Summer Exercise: Strengthening Mind and Body According to Jim Gavin, Ph.D., author, psychologist and professor of Applied Human Sciences at Concordia University in Montreal, trying new forms of physical activity has the potential to do more than strengthen your biceps and hamstrings. “Long term participation in an activity conditions not only the body, but also the mind,” says Gavin.  The take home message in his latest book called Lifestyle Fitness Coaching is those who have a well-established exercise habit may want to consider adding activities to their lives that strengthen parts of their personalities as well as their hearts and muscles.

So what activities might you consider this summer to strengthen parts of your personality while you increase muscle tone and burn more calories? If you are just beginning an exercise program, Gavin suggests utilizing what he calls, “strategic matching,” finding activities that match your current personality to support you while you establish a strong exercise habit, first.  However, if you are a consistent exerciser looking for a new challenge and personal development, you might want to engage in “strategic mismatching,” new activities that challenge your personality and support personal growth in areas you would like to strengthen.

Below are seven personality traits that provide nine examples of outdoor activities that can be matched or “mismatched” depending on your desire for personal growth and how well established your current exercise program is. 

1. Sociability (from most social to most non-social): team sports, golf, racket sports (tennis), walking, inline skating, running, mountain biking, cycling, swimming.

2. Spontaneity (from most spontaneous to controlled): team sports, racquet sports (tennis), mountain biking, incline skating, walking, cycling, golf, running, swimming.

3. Motivation (from most internally motivated to externally motivated): running, cycling, swimming, mountain biking, inline skating, walking, golf, racket sports (tennis), team sports.

4. Aggressiveness (from most aggressive to non-aggressive): racquet sports (tennis), team sports, mountain biking, running, cycling, swimming, golf, inline skating, walking.

Competitiveness (from most competitive to non-competitive): team sports, racquet sports (tennis), golf, running, swimming, cycling, mountain biking, inline skating, walking.

6. Mental Focus (from most focused to non-focused): racquet sports (tennis), team sports, mountain biking, cycling, golf, swimming, inline skating, running, walking.

7. Adventurousness (from most risk seeking to risk avoiding): team sports, mountain biking, racquet sports (tennis), cycling, inline skating, golf, swimming, running, walking.

Don’t stop here, get creative!  Looking to be really adventurous this summer?  How about white water rafting or canoeing? For other great outdoor water fun try kayaking or windsurfing – both are fun and challenging.

Looking for risk-avoiding activities? Gardening can be a very enjoyable outdoor activity. You also get the added benefit of a beautiful landscape. If you want to make it more of a workout, try to get your shoulders and hips into the digging and shoveling – just keep moving to break a sweat. However, you can also go at your own pace and enjoy the leisure time of summer.

Stuck on what team sports might support your sociability index? Lots of people play on summer softball leagues, basketball leagues, etc. If your job doesn’t offer a team, then try the local YMCA or community center. You’ll find postings of leagues based on experience level, ages etc.

To Your Health,

Amy Lundberg
Aim For It, President

Airing Live Every Monday at 1pm CST at www.livingyourpersonalbest.com
Providing women the strength and belief to change
“I can’t” to “I can!”
July 2nd: Getting Scared Into Change
July 9th: Minding Your Weight
July 16th: Energy Work To Free Yourself From Depression and Being a Victim
July 23rd: Breaking The Generational Dieting Cycle


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Energize Your Body for Summer

We all want to feel good in our bodies, especially in summer as we dress less and anticipate more outdoor activity in our lives.  Summer brings so many wonderful opportunities to increase lifestyle activity as well as increase variety and fun for focused exercise

Here are five strategies to optimize and leverage your summer activity program:

1. Use the end of spring to lock in new behaviors. To help avoid relapse into winter habits, use the cooler days of June to lock in your new, outdoor activities when there are many more cooler hours available to establish a new exercise habit.

2. Have a back up plan when the weather is too hot. Maintain some of your indoor workouts a couple times a week to support you when the weather is just too hot to be outdoors.

3. Make frequent trips to the market to maintain your stock of favorite summer fruits and veggies.  If you are in walking distance, make it a habit to enjoy the cooler mornings and balmy evenings with regular walks or bike rides to stock up on produce.  If not, park a couple blocks away.

4. Have a recipe file on hand with your favorite summer salads. Appetites decrease a bit in the summer.  Have your favorite salad recipes handy and alternate meals with salad-like dinners or lunches.  Always include a protein to optimize your energy between meals.

5. Play it safe with the sun. Avoid heat exhaustion!  Wear sunscreen daily with SPF, wear protective sunglasses, increase your water consumption and lower exercise intensity.

Spinach & Strawberry Salad

Serves 4  
Baby spinach dressed in a light raspberry vinaigrette and tossed with fresh strawberries, almonds and creamy goat cheese. What could be more delightful and this easy?

• ½ shallot, minced (about 1 TB)
• 2 TB raspberry vinegar
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 6 oz baby spinach leaves
• 6 fresh strawberries
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• 2 oz goat cheese

Combine the minced shallot and raspberry vinegar in a small bowl. Slowly add the olive oil to the mixture while continuously whisking. Place the vinaigrette in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Roughly chop (or tear) the baby spinach into large julienne strips. Add to a large bowl. Prep the remaining components of the salad, but keep separated. Slice the strawberries into thin round slices. Toast the almonds by spreading on a cookie sheet and placing in a 375°F degree oven for approximately 5 minutes. Crumble the goat cheese into medium-size chunks. When you are ready to serve the salad, add the strawberries, almonds and goat cheese and lightly mix together. Add the dressing slowly (you may not want to add all the dressing to the salad). Gently mix together and serve immediately.

Warm Muscles
Make for Great Stretching

In the cold winter, longer warm-ups are necessary before stretching in order to reduce potential injuries.  With the warm months of summer, you can enjoy slightly shorter pre-exercise warm up time and more effective stretching. Below are reminders of what basic stretches to include as part of your activity routine.

	HAMSTRING STRETCH Sit with one leg in front and opposite leg bent toward the body.  Lean the upper body forward until point of tightness and hold.
	LOW-BACK STRETCH On your back, grasp below the knees and pull thighs in toward the chest, back remaining flat.
	QUADRICEPS STRETCH Lying on your side, grasp ankle and gently pull toward the buttocks, keeping pelvis stable.
	CALF STRETCH Stand with one leg forward, knees bent, the other leg behind.  The heel and foot need to remain flat against floor with the leg straight.
	HIP-FLEXOR STRETCH Standing on one leg, grasp other ankle and pull gently up and back toward buttocks.  Keep pelvis from tilting and torso upright.