The POWER of Straight Toes!
One of the first things you’ll often hear Teresa or T-Tapp trainers say is, “Toes forward.” Seems fairly easy and elementary, right?
Well, as in all things T-Tapp, there’s more to it than meets the eye–or ear!
Toes and feet straight forward are actually a HUGE part of setting up your T-Tapp stance–you could say it’s foundational.
Often one or both of our feet want to “duck” out a bit. By walking this way, with “duck feet”, you put more pressure on the knees and instep of your foot. This in turn can cause knee or foot problems. So straight toes are the way to go!
By focusing on walking with my toes straight forward (double checked by looking at my imprints in some sand where I take my walks), I lost 3/4″ off each lower thigh in a few weeks–without changing anything else! And my upper thighs lost some, too!
But inch loss aside, straight toes stance is also rehabilitative. I recently put this to the test.
Last fall I hurt my knee running in crocs after a day of climbing sand dunes (not recommended!). It slowly got better, but from time to time if I step down too hard or twist suddenly, it reminds me that it’s still there.
A few weeks ago I was stepping down out of our camper when I stepped too forcefully on my right foot, sending a little bit of a jolt up my right leg. Yep, it’s my right knee that “talks” to me from time to time! It wasn’t terrible but it kept me from hiking as much as I normally would have during the camping trip, due to being concerned of tweaking it while slogging through the muddy trails (recent flooding had left many of them a bit mushy).
I used magnesium gel (from Joan at Health and Wisdom) and Regeneration essential oil from Heritage Essential Oils, rubbing them on twice daily. I took turmeric and Teresa’s Premium Blended Alfalfa (non-GMO and organic) to help with the inflammation. I also focused a LOT more on curling my core and keeping ribs up when working out with T-Tapp as well as when walking. That helped, but I happened to notice how my right foot was ducking out a bit. Now, we could argue about whether it was ducking out due to my weaker hip and knee on that side or the ducking out caused the issues of a weaker knee and hip, but bottom line is, those toes needed to go straight!
After focusing on straight toes while standing and walking, (and I added lots of prayer, too!), my knee is 90-95% better! I noticed improvement with the magnesium gel/essential oil blend and turmeric and alfalfa, but it was the extra focus on straight toes that really sped the healing process. By having proper alignment you are less likely to keep injuring the knee, which also reduces the inflammation factor.
I have personally found these T-Tapp tips essential to rehabilitating the knees:
1. Toes forward!
2. Core curled
3. Ribs up
4. Knees to little toe, or get weight off the big toe
“Toes forward” is so simple—yet so profound! And so helpful!
Try it this week–in your walking, working out, shopping, just standing around chatting with friends–think to keep those toes forward and see if your knees don’t breathe a sigh of relief! 😉
More Weighty Thoughts
I shared some thoughts last week in A Weighty Matter about how losing or gaining weight doesn’t always tell what’s really going on inside, and why we shouldn’t let a number drive us.
I’m going to share some more philosophical and personal thoughts this time around.
You don’t have to look very far to see that our society is rather obsessed with looking a certain way, and somehow, what we weigh and what size we are is a part of that equation. There are diet plans galore out there as well as an abundance of exercise programs. Some exercise is just a preference–some people enjoy using weights, or running, or swimming, etc. Other exercise is supposed to help you get fit and thin faster by doing more and more demanding workouts, more repetitions, adding weights, etc.
I have twice crashed and burned by not listening to my body and having an unrealistic goal (or fear) driving me. And there is the key word–driving.
I often see women drive themselves to “get rid of their belly” or “lose some weight” or “tone up these arms”, and the common denominator is drivenness. Whether they are T-Tapping or doing other exercise, or focusing on some form of dieting, or even trying to make healthy eating changes, the common core is being driven.
I wrote a series of posts last fall, and one was titled What’s Driving You? Usually when I am feeling driven to do something, that is a huge clue that although what I’m wanting to do may be a good thing (eating well, exercise, etc.), the motivator behind it may not be and will end up doing more harm than good in the long run.
