie, since it not only includes a significant amount of fruit, but some leafy greens as well.

Here is the recipe I currently use to make my green smoothie:

3 cups of water
6 bananas
8 large frozen strawberries
half to full cup of frozen blueberries
1 or 2 hearts of romaine lettuce
large handful of baby spinach

I put all this in a Vitamix blender (which I cannot imagine living without) and a few seconds later, I’ve got about a 60-64 ounce smoothie, which tastes just great. This smoothie has about 700 calories, with the breakdown about 90% carbs, 5% fats, 5% protein. Many of you often ask where I get my protein; this contains about 10 grams of high quality plant protein, as well as 25 grams of fiber. These numbers all come from Nutridiary, a great free web site for tracking your caloric intake.

You can read more about green smoothies at Green for Life.