AMANDA STERCZYK - AUTHOR
  • About
    • Meet Amanda
    • Amanda's Fitness Credentials
    • Workshops
    • Testimonials
    • Events
  • Books
    • Chair Exercises for Fall Prevention
    • Audiobook: Balance Exercises for Fall Prevention
    • Balance Exercises for Fall Prevention
    • Balance 2.0
    • Balance and Your Body
    • Ejercicios de Equilibrio para Prevenir Caídas
    • Pace Yourself: Exercising After COVID-19
    • Sweat-Free Exercises for the Office
    • Move More, Your Life Depends On It
    • Your Job is Killing You
    • I Can See Your Underwear
    • Selfried and the Secrets
    • Bulk Orders
  • The Move More Instituteā„¢
    • 3 Days to Better Balance
    • Balance 2.0
    • Get Off Your Butt!
    • Add Movement at Work
    • Move More! Coaching for Behaviour Change
    • Move More with Amanda
    • Free Videos
  • Blog
  • Media
    • Print
    • Video
    • Audio
  • Contact

BLog

Daily Habits: Essentrics?!

8/6/2016

2 Comments

 
Picture
Essentrics is a full-body rebalancing program; so what happens to a body when you stop rebalancing it on a daily basis? This summer, I decided to see for myself. Read on to find out the results of this case study of one…

First, a little background: 

This is my seventh year as an Essentrics instructor, and my fifteenth year - yes, I said 15 - of following its television version, Classical Stretch. The TV episodes are only 22 minutes in length - 22 minutes to feel great, unlock tight muscles, and relieve joint pain. That’s a daily habit that wasn’t too hard for me to adopt. Even when I take breaks from teaching Essentrics classes, I still do my own daily workout at home. 
​

This summer, my teenagers joined a local fitness club. The facility has a teen fitness program that allows them free access for July and August. While my son had workout buddies, my daughter was going to be on her own. So she asked me to join with her. I promptly agreed: daily exercise is an important habit for everyone, and if spending money on a gym membership would keep my daughter physically active, I was willing to pay for the summer months. 
During our first workout at the gym, I was struck by how many people had less-than-optimal posture, poor form during their workouts, and perpetually contracted muscles which inevitably leads to joint compression - aka pain! Were these people aware that only 22 minutes of dynamic stretching could improve their gym experience? Don’t worry - I resisted the urge to preach the gospel according to Essentrics. But it got me thinking: what would happen if I stopped my daily Essentrics workout and only did a gym-based workout? 
​

The American College of Sports Medicine defines 3 fitness components on which individuals can train for optimal health: cardiorespiratory training, resistance training, and flexibility training:
Picture
Cardiorespiratory training: the ability of an individual to perform large muscle, repetitive, moderate- to high-intensity exercise for an extended period. The goal is to increase heart rate (HR) and respiration in order to place an appropriate physiological stress on the cardiorespiratory system. (p. 399)
Picture
Resistance training: also known as strength training or weight training, is a standard part of a comprehensive personal training program. The benefits…include increases in strength, muscle mass, and bone density. (p. 362)
Picture
Flexibility: the degree to which a joint moves throughout a normal, pain-free range of motion (ROM). As most physical activities and sports consist of numerous multijoint movements, it is essential that musculoskeletal function not be compromised by inadequate flexibility. Stretching is the method used most commonly to increase joint ROM. (p. 432)
ACSM also provides training recommendations for healthy adults and seniors, as well as individuals with medical conditions who have been cleared to exercise:
Picture
Notice anything about this table? I’ll give you a hint - I highlighted it in yellow. Flexibility training - aka stretching - is recommended daily or almost daily for every population. So, how many people actually follow these recommendations? Judging from the people I was seeing at the gym, I think it’s fair to say “not many”. Since I’ve never been into resistance training, and I was now doing it 3-4 days per week with my daughter, I wondered how my body would fare if I eliminated the flexibility training from my exercise repertoire. Well, I’m a research nerd at heart, so the only logical solution was to run an experiment. Sample size = 1. It’s called a case study, people. I’ve spent enough of my life in the world of research to know the limitations of a single case study, so don’t worry, it’s not being submitted to a peer-reviewed publication.
​

So, in early July, I stopped doing Essentrics and only did cardio and resistance training workouts. What happened to my body with this change in workouts? Well, a lot. Every injury I’ve ever had seemed to resurface - plantar fasciitis in one foot, torn calf muscle in the other leg, severe big toe pain, recurring shoulder pain. When I got out of bed in the morning, I couldn’t put my heel on the ground and I had to walk down the stairs sideways. It reminded me of my pre-Essentrics life and what drove me to daily practice of this program in the first place.