When you are driven, your decision-making will be skewed.
I will use the example from 4 years ago, when I crashed doing too much–yes, even with T-Tapp! I decided it was time to bump things up a notch and get rid of the last few sizes I needed to lose. I did a full workout (usually one that takes over 30 minutes, in this case, LadyBug standing), every other day. Since I wanted to target a few areas, I decided on my off days to do a “few” target moves. Problem was, I added a few more. And a few more. Until I had an average of 6 moves on my off days. A veteran T-Tapper pointed out that Basic Workout Plus only has 9 moves! So I was basically doing a short workout on my off days. While that is “permissible”, I usually don’t recommend it unless someone is sure they have no stress/adrenal issues, and only for a short time. I feel less truly is more and when we start adding things in, it becomes more, not less. In my case, I was so focused on getting the size number down, and the inch numbers on my waist to go down, that I wasn’t realistically looking at what I was doing!
When you are driven, you will most likely ignore the signs that you are not doing what is best for your body.
I believe that we can tend to have such tunnel vision that we don’t recognize or ignore the signs that we are overdoing it. Again, I will share from my own story.
That same summer, 4 years ago, we were just coming out of our yearly 4-H fair. BUSY time with lots of late nights and early mornings and fun-but-stressful times of getting children to their proper places in time for animal judging. Oh, and did I mention it’s usually pretty hot?! As my inch loss was slowing, I was mystified since I was working so hard. Slowing inch loss is a sign of overtraining. I had read that before, but I was in denial that that was my issue. I mean, I was taking days off in between, right? :p
In my quest to get things going, my judgment was skewed and I ended up sabotaging myself.
Another area we can not make wise choices is our eating. I am not a fan of deprivation dieting (eating only a certain number of calories). I am a fan of balanced eating and fueling your body well. But even eating well can become stressful if our focus is wrong. That also happened to me 1 1/2 years ago.
My whole family was on the GAPS diet to help with some leaky gut issues. We were transitioning off of it during this particular time, and I wasn’t fearful of gaining weight or sizes back–I was fearful of losing the good health benefits I had gained.
As a result, I kept putting off upping my carbohydrates, which in turn did not make my adrenals happy, which in turn–yep. I crashed!
Trust me–if you’re driven by numbers or even “getting healthy”, you won’t make the best choices and you will not recognize the signs that you need to change direction.
When you are driven, you are adding another stress to your body.
Let’s face it–we all have enough stress in our lives already! Who needs to stress their body more trying to meet a “goal” of a number that is not totally under our control? (Hormones, anyone?!)
When you are driven, it steals your joy.
The “Never Enough” monster takes over when drivenness is your motivation. Even if you do reach a certain number on the scales, clothing tag or tape measure, Never Enough will steal it from you and drive you to do more!
Added to that, you will become your own worst enemy as you only see what’s wrong, get mad at yourself for not doing such-and-such “perfectly”, and berate yourself for not being consistent. You won’t be able to celebrate the small joys along the way nor will you notice the things that can’t be “measured”.
When you are driven, you might win the battle, but lose the war.
Or I could say, “You might reach your goal, but at what cost?” If you are down on yourself, not joyful, constantly worried about every bite you put in your mouth and forcing yourself to exercise to the point of hating it, what kind of a person will that make you? Will those who are closest to you remember your svelte body? Or your driven attitude?
And what if you lose your health, like I did, while trying desperately to hang onto it? I often say, “Who cares how small I get if I can’t enjoy it?!”
I want to be remembered as being joyful on my journey (well, as much as I can be!), not that I reached my goal and maintained it, but wasn’t pleasant to be around while getting there!
As I watch ladies around me, in person and online, desiring to become healthy (which is good) I also notice many becoming driven, whether due to wanting to be a certain size for an event or getting healthier to be around for their loved ones. The goal is good–the drivenness is not.
