New Videos

Want to know more about our services before trying them out, or maybe just want to see some eye-candy working out hard?  Follow us on Facebook where we will be releasing a new video every few days for the next month.  Here’s where you can see the first one.

Scheduling And Payment Software

Starting next week clients will be able to see their trainer’s available appointments online and put in a request for a specific time.  Also, for your convenience you’ll be able to purchase sessions right on our website.  Try it out.  We’d love to have your feedback.

New Trainer

We are proud to welcome Leslie Ann Quillen to our team!  In addition to being a Personal Trainer, Leslie Ann brings a strong background in Martial Arts and Group Exercise to the team.  We’re lucky to have her.  Say hello when you see her around the studios and get in her schedule before it fills up.  Look for her bio on our website soon.

Pilates in the Park

Pilates in the Park mat class ended Saturday, May 7th with a fantastic picnic!  To ensure that this great cost efficient option will continue on Saturday, May 21st @9AM, register with Heather by Wednesday, May 18th!  You can get five Pilates mat classes for only $100!

Purple Heart Pilates

Many people have heard of Pilates, but few are aware that the man who started it, Joseph Pilates, did so as a service to rehabilitate wounded soldiers who fought in World War 1.  Purple Heart Pilates is a new initiative Heather and her husband have started through his non-profit where Purple Heart military veterans can receive personalized Pilates training at no-cost.  We are so excited to be able to offer this!  Check out Purple Heart Pilates’ Facebook page for more info and click “Like”.  We would appreciate your help to spread the word!

Martial Arts Special Offer

This month only, your first two personalized, one-on-one Martial Arts lessons are half off – an $85 value.

Christian’s Book

In case you missed it last month, Christian began posting the rough draft of his book to our blog.  Give it a read and you may find that health never made so much sense.  Three posts are in, with more to come soon.  Check back often.

Next Boot Camp

Our next outdoor boot camp starts May 30th.  12 awesome, outdoor workout for only $240.  If you’re looking for great, economical way to get/stay fit this summer boot camp may be just the kick in the pants you need.  Check out our website for more details.

Nope…It’s not Chocolate Ice Cream.  It’s Liver…ah, Liver.

Let’s be honest folks, liver is an acquired taste–maybe the quintessential acquired taste.  I don’t think I can ever recall a hungry person someone saying to me “You know what sounds so good right now…LIVER”.  Nope, never heard it…suspect I never will.  But, while it may not be on your North American, Western palate of “Top 5 Favorite Foods,” it is without a doubt the most nutritious food in the world— it is so deeply nourishing that it can empower your body to deal with or prevent a host of ailments.  Because of that I would love to help inspire alternate ways for liver consumption in your life.

So what if I could help you find a way to get the world’s most nutrient dense food in you without any objections from your tongue?  HA!  You may be thinking.  No objections from my palate…yeah right.  I was thinking the same thing after my last miserable attempt at preparing liver and had decided to write off this superfood once and for all.  Problem is I am a victim of my own knowledge.  I wish I could pretend I didn’t know how healthy liver is, or that my body didn’t need the nutrients so densely pack in the confines of this organ, that this delicacy seems to help when other dietary changes have failed, but I can’t.  My “no-more-liver” stance came to an end last week when I heard that one of my food heroes (Monica Corrado – Real Food chef and holistic nutrition educator) was teaching a class on liver.  If anyone could help me redeem liver it was her.  Fingers crossed and nose plugged, I decided to give it one more try.  Stay with me folks; it’s time to bring out the sauté pan and your…juicer.  What?

If I haven’t already “misplaced” you at sauté pan, keep reading.  I must admit pan sautéed liver is my LEAST favorite way to eat nature’s most nutrient dense food.  But, much to my delight there are options besides pan sautéed.  Now first, the most important thing, I must compel you to want to eat liver.  Be brave…keep reading.

There was much wisdom to a traditional family weekly meal of liver and onions. Most every time I have a conversation about liver with someone, they grimace, and recall some distant memory of “grandma” or “mama” or someone of the sorts making them consume it on a weekly basis…that certainly was not the case with me, and I almost wish it was. I think perhaps I would like it more than I do if I had the nostalgia of a Sunday night hallmark special with this pungent dish. After the grimace and a story about the last time someone ate liver, I sometimes get the response that liver must be toxic, because it is a “detoxifying organ”.  Good thought, thankfully the liver does not hold onto the toxins it filters, rather it is the fat tissue around the liver that performs this function.

What Makes it So Nutritious?

Similar to sucking spoonfuls of fermented cod liver oil, or hastily gulping water and super greens powder, the reason I eat liver is simple: it is exceptionally good for me, and I am convicted about being the best steward of my body as I can be.  How healthy is liver?  Check out the chart from the World’s Healthiest Foods and noticed the Daily Values of each nutrient.  I challenge you to find anything that even comes close!

www.worldshealthiestfoods.com

It’s a little hard to read, but yes in 4oz of liver you would get 689% of your daily minimum requirement of B12 (hello vegetarians!), 609% of Vitamin A, 215% of folate (hello pregnant and post baby mamas!)…you get the point. The stuff is loaded, but that isn’t even all of the good news.

