Why We Love Racquetball

On the long list of sports I haven’t played, racquetball has one of the top seats for a likely clobbering. Sports that require me to hit or intercept small, fast-moving objects just don’t come easy, and though my lactic threshold is likely high enough, my pride threshold just can’t stand the amusement others get from watching me chase a ball around the room. So, I called up Cheyenne Hayes, our new Racquetball Director and 2012 Washington State Singles Champion, to see if I couldn’t improve my game, as well as my general knowledge of the sport. 

I soon discovered racquetball is what every endurance athlete should be doing in their spare time. While not only being an excellent calorie burner, racquetball also has a tactical side that endurance athletes can benefit from. There’s always the aspect of pacing and drafting in relatively individualistic activities like swimming, biking, or running, but that little rush you get from slamming a ball and making your opponent run just isn’t there. Plus, exercising fast-paced hand-eye coordination is key to developing good body awareness, a case of new movement leading to new wiring. Finally, all those lateral moves and hard swings builds a taught core, and you really can’t argue with that.

The Valley is in the process of renovating its Racquetball Program, beginning May 3 with league night, which now has a set day and time of Thursdays, 6-9PM. Sign up deadline for league is April 27, so get in quick! Cheyenne plans to have prizes for the top finishers, and is looking for more players, especially women. In fact, more women in racquetball is one of Cheyenne’s biggest goals for this renovation. By summer, she hopes to have established a Women’s Racquetball Group, which will meet one day a week. Also, kids are going to be a big part of the picture, as seen by the poster at the top of this post. Other plans include one day Shoot Outs, free Beginner Clinics, League Socials, and a one day Elite Training Camp with USA Team Coach Jim Winterton in July.

So, in the spirit of keeping things new, reserve yourself a racquetball court and get to hitting. You might surprise yourself!

In Good Health,

Colin       

Welcoming New Employees!

I'm always excited to see new employees around here, and look forward to all they have to offer to our team. So, let's welcome Carlo Giorno on the Yoga side of things, as well as Cheyenne Hayes and Greg Keating, who both look forward to injecting some enthusiasm into our Racquetball Program!

In Good Health,

Colin

Carlo Giorno

Carlo Giorno comes to us with over 20 years of Yoga experience. Since 1989, Carlo has used Yoga to recover from a multitude of sports injuries, including a fall from Mt. Whistler, and would like to share its healing powers with you. Carlo’s initial interest in the therapeutic qualities of Yoga blossomed into a commitment to fully understand the art and science of Yoga. Beginning in 1995, Carlo studied under Bikram Choudury at the Yoga College of India headquarters in L.A., and later assisted Bikram in training aspiring Yoga instructors. In the last 15 years, Carlo has developed his own Posture Clinic Workshops based on experience and expertise gleaned from Bikram and other influences such as Eddie Modestini, Nicki Doane, Beryl Bender Birch, Brian Kest, and Anna Forest. Carlo has taught his workshops from Hawaii to Mexico, and has come to The Valley to share his immense breadth of knowledge with you. Please welcome Carlo and all he has to offer. Namaste!

Cheyenne Hayes, Racquetball Director

Certified Racquetball Coach, USA Racquetball Association

Washington State Singles Champion, 2012

Currently Ranked World’s 25^th, Women’s Racquetball Tour

Cheyenne Hayes brings over 10 years of racquetball experience to The Valley, and is ready to make this your best season yet as our new Racquetball Director! Cheyenne believes that true happiness lies in a life filled with fitness, especially racquetball, and she has made every effort to influence others with this passion. A nationally and world ranked player, Cheyenne consistently looks for ways to grow her favorite sport. Spearheading efforts to bring Women’s racquetball to forefront of the game, as well as coaching a Summer Juniors Racquetball Camp, Cheyenne’s devotion to racquetball knows no limits. “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,” is Cheyenne’s coaching mantra. We welcome Cheyenne to our team here at The Valley, and are excited to see her make a difference in your life!

