My Equilibrium Coach Blog

How Federal Workers are Using Social Media

Fran Bishop — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 13:07:00 GMT

How Employees Use Social Media

Technology has truly changed the business landscape. Through the invention of facebook, twitter and other social networks, information now rests at your very finger tips and is more time sensitive than ever. But how does availability of social networks effect the federal or corporate employee and more importantly how can you leverage these media resources to enhance your career and connections?

Social Networks: Are the New Chat line of News
Remember when you'd read your favorite columnist or gossip rag each week to get your news. Even when AOL's "You Got Mail" splashed into our lives, news updates were still limited by the columnist or reporter that followed a certain area of news. That is no longer. Today anyone, anywhere can be a reporter with a cellphone or a camera.

How can this help you? Stay in tune and up to date with your industry and federal agency. Choose two or three online blogs or news services that are relevant to your area of business such as: FCW.com for federal business leaders, DEOMI.org for government personnel involved in EEO issues or theasbc.org for federal government contracting.

Social Networks: Give and receive Resources & Connections
Signing up on a social network is just the beginning. It's important to demonstrate your expertise and willingness to be a resource. Asking questions and creating idea threads are a great way to launch conversations that can lead to a new job or consulting opportunity. You can also do a great deal of research on companies or people you want and need to know more about. As the old adage goes "reach out and touch someone"....ma bell is now online!

Can you or your office team use social media skill training to enhance your presence in your company or federal agency?

Not sure where to start, Contact us today for our customized list of training & development, work-life and leadership workshops: 866-659-3400 or franb@afmsco.com.

New Year Note From Fran

Fran Bishop — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:58:00 GMT

New Look...New Happenings...New Challenges

Hip!!! Hip!!! Can you tell how siked I am that the New Year has begun?I love change (which most of you, my favorite readers know well), since I talk about changes and challenges in just about every other newsletter I write! Can you tell I'm really into this change thing?

Perhaps "change" is too broad. Perhaps what I really mean is the evolution of life. Those new occurrences or opportunities that shape our lives and make them more meaningful. Often those occurrences create discomfort or temporary tribulations in our lives that we'd rather not experience. However, most highly successful people will tell you that it is through these adversities or challenges in life that we grow,learn and evolve into stronger, wiser, more adaptable human beings.

That is exactly what each New Year ALWAYS represents to me. The opportunity to grow and develop while supporting and serving others in their quest to do the same. This year MyEquilibriumCoach & Aerobodies is taking on a few new challenges and opportunities of its own. We hope that you will share this wild and exciting ride with us.

This post was published in Healthy Reflections e-zine by Fran Bishop. Signup for newsletter here

Five Ways to Keep Ten Pounds Off

Fran Bishop — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:25:00 GMT

Yeah... So you've lost those dreaded 15 pounds. But now what must you do to KEEP them off? Stay on your favorite diet? Find a new less intense diet? Hire a trainer? Current research shows at any given time in America, approximately 40% of women and 25% of men are trying to lose weight (Kruger et. al 2005).

So what should you do? Check out the National Weight Control Registry for one (NWCR), a database that tracks persons who’ve lost at least 30 pounds and successfully kept the weight off for at least one year.

The following are a few of the recommendations of NWCR and the Aerobodies Fitness Team heartily endorses with these strategies:

1- Mindful Eating – knowing why and what you're eating rather than mindlessly snacking is key. Often times emotions, feels of sadness or fear or anger crowd our thinking and rather than deal with what is we eat. Are you really hungry or feeding a feeling. Check yourself out.

2- Exercise Regularly – sounds like a no brainer but really, persons who consistently exercise several times per week are far more likely to keep the weight off once they lost unwanted pounds.

3- Eat breakfast – missing meals is the first way to lose the battle of the bulge. Eating sensibly, first thing in the morning to start your metabolism and feed your empty stomach is an excellent way to keep the weight away.

4- Keep a food journal – "I hate doing this", yes we hear the complaint all the time, but persons who write down what they eat, know how and where they're going wrong. Monitoring your diet helps you stay on course…think before you eat!

