Are you "Fit To Play?"

Hello My Friends: Debra Seeck, Lifestyle Fitness and Dance Coach Here!

(Angel is posting for me this time as I can’t seem to get into my log-in screen. We’ll figure that out, but for today she’s agreed to get my post up and out to all of you.)

It’s been a while my friends, but I’m back and ready to share about a great way to begin thinking and taking action around your play/fitness life…

Believe it or not, I like starting my mornings playing a difficult game of Sudoku. I have a Sudoku block set up in my computer on Excel. I fill in the numbers given from a Sudoku book, highlight them in red, hit the save button, and then take off filling in the empty boxes with all the possible variables in black. Once I have all the variables, then I can see the big picture. The picture though is like the phrase, “Can’t see the forest for the trees.” The answers are there but not directly visible.

So I take the next step. Within that big picture, I can see the “sets” that allow me to eliminate numbers in each square. Often the sets are not that obvious and that’s when I need to study the picture again and make amendments, sometimes even guess. There is hard work in dealing with some of the variables. Though they are in the big picture, they just don’t make sense.

However, perseverance always pays off for me. Once several squares have received the right number, the puzzles becomes a game of dominos. Everything just falls into place.
I follow the same regime every time I play Sudoku and I never walk away from the game without winning.

I can imagine many of you get tired of New Year’s resolution ads and the pressure of setting a resolution. I don’t because I don’t bother with them. I realized long ago when a change needed to happen; I needed to set the plan right then and there. What I have learned is, once the plan is in place, it’s like the game of Sudoku. All the variables need to be filled in to get the big picture to appear, and once the variables are tackled, one by one, the plan falls in place like dominos.

It’s the hard work of dealing with variables that can cause one to detour from the plan. Sticking to a weight loss program or a fitness program requires perseverance and the knowledge that once you get passed a certain point… it will fall in place like dominos.

Perseverance and knowledge towards a well set plan are the keys to winning a game.

So keep playing a winning game!

Debra Seeck
Lifestyle Fitness and Dance Coach

Fit to Play: "Cross Training for the 20th Century"

I recently read, "Play is cross training for the 20th century. The idea that you can improve fitness through play is unquestionable." The article went on to say that participating in different activities that may be physically challenging yet offer safe ranges of motion can prevent BOREDOM!

I knew that. I recently had a wonderful friend, Johnny, visit me from Lafayette, Louisiana. He's an active person and stays fit. I took him on a grand tour of Oregon where elevation gain is inevitable. We hiked to the top of Multnomah Falls, the 2nd tallest waterfall in the United States. We climbed sand hill in Pacific City. One step up is a half step backwards. We went creek hiking in the middle fork of the Santiam River where the water is cold, the rocks are hard and the current is swift. And, we danced for hours.

He wrote to me upon his return home claiming he was exhausted, his calves were aching but he was so happy that he pushed himself because it was "sooo much fun." This is one of the best testimonials to the benefits of play. Johnny and I connected with our environment through play. We participated in different activities, ones that were adventurous and took Johnny out of his comfort zone . We played hard and loved every minute of it.

We were cross training without even knowing it. Our activities were so much fun, we didn't care how exhausted we were at the end of the day. And, we were never bored. Johnny said he'd remember this trip for a long time. So will I.

What is your cross training plan? Go out and play!

Debra Seeck
Lifestyle Fitness and Dance Coach
www.mzjitterbug.com
debra@mzjitterbug.com

Fit to Play: Use the TV Commercial Break as Your "Get Up & Move Break"

Time is a commodity just like the air. It is perpetual and plentiful. Yet, we always seem to run out of time, often when it comes to activities for our health.

I was given an assignment in college to sit and watch a half hour news program. During the watching, I was to record the type of story and the length of each story. I was also to record the length of the commercials included in the half hour. This was a public relations class and the assignment dealt with the issue of what we, the public, need to know. My reporting in class was the amount of time during the half hour that provided me information that I believed I needed to know. The result – not much!

So where is this going, you ask? An interesting note and I am sure many of you already know this, is the amount of commercial time in that half hour was rather ridiculous; something close to 11 minutes.

Now let’s consider your favorite one hour television program. If a half hour program holds as much as 11 minutes of commercial time, one can assume an hour program will consume about 20 minutes worth of commercial time. In my opinion, without actually sitting, watching and counting the minutes, it would not surprise me that there are closer to 25 minutes of commercial time in a one hour television program.