Greg Keating, Racquetball League Director

The Valley would like to welcome Greg Keating, who will act as Racquetball League Director to help build a strong, competitive Racquetball community! Greg began playing racquetball on military bases while working in the DC area back in 2001. His mentor was a retired Air Force Colonel that, despite his age, could give Greg a run for his money every time.  It took a few years but eventually Greg was able to make the Colonel run.  Later, during his undergrad at Virginia Tech, Greg became a regular on the racquetball courts and in the racquetball intramural leagues.  In 2008, Greg began working on his M.B.A. at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs where he played on the racquetball team for one season.  Since April 2010, Greg has resided in Olympia, becoming a member of The Valley shortly after moving to the area. We can only see a bright future for Racquetball at The Valley with Greg on our team.    

            

Intro to Group Fitness, Part V: Mind & Body

So, in lieu of one of my articles for the Mind & Body side of Group Fitness, I’ve chosen to use About.com to delineate – and integrate – the two practices available here at The Valley, namely Yoga and Pilates. I’m also saving up for next month, where I’ll let you in on big, exciting changes and additions to the Mind & Body department. Until then, I hope you enjoy this more than adequate substitute!

In Good Health,

Colin 

Yoga VS Pilates, which is better?

Review of Similarities and Differences

From Deborah Harris

It seems that these days you can hardly turn on a television without hearing someone mention Pilates or Yoga. Articles on both of these movement therapies fill numerous magazines and it seems “everyone who is anyone” is doing one or the other. Why all the excitement? What is so special about these techniques? What are the similarities and differences between Pilates and Yoga?


Yoga, as we all know it, is aimed to unite the mind, the body, and the spirit. Yogis view that the mind and the body are one, and that if it is given the right tools and taken to the right environment, it can find harmony and heal itself. Yoga therefore is considered therapeutic. It helps you become more aware of your body's posture, alignment and patterns of movement. It makes the body more flexible and helps you relax even in the midst of a stress stricken environment. This is one of the foremost reasons why people want to start practicing Yoga - to feel more fit, to be more energetic, be happier and peaceful. The Yoga movements are performed, mostly, in a group setting on a special Yoga mat with an aid of a Yoga instructor. The body's own weight is used for resistance and a great deal of focus is accorded to the flow from one posture into the other. There are many different Yoga styles and they differ in their emphasis. No one style is better than the other. The Style you use is a matter of personal preference or a matter of need.

Yoga Styles and Poses

Vinyasa Yoga, for example, makes use of modified yoga poses that are designed to meet the specific needs of an individual and to enhance healing, flexibility and strength of joints. The poses also intend to promote the feeling of well-being and strength. Practices may also include meditation, reflection, study and other classic elements, but the emphasis of this branch of Yoga practice is on coordinating breath and movement. As you can imagine, given the scope of practice, the inherent therapeutic applications and the heritage of the lineage, the training requirements for teacher certification are extensive.


Pilates seek to reach much the same goals, also via a series of controlled movements. The major difference is that the Pilates technique not only has a full complement of matwork, but it incorporates work on the Pilates machines. The emphasis of the exercises is to strengthen the abdominals, improve posture, stabilize and lengthen the spine, improve balance and overall strength. Pilates gives you a longer, leaner, dancer-like line.

Pilates Works the Whole Body

Unlike many other training programs, Pilates works the whole body, emphasizing control, precision and concentration in both the mind and the body. Movements are not performed rapidly or repeated excessively instead, the focus is on quality not quantity. The abdominal muscles, lower back and buttocks ("powerhouse") serve as the center of all movement, allowing the rest of the body to move freely. This focus on core stabilization makes one stronger from the inside out and is critical for the advancement of the client. The low impact nature of Pilates makes it ideal for injury prevention and rehabilitation. Its six principles-concentration, control, centering, breathing, flow and precision-train the body to move efficiently with minimal impact on the body. The balance between strength and flexibility creates a healthy, vigorous and symmetrical workout for all muscle groups resulting in a leaner, more balanced, and stronger body.

Working With Yoga and Pilates in Conjunction

If after reading about both techniques you are still left with a question of which of these two fitness techniques is right for you then here is the answer: Do them both in conjunction! The nature of the techniques makes it easy for them to complement each other. Get the stretch from Yoga and keep it from Pilates. Strengthen your abdominals on the reformer and watch your poses improve. Join the breathing techniques of Pilates and meditative aspect of Yoga into your daily routine and see the stress of your everyday life, begin to dissipate. Both techniques are time-proven, established, and with the help of an experienced instructor, you will surely reach the goals you set up for yourself!

