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Posts Tagged ‘T-Tapp’

Workout Wednesday–Women’s Health

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

At the end of October my four oldest girls and I went up to Chicago to hear Teresa Tapp talk on women’s health.

You can read about our fun trip and see some pics on my girls’ blog: Trick-or-Treating T-Tapp Style!

Since I am going to be sharing several moves she showed us, I need to keep the post at the T-Tapp forums, but you can click here to read the post. She shared a lot of good things–many of which you can do throughout the day to get those pecs opened up and have better health in the chest and throughout the body.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read this as women’s bre*st health is an important topic, and considering most of us are slouched forward throughout our day taking care of our families and homes, the exercises and tips Teresa shared will open up the pec area and help optimize lymphatic drainage–which leads to better health all around!

Friday I am hoping to have a video post on making homemade deodorant!

And since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I wish you all a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving! Take time to express your thankfulness to God and to your family and friends. We are incredibly blessed here in America!

Tags: pecs, T-Tapp, Teresa Tapp, women's health
Posted in T Tapp | 2 Comments »

Workout Wednesday–Bodily Exercise Profits a Little

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

I had other plans for today’s post, but this morning during my quiet time, 1 Timothy 4:8 stood out:

For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

The actual meaning of “profiteth little” means “somewhat” or “a little”.

It is so easy in our culture in this day, to get obsessed with looking good or thin or even being/getting/staying healthy to the detriment of our inner person.

If our motivation is fear, then we will feel driven. And that is no fun! (Besides, our Gentle Shepherd leads His sheep–He doesn’t drive them! John 10:3-4)

Of course it is good stewardship of the marvelous creation called our body to eat real foods, take supplements to help us have the health to do what we’re called to do, and to exercise to help keep ourselves healthy and energetic as well.

But we can focus too much either way–out of fear or vanity spend way too much time, money and effort on the outer body, or, deciding that taking much time at all with the outward is total vanity and “we’re under grace” so we really don’t focus at all on good health, good food or exercise.

Both are “ditches”, as my pastor likes to call them! And falling into either ditch is not making progress going down the road!

I remember very well how frustrated I was to be working out close to an hour every day, 4-6 days a week and losing nothing! And I was exhausted an hour and a half later and needed a nap. So much for exercising to get healthy and to get more energy! :p

When I found T-Tapp and started getting results just doing the 15 minute Basic Workout Plus, it was like a big ray of sunshine on a gloomy day!

The second part of 1 Timothy 4:8 talks about how godliness profits in all things, giving us hope in this present life as well as in the life to come.

Well, if you are spending 1-2 hours exercising, then trying to fix healthy meals, researching supplements, etc., you might not have as much time to even think about that hope, let alone rest in it!

Don’t get me wrong–there is a time to research, and food allergies/sensitivities may necessitate extra cooking and time in food preparation. I sure know about that! But when it becomes an obsession and we don’t have time for relationships–with the Lord, our husbands, our children, our friends or anyone else–all in the name of “getting healthy”, then something needs to be reevaluated.

This is one of many reasons I love T-Tapp! I get much more out of 15 minutes of T-Tapp than I ever did out of an hour of light weights, core exercises and rebounding/jump roping! AND I’m not exhausted 1 1/2 hours later, either!

Remember–80% of my workouts have been shorter ones, either BWO+ or a variation, SATI, or TWO split over 3 days.

Since February, I have gotten an average of 1-2 classes in per week, and sometimes practicing moves on off days, but certainly not every day. Oh, and in those classes we only do 4 reps!

In the past 8 months I have lost another 25 3/4 inches–this after 4 years of T-Tapp! I lost 2 more sizes, and although yes, I did change my way of eating (we switched to the GAPS diet due to two of our daughters’ leaky gut issues), that did not build muscle or reshape me! That came through T-Tapp–maximum activation and focus on form, but fewer workouts.

You don’t need to kill yourself with more more more–cut reps, split things up, kick out more—and focus on form–and you will get results as your body reconnects the brain to the muscles!

With the consistency of focus on proper form and going to your max, coupled with a balanced eating of good protein, good carbs and good fats, your body will release the fat and reshape, and best of all–get healthy!

