Blog entries

Civilians do well to learn from military fitness protocols

Lynne Marie Wanamaker — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 15:43:51 +0100

Recently the New York Times covered the new military fitness protocols for incoming recruits. The program innovations bring modern exercise science to the challenge of recruiting from a generation notoriously inactive and less fit than their predecessors. Gone is the “one size fits all” mentality, replaced by slower progressions and a focus on building soldiers’ functional capacity for the actual demands of their jobs.

Among this generation of recruiRead More...

Parenting/Self Protection Resources

Lynne Marie Wanamaker — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 20:26:43 +0100

I have another blog post up at the Aspire Project today. (Those of you who are local can expect to see it in a print edition this week.) It's about self defense as a parenting paradigm. Check out In defense of oneself. In other news, one of my co-editors at Safety Net posted an interesting article on her own blog: Telling on Tattling. It's an important reminder about keeping the lines of communication open with our kids and why "telling someone you trust" is an essential self-protection skillRead More...

Aspire to End Violence

Lynne Marie Wanamaker — Mon, 31 May 2010 18:09:05 +0100

A few weeks ago I had the privilege to sit on a panel of experts at a Town Hall meeting on bullying in Norhthampton, MA.

The forum was co-hosted by WHMP who provides audio coverage of the entire two hours on their website here.

The event was also sponsored by The Daily Hampshire Gazette. Gazette editor Larry Parnass has made good on his commitment to keep the conversation about bullying in the public eye by creating The Aspire Project. With weekly print-edition essays and frequent bRead More...

Compassionate Conditioning: Fitness News

Lynne Marie Wanamaker — Mon, 24 May 2010 15:33:30 +0100

Here are a couple of really interesting articles I've been meaning to share for a while:

To Tone Without Bulk: Lift Heavier Weights, Fewer Times
The New York Times confirms that folks who wish to build strength without bulk should lift more weight for fewer reps. They conclude that: "For people who lift weights to tone up and slim down...a regimen that includes a combination of challenging weights and fewer repetitions can help significantly."

SRead More...

Client Quote of the Week

Lynne Marie Wanamaker — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:17:59 +0100

"The moral of the story is: I must not be inactive."

Client Quote of the Week

Administrator — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:09:58 +0100

"If I loved my back, how often would I do this exercise?"

Self Defense for Teens

Administrator — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:04:29 +0100

I just completed a proposal to teach self defense for teen women and their allies at a local agency. I'd love to share the meat of the proposal with you here. The statistics were gleaned from Erin Weed's Fight Back Productions and the Liz Claiborne Foundation's Love is Not Abuse.

If you are interested in bringing self defense training to the teen women in your life, contact me at (413) 527-8317 or email trainer@compassionateconditioning.com.

Teen Women Need Self Defense Training

Client Quotes

Administrator — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:03:32 +0100

A new client was quoting a friend of hers when she said,

"Exercise is awesome--movement changes the mind!"

There is science to back this statement up--or you could just try it for yourself and see how you feel! I feel smarter, clearer and calmer after a good workout.

Client Quote of the Week

Administrator — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:02:42 +0100

"I always feel better when I exercise!"

Client Quote of the Week

Administrator — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:01:55 +0100

"It is easier to be out of shape."

Easier if you mean you don't have to do this exercise I'm just now describing...but harder if you think of how much harder it is to do everything else (work, play, sleep) when your body is deconditioned.

Good News or Bad News?

Administrator — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:00:45 +0100

I invite you to read "For the Overweight, Bad Advice by the Spoonful," a New York Times article by Gina Kolata, one of the most provocative journalists writing on health/fitness topics.

Kolata's summary states:

"Weight control is not simply a matter of willpower. Genes help determine the body's "set point," which is defended by the brain.

Dieting alone is rarely successful, and relapse rates are high.

Moderate exercise, too, rarely results in substantive long-term Read More...

well.

Administrator — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 20:59:19 +0100

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Lynne Marie Wanamaker
Personal Trainer
(413) 527-8317
trainer@compassionateconditioning.com

Free Wellness Event Features Local Practitioners

at New Space in Northampton

Attendees will sample body work, fitness training and life coaching at “Well.”

Northampton, MA – Three western Massachusetts wellness professionals will host a free open house event called “Well” at the newly Read More...

Fitting in Fitness: One Inspiring Mama

Administrator — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:54:59 +0100

For all of you busy mamas and papas who struggle to find time for your workouts, I want to share this link with you. Kara at Mama Sweat is raising four--count 'em, four!--kids under six while remaining committed to her own wellness. Her path isn't easy and she's honest about the pitfalls and obstacles. But her determination to prioritize her own health and to think creatively about how she can fit in fitness inspires me all the time. I especially like today's post about what she learned from Read More...

Deliciousness, Continued

Administrator — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:53:06 +0100

Another plug here for Mark Bittman's 101 Simple Salads for the Season.

Tonight's supper: #3 (a winning cucumber salad, had to be repeated); #16 (fennel and apple, I added a touch of honey to Mark's recipe); #30 (the yummiest, easiest, potato salad I could imagine, with lovely new potatoes from River Valley Market); #61 (a sophisticated salmon salad. I may have tossed in a few tablespoons of mayo, but only because my sweet darling doesn't eat yogurt.) I rounded the table out with a caprRead More...

Salad Season

Administrator — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:50:31 +0100

Around here, we love our veggies. Still, there comes a point in every farm-share season when we are simply sick of our old standbys--Grandma Bobbi's cucumber and white onion salad, roasted beets, zucchini sauted with green onions, green salad with mustard vinaigrette.

That's why I was so excited to read Mark Bittman's 101 Simple Salads for the Season in the July 22 issue of the New York Times. If you by-pass #78 (Chicago-style hot dog salad) and leave out the optional bacon in one or tRead More...

Interview with Dorothy Bauman of Trailside Bicycles

Administrator — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:39:25 +0100

I'm determined to begin using this fitness blog as a way to pass along fitness tidbits of interest to clients and fitness enthusiasts. To kick things off, here is an extended version of my interview with Dorothy Bauman of Trailside Bicycles. The original interview appears in Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, a publication of the Springfield Republican, where I write the monthly fitness column.

Watch this blog and GJWHF for more fitness and wellness ideas. If you have a question or a suggestioRead More...