No, the good news is that you will never need to sit down and consume 4oz of liver at once. This stuff is so nutrient dense, you only need to eat a tiny bit at a time.  If you’re an athlete looking for sources of quality protein, it doesn’t get better than this.  Liver is nature’s most concentrated source of vitamin A, it contains all of the B’s, folic acid and contains highly usable form of iron. It is a perfect post work out snack, it is high in CoQ10—an anti-fatigue factor and a nutrient that greatly benefits cardio-vascular function.  Want to find out more? Check out The Liver Files on www.westonaprice.org where you can see research done on the many benefits of consuming this amazingly rich food, as well as get inspired with recipes.

How to Prepare It

As I mentioned above, to get inspired I went to a liver class by Monica Corrado of simplybeingwell.com. She started the class by pulling a chunk of calves liver out of the freezer, cutting it into small ¼ inch cubes and offered us to just shoot it…Liver Shooter. Yes. That is me swallowing whole chunks of frozen calf’s liver. I must say, it was pretty painless (thanks Monica!) I see myself doing this on a regular basis! The only issue with this method would be taking the time to dissect our frozen livers into cubes and figuring out a way to place them back in the freezer with out them all melding together in one big clump again…Anyone have any suggestions?  This idea basically leaves you with the most natural and least processed multi vitamin on the planet! No chewing, no aftertaste, no problem.  Just make sure you keep fresh liver frozen it for at least two weeks before eating it.

My second favorite way to consume liver that I learned from this class is with a liver tonic. This recipe is straight out of Nourishing Traditions Cookbook (on sale in our studio).  I have turned the page past this recipe several times, and never mustered up the courage to try it—until now.  You can also view the recipe on the liver files, link above)

Page 612, Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

Pottenger Liver Tonic

1 small chunk pasture fed beef or lamb liver frozen for at least 14 days

4-6 oz tomato juice

Dash of Tabasco

Squeeze of lime juice

1 TBS whey – let me know if you need me to teach you how to make this.

Here’s how you make it:

1. Grate the liver finely to obtain about 1-2 teaspoons.
2. Mix with tomato juice, lime juice, whey and seasonings (to taste)
3. Drink immediately.

I gotta tell ya folks, I could have sworn this would never happen…but I went back for seconds.

Here’s the best part: This juice would be something you could serve the most unsuspecting child (or husband) and they would NEVER know that they were getting a dose of something so good.  The small ground up liver reminded me of pulp, if it was even noticeable at all…helping me forget I was actually drinking raw liver!

The cook book has a similar recipe on the same page using freshly squeezed orange juice instead of tomato. I’m looking forward to trying it!

Also in Monica’s class, we made “dirty rice” and a pretty decent pate, the latter I have since made for my family (first picture above) with much success using almost as much butter as I use liver .  In her class I also tried really really hard to enjoy her breaded and pan fried calves liver (soaked over night in lemon juice to take the edge off) but alas I just could not.  I snuck into the kitchen trying to avoid Monica seeing the chunks of liver on my plate headed for the garbage disposal, but she caught me, and with one swoop, grabbed the liver off my plate, put it in her own mouth exclaiming “delicious” and proceeded to lightly scold me for wasting such perfect food!  I bowed my head shamefully. I am still the padawan and she is the Jedi.  If a gourmet-seasoned chef couldn’t get me to eat the stuff…perhaps I should stick to one of the other options.

That said, 4 successful attempts out of 5 at making liver palatable, I’ll take it!  I was only hoping for 1.  For now I’m sticking with liver 1) in a frozen “multivitamin,” 2) in juice, 3) grated in rice and 4) pureed into a pate with a boatload of butter, these dishes will be gracing our dinner table at least once a month.  Tell me, are you inspired?

What brought you to Health and Wholeness?

I was tired: Tired of my lower back hurting, tired of my shoulder hurting.  I knew “how to work out” from my high school days, college days, and Army days.  Unfortunately, I would do the same routine over and over and developed tendonitis from overuse and then I’d push through the pain…not a technique I’d recommend.  Once I was out of the Army, I stopped working out as hard so that my body could rest and heal.  Well, my body never healed properly because the lower back pain got worse and my shoulder was useless, couldn’t even do a push up.  Yeah, it hurt that bad when I began with Christian.  My civilian job is sedentary, plus I am from the South and love comfort food….disaster in the making.  I’m also the person that thought, “Who needs a trainer, waste of money.”

In December 2010, I swallowed my pride and searched for “personal trainers Arlington, va” on Google and found Health and Wholeness.  Don’t get me wrong, it took some weeding out of websites to find Health and Wholeness.  I was already going to a gym across the street from my apartment and saw how they operated.  My feeling was that the personal trainers at the gym were a “one size fits all” type and the trainer only spent 30 minutes with you.  I knew I needed a total body reconstruction and rehabilitation.  Once I read Christian’s profile and saw that he had overcome shoulder issues, I knew that was the trainer for me.  During the one hour consultation, Christian sat down and truly listened to me.  I even told Christian that if we had to start with exercising my toes, then that’s what we have to do.   It’s been almost five months since I started with Christian and I can truly feel a positive difference from when I started.  My shoulder pain only shows up on a rare occasion and now I’m “strong like bull.”

