Posture and Alignment

I held a 2 session posture and alignment workshop for Mothers and Daughters the past two weekends and was pleased with the turn-out.  I was grateful that a lot of Mothers realize the importance of good posture practice and what positive and rewarding results this awareness brings to their lives.  The first session focused on posture and teaching the group the importance of keeping the natural curves to our spine while sitting and standing and during sports activities.  Most of us stand hunched over, sit slouched and unfortunately due to the consistency of the bad sitting and standing posture carry the bad habits into our sports activities which lead to sports injuries.

We discussed the way others view those that have bad posture and they learned that many of the reviews from others can be negative.  You look shorter, less confident, appear disinterested and less focused, sloppy and even lazy.   None of which would do well if going for a job interview.  Not to mention, bad posture can make you less memorable.

We discussed that our bad posture re-molds our body over time.  Unfortunately since technology has improved and our younger generations are using cell phones, video games and laptops this re-molding is occurring faster in the children and young adults compared to the past.  This is frightening that young adults have the “hump” early in life because of their sitting habits.  Scary!

We discussed the side effects of practicing bad posture.  Some side effects are neck pain, back pain, fatigue, less oxygen due to the collapsed chest cavity, the big hump on the back, a forward head and headaches.   They say 95% of headaches are caused from a forward head posture.

The group discussed how when our body is out of alignment and a move is repeated over and over an injury to our body is occurring over time. We did some simple test on everyone to see what muscles in their legs naturally fired (worked) compared to muscles in their legs that were not firing.  This is what we call a muscle imbalance.  We all have them.  Muscle imbalance may over time wreak  havoc on our body creating pain and worse injuries just from the way we walk, sit, sleep or do exercise.     For example, I walk like a duck, (my feet turn away from each other).   This means my inner thighs tend not to fire and the muscles on the outside of my legs and butt over fire, creating an imbalance.

All in all, I was very happy with the group of 40+ Mothers and Daughters and have enjoyed hearing their stories of how their daughters’ backs are sore from sitting up straight because they do not want that hump on their backs. 

Happy Day!! MaryAnne

Exercising and Diet ... Two Peas in a Pod

Italy here I come!!! In less than two weeks John and I are Tuscany bound along with three other couples. I am so excited. I have never left the Country and cannot believe I will be seeing beautiful Italy. I have heard so many stories of how romantic and gorgeous it is there. We plan to do some of our site seeing by bike with our tour guide who is a professional cyclist in Italy. How cool is that? But no worries, we also rented a 10 passenger van so we didn’t have to be on our bikes all day long. I’ll let you know how the trip goes when I return.


Have you been to the doctor at any time and the doctor recommended that you lose weight? Did you leave the doctor frustrated at all because you’re not sure at how to go about losing weight? You may even be confused because the doctor didn’t say to lose weight because you are grossly overweight but were told your blood sugars are elevated, or that you had a change in your cholesterol levels or because you have been running higher than normal blood pressures. Most feel overwhelmed when told to lose weight because they don’t know how to do it so they don’t. It truly is a vicious cycle. Doctors are not trained to teach you how to lose weight and they are not dieticians. So we leave the doctors office not sure of what to do. Does this scenario sound familiar?

Have you ever known a friend who went on a diet, lost a lot of weight and when the diet was over they gained back the weight plus more. Sadly, this is what happens. I kind of describe it like this. When you diet you eat less calories, lose a lot of water weight, lose muscle (muscle weighs more than fat) and your metabolism slows down therefore your weight drops. When you stop dieting most end up eating food higher in calories and higher in fat over time, they now have less strength, the fluctuation of fluid returns and their metabolism is now slower yet they are now consuming more calories which are turning back into fat. Can you see where I am going with this? To lose weight, dieting is just the first part of the equation. Exercise is the second and honestly, one cannot work without the other. One easy way to begin watching your food intake is when you go to a restaurant and you are served your meal ask for the doggy bag first. Put half of the meal in the doggy bag. Why?? Most meals at a restaurant are large enough for 2 to 3 servings. My clients find this tip very helpful when they first begin to change their eating habits. Portion control is a big deal and most people overeat at any given meal time. I find that many enjoy the “crunch” of food. So I recommend replacing chips with baby carrots, celery with peanut butter, or cut up apples. You may find you have a “crunchy” food that is healthy and tasty that you can think of to replace for chips. For sandwiches, I recommend using mustard instead of mayonnaise.   Obviously these are a few ways to begin to change your eating habits.  Local dieticians can help you learn more tips along with great companies like Weight Watchers.

In terms of exercise think of the word “cumulative”. Exercise is cumulative. How cool!!! This means that all the walking you do in a day adds each week to calories burned. Even better, all the stairs you climb in a day add up to calories burned weekly too. Do you drive around a parking lot for 10 minutes looking for the perfect parking space? Do you watch TV for hours a day? Do you sit at the computer for hours a day? How about reading or paperwork. How many hours a day are you sitting?? This is a big deal. The more sedentary we are the less likely we are to burn off our breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner. Here are a few easy tips for adding some exercise to your day. Park to the back of the parking lot, don’t use the elevators use the stairs, walk your pets daily (they will love you!), walk with your spouse or your kids, run your errands at the mall and park at the other end of the mall far away from where you have to run your errand or take a walk during lunch with a friend in your office instead of sitting at a restaurant. These are truly not hard ways to add exercise into your day.  Join a local gym and take a Zumba class or try a pilates class.  Try it, you may be amazed how you feel!

The first step to chaning your life starts today.  Pick one habit to change each week so you won't be overwhelmed.  I call them baby steps to a new you!!

Have a nice afernoon.  MaryAnne

Exercise... the fountain of Youth!

I cannot believe that we are in May when I feel like we just watched the ball drop on New Years Eve. I’m happy it is Spring but this year a little sad that June is upon us. My first child, Boone, will be graduating from high school and I have mixed emotions. I am really excited for him in one breath and then sad for me in the second breath. Life as I have known it with my son is going to change very soon and I must admit I am not great with change. Boone wants to be an animator and truthfully, to be in the business he will need to live elsewhere after college for real opportunity in the animation business. While this is an exciting time in his life and I truly, truly want the best for him and I am happy that he has this incredible dream but my heart is sad that my time with him will never be the same. The day he was born was truly one of the absolute happiest days of my life!!!