I can’t imagine that I would have sustained working out an hour a day for nearly 5 years. I’m sure I probably would have majorly crashed my adrenals if I had tried to keep up with that!

T-Tapp is the perfect workout for busy mamas, delivering the most for your effort (but you must put forth the effort–no mindless movement here!). Couple that with a balanced way of eating like Nourishing Traditions along with Schwarzbein’s principles, and you have a winning combination for good health and “a little profit” for the body!

And that leaves more time for what matters the most—

RELATIONSHIPS!

HOPE!

LIFE!!!

Tags: 1 Timothy 4:8, less is more, schwarzbein, T-Tapp
Posted in T Tapp | 4 Comments »

Workout Wednesday–Accountability

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

I know I thought I’d have a “surprise” for you, and I hope to really soon–but as usual, things take longer than you think! LOL! I’ll give you a heads-up when I know it’s coming for sure!

One of the biggest keys to my success in T-Tapp has been accountability.

When I started T-Tapping, there were several ladies in my church who also T-Tapped, but I live over an hour away from most of them!

A few months after starting T-Tapp, I found the T-Tapp forums, and a little while after that, found Habit Formers on the forums, where you get a discount through the trainer who runs it to purchase T-Tapp products. Good incentive!

Having a spot online where I could list my workouts was really nice–no losing your papers or forgetting to check them off!

I also had joined the 6 Weeks to a New You thread on the General Discussion forum. It’s more chatty, but you can just state your goals and then check in. If you don’t check in for a long period of time, someone will try to find you! Donna, who heads up the thread, graciously sends anyone who asks a 6 week calender where you can keep track of your measurements and write in your workouts. I write mine in pencil, then check off when I actually do them.

That really helps you see when the inches are slowing if maybe it’s just a time of healing and rebuilding, or if you’ve been doing way less in the workout department than you thought you were!

I really believe the forums have helped to stay consistent. I highly suggest you join Habit Formers or at least one of the weekly accountability threads. Even if you can’t check in every day or be chatty with everyone, just knowing others will be asking how you’re doing really helps!

Now you may have a dear friend or sister who is willing to be your accountability partner. Even if she doesn’t T-Tapp, you could ask her to check up on you. She could even just ask if you are keeping up with your goals.

Let me say that it does help to have someone who understands the ideas behind T-Tapp–sometimes ladies have shared how their husband or a friend who is more “gym-minded” may not think they are doing enough. I want to say again that I lost 9 sizes doing mostly shorter workouts, and although I did have some weeks of 6 workouts per week, that was not all the time. I haven’t figured it up exactly, but my average is probably more 4-5 workouts per week. And those were shorter ones–20 minutes or less!

Some of you are probably like two of my daughters, who love checking things off, so a nice check-off chart might be all you need to stay accountable!

Others, like me, like to do that, too, but sometimes it’s not quite enough to make me go lace up my Skechers and push play!

With all the electronic gadgetry available, there are apps now you can download and use either on your phone or computer. There’s the good old-fashioned small notebook you can keep in your purse or a prominent place. Or you can keep your accountability sheets in a binder, like this:

I have different tabs for form tips, online classes I took, nutritional advice, and a whole section is all my former 6 Week calendars. I know some people also print out success stories that inspire them and have a section for those as well.

I have another notebook I use now because I have my trainer info in there. In the front pocket I have my before and after pictures beside each other. I also have index cards in the back pocket for when I give an “Intro to T-Tapp” type talk.

It is also nice to reward yourself for your consistency! Sometimes progress seems slow but you know you’ve been consistent. Instead of rewarding inch loss, reward yourself for consistency. It might be a new workout shirt, a new dvd, scented dead sea bath salts, some yummy body lotion–it doesn’t have to be expensive!

On the T-Tapp forums, some ladies shared how they put change in a jar when they work out, and when it’s full, they use it to purchase something as a reward. That’s a great idea! I call saving change my “painless savings plan”!

I’ve not put anything in the cover yet, but I might use this neat “Wordle” that trainer Kayla Howard came up with!

T-Tapp Wordle

Or you could frame that and put it in a prominent place so you will be inspired to work out!