Intro to Group Fitness, Part IV: Indoor Cycling

Back in college, I had a circa 1975 banana-yellow Gitane Tour de France, a French roadracing bike known for its general utility and relatively poor paint job and finishing. I road that fast, ugly little thing until the front and rear derailers exploded and I was forced to travel exclusively in top gear, which was not really conducive to a comfortable commute around hilly Olympia. I thought, “Well, this’ll be an easy fix. I’ll just modernize this relic.” But, as it turned out, for the same price I would’ve been able to purchase a nice, new entry-level bike. You see, there weren’t any universal machining standards for bikes before the late 70s, so parts that fit on American bikes wouldn’t fit on French bikes; updating this 30 year old French-threaded clunker would be astronomically expensive. And so it was with no bike that I submitted my resume to The Valley, and soon thereafter discovered Indoor Cycling.

Stationary bicycles have been around since the dawn of time. In fact, they were one of the ever-present contraptions in my friends’ homes during grade school that I’d unwittingly wreck myself on. Spinning the fixed gear as hard as I could, I’d be unable to maintain such a fast pace, and would lose most of the skin off the back of my calves as I attempted to jump off. Needless to say, I was a bit wary of Indoor Cycling for this reason. However, if Indoor Cycling were here for the sole purpose of spinning your legs off ‘til you crawled dejectedly into the corner, it wouldn’t be one of The Valley’s most successful programs, packing our 59 bike studio every day of the week. It was instructors like Kris, Karli, Kari, Scott, Aldo, Anne, Lorraine, and Maria who consistently got my butt out of bed or off the couch to relish in the joy of burning over 600 calories in an hour of inspiration, good music, and sweat drenched handlebars.

To really grasp the concept of Indoor Cycling, you’ve got to understand that the stationary bike has evolved leaps and bounds since the chain driven deathtraps of the past. Our Keiser m3 bikes are belt driven with magnetic resistance, each with its own slick, digital readout to track calories, watts, distance, and time (and your heart rate if you have a monitor). Utilizing these tools, you can easily develop goals all the way from peak performance to time spent on the bikes. Plus, each bike can be tailored to your personal riding preferences: I prefer a high seat, low bars set-up, so the telescoping handlebars are always dipped to the minimum, and the saddle is always, err, right up there. No biking shoes? We’ve got fully adjustable cages for the beginner or the pragmatic triathlete who rides in their running shoes.

But equipment can only go so far. Enthusiasm, support, and coordination with our other Valley Group Fitness programs allow Indoor Cycling to function as a springboard for many just making their way into the fitness world. Case in point: it’s a bike; you sit on it and put in work. You can’t ask for a better beginning. Those who desire a low impact workout outside of the water, look no further. And our instructors give you a reason to be there! Each has their own way of imparting encouragement and workout wisdom during class, and each develops their own ambience with musical selections to chock your iPod full of new cardio-sounds. So, if you’re a newbie, get in the ride! Here are some tips to start you out on the right foot:

1. Get some padded bike shorts. They’re cheap at Big 5 and will literally save your butt.

2. Bring a full waterbottle. You’re going to sweat, and you’re going to need to replace those fluids.

3. Let our instructors know you’re new to Indoor Cycling. They’ll make sure you’re set up perfectly on your bike.

You know, I still have that Gitane’s frame in my garage, and someday I intend to do something with it. But for now, it almost feels better to be surrounded by the pack in the Indoor Cycling studio where I know, rain or shine, the ride’s always going to great!

In Good Health,

Colin 


P.S.
Here's a funny video. Watch it all the way through.

Melissa Rourke's Weight Loss Story

Before I launch into a post about our Indoor Cycling Program, I received an inspiring email this weekend from member Melissa Rourke that I'd like to share. Below is Melissa's weight loss story, a testament to her own perseverance over 2+ years of reshaping her body and mind, as well as to our amazing Indoor Cycling instructors, Personal Trainer Brian Evans, and the welcoming fitness community here at The Valley.

In Good Health,

Colin

Melissa then...                                Melissa today: 120 lbs. lighter, infinitely happier!

