Denise's Blog

We all know how very easy it is to get bogged down with routines that carry us along and seem to work, pretty much. But what we all need, most likely, is some pizzazz, some new approaches to elevate our day to day. Yes, something inspirational! Let’s face it: change...

Hey Summer - Thanks for showing up. Being outside and all the festivity that it brings, especially as we come out of the Covid hibernation. So summer is a blast, and for some of us best to stay cool & watch the overheating. 1. Try to exercise early in the cooler...

I’m a personal trainer and often meet with my clients in a gym setting. That environment works for a lot of people, because the equipment is all in one place and the music is loud and energizing (although most everyone is tuned in to their headphones and/or phones!)....

Way back when I was growing up, it was a sign that my parents were “progressive” that they took my sister and me to McDonalds every Friday night. I remember like it was yesterday: I had a Big Mac, large fries, chocolate shake, and an apple pie. Every time … Besides...

If I could name one thing that could fire up your progress in your wellness universe, it would be to discover the Support (whatever form that takes) and the Consistency (okay, two things!) that are provided in numerous on line apps. I encourage you to at least sample a few of these them.

Without a doubt, it can sometimes feel like you’re climbing a mountain when trying to lose weight. As a personal trainer, I don’t very often focus on weight loss as such with my clients. The subject is generally handled so poorly in our culture, resulting in poor body...

Support: a Key To Wellness If I had to name one thing that can enhance progress and motivation in your pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, it is Support—actual, virtual, or both. From my vantage point as a personal trainer, I’m aware of many good on- line options readily...

Changing Times—the Scoop on CBD Although I’m not admitting to anything here, per se, its still sobering to admit to this knowledge: back when I was in high school, if marijuana was found in your possession, it meant jail time or at least an interaction with the law....

Reportedly, there are myriad good reasons to increase our consumption of walnuts. Who knew? Well, I didn’t until I read Dr. Andrew Weil’s blog (see below), and now I’m a believer! Dr. Weil enlightened me about the amazing health benefits that come with the common but...

Want to change up your workouts? Why not give TRX a try? Way back in 1997, Navy Seal Randy Hetrick was stationed in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. While serving there, he was determined to maintain his workout schedule. With his ingenuity, he devised a system...

I’m wondering how everyone is doing out there. Experiences certainly vary, but we have all lived with the pandemic for going on three years. And Covid still has a grip on the way we are living going forward. Asking friends “Have you done a Rapid Test?” has...

Welcome to 2023! Let's start off by looking at your life balance & how to maintain it? I believe that examining separately the two priorities—work and life—makes it easier to sensibly merge them and arrive at the balance we’re all hoping to achieve. That’s the...

Procrastination, while sometimes temporarily soothing, is mostly a source of stress in your life. The constant buzz in your brain to address what you’ve been avoiding isn’t emotionally healthy. When people begin to consider changes they potentially want to make (such...

WHY LEADERS NEED MEDITATION AND OH YEAH THAT MEANS ALL OF US One of the gifts of technology is the quick spreading of news and information. One of the curses of technology is the quick spreading of news and information. One of the impacts of quick spreading of news...

So many of us have gone through work transitions during Covid. And many work environments have done the same, shifted in location so people can work from home, or change hours and work loads. Some of this has been good. But what happened if you find yourself in a work...

Webster’s Dictionary defines Doomscrolling: Doomscrolling and doomsurfing are new terms referring to the tendency to continue to surf or scroll through bad news, even though that news is saddening, disheartening, or depressing. Many people are finding themselves...

Hey Summer - Thanks for showing up. Being outside and all the festivity that it brings, especially as we come out of the Covid hibernation. So summer is a blast, and for some of us best to stay cool & watch the overheating. 1. Try to exercise early in the cooler...

Hi there campers - In these times of great change, many people are re-assessing the big questions - What gives me purpose? How am I really spending my time? Who serves the best pizza? Ha! The mind & the body & the mind & the body - where to draw a line of...

What Can You Expect From A Personal Trainer? Hey there, campers! It’s nice to check in with you. Covid & the state of the union got you down? Well, here is my thought, and yes maybe it seems quick, but it could be the answer. Support, support & more support....

Here in New England- and parts of the East Coast - the light of winter is shifting back to more each day. That said, a few of us may indeed be feeling even less peppy. Pandemic anyone? Well perhaps that’s it, & perhaps there has been a physical shift happening to...

