Change Your Life

Personal Training with SnapShot

Do you want to change your life? You can start by changing your mind.

We are what is holding us back. Baby -Step your way to the life/health you want. I couldn't preach it if I did not live it.

I made the decision to take responsibility for being unhealthy by taking the steps. Easier said than done.. I know. But no one else will do the work for you unfortunately;-)

So when i say Baby-Steps; Prioritize what is important for your life/health; start off by adding breakfast to your morning; Add 4 to 5 small meals to your day; Write in a journal what your goals are and everyday do something towards that goal; Consult a professional (trainer/nutritionist); If time is your issue..Make time; Read blogs and forums for support or information on how to properly train your body; Stay positive and Do Not Give Up;

It's never too late.

My Breaking Points

*I was tired, run down, slow, unfocused, unhappy, unmotivated, depressed and i was only 22yrs old. I knew something was not right.

*I wanted to pursue my dancing, but I stood in my way with the unhealthy emotional eating, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy spiritual outlook.

*I got tired of my brother making jokes about my weight and what I ate. At the time I was about 150lbs, which is not overweight, but I was unhealthy with NO muscle tone or core stability which is your control center. I wanted to dance but was weak, not agile or stable with dynamic moves.

I had tried going to the gym with my sisters and friends in high school and all i can remember is feeling overwhelmed because I did not know what to do or how to do it and worse there were no floor trainers around to help. Everyone in the gym looked lost. So it turned me off and I never went back... Until...

It was summer early 90's, I was at the movies and there was a black woman sitting in front of me. She caught my attention because i could not stop looking at her sculpted shoulders, traps and bis/tri's. I had never seen a muscular woman in person. I was always interested in watching the ' Miss Fitness America' Pageants on ESPN. But seeing is believing.

I remember thinking.. That's what I want to look like.. I fell in love with the look because I admire a sculpted physic and what it takes to get there.. I just did not know at the time what it would take..

Then I was hired for a dance job and befriended a dancer who's physic was that of a fitness competitor. She looked strong, sculpted and she made it look good and not manly. Sure enough i went to the gym with her and she gave me some tips and that started my journey.

My Baby Steps:

*I hired a trainer in 1995 to learn the proper way to workout and injury prevention. Met with him twice a week and went on my own at least twice. So i was working out 4 days a week minimum.

*Told a friend about my new regime and she joined me in some of my personal training sessions. We shared the time, split the payment and shared the experience of being eachothers support system.

i stood with my trainer for a year. Then made my way to the Gold's Gym in the Bronx where I met yet another inspiring woman who's physic was off the chain. She did not compete but she had the body for it. She took me under her wing and we trained for a few years together. Never be afraid to ask for help when you find something you want to learn.

At Gold's is where i learned about proper nutrition. It was a huge eye opener for me. I was eating everything I was not supposed to. So I started with adding a healthy breakfast to my day. Then added smaller meals and more frequently. So instead of waiting 4 plus hours between meals I ate every 3 hours. I also consumed more clean, filtered water which was a huge benefit for my body.

I learned soo much from all those who inspired me to reach my goals and I pay it forward to my clients/students.

So now I ask you again.. Do you want to change your life?

Tell Me How?

Personal Training Testimonials

Tru Essencia Represents Women in Hip Hop, October 2009

Checkout our October 2009 Newsletter

http://tinyurl.com/yjpnosg

Bodega Dreams: Part 2

After Unique Force was created we never needed a reason to battle and we battled everyone. We would cruise the neighborhood for jams & house parties, then crash them. There we would scope out the spot for the dopest crew and step to them with NO Fear because we were that confident we would prevail. 9 out of 10 times we did and for those that might have gotten one over on us we would look for them again for round two. We were notorious for going into the projects park jams like we lived there and start cyphers.

As Re-run started to form the crew and set times for practice, putting routines together for the 9 of us… or even two on two combos. We always represented as the Unique Force! Practice would take place in the front of the building or hallway, and in the original P.A.L on Beck street right off of 156 street! Did not take us long to build a rep for the crew to beat, especially since there were not many girls at that time popping. We had our schedule for everyday. After school we would practice, play double dutch, hop scotch, Truth/Dare/Consequence/Promise or Repeat, cruise the neighborhood for parties & cuties and work on getting home before curfew (needless to say that rarely happened).

There was more to us then meets the eye. Once we were old enough to work summer youth it was a huge accomplishment for us. We were making our own money. So on payday we would shop together for matching outfits.

Our style the way we rocked our gear (fashion) was very important. Image/Attitude was everything to us and as important as our dancing skills in those cyphers.