I think the antidote to drivenness contains these steps:
1. Focus on overall wholeness–not just health or a smaller size.
2. Celebrate the small successes along the way!
3. Whenever you feel that “driven” feeling, stop and do whatever it takes to destress and get rid of it.
4. Remind yourself that being driven will not contribute to overall health and wholeness.
5. Be happy with baby steps–don’t let the “Never Enough” monster steal your joy!
There are no doubt many other ways to get rid of that driven feeling, but these are key ones that help me. As well as keeping a gratefulness journal. But that’s another post! 😉
photo credit: puuikibeach
A Weighty Matter
If you have been around T-Tapp much at all, I’m sure you have heard how we focus more on inch loss than weight loss.
Why is that?
The number on a scale is not able to tell you exactly what you lost–was it water? Muscle? Fat?
There are “body fat scales” that claim to measure the body fat percentage–but many sources will tell you that they are not 100% accurate. They can give you a general idea, if you keep all factors the same (time of day you weigh, what you’re wearing, how soon after or before eating you weigh, etc.) Here is one interesting article I found: Body Fat Scales: Do They Really Work?
So while body fat scales may give you a general idea….they still aren’t going to tell the whole story. And, quite frankly, I feel it is way too easy as women to let that number drive us. Even when we know in our heads it’s not 100% accurate, we still seem to struggle with taking it to heart!
Early in my T-Tapp journey, I was frustrated with the scales. Really, even before T-Tapp! I was part of a weight loss Bible study group, and even then–the most I lost was 13 lbs. I was getting into smaller clothing but my joy and “progress” were stolen by a number on an instrument that wasn’t telling the whole story. I never won any prizes, that’s for sure! :p
Thankfully, I was not in the diet mindset since at that time I had a nursing baby–as I did when I started T-Tapp, too! 😉 Quite frankly, I like to eat! And if you tell me I can’t have it…..it makes me focus on it all the more!
As I started losing inches in T-Tapp (finally! You can read how I was fearful I would be fat forever on my Trisch’s Transformation tab!) I was still stumped at the scales. Oh, I lost weight. And gained some back. And lost some more. Then gained some back. Then was stuck for quite awhile at one number! I’m so grateful for the T-Tapp forums and the veteran T-Tappers and trainers who answer questions and assure newbies that they are doing fine! I believe it was trainer Kirsten Tucker that told me, when I was expressing my concern over not losing weight, that if I was losing inches but not weight, then it was most likely because I was building muscle density. I often joke I was trading fat for muscle! 😉
That’s probably not too far from the truth! Consider these facts:
The first few weeks of T-Tapp you will gain 5-7 lbs. in spinal muscle density.
That is a gain we want! Those muscles love to eat glucose and fat! Not to mention those muscles help your posture, which in turn helps many other body functions. Teresa Tapp does a great job explaining the importance of increasing spinal muscle density in this article: The Estrogen Trap.
Dieting can help you lose weight, but you might be sacrificing muscles to do so.
Or, said another way, dieting can help you get smaller–but it can’t help you build muscle or get toned! It is important to fuel your body well to feel well, for healing–especially healing of the metabolism. Dr. Diana Schwarzbein says, “You have to eat well to feel well, and you don’t lose weight to get healthy, you get healthy to lose weight!” (Or inches, I like to say!)
The first few paragraphs of this article explain it very well (although I do not agree with their “diet” recommendations later in the article): Eating to Lose Weight
The number on a scale can’t tell you whether you are gaining bone density.
Bone density is also weight we want to gain! story–from age 85-87 she gained 18% bone density in her lower lumbar region alone! (Berei is almost 90 and still in great shape!)
Here is a great article on 5 Ways to Boost the Bone Building Power of Your Workout–and T-Tapp will take care of all 5!
Weight does NOT tell the whole story!
I’m proof of that!
If I had only gone by how much weight I had lost, I would have given up about 4 1/2 years ago….when I gained back 10 lbs. of the first 25 I lost! And then….stayed there for nearly a year!