Since college is just around the corner and obviously the expenses of college are also just around the corner, Boone and I have been working on applying for every scholarship and grant we can find out there. It has been quite a process. Many of these scholarships require that Boone write essays. One essay topic he had to write about was to answer the question: How would living a healthy lifestyle affect a students’ life at school?”. This was music to my ears that this organization realized how important our health is to our daily life.

Boone enjoyed writing this essay and seemed to have thought it out rather well. He listed several reasons he felt a healthy lifestyle would make his experience at school better.

Reason one: overall he felt he would live longer
Reason two: he felt he would miss less days from school
Reason three: he felt he wouldn’t need money for doctors appointments as often
Reason four: he felt he wouldn’t get tired as easily and that he would handle the stresses of being away from home better
Reason five: he felt in general his overall attitude of life would be better
Reason six: he felt it was important to control his weight because of the fatty foods that will most likely be served in the school cafeteria and because of the lack of portion control

I was impressed that at 18 he was able to realize that healthy living can make the above differences in our lives. The healthy affects listed above don’t necessarily have to be attached just to students, they fit working moms, working dads, stay home moms and the retired. Healthy living habits truly make a difference.

My other half, John and I, were looking at a magazine that showed a bunch of pictures of individuals back in the early 1900’s. The pictures had both men and woman and they listed their age. I was stunned to see woman that were in their 30’s who clearly looked like they were in their 60’s and men in their 20’s who clearly looked like they were in their 40’s. Obviously this was a different time and age but showed the hard lives these individuals had lived and how quickly they had aged.

My parents are in their 70’s now and I actually forget their age many days because they look so young to me and seem much younger. I think back to when my grandparents were their age and boy did they look and act much older. My parents have always stayed active and continue to travel, play golf and work their own yard. Fortunately they both enjoy doing things together which studies have shown keeps us younger as we age too. Daily activity keeps my parents younger and happier. They rarely have much downtime to any type of illness and they are both extremely happy and positive.

So the moral for today - Healthy living is the fountain of Youth!!

Have a nice evening, MaryAnne

Just 30 minutes....

What a week…. I have missed my clients this week because of a kidney stone, a 7.5 mm stone that became stuck in my ureter. I have been to the ER twice and have been put to sleep twice for two different procedures to help the stone pass. Needless to say, this was not a comfortable spring break week with the kids home. I am feeling better today and hope I am able to go away with my best friend this weekend – fingers crossed!! Tuesday was one of my “Happy Day Memories”, John and I met three years ago and to this day the day we met is one of my favorite days to remember.



I hope you have been exercising in some way this week. The weather here has been seasonably warm and many have been able to get outside. Take advantage of the mild temperatures to get a nice brisk walk with a friend or relative. Make sure when you are walking that you walk at a pace that you cannot hold a conversation for very long. You want to work your heart (which is the cardiovascular of your workout) to fatigue just like you would your biceps or your legs ok? Cardiovascular workouts or cardiovascular hours per week are so important. Many who do not exercise regularly believe or think that exercise has to be at a high level to have results, this is not true. For those new to exercise or for those that have just fallen off the band wagon, will have quick measureable results from cumulative cardio minutes adding up to 30 minutes a day. What do I mean by cumulative? I mean that you can do different types of cardio throughout the day and the amount of time you have exercised will add up by the end of the day and also by the end of the week. Added bonus is you will be burning more calories. For those that are new to exercise, or just had a baby or have had a major life change that halted your physical activity, this is a great way to jump start your daily cardiovascular activities. It is also a great way to begin preparing your body for longer exercise workouts later on.


Here are some tips to add cardio into your daily life:

1. If you go to the store park in the back of the lot so you have to walk further to get to the door

2. Ask a friend to walk with you twice a week at the mall or your neighborhood

3. Use the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator

4. Cut your grass with a pushing lawn mower instead of a sitting mower

5. Walk up and down the stairs at your house several times a day

6. If you don’t have stairs find a neighbor who does and the two of you walk around the perimeter of the house and up and down the stairs 3 to 4 times.

7. Pick a chair in your house and sit and stand 16 times to strengthen your legs

8. Use the bottom step of the staircase and march up and down for 30 seconds at least 4 times

9. Put the remote to the TV away so you have to get up and down to change the channel

Do you get breathy when you walk from a parking spot at a store to the front door? Do you get breathy when you walk up and down stairs? If so, try to add some of the above tips to your daily life. Believe me they will make a difference!!

Have a great Thursday and God Bless!! Mary Anne

Are you important?

Happy Monday!!! Spring is on its way and I cannot wait. I am in the mood for shorts, no-sleeve shirts and cute sandals. I just love cute sandals!!. There is just something different about the feeling you get when you know Spring is close. Spring to me is a new beginning each year. I love being outdoors, I love the smell of the flowers and mostly, I love the colors of the flowers. I wish I was a yard person. I have always been envious of the perfectly manicured yards and the beautiful landscaping that comes very natural to some. Like I’ve said before, Betty Crocker does not live at my house and unfortunately neither does Martha Stewart, therefore, I will continue this Spring to enjoy the beauty of nature and the neighbors who know Martha Stewart.


What have you done for yourself this week? Did you get your hair colored? Did you get your hands manicured? Did you buy a new outfit or maybe just find an extra hour that you had to read or maybe just sit and watch TV for fun. Maybe you were able to meet a friend for lunch!!! Do you feel guilty when you take time for yourself? Many people do feel guilty. I hear this story on a regular basis in my business. Clients share they want to make a change to their life to get healthier and feel better, but they feel guilty because the money could be used for better reasons. Better reasons? What could be more important than taking care of ourselves? This is not selfish, it’s smart. If your are healthy your medical bills will stay low, you won’t miss work due to illnesses as often, you set healthy daily examples for your children to follow which leads to their future health, your probability of living longer rises, your chances of diseases decreases and in general you feel better, handle stress better and everyone around you will enjoy you more. So, why do you feel guilty? Look in the mirror and tell yourself, “I am important!!” Began to change your fitness and health habits today.


