First I attended a pre-convention workshop with Paul Chek's. I have been studying with Paul for the last 15 years and have taken almost every class and workshop that he has offered. If you've never heard of him you need to check him out https://www.paulcheksblog.com/. His workshop was intense, as always.  I learned a lot about myself and about working with clients. He talked about the 4 doctors that everyone should know, Dr. diet, Dr. quiet, Dr happiness, and Dr. movement. You need to know these doctors, you can check them out here http://www.ppssuccess.com/Portals/0/docs/Last4DoctorsChapter.pdf.

Fascia classes and workshops

There were a lot of workshops on the fascia, everything from exercises and stretches for fascia to tools that work the fascia. It seems that there is so much more to learn then we had thought. Check out Melinda's blog to learn more about fascia. Also, check out the video below on the new research.

Group classes

• Barre classes are still going strong. Most importantly they are also adding in myofascial work into their classes.

• Indoor cycling is holding it's own and still strong.

• Pilates classes got a lot of attention. I notice there are more studios going in where I live.

• Functional aging classes using weights and classes like Qi Gong are becoming more popular. I teach Qi Qong if you get a chance to take a class give it a try you will be gratefully surprised.

• Yoga will never slow down even though there weren't as many classes offered at the convention as in the past.

• Coaching is very popular for all health, wellness, and fitness needs.

• Kangoo Jumps are back. I took this class 15 years ago. You won't find a class that's more fun! Check out the video of the convention below for a sneak peek of this class.

• HIT, TRX, and Bootcamp class not still out there but not as much attention as in the past.

• Holistic training and coaching with people like Paul Chek are making a big place in the fitness market. Fitness enthusiast are wanting a more custom program to their fitness and nutrition programs.

Personal Training

More people are doing small group training, this is where 3 to 4 people train together in a group. Our group training at Elite Physiques is all custom-designed, each person has a different program depending on their goals and needs. There are people that still want that intense one on one interaction, I love working with them.

New Products

Here are some of the new products in the Health and Fitness industry. They make great Christmas gifts! The vibration plates were big at the expo. They have many benefits including increased strength and bone density, weight loss, and more. We have one in our studio and clients love it. We do small group training 3 to 4 people with custom programs.  During their hour of training, I have them on it one to two times for 3 to 4 minutes at a time. Everyone uses it a little different depending on their level.

The massage guns were even more popular than the vibration plates. I have the Sonic X by, LifePro Fitness and use on myself as well as my clients. I have a knee injury and I'm using it to stretch the fascia and work the tissue to bring in blood flow. It's been about 6 weeks and I can already tell a difference. I'm also using it on a client's traps and shoulder, she's a golfer and says she has more range of motion and less tension in her upper body. She is buying one for her husband for Christmas, I guess that's a sneaky way to get something you want:). Some other fascia related products at the expo were vibration balls and rollers. Use my code to get a discount on any of the products below. https://lifeprofitness.com/discount/SHERRYMACDONALD

LifePro Rhythm Vibration Plate Machine

LifePro 3D Turbo Vibration Plate Exercise Machine

Sonic X Personal Percussion Massage Gun

Pulse Fx Powerful Rotating Percussion Massage Gun

Check out this video I put together from The Canfit Pro convention because you don't want to miss the sneak peck of the  Kangoo Jump class. Let me know what you think.

I hope you are working out and staying healthy. Try this 30-day workout challenge for something different. Maybe you can try some of the classes above that you haven't tried yet. Leave a commit below to let me know what you liked.

Be Well,

Sherry

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When we release and let go, we create space to evolve and move forward.

Letting go of the extra weight

This is a good time to let go of the extra weight make a commitment to loving yourself and to become a healthier you! There is no such thing as a quick fix diet. Let go of all diets and make eating healthy a daily habit. Read "This Is How You Loss Weight".

Having to much stuff and clutter can cause stress and chaos in your life. This alone can cause you to hang on to extra weight. So follow the tips below and see how letting go can change so much in your life including your weight.

You might also what to check out this blog post on letting go of sadness Happify Daily.

If your home is less organized than you’d like, it can have an effect on other areas of your life. Creating a life that is free from mess and chaos isn’t as difficult as you might think, even if you have little ones to factor into the equation. De-cluttering is a must for a calmer, less stressful life. These tips should help to de-clutter your life!

Go For Small, Quick Wins

Think of de-cluttering as a work in progress. Sure, you want everything to be streamlined and organized but it doesn’t have to happen today. Focus on small wins that you can tackle each day. Over time, they add up to a less cluttered, calmer and more organized home and life. Adopting this mindset can be super important for making de-cluttering a big part of your life going forward and creating a life that is calmer and less chaotic.