By the spring of 2011, after 4 years of T-Tapp, I had lost almost 180 inches, 8 sizes…..but only 30 lbs! I have no grand explanations other than what you’ve already read–muscle and bone density! “Trading” fat for muscle! 🙂
I had shared some stats on the T-Tapp forums of how crazy my inch loss compared to weight loss was, but I can’t find the thread anymore since the upgrade. I’ll keep looking though! Here’s a little bit of it (it’s also in my book Fatigued to FABULOUS!):
If I had went by my weight loss, I would have quit a long time ago! Actually, I hardly ever weigh anymore because I have learned that it doesn’t tell the whole story, and it was stealing my joy. I couldn’t enjoy my inch and size loss, my better sleep and less PMS, because of a dumb number on the scales! That was so absurd I put the scales away until I could laugh at them! 😉
Life is too short to be totally stressed all the time by numbers, especially numbers on a scale that can only give you general information. If you want some proof that weight really doesn’t matter, here is a compilation of threads I did at the T-Tapp forums a few years ago:
Weight Doesn’t Matter–Repeat After Me!
I have more that I want to “weigh in” on this matter, so I will continue next week with more thoughts! 😉
Photo credit: winnifredxoxo
Deep Discount Tuesday–a Two for One Deal!
Heads up on DDT–buy one bottle of Premium Blended non-GMO Alfalfa, get one FREE! This is a GREAT deal–if you’ve been waiting on a sale to stock up on Alfalfa, this is IT!
Click HERE to get this fantastic sale!
I LOVE T-Tapp’s brand of alfalfa! I definitely noticed a difference when I switched to it from another brand. It helps with water retention, feeds the skin, and can help with digestive issues–I have a friend with ulcerative colitis who said this brand really helped her issues and keeps things in balance! On top of all that, it also helps with hormonal balance–two of my daughters and I have found great improvement taking Premium Blended Alfalfa!
Happy Shopping! 😉
(Note, link has been corrected! It was just taking you to the picture! 😉 )
I’m So Confused! (What Workout Do I Need?!)
Are you new to T-Tapp? Overwhelmed by the variety of workouts? Unsure what would be the best point of entry?
Or are you a veteran, needing to tweak a certain area? Or maybe you are wanting to take your form up a notch to get max results but confused on whether Super Slow or Tempo is better?
You’re not alone! In the beginning there was just what is now known as Instructional 1 and 2! No decisions to make other than whether you were going to make it all the way through or needed to split it up!
Of course, we love variety, and often a different workout clicks with different people—for different reasons! 😉
Some things to keep in mind as you decide where to start and/or progress through the workouts…..
If you don’t activate your core standing, floor workouts will not yield the desired results, either.
If you’re having a hard time keeping your core throughout Total Workout, you will find the Tempo workouts even harder in that area.
If you haven’t gotten the knack of belly-button-to-spine and ribs up in Step Away the Inches, Step It to the Max will be even more of a challenge.
And, progressing through the workouts is not necessary. You can purchase one dvd and it will be enough for you. But as they say “variety is the spice of life”, right?!
Here are some of my recommendations:
Brand new to T-Tapp? MORE or Senior Fit. Both have a slower pace to help you get not only the sequence of the moves, but the activation as well. Also, the more frequent kickouts are great for resetting your stance and optimizing form. MORE offers options, Senior Fit offers the best muscle activation and is chaptered.
Been T-Tapping for a few months and want some variety? Step Away the Inches is a nice change from Basic Workout Plus or MORE. Basic Tempo is a variation of BWO+ that many like. Don’t skimp on Instructional 1, though, and revisit it often!
In good health (no adrenal issues) and want to bump things up a notch? If you’ve been doing BWO+ or Basic Tempo, you might want to try the second half of Total Workout (TWO). Start with Instructional 2 first. After doing Instructional 2, take the next day off. You could alternate with BWO+, or you could add a few moves to BWO+ on your workout days. If you get up over 30 minutes, do take a day off the next day.