A few updates:


My client Debbie began her first round of chemo today and once again, she was totally positive and upbeat. She shared she had picked up her new wig and that she was nervous about her hair falling out but yet she was prepared. Sadly, this is one of 5 treatments that she must incur to rid her body of this horrible cancer. Please remember to keep Debbie in your prayers. She shared that knowing that people are praying for her has really made a difference in her life. Let’s continue to send her strength – thanks!!

Little Ber is also having his next rounds of chemo this week. Amber took Ber by his kindergarten class last week for a visit and she said the students didn’t flinch at seeing Ber without hair. Aren’t children amazing!! I wish as adults we were as resilient and accepting. Gotta love the naiveness of being of kid. Please continue to pray for Ber and his fight to live. I was saying the other day, I cannot imagine 2 years of constant needles, surgeries, chemo therapies and worse, SF8 treatments and living in and out of hospitals and only being 6 years old. Ber doesn’t remember life any differently. God Bless Ber! Please continue to pray for Ber and his continued fight to live.


Have a healthy good night, Mary Anne

Exercise and Balance....

For the past nine years I have continually had to make life changing decisions to take care of my children, keep my life balanced and stay financially stable. My ex-husband and I split back in 2001 after 15 years of marriage. We had been high school sweethearts. I still to this day find it sad. As with most people who split, there is a story and consequences. We all handle the stress of divorce differently. For me it was a living death. During the divorce years I herniated my lower back (L5-S1) which eventually fused itself, I tore my rotator cuff and had surgery which ended up in frozen shoulder for 2 years and I spontaneously shattered my neck. My disc literally exploded into pieces sitting on my spine. Needless to say, I was a total mess. I was trying so hard to maintain a normal life for my children, working crazy hours to bring in money and pretending that nothing was wrong to everyone who knew me. I kept our separation a secret for two years because I didn’t want my children to be affected by outsiders. My body paid the toll and I truly learned that stress can kill you.

With all that happened, it changed my life and I feel I have been given direction. It is very humbling to have injuries that cause you to look at life differently overnight and realize you are looking at life through new eyes. It is very humbling to be a very active person your whole life and then one day have total atrophy and see a different person in the mirror. It is humbling to not be able to open jars, type on the computer, cook or look down to read for months and literally draw no income because you cannot work. Yet, all this humbling is good. God is good and very smart. As I healed I realized how incredibly fortunate and lucky I am. I am truly lucky!!! I thank God for these horrible injuries because they gave me a new life and a much bigger heart. The injuries also drove me to understand how this happened to my body after being active my entire life. Over the past two years I have become comfortable sharing my story with clients because I realized I was able to help them using the principles of alignment and core integrity I learned from Pilates that helped me to rehab myself. I found that my clients can use me as inspiration and also give them the belief that they can change their life through exercise. My clients know I really care about their own stories and that I believe in them. They quickly learn that I enjoy their successes as much as they do!!! Nothing better than a great success story to share

One of my clients, her name is Cheryl, is one of my cancer survivors who truly has survived a rare and very deadly cancer. Talk about humbling. Cheryl is one of my senior clients who was a nurse and is now retired. Cheryl has always realized how important exercise is to your body, yet she had really become weak and inactive. She has fallen quite a bit and does not have great balance and she drags one foot and she has had one knee operated on in the past. Cheryl and I have been working hard to get her legs stronger and to teach her to pick up her feet when she walks. One of her first successes was squatting with the ball on the wall and learning that she has to use the back of her legs (hamstrings and glutes) instead of just using the tops of her legs (quadriceps). She had to learn to turn her pelvis to the back, which takes the quadriceps away from the knee joint. She immediately realized her knee didn’t hurt to do squats. Yeah!!! I have also had to teach her how to use the deep core muscles of her stomach which is our bodies center of gravity (basically our own balance stabilizer). If you have had babies, (men obviously this is not you), you were taught to kagel (stopping the flow of urine) after birth to strength the deep pelvic muscles. Well these kagel exercises actually help you to engage a muscle called the transverse. This muscle is like a corset (yes, the ones that tie up the back like in the old south). The transverse muscle contracts around your pelvis and lower back creating a support system for the spine and stabilizes your hips and pelvis, therefore keeping you from falling or from injuring your back. Today Cheryl was able to get herself up and down from the floor without feeling like she was going to fall over and she was so elated!!!! This may not sound like much to you, but when you are a person who falls and cannot get themselves up, this is huge. I was so proud of Cheryl today – today was her day!!!

Well, good night and keep kageling!! Mary Anne

Exercise Adherence....

Happy Tuesday evening! I hope today was a nice day for you. I haven’t been able to write on my blog in a while and feel I am behind with all that has been happening. Let’s see, I think I should start with bragging about my youngest daughter Allie. She is a very, very happy go lucky person and my more social butterfly. She loves to take pictures of herself and her friends and like most teenagers today, lives on Facebook. Well, this weekend she received a letter of acceptance into the International Baccalaureate Program at Midlothian High School. I was so proud of her and cannot believe my youngest will be starting high school in the fall. Her dream since the 3rd grade is to go to Virginia Tech and be a Hokie and she heard that this program will help her get there. We’ll see in four years. Way to go Allie!

My other daughter, Carter, who is in 11th grade took her SAT’s this weekend. She swore it was the hardest test she had ever taken and is planning on retaking it already. This is my daughter who swore that the High School Varsity Softball coach didn’t like her so therefore she wouldn’t make the team but said she would do whatever it took to show him she could play ball. Well she made the team. Honestly I never questioned her making the team, but believe it’s good for her to realize she has to work hard and prove herself. I was very proud of Carter too!!!


Today I came home from work and received the dreaded call all parents worry about once their teenagers begin driving. My son, Boone, called me and I could hear fear in his voice immediately. He had rear-ended another driver and thankfully everyone involved was ok. He said just before he and his girlfriend had gotten in the car he had found on the ground a gold plated charm that had “luck” written on the front. He laughed when he handed it to me and said the charm didn’t work. I gave him that mommy grin and told him “yes it did” he was here and the bruised car could be fixed.