Summers were amazing and fun for us we worked for the youth program to buy the latest gear… and would be in trouble half the time for spending the entire check on our gear. Try explaining that to your mom, I got paid but I am broke can I have $5 or $10 dollars to hang. I can still hear the lecture now, as I ran down the hall and the shoe my mom threw would turn the corner to hit me in the back of my head.

So when you stepped out the house you knew your gear had to be tight and you had to look Dope, Fly, Fresh and yes we are talking about the decade when it is was necessary to wear Lee’s with a Graff piece on the back of the jacket, AJs 2 tone jeans with the matching denim jacket; blue in the front gray in the back of the jeans. We rocked all flavors (colors) acid wash jeans and farmer pants that were 2 or 3 sizes bigger than your actual size that was best baggy, baggy, and baggy.

Budweiser hats & the sun-visors too, hats tilted to the side just so; with Over-sized Mickey Mouse T-shirts, or cartoon characters Fat Albert, just to name a few. If you didn’t own one of those shirts your style! you and your crew were straight WHACK! On the block everybody rocked the same thing, but it was more about how you could put it together, to make you and your crew stand out. The extra long shorts, these shorts would meet the top of your socks. There’s a science to this (put socks on straight up to your knee then you’d start to slouch them down making sure they are both even.) if they weren’t you’d get snapped on jokes from everybody! LOLs

Now you pair it up with some Kix (sneakers) the Unique Force rocked all the Latest from head toe Diadora, Tiger (baseball cleats), Lotto’s, K-Swiss, Nike Cross-trainers (Quarter top red, black, and gray with either a black strap or a gray), original Jordan, Pumas, Adidas with 45 inch laces; the laces should match the outfit. Sometimes we switched the colors of our kix, for example if the colors for the night were red & black we’d put one black sneaker on foot, and a red on the other with the matching slouching socks Unique Force being one of the first crews to mix and match our sneakers, and cross colors with the socks.

We would also spend money on accessories to go with the gear like, Louis Vutton pouch which you’d hang around your neck, Gold Caps with symbol or the letter of your name, four finger rings, and the big phat robe chains with door-knocker earrings, bamboo earrings.

It didn’t stop at just that we had to get the Fro right (hair).Lissette was always great for doing our hair the latest hair cut/styles mushrooms, Salt&Pepper, finger waves, etc, to go with our funky fresh dressed to impress ready to party selves.

When the season changed to the winter! Our gear continued to be dope, now we’d break out our flight jackets, eight ball, sheepskins, leather bombers, bear coats, triple fat goose (different lengths, short, mid length, and my favorite full length trench triple fat goose, and fashion style boots to match our clothes and coats.

During this time girls didn’t really wear Timberland boots… Timbs came out for girls later on in the 90’s.

Of course we were young so we had our moments when trouble found us and we needed to defend ourselves. Or if we were at a jam it usually got shot up and we had to run away from the trouble, only to return 20mins later to continue dancing. Something I would NOT do now;-) But when you are young you think you are invincible. But the music drove us. We had to go back for the beats. The music took over our mind, body & souls. We could hear a jam from a mile away. Then as got closer our favorite jams were always playing so we would run to get there. The running was our warm-up;-)

We won some, we lost some, we were mugged for jewelry, bullied by neighborhood bullies, only to strike back, we dated guys we liked, rejected by the ones that got away, performed at venues, theaters, streets, built a reputation for being the Get Along Gang because we were always together and did everything together, good & bad.

Those were the days…

Tips for Healthy Cooking

HEALTH TIP

You don't have to be Oprah Winfrey's gourmet chef or spend a fortune on expensive cookware to prepare food in healthy ways. You can make your favorite dishes without large amounts of fat or salt using basic cooking techniques.



Baking isn't just for breads and desserts. You can also bake poultry, lean meat, seafood, and vegetables. Baking usually doesn't require adding fat to the food, although you may need to baste the food to keep it from drying out. Simply place your desired food in a pan or dish and cook either covered or uncovered.



Roasting is like baking, but usually at higher temperatures. You can place your food in a roasting pan or on a baking sheet. When roasting meat, poultry or seafood, put a rack inside the roasting pan which will allow the fat in the food to drip away during cooking.



Broiling and grilling are cooking methods which allow the fat to drip away from the food. Both methods expose the food to a direct heat source. To broil, place the food on a broiler rack in the oven below a heat element. To grill, place the food on a rack above either a bed of charcoal or you may want to use a gas grill. A grill basket is very useful when cooking smaller items such as vegetables or seafood.



Braising is a two step technique. The ingredient is first placed in a pan on top of the stove and browned. A small amount of liquid, usually water or broth, is added. Then, the ingredient and the liquid is covered and slowly cooked. The cooking liquid is sometimes used afterward to form a nutrient-rich sauce.