5- Step on the scale – once a week, monitoring your weight will help you self correct before going too far off course.

6- Find Fit Friends – we are who we associate with; so if you want to get fit, find fit friends. They'll support, encourage and coach you to stay true to yourself and your goals

Taking these six steps is the key component of keeping a health and figure you've worked so hard to achieve. Remember its easy to lose it... the key is KEEPING IT OFF!

The Quickest Way to Lean-Toned Arms

Fran Bishop — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:09:00 GMT

BY: Jaci Sellenrick

Can you remember doing a push-up when you were younger or at your early teenage years? A push-up can help you indicate what kind of physical condition you are in. It tests the whole body by engaging muscle groups in the arms, chest, abdomen, hips and legs. It requires the body to be in a plank position with toes and palms on the floor. Best of all can tone your arms, shoulders and chest muscles really fast and truly demonstrate your own physical strength and power.

In reality, not every person can do a push-up. Fitness experts have noted that people should be focusing on their upper-body fitness and strength. Aerobics and cardiovascular fitness is not the only key to successful exercise. The focus has been more about strength training exercises.

Push-ups are great for older people as well. The ability to do them more than once and with proper form is an important indicator of your overall strength. If the floor-based push-up is too difficult, start by leaning against a countertop or door frame at a 45-degree angle and pressing up and down. Eventually you can move to stairs and then the floor.

Increasing your strength and endurance with push-ups can be great added benefit to your daily routine workouts. Sometimes the simplest techniques may be the key to a stronger, leaner body. So get moving on those pushups today!

Shorter Workouts Maximum Results

Fran Bishop — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:21:00 GMT

BY: Jaci Sellenrick

As the length of this article will attest, short and concise can often be more effective than long, drawn out and laborious. Especially when it comes to your fitness training.

Do you want to improve your overall endurance or your energy level? You can with shorter, high-intensity workouts. In a study by Medicine & Science in Sports & Science magazine showed that endurance leads to higher intensity workouts. After one month, people who did 30-minute interval cycling workouts three days a week improved their VO2 max twice as much as those who biked at a steady pace for one hour four times a week.

What is VO2 max? VO2 max is the maximum capacity of an individual’s body to transport oxygen during exercise, which will reflect the level of physical fitness of that individual. A higher VO2 max allows your heart to pump more blood with every beat. Which means you can exercise longer and go faster with less effort.

Try to increase your speed and resistance level during your workouts. This will be a shortcut to a slimmer you!

3 Quick Ways to Motivate Yourself

Fran Bishop — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:15:00 GMT

By: Jaci Sellenrick

Everyone knows that exercising takes a lot of mental confidence just to feel comfortable at the gym. The more confidence and desire you have in yourself, the more likely you will be engaged in physical fitness. People with low confidence and poor self-perception will tend to make excuses not to exercise. What can be done to help boost your confidence and desire to exercise?

The need for health promotion programs will help enhance your confidence and motivation. Providing education on health benefits of physical activity will help you have that desire to increase your fitness by staying healthy.
Social support and availability of programs will help create a positive desire to exercise. The more people that are around you that give you positive reinforcement will help your confidence level grow in terms of exercising. The more possible fitness programs that are available to you, the more options you can find an exercise workout to fit your fitness level.
Creating goals will create that desire and confidence level to get to the gym and workout. Writing down what you want to accomplish in the gym, the days of the week you want to work out or even the exercises you want to do will help enhance your fitness. Writing down your goal weight or body measurements you want to reach will help you stay motivated while you exercise as well.

These are a few options to help you increase your confidence and boost your desire to stay active. Remember to be true to yourself and stay motivated each day to make time for physical activity each day!

Best two Ways to Hydrate your Body

Fran Bishop — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:32:00 GMT

Do you know the best way to hydrate your body while exercising? Is it hard to choose between Gatorade, PowerAde, or even water?

