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improve athletic performance

How Can I Improve My Athletic Performance

Achieve Your Fitness Goals with the Right Plan and the Wellness Support Your Body Needs

As we settle into a new year, many of us are turning our attention toward our own wellness goals. While resolutions can seem cliché, this time of year encourages us to reflect on the current state of our health and fitness. Many of us want to get in shape, improve cardiovascular health, or simply improve upon our current levels of athletic performance. If you have your sights set on making this year your healthiest yet, you can do it with the right help. Here are just a few ideas to help you get started:

  • In conjunction with your larger aims, be sure to set small, achievable goals for yourself. Seeing those little victories along the way will help fuel your motivation, and serve as benchmarks for your progress.
  • Create a plan that uses concrete training principles to improve athletic performance. If you are asking yourself, “How can I improve my athletic performance?” find a training plan that applies to your sport of choice and level of fitness. For example, if you want to up your running game, many free apps are available that address concepts of speed, distance, or all-terrain training. Research is your best ally when it comes to creating a successful training plan.
  • Make sure to get a check-up with your healthcare provider. You want to get a good idea of your current level of health so you can incorporate any pressing issues into your training plan, or make adjustments as needed. You want to ensure that you are not ignoring nutrition or safety recommendations that will help keep your body safe.
  • Keep track of your progress and be sure to take notes on your workouts and nutrition. For example, if you have a bad day, be sure to document where or when you were struggling in your workouts so that you can identify and overcome obstacles.

What If I Hit a Wall in My Training?

As you progress, you may face many obstacles like soreness, stiffness, injury, or simply the feeling that something just isn’t working correctly. Even with modifications and stretching, you still feel like your body is not living up to the potential you know is in there. If this happens, it may be time to look at an alternative cause: problems with your fascial system.

Your fascia, or connective tissue, runs throughout your body and helps your bones, muscles, and organs work together. Occasionally, parts of your fascia become tough or fibrous, thereby pulling your body out of alignment and hampering your performance.

The good news is that these issues can be corrected through a series of deep tissue bodywork called Rolfing®. This practice corrects these aberrations, and restores range of motion and springiness to your movements. In fact, Rolfing is considered to be one of the essential tips to improve athletic performance by professional athletes and dancers. They often turn to Rolfing for rapid recovery from sports injury, improved flexibility, or better form and posture.

About Author: In our area, Certified Advanced Rolfer® Bob Alonzi helps people of all fitness levels achieve their goals and improve personal wellness. As you begin your own journey toward your healthiest year, consider adding Rolfing to your self-care plan. To learn more, or to schedule a consultation, contact Bob Alonzi’s practice today at 310-451-3250!

How To Be Merry At Holiday Gatherings

You know the drill. Your Aunt Agatha always has her holiday brunch and your presence is mandatory. Or you must attend the awkward office party that requires you to mingle with people with whom you have absolutely nothing in common. Or go to the family meal, which may include total strangers or totally strange family members. Whatever the case, the holidays usually mean you need to get together with people you might otherwise chose not to socialize with. It is incumbent on you to behave reasonably well. Not always an easy task.

6 Tips On How To Be Merry at Holiday Gatherings

Keep an open mind. You might learn something. A friend thought a woman was totally boring until she revealed she had been born in France. Which opened up all sorts of opportunities for questions and interesting conversation. Everybody, even the biggest dolt, has a story. It’s up to you to find out what it is.

Have a good attitude. You have to make an appearance. It’s mandatory and you’ve already conceded to attend a mind-numbing event. So suck it up and go. Decide that since you have to be there anyway, you might as well make the best of it. Then wipe that gloom from your face and be cheerful. You can do it.

Be prepared. People will ask you open-ended questions that may leave you stuttering and wondering what, in fact, you’ve been doing with you life. Questions like, “How’s it going?” Or, “What’s happening?” It’s tempting to say, “Not much.” But try instead to be prepared with some nugget about your life that might spark a conversation. Think of this before you go so you’ll be ready.

Stay away from politics. You’ve heard this advice over and over, but after a glass of wine or three, resolve weakens. After all, we need to have a conversation. We need to get to the bottom of what’s going on in our country, other countries, the world. BUT. You are at a holiday gathering where harmony is the watchword. If you must discuss politics, choose the right time and place. Your Aunt Agatha’s brunch is not it.

