What's your passion?

So often you hear of people hating their jobs, and it makes life so hard and stressful because we spend so much time at work! I believe that we have all been given special gifts and skills and if we follow our passions and what we LOVE to do, then those skills tend to be used...and you are VERY good at it!
I know its hard because sometimes your passion may be way off what you do for a living but financially you need the job, there may be an opportunity in your workplace to highlight your skills though and doing that would spark up your passion at your workplace.
For example; I have heard of people working for a big corporation at a "desk job" but they have a passion for running or fitness, so they have offered a running group or a zumba class during lunch hour or after work. So no matter where you are or what you do for a living, try and incorporate what you love and you will be SO much happier for it i PROMISE!

If you are one of the lucky ones that gets to do what they love then consider yourself blessed! I get to spend my time at work empowering clients, showing people what they are really capable of, helping clients surpass their goals and burning off the stresses of life and helping get people into a happy frame of mind. Its a very positive environment and full of people who have become friends, not just clients.

Find your passion and follow it!

Look what we have for you! Winter Program Registration NOW OPEN

Winter @ Performance Fitness

All sessions begin the week of Nov 4 and run through till Fri Dec 20, 2013

Ultimate Performance- Monday & Wednesday, 6:15-7:15am

9am  Performance Circuit- Monday thru Friday, 9-10am (choose 2-5days/wk)

Lunch Performance Circuit- Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 12-1pm (choose 2 or 3 days/wk)

York Region Bootcamp- Monday & Wednesday; 5-6pm

Evening Performance Circuit- Monday & Wednesday; 7-8pm

Men’s Muscle Performance- Tuesday & Thursday; 7-8pm

Endurance Athlete Strength Workout- Thursdays; 6-7pm

Extreme Performance- Saturday; 8-9am

Nordic Pole Walking Group- Fridays 10:30-11:30am

Performance Girlz (9-12yr old girls)- Saturdays; 12-1pm

Register for ALL programs by emailing paula.performancefitness@gmail.com

Specialty Events

Nov 90min Bootcamp- Saturday Nov 16 @ 8-9:30am

Dec 90min Bootcamp- Saturday Dec 7 @ 8-9:30

Holiday Shopping Event- Friday Nov 8 @ 7-9pm

Client Holiday Dinner @ Edward Street Bistro- Friday Nov 29 @ 7pm (spouses welcome)

Turkey weekend! Gratitude is on the menu

Happy Thanksgiving (if you celebrate) & Happy Long Weekend to spend with your loved ones (if you don't celebrate). This is one of the most meaningful holidays to me, as far as pausing and really looking at my life, whether it's stressful, exhausting or perfect, and realising how blessed I truely am. 

I have the best family in the world with a husband any woman would die to have (but he's all mine ladies) and 4 of the cutest little ladies on this planet...and we are all healthy! I have a job that allows me to motivate and inspire others in a way that completely can change thier lives and others around them and because of my job I have met the most incredible people. I have a God who loves me and has provided when we thought it wasn't possible and protected when we didn't even know we needed It. 

Beyond those things, what more could I need? We get so wrapped up in "life" that we tend to lose sight sometimes, so take this weekend and be thankful, hug those who are the closest to you & say I love you. remember what you Do have, not what you WANT to have. 

Do you take in less water when its cold out?

In the summer and warm weather, most of us don't have too much trouble drinking a nice big glass of water many times a day. So getting our recommended 2-3L of water isn't such a core BUT when the weather gets cool out, drinking cold water becomes not-so-enjoyable anymore because it can make us even colder.
Here are some ideas to make your water taste better, warmer and easier to drink;

• add fruit/veg/spices to your water bottle in the morning so the flavours diffuse into the water; raspberries, blueberries, lemon, lime, cucumber, cinnamon sticks, min leaves, what ever your favourites are
• drink warm water with lemon slices
• herbal teas are another option to make "getting your water in" more enjoyable

So those are just a few ways to help you keep getting that MUCH NEEDED water in through out the fall and winter months. Combine a little of each idea for the best results and you won't feel board drinking straight old boring water all the time.

Do your glutes fire when you run??? Mine didn't!!!

I am in the process of training for a half marathon with a group of clients and we have 6 weeks until race day. As our mileage increases I notice the a stiffness and some swelling happening in my "bad knee". This knee is the one that I have a full ACL replacement done on it 14yrs ago but I have had no issues since. I have also not trained for more than a 10km race in over 2.5 years (and 2 children ago). So there are many factors that have attributed to a weakness all down my left leg so I am very aware of the weakness and that I need to strengthen it more than my right.
With being a personal trainer, I am very aware of my body and how it feels and how I run; my gait, my foot placement, etc. When I was out for my long run this past Sunday, I started to get an ache in my knee but relatively early into my run so I got a little worried. I work with many physio therapist on rehab training with client/patients, so I get to pick their brain on lots of injuries, weaknesses and why they happen. I have recently been discussing runners with one of the therapists and GLUTES NOT FIRING IN PROPER SEQUENCES is a HUGE problem for runners and can cause a lot of problems in the hips and knees, especially when you increase your mileage.
So I decided to do a little experiment on myself; With every step i really focused on my bum squeezing as soon as my foot landed. HOLY CRAP DOES THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE! 
1) my knee ache went away almost immediately because i was using the right muscles to absorb the impact and then propel me forward into the next step.
2) using my glutes propelled me forward so easily and made me literally run faster without speeding up my stride or more work for my heart!

So here is the lesson to all you runners; Make sure you have proper running technique which means your GLUTES FIRING with every step and you will be faster, stronger and Less injuries! Be aware that this takes practise and really being aware of "how you are running" each time you are out. It will eventually become second nature but you MUST practise it.

Happy running

Miss us on York Region Daytime this week? Here is the link

Hey Everyone,
We just wanted to share the link from our segment on York Region Daytime this past Tuesday Sept 18th. We discussed how you can do even 15mins of exercising with minimal to no equipment and still be effective at burning calories. We also demonstrated and coached on technique for basic body weight exercises.

http://www.rogerstv.com/page.aspx?lid=237&rid=17&gid=117821

Let us know what you think!

Paula

since when are the 30's "getting old"?

I am training for another 1/2 marathon (first in almost 3yrs) and I am SO achy after my long runs! I know getting old does mean that we "feel" our bodies more when we challenge them but seriously..I'm only 33!! I have had SO many clients in my 13+ years of training tell me that between 30-35 is when they noticed certain things like losing weight, eating right, not gaining weight when you even thought about dessert all go harder. Well I'm feeling you my friends!
I do have to add that I have had ACL replacement surgery in the one knee that is giving me the aches so I know that is a huge factor BUT i have run MANY long races since my surgery 15yrs ago without many issues. I know have to ice bath, traumeel and stretch like a banshee to walk somewhat normal the next day!
anyways, just an observation about life in its different stages..and how its hitting me!
LoL