If you’ve already been doing TWO you could either get Tempo 2 (it doesn’t go super fast but changes the tempo and cues a bit to keep it fresh) OR, for really focusing on form, you could slow things down with Total Workout Super Slow.
Adrenal or thyroid challenged? Your best bet is Mindful Movement/Healthy Hormones for Menopause Management. Don’t let the name fool you! Do you have hormones? Then that one is for you! 😉 Seriously, it is excellent for those with adrenal/thyroid issues, as that is who Teresa designed it for!
Want muscle activation to the MAX? Senior Fit is it! Again–don’t let the name fool you! It was developed so there would be no (or the very, very least) path of least resistance, making it less liable to get hurt….but stretching even veteran T-Tappers to the max of muscle activation!
There’s more I could share, but really, fellow T-Tapper Aurora, who is also a trainer-in-training, put it quite well (and with a touch of humor!) in this post:
Hopefully between her recommendations and mine, you can feel more confident in making your workout purchase, whether you are brand-spanking new, wanting variety or wanting to take things up a notch!
Hopefully, you are less confused and more confident to make your (next) purchase! 😉
Photo credit: tree-species’ photostream
Last Day of the Challenge!
Today is the last day of T-Tapp’s 60 Day Challenge! Be sure to take your measurements and pictures!
You have until midnight, PST, on March 22 to get your information and essay submitted.
Please don’t think, “Well, I hardly lost anything, so I’m not going to enter.” You never know until you try! There is more at stake than just inch loss—this is NOT “The Biggest Loser”! This is about life changes, which is why the essay is so important!
Are you sleeping better? Hormones more under control? Did you have an a-ha during the Challenge that resulted in better muscle activation? How about spinal alignment? I had an issue with my neck just a few weeks into the Challenge that kept me from doing anything! Painful spasms that kept me from working out on my own or with clients. After one adjustment and lots of ice to reduce inflammation, it got better, but it was T-Tapp that helped restore flexibility! Yeah!
I ended up gaining what I had lost up until this past week when I discovered that even a little bit of gluten is not good for me anymore. I also discovered how important good fats are to my adrenal health. That will all go into my essay! If you faced some Challenges to be consistent or to your health, that is a part of your story. Think about all the changes over the past 60 days–not just inch loss!
And now, go tell your story! 🙂
Best wishes to you all!
(Here is the page with the rules and information: T-Tapp 60 Day Challenge )
Deep Discount Tuesday–GREAT Deal!
This deal is a STEAL!
You get the Fit and Fabulous in Fifteen Minutes book–which has a coupon for 30% off your order when you send it in!
PLUS–you get LadyBug workout
PLUS-the Healthy Hormones seminar. If you ever wanted to get more of the nitty gritty of T-Tapp, this seminar, featuring Teresa Tapp is IT!
ALL for only $25!!!! That is $50 off the regular price–plus getting that 30% coupon in the book! And if you already have a book, what a great gift to give to someone interested in T-Tapp! (Or use for a “loaner”!)
Ready to check it out?
Finishing Strong
Less than a week until the end of the 60 Day Challenge–time has flown!
For some of us, it’s an exciting conclusion to a time of concentrated effort, looking forward to seeing inch loss success and visible changes in the side-by-side photos.
For others, it’s been a challenging time of setbacks, health issues cropping up, and unforeseen circumstances threatening to derail.
It can be quite discouraging to have great plans for focusing on workouts and better eating, only to see the tape measure stubbornly refuse to budge. Or a dreaded fat shift to show up and seemingly take up permanent residence. Or for me, having a neck issue that prevented me from doing workouts or even Skype sessions for a week–then adrenal issues cropping up again, keeping me from being able to do as much as I had planned to do.
Are you tempted to just throw in the towel? Forget finishing, writing an essay? Do you feel it’s of no use as you know your inch loss isn’t stellar and you’re sure your pictures won’t show a bit of change?
I do understand that temptation! Yet, just as I’m going to admonish you–I plan to finish strong!
