The Sequoia Advisor

       IN THIS ISSUE                                                               February 1^st 2015

• Getting A Good Sleep is Vital to Better Health
• The Best Ways to Modernize Your Fitness Program
• Fantastic LivMD Testimonial
• New Better Health and Fitness 101 Workshop Series...
  Register Now!
• Posture Perfect!^TM  Try Your First Class for FREE!

Feel Better... Live Better

Getting a Good Sleep is Vital to Better Health
By Woody McMahon 

Sleep Like a Baby
Some experts say that Americans are a sleep deprived society with our
constant communication and 24 hour television shows. These days, many
of you are having trouble getting a restful sleep. A lack of sleep can
deteriorate your physical and mental performance very quickly. Without a
good night's sleep, you are more likely to experience depression, acute and
chronic pain, reduced energy, lack of concentration, high blood pressure
and increased physical and mental stress. You also place yourself at a
greater risk for accidents.

Would you like to get a better sleep but don't know where to start?
How about a program that helps you sleep while alleviating pain and
improving your health? I provide an easy to follow program that will help
you sleep better. You'll also get the education, motivation and accountability
necessary to improve your health while helping you feel and look your best.
Please call Woody McMahon for a no cost consultation, at 703-628-2880
or email to woody@sequoiahealth.com.

The Best Ways to Modernize Your Fitness Program
by Woody McMahon 

Do You HAve a Modern Fitness Program?
A modern fitness program is safe, effective and focuses on better health
through a more balanced and stronger body. Gone are the days of being
preoccupied with 6 pack abs and benching 300 pounds. As we get older,
we are looking at exercises that will help make us feel better and are balanced,
complete and appropriate for your fitness level. To get the most benefit
for the time spent, it is best if your exercise program prepares you for the
greatest number of real life scenarios. We call these scenarios ADL's
(Activities of Daily Living).

Your Muscles Like Variety
Your muscles adapt very quickly to movement patterns and postures. A
variety of different exercises prepares your muscles for different ADL's
and sequences. Allowing your muscles to learn multiple movement
patterns keeps you safer and injury free during daily activities. Think about
what happens when you lift a child or box, play a sport or get in and out
of the car. You rarely repeat the exact same movement twice in your life.
Staying safe and injury free means having a well designed exercise program
that first and foremost improves your balance, strength and posture.

Keeping Your Fitness Safe, Appropriate and Effective
Here are three simple suggestions to maximize your exercise benefits
while keeping your program safe, appropriate and effective.

Suggestion 1: Stand Don't Sit When You Exercise
Seated exercise machines place unsafe loads on your spine, rob you
of balance training and restrict your range of muscular motion. Free
weights or free body exercises offer a unique exercise opportunity helping
improve strength, balance and coordination all at the same time. When
performed standing, free weight exercises are safer for your spine and
provide better balance training as well.

Example 1: Try the Shoulder Press Standing
Try the seated shoulder press standing instead of sitting. Sitting creates
high compressive forces on your spine. Pressing weight over your head
while seated just adds insult to injury. Standing, on the other hand, reduces
compression and requires that more muscles work to perform the exercise.
Standing more closely resembles the activity of putting something into
a tall kitchen cabinet. Now, instead of just the arm and shoulder muscles
working, you have balance stimulation, leg, hip and core muscle
strengthening as well.

Suggestion 2: Challenge Your Balance Regularly
Including balance activities in your exercise program increases both the
mental and physical challenge of your workout. Balance is learned when you
are young and it can deteriorate if not practiced regularly. Many people blame
their lack of balance on age. But in truth, practicing your balance less, sitting
more and weak leg muscles are really more to blame. 

Example 2: Single Leg Balance
This exercise is simple to perform anytime or anywhere. Simply stand on
one leg and see if you can balance for 30 seconds. You can try it at the
check out line at the grocery store, doing the dishes or brushing your teeth.
Just a few minutes several times a day will make a huge improvement in your
balance. When you can perform on one leg also consider including fitness
toys such as the BOSU, foam half rolls and balance boards. These exercises
are both fun and add a new dimension of physical and mental challenge.

Suggestion 3: Try Exercise Combinations
If you are more advanced, exercise combinations are one of the best ways
to add variety and reduce your time spent exercising. They also most
closely mimic the ADL's that I spoke of earlier. Here is an example of three
exercises normally performed individually and now can be done
simultaneously for a great physical and mental challenge.

Example 3: Squat, Curl and Press
Start with both arms at your side holding a comfortable weight.
Next lower yourself into a squat. Come back to the starting position and
while keeping your knees slightly bent, perform a biceps curl. At the top
of the curl, press both arms straight above your head. Now reverse the
sequence back to the starting position.