Poaching involves gently simmering ingredients in water until they are cooked through. You may also choose a more flavorful liquid such as broth, juice or vinegar. Be sure to use a covered pan that best fits your food which will enable you to use a minimal amount of liquid.



Steaming is one of the simplest cooking methods. Place the food in a perforated basket and suspend it above simmering liquid. You can use water with seasonings added, or you may choose a more flavorful liquid. Flavor the food as it cooks.



Stir-frying is a traditional Asian cooking method which requires only a small amount of oil or nonstick cooking spray. The food is cut into small, uniform-sized pieces and then rapidly stirred in a wok or large nonstick frying pan.



You can give your meal more appeal by adding color, aroma and taste to your food. An excellent way is through the use of herbs and spices. You can add dried herbs in the early cooking stages, or fresh herbs toward the end of cooking. Be sure to use fresh herbs that aren't wilted and that have bright color. If you substitute dry herbs for fresh, only use one-third the amount.



Now that you're armed with the proper cooking techniques, you can prepare your meals like the pros, making them healthier and more appealing.

Vitamin D: Herb Ready

Working with different people providing guidelines on the best way to incorporate Time Management, Herbal Remedies, and Fitness Plan, specifically to fit whatever needs they may have.

Brings me to this month’s article… I recently assessed someone (whom later I signed on as a client) come to me with many different problems.

One in particular was of vitamins, and a consistent tightness she felt in her joints, and muscles. One works with the other… if your body is lacking a certain vitamin! You’re going to feel the difference in your muscles, and joints, always feeling fatigue, etc cause at some point your body is going to scream out to you! The choice is yours… I hope that you are able to listen to your body.

She later explained to me her need for increasing the intake of vitamin D! per her doctor’s request. To my surprise he wanted her to intake about 6, 000 IU per day… when the minimum is 2, 000 IU through supplements for adult women, if this was the cold bitter winter I could understand such a high dosage of the vitamin. During the winter time we are less likely to expose our bodies to sunlight.

My client went to the doctor twice at the very, beginning of the summer. Only to come back after both visits not satisfied with the answers she was given.

She spoke to a few friends and found her-self being referred to me through a former co-worker. I sat taking notes as I assessed her and for the life of me could not understand why? He could not give her a valid answer (excuse) as to why she should continue with the dosages he recommended. She noticed she would feel sick after taking the second round of vitamins and medications. This same doctor insisted she continue to take all the medications and vitamins with no other alternatives.

I am not a doctor! But I was able to help her find alternative ways to get vitamin D, into her system “This person of modern medicine” could not put together a different way to get her back on the right track. I later questioned his work ethics… or was this particular Dr. just plain old lazy. I am not saying that all Doctor’s are like this but man oh man where did this person get his medical degree? a Cracker Jack Box perhaps.

I asked her to expose herself to sunlight during mid-afternoon for only few minutes, gave her some basic foods that I knew would help boost her Vitamin D and asked her to incorporate a few herbs like turmeric, ginger and supplements to help moisturize her joint and muscles.

Considering your body can generate vitamin D by exposing your body in the sunlight
for at least 15-20 minutes daily… it is recommended to do so during the midday, and it is suggested to use sunscreen on your face and hands (intake the sunlight in moderation).

My Client is on her road to recovery… I have been working with her for 30 days now. She is feeling better everyday noticing the difference with her endurance, stamina, and even her sleeping patterns with the feeling of being well-rested when she wakes up in the mornings. Once completed with the program she’ll be giving her testimony on how it changed her life.

Here is a basic fact list:

Vitamin D keep our bones healthy, reduces the risk in developing “Breast Cancer”, Colon Cancer, High Blood Pressure, and Arthritis.

Eat Your Vitamin D – Some foods help to boost your intake of this vitamin

Foods and drinks like:

*8oz of a glass of milk contain 100 IU

*cold-water fish contain 250 to 650 IU per 3.5oz

*egg yolks contain 100 IU

*dried shitake mushrooms contain 1,600 IU of D2 per 3.5oz serving

I am not against modern medicine. I do believe in questioning the doctor when visiting for your annual check-up. Society has made it easy to take all the information doctors give us and accept it at face value.

It is a new age, people are more aware of their choices when it comes to health & wellness. Age of herbs, minerals and supplements, understanding that we can help ourselves utilizing the natural resources of the earth.

Remember Food For fuel Not Emotion-Herby Ready!

Helpful Tip preparing your skin for the winter:

For Dry Skin --- Use Hazelnut Oil this, this oil is like the natural oil our skin
produces. This lightweight moisturizer penetrates the upper layer
the epidermis. The best way to use the oil is to apply the oil at
night before going to sleep this will allow the oil to soak into
your skin.