Well if you are active in the gym, then I have the correct solution for you! If you are running a race, then you should be getting approximately 8 ounces of a sports drink (to restore your electrolytes) or water possibly every 20 minutes. The amount of fluid that you lose while exercising or running should be replaced adequately before, during and after a workout. This will help the body break away from being dehydrated.

A quick tip to remember while performing your weekly exercise program: If you exercise less than 40 minutes then replenishing with water is just fine. If you exercise more than 40 minutes having a sports drink is better. It will properly restore electrolytes and give your system the nutrient boost it may have expelled through the sweat glands.

When choosing a sports drink, look for salt and sugar on the label and chose a flavor that you like. Weigh yourself right before and after workouts and for every pound lost, drink eight ounces of fluid. Your body is an important biological system, so listen to it very carefully when you are exercising

Swine Flu Worries?

Fran Bishop — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:59:00 GMT

If you're running around the house with a facemask and a Lysol sprayer, you're not alone. I was glued to the TV as the World Health Organization raised the current level of the flu's pandemic alert from phase 4 to phase 5. Translation: The flu's widespread human infection from its outbreak in Mexico has been jumping from person to person with relative ease. When I heard that the flu had infected hundreds of people in 11 countries—with over a hundred cases and at least one fatality in the U.S.—I started avoiding crowded places, and my ears perked up whenever I heard a cough or sneeze.

Then I started to worry about the kids. Nearly 300 schools with confirmed or possible flu cases were recently closed—including New York, California and Texas. Presently, the Health Department is investigating an alleged swine flu outbreak at a prep school in Queens, where 100 students missed classes because of flu-like illness. The good news: The majority of cases are occurring in adults between 25 and 44 years of age.

As a health conscious person, I'm watching for flu symptoms. Things like fever, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. And I do what I can to protect my family. That means I avoid anyone who has flu symptoms. If I touch a public doorknob, armrest, gym equipment, shopping cart or any countertop, I keep my hands away from my eyes, nose and mouth. Then I wash my hands as soon as I can with soap and water. If I suspect I'm getting the flu, I'll see my doctor and stay home.

In love and good health,

Fran Dean Bishop, Award winning Coach and Creator
contact [at] aerobodies.com

Maintaining Your Core Strength by Jaci Sellenrick

Fran Bishop — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:55:00 GMT

Many people want their ‘core’ muscles to look better, yet few realize how important these muscles are to overall health. Your core muscles run the entire length of your torso to stabilize your spine and pelvis. They allow you to stand upright and move on two feet. They also help you transfer energy, shift body weight and move in any direction. All the more reason to strengthen and condition these specific muscles. The goal of core stability is to maintain a foundation from the center of the body out to the limbs. There are many different muscles that make up the core. They include:
•   Rectus Abdominis
•   Erector Spinae
•   Multifidus
•   External/Internal Obliques
•   Hip Flexors
•   Transverse Abdominis

Your abdominals don't deserve all the credit for your core. The back is a major foundation of strength, yet it's also an area of weakness for many people. Weak, unbalanced core muscles are linked to low back pain. So the stronger your core muscles become, the easier it will be to maintain your posture and reduce the strain on your spine. Training your core muscles can correct postural imbalances that could lead to injuries. But the biggest benefit of core training is to reach a level of fitness essential to daily living and regular activities. So be active every day. Go to the gym, take an abs class, or run outside or on a treadmill. Strengthening your core will eventually lead your torso to work as a solid unit, with the front and back muscles contracting at the same time.

There are many different exercises to strengthen your core, as well as exercise equipment that will help in your training. Body weight exercises are very helpful in developing core strength (sit-ups, planks, pushups, back bridge, back extension). Some great products to enhance your core strength include:
•   Dumbbells
•   Stability Balls
•   Kettlebells
•   Medicine Balls
•   Bosu Ball, Balance Boards, wobble boards

It's never too late to make a difference for your body! Consider this a wake-up call to improve your core. Strengthening and conditioning core muscles can help you maintain great torso and postural stability—and live a healthy life!

What is Sodium?

Fran Bishop — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:54:00 GMT

When you think of sodium, you should think of the amount of salt that is in your food. Sodium is a nutrient that most of us eat too much of. Salt helps to enhance the flavor of some foods, but it takes very little salt to accomplish that goal.

