This Blonde’s fitness philosophy developed over 30 years, 30 years of working out through three pregnancies (very carefully and with professional
guidance), 20 injuries, nine careers, a divorce, the death of loved ones, and various emergencies, celebrations, and tribulations.
I had the extraordinary opportunity to train with some of the most revered exercise experts in the world. I was fortunate to meet a few of them at the very beginning of their careers, such fitness pioneers a Radu Teodorescu, Debbie Dunn and David Barton. When I first moved to Manhattan as a teenage student, I worked out with weights at the Pumping Iron gym, and long before the manufacture and proliferation of Ellipticals and StairMasters, I was already utilizing stairways and parks to enhance my fitness routine. I never let anything get in the way of my work outs. I think this motivation comes from my experiences as a lifeguard during high school, prepped for rescuing bathers at a state park on Long Island. I also had an older brother who wouldn’t let me participate in any of the sports he played with his friends, so my goal in life became, and continues to be, to always be part of the team.
I didn’t want to be left out on the sidelines, excluded. I didn’t want to be the one relegated to counting or cheering (although I do enjoy counting and cheering for the people I love!). As a young woman, I wasn’t making major efforts towards looking good through exercise; my fitness routine was more about feeling strong, healthy and energized.
Later, when I hit my thirties, forties and now fifties, the emphasis on being in great physical shape has allowed me to play numerous sports with my children, and still, to this day, remain in a bikini, on the tennis court and bicycling down the road at a decent speed, despite equestrian jumping injuries, herniated disks, and various other sports related injuries.
Although I’m not an exercise professional, I do have a lifetime of experience pursuing fitness and love for physical challenges, and I’m also training with two exercise professionals at this time, Mary Rose Broidy and Marian Grigoras.
This Blonde’s best treasure map to having a great physical life, a fine-tuned healthy body, and for taking away any of the negativity that goes with not feeling good about oneself begins with waking up in the morning and getting those endorphins flowing.
I always warm up when I wake up. I rotate my neck three or four times to the left and then switch to the right. Really, just waking up with a smile and taking a few minutes to stretch and open all your body parts is one of the most invigorating things we can do. I also believe that in every aspect of your life, whether it be your relationship, your job, or an exercise program, if it doesn’t feel right, then something’s wrong. Listen to yourself and don’t do anything that doesn’t feel proactive. Figure out if it is just laziness limiting your exercise schedule or if it is actually a physical injury or some other reason that you (or a body part) are not functioning at your best level. Sometimes, something can feel absolutely right for a period of time and than it stops and there are reasons: typically hormonal changes and aging.
As we progress through this life of ours, we are meant to do other things with our time, even with our bodies; we must fine tune and change our challenges, find new exertions. This philosophy of doing what feels right runs through every aspect of This Blonde’s Guide to Life; it relates to exercise, parenting, career, and our love lives. Everything! If something you are doing doesn’t feel good, stop, pay attention and figure out why.
Now, back to my morning routine. After a couple minutes of stretching, I find a doorway, a wall, anything solid I can grab. I start with a back lunge, and again, I am just opening up everything. I don’t even consider this little warm-up part of my exercise program. I just call this opening up, opening up your hip flexors, opening up your lower back, opening up your glutes, opening up your legs, just opening up everything, getting every fiber and every nerve and every cell in your body to say “Good Morning! I’m here!” So This Blond will do ten lunges to a military count:
Melody 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
My focus is always on that which is holistic, healthy, enjoyable, nutritious, and elevates and fine tunes my body and my thinking process and my commitment to myself, and helps me make the right choices in the people I choose to have in my life. This focus helps me achieve a superior level of existence, better friends, superior suitors, and helps me radiate positive energy which carries over into all my endeavors.