Before I go today, I want to give you this link to Kayla’s blog where she demonstrates how to really get those ribs up–and not just during workouts! Keeping ribs up throughout the day will help strengthen your muscles and then improve your form during workouts as well as help trim the tummy and keep those muscles activated.

Are you slouching?

Keep those ribs up and let me know if you have a system of accountability that is working for you!

Tags: accountability, organization, progress, ribs up, T-Tapp
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T-Tapp Tuesday–Look Out Girls!

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

Sometimes, you just need a bit of inspiration.

You need to see that a “normal” person can make this work while balancing family life, homeschooling, cooking meals, taking care of parents—life!

Remember–I did 80% shorter workouts. MORE, Basic Workout Plus (or variations), Step Away the Inches, or Total Workout split up. 15-25 minutes, with most of them 20 minutes or less.

I didn’t work out for hours a day, neither did I always do 6 workouts a week. The first year or two I would work out 4-6 days per week–but I didn’t have a lot of 6 days-per-week times. So an average is probably more 4-5.

And I had several times where I couldn’t work out due to either health issues (adrenals, miscarriage) or other “life” interruptions (my dad’s death, sick kids, mom’s death). The longest period of time I couldn’t work out was actually a year ago after my mom unexpectedly passed away. The first 7 weeks were maybe 1-2 workouts per week, then I had 7 weeks of no workouts at all. Even for the next 3-4 months it was more sporadic than consistent. Yes, I gained a few sizes back, but I stayed connected to the T-Tapp forums and I knew I was “coming back” when I could.

I’m not sure that I ever posted my “before picture” here:

That was me nearly 5 years ago. I was attending a 16th birthday party of a friend’s daughter and they took pictures of each family that attended.

I hated that picture!

But without it, I would never have proof that I was a size 22W at one time.

Wearing mainly maternity clothes because nothing else would fit.

And having people ask me, 4 months post-partum, when my baby was due!

(That’s where I was at in that picture–Isaiah was almost 4 months old!)

There were times when I didn’t “see” much change, even with inch loss. Sometimes I’d lose a size but it didn’t seem to really change the way I looked (and I still had people asking me when my baby was due!)

But I could look at this picture, maybe take another and place them side-by-side, and I could see changes in the pictures that didn’t even seem to show on the tape measure. Like when I realized how my forearms looked smaller. Who measures their forearms?!

I highly encourage you, no matter how much you hate it, to take pictures along the way. At first you may not see much change, but then you may notice your posture is better. Or maybe a slimming in your hips or arms…or forearms!

And then, one day, when you’ve lost 9 sizes, you can put a picture like this in your progress album:

That is my 18 year old daughter’s jumper!

Look out, Girls! Mommy is about to raid your closets!

As trainer Charlotte Siems says, time will go by whether you work out or not–you might not be at your goal size in a year, but if you don’t work out at all……you won’t be any closer, either.

Keep on keepin’ on--Keep On Tappin’!

Tags: "new" clothes, consistency, short workouts, T-Tapp, taking pictures
Posted in T Tapp | 4 Comments »

T-Tapp Tuesday–Of Weeds and Exercise

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

What do weeds and exercise have in common?

Lately my husband and I have been reading some of Eliot Coleman’s books, and this was from “Four Season Harvest”:

Weeds probably discourage more potential gardeners than any

other single problem. “Oh, the garden was overgrown

with weeds and we finally gave up” is so common a statement that it

is almost considered a normal reaction. It doesn’t need to be that

way. Have you ever heard anyone say, “Oh, the living room finally

got so dirty that we just stopped using it”? We don’t stop

enjoying the living room because of dust. We simply vacuum or

sweep every so often to keep the room clean. The same applies

in the garden. Furthermore, just as dirt in the living room can

be minimized by placing a mat outside the front door or asking

the people to remove their shoes before entering the house,

weeds in the garden can be prevented in a number of ways. All of

them make less work for the gardener.

How many times have you “let exercise go” or “let the new eating plan go” because you messed up or life happened?

I was part of a small challenge among some friends. We’re all on an e-mail list together, homeschooling mamas who’ve known each other a long time. Most of us had major things come up last month that kept us from “finishing” as well as we had hoped. One had a major move and all that entailed. Another had an unplanned surgery. Yet another has major stress with what her husband is going through in his job right now. I felt my adrenals weren’t quite up to snuff the second half of the month, so I had to back off.