No, I’m not planning on going out with a bang–no bootcamp or ramping things up for a last sprint to the finish line. I plan to faithfully continue to plod along. I have actually gained back nearly all that I had lost. A bit discouraging? Yes! However, I am not going to bail out now.
Why?
Because I believe in finishing strong. Whether I “win” anything or not, I am still a winner. One of my goals for this 60 Day Challenge was to get back to consistency. It didn’t happen the way I had planned, but thanks to my clients, I consistently got in 3-4 days per week of at least 4 moves each time.
Another goal was to focus on my water intake. Although I still struggle with that (harder in the wintertime to get that daily quota in!) I am doing much better in that department, too.
I’ve also discovered again how important good fats are to my adrenals! I inadvertently cut back my fat intake (totally unintentional) and as has happened before–in 2-4 weeks it shows up in my adrenals not being happy. An important thing to discover and be mindful of! And I’m thankful that I discovered this before totally crashing.
What if I had decided to push harder? Ignore the signs? Really focus on an all out effort at the end?
I might have “won the battle” but then “lost the war”.
I realize the prizes are sweet! I’ve been privileged to attend 3 T-Tapp Retreats and it is truly an amazing experience! But if we lose our health, energy–our vitality in the process, have we really won? Is that truly finishing well?
And the other side of the coin–if I throw in the towel, not taking the effort to take final measurements, photos and write my essay–I will never know, will I? And that is not finishing well, either!
During last year’s Challenge one of my friends was discouraged as she was unable to do even a fraction of what she had planned. An unplanned injury sidelined her. But she focused on her core and ribs up, did what she could–and won in her category! With mostly seated workouts!
What if she had thrown in the towel? Decided there was no use so why go through the motions?
If nothing else, you will have the satisfaction that you have finished the course. And you will be surprised at how much that will help you with consistency in the days after the Challenge, too.
Over the next week I plan to continue building upon the consistency I’ve built, continue to make better choices in my eating, take my measurements and pictures and write my essay. I may not show a great change in my body from the Challenge, but I have succeeded in decreasing pain in one hip as well as weathering the issue with spasms in my neck. I have regained flexibility and decreased inflammation in that side of my neck–“gains” that are much greater than any amount of inch loss!
How about you? Have you had something (or several things!) come up that threatened to derail you? Are you tempted to throw in the towel?
May I gently encourage you to use the towel in your workout and do what you can—stay the course–and finish strong?! Yes We CAN!
(The photo at the top is Team Hoyt–Dick and Richard Hoyt, who have been competing in marathons, including the Boston Marathon, and 6 Ironman Triathlons for over 35 years. Talk about finishing well in spite of challenges! A true inspiration! Oh, and did you know Dick will be 73 this year? 🙂
photo credit: Peter Morville
Milwaukee–Here I Come!
I’m coming back to Milwaukee! THREE sessions this time–including one with Senior Fit!
It’s up in the T-Tapp store:
Mindful Movement to the MAX in Milwaukee!
Location is still being finalized, but if you register I will send you an e-mail as soon as I get it! And I’ll be posting here as well.
Hope to see you there!
We Have a Winner!
Wow! What a great response to this giveaway! Everyone wants to pamper themselves–which is good! 😉
So, using Random.org the winner is…..
Sierra Shipley!
Congratulations, Sierra!!! Please contact me so we can get this to you!
And thank you EVERYONE who entered! It was so much fun to read about your anniversary/special day memories, your goals for future special days, and your ways of pampering yourselves!
I enjoyed my time away with my sweetie immensely! Now I need to get back to writing posts! 😉 Have a few coming yet this week.
Thank you again–I enjoyed everyone’s enthusiasm and DO take time to pamper yourselves! 😉
Buy Trisch’s New Book!
How does a hypothyroid, adrenal-challenged, busy mama of 9 go from barely maintaining a size 22W and being so tired she needed a 1 1/2 hour nap every day to an energetic mama and size 8 T-Tapp trainer?
That’s my story in Fatigued to Fabulous!