Last time I wrote I shared with you about Ber’s Bowl weekend. The fundraiser brought in $16,000 dollars. A huge shout out to everyone who donated, taught, massaged, silent auctioned and participated. I just love the kindness that permeates when others need help. Little Ber is continuing chemo treatments next week and needs you to keep him in your prayers!
I saw Debbie this week!!! I was so excited when she walked up with her huge gorgeous smile. She is healing very well from her double mastectomy and as usual just as positive as can be. She came to the gym to walk the track and you could tell she was happy to be at ACAC. Please continue to keep Debbie in your prayers too, she will begin chemo treatments in the near future.


Well, as you know I am a personal trainer and one of the largest aspects of my job is to motivate others to meet their health and fitness goals by helping them to stick to an exercise program. Basically I figure out ways to teach you exercise adherence. Have you ever thought about this before? Do you fit the 60% of the population who does not engage in at least 30 minutes of exercise daily? If so, I would really like to change your life and help you to see the value of yourself and how important you are to your family and friends. Woman, in particular, die of heart disease every day. Did you know that heart disease is the #1 killer of women. This is very scary to me, especially when it doesn’t have to be this way. Health results from physical activity happens very quickly and in most cases keeps you medicine free as you age. If you think about it, 30 minutes a day is a very small amount of time daily yet the health rewards from 30 minutes of exercise is huge. My goal for 2010 is to produce a personal training video that will touch the lives of others to help teach them how to begin an exercise program and also to help them believe in themselves. I’ll keep you posted.


I have a client named Liz and she came to me overweight a little less than a year ago. Liz was medicated for high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Liz is a Mother of three teenagers and she has spent the past 19 years taking care of her family. She was an active rower and also rode horses competitively as a teenager, therefore not a rookie to activity. Yet, once the family life took over Liz’s routine changed and overtime she gained the weight and then the blood pressure and high cholesterol came to visit. When I first met Liz she told me she realized she needed to invest in herself because she realized at 47 her health was not what it should be and she was worried. Prior to contacting me she went and had a check up and had all the proper blood work done. I was excited to work with Liz because I knew what changes were going to occur for her over the next few months. We began meeting 3 times a week for the first four months. Liz really had made a decision to commit to her health and really listened to my guidance and worked very hard. Liz came to me de-conditioned, just walking around the track a couple of times in the early weeks burned her shins to death and frightened her because she became breathy quickly. We had to really work with Liz’s back because she had the “hump” that many people get “kyphotic back” when their posture or stature is more forward and rounded at the shoulders. This in itself was a challenge because this “kyphotic posture or hump” on her back makes it difficult for her to lay on her back, sleep well and also stand up straight. We focused on this postural default a lot and if you saw how much flatter her hump is today and how she can lay flat on her back now, you would be amazed!!! I also taught Liz how to read her heart rate so she could see how hard her heart was working so she could begin learning how to burn calories along with teaching her basic strength training and Pilates to strengthen her core and work on her balance. At four months, Liz went back to the doctor and had her blood work done again. She came back to me with great news!! Her doctor had asked her “what have you been doing, your blood work is great!” Not only had Liz lost weight, but all her blood counts had improved and her doctor told her that in another few months she would do the blood work again and if the blood work dropped again, she would be off her medicines. Liz was stunned. Four months and she was having huge health changes that were tangible along with her shrinking body. Along with her great results, Liz’s demeanor was different. She shared she was sleeping better, her legs didn’t hurt anymore, she didn’t get breathy walking anymore and she was a less stressful Mother. Liz’s family has been a huge support for her. I am so very proud of Liz and am happy that she learned that the investment she made in herself also made life easier for her daily. When we first met I had told Liz about small group training and how motivating and successful it was for women. Liz told me in the early months that the “group thing” just wasn’t for her, so I did not press this goal with her, yet 6 months later, she approached me and said “you will not believe this Mary Anne, but I want to join one of your small groups”. I was floored and happy at the same time. She had gained so much confidence in herself and her abilities that she was no longer uncomfortable working out in front of others. God bless you Liz!!! What a great story…


Well, as usual, I’m typing at night and I have to teach spinning at 6am (I love this group). I promise it won’t take me a week to write again. God bless and good night!! Mary Anne

Ber's Bowl....

What a gorgeous Sunday! I wish every day could be as beautiful as it was today. John and I were able to do our weekly Sunday morning ride. It felt so good to be on the bike and feel the fresh air. My last few rides had not gone so well, but today was a different day. I felt strong today and I am ready for my week to begin.

ACAC finally had Ber’s Bowl this weekend. You may remember from my earlier blogs about Ber (Bear) that ACAC had to cancel the fund raising event we had planned to raise money for little Ber the weekend of the Super Bowl due to the snow. The fundraiser is held to raise awareness and help for Ber and other children fighting the battle of neuroblastoma. The weekend of marathon group exercises classes began on Friday evening and ran through early afternoon today. ACAC donates $1 for every member and $5 for ever non-member. We were bummed that we did not have the attendance we have received the past 2 years. Having to cancel such a huge event a month before really made the difference, not to mention it was beautiful outside. One of our trainers, Camille, rode her indoor trainer for 100 miles and raised $2300. Do you realize how hard it is to ride 100 miles outdoors let alone on a stationary bike inside. Camille is amazing!! Our massage therapist Helen did non-stop massages, $1 a minute, all weekend. Not sure how much Helen raised but as of Friday evening she had raised over $400 in 6 hours. Helen is also amazing!!! I will let you know the final totals of the weekend once they are posted.

Little Ber had to have his chemo treatments this week and truly did not have a fun week. The treatments made him sick and Amber said there was one night they were up every hour for 8 hours straight. Ber came home in time for Ber’s bowl to begin. He insisted he wanted to be at the gym and came for a few short visits. You could tell his 6 year old body was tired. Usually when you see him he is so upbeat, but he was a little quieter than usual. Amber was able to take a class on Friday evening and she said she really felt the emotions of the week. Sadly tears were shed. I truly cannot imagine how Amber and Steve feel every day, along with many other parents that fight to keep their children alive. Please continue to pray for Ber and his family and the other families who have children with childhood cancers.