Should we just throw in the towel and quit? Let the “weeds” take over?

NO!

I think the biggest area we have to really watch those weeds is in our thoughts!

When life hits, don’t say “Well, I blew it again! Might as well wait until next week/month to start!”

The way to overcome and make “lemonade” when life throws lemons at you is to say, “This month isn’t going as I planned, but I can do something! I can at least do 3 moves throughout the day and brush.”

Or “I might not get a whole workout in 3 days a week, but if I can get one in plus a few moves on the other days, I’ve accomplished something!”

As the old adage goes, “Something is better than nothing!”

It’s often good to have a back-up plan. The past few weeks I got a modified PBS in (MORE style) and Organs in Place (OIP) some nights before bed. Although I would have liked to do more moves on the days I didn’t teach classes, that was all I could handle. As I’ve shared before, in preparing for my trainer certifications, I will mentally go through a move as if I’m teaching it, and I also have been reading Fit and Fabulous in Fifteen Minutes one move at a time, so I am still “working on it” even if I can’t actually do a move every day!

As in the “battle of the weeds”, nipping things early helps. Or Eliot Coleman’s example of a mat at the front door to help with dirt in the living room.

We can do the same with our mindset about T-Tapp: what can you do to nip the “negative thoughts” in the bud? What can you do to defray the temptation to just give in and do nothing because you couldn’t do everything you had planned?

Before I started training to be a trainer, MORE was my “go-to” workout. When I was in a funk and couldn’t decide–it was already decided for me! If I was still balking due to a late night the night before, or because the day was getting away from me, I would tell myself, “You can do MORE Chair. It’s only 10 minutes!”

At least I did something!

Think through your “contingency plan” and what are the bare bones basics you will do no matter what. For me it’s brushing (I take Sundays off), PBS in the morning and OIP before bed. I also try to get in the Mitten Chop Box, but I don’t stress about it. PBS is easy to remember because it helps me wake up and stretch out the nighttime kinks. OIP is fairly easy to do before bed without too much thought–although there have been nights I was so dog-tired I just fell into bed!

And lest you despair that just doing a few moves won’t yield any results…here again is Debbie Davidson’s powerful testimony of “just” doing a few Hoedowns throughout a stressful time in her life!

Share your thoughts in the comments–do you have a “go-to” plan? A set of basics that get done no matter what?

I’d love to hear from you–and I’m sure others would benefit from it, too!

Be sure to stay tuned–I am hoping to have the “surprise” I mentioned a few weeks ago ready for next T-Tapp Tuesday!

Tags: debbie davidson testimony, doing just a few moves, fit and fabulous in fifteen minutes, hoedowns, less is more, positive mindset, T-Tapp, Teresa Tapp
Posted in T Tapp | 2 Comments »

Workout Wednesday–Give It Time

Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

You know how it is.

You see the advertising, buy the book, give it a good shot and….

…you don’t get the “promised” results.

Whether it’s a diet, vitamin, herb, a new health practice you add to your life, exercise….it seems “everybody else” got the fast, great results but you didn’t.

All things aside, let’s face it—probably not everyone got the results that quickly. Some did, but not everyone!

Let’s tackle the book, Fit and Fabulous in Fifteen Minutes. The cover “promises”: “Lose 2 sizes in 4 weeks with the T-Tapp Workout”.

The bottom line is–it does, for some.

Not everyone!

(As an aside, Teresa did not pick the title of her book–few authors get that privilege! Most are picked by the publisher–let’s face it, would you have bought a book titled “How to Heal Your Body from the Inside Out with Comprehensive Compound Muscle Activation”?! )

I guess I never felt “cheated” by the “promises” of the book, because I was losing something, even if it wasn’t 2 sizes in 4 weeks! Before, I was knocking myself out with exercising an hour a day and feeling worse for it, and losing not a single inch/pound/size!

To lose anything–and only with 15 minutes a day (and that only 4-5 times a week!), was GREAT!

It took me 6 months to lose 4 sizes, and since I was a More-to-Lose at size 22W, it really didn’t show much except to my family and dearest friends. I was still big in the areas I was big in before. Just not as big!