Picture
The last weekend in July, I attended Essentrics training in Montreal with creator Miranda Esmonde-White. It was a bit embarrassing when I couldn’t hold up my own body weight during heel raiser exercises. Over the course of the 3-day training, my body slowly felt better. 
I realized I couldn’t continue this experiment on my return to Ottawa. This was a situation where the science was hurting the test subject. I’m still doing cardio and resistance training workouts with my daughter, but first I do my own Essentrics workout at home. For me, it improves my gym workout because I know I’m still rebalancing my body on my own time. 

Bottom line, Essentrics can and should be a daily habit. Not just for me - for everyone. Daily habits make life more manageable. And Essentrics is a tool for better living.
Daily Habits:

What are your daily habits? Do you:
  1. set your alarm
  2. plan your day
  3. have a morning routine
  4. brush your teeth
  5. drink water
  6. check the news headlines and/or social media
  7. put on makeup
  8. do the dishes/tidy up

These are all great daily habits - do you remember a time when you didn’t do them? Your daily habits are just that: things you do every day without even thinking about it.

Well, I feel you should also make Essentrics/Classical Stretch a daily habit. If you’re already setting your alarm, why not set it 20 minutes earlier to give you time to fit in a full-body rebalancing workout? Your entire body will thank you for it. I know mine did.
Picture

Reference: 
American College of Sports Medicine: ACSM’s Resources for the Personal Trainer, 4th ed. (2014) Publishers: Wolters Kluwer; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.​

Photo Sources:
  1. pixabay.com
  2. Amanda Sterczyk
2 Comments
Katie gibson link
8/8/2016 10:45:35 am

Loved the article! Thanks for doing the test research . I will not give it up no matter what now!
Tnx again
Katie

Reply
New Dimensions Wellness Inc link
10/20/2021 07:55:03 am

Hello, thanks for sharing this blog . this is very helpfull for me . if you want any help regarding Natural Healing in Orlando then contact with New Dimensions Wellness Inc .

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Essentrics
    Fitness
    General
    Guest Post
    Health & Wellness
    The Move More Institute™
    Writer

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    March 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    February 2021
    October 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014

    Author

    Amanda Sterczyk is an international author,  Certified Personal Trainer (ACSM), an Exercise is Medicine Canada (EIMC) Fitness Professional, and a Certified Essentrics® Instructor. 

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    RSS Feed

Land Acknowledgement

I live and work on the traditional and unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe territory. Algonquin people have lived in the Ottawa Valley for at least 8,000 years before the Europeans arrived in North America, and are the customary keepers and defenders of the Ottawa River Watershed and its tributaries. From coast to coast to coast, I acknowledge the ancestral and unceded territory of all the Inuit, Métis, and First Nations people who call this land home. 

Company

About
Meet Amanda
Contact
Privacy Policy
​The advice and recommendations provided by Amanda Sterczyk - Author are not medical guidelines but are for educational purposes only. You must consult your physician prior to starting any exercise program.
 
​©2022 Amanda Sterczyk

​As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
  • About
    • Meet Amanda
    • Amanda's Fitness Credentials
    • Workshops
    • Testimonials
    • Events
  • Books
    • Chair Exercises for Fall Prevention
    • Audiobook: Balance Exercises for Fall Prevention
    • Balance Exercises for Fall Prevention
    • Balance 2.0
    • Balance and Your Body
    • Ejercicios de Equilibrio para Prevenir Caídas
    • Pace Yourself: Exercising After COVID-19
    • Sweat-Free