Introduce yourself. Be the adult in the room and make sure you meet folks you don’t know. Especially those who seem to be lost or alone. Go introduce yourself and try to put your new friend at ease. Find some common ground. After all, you both ended up at the same party. You both know the host or someone who knows someone who knows the host. Ask you new friend what connection he has. It’s a good starting point.

Have some topics ready. There are plenty of things in this world besides religion or politics. There are books, movies, music, television shows, art galleries, magazine articles, food, restaurants, travel, sports. And more. And if you’re at a Christmas party, for example, you can ask what your new friend likes best about the holiday. You might share your fondest memories of Christmas Eve. Or your family traditions. Find out what others’ are too.

So go forth and enjoy the holidays. Like anything, when you put a little effort into it, you get more out of it. You might even have fun.

About The Author: Nancy Travers is an Orange County Counseling professional. If you need safe, effective counseling services, please get in touch. You can reach her here: http://www.nancyscounselingcorner.com/contact-us.

4 Easy Ways To Declutter Before The Big Move

Moving and packing are stressful. It is even more stressful when you have a lot of items that you don’t know what to do with. You know what I’m talking about, the clutter that accumulates over the years and continues to pile up. The vase from your husband’s aunt, the knick-knack from your cousin. Clothing that was last in fashion a decade ago. Threadbare towels. DVDs. When was the last time you even watched a DVD?

Fear not. This brief guide outlines four simple ways to declutter for a move.

  1. Stage a rummage sale

Unload your unwanted stuff and earn a little cash for it in the process. Win, win. Now, you’re decluttering for a move and covering some of its cost. Just keep in mind that your primary aim here is to end the day empty-handed, not with a wad of bills in your back pocket, so price everything to sell fast.

  1. Spread heirlooms among your family

If you are downsizing, space will be critical, so you’re going to have to start prioritizing your possessions. Even the heirlooms—actual and the stuff that just holds a lot of sentimental value. Obviously, you’d prefer not to sell or donate anything that’s been handed down through your family for generations, so start asking your siblings and cousins if they have any interest in it. They’re your first line. Your closest friends are your second. The sentimental stuff especially is likely to be just as meaningful to your friends because they’re the ones you interact with most frequently. Even if they didn’t have a hand directly in those experiences, they may still remember them.

  1. Donate to local organizations

Yes, it’s convenient to toss your unwanted things, especially in the frenzy haze of moving, but it’s wasteful. Best-case scenario: A small fraction of it will be recycled. The remainder’s going to be plowed under at a landfill. If there’s still some wear left in your clothes and some use in your household utensils and accessories, donate them. Scheduling a pick-up with a charity, these days, is even easier than trashing your things. Now you’re moving them to the front porch instead of all the way out to the curb. And you’re helping any number of people.

  1. Auction them off online

If you’re a planner, you’re probably preparing to pack for your move weeks in advance. With that kind of lead, you’re buying yourself ample time to separate what’s coming with you from all that’s not. So add another couple of steps and turn a profit. Snap of photo of each unwanted thing and post it to eBay, or list it on Craigslist. You’ll be amazed what there are markets for. That said, the aim here is the same as the rummage sale’s: to end up empty-handed. So price to sell. And don’t be swallowed by the process. Packing’s a big enough chore. If you find yourself devoting too much time to shipping your sales or meeting with potential buyers, scrap it and go with the rummage sale instead.

As you can see, there are many ways to declutter before the big move. If you need help organizing a move or you need help packing for moving, make sure to contact Creating Balance. We’re willing and able to tackle all of organizing needs at your convenience.

TV Lifts In The Garage For The Ultimate Man Cave

With a TV Lift, the garage is the new place in the house to hang out

Only a few years ago, the home garage was characteristically known as the place for working on the car or the latest household task, or for just storing junk. But that changed in short order once we stopped relegating the TV to the living room and bedroom. Add a TV to the garage, and suddenly you’ve got that man cave you’ve always coveted, or an out-of-the-way space for your teenage children to hang out (and spill freely).

Regardless of its use, wall space in the garage can be hard to come by. Enter the TV lift.

Using that unused corner space

If you’re looking into TV wall mounts that swivel, consider utilizing a corner post. The angle of the swivel is controlled via remote so it can be adjusted easily whenever the light changes or you switch your viewing location.

Using the ceiling

If your garage has a ceiling, TV lifts that swivel can be installed there. When you’re ready to watch, the TV lowers into the garage and then swivels to the position of your choice.

