What Good's A Coach?..learn why you should have a good one.

"One of the best reasons for practising every day, is that it creates a habit. 

It’s been said that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. Set aside a time slot every day to exercise whether it’s early in the morning or late at night. Whether it’s for 15 minutes or an hour, give yourself that time. You can set a block of time or a number of reps to complete every day.

This may work as it will force you to actually complete a set amount of exercises, versus using an allotted amount of time which may be wasted on those days when you don’t feel like moving. And there will be days when exercising isn’t easy, but it’s important to move. 

Any musician will agree that practice is critical to becoming a master of your craft. The famous trumpeter, Doc Severson, of The Tonight Show, once said that he would notice his skill or lack of, when he didn’t practice for one day, and his band would notice if he didn’t practice for two days and after three days, the audience would notice. Despite how good you may be, practice is critical for everyone." And this is why you need a good coach."

*Inspiration..."I have noticed that in no great adventure has been undertaken by one man on his own" a quote from a Native American Chief..but now we know that this applies to everyone male or female who seeks to gain and maintain great levels of health and fitness

*Motivation...

• You're going to learn how to build strength & avoid injury

• You're going to learn how to target more work in less time

• You're going to understand the application of athletic training for the non-athlete

• You'll learn how to use just your bodyweight (making it portable)

• You're going to discover that fat loss results get easier as you advance your exercise program

• You're going to be blown away by the amount of work you can accomplish in so little time!

And all of this will motivate you to stay with the programme.

*Self esteem...I met Ernie six month ago, and I have a problem with my legs, the right one doesn’t work very well, which makes walking difficult, I kept falling over!. Ernie started working with me to build up my right leg, and now I can go for long walks, confident that I won’t fall. I would recommend Ernie to anyone who wants to keep fit or who has had an accident and wants to rebuild their muscles.

*Time management "We don't do anything I couldn't do myself. But I wouldn't."

                         "My job is to knock on your door."

*Exercise

*Rehab 

and a heck of a lot more being added all the time. 

Writing success

Monday 26th September 2011..Kenilworth..Warwickshire..UK
Writing is a endurance event..

No matter who you read, or who mentors you the one thing that comes through time and time again is that writing is an endurance event. It takes long term planning with short term goals. It takes dedication to put your fifteen, twenty, thirty minutes or more of writing time into a busy day. But on the 26th September 2011 I saw a feat of performance that acted as real inspiration to me and it came from a snail.
My mentor..

The back of my house is an unlikely location for what may be one of the most outstanding feats of endurance I  have encountered and certainly one that took my breath away. The walk through my garden takes me through a trellised arch of grape vines which rises to about three metres from the ground,  with the leaves and grapes hanging above my head.

On that  morning I was looking at the number of bunches hanging above me which I hadn't noticed before and something  caught my attention on one of the leaves above my head. I guess right now, your wondering how this ties in with endurance? I saw a snail hanging onto a  leaf slowly eating it's way across the "track." It's shell wasn't that big and it barely covered the size of a thumb nail, but there it was three metres off the ground.

How did it get there? 

How did the snail, carrying it's own house get there?

There was a small trail at the foot of one the post holding this part of the trellis up, but who's to say it was laid by this particular snail. As a traveller, as someone with a touch of the adventurer inside me am I wrong to give this hero the benefit of the doubt. What guts and fortitude it must have taken to begin that climb. What were the dangers of doing a night climb, or was it undertaken over two or three days? I smiled and passed on by.  But I had that little thought to myself that success comes from "keeping going", that sometimes reaching the means of feeding yourself takes great endurance and single mindedness.

What do you think?

And if you have any ideas on how it may have got there apart from climbing, I'd love to hear from you at www.balancehealth-fitness.co.uk

@ErnieBalance on twitter

Video Presentation

Paste this link and be taken to my video testimonial shot in beautiful Chinese location. Then come back to reality when I tell you that the whole presentation was shot on location in a studio on the top floor of Victoria House, Leamington Spa. UK..by one of the leading video and photographic studios around.
Productions like this are now recognised as the way to introduce your business.
The whole process was filmed, produced and edited by Images2Inspire at their Leamington Spa studios.
Everyone knows that video and head shot pictures are now vital to growing their business. And most people know that professional productions are now required to even get a second glance at their profile.

• You need a producer rather than a photographer.
• You need a professional not just with a camera but with the studio, range of cameras, lighting and sound to make every shot stand out.
• You need a director who doesn't accept second best from you or from themselves.