Get rid of the Trash

Some of what looks like clutter is actually trash that no one has gotten around to throwing away or recycling yet. If you move around your home looking for items that fall into this category, you’ll probably be surprised to see how quickly you fill a trash bag.

Once your home is clear of trash, you can swap this tip to filling a trash bag full of items that can be recycled or donated.

Set Up a Central Communications Point

In a cluttered home, lots of things can slip through the cracks and get lost. It could be important bits of paperwork that you can never seem to find amongst general clutter.

Keeping paperwork together in a central place that can be a game-changer for keeping stress to a minimum. When you know you need to access this kind of paperwork, just head for the place you’ve chosen to store it. This can be as simple as a basket or collapsible folder.

Store Clutter in Hampers

Not got enough storage in your home for bed linen, blankets, toys and other items that just seem to take over? Store them in hampers.

Do the 12-12-12 Challenge

For every 36 items, you come across, aim to throw out 12 of them, donate 12 of them and put the other 12 where they “should” live in your home. Not sure what should fall into each category? Think about how much you really love and need a particular item. What do you actually gain by keeping it in your life and would it make any difference to your life if you parted with it? Asking these kinds of questions can help you to see if you’re holding onto items because of past attachments or because of genuine need.

Another trick is to think about how much you’d be willing to pay if you bought that same item today or if you moved, would you take it with you (this is what I always ask myself)?

This challenge has been known to add a very competitive element to de-cluttering and you can even get the rest of the family involved in getting organized.

De-cluttering Your Life

Your home may be the main thing that springs to mind when you think about de-cluttering but what about streamlining the rest of your life too? De-cluttering your life is another smart move for keeping chaos to a minimum.

Reducing your non-essential commitments: Struggling to get free time with a super hectic social diary? Take a step back and think about how many of your social commitments are actually essential. Do they all bring you happiness or do you find some of them stressful? Streamline your commitments to ones that are either essential or pleasurable. Anything else can go!

De-cluttering your day-to-day routine: When it comes to the average day, how much of a structure do you tend to have? Lots of people tackle their to-do list at random and this can affect how productive they are. It’s also a surefire way to add more stress and uncertainty. Having more structure around your to-do list can make a huge amount of difference. Write down everything you need to do during the week and allocate it to specific windows in your schedule. This way, you know everything will be done and that can bring a sense of calmness in itself.

De-cluttering your friendships: Even your friendships can be decluttered, especially if you feel that there are people in your life who are draining you, rather than providing positive energy and support. It can sometimes feel like any type of friendship is better than nothing but toxic friendships can be hugely stressful. Decluttering your friendships can be super liberating and free up unnecessary stress and negativity from your life.

It's time to let go! I hope you found some of these things helpful. What tips are you going to incorporate into your life?

Happy letting go,

.Sherry

Fortunately, hiking provides a nice alternative to the gym, and with summer right around the corner, it might be time to do it more often. Hiking is, by itself, great exercise, but a few minor additions to your hike can transform into a full-on outdoor workout. If you are a workout enthusiast, you may consider adding hemp-derived CBD to your daily supplement. Although the rapid increase in population may make people wonder if it's worth the hype, there are some scientific backups to support it. Many times, after a great workout session or while hiking, the muscles become sour, and you are unable to move them properly, along with the unbearable pain that comes with it. Since CBD is already known for its ability to relieve pain and inflammation, it has been noted that cannabidiol reduces inflammation and improves mobility, which could be very beneficial to people who enjoy pushing their bodies during physical fitness activities. If you plan to go hiking, you can bring CBD oil with you. It might help you relax your muscles for the time being. All you have to do is conduct a quick search for CBD oils UK (or any other location for that matter) and you may find several brands that might serve you with the best of their collections.

Add Weights

The extent of the workout you get from hiking depends on where you hike. If your route has lots of steep inclines and declines, you are in for a great full-body exercise. Flatter routes, though, make it more of a challenge to get in a dynamic workout (a likely scenario if you're hiking in Ohio).

To change this, one thing you can do is use weights. You could attach ankle weights, which, among their many benefits, help build endurance and tone muscles, or you could carry small hand weights. Even just three pounds will go a long way towards increasing muscle tone and endurance. If you're new to walking with weights, start small and gradually build up so as to avoid injury.

Use Technology

Hiking and technology have a tenuous relationship. Diehards want tech as far away from hiking as possible, whereas others see it as a great tool to enhance the activity. The numerous hiking apps available, though, show how properly applied technology can be a great addition to your hike.