Because of the thinness of the TV, a flat panel TV lift can usually be installed in the ceiling. Whether you choose a flip-down lift, a fold-lift, or a drop-down lift, the ceiling is often the favorite place for concealing a TV, and the garage is no exception.

Finding the optimal place for a TV in your garage ultimately depends how you choose to watch it. If you spend a lot of time there, consider your activities first. They’ll describe your viewing style—active or passive. The former prioritizes a prime location, more for you and your guests than the TV, because there are only so many places to sit. While the latter suggests an out-of-the-way spot that makes the most of as little space as possible.

Why It Is Not A Good Idea To Mount Your TV Above Your Fireplace

Nice as they look together, your TV and fireplace aren’t best friends. Learn How They Can Get Along.

Marrying the TV and the fireplace is a popular design move because both tend to act as the focal points of the living room, which means one seating arrangement fits all. But that convenience can come with a price.

Why it’s not a good idea to mount your TV above your fireplace

Mounting a TV above a fireplace is not a good idea for one main reason: It’s far from optimal for the TV, and it may even dramatically shorten its lifespan.

Electronic devices run better at lower temperatures. So putting a TV directly above a source of high heat causes its internal bits to degrade very quickly. Even without a roaring fire immediately below it, a television generates a generous amount of its own heat, so compounding that with heat from the fireplace is even more damaging.

Smoke is far from ideal for a TV’s health. Much like cigarette smoke inside a car, smoke from a fireplace can deposit a film over the TV screen, dulling it.

Another deterrent for mounting a TV above a fireplace is the viewing height. Watching a TV that is mounted so high on a wall creates issues for most of us. Namely, neck strains. Binge-watching isn’t nearly as fun when you can’t turn your head the next day.

How to Pair Your TV and Fireplace

Using a TV ceiling lift with a fireplace

One way to put your TV near your fireplace without subjecting it to the heat or the smoke is to employ a TV ceiling lift a few feet in front of the fireplace. This hidden lift extends the TV down in front of the fireplace, leaving a few feet between them.

And because the length of the extension can vary, you can adjust the viewing height of the TV using a remote control. A television lift can also allow the plasma TV to swivel to offer the best view.

However you ultimately arrange it, remember that your TV is a significant investment, so make sure that it’s housed in a way that extends its life as long as possible.

How To Decluttering Your Life, One Square Foot at a Time

Decluttering your home has become a major theme in the past decade.

In turn, many methods have emerged for paring down the material possessions that once comprised your life and now consume it. Some, naturally, are far more effective than others. The approach that suggests talking to an item, asking if it would like to stay, may not get you very far. But if you tend to avoid confrontation, it’s about as gentle as breakups get.

By contrast, one of the best solutions to declutter your home is to clean an area by the square foot, or even the square inch. Doing so not only makes the task feel more manageable, it forces a closer examination of the area in question.

Whether it’s a desktop or a countertop, looking at a certain area by removing everything that sits upon it compels us to assess the value of each item. How you rate them will depend upon your own private value system, but we’d like to make a recommendation: Only keep the things that are valued in one of the following ways:

  • It’s beautiful and/or it gives you pleasure
  • It’s useful in some practical way
  • It’s necessary for record-keeping

If an item doesn’t meet these criteria, either give it away or throw it away. You’re basically decluttering your house as if you were decluttering it for a move. In fact, a move is one of the rare occasions when we find ourselves motivated enough to strip down to the bare essentials. A move’s a fresh start. And who wants to lug even one more box than necessary?

If you can approach each surface, each drawer and each cupboard with this same mindset, you’ll find yourself with a lot more breathing room in no time. You’ll be surprised, once you get there, just how much all that stuff was weighing you down, figuratively and literally.

About the Author: Cheryl Perkins is a certified holistic nutrition consultant and professional residential organizer in the Southern California’s beach cities and the Los Angeles surrounding areas. In short, a Wellness Coach!

Who Doesn’t Want To Be Picked Up In A Chauffeur Driven Luxury Limousine

Travel To Events In Luxury Limousines For A Great Entrance

Los Angeles and the surrounding counties are an area full of excitement and glamor, and they are home to some of the most highly-rated restaurants and entertainment venues in the nation. From the luxurious Rodeo Drive, to the posh spas and special events, both residents and visitors love to immerse themselves in these high-end experiences. It’s almost like capturing a little bit of that celebrity feeling while indulging in the best our area has to offer. Southern California offers incredibly diverse and unique attractions, and whether you want to dine out at Spago or attend that hot new club opening, you certainly want to embrace every bit of elegance you can.