Look at food labels to see how much sodium you are eating. Foods high in sodium tend to be high in saturated fat. A "low sodium" food contains less than 140 mg of sodium per serving. Watch how much sodium you eat!!!

Task for you: Challenge yourself to cut the amount of sodium that you eat by not adding any salt to your food for one week. See how different your food can taste and how you feel.

Daily Lifestyle Activities

Fran Bishop — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:14:00 GMT

Try to do different daily activities to get your 30 minutes or more of physical activity in. Instead of sitting on the couch and watching TV, go take a ride with a friend on your bicycle. You can go out for a nice walk, go on a hike, or even play a sport with former neighbors. Lifestyle activities can involve the family as well. Not all activities need to be just for one person. Getting others involved can help encourage a child, friend or family member to be less sedentary, which may help them become more active.

You all are very aware that video games are popular at a young age. More and more health clubs are inviting and creating daily activities for you to help you stay active. Health clubs have been offering workouts for popular video games like “Dance, Dance Revolution” or “In The Groove,” which have modes for calorie burning on the footpads. This is a great way to stay active and still get a great workout!

Be flexible and creative when picking YOUR daily lifestyle activity. Make exercise and physical activity a fun opportunity each and every day!

Who motivates you to exercise?

Fran Bishop — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:55:00 GMT

Exercise is important for everyone. Whether it's dancing, playing soccer, tennis or field hockey, or just going for a long power walk, you may not always feel the excitement or motivation to get moving. That's when having an exercise partner or fitness buddy becomes most important.

An exercise partner is someone who will tell you that you need to get up and get moving EVEN when you have no interest or energy to do so. Plus, a fitness buddy can challenge you to learn new ways of moving and staying in shape.

MECKids.com will be providing a great way for you to find new exercise buddies.

MECKids Stress Management Tip

Fran Bishop — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:34:00 GMT

Set a realistic goals for yourself, such as fitting learning a new sport, joining a team, doing some form of exercise everyday with a friend. Write your goals on small, colorful index cards, and place them in easy to find places in your room, around the house or even in your locker at school, so they are always in view!

Setting a goal to learn a new exercise is a great goal. Have you tried Pilates (pronounced pa -la - tees) or stretching & toning? Before you work out why not do some light stretching to loosen up your muscles and to prevent injury. Make it a goal! Research shows that people who write down their goals are more likely to fulfill them than those who do not.

Keep up the hard work!

How many ways can you exercise?

Fran Bishop — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:52:00 GMT

Two, three maybe four! Then here's your challenge for the next seven days try to do a different type of exercise each day for your daily workout. Here are a six ideas but see if you can add at least 4 more:

o Ride your Bike
o Go For a Hike
o Play Kickball
o Go Skating
o Take a Swim
o Run with your Dog
o Now add 4 more....

Did you burn more calories or increase your steps? write to us [at] coach@aerobodies.com and tell us what happened!! We love hearing from you!

Keep up the hard work

Why Drink Milk?

Fran Bishop — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 04:40:00 GMT

Why should you drink or eat milk products? Dairy products are a great source of protein, calcium and vitamin D. These are all nutrients for strong bones. You all probably wonder what a serving size of milk is? Well, here are some examples (http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyrmid/food_library/milk/cheddar.html):

1) 1 cup of milk or yogurt
2) 1 ½ ounces of cheese

There is not a big difference between 2%, 1% or skim milk. The only difference between the three is the amount of fat in them. You may think that skim milk is whole milk with water added to it. This is not true! Whole milk is skim milk with some of the fat added back to it. Watch the fat content of the milk you drink each day. Getting proper nutrients into the body is important, but watching for appropriate servings is also important.

Did you KNOW: If you are drinking three cups of whole milk a day that is the same as eating 10 ½ strips of bacon.

Take the Stairs for your Fitness!