Another problem with writing a book or making a dvd, is new information comes out, or a syndrome becomes more and more prevalent, and to update everything takes more money to revise it, plus it’s just plain impossible to address every single concern in one book or dvd. Unless you don’t mind paying $50 for a 650 page tome! (And by the time it gets published, MORE new info comes out!)

Instead, Teresa has graciously provided a free forum for discussion, for additional updates on form tweaks and new information. Trainers often give their input (nearly every single day!) and you can learn a lot—for free.

You don’t even have to own the book to get a secret code to get on the forums–you can check it out there first before buying, as well as try the “Try Before You Buy” exercises listed at the T-Tapp website!

So, back to the “promises” made…..it took me 4 1/2 years to lose 9 sizes and get down to a size 6. Not a toned 6 yet, mind you, but I am thrilled to be a size 6!

I’m even more thrilled, though, for what I’ve gained!

Health benefits. Better sleep. More balance to my hormones. Stronger muscles. Bone density. Endurance. And the list goes on.

Oh, and the BIGGEST loss I’ve had is a lump under my armpit! It was probably 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Gone!

I’ll have more tips next week of what to do if you’re battling any of these issues or other health issues, including what I did over the months after my mom’s passing and I had to back off, plus what I’m doing now, as a trainer-in-training who is healing from adrenal fatigue!

Until next week–Happy Tappin’!

(Psssst! There’s a surprise coming! Hopefully in 2-3 weeks, Lord willin’ an’ the creek don’t rise! )

Tags: dr. diana schwarzbein, give it time, healing from the inside out, healing metabolism, slow losers, T-Tapp
Posted in T Tapp | 2 Comments »

T-Tapp Tuesday–Reaching Milestones

Tuesday, September 6th, 2011

Or is that a poundstone?!

I preach “Weight Doesn’t Matter” a lot! I realize if you have extra weight and bad knees, weight does matter.

However, if all you’re after is fewer pounds of weight on those knees, you might make some decisions that will, in the long run, hurt you even worse.

If you “diet” and deprive yourself of calories to see the scales go down, but mess up your metabolism in the meantime, the metabolic mess you find yourself in years from now may make dealing with the knees seem like child’s play.

If you “diet” to lose the weight, but do nothing to rehab the knee and make it stronger, you may get around a little better…for awhile. But if you don’t help reverse some of the damage from the stress on your knees (or hips, or ankles, or feet…), you could end up in worse shape down the road.

As one who has never lost “weight” easily, it’s been pretty discouraging to do an eating plan, watching calories, to see not much loss. Had I understood then what I do now, I’d have measured! I do know I got into some smaller clothes, but my focus was on the weight loss (or lack thereof).

I’ve shared bits of my story before, but I’ll recap a bit on the weight. I lost 10 lbs. fairly quickly with T-Tapp, which thrilled me, after losing absolutely nothing since having my son four months before! And I mean….absolutely.nothing.nada.zip.zilch. I looked and weighed like I did the day before he was born!

I continued to lose, slowly, but I lost inches even faster! I got up to about 25 lbs. lost……then gained 10!!!! I was assured by one of the trainers on the forums (and I highly advise getting on the forums from time to time for encouragement, answers and new tweaks on moves) that if I was gaining weight, but losing inches, I was developing muscle!

That encouraged me…..for awhile!

Finally, getting tired of having my joy stolen by the dumb scales I started searching the forums for threads about weight. I ended up compiling them into a thread called Weight Doesn’t Matter. Worth a read if you find yourself tied to the scales!

I decided to only weigh every 6 weeks. I don’t remember exactly how long it took, but after awhile I noticed the nasty hold those things had on me was gone! I could actually laugh when I gained weight—but lost inches!!!

The reason I am sharing all this is to put my “milestones” in perspective. I am thrilled, don’t get me wrong! But, they wouldn’t mean nearly as much as they do now, with more toning and better health to go with them!

As of this past weekend, I have lost 50 lbs. since starting T-Tapp!

And, for the first time in 20+ years, I weigh what I did before I was expecting Susannah!