Taking care of your health often requires doing things you don’t necessarily like to do. Such things as strict adherence to a healthy diet can feel like denying yourself. And an exercise regimen can seem like a chore or an obligation. However, another approach to...

Still Sitting? Well Stop. Think about it for a minute. What chair or piece of furniture is the one you spend the most time on or in? What is your most favorite piece of furniture? And are you a proverbial “Couch Potato”? We can all agree, exercise is a wonderful thing...

How Saying “No” Can Energize Your Quest For Fitness When I’m working with people who want to reach a higher fitness level, my coaching skills sometimes come into play. What motivates a person to commit themselves to eating differently and/or challenging their body?...

The One Fitness Move That Can Keep You Fabulous I seem to be annoyingly known for asking people to do squats as part of their fitness regimen. (Well, I mean my clients are sometimes annoyed, not me!) But bear with me; there is a reason that The Squat has been called...

The Dog Explosion: Maybe the Easiest Way to Stay Fit, Ever! How Many Rescues Happened During Covid? According to one article in the New York Times this spring, there were almost 300,000 dogs adopted in the US in 2020 during the height of the pandemic. Perhaps one of...

How, you might ask, after all the death and disruption, could there even be a Covid “gift”? A fair question, and the answer might be difficult to accept. But here goes … As we endeavor to move through this incredible chapter in our lives, the chapter titled “Covid...

Hey there! So finally we have reached the summer we have been waiting for! Thank goodness we are headed into the seasons of abundance of fruits and vegetables. And, while I have your attention, who among us doesn’t want to believe that their food choices are crucial...

With all of our increased reliance during the pandemic on screens—TV/computer/cell phone—there is understandably a lot of talk about how to protect our eyes from so much staring at such devices. Included in these conversations is something called “Blue Light Glasses,”...

It’s a good bet that the pandemic derailed your fitness regimen—and goals. Perhaps you should take comfort in the fact that you are by no means alone. Masking up/ hunkering down for months on end was very difficult and disruptive for the majority of us. Doctors now...

Electric Toothbrushes—Are They Superior? As we head into 2021 with better days promised in the future, Covid is still the backdrop to our lives and continues to affect just about everything we do. For more than a year, our energies have been focused—of necessity—on...

This is something I hear a lot in my practice, and maybe it resonates with you in your own journey: “I know what I’m supposed to do. But I don’t do it.” That statement can apply to any action you may want to undertake and/or a behavior or thought pattern you may want...

Hey, you out there! You on your iPhone/iPad/internet! Oh, yes, I realize you are reading this because I’ve sent it to your email inbox. And I acknowledge that since I’m talking about less internet connection the irony abounds! But bear with me; there’s a method to my...

Let’s begin with a heartening thought: if you are reading this newsletter, you have survived The Year That Was! In this especially welcome of new years, health and wellness are still—no surprise—major topics. So let’s kick things off a with “really” important health...

Hello, out there! Welcome to the last month of what has been a mighty hard year for most of us. 2021 has got to be better! It’s difficult to find any silver lining to this horrendous pandemic, but here’s something—for some of us, the Covid experience has encouraged...

Most of us are about to indulge in our national day of thanks, known as “Thanksgiving.” That could very well mean an approximately 4500-calorie food coma for some, and for most of us the first of the upcoming holiday trifecta with Christmas and New Years also to...

Back pain is a very common complaint, especially among adults. Solutions to it vary, depending on the source. In many cases, lower-back pain is the result of injury. These can include muscle strain, sprains, or spasms due to sudden movements or poor body mechanics...

Intermittent fasting is a fat-burning strategy that switches between fasting and eating on a regular schedule. It’s all about when you eat. For clarity, this is Healthline’s definition: “Intermittent fasting (IF) is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of...

One of the main reasons I have actually been thriving during the Covid pandemic is that my bicycle and I have become true friends. I remind myself constantly how incredibly fortunate I am to live in this beautiful place. Out here miles of bike trails throughout the...

Greetings, Fellow Quarantiners! Well, if you’re reading this newsletter it means you’ve made it to the fall! So far 2020 has been a very tough year for us all, but here we are. So congratulations and yahoo and onward! It’s no secret—and I think I can speak for all of...

During this time of pandemic, many people have been asked to be in their spaces, homes, environments waaaay more than usual. And for far longer than they want! But one of the positive by-products this quarantining seems have spawned is that people are organizing and...