You need Martin and Dominic Grahame-Dunn of Images2Inspire 
Martin is world renowned for his photography and mentoring programmes while Dominic has spent most of his working life around computers in the business and armed services sector.

First Position..Standing Still...and Learn to Rock

Hi Again

I hope you've been able to follow the first stage of our programme on using T'ai Chi Exercise to "Move More Easily."
We introduced you to the 1st Position and Learning How To Stand.
In this session we will look at learning "How To Rock." Finding our centre by rocking forward and back; side to side and rotating right and left.

Learning To Rock

In 1^st Position breath in and sink into your feet. Breath out and rock forward from the naval. Feel the weight shift onto the balls of the foot.

• Don't rock forward from the shoulders or lift your heels off the floor.
• Relax the upper body.
• Make sure your feet stay in contact with the floor so that you don't lose balance.
• Repeat the movement x  4  and finish back in the centre position.

Rock from side to side:

Still in the 1st Position breath in and sink into your Right foot. Breath out and move across to the left.

• Bend the left knee and move your centre to the left
• Focus on straightening the right leg
• Repeat x 4

Breath in and move back to the centre..Breath out and rock to the right.

• Bend the right knee and move your centre to the right
• Focus on straightening the left leg
• Repeat x 4 and finish back in the central position

Rotate to the Right: Rotate to the Left:

From the centre position.. Breath out..bend the left knee and turn your centre to the right:

• The weight moves onto the left leg but don't just turn the shoulders, turn from the centre.
• Keep your arms open and relaxed

Breath in to the centre..Breath out..bend the right knee and turn your centre to the left:

• The weight moves onto the right leg and rotate your centre to the left
• Repeat x 4 and finish in the centre.

These exercises help us to find our centre by teaching us to move our it (the navel) and our upper bodies through the plains while maintaining good connection with the floor.

Welcome to 2013..and Moving More Easily

Welcome to 2013 and the new T'ai Chi Exercise workbook from Balance Health and Fitness.

The first days of the New Year can be the most inspiring of the year as we all look forward to a more successful year to come. In reality we all know that they can also be the most difficult. (Perhaps a personal note here: two of my relationships broke up on the first week of a new year.) 

The difference for me came in 2002 when I sat in a bedsit in Coventry knowing that I was one month into owning Balance Health and Fitness as a new company with no start up cash, a few reliable (and great clients) who stayed with me and just the knowledge that it was make or break time. But, I had been training in T'ai Chi for four years and shiatsu or two. 

I had learned to breath more deeply which brought with it relaxation; to move more easily which brought new energy and endurance and more empathy with people who came to me with emotional unease which put my own problems into perspective. The training I received, and the training I now offer has enabled hundreds of people from all walks of life and all levels of fitness to gain and maintain a level of fitness and health which stood them in good stead in times of distress.

Top Tips To Improve Your T'ai Chi Exercise

 Every week we'll go through an aspect of our T'ai Chi session and build a content book of our own we can use whenever we want. The first exercise simply deals with our 1st position and the stance we use to begin all our practice:Instruction:

• "Don't look down." This is the first thing I say to all my group members as they stand for the first time and contemplate the next session. Looking down will change the whole dynamic of what comes next. Simply look ahead and be aware of the comfortable position of your feet. (See 1A) 
• Relax your knees as if you're about to sit down. (Feel your weight sink down into your feet.)
• Tuck your hips under (the tailbone points downwards, not at an angle)
• Relax your shoulders (bring the shoulder blades down) 
• Your arms hang loosely down by your side with a space under your armpits. Fingers open
• Breath in through your nose (a steady count of 4) Breath out through your nose or mouth ( a slow count of 4) I've heard both methods used.
• Let your eyes relax (but not close) I've heard it put as "look through your lashes)

Exercise: Stand in this position for 6 breaths (approximately 1 minute) Build this up steadily until you can "stand still" for five minutes.*
* At first you may find this difficult because of:

1.  Stiffness in your neck and shoulders.. 
2. Your hips and your knees
3. Your ankles and feet

You may also find it very difficult to concentrate on the steady breathing because your mind wanders...

My next thing I tell members is "Not to try...and not to become frustrated. By not "trying to try" I want to make sure you relax into the position and let your muscles become conditioned to standing still. You have the rest of your life to improve your T'ai Chi performance. Lets take it one step at a time.

