Core & Functional training Workshop with Anna Duberg

Marit Anne & Therese

Great day at Dragvoll idrettssenter! Not only is it awesome to work with knowledgeable people, but it is rewarding in a social sense as well. And in about an hour and a half we're going out for dinner. Thanks for the initiative, Therese!

Anna Duberg - lovely technique!

Functional training: can you imagine how you spend your body during a regular day? Let's work those muscles!



The sky is the limit!

Anna Duberg visits SiT idrett!

Afro workshop, Dance Step, and beautiful flowers on our dinner table. Not to mention my lovely friends Anja and Kristin who joined me for dinner at Bare Blåbær this evening. So far: lovely weekend!

Anna in action!

Alanna, Therese, Silje.

I even found time to shoot a few pics of Marit Anne during her Corebar class.

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My beautiful flower creation!

Run - run - run!

When I got back from work today I had to spend a few hours looking for motivation to go to the gym. Eventually - I got my running shoes and went to Idrettsbygget Gløshaugen, my second home. For many years, while I was in medical school I used to say that my life revolved around a triangle: home, school and the gym at Gløshaugen. There wasn't time for anything else! Fortunately, I feel like I have more time now - and I have widened my horizons ;).

I have a dream that I'll be able to run the New York Marathon at one point... My husband thinks that the real reason is that I want to go to New York... He might have a point. I would love to go see my wonderful friend Rose! Anyway, as a start I ran 10 km on the threadmill today. I guess you could call it a marathon warm-up...!! LOL

My new Nikes & Ann-Mari

Whenever my mom gets back from Atlanta her suitcase is packed with things I've bought online. Yes, I'm a shopaholic! And when she's in the states for a period of time I happen to forget what I've bought... So it is quite the surprise when I get all the things I've in fact ordered myself!

This time she was only there for three weeks, so that Erik could practice his English and hang out with his Atlanta friends (and his dad of course!) - and when she came back I got the new Nike shoes I'd been waiting for! Oh, and if you ever wonder...of course it was a bargain! ;)

A couple of weeks back Ann-Mari, a former instructor in SiT idrett visited Trondheim. We've worked together on the instructor course for a few years, and as usual she took time out of her busy schedule to spend a weekend with novice fitness instructors. Her pedagogical skills are excellent!

Lately, she has excelled in Zumba as well, and has become a popular instructor who's wanted all around the country :). Of course we took advantage of this, and invited her to Armfeldtsalen at Gløshaugen. It was packed with about 150 eager participants. Everyone joined the party, and I must say, although hot and stuffy, it was a ball. So many happy people!

Ann-Mari works full-time at World Gym in Oslo. Check out their blog.

Great news! Indulge in chocolate milk!

And blame it on research! Whenever I read something that's too good to be true I tend to bring out my sceptical self... However, when I saw that chocolate milk is shown to be the best post-exercise recovery drink out there, I decided it was better to try it out before reading the documentation! If I haven't seen the effects yet, it must be because I haven't had enough ;).

Four articles published in Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise show that chocolate milk offer a recovery advantage to help repair and rebuild muscles, compared to specially designed carbohydrate sports drinks.

It is good for:

• Building Muscle - make muscles better able to repair and rebuild
• Replenishing Muscle "Fuel" - replacing muscle fuel (glycogen)
• Maintaining Lean Muscle - decrease muscle breakdown
• Subsequent Exercise Performance

Chocolate milk consists of a combination of carbohydrates and proteins, and the ratio is beneficial for post exercise recovery. Also, in terms of rehydration, milk offers a fluid that includes potassium, calcium and magnesium.

Source: Medical News Today

1. Lunn WR, Colletto MR, Karfonta KE, Anderson JM, Pasiakos SM, Ferrando AA, Wolfe RR, Rodriguez NR. Chocolate milk consumption following endurance exercise affects skeletal muscle protein fractional synthetic rate and intracellular signaling. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise. 2010;42:S48.
2. Karfonta KE, Lunn WR, Colletto MR, Anderson JM, Rodriguez NR. Chocolate milk enhances glycogen replenishment after endurance exercise in moderately trained males. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise. 2010;42:S64.
   
3. Colletto MR, Lunn W, Karfonta K, Anderson J, Rogriguez N. Effects of chocolate milk consumption on leucine kinetics during recovery from endurance exercise. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise. 2010;42:S126.
   
4. Ferguson-Stegall L, McCleave E, Doerner PG, Ding Z, Dessard B, Kammer L, Wang B, Liu Y, Ivy J. Effects of chocolate milk supplementation on recovery from cycling exercise and subsequent time trial performance. Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise. 2010;42:S536.

Toning shoes - a bluff?

There are an increasing amount of toning shoes out on the market. MBT may have been the first ones when they introduced the Masai Barefoot Technology in 1996. They claim that natural instability has amazing health benefits. The idea is that the shoe mimics walking on soft uneven ground. Skechers launced their Shape Ups, and Reebook have followed up with their EasyTone.

A team of scientists from the Exercise and Health Program at the University of Wisconsin designed two studies:
1) An evaluation of exercise responses to walking in toning shoes vs a running shoe
2) An evaluation of muscle activation when walking in regular athletic shoes compared to toning shoes

In the first study they monitored oxygen consumption, heart rate, ratings of perceived exertion and caloric expenditure. In the second study the researchers used electromyography (EMG) to record muscle activity in the gastrocnemius, rectus femoris, biceps femoris, gluteus maximus, erector spinae and rectus abdominis muscles. In other words the calf, thighs, buttocks, back and abs.

Although the studies are small, with only 12 participants in each study, it is interesting to see that none of the toning shoes showed statistically significant increases in either exercise response or muscle activation during the treadmill trial.

So is it a bluff? I'd say that In terms of what they promise they sure are a rip-off...

Source: American council on Exercise

Instructor course Group Fitness

This weekend SiT idrett (my employer) is hosting a course for those who want to become a group fitness instructor. As before, I'm responsible for the two weekend-course. Today I've had some time off from my job at the hospital. We get a few days off once in a while as a compensation for working odd hours (not to mention long hours). I've spent the day relaxing and recharging my batteries, but also preparing for this weekend. I was looking for some pictures to add to my powerpoint presentation, and came across this one...which I just had to post here!