Fran Bishop — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:10:00 GMT

Do you take the elevator instead of the stairs when you are out in public, at school or at the mall? Taking the elevator seems like a simple task which is why most people take the easy way out. Walking up or down the stairs will help you stay more active throughout the day by moving more. Just standing in an elevator can make you less active, even when you are at a young age.

Did you know that taking the stairs is better for your heart? Focusing on using the stairs will help keep you healthier and stay more active.

Make exercise fun and ask your friends to take the staircase instead of the elevator!!

MECKids Weight Training Tip

Fran Bishop — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:46:00 GMT

Although most people think weight training (also know as strength training) simply makes you stronger by adding muscle mass to your body, it does way more than that! Regular weight training helps you burn more calories even when you're not doing anything at all!

This is because the increased muscle mass raises your resting metabolism. Your resting metabolism is basically how fast you burn calories when you are not moving. Another benefit of strength training is, it not only makes your muscles stronger but also your bones and joints! So you significantly decrease both your risk of injury when you are young and medical conditions when you are older, such as osteoporosis (the weakening of bones).

Try to incorporate strength training to your workout no more than 2 -3 days per week. Be sure to ask one of your school coaches or fitness professional (from a local gym) for help before beginning any fitness program.

I'll be back next week with more EQ5 tips! Remember... the EQ5 is all about cardiovascular exercise, strength training, nutrition, stress management, and flexibility.

Keep up the hard work! This post is brought to you by Steptoe & Johnson

MECKids Stress Management Tip

Fran Bishop — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:56:00 GMT

As a teen, you're probably experiencing significant change in your life. You may be taking on more responsibility, tougher schoolwork, afterschool activities not to mention a part time job and other family responsibilities.

How are you dealing with all of it? Do find yourself irritable, perhaps withdrawing from family or friends? Having troubles sleeping? Are you skipping meals, experiencing anger, uneasiness or just feel generally stressed out?

One of the best ways to deal with stress is through exercise. Stress produces chemicals in your body that make you feel tense, causing your heart rate and blood pressure to increase. Exercise helps to MOVE these chemicals out of your body and reduce the stress and tension you are experiencing. It even helps you sleep better! Find a fitness activity that will get you moving and having fun at the same time!

This post is brought to you by Stott Pilates. Learn more about the Stott Pilates method and programs they offer to help you reduce stress today!

Questions, email us at contact@meckids.com

MECKids Challenge Tip #3

Fran Bishop — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 17:17:00 GMT

Just like cardio activity and strength training should be incorporated into your fitness routine, the same goes for stretching to increase flexibility. Stretching can help prevent sports-related injuries, improve your range of motion, and even decrease muscle soreness after a workout.

A simple way to add flexibility exercises to your everyday lifestyle is to get off the couch and do some stretches when watching TV. You won't miss your favorite television program, but you are still working towards a healthier body!

If you are really looking to increase your flexibility, try taking a Pilates Class for Teens at a local aerobics studio or ask an MECKids Coach for flexiblilty tips by clicking on the "Contact My Coach" link after logging on to MECKids.com.

This post is brought to you by Les Mills. Learn more about their BODYFLOW Classes that bring together Yoga, Tai Chi, and Pilates for a workout that really increases flexibility and strength.

We're looking forward to awarding our MECKids Winner(s) in May. Awards provided by:

Betsey Johnson
The GapWizards,
Mystics and the Nationals And more....

Questions, contact us today at contact@meckids.com

MECKids Challenge Tip #2

Fran Bishop — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:21:00 GMT

Many people have difficulty deciding serving sizes for different types of food. Everyday objects can be used to help with portion control. For example, a cup of pasta or cereal is about the size of a fist, an ounce of cheese is the size of two dice, a cup of green salad is equal to a baseball, and a cup of cut-up fruit is equal to the size of a fist.

This post brought to you by sponsor Stott Pilates. Check out Stott Pilates innovative mind/body pilates training programs today.

We're looking forward to awarding our MECKids Winner(s) in May. Awards provided by:

Betsey Johnson
The GapWizards,
Mystics and the Nationals
And more....

Questions, contact us today at contact@meckids.com