One of the classes I taught this weekend for the “marathon” of classes was a Pilates class. I had so much fun teaching this group. It is always nice to meet a room of strangers and see if I can impact them in positive way. I challenged myself to try to teach each person in the room one alignment default they had and show them how they can correct the issue and make an exercise much easier. Posture and alignment is a passion of mine and I find most love learning about their own body, it is empowering to have control of yourself. Two women in the class learned they have an excessive curve in their back, called lordosis. This excessive curve requires a towel or soft cushion to be put under the arch of their back when lying on the floor. One woman had what we call sway back, which means the upper outward curve of her back is longer than most. You do not see this as often as lordosis. Both conditions make it hard and even impossible in some instances to do a roll-up or a sit-up. I had at least 5 people in class who had a forward head. This means the back of the head cannot lay flat on the floor when lying on your back and your chin points up to the ceiling exposing your adams apple. This alignment default requires a rolled up towel or cushion under the head to keep the spine in a straight line and keeps your shoulder blades in a comfortable position. This will immediately take the stress off their neck and make sit-ups and any Pilates core exercise on your back much easier.

After class, five of the woman who were guest of ACAC, shared they found the hour very interesting and asked if I had a video they could buy. This was awesome!! Three of the woman take classes in Pilates on a regular basis and were pleased to learn and also now understand why they had not been able to accomplish certain exercises. One woman in particular said this was the first time ever that she did a full roll-up. I was very excited that they had something to take home with them. I will keep you all posted on the Pilates video!

Well, it is getting late and I need to get some rest, 5:00am just comes around way too early.
Mary Anne

Tim, the Cyclist....

Happy Wednesday!!! Wednesday is one of my favorite days of the week. My partner, John and I have date night in the middle of the week every week and I always look forward to my evening with him alone. I literally savor this night. It’s like icing on a cake. I find this is the one day of the week we get to completely focus on each other and dive into great conversation. We do not live with each other, so I always treasure my time with him. Well, last week and this week John has been traveling and I miss him dearly. I already cannot wait till next week – woo hoo!


I have a new client who is a local cyclist. Tim rides for one of the local teams and unlike me, he is an upper category rider. He joined ACAC through a program that we offer called the Prep program. This program is unique because doctors give a patient a prescription to come to ACAC so we can help guide the patient through recovery from an operation or from a medical condition using our wellness services and our on-site nurse. Basically, the patient pays $60 for 60 days and at the end of 60 days they can use the $60 to join the gym. What a deal. Well Tim was sent to ACAC because of a knee issue that has kept him from riding for months. He had been to several therapist and trainers and was set up for an MRI next week. We happened to run into each other last week at the gym and I recognized him from races. He shared his knee issue with me and I quickly did some alignment evaluations with him and showed him a few changes to make with some of his exercises he was given. He seemed pleased with what I was showing him, so he asked if we could meet for a real session. So on Monday we met and I did quite a bit with him so he would understand the importance of using the correct muscles in the leg to track the knee. I taught him how to squat and lunge correctly using a ball on the wall so that he could feel the correct muscles fire that are required to execute an efficient pedal stroke on the bike. We also practiced this on a spin bike so he could feel the difference of his old way and my new way. I felt Tim was beginning to grasp the concept that our body is like a machine and when one part of the machine doesn’t work, there is a breakdown in the system. Muscles are there to protect the joint and the ligaments and therefore exercise shouldn’t hurt.


Tuesday morning Tim stopped by my office and asked if I had a minute. He wanted to share with me that for the first time in months, he had an incredible long pain free ride after he had met with me on Monday. He said the ride was is first in a long time and it was awesome. He felt so much stronger on the bike already with the few changes we made on Monday. (I can’t imagine how fast he will be now – he was already blistering fast) This was a really cool moment. He said he had come to me with an open mind and didn’t know what a category 4 rider could do for him. I laughed!!! He said he just couldn’t wait to come back next week and learn more. He felt he had his life back. Anyway, like I told him, alignment is everything, no matter if you are a walker, runner, cyclist or a person sitting at a desk every day. I love days like Monday!!

Enjoy your evening!! Mary Anne

92 years young…..

On Friday I was given a verdict from a court hearing regarding my ex-husband and it did not go in my favor. My ex-husband had the misfortune of losing his job this past summer. Fortunately he was able to find a new job which unfortunately paid him less money. He then petitioned the court asking to have his child support payment dropped and the court granted him his request. Well be as it may, money does not grow on trees (darn it!!). I am angry about the situation and plan to use my anger to drive me to succeed even more. My children are too important to me. My client Pat told me today if anyone could make an idea happen it would be me. Well Pat, I’m going to try and thank you for the encouragement. I need it right now. Phew, got that off my shoulders, I feel better…. On to better things

Great story today from one of my client’s named Kris. She is very funny and never holds back what she “really feels” especially in an e-mail. I just love it!! And I love her honesty!!! I also enjoy the fact that she stresses every time she has a piano lesson because she hasn’t practiced and she wants an excuse not to go. She is very, very funny! She makes me laugh every time we are together. Kris has 5 children and they are all very close in age. She gained weight after having the children and came to me so she could get some weight off. I worked with her one on one in the beginning and then I moved her into a small group because I knew it would really help her motivation and keep her focused once she developed a relationship with these woman. I also knew she would become accountable not only to me, but her new partners in crime. Kris has worked very hard and was excited today because her hard work was paying off. The irony was it took her grandmother to pass before Kris would realize how much.

Kris’s grandmother was 92 years old and had lived a wonderful life and was very lucky to pass in her sleep (God please let that be the way I go). Well, Kris was going through her clothes to find the outfit to wear to the viewing and she was elated that none of them fit. he had to go out and buy herself new pants and shirts to fit her new bod – woo hoo!!! (this is really funny to me, because I am always telling her to treat herself – which is hard for a mother of 5 and it took her grandmothers passing for her to finally shop). Kris was sad in one breath and excited in another.

Kris told us how her grandmother (now remember she was 92 years old) just recently at her families river house, rode an oversized tricycle because she wanted to remember what it felt like one more time. She said her Mother was running beside her the entire time so worried that she would fall over. She never fell. I LOVED this picture of her grandmother and how spunky she sounded. I loved it because even at the age of 90 our bodies still love to move and our mind and spirit responds. Good for you grandma.

