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Helping You Build a Health and Fitness Focused Habitus
What the heck is a Habitus you ask?
'Habitus' actually has 2 separate and distinct meanings, which is part of the reason why I love this word/concept so much. In a medical or physiological sense, 'Habitus' refers one's general constitution, especially their physical build (endomorph, ectomorph, or mesomorph) (1). In a sociological sense, one's 'Habitus' is a structuring feature of their life and is determined by a number of influences on the individual including their socioeconomic status, their peer group, and their religion; these influences are internalized and result in the individual forming certain attitudes, actions and habits (2).
You've probably heard at some point in your life that "Abs are made in the kitchen" and that "You can't outrun a bad diet". Though often bastardized, the concepts at the root of these statements are ultimately true. Speak to any high level or professional athlete about keys to their performance, and they'll likely mention sleep quality, diet, training, equipment, great coaching and the support of their teammates as pivotal to their performance. Talk to any accredited health expert and they'll highlight the importance of each of the above factors, as well as stress management, social support, and outlook as important facets in determining health. The point I'm trying to make here is this:
Achieving health and fitness relies on more than a great training program or a few supplements. If you want to truly meet your health and fitness goals, you need to develop an entire Health and Fitness Focused Habitus!
Your social group, your training schedule, your diet, your stress management techniques, your work schedule... each and every one of these factors influences your health and fitness! Don't believe me? Have you ever skipped a workout because your friends peer pressured you to go out with them? Given up your workout time to deal with an extra-heavy workload? Am I saying you have to be perfect? Certainly not! But your chances at achieving your goals are much greater if you set yourself up for success by, for example, surrounding yourself with others than understand your training and dietary choices, choosing a trainer or program that is safe, efficient and conducive to your goals, and developing wellness strategies.
I personally choose to believe that health is not merely the absence of illness or disease, but rather also includes feeling amazing, energetic and enthusiastic EVERY damn day; while the definition of fitness may vary between people (e.g. being able to lift heavy stuff vs being able to run a marathon) for most I think it can be summed up as optimum performance. Either way, with the Build and Burn Program, my goal is help YOU achieve optimum health and fitness, by helping you develop a Health and Fitness Focused Habitus!
So How Do We Do It?
Get Up. Get Moving. Get Nourished. Get to Work!
You might have noticed a few repetitive factors mentioned above...I did that on purpose (I swear). What I listed above as key facets of health and fitness are those parts of our life and training that we have control over! Each of the factors listed above, like dietary choices and stress management techniques are modifiable, and boy do they have a powerful influence on our overall health! The Build and Burn Program has a number facets designed to address each of these health influencing factors!
High Quality and Consistent Programming
Training is obviously pivotal to reaching your fitness goals. The Build and Burn program is primarily bodyweight training designed to help you build efficient and safe movement patterns, to develop certain (awesome) movement skills such as pistols and L-sits, and to build capacity (i.e. Build 'Cardio or Get Better Conditioned'). As a side-benefit to Smart and Consistent Training many women often see an improvement in their body composition: They may build muscle or lose fat or inches! To show I'm serious about the thought and preparation that goes into programming, go ahead and check out the registration page -- you'll notice the main focus of each workout for the entire month is listed! On Mondays we BUILD: we work on bodyweight strength including unilateral movements (your cortisol levels are high enough on a Monday morning; we don't need to destroy you with a heavy conditioning workout). On Wednesdays we BURN: A thorough warm-up and strategically planned Metabolic Conditioning Workout is programmed. On Fridays we BUILD, BURN & RESTORE: After a long hard week, we spend some focused time on a 'cool' bodyweight skill, do a little bit of conditioning to release some endorphins, and then send you floating into your weekend on a cloud of restorative mobility.
Get'er Done Early
Even though I absolutely love training, when it hits about 3 pm, if I haven't yet been in the gym, getting my training in starts to weigh on me; I start getting stressed about whether I'll make it to the gym and be able to work as hard as I usually do. I have spoken to a number of women in this program, as well as men and women in other early morning classes I've taught, and some of the main feedback I hear is:
By working out early, I feel like I've accomplished so much by the time I get to work.
I leave the class feeling happy and energized
I feel great because I don't have to stress about getting my workout in in the afternoon. I have the whole evening to myself.
Pump the endorphins and dump the stress early to set yourself up for a fantastic day!
COmmunity
By keeping the Build and Burn program small (12 participants max.) I've been able to help foster a supportive, encouraging and accepting atmosphere among the participants. In addition to attending the Build and Burn classes together 2 or 3 times per week, there is also an online (Facebook) group community where I post updates on equipment, programming, and upcoming events. Any current or past Build and Burner is free to comment or post in the group, and the gals often let each other know when they'll be missing a class (a few different participants walk or cycle to and from class together). Community support within and outside the classroom is a really positive influence on health and fitness behaviours!
Additionally, I maintain a light, fun, and positive atmosphere within the classroom, focused on quality of work, rather than quick results! I won't yell at you, although I will tell jokes and sing! I can (almost) certainly promise you'll leave each class with a smile....unless you hate hollow rocks, then all bets are off!
Food
Yes, I have been known to bring baked (and no-bake baked) treats into class, but I'm not trying to bribe you here with these (even thought they're delicious lol). Starting in August I'll be teaming up with a local small business to offer HEALTHY Breakfast delivery to the studio for the end of class, to help you build your Habitus and to remove another common stress from your work day! Even better news: I'll be working with the business owners (including a Naturopath) personally to help develop meals tailored to optimizing your recovery from each workout each week!
Keep an Open Mind and Do You
While there are other early morning classes and women's bootcamps in the city, there are very few teachers/trainers I would recommend without reservation. Lucky for me, one of the bestest female trainers in the city also happens to be super lovely and a close personal friend! Her name is Paluna Santamaria and she runs One Word Club, a skill focused women's training program at YogaSpace M/W/F from 7-8 am. Now it might sound counter-intuitive for me to be promoting another morning women's training program, but I did tell you earlier that I want to help YOU build YOUR OWN Habitus, and that means finding the program, or mix of programs that works best for your goals. And for this reason, I'm super excited to announce the
Build & Burn x ONe Word Club August Exchange program
What does this mean? Sign up for a month-long cycle of either Build and Burn or One Word Club and you can try a class in the opposite program for FREE! All you have to do is email either myself (if you're visiting Build and Burn) or Paluna (if you'll be visiting OWC) with the date you wish to attend and Presto Changeo, YOU'RE IN!
Choose your Schedule
Joining a new training program should be an amazing experience, not one that creates stress. For this reason, I offer 2 or 3 day a week memberships for Build and Burn so you can choose a commitment level that fits in your schedule and doesn't overwhelm you! Changing a number of habits is not going to be easy, so keep it manageable! If 2 days a week seems like the best fit for you right now, that membership option is there for you! Want to jump in with both feet? We'll see you bright and early M/W/& F mornings, ready to #riseandshine!
The Ball is In Your Court
Want to join us? Build bodyweight strength and skills, burn away stress and amp up your conditioning? The August cycle begins Wed August 3rd at 6 am! Click here for all the nitty gritty details and registration! Hope to see you there!
(1) Habitus. Accessed at http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/habitus on July 25, 2016.
(2) Habitus [sociology]. Accessed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitus_(sociology) on July 25, 2016.