One app, MapMyHike, is great because it not only tracks hiking statistics such as distance traveled, speed and time, but it also links to fitness apps to measure your heart rate, count steps and much more.

You can use this information to track your hikes and set goals for future ones. For example, aiming to reduce your times will push you to go faster, enhancing your cardio workout. The one downside of these apps, though, is that they use GPS tracking and often require personal information to give accurate readings. Make sure you protect yourself so that you don't end up regretting entering all this data into your phone.

https://www.lifewire.com/hiking-gps-apps-1683617

Mix in Exercise

Make your hikes more dynamic by adding some basic exercises either when you're on the trail or when you take a break. Some examples are:

• Standing push-ups off trees
• Sit ups
• Hopping and skipping (great leg workout)
• Lunges (great way to make flat stretches more challenging)

Simply going for a hike is already a great step towards being more active, but a few small additions to this activity can turn it from a healthy leisure activity to a fun and dynamic workout. Make sure to stretch before you head out, rest often and drink plenty of water. But beyond that, the world is your gym-go out and enjoy it!

About the Author: Caroline is a health and tech blogger through the week and an avid hiker on weekends. Being in the outdoors allows her to enjoy nature and also to stay active, something her job doesn't give her. She will often skip the gym for a hike, and she doesn't mind if people look at her funny as she skips along the trail.

So, get outside and turn your hike into an outdoor workout. Leave a commit below and let us know what creative ways you workout while hiking.

Happy Hiking!

Work up to 3 sets of 10 to 20 reps.  

Keep your head up and shoulders back on this one leg squat.

 This is a one-legged deadlift, for the back of your upper legs and glutes. Use a chair if you need to hang on to something for balance and don't go so low.

Here is a blog post that talks about which muscle groups should you work out first. Also, check out this post on bodyweight exercises you can anywhere for your legs 6 bodyweight exercise for the legs.

What are your favorite exercises for your glutes hips and legs? Please leave a commit below we love hearing from you!

What do you think about this infographic for portion control? Will the hand method work for you? Do you have another method of keeping track of how much you eat?

To smaller portions,

Look inside (Mind Heart Health)

1) Have a healthy mind by staying positive!

2) When mean or sad thoughts come along send them away, fast!

3) Love and be loved. Keep an open heart and let others in to help you.

4) Find your passion and live/love it.

5) Be kind to your body. Don't load it with trash foods.

6) Take quit time to meditate or pray.

7} Exercise to stay strong and healthy.

8) Visit a heart doctor for regular checkups.

Look Outside (work, family, fun, social)

1} Balance your work family life. Take one day a week for you and your family, have some fun!

2) Make work a fun positive place.

3} You need to take care of you first, family second. (if you are not together how can you take care of anyone else?)

4) Spend time really talking with your family (no TV)

5) Have friends and spend time with them.

6) Give enough time to your spouse or partner that can ensure a healthy relationship.

7) Sexual intimacy can be equally important. Try finding new ways (such as including sex toys like Thrusting dildo or fake pussy during your sexual act) to spice up your sex life.

8) Have some fun! Do what you love and laugh often.

Here are some life quotes I thought I would share with you. If you want to find some more, life hacks has tons of quotes that you can read! Share with us your favorite quote below.

"Love what you do and do what you love. Don't listen to anyone else who tells you not to do it. You do what you want, what you love. Imagination should be the center of your life."
? Ray Bradbury

"If you can't believe in miracles, then believe in yourself. When you want something bad enough, let that drive push you to make it happen. Sometimes you'll run into brick walls that are put there to test you. Find a way around them and stay focused on your dream. Where there's a will, there's a way."
? Isabel Lopez, Isabel's Hand-Me-Down Dreams

"Follow your dreams. I am not saying it's going to be easy, but I am saying it's going to be worth it. – Moffat Machingura"
? Moffat Machingura

"I don't believe we should carry backup
plans in life's suitcase-

they're too easy to unpack

like living a life in yoga pants,
so comfortable our hips spread
into new timezones..."
? Kelli Russell Agodon, Hourglass Museum

"Have courage. Open your heart, and listen to what your dreams tell you. Follow those dreams, because only a person who is not ashamed can manifest the glory of God.
There is no sin but the lack of love. Have courage, be capable of loving, even if love appears to be a treacherous and terrible thing. Be happy in love. Be joyful in victory. Follow the dictates of your heart.
Meet obligations in life. But obligations never prevented anyone from following their dreams."
? Paolo Coelho

How do you rate do you know where to look for a balanced life? What are you favorite life quotes? Let us know below.