Well, shorter blog tonight. I have to get to work figuring out how to make up for lost income. Keep me in your prayers tonight. Thanks a million. Mary Anne

Proud Mommy moment…..

I am so excited!!!! My client, Vicki told me I had to brag on my blog today. My son, Boone received a scholarship to the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). I am so elated and excited for his opportunity. Boone’s entire life has been focused around art. He desires to become a graphic designer or animator. Interesting story… about a month ago Boone received a letter and the address looked like it was written by a younger kid (not a teenager) and the return address was from his middle school. I thought this odd, considering Boone is a senior in high school. My first thought was a teacher had his/her middle school class write a note to a graduating Senior. Well, when I handed Boone the envelope I immediately recognized the “younger” handwriting on the envelope. It was Boone’s! He laughed and immediately knew what the letter was about. He had a project in 8th grade where each student was to write a letter to themselves in the future and they would receive the letter their senior year. (what a great teacher for sending them out 4 years later). We read the letter and it was the most wonderful look into the mind of a 14 year old. He expressed his ambition after high school was to attend a college that focused on animation and how much he admired the film industry and wanted to help to keep this industry alive. He shared a secret of being afraid of squirrels and more touching, which made me tear up, that the two people he admired and loved the most were his mom and dad. He shared that he considered us his role models. This was the biggest gift to me, because his Dad and I split years ago and I have always worried how divorce would affect my children. The really cool outcome of the letter was his dream of becoming an animator and that he will now be going to a college of the arts. I believe in dreams.

Today was a fun day with my small groups. I generally run 5 small groups a day (each one runs 55 minutes), averaging 3 – 6 people. I begin groups daily between 6am and 6:30am. I have 5 minute breaks (just long enough for me to run to the bathroom) before training the next group. Some of my groups focus on traditional strength training, others focus on pilates, some focus on interval training and cardio. All the groups are unique. Today is one of my big Stott pilates training days. I have several groups that train on the Stott pilates reformer machine. If you look up the Stott pilates reformer machine on-line, it looks like an ancient torture machine. Conversely, it is a soft form of exercise with amazing results. One of my groups, Pat, Laura and Vicki and Amanda have trained with me for about 1 ½ years now. They are a hoot and share the funniest stories. You met Vicki in one of my earlier blogs. She had a car accident while pregnant years ago which caused major damage to her foot and had to basically have it sewn back on. She recently had reconstructive surgery to get more mobility and movement and has been working hard for months to get her range of motion and feeling back into her foot. Between her strength training days each week and her pilates training each week, you would be amazed what she can do! Vicki is also very, very witty and has a dry sense of humor and a huge heart (but I won’t tell you that because she doesn’t let everyone know she’s really a softy). Pat, she’s my Italian. She has the most amazing brown eyes and salt a pepper hair that many woman would die to have (no pun intended). She was obese at one time in her life and if you saw her now, you would never, ever believe her story. Truly beautiful. Pat loves learning what all the muscles are that we are working and enjoys sharing what she knows even when traveling home to Italy to visit family. She loved being asked”how did she get those pretty legs”. (great story). Laura is one of my first clients and just a dear. She and her hubby have their own company and they work very hard. She is my client that loves to share stories about her boys. Laura has scoliosis and is very tall. The reformer training has done miracles for her back and back pain. Laura claims “bragging” rights for her success. It took me forever to get her to buy pants that fit so she could show off her changing body. We pick on her that she can now show off her cute butt. Amanda, the youngest one in the group with small children came to me because she had gained weight after having her children and just generally didn’t feel good about herself. One of the first goals I had with Amanda was to get her balance under control. She was actually scared to carry her children up and down stairs because she wasn’t stable. This is not generally seen this early in life, but for Amanda the balance control was being lost early. Well, bragging for Amanda, she has no issues with balance anymore and let me tell you what, her core is so strong. She learned early (she’s in her 30’s) how important balance and core work is to keep us upright as we age.


You may ask how do men and woman afford to do training with a trainer several times a week? It’s simple. Group training is very inexpensive and opens up the opportunity for average people to have what only the wealthy had at one time. You get to learn proper technique and form and also be introduced to different kinds of exercise many would not have ever experienced. Many of my clients, not all of them, were very uncomfortable with a gym setting when I met them for the first time. The clientele I work with does not expect to look like Barbie or Ken. Their goals are generally to lose some weight and more importantly feel better in general. Many have been told by a doctor that they need to become more active due to cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar or just general health. In America 60% of the population has no idea how to become active and make life changes to enhance the quality of their life. This is where I come in and help. Over time, as clients feel and see results, they gain confidence. Believe it or not, learning how to change your posture alone is how I gain trust from my clients in their first appointment. No kidding…..


Well, I have to sleep now, morning comes early. We are supposed to wake up to some snow tomorrow. I’ll keep you posted (pun intended – LOL)

Mary Anne

Home Again, Home Again….

Happy Monday!!! I hope you had a nice day and that you are enjoying your evening. I was happy today myself!!! We had nice weather this weekend and I finally got to enjoy being outdoors. I rode my bike both Saturday and Sunday. I love how fresh air makes you feel – yeah!!!