For truly special occasions, many people want to travel in ultimate style and seek out limousine rentals. At Car Service Orange County, we proudly offer the best limo service rates in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. We can help you plan a for whatever type of excursion you desire, including milestone birthdays and anniversaries, graduations, proms, movie premiers, galas, or simply the luxurious evening you deserve.

When you hire a limo service, you do so for the both the comfort and sense of indulgence that come with these specialty vehicles and driver services. Our team wants to add to those goals by planning the best routes, providing pristine service, and focusing on catering to your needs and wishes. We understand that, when you invest in a limousine rental, you expect a truly high-end experience. We are committed to delivering just that. From your initial scheduling to your final drop off, you see why so many residents and executives turn to us for their luxury transportation needs.

Whether you want to book a Los Angeles party limo, or you simply want an elegant option for a special occasion, let Car Service Orange County help. To schedule an event, contact our team at 714-241-7040 and we’ll help you plan the perfect experience.

Pros And Cons Of Airport Shuttle Services. What About Safety And Reliability

How Do You Know You’re Getting What You Pay For When You Choose A Shuttle Airport Ride?

At Airport Shuttle Orange County, we know that travelers in Southern California have plenty of options when it comes to Orange County airport transportation. While taxis and traditional shuttles have long been possibilities, the rise of Uber and similar services have also offered new options. However, we also know that all of these often have just as many drawbacks as benefits.

Let’s take a look at how the cons of these services can affect your travel experience, and why our airport shuttle service is far superior and more affordable.

  • Traditional shuttles—most traditional shuttles make money by planning multiple stops, picking up as many passengers as possible. This not only makes your travel time much longer, but also certainly less comfortable. This option offers a similar experience to taking public transportation, just on a slightly smaller scale. Airport Shuttle Orange County, on the other hand, offers direct transportation, never with any ride sharing.
  • Taxis—Unfortunately, the quality and safety of taxis varies greatly. They are not known for their cleanliness, and the drivers have a vested interest in keeping you in the vehicle for as long as possible. This means that they have no motivation to take the most direct routes, and their rates are usually on the higher-side. Our clean, comfortable shuttles offer a private experience, and our commitment to direct-route operations demonstrates our business model of trust, ethics, and safety.
  • Uber—This widely popular transportation service often feels more like a gamble than a reliable option. From late pick-ups to drivers who may not know the best routes, you could end up spending more on a sub-par experience than you would for a professional service. Our nonstop airport shuttle services, on the other hand, come with highly-trained drivers while still offering discount pricing.

We Offer Direct Shuttle Services, Never Any Ride Sharing… Use Us and Get There Faster & Cheaper Than Taxis or Uber.

If you need airport transportation, contact Airport Shuttle Orange County at (949) 250-9292 and discover how we can help you travel in safe, affordable, and timely comfort.

6 Reasons Why You Really Need Auto Insurance

Car accidents are relatively common in the United States, especially in metropolitan areas like Greater Los Angeles. The law says you need liability insurance when driving, but there are many benefits to bulking up your auto insurance.

Many take driving for granted; it’s something that isn’t a guaranteed right as it can be dangerous without proper knowledge of cars, the rules of the road and even insurance.

Here are a few reasons to purchase auto insurance.

  • Your car is a source of transportation. Without it, you will have a much more difficult time getting around. Sure, you can try to rely on buses or even trains in bigger cities, but once you’re used to having a car, you come to rely on it. You can get collision insurance or even comprehensive insurance to help protect it.
  • Without it, accidents can get extremely expensive. If you don’t have suitable insurance, accidents can be expensive—both for cars and people. Auto insurance often helps pay for medical bills should your accident injure others. You may find yourself in quite a bit of debt without it.
  • You’ll have to pay your car off even if it gets damaged. If your car is wrecked beyond drivability, you’ll still need to pay off the loan. Car insurance can definitely help with that. Missing loan payments can damage your credit and your chances of getting another car soon.
  • It can protect against other damages as well. Car accidents aren’t the only way to damage a car. Auto insurance can help should someone vandalize, steal or break into your car, easing the financial burden you’d otherwise face to fix or replace it.

ABout Author: To bulk up your auto insurance in Orange County CA, contact Peter Green Insurance. Call (714) 258-2800 or get a free quote online