Those are good milestones, and yes, I’m happy….but I was more thrilled when I dropped another size a month ago! (That makes 9 sizes lost now!)

Keeping this in perspective–it took me 4 1/2 years to get to this point, and for the first 4+ years I had lost only 30 lbs.! It’s only been since I addressed some things in my eating 4 months ago the last 20 lbs. have come off. But—I have also stayed consistent with T-Tapp—which is as important to staying toned and getting healthy as losing “weight” is!

It is important to emphasize that optimum health is not achieved by losing “weight”. Shifting your focus from the number on the scale to the real factors of good health, such as improved mood, energy and vitality, is the way to accomplish a lifetime of balance and your ideal body composition.

~The Schwarzbein Principle, p. 230

I still have toning up to do, and I may regain some weight as I add starches back in (in moderation), but it will be my healthy weight. And even if I gain 10 lbs. back, but am toned and healthy–

That will be just fine!

Rejoice in those milestones…..but don’t get stuck there! There’s more energy and better health to be won!

(Stay tuned for next Tuesday—there will be a giveaway–but you’ll have to work for this one! )

Tags: getting healthy, losing weight, milestones, T-Tapp
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T-Tapp Tuesday–Can I Really Maintain with 2 Workouts a Week?

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

I remember when I first heard that people could maintain their goal size with only 1-2 workouts per week. Wow! I couldn’t imagine!

Of course, I thought, that was probably two TOTAL workouts per week, the 50 minute one, not the shorter 15 minute Basic Workout Plus!

I had seasons of being able to maintain where I was at (although not at goal!) with just 3 workouts per week—but not for an extended period of time.

Now that I am considered a Less-to-Lose (one size or less to lose–still boggles my mind that I am at this point!), I am finding that that thinking is not true. I am not maintaining where I’m at with two workouts per week.

I’m continuing to lose!

I have two classes per week–Monday nights we do 4 reps of each of the moves in BWO+ and then I teach 1-3 moves from the second half of Total Workout, breaking it down a bit more for my class.

Then on Fridays I teach MORE.

Granted I am more activated as I am the trainer-in-training, and need to explain and demonstrate with good form for my class. But I would not say I’m getting as much cardio and activation as if I were doing to Total Workouts!

A week or so ago, I also decided to do 1-2 moves a day in the morning from the second half of TWO, to practice for certifications. Since I have adrenal issues, I really can’t do more workouts during the week–I could handle one, but I really need to practice that second part of TWO. I can’t do it 3 days a week, so I was in a quandary of how to do it when I thought of my “just 15 minutes” idea for decluttering. I decided I could spend 15 minutes or so reading in Fit and Fabulous about a move, then do it (warming up first with Primary Back Stretch and Mitten Chop Box).

Imagine my surprise last week to lose 2 inches and another pound!!!! As a Less-to-Lose, losing 2 inches in a week’s time is pretty huge! And it was from all over!

I know with everyone starting up homeschooling, it can be hard to make time for workouts. And if you are also canning, well, you know you have another busy month ahead of you!

But don’t throw the idea out just because you don’t have a whole 15 minutes to spend–doing Primary Back Stretch, Mitten Chop Box, and one other move maybe takes 5 minutes–6 max. Add a Hoedown to it and you’re good to go for the day! You’ve pumped some lymph to help move toxins and help get rid of sluggishness, you’ve stretched your muscles and gotten into spinal alignment, and as a little bonus, you got some fat-burning going, too!

You also might find that you are able to focus on form more by isolating just a few moves, which will help you when to do get to your workouts.

Doing this really showed me how that when you understand muscle activation and get neurokinetically connected (muscles connected to the brain!), you really can get more benefit out of less time spent!

Now that’s efficiency I like!

Tags: doing one move, less is more, maintaining, T-Tapp
Posted in T Tapp | 2 Comments »

T-Tapp Tuesday–Consistency When “Life Happens”!

Tuesday, August 9th, 2011

We’ve all had those times when “life happens”, and all of our well-intended plans just go to the wind.

It can be particularly disconcerting when you’re trying to stay consistent with your T-Tapp routine, going well for a little while, and then BAM! Something comes up that really throws you for a loop, and maybe it’s major enough you don’t know when you’ll be able to “get back to consistency”.

