Speed & pace

Tony Horton often hears some of you struggle with the speed and pace of some Beachbody^® workouts. Here's  his thoughts.Some seem too fast while others seem too slow. Workouts are like porridge—you need to find the one that's just right for you. If you're in the middle of any workout and you can't keep up or we're going too slow, then find your own speed and pace. The goal is NOT to match (move for move) the people you're watching. The folks on the screen are a guide. You need to find the speed and pace that work for you. Kick higher or lower, run faster or slower, lift more or less, and find the proper range of motion that's best for your body. This philosophy takes the pressure off and allows you to get the best workout possible.

ah, the turtle ..thanks Tony

There's a reason the age-old story of the hare and the tortoise is still around. It's true. Hares may be quick off the starting block, but they usually crash and burn before reaching the finish line. Tortoises, on the other hand, pace themselves for the long haul and reach their goal.

The difference between them, however, is not speed. It's consistency. Consistency is probably the single most important factor to success in any endeavor. It's showing up for yourself time after time after time. Whether your goal is to lose weight, increase flexibility, improve strength, or learn to play the piano, showing up is half the battle, and it's the only way to get anywhere in the long run.
So focus on consistency first, and worry about ramping it up later—the momentum will build naturally. Before you know it, you'll be cruising along with ease and you'll sail right by that hare like he's standing still, which shouldn’t be too hard to do when he's passed out under a bush.

Yoga, Tony's tips

More Incentive to Stick with Yoga

If there were a way to feel full of vim and vigor in your golden years, wouldn't you want to know about it? Now that I'm pushing 50, I'm writing about the golden years. More and more studies are saying . . . strike a pose.
That's right. Even if you've never tried yoga before, regularly practicing some simple yoga stretches and poses when you're older can give you back some of the energy and flexibility of your younger years. Here's a laundry list of all the other health benefits:
After 6 months of taking beginner yoga classes, men and women ages 65 to 85 reported:

• Feeling more energized compared to how they felt before they started
• Less pain overall in their day-to-day lives
• Feeling more outgoing socially (Can you say hippocampus?)
• Having better balance
• Greater flexibility in their trunk and limbs

Not only that, yoga may also be good for your heart. A study was conducted on a group of people with heart disease who adopted a "yoga lifestyle," a holistic approach to health, including eating right, getting those zzzz's, and maintaining a generally positive attitude. Heart disease lesions diminished in almost half of the people who had signs of the disease at the beginning of the study.
Ommmm . . .

The things I see in downward dog

For those of you wondering downward dog is a yoga stretch. You place your hands on the floor in front of you and lift your butt up in the air. Legs and arms are straight. Your feet stay on the floor. You look like an inverted V. You can flex you feet to get a nice calf stretch. Don’t worry about the dust bunnies under the couch you can get them later or that you need a pedicure. Downward dog is best in bare feet. Oh and breathe.At first I though down dog was odd and felt funny doing it. I finally got comfortable with it over time. Since the weather is nicer and I am working out in shorts as opposed to longer yoga type pants I have noticed something. I have new muscles in my legs ! They were always there but now they are out and looking good. My calfs, or is it calves in this case, have definition that I have never seen before in my life. What an excellent discovery. I have tone in places I didn’t know could have been toned. My quad right above my knee has pretty bulges, for lack of a better description. All the hard work is worth it when you see things happening to your body. Muscles are getting stronger. I feel terrific. Downward dog, try it. What do you see ?