Like anything in life, exercise should be done in moderation. There are usually two types of people when it comes to fitness; those who aren't motivated to exercise at all and those who love to exercise because it makes them feel good. There is also one more type of person who takes exercise to the extreme of an addiction. This person takes up a very small percentage of the fitness community, however, I have been seeing more and more of these people coming out of the woodwork

Every dancer knows exactly what I'm going to talk about today. Have you ever experienced snapping or popping joints? Most dancers, and some athletes, have. It has become a pretty normal annoyance to have to deal with. However, does it actually mean something is wrong? That is what we are going to talk about. A lot of the time, snapping joints are totally benign. Though, there are times when this popping can be from an injury. They usually snap or pop due to one or more of the

I've had a lot of fun so far trying out new products and recipes for pampering myself at home. Now, I know that nothing beats a spa and having someone give you a massage or facial, however, sometimes it's just not the most affordable option. Because I haven't had enough time to try out all of the recipes that I wanted to, I'm going to extend this series into next week as well. Today, I'm going to share the products that I have tried and hopefully you like them! Some of these

If you follow me on Instagram, you will have seen that I am starting a series all about natural care products and at-home "spa" items. I've decided to try out a couple of different facial care brands as well as some easy recipes. To start off this series, we're going to discuss some great foods that will help you achieve healthy, strong skin and hair. Food is the main way to keep your body healthy and happy. Sticking to healthy foods that are high in antioxidants, minerals, a

So...I know it's been a couple of week since part one of this short series, however, I think it's time to pick it back up again and finish it. If you didn't see the first part, you can check it out here. As I mentioned in my last post, back pain is a very common issue among all ages. Whether they are active or inactive, athletic or not, young or old. In the last post, I shared some great strengthening exercises for increasing back strength. Today, I am going to share some cor

I love finding new resources that will help me with both my job as a personal trainer and dance teacher, but also as a dancer myself. I spend a lot of time researching various products and books to make sure that they are indeed helpful and proven to be effective. One of the best programs that I discovered a couple of years ago was this flexibility program. I encourage you to check it out for yourself and here is why: For years I've struggled with inflexibility. Sure, I can t

As a health professional, I find that having healthy makeup brands is just as important as eating healthy foods. Everything that you put on your skin eventually makes it into your bloodstream. Because of this, you need to make sure that you are choosing products that don't contain harmful ingredients. If you would like to read more on this subject, you can check out A Dancer's Diary. The most common ingredients that can be harmful to your health include: Sodium lauryl sulfate

One of the most common injuries in both dance and athletics is rotator cuff injury. This particular injury comes from overuse (baseball, tennis, swimming, weightlifting, and football). This can cause a huge problem for athletes who constantly use their arms. If you work through the pain and don't take care of the injury right away, the shoulder ligaments and tendons can degenerate causing further injury and future issues. The best way to keep this from happening is to strengt

I love having snacks in the house because I feel like I'm always hungry. When you start to build up your metabolism in order to lose weight, you will start to burn calories a lot faster. To keep the weight at bay, I recommend trying these healthy make-at-home snacks that you can pack up and bring with you anywhere. Trail Mix I recommend choosing nuts like Brazil, almonds, pecans, walnuts, and cashews and combining them with seeds like sunflower, pumpkin, chia, and apricot. Th

For the last month or so, I have been posting about all of the dangerous and unhealthy ways to lose weight. Now, it's time to post a little more positivity and help you out with healthy weight-loss solutions. This is going to be a new series that will hopefully last until the end of March. I hope you're as excited as I am to embark on this weight-loss journey together! Please let me know if you have any questions about what I write or any other weight-loss issues you are deal

So many people have been getting the flu lately so I thought it perfectly providential that I post about how to survive the flu season. My family hardly ever gets the flu. The reason for this is because we make sure to boost our immune systems constantly and eat healthy in order to avoid getting sick. Here are the best ways to prepare your body for flu season and/or get over the flu easier. 1. Airborne Anytime you feel a cold or flu coming on, immediately start taking vitamin

There is trend that's been going around for years to eat snacks that are supposed to "help" you lose weight. This may be true, I have no idea because I've never used them. All I do know, however, is that many of these "healthy" snacks contain damaging ingredients that could ruin your long-term health. I did my research (as I do with everything) on these weight-loss bars and snacks to see what the ingredients were and how they work. Today, I am going to share some of my findin

With Autumn growing colder and Winter on the way, going outside is becoming an unpleasant thing. It is becoming a huge issue among dancers to have a vitamin D deficiency. This is partly because they are indoors all day rehearsing and are not spending enough time in the sun. It is also hard to get your daily dose of vitamin D in the winter when it's too cold outside. It is extremely important that you get your daily dose of vitamin D because it: helps you absorb important nutr

We can all agree that flu season is pretty awful. It prevents you from getting to class, it prevents you from going to practice, you feel groggy, stuffy, achy...sick. Of course you know there are things that you can take, eat, and drink to help you feel better once you get sick...but, did you know that there are simple ways to prevent you from getting sick in the first place? Today that is what we are going to talk about. The reason you get sick is because your immune system

You will remember in my post about athletic burnout, I said that it was important for parents to teach their children to release stress? In this post, I will be sharing some of my favorite ways to relieve stress through stretching and breathing exercises. Try performing these whenever you start to feel anxiety or when you need a little pick-me-up. Breathing- Take deep breaths by first filling your lungs completely. Imagine you are filling your stomach, then your chest, and fi

We all know that flexibility is extremely important when it come to dance and gymnastics, however, not many people realize how important flexibility is when sports are concerned. Flexibility doesn't necessarily mean that you can stretch your leg as far as the girls in the picture. The definition of flexibility is "the quality of bending easily without breaking." This means that your body should be able to bend easily without any tearing, popping, or breaking of joints, ligame

There has been a trend going around for years that teaches that vegan/vegetarianism is the best way to eat and live. Unfortunately, being a vegetarian is not for everyone and can actually cause dangerous health issues if it is a long-term choice. Animal based foods (yogurt, cheese, eggs, etc.) as well as meat (organic and grass-fed) have essential sulfur-containing amino acids in them that your body cannot create itself or obtain from any other food. Sulfur deficiencies put y

How many dancers or athletes do you know that have had or currently do have tendonitis? You probably know a lot if you are also involved in dance or sports. Tendonitis is one of the most common injuries for just about anybody, whether it's in the hips, knees, Achilles, shoulders, etc. Tendonitis is an overuse injury that causes inflammation from the constant breakdown of the tendon fibers within their synovial sheaths. If not rested properly, any tendon can turn in to tendoni

As a personal trainer, I love working with athletes who wish to strengthen their bodies to avoid injury and prepare for their sport. The best part of my job is working with young people to rehabilitate them mentally and physically and get them back in shape and ready to perform. Even though athletics are fun and build team spirit, did you know that the rate for athletic burnout in kids and young adults is skyrocketing? The most common reason behind this is the fact that they

Do your joints snap and pop in dance? A lot of dancers think that this is normal due to the amount of activity they are involved in on a daily (or weekly) basis. Snapping Hip Syndrome is one of the most common "injuries" that dancers have to deal with. Most dancers are used to their bodies snapping, popping, and locking. This seems to be one of the perks of being a dancer, but it doesn't have to be. The snapping sound that you are hearing is usually a ligament or tendon poppi