I wanted to share that I spoke with Debbie today and she is at her Mothers and doing well. Thank you for praying for Debbie!! She had a double mastectomy last week after finding out just a week before that she had stage III breast cancer. Her positive attitude and happy personality is holding strong through this adversity. I told her tonight that I admired her courage and strength and was so proud of her amazing ability to smile and laugh throughout this process. We spoke openly about what is to come for her in the future, the healing process, the rebuilding of her breast and the chemotherapy to come in a few weeks. She spoke to me about shopping for a wig and that she is getting her hair cut short so she can be prepared when her hair falls out. The whole time we are conversing, Debbie is positive and not complaining once or even uttering a negative comment about her ordeal. Interesting enough, she feels this must be happening for a reason and even spoke of becoming a personal trainer to help others. (one door closes another door opens). I told you she is a natural cheerleader!!! I’m so glad I was blessed with the pleasure of meeting Debbie

Debbie shared with me a wonderful story. The nurse was showing her exercises that she needed to do for the recovery process. The nurse asked Debbie to draw her shoulder blades down and back. The nurse was amazed that Debbie did this was such ease and strength. The nurse commented that she rarely has women able to create this movement of the shoulder blades after surgery. Debbie laughed and told the nurse that she had learned all about scapula placement and had worked on strengthening the back and scapula in her small group training because it helps improve our posture and balance as we age. (talk about walking advertisement) I laughed so hard and was so pleased that this was so helpful to her. Debbie also shared that she is unable to use her upper body at this time so she has had to rely on her legs. She also commented that her legs were so strong and had been a huge help to hold her up, help her get up from her seated position and laying down and she realized her legs were not fatigued. Again, I laughed and enjoyed her excitement as she shared her news
Little Ber is home!!!! Again, prayers answered In my last blog I had shared that Ber, who is 6 years old with neuroblastoma (a rare children’s cancer) had underwent surgery last week to remove a piece of his ribcage. He has been fighting this horrible cancer since November of 2007. The following morning after surgery the doctors believed he had suffered a stroke. Everyone was devastated. Well, as time passed, he slowly regained feeling in his legs and his vision returned to normal. The doctors believe he suffered a seizure. This was music to everyone I saw Amber last night and we embraced and I could feel her huge relief Let me tell you, Amber and Steve, (Ber’s parents) are the most incredible couple who have worked hard for this fight for not just Ber but for other children. I urge you to read their blog at caringbridge.com.

It was a very busy Monday for me. I began training my first group at 6am. The first group of the morning are three of my new clients who are just learning the basics of posture and alignment and core stability. I have to tell you, this always amazes people when they learn about why their body does what it does. For example, I walk like a duck. My feet turn out. I have walked this way my entire life. This quickly, would tell a trainer that focuses on muscle movements patterns, that I am a naturally strong in the external muscles of my legs and buttocks but may be weak on the insides of my legs. One of my clients this morning has a head that extends forward of her body. This means when she is on her back and lays her head down on a flat surface her chin may point to the ceiling or her head may roll way back. Her chest also rises and she feels very uncomfortable. Therefore, when attempting to do abdominal work or just lying on the floor to watch TV, she will need to put a rolled up towels or cushion under her head so her head would be in flattened position and aligned in a straight line with her spine. This position change with the cushion or towel will immediately take discomfort or pressure off her neck and shoulders. You see, simple posture alignment changes make huge differences in our daily lives.

I hope you have a wonderful evening and enjoy watching the Olympics!! MaryAnne

Little Ber (Bear)

Today was a rather solid day at work. All my clients were able attend their group sessions and everyone was in jovial moods. My day began with my Golden Girls. Three amazing woman who are 60 years young, who come to train with me every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 6:30am. (yes, I did say 6:30m). When we began our early sessions together I focused on balance, stability and teaching each one about their individual posture and alignment. You see, as we age, one of the life changes that affects our daily lives is our lack of stability and balance. Therefore, I focused on techniques that encouraged walking without looking at the floor, walking downstairs without looking at the steps, learning to balance on one foot while using your stomach muscles to control your center of gravity and holding weights at the same time. My Golden girls also learned how to control their balance while standing on unstable surfaces and walking over barriers that could move. These early sessions were real eye openers for the three Golden girls. Mary loves to share her story that she can now run up and down the stairs, carrying objects in her hands without ever feeling like she is going to fall and that she has so much more energy. Carolyn in particular has to work twice as hard because she suffers from neuropathy that affects the feeling in her feet. Carolyn doesn’t have the ability to point and flex her feet anymore, which makes these task very difficult. I will tell you though, her competitive nature and her drive to not let this get the best of her, doesn’t stop her from doing what Anne and Mary are doing. She is a true fighter and I respect her ability to never give up tremendously. Anne first noticed her changes while working in her garden. She had shared she didn’t get as tired and her legs didn’t hurt with all the standing and kneeling. Anne is also the cheerleader and the one who makes sure everyones Birthday is a big deal!!!

Well, as my day went on and I worked with my other wonderful groups, I kept thinking about Debbie and her surgery. My other clients who had heard me share Debbie’s fight asked throughout the day if I had heard anything. I finally received an e-mail around 3pm that her surgery went well and they hoped she would be home from the hospital by the weekend. I was relieved and will keep praying for what is to come for her in the near future.

I work for an amazing company that truly believes in changing the lives of others. I feel fortunate to work for such a giving and loving company that gives to the community and truly loves its members. I am proud to be affiliated with such a wonderful group of people every day. For years, I worked in Group Exercise as the Director and was lucky to have on my team a friend and confident named Amber van der Meer. Amber has a son, who is now 5 years old, who has been fighting for his life with a rare form of children’s cancer called neuroblastoma. He was diagnosed in 2007. Sadly, I have already had a close friend Beth, lose her son, John to this horrible cancer several years prior to Ber (bear). ACAC, the company I work for, for the past two years, has orchestrated what we call “Ber’s bowl”. We run non-stop group exercise classes for a weekend (super bowl weekend) to raise money to help with Ber and other children in the area who have this cancer. Well this year Ber’s bowl had to be cancelled and rescheduled due to the snow. Sadly, since the cancellation, Ber received news that he had a new tumor that needed to be removed. Little Ber underwent surgery yesterday and today we found out that he had a stroke. So much like my blog yesterday, I once again ask that you open up your heart, (mine is very, very heavy tonight) and pray for Ber’s healing and for a real miracle. (if you want to read more about Ber’s story, you can link onto Caringbridge.com and type in Ber) God bless and good night!

The Power of prayer....

Today was a crazy day! Up until now, (it’s 8:32pm) I haven’t sat down and I need toothpicks to hold my eyes open. I just had to blog tonight because I feel I have an important client that needs our prayers and I am a huge believer in the power of prayer.