During the last year, I have been working out with a fabulous trainer who is also a striking highlighted tortoiseshell blonde. I feel as though Mary Rose Broidy has not only helped me achieve a level of fitness I have not thought possible for some years, but that she protects my body from pain and strain; I trust her. I feel confident that I will not be hurt working out with Mary (and not all my previous trainers have given me that same level of certainty for my safety.) I always feel centered and energized, absolutely buoyant and even rather proud, after a workout with Mary. And we have a lot of laughs together and there is nothing better than laughter for one’s health.
According to Mary and I couldn’t agree more, “Fitness is about self-love, self-compassion, and self-empowerment.”
Mary has a most atypical background for a trainer because not only is she a certified personal trainer and yogini, an accomplished marathoner and mountaineer (After climbing Mount St. Helens in Washington, she was profiled in Elle Magazine as “The Confidence Woman”), and mother, but Mary is that unique woman who chose to leave Wall Street to pursue fitness. She’s a former banker and economist who holds a Masters Degree in Economics from New York University. Mary is made from serious stuff!
She says, “When I think about why I enjoy physical fitness, it is all about how it makes me feel. The research is out there that shows how exercises increases the endorphins, thus making one feel happy, but there are so many other components.
A healthy heart and strong body contribute to our quality of life so that we can move freely in our day to day existence with less difficulty as we age, perhaps because we have a lighter step from the pure joy of movement. Research has shown that exercise increases our longevity, protects from obesity, increases our circulation, and keeps us looking young. Exercise too is the great stress reliever and increases energy and cell production and regeneration. Exercise also helps us feel more focused, relaxed, sleep better, leading to an improved overall lifestyle. Our stronger, fitter body also gives us a sense of feeling good about the way we look. That positive self-image projects out to others. We are able to transform negative feelings and emotions to positive ones through exercise. Our joy spreads. We feel light, and the world feels like a happier, more welcoming place.
It’s also a journey into the self, where a person can begin to discover the body’s potential in a whole new way. We find our edge. And our edge always keeps changing.”
Mary has trained in yoga in both the States and India with various members of the legendary Jois family (the late Sri K. Pattabi Jois is the father of Ashtanga Yoga), as well as with Lino Miele, Beryl Bender Birch, and Richard Freeman. She was a teacher under the auspices of fitness guru Radu, and learned to employ bars, benches, and body resistance in her classes, while also focusing on interval training, plyometrics (jump training) and multi-planar moves. If that isn’t enough, she trained in Navy Seal abdominal strength techniques and also Jillian Michael’s Bodyshred movements.
Mary has kindly agreed to share her knowledge and expertise with This Blonde and all of us blondes!
This Blonde’s Work Out With Mary Rose Broidy
My focus is to capitalize on one’s effort by doing things that “trick” the body, increase the metabolism, and lengthen the muscles. In addition, my yoga training is behind a lot of the way I view exercise. I perform an internal check of myself, and of my clients to see what the body needs on any given day. An intuitive and compassionate trainer knows the client. If rest is needed, the client should rest.
However, if the client is suffering from too much inertia, in Ayurveda an excess of “kapha” energy, then that client needs to be pushed.
My favorite way to approach exercise, and most things in life, is to take small steps that are convenient and can be done on a day to day basis. Exercise can be fun but not always. It is a lifestyle. Once a commitment is made, the effort you put in is what you get out. I recommend between 30 minutes and 90 minutes of moderate to high intensity exercise three to five days a week. If you incorporate yoga, it should be six days. However, if this is not possible, grab it when and where you can. For example, if I see a staircase I may do a set of step-ups or switches. If I see a park bench, I will do triceps dips or lie down on it and do abdominal crunches or leg lifts. Around the house, edges of tables or railings are great for leaning on and doing hip and thigh exercises. It takes no props to do squats, squat jumps, lunges, pushups, or planks. Find opportunities to move about during your day, even if it means waking up early to do sun salutations or find time to play with your partner, children, or pets outdoors or do chair squats from your desk at work. A solitary walk is a conscious choice over no activity.