Begin the next 7 days with this exercise...but if by 7 days you're still unable to stand for 5 minutes, stay here until you can.

Our next article will look at the second stage of the exercise: Rocking:
If you want more tips on "How To Move More Easily" stay with me and add any comments on my e mail: ernie@balancehealth-fitness.co.uk

Moving More Easily..no matter what level of ability

Sixty people a week now move more easily...thanks to T'ai Chi.

The classes I have been fortunate enough to supervise over the last few months have been among the most satisfying of my career so far, because of the quality of members who have visited for a "taster of T'ai Chi Exercise and stayed with me to begin the journey towards "Moving More Easily."
I used to get so frustrated when, men particularly, would look at a class and you could see the bubble appear  "they're only standing still," above their heads.Satisfied that they were far too fit for this "old people's exercise" they would go to their Cross Trainer and begin pumping their arms and legs.
The first twenty minutes of the T'ai Chi involves breathing exercises, standing in "Bear Stance"* you learn to breath slowly to a count of four EASY YES! Just standing in Bear Stance for thirty seconds is difficult for newcomers to the class. If you're an athlete looking into the class we move from "Bear Stance" to "Riding Horse Stance"* a deeper, more physical position which would challenge most people.When we deal with professional athletes we simply increase the time each position is held, 3 minutes in Riding Horse to begin with brings sweat and shaking to many pairs of trained legs (See Below). 

Bear Stance

Riding Horse

   

This first exercise would be a test for our (reluctant) exerciser.

Movement Begins In The Feet

T'ai Chi movement begins in the Core and starts in the feet...

Add caption

I've found that all t'ai chi movement begins in the Core ( for me, the area just below the navel) because all movement begins with a thought and for me the thought is transferred directly to the centre of our bodies just below the navel. My "attention" goes to the feet to begin the movement and in the spirit of Yin and Yang pressure goes into the right leg and foot to move the body to the left and visa verse. In this way movement is balanced and controlled, the legs are strong and powerful while the upper body is relaxed and free of tension (eventually). I believe it's this quality of t'ai chi which is referred to when studies show the exercise helps to decrease the incidence of falls in the elderly.

Stepping forward on one leg by
anchoring the back heel and moving the
hips forward not the shoulders.

Again, whilst newcomers are encouraged  to step well within their range of motion, our athletes are encouraged to explore the length of stride they're able to achieve while being able to step comfortably back to the first position.Throughout the class we learn to step forward, turn right and step forward, turn left and step forward and step backwards, all the time the movements are flowing and controlled. Remember throughout the class we are moving through all plains our sceptical exerciser is still moving through one plain only.

The Ultimate  Strength Exercise.

For me T'ai Chi is the ultimate strength exercise for all comers because of the amount of muscles required to move through the Form with grace. T'ai Chi Ch'uan is a  martial art, a form of fighting as much as the movements required in Tai Kw on Do or Karate where the same movements are delivered at full speed. This is the aspect which, for me makes the difference.

A kick in those martial arts are fast and snapped,delivered and finished in a blink of an eye before the next position is taken. In t'ai chi a kick with the right leg "The Stork"  begins by slowly sinking down onto the left, raising the right knee slowly, extending the right leg parallel to the floor, extending the right foot, withdrawing the right foot and then slowly returning the right leg to the floor in the correct position for the next position. The kick delivered in a flash now takes anything up to twelve to sixteen seconds with all our weight on the slightly bent left leg...and all this time we have to complete controlled movements with both arms circling in opposite directions. The balance, control and flexibility needed to complete this movement on it's own can be a challenge, to do it whilst maintaining grace requires absolute control of core muscles, skeletal muscles and most importantly The Mind.

"The Stork"

Finally, after an hour of T'ai Chi exercise you'll leave feeling mentally relaxed but with a warm energy flowing through the whole of the body, a warmth that either allows you to go home smiling OR as an athlete, with muscles screaming, sweat dripping onto the floor and tiredness demanding sleep. Our sceptical exerciser, he's just climbed off the cross trainer sweating profusely, happy that he's completed his hour on the cross trainer, but he hasn't got to time to do the stretches built into T'ai Chi exercise and his body hasn't been taken through the range of exercises required for a balanced workout.

T'ai Chi, in my opinion is an ultimate exercise.

How would you like to learn how to "Move More Easily"

Contact Ernie Boxall at: www.balancehealth-fitness.co.uk

OR Call 07962 216833 for further details.

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