I would love to tell you about one of my small groups that meets on Monday and Wednesdays at 8:30am. This group of woman are a hoot and I have grown to love each one very much. This group has been with me for almost two years now and they are four very special woman. Each one has a totally different personality and until forming this group they didn’t even know each other. I have watched them week after week get to know each other, support and pick on each other and over time grow to truly care for each other. To help you feel a personal touch with them, their names are Debbie, Raquel, Vicki and Sharon. Sharon is a stay home Mother who is my quiet one who never wants to complain or make any waves. Sharon is soft- spoken and sweet as pie. Vicki is my extremely driven client who has to work through adversity. Vicki has worked very, very hard to overcome a horrible car accident from years ago that disfigured her foot. In the past year she underwent surgery to completely rebuild her foot and has worked her butt off to be able to walk and she is now jogging. Raquel is my client who began running marathons and began cross-training without any idea that her small group training would knock off 30 minutes of her marathon time. Truly amazing!! When I met Raquel she had trouble with balance and now she does plyometrics on a Bosu! Debbie is my cheerleader!! She began training with me one on one about 2 years ago and with the recession she began doing small group training. Debbie will walk through fire to make sure she can keep training with the group. She gets more people to join the gym so she can receive ACAC’s $100 gift card for referring a new member which she uses for small group training.

I have really enjoyed watching each and every one of them overcome their individual obstacles. About a month or so ago Debbie shared with us that she had found a lump in her breast. Debbie’s usual “happy go lucky” spirit wavered for a few weeks but later she shared in a happy e-mail that her results had come back and that she was A-OKAY. Well, last Tuesday, I received an e-mail from Debbie that she had bad news to share with me and it was easier to tell me over e-mail. Debbie was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer. Ironically, the breast that had the original lump was OK, but she had cancer in her other breast. I was shocked.

With a heavy heart, I shared the news with the group. Everyone was stunned and very worried about Debbie. She is the kindest and sweetest person. We just could not believe the news. Debbie herself said “I don’t feel sick and I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in”. She shared she thought she was the healthiest she had ever been. Funny thing, Debbie is Italian, and she shares stories about her family and their cooking. (I’m always jealous because Betty Crocker doesn’t live in my house). Debbie has worked hard at changing her diet and her food proportions and she lost weight. She truly is an absolutely beautiful woman.

Debbie is undergoing surgery tomorrow and I am hoping that everyone who reads my blog will pass this along so others can pray for her and pray Debbie’s body can begin the fight to overcome and heal. When an individual goes through a traumatic experience, knowing that you are not forgotten is so important. I want Debbie to know that she has much love and support from many. We will be thinking about you. God bless

No more snow....

Yeah!! Richmond, Virginia received rain today instead of expected snow. The school age children actually went to school for a half day. This may seem insignificant to some, but for us, this has been a very stressful and long beginning to 2010. If you are one that follows the weather, (which generally I am not) you may have read or heard about all the snow that was dumped on Virginia in January and February. I have lived in Richmond my entire life and can say I have never experienced a winter like this one. I think I have forgotten what grass looks like.
As I mentioned in my first blog, I am a personal trainer and I work with many groups of diverse people. I train and motivate retirees; stay at home moms, moms that work, doctors, lawyers, teachers, accountants, writers, designers, artists and school teachers. Literally, my client base is just about anybody that desires to enhance and change their life habits to stay healthy and improve their overall daily life. My clients are unique and have their own special stories. But with this storm this winter, one constant was prevalent. Chaos and stress due to the unexpected. The weather affected everyone.

Obviously, this crazy winter has brought out the best in everybody. NOT!!! The phone calls, the e-mails, the crazy voice messages my clients have left me have been a riot and I feel for each and every one of them. I might as well have hit the “re-wind” button a hundred times. Interesting enough, over the past few weeks, I received many e-mails that had a recurring theme. They missed their workout partners, they missed the gym and “thankfully” they missed me. They even shared they didn’t realize how much better they handled stress and their families when they continued their routine of workouts until the workouts and workout buddies were taken away by the weather. This was music to my ears!!!

One of my goals for 2010 is to introduce myself to the world. I would love to reach as many people as I can that would never enter a gym or health center and help motivate and teach them to make changes in their life that can affect their health and their daily life. For example, one of my clients, a working mother who travels at times during the week, shared a great story with her early morning group. She came into the session, which I might add, was at 6:30am, and she was so excited, she shared…”I know not everyone would appreciate what I am about to tell you, but recently I haven’t missed any of my flights when I am traveling. Before I started small group training with you all, I had a hard time carrying my bags and getting from one gate to the other in the airport and frequently missed my flights.” This was a very big deal. Her leg strength and her stamina had improved in a short period of time by coming twice a week to small group training that her quality of life while traveling had improved.

Our bodies are made to move. Movement improves blood flow, strength, endurance, blood pressure, diabetes, blood sugar and cholesterol. Obviously these are some of the internal benefits of exercise and are hard for one to measure if they are not monitored by a doctor. Yet when you go for a check-up these results will speak volumes as to how you have enhanced your life and maybe even saved it.

I hope you will pass along my blog address to someone that you care about that may find guidance and motivation from reading the blogs to come.

My entire life my mother has told me that I am star crossed. Bad luck or what some may call, unfortunate occurrences or circumstance just seem to follow me. Every New Year I am told “Mary Anne, this is going to be your year“! Truthfully it’s a joke amongst those who are close and dear to me. Despite all the challenges and chaos, I am still the luckiest person alive. My life experiences have given me strength and insight to understanding what others feel when life changes your path . My mother also said I tend to learn all my lessons of life the hard way. Fortunately, with each lesson I grow stronger and wiser. My drive to succeed and make a difference for others has become a passion of mine. I have enjoyed learning I have the ability to motivate many people and teach them how to make changes in their life which has a direct affect on their relationships with their families, friends and handling stressein their life. I am not happy about my hardships, but I am proud that each challenge has given me strength and perseverance to move forward, re-educate myself and make a difference for my children, my family and for others. My challenges keep driving me to become more and more self -sufficient even with the adversity that follows me. I can tell you I wake up in the morning and love life. The gift I receive from those I help is without a doubt intoxicating and beautiful. I am blessed with three beautiful teenagers who are the light of my life, the most wonderful parents who have supported me through thick and thin, and I was lucky to later in life fall in love with an angel named John. So you see, my entire life isn’t under that black cloud that enjoys following me all aroundJ