If you are able to become sweaty but don’t have a lot of time, do a ten to twenty minutes circuit of good old jumping jacks, followed by mountain climbers, squats or squat jumps or burpees (a squat jump to pushup position). Take an active recovery posture such as a bridge, forearm plank, or sit-ups. Repeat or get creative with your circuit. If you want to experiment with dumbbells, but none are around, use water bottles or soup cans for shoulder raises or triceps extensions. If you have become comfortable and accustomed to exercise, it is better to move your arms and legs at the same time for the most efficient workout. It’s most important to rotate the exercises so that the heart-rate has a chance to recover and the blood circulates more freely. Also, when working out on your own, remember to build intensity during your workout.
Start slowly and increase the heart rate after a few minutes by moving faster. Rest if you find you are out of breath. Remember to cool down with softer, slower movements. Stretches can be dynamic and moving or static and held for a few deep breaths. Lengthening the muscles is important for ease of movement so that muscles don’t become too contracted, but it is also aesthetically pleasing to create a longer, leaner, line of the body. If possible, extend the amount of time spent stretching or practicing yoga post work-out. Hamstrings, calves, chest and back are most important, which is why I enjoy downward dog at the end of a workout. I also like to end with a twist, which helps eliminate toxins and waste from the body and create looseness in the digestive organs.
5 Go-To Exercises
My Five Go-To exercises which can be done anywhere are outlined below.
Add arm movements with light dumbells if possible for efficiency and higher metabolic effect.
1) Squats. Stand with your feet hip width apart, toes forward or slightly turned out.
Lower your hips down toward the floor as if you are about to sit down and then
stand up. Repeat. The average person should work up to twenty in a set. A second
or even third set can be done after rotating in the other exercises. A plyometric
squat, such as a squat jump, for more advanced exercisers would be even better.
Instead of jogging. I will do a few sets of squat jumps or burpees on a regular basis
2) Lunges. Step forward or backward with one leg and bend the knees, always keeping
the knee over the ankle. These can also be done to the side. Step to the right,
bending the knee. The left leg should be straight. You can build speed or intensity
by extending the range of motion to include a deeper bend in the knee.
3) Bridges. Lie down on your back. Bend both knees keeping knees over ankles and
feet as wide as the hips. Lift hips as high as you can and return down toward floor
without touching the floor. I like to also do this one as a static hold too as it serves
as stretch for the front of the body, the quadriceps and abdominals, and a workout
for the back of the hips, thighs, and glutes. It is also good for the flexibility of the
spine as wells as keep the heart and chest open. In yoga, we call it a hear-opener, or
a modified backbend. For advanced yoga practicioners, full backbends, especially if
repeated consecutively, could be a cathartic part of a workout.
4) Push-Ups. These are great for the chest, arms, and back. Beginners should perform
them on the knees or against a wall. The most simple one is a straight push-up
where the arms are set a little wider than the shoulders so that the elbows bend the
over the wrists. Begin in a full plank position, slowly lower yourself toward the
floor. Once lowered down, begin to push the floor away from you with the heels
pressing back and toes tucked under. The goal is to keep the body in one straight
line, neck in a straight line with the rest of the spine. In the more challenging
triceps variation, the hands are under the shoulders and the elbows tucked in
toward the lower ribs. Advanced students can do moving push-ups, uneven push-
ups, one hand on a ball or low bench, or inverted with the legs higher than the chest.
5) Abdominal Exercises. I like to go beyond crunches with many variations aimed at
tightening the lower belly in particular. A simple variation that I encourage is an
advanced version where the feet are lifted in the air and the knees are bent. Toes are up toward the sky and the feet are flexed. Hands are behind the head, elbows out to the side, chin is slightly tucked as you begin to lift shoulders and head off the ground. I also like leg lifts where you lift the hips straight up in the air first, or lift the hips and twist.
