Photo by Bob Gabella	Linda Hammitt Equanimity & Balance
Photo by John Merkle	Nicole Moneer FAQ

* Summer has finally made an abrupt appearance, I love summer. Yoga is more summery than wintery. I envision lotus facing a sunset or sunrise on a sandy beach, no one around, just me and the sound of waves crashing. I just cant reach the beach when its 30 below zero wind chill and dark more than it is light. I can honestly say that I have never practiced any pose in the snow facing the Northern Lights as they dance, opportunity here?? No. I LOVE SUMMER!
MANTRA THAT!!

BMR is usually measured 1st thing in the morning after 8 hrs of sleep and 12 hours after the last meal. Due to difficulty in obtaining this measurement, RMR (resting metabolic rate) is most commonly measured. Anyway, age and physical activity have a lot to do with BMR as well as body size (as quoted from Health and Fitness Instructor's Handbook, by Edward T. Howley and B. Don Franks). Mine will not be the same as yours due to my sex, age, size and activity level.

It usually decreases with age due to muscle loss and increased body fat %. I don't know your age, activity level and size, so it is hard for me to determine whether this is accurate. However, the larger you are and the more active you are, the more calories you need. So in the past 6 years you may have increased in size as well as activity level.

Hi Nicole-

1- Besides your intake throughout the day, I've read and heard that the best time to take protein is 5 minutes after a workout. Then I hear 45 minutes after a workout routine. So when's a good time??? What would you do?

2- My weight has dropped to 195 now, I still feel I need to burn more fat. What's the average weight for 5"10?

NAHUM- Bally Total Fitness member

1- Yes, this is true. It is best to get your protein and complex carbs within an hour after your weight training. So 5 minutes and 45 minutes are both correct. This will help fuel the body and increase muscle mass. However, it is important to get your protein in at every meal, as well. In most cases, eating complex carbs before a weight training session will increase your energy level, allowing you to work with heavier weights and for a longer period of time. Click here

Check out the link above for average height and weight. Although, more importantly, you want to make sure your body fat % is normal. For your age, (29) it is around 14-17% (based on what you have told me in regards to your physical activity level). In addition, people have different body types and bone structure. Please keep in mind that muscle weighs more than fat. Have you gotten your body fat %? This is a great tool, any of the trainer's at Bally's can do this, I don't know if they charge a fee. The calipers are more accurate than the hand held device, but the hand held will give you an idea of where you stand.

Nicole,
When you take those pictures that are on your website, do you put cream on your body because your body looks tanned and healthy?

The 2nd question is what is your work out schedule? Do you work out lifting and cardio every other day or something like that?

The last question... Will you compete again this year? If so, when will it be? Can other people go watch it? Is the competition like an aerobics competition?

YUKO- Bally Total Fitness member

Hi Yuko-

Yes, for these pictures I was tanned. For the shows, it is a requirement. Some of the other photos I take off-season and am not tanned. Most competitors use Pro Tan, you need to make several applications to the body. It stains the body and comes off in the shower. This way is rather messy (and time consuming) because if you sweat it comes off on your clothes. If you have seen a women's fitness competition or men's bodybuilding on TV or in the magazines, they are always tanned/very dark. This helps to define lines/one's muscle tone. I, on the other hand, use the Mystic Tan, which they have at several salons in the Chicagoland area. It is a spray tan, which takes less than 60 seconds and is UV free. It takes about 6 hours to dry (so no shower or sweating/working out in the 6 hours following). They have different levels based on your skin tone, 1, 2, and 3. You can dress immediately following (loose clothes). I love it, it's quick, it's easy, it doesn't ruin my costumes or swimsuits and I even use it from time to time for special occasions, weddings, parties, etc. It is pricey...$20-$30 but it lasts about 3-4 days and sometimes longer.

I do both cardio and weights. I typically work out 4-5 days off-season and 5-6 when I am training for a competition. When I am training for a competition, I don't do as much cardio because my diet and weight training help bring out my muscle definition. (Every body is different, so what works for me may not work for you.) As I am getting older, I have realized that diet is key. Cardio helps but you need the entire package of a well-balanced diet, along with resistance training to reach and maintain your fitness goals.

I competed in May 2004, at the Minneapolis Midwest Fitness Festival and won! I plan to compete in a few other shows this year, one in NYC and another in California. They are similar to an aerobic competition except the sanction I compete in (Fitness America) is more like a pageant. In the fitness routine round you are judged on creativity/theme, execution, strength, showmanship, etc. Then there's the swimsuit round, where you are judged on symmetry, femininity, muscle tone, etc. It's not like body-building, where they are required to pose and flex.



Equanimity and Balance

The Creek

The creek was on the outskirts of town, and getting there every single day of the summer was nothing less than a migration that occurred as soon a the snow and ice removed itself from the banks. The group of wide eyed adventurers would walk/peddle/run past at least two beautiful playgrounds with fairly updated amusements, teeter toters, sliding boards, cool swings and even new inventions like "The Spider Gym" which introduced us to a new feeling of climbing and dangling from sweaty hand holds at heights that would really hurt when landing if let go.

The creek offered nothing in comparison, other than it was a long walk down a twisted trail that offered blackberries every so often, frogs at your feet every so often, colorful birds all of the time, and anticipation. The anticipation of the "this side of the creek" shore and seeing if it got any closer to the "other side of the creek shore" that kept us coming back year after year.

The opposite bank had no trails and if we could get there and walk through the scrub and brush, maybe we would be the first adventures to ever set foot on that particular spot , not wanting to be famous, just being in the adventure and dreaming about that opposite shore made every moment part of an adventure. Were there fossils over there, arrowheads, gold pieces, mean animals??

The summer would be spent trying to build a foot bridge across the narrowest section. We would drag old logs that have fallen in the woods, big rocks that could be moved, and re-locate rocks already in the creek from previous years. Chances are there were critters living under the rocks already planted there, and looking back, trying to catch them probably hurt the effort, and make no mistake the effort was incredible and exhausting. It was very hot, every day, it was very hot and there were no soda machines to quench our thirst or give us a stoppage chance. The opposite shore was out there and even as we would get the foot bridge get closer, portions of it always washed away by dams and current not totally understood by our young minds . We were never..... ever..... discouraged. More than once a huge piece of our foot bridge broke loose and went down stream, but it it represented a sense of amazement more than disappointment. A couple of weeks worth of work just went down stream and we were amazed more than disappointed.....

We were born to be challenged and amazed by the challenge, don't get bored because you grew up. Challenge yourself and be amazed when you respond because I see your changes and they are remarkable. There is balance and strength in you, where there used to be a bit of uncertainty and frustration. Be young at heart.



Contact Info

Linda:
shammitt@prodigy.net
www.tripoweryoga.com
Doublestep.tripoweryoga.com

Nicole:
nmoneer@comcast.net
www.nicolemoneer.com