How many days a week do you train and for how long?

I train M-W-F with Christian and on Tuesdays I go to Heather for Pilates to work on my lower back.  Heather helped reduce the pain in my lower back after the first or second session.  My back still hurts every once in a while, but I know what the cause is, not engaging my core (in Pilates’ terms) or not “sucking in that gut” (in Army terms).  I also did 10 sessions with Jeremy for MAT once a week, which helped my shoulder.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I will try; key word is “try,” to get to my gym across the street from my apartment and get about 30 minutes of cardio in, 10 x 30 second sprints with 30 seconds of rest in between and then walk on the treadmill for the remaining time.  Once in a while on the weekend, I will go hiking or backpacking.  If I have Yoko, the service dog in training that I foster a few weekends a month for the Paws for Purple Hearts organization, then I will take her for a couple of long walks over the weekend.

What is/are your biggest motivator(s)?

Watching Jeremy cry when I beat his bench press record.  Of course he had to beat me the following week.  In all honesty, not physically hurting is a huge motivator for me.  I still have lower back pain, but knowing how to control it by engaging my core is huge for me.  I also just feel good except after the Prowler Challenge.

What is the most significant change you have made/noticed since coming to Health and Wholeness?

Diet.  I’ve definitely started eating more quality food and less processed food.  That has been and probably will be my biggest challenge the rest of my life.  I like food and eating out; however, I’ve definitely cut back.  I get lazy and bored with eating healthy and the trainers do a good job helping me stay focused.

What advice would you give someone starting on his or her own health journey?

Buy a Nike T-shirt and just do it or as someone told me in the past, “No time like the present.”  The benefits outweigh any excuse you give yourself.  It’s not fun at first and probably hurts, but as you keep going you will see changes you never thought could happen.  You will also develop self-confidence that you never saw before especially after breaking a house record or surviving a workout that you never thought would end.

We’re almost mid-way through the year now, the sun is shining on us a bit more, Memorial Day is around the corner and your local swimming pool is opening up.  You’ve presumably stuck to your New Year’s resolutions, hitting the weights hard, eating right, doing your cardio, and taking your own steps towards fitness success.  Right?

So how can you keep this momentum going? How do you avoid hitting a plateau?

Remember first and foremost, that this commitment to health and fitness is a lifestyle.  It’s important to consider that you set goals in both the short-term, so you have measurable milestones you can achieve and keep you going, but also ones for the long-term.  Both strategies will help push you to achieve more, and keep you motivated as time goes on.

Tips to stick with it:

1)    Set mini, measurable goals that you achieve. Say you can bench press 45 lbs for 8 reps and you want to get stronger.  Every week, every time you slide under the barbell, add a little more weight (you can safely add up to 2% from your previous lift) or see if you can complete one more additional rep. Either way, it’s measurable success, and something you can safely build upon.

2)    Set long-term goals, and make them concrete. Create the bigger picture of where you see yourself in a few months or a year. Maybe you want to be able to slip into a size 34 size pant (guys) and you’ve got 6 inches to lose from your waist. Go out and buy those pants NOW and every month, measure yourself to make sure you’re reaching a consistent monthly reduction in inches off the waist.  Pair that strategy with activity and a sensible diet!

3)    Reward yourself. Treat yourself for a milestone reached.  Get a massage, schedule a vacation, pedicure, a new pair of shorts, go see a movie, buy a book, take a mental health day off of work (you know really you want that), or maybe indulge in that cupcake you’ve been eyeing.  Whatever it is, you deserve it for your hard work!

4)    Make sure you take breaks. Even elite athletes and bodybuilders take measured rest periods after hard training seasons, and you should too.  Rest helps rejuvenate your muscles, and it’s when they grow.  Some people need breaks every 6 weeks, some 12 weeks, and some can go a little longer.  Either way, your body will likely protest if you’ve been doing the same thing for too long. Your progress stalls, you hit a plateau, and you no longer feel the same level of motivation when you head out the door for the gym. Both your body and mind need the break. Circumvent that by taking rest periods, lasting 4-7 days after 12 weeks of hard training, in general.

Avoid Burnout, Take Rest

5)    Choose an exercise program you can stick to, and designed for you. It’s easy to lose motivation if you select an exercise program that isn’t suited to your level of fitness.  You pick something you might have seen in a magazine, or order some DVD you saw on an infomercial, try it out, only to injure yourself.  Choose intelligently designed exercise programs (and trainers!) who understand how to periodize programs for your level of fitness.  That way, you stay safe and motivated.

6)    Find training buddies at the gym or office, become someone else’s role model (you are!), and inspire someone else to achieve. Lots of my clients are frequently asked what they are doing (to get fit) and how they did it.  Like it or not, you might now be someone else’s positive role model.  Inspire them to achieve and maybe pickup a new training partner. When you know someone’s waiting for you at the squat rack, you can’t let them down.

Good luck, and stick with it!

Written by Sumi Singh: www.goddessoffitness.com