In all of these exercises (except the bridge when the abdominal muscles are being stretched), the navel must be drawn in and abdominal muscles engaged. This is very important for the full benefit of the exercise as well as for safety in order to preserve the lower back. It is also helpful to become aware of one’s body alignment and breathe throughout the movement. This comes with mindfulness and practice. When first beginning an exercise program it is important to get a physical and receive medical clearance for your own peace of mind. Many gyms and professional trainers require it of their clientele.
It is also useful to know your starting point. I much prefer to see and feel how my clothes are fitting than read a number on a scale. However, body awareness does take time and many people like to see progress in numbers. An initial weigh-in should be done. After that, I suggest weekly or bi-weekly peeks at the scale.
These simple exercises are also a starting point, especially when you are time-constrained, but hundreds of variations of these five exercises exist. Building on them, learning to move your arms and legs simultaneously, and playing with range of motion, speed, or balance can make them all the more challenging.
Finally, a note on inversions. Inversions are hardly ever talked about in the exercise world, yet their age defying benefits and ability to cool the circulatory system by reversing the flow of blood is highly relaxing and beneficial. In the Ashtanga yoga system, headstands are done at the conclusion of the primary series only after toxins are released and purification of the blood and organs has occurred from the vinyasa practice. The headstand stimulates the crown chakra and the act of inversion preserves sacred amrita bindu there, a vital nutrient believed by the yogis to preserve life and postpone death, manifesting youthfulness.
For most people, especially those who are often on their feet, it may be useful to simply place their “legs up the wall,” to reverse circulation from the feet. Yet in order for the blood to actually travel toward the heart, the hips must also be lifted, so I recommend a “shoulder stand” position. Note: this could be
dangerous for anyone suffering from heart disease, high blood pressure, severe neck injuries, or certain eye diseases such as a detached retina, so it should not be tried without the supervision of an experienced instructor. Other inversions that require great core strength and control are forearm and full headstands, although assists or use of a wall are often required.
When working with a good instructor, practicing headstands can be completely safe and even produce a
sense of euphoria. My favorite way to end a session is with an inversion.
I also draw on the Yoga Sutras. I meditate and say positive affirmations daily. I replace negative thoughts with positive ones and am in the habit of observing my mind. When I find I become sad or overwhelmed, it is often times I become fixated on a problem or someone else’s issues. When I shift my focus to God, my Higher Self, the Light Within my worries disappear. This is a practice, and it is good to surround yourself with Life-giving relationships and people that support you. When training people, I often hear “I can’t do this. This is too hard.” Sometimes, I know I need to listen to a student is highly in-tune with his or herself. However, I still tell them to self-insist, “Yes, I can.” They may not be able to
do whatever it is that day, but eventually they will succeed. As a coach, I support them in their positive thinking. Sometimes visualizations are needed, but often times it is a quick correction of thought. This training becomes part of the reprogramming that can help another realize his or her potential, a reformatting of the neurotransmitters of the brain.
My teacher, Beryl Bender Birch puts this Zen Proverb on her website “Only when you can be extremely pliable and soft, can you be extremely hard and strong.” I have found my outer self become aligned with my inner self through my journey. Softness and compassion become equated with strength. The combination of working hard and letting go is the dance toward self-realization. One must be humble to be true. Emptying oneself takes courage. The message I put on my business card is “Strengthen the Body, Steady the Mind, Free the Spirit.” This is a message of transformation. This is the message I want to share. Everyone can do it!
And it can be joyous and fun!
Thank you, Mary! I love working with you and I am thrilled with the results. For those of us not lucky enough to have a Mary in our lives, here are some books she recommends:
NASM essentials of Personal Fitness Training
AFAA Fitness: Theory and Practice
JILLIAN MICHAELS BODYSHRED, Instructor Training Manual
YOGA MALA by Sri K. Pattabi Jois
And remember, This Blonde is constantly hydrating- I drink plenty of water to nourish my skin, my organs, my hair, thereby conditioning everything you can think of. Hydrate! The older you get, the more you need to hydrate, particularly during the warm months of the year or if you live in a warm climate. And it’s especially important to replenish lost liquids after a work-out!