Try these simple suggestions and watch how much safer and more effective
your exercise time can become. If you are not sure where to start, give me
a call for suggestions and direction.

Try these healthy lifestyle changes for 30 days. A stronger body means
a more confident you and a you that can go out and have more fun.
If you need additional suggestions and advice or don't quite know where to
start on living a healthier lifestyle, contact me for a no cost consultation,
at 703-628-2880 or email to woody@sequoiahealth.com.

Give the Gift of Health!
Posture Perfect!^TM Classes...

Looking for the perfect healthy birthday gift for someone?
Consider purchasing a gift certificate for one or several
Posture Perfect!^TM classes. Gift certificate amounts start
at $20. This is the perfect gift, the gift of health, to give
to someone you love.

LivMD Updates

I just received an amazing testimonial about the LivMD from a psychotherapist
in New Jersey. He read about the LivMD in my newsletter and then decided to buy
one and give it a try. Here is his testimonial in its entirety:

"Hi Woody,

New for 2015
Health and Fitness 101 Workshops

With the best of intentions and thinking that you are doing the right
thing, you set out to improve your heath and fitness. But, after a
month or two, you find yourself either confused, stuck or giving-up
on your goals of becoming a fitter or healthier person.

Does this pattern sound familiar? All too often you, like many other
people, find yourself working with information that is inaccurate
or has little value, out-dated techniques and a support team that is
inadequate to assist in the changes necessary to help you look and
feel your best.

Enter to the rescue, the Health and Fitness 101 series of workshops.
Why do I call them 101? If you might recall, in college, all the first year
courses were numbered 101. And this is exactly what we will do; skip
the fashionable trends, Dr. Oz "isms," fads, myths and gimmicks and
return to the basics. Just like the coach says to the team when they
are failing miserably, "boys, it's time to get back to fundamentals."

The workshops will help you simplify the entire process, get you back
on track, dramatically increase your success rate and strengthen your
support system by surrounding yourself with like minded people.

These workshops cover a variety of topics and are hands-on, personalized
and limited to six participants (4 minimum). The workshops will continue as
an ongoing class for those who are interested. All the workshops will begin
in January. Dates and times to be announced.  Please contact me at
703.628.2880 or email me woody@sequoiahealth.com for more
information or to register.

Here is a Sampling of Topics:

Weight Training 101
Weight training has been shown to be one of the best ways to enhance
both physical and mental health. Weights are also an excellent companion
to your Posture Perfect!^TM exercises. In this workshop you will learn weight
lifting safety, functional weight training techniques and body weight training
for maximum health and fitness benefits. Weight training has been shown
clinically to improve osteoporosis, back pain, multiple sclerosis,
Parkinson's disease, mental impairment and diabetes.
Length: 90 minutes Cost: $30

De-Stress 101
Managing stress is the most overlooked way to improve your physical
and mental health. Stress unnecessarily contributes to many different health
conditions. In this workshop you will learn how to implement a variety of
stress reduction techniques such as focused breathing, mindful stretching,
meditation and visualization. If you are less stressed you will sleep better,
have fewer headaches, experience less aches and pains and have better
memory and thinking skills.
Length: 90 minutes Cost: $30

Healthy Weight 101
Losing weight is not as complicated as most people make it. But when you
make it complicated, it is very difficult to succeed. Excess weight gain is
closely tied to stress eating and cannot be fixed by counting calories and
exercise alone. In this workshop you will learn how to effectively stop
stress eating, learn correct portion control and a body fat burn exercise
program.
Length: 90 minutes Cost: $30

Healthy Bones 101
Strengthening your bones is important to reducing your fracture risk and
maintaining a high quality of life. Most people make the mistake of trying to
improve their bone health by diet and exercise alone. They overlook the four
important steps that are necessary for healthy bones. In this workshop,
you will learn about and how to implement the four important steps to
healthy bones. Stronger bones help reduce your fracture risk and allow
you to enjoy life more.
Length: 90 minutes Cost: $30

Flexibility 101
Practicing regular flexibility activities is the best way to improve circulation
while reducing stiffness, muscle and joint pain and fatigue. Improving circulation
also helps speed healing and reduce premature aging. In this workshop, you
will learn a simple 30 minute stretching program using the green stretching
strap. These straps were invented and are used by physical therapists all
over the world. Increasing your flexibility helps you feel healthier.
Length: 90 minutes Cost: $30 

In-Home Health-Based Exercise Instruction
For those of you who cannot get to my office or would prefer to work in the
privacy of your own home, I am offering all of my classes and instruction
at your home or office. Please contact me at 703.628.2880 or email me
woody@sequoiahealth.comfor more information or to schedule a
no-cost telephone consultation.