Are you doomed to just put on what you’ve lost? To have to start all over again in a few weeks….or months?

No!

There are threads on the forums for ways to “sneak T-Tapp in” throughout the day.

If you can do at least the “Terrific Three”, you will have warmed up your spine, improved spinal flexibility and joint mobility as well as pumped lymph and worked some muscles! What are the “Terrific Three”?

Primary Back Stretch (PBS)

T-Tapp Twist (TTT)–at least the stretch, and can be the MORE version

Hoedown (HD)–just 1 set (2 is great, but do at least one!)

Just doing shoulder rolls–the T-Tapp way–can go a long way toward keeping muscles from getting sore, but also to help relieve tension (women tend to hold tension in the traps–shoulder rolls with the thumb twisted to the back wall really help!). You can do them seated or standing.

Maybe you’re in a hospital emergency room, waiting with someone for a test (and waiting, and waiting, and….) On a quick trip to the restroom, you can “bend it, tuck it, lift it”, clap for 4 counts, pulling thumbs to the back wall, elbows close to body and keeping ribs up. Then kick out purposefully for 4 repetitions (like you’re kicking a ball–not a field goal, though! ) and then lift touch for 4 repetitions, keeping knee and ankle in alignment. That will help banish fatigue and soreness from sitting around!

If someone else is in the restroom and you’re a little too shy to do all that then you can really be sneaky! Do Butterflies! I have been able to turn diagonally in a regular stall and still be able to do them. Now if you are taller with longer arms, you might opt for the handicap stall! Bend it, tuck it, lift it and really curl that core, pulling belly button to your spine. Do a set of Butterflies, slow and controlled, no momentum. Really work those lats! Keep those arms stretched out like someone is pulling them out of your body, and behind those ears. Set of 8 little bounces, then do 8 halfway down. On the way back up the hands are pushing up the h-e-a-v-y air!

You’ll be surprised how that will help clear your mind and make you feel better!

Of course, Hoedowns are THE classic move, but sometimes there just isn’t a good place or enough time. But you can do sitdown Hoedowns without too much trouble!

Sit up tall and at the edge of your chair. Knees straight out from the hips, ankles under knees, feet toes forward–no ducks! Press in lightly with your feet to stabilize your knees from flopping out and to get some lower body activaton in there. Elbows bent, palms up just like standing Hoedowns. Open arms out to the sides, tighten tummy (curl that core!) and lift touch one leg 4 times. Pretend your foot is h-e-a-v-y, and keep the foot flexed. Then do 4 on the other side. Repeat, then do 2 sets of 2 and 1 set of singles–4 each leg going back and forth.

Alternately you could just do 8 each side.

Don’t think that does much good?

There is a testimony of trainer Jennifer Haber who worked with her mom when she was ill in the hospital. Even though she did the Hoedowns and Butterflies very weakly–her blood sugar came down by 50 points! You can read her whole story here!

What else?

Just like Teresa shows in the Yes You Can seminar, you can hang onto strollers, shopping carts, and yes, to some extent wheelchairs (I did with my dad!) with the palms up. Even the lawn mower! That gets those shoulders rolled back.

A set of Tricep Curls or Hitchhikers are easy to fit in for the arms.

And when you’re driving, you can tuck/curl the core, press that lower back against the seat, lift ribs and keep tummy tight. And while you’re at it–hang onto the steering wheel palms up! Tighten those lats and inhale big, stretching the ribs; exhale bigger, pulling the ribs in.

To release trap/shoulder tension, do a big inhale while you hunch shoulders up, then as you exhale, bring the shoulders down but keep ribs up (this in T-Tapp stance if possible). Exhale all the way, pulling in those ribs. Doing that few times really helps get oxygen in and release that trap/shoulder tension!

And just walking, sitting, standing with your belly button pulled to the spine and ribs up, getting your shoulders back in alignment over your hips will do wonders for you! Keep the chin from jutting forward, and this will help distribute the weight of your head over your spine.

There’s also the Mitten Chop Box, which you can fit in in a trip to the restroom fairly easily!

I’ve often bent my knees just a little and tuck/curled my core, ribs up, knees out for standing for a period of time–you’d be surprised how much “heat” that will generate all by itself! LOL!