For those of you who cannot find the time to exercise, I offer the following. During every commercial break of your favorite television show, "Get Up & Move". For example, during the first commercial break, perform 20 sit ups and then dance; the second you could perform 10 push ups and then dance; the third, do 20 knee lifts and dance; the fourth, jog in place or just dance. I suggest getting the family involved. See who can giggle the most during one of the commercial breaks. Just start laughing and laugh until the break is over (as if you can turn off laughing like a light switch)!

Imagine the change in your fitness level if you did this every day. Remember, your fitness regime does not have to happen in one lump sum of time. Use any commercial break as your “Get up and Move” Break!

Debra Seeck, Lifestyle Fitness & Dance Coach
debra@mzjitterbug.com
www.mzjitterbug.com

Fit To Play

Excerpt from “Play in Unison” by Debra Seeck

“The breathe. The pulse. The heart beat….Body rhythms.

We were all born to dance.”

I was fortunate to be born into a Midwest German farm community where dancing was just part of the culture. Okay, yes, it was Polka music and dancing. But, we danced, all 600 of us. The only qualification was you must be at a walking age to be on the dance floor. I was probably three. I remember my first “dance” was being able to run across the wooden dance floor and slide without running into a couple dancing the Two-step, the Waltz, the Foxtrot or the Polka. Actually, I stayed out of the way when the Polka was danced. It was faster and my timing was usually a bit off. A collision with a German couple dancing was unacceptable and had unpleasant consequences, “Don’t Ya Know!”

The Polka band accordion player had a lisp. My sister and I, along with my dad, still try to talk like him. Oh, it is so not right to mock him. The reality is we loved him. He was the one who kept our family dancing and together. He sang his heart out; he did, while playing the piano note accordion to the ohm-pa-pa of the drum beat behind him. His music generated the movement on the dance floor. And, it was beautiful.”

There, I’ve told you a little bit about me. But there is so much more to being a farm girl. I had the fortune as a child of playing Tag in the barn and Hide & Go Seek at night with my siblings and cousins. And, of course, we spent hours running to catch the fireflies to make our “bug lantern.”

Childhood games! Lucky for me, the games haven’t ended. At the age of 50, I still play Tag and Hide & Go Seek. The giggles are the most precious of the games.

So, how about you? Do you still play Tag and Hide & Go Seek? When was the last time those of you in the Midwest made a “bug lantern?” Imagine organizing an adult outing of any one of those games. The fun could be immense…just as immense as the energy exertion… but without the structure and the doldrums of a formal workout. Give it a go! The Adult Recess – plan one today!

Debra Seeck

www.mzjitterbug.com

debra@mzjitterbug.com

For a full copy of "Play in Unison" send a request to me.

Fit To Play Wednesday: Dance for Heart's Sake

Have you heard the phrase, "Dance like no one is watching." Consider the following information to inspire you to do just that.

(Excerpt from an Associated Press article titled, "Prescription: Dance for Heart's Sake.")

"CHICAGO, IL : Italian researchers have come up with a novel way for cardiac rehabilitation patients to exercise their damaged hearts without having to squeeze into spandex or gyrate in a gym: waltzing.

The dance proved to be just as effective as bicycle and treadmill training for improving exercise capacity in a study of 110 heart failure patients. Dancers also reported slightly more improvement in sleep, mood, and the ability to do hobbies, do housework and have sex than the others."

If you're not interested in learning the waltz, try east coast swing or salsa or the two-step. Imagine your playground filled with music and dance. Then jump in and enjoy!

Debra Seeck, Lifestyle Fitness and Dance Coach
www.mzjitterbug.com
debra@mzjitterbug.com

New fun for our Leading Ladies: Fit To Play!

Hello Incredible Leading Ladies!

Well it’s time to bless you with another new addition to Leading Ladies Lounge—now you’ll have another reason to hang out and feel the Leading Ladies love!

Starting May 30, Our very own In-Lounge Lifestyle Fitness and Dance Coach, Debra Seeck, will drop in from time to time and post a new tip or inspiration around creating, maintaining or celebrating a fitness plan that will get your fabulous body moving to the beat of your own amazing drum—a beat that Debra helps her clients find through “Fit to Play!” We think of her as the Play Goddess! You’ll see what we mean when you visit LoungeTalk and see what tidbit she has to share with you about how to create the fitness playground of your dreams.



Note: We welcome your thoughts, questions and comments so please feel free to post or email us whenever the spirit moves! You’re why Leading Ladies is here so don’t be shy.


You can reach me anytime at angel@leadingladieslounge.com


Love, abundance and blessings to each of you Leading Ladies!

Coach Angel