 

Over two years ago, I found myself thirty years old, and at a weight that put me in the morbidly obese category.  As a busy lawyer with a demanding job, I felt I had no time to work out or eat better.  I relied on junk food to get through stress.  I have been overweight my whole teenage and adult life, and the problem seemed to get worse with each passing year.  I had tried various diets, but I would either quit before I started, or would quickly give up and return to my old patterns.  Exercise was difficult due to my size, and I self-consciously shied away from working out in public.  After years of ignoring cues from my body that something needed to change, I was at once numb, overwhelmed, and uncomfortable in my own skin.

I realized I could give up and accept a likely foreshortened future in an uncomfortable body that did not feel like mine.  Or, I could face the challenge before me.  If a battle with weight was part of my lot in life, I hated the thought of looking back at the end of my life and realizing I had let one of my biggest challenges beat me.   Though I felt like I had tried everything, the one thing I honestly had not tried was sticking long term to eating fewer calories and moving my body more.  I told myself if it were easy for me to live a fit lifestyle, I would have already done it.  I had the difficult, yet simple, choice to do what it took to make a change.  I decided to think of myself as a warrior for myself and the life I wanted.

I started on a pre-packaged meal plan.  I had some initial success, but then hit a plateau. Emotions that I had always buried with food began to surface.  How would I make this weight loss attempt different than so many others in my past?  

I sought out additional help.  I found a coach who began holding me accountable to my goals.  I began to see that my poor body image and negative self-talk about my weight had led me to making the choices I had made: I had to start thinking like a fit person in order to become one.  I began to see that I could deal with emotions and stress without turning to food.  I let go of all-or-nothing thinking.  Instead, I held myself accountable to making steady progress.  “Progress not perfection” became one of my mantras.  I stopped following the pre-packaged meal plan, and began trusting myself to stick to a certain calorie count and activity level each day.  As I shed weight, exercise became easier.  I took more walks, and began working out on an elliptical machine in my home.  My weight slowly yet steadily dropped.  

About eight months into my journey, I was bored with my workouts and weary of exercising alone.  Despite remaining self-consciousness, I pushed myself to make another change and joined The Valley.  Although I received a universally friendly welcome, I still felt out of place and out of shape.  But I knew I had to behave like a fit person in order to become one.  So I made my way to the gym.  I am a night person but I began setting my alarm for 4:45 AM and exercising before work so that I had no excuse to skip it. 

I tried my first spin class.  I was almost instantly hooked.  I found I loved and looked forward to these intense, yet relatively low impact workouts.  They were a new source of stress relief.  I also enjoyed that as a person who still felt woefully out of shape, I could still participate.  Because we were all on stationary bikes, I was still part of the group riding together even if I rode at my own pace.  I started with Kari's and Scott's morning spin classes that summer.  They made me feel welcome and included.  Soon, I was taking every spin class I could fit into my schedule.  I found I was disappointed on my off days to have to work out on my own.  Each fantastic Valley spin instructor pushed me to go further and ride harder with their own unique style.  

I began training with Brian Evans in his post-spin group training classes.  I had a number of muscle weaknesses and injuries from years of carrying extra weight and sitting at a desk all day, including significant lower back pain.  Brian skillfully helped me work around these challenges, ready with an unfaltering positive attitude and several great ways to train around any issue I presented.  Over time I have also added in some private training sessions with Brian.  He helps me compose my overall training schedules to keep me focused and reaching for new goals.   

I have now lost around 120 pounds!  I have a whole new set of tools that help me handle emotions and stress without turning to food.  My fitness journey has also unexpectedly changed the course of my career, as I have now become a full time coach with the company that helped me. I help others overcome emotional eating and master the inner game of fitness, and I love it.  I am training for my first half marathon, and these days I am finding more of a comfortable home in my own skin.  And I still take every spin class at The Valley that I can. 

I'm forever indebted to the staff and members at The Valley, and owe a particular thank you to Scott, Kari, Brian, Anne, Karli, and Trent, as well as Valley Member Sylvia Campbell, for helping me find a love of exercise that I haven't felt since I was a teenager.  You all helped me figure out how to make fitness an integral and fun part of my life.  I'm truly "back in the saddle" thanks to you all!   

You can find out more about me and my weight loss journey at melissarourke.com and thegreateru.com.”