Beginner Posture Perfect!^TM Classes in Herndon,
Reston and Arlington
We have beginner Posture Perfect!^TM classes in Herndon, Reston and
Arlington. Take your first class for FREE and see how much taller, more
balanced and relaxed you feel afterwards. To register please contact
Woody McMahon at 703-628-2880 or email to woody@sequoiahealth.com.
Please wear comfortable clothes and bring a towel, a bottle of water
and an exercise mat if you have one.

Posture Perfect!^TM for Spinomed Program
I have created a new companion back strengthening exercise program to
help anyone wearing the Spinomed orthosis. The classes include helpful tips
on getting the most from your Spinomed as well as exercises that help
strengthen your back, improve your posture and increase your balance.
Click Here to learn more about this exciting program.

Posture Perfect!^TM First Class FREE

If you have never tried Posture Perfect!^TM you owe it to yourself to
come to one of our convenient classes and see how good it makes you
feel. We want you to give us a try so come take your first Posture Perfect!^TM
class for FREE. It's on us... so what do you have to lose?

RESERVATIONS are REQUIRED
Please call Woody McMahon at 703.628.2880 or email to
woody@sequoiahealth.com for more information or to make
your reservation.

The FREE Posture Perfect!^TM class helps introduce you to the many
benefits of our safe and effective posture, balance and strength program
co-developed by Sara Meeks, PT and Woody McMahon, personal trainer.

Come and experience how each class can help strengthen your bones,
improve your balance, alleviate back aches and neck pains, improve
osteoporosis and teach you how to sit and stand-up straighter. 

The History of Posture Perfect!^TM
When I developed the Posture Perfect!TM classes over 2 years ago, there
were no safe and effective exercise programs available for "over age 50" adults.
Everywhere I looked there were older adults in classes that used seated
exercises (bad for your back); machine style exercises (bad for your balance)
treadmills (a poor hip and leg strengthener); and performed movements
that involved crunching, bending and twisting. (increases the risk of spinal
compression fractures).
  
Posture Perfect!^TM solved all of these problems by offering a safe and effective
approach helping older adults become more active. Each class improves your
posture, strengthens your bones, enhances your balance, alleviates back
aches and neck pains, reduces fracture risk and teaches you how to sit
and stand-up straighter. 
 
We have several people in our current classes who are coming to strengthen
their bones and over half of the others are interested in exercises and posture
changes to help make their backs and necks feel better.

Please call Woody McMahon at 703-628-2880 or email to
woody@sequoiahealth.com for more information, class times and reservations.

Posture Perfect!^TM Testimonials...
Posture Perfect's! momentum continues to grow. Here is a glowing testimonial
from one of our class members.

"Posture Perfect!^TM class has not only met my expectations, but exceeded
them! There are several reasons I enjoy the class. The small class size
gives each of us extraordinary personalized training; your knowledge,
expertise, patience, and sense of humor makes me look forward to
coming to a class I thought would be only for 6 weeks; and I have
learned so much more than I expected."

"For example, I now think about my posture every time I sit, and just when
I thought I'd begin to have a hard time rising from sitting on the floor, you
taught me how to make it easier. I try to practice some of the balance
exercises a couple of times a week (I know, I should do it more often!).
I thank you for all I have learned from you so far, and hope to continue
this class for the foreseeable future!"
Paula S.

Click Here to read more about S.A.F.E. and effective Posture Perfect!^TM
classes.

Woody

Woody McMahon
The Sequoia Advisor

Sequoia Health and Fitness, Inc.
483A Carlisle Drive
Herndon, VA
20170

Required Disclaimer: The material provided herein should not be construed
as a health-care diagnosis, treatment regimen or any other prescribed
health-care advice or instruction. The material is provided with the
understanding that the publisher is not engaged in the practice of medicine
or any other health-care profession and does not enter into a health-care
practitioner/patient relationship with its readers. The publisher does not
advise or recommend to its readers treatment or action with regard to
matters relating to their health or well-being other than suggesting that
readers consult appropriate health-care professionals in such matters. No
action should be taken based solely on the content of this publication. The
material and opinions provided herein are believed to be accurate and sound
at the time of publication, based on the best judgment available to the
authors. However, readers who rely on material in this publication to
replace the advice of health-care professionals, or who fail to consult
with health-care professionals, assume all risks of such conduct. The
publisher is not responsible for errors or omissions.

Copyright (c) 2006-2015 by Sequoia Health and Fitness, Inc.

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