Finally, don’t forget to skin brush. It’s easy to let something like that go when life goes crazy, but it is good for detoxing as well as just pampering yourself. 5 minutes is all it takes.

Especially if your crisis is a health crisis of a family member, you need to take care of yourself, too!

Stay hydrated, keep moving, and try to make the best choices you can with food, and you may find you can make it through a tough time without being more sore or out of shape than when you started! In fact, you may be pleasantly surprised to find out you maintained or even lost through sneaking in moves, with full fiber muscle activation and leverage isometrics! Or maybe even look and feel better!

Until next week–Happy Tappin’!

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`

Here is Michelle’s thread on the forums if you want to read all her tips.

And here is Debbie Davdison’s testimony how just doing Hoedowns several times a day during her mom’s hospitalization helped her lose inches from her hips!

Tags: fitting in moves, T-Tapp, t-tapping through a crisis
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Workout Wednesday–Double Dog Dare Ya!

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

My day got rearranged–again!

I found out I needed to get a video done for my training, and that wasn’t on my agenda for today. But I got it done! Then I did the same workout with a friend a few hours later!

I wouldn’t recommend that as a general rule! My thighs were sure “talking” to me! HaHa!

So what’s my dare?

Video yourself doing Basic Workout Plus or MORE! or even TWO!

I am learning so much through the process of becoming a trainer. After the initial “getting to know T-Tapp” stage (which can be a few months or even longer), you can always “bump” things up a notch by attention to form.

I attended a clinic 6 months after starting T-Tapp and I believe it really helped me pay more attention to some facets of form. Oh, you won’t be able to apply it all! But little by little it “clicks”.

By paying extra attention to my form through videos, I take that to my workouts, where it’s translated into more toning and shaping. I have lost all my back fat, br*a pudge as well as my underarm pudge–my underarms look almost as toned as they did in my 20s! Not that that was my goal, but I will say I was pretty impressed as they’ve been very pudgy for nearly 20 years!

Many trainers offer video review for those of you who don’t live near a trainer to get a one on one session. Both have their good points! A video review gives you something to go over and over, plus you get the trainer’s critique in “writing” to go over as well. But a one on one session (or even 3 on 1 or a clinic) gives you some immediate feedback. Plus, if you don’t understand something, the trainer can try explaining or showing you a different way.

If you can’t afford either one, you can video yourself and critique it! No, it won’t be detailed and you might not know how to correct some things, but you sure can see if your arms aren’t really straight when you think they are, or your “ribs up” isn’t very “up”, or your standing leg just straightened on Hoedowns!

If you see something and you’re not sure how to correct it, you can always go to the forums to ask questions or search to see if someone else asked the same question. Everyone there is very helpful, and can point you to a thread, or maybe even one of the trainers will pop in and give you advice.

You can also go to a mirror after viewing your video, and get those arms up behind the ears, straight, no cheerleader arms (which I am very bad about!), and see it correctly, then feel it–because away from the mirror you need to know how it feels to get into a flat back, or get those arms behind the ears, etc. This really helped me with Plies, where I tend to pitch the shoulders forward and inactivate the lats by dropping the ribs. I found I didn’t need to go up and down so far with my lower body to be able to keep my core curled and my shoulders back!

Of course, “the laborer is worthy of her hire”, and if you can swing a video session or private session with a trainer, I’d go for it! But if you can’t, or maybe you’re saving up for it, in the meantime…

I double dog dare ya to video yourself!

‘Cause if you do–it will be a win-win situation! You can only win by watching yourself and seeing where you need improvement. But do take just one thing at a time–we can be too critical sometimes! Just like any other habits you try to instill into your life, changing form by retraining muscles (which like to go the path of least resistance) takes time and perseverance.

So, who will take my challenge?!

Leave me a comment if you will video yourself within the next two weeks and watch it to critique yourself. And when you do, please share with me what you discovered!

And if I can be any help, just ask!

( A note–I am having trouble with my e-mails, so if you e-mail me and I don’t respond within a week or two, please try again. I’m hoping to get it resolved by this weekend!)

Tags: form, T-Tapp, video critique
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A Gracefull Place