Melissa Rourke

  

Intro to Group Fitness, Part III: Water Group Fitness

Continuing our month of Group Fitness, let’s take a look at the Water Group Fitness side of things. Perseverance takes on many forms, and in any case should be admired. There is the common perception of water aerobics as an activity for those with joint and other bodily pain, and it’s true that, for these folks, water aerobics tends to prove itself as one of the only alternatives to a sedentary lifestyle. In fact, according to new studies, exercise is crucial to staving off further degeneration of cartilage due to Arthritis by forcing blood flow to damaged areas. Because water aerobics offers both a resistant medium, as well as a low-impact environment, it serves as one of the most customizable group workouts we offer, as well as a perfect workout for those with joint pain or mobility issues. Depending on your conditioning, you can go buoyancy belt or no belt, resistance dumbbells or no dumbbells, leg weights or just plain kicking. The possibilities are countless! You may even choose between deep or shallow water depending on your mobility.

However, the above is a conversation that many of our instructors think is over-emphasized, namely that water aerobics is strictly for the elderly and of no use to those without joint pain or mobility issues. WGF instructor Sandy has instructed everything from high school track athletes to marathoners in the water, making darn sure they’re red faced and panting by the time class is over. She explained to me that your personal success in a class is due not only to the instructor’s enthusiasm – which you’ll experience plenty of here at The Valley – but your own personal drive to get the best workout of your life. Plus, this is definitely a way to abide by those principles outlined in Switching It Up to provide further variety for adaptations in your athleticism.

And we encourage you to come checkout our newest instructors, Patricia and Laurie, who’ve making waves at 5:30pm on Tuesday and Thursday. It’s time to get that bathing suit on and try something new for a change!

Join us next week for a peek at or Indoor Cycling program!

In Good Health,

Colin

Intro to Group Fitness, Part II: Zumba

Now, before I start writing this I’m going to admit that I’m the dork in the back of the hip-hop show, arms crossed, nodding to the beat. Sometimes, when I’m really fealin’ it, I’ll raise my right hand and whip my index finger at the stage repeatedly, a gesture that symbolizes, ‘This music is good. The artist’s wordplay is top par.’ These are the extent of my dance moves. So, to write about an aerobic dance class for me is, well, hard. But Zumba is, well, different. Uninhibited, all-encompassing, and most of all organic to its core, Zumba is the ‘happy accident’ that’s made fitness fun for millions

.

Created in the mid-90s by the Columbian fitness phenomenon, Beto Perez, Zumba’s conception was that of pure energetic creativity. Beto explains that he simply forgot his regular aerobics tapes on his way to class one day, and rather than canceling class he used the traditional Latin dance tapes he had in his backpack. The result was fitness disguised in fun! The focus of this new class moved from the number of reps completed, to the music’s inherent ability to get the body moving. Zumba is the Salsa, Merengue, Hip-Hop, Flamenco, and every-other-dance-genre-under-the-sun infused product of this one fateful day.

Of course there is basic form to learn, form that as one writer puts allows you to ‘…always fall back to an easy march and pick up the next step.’ This simplicity practically begs for elaboration and improvisation, whether it be on the part of the instructor or class participants. This infinitely variable skill level is one of the reasons why Zumba classes always seem fresh and accessible to anyone. There’s also the social aspect of dancing next to a number of people with diverse backgrounds and abilities, that ‘Group Effect’  that Les Mills classes depend on: you’re far less likely to give up when surrounded by others willing to persevere and have fun, and your far more likely to come back to a class with this familiar, supportive atmosphere than a treadmill or weight machine that gives no response to your labor. But, really, words are too little:

Really, you can’t argue with The View, which named Zumba one of the Best Workouts of 2012. And if you’d like to argue with The View, then the American College of Sports Medicine fitness trend report of 2012’s placement of Zumba in the top 10 fitness trends sweeping the nation may satiate your qualms. However, the real proof should be your experience in a Zumba class. So what are you waiting for? Zumba is offered 6 days a week here at The Valley: Monday at 5:30PM, Tuesday at 12:10PM, Wednesday at 6:45PM, Thursday at 10:30AM, Friday at 5:30PM, and Saturday at 9:30AM. Come join the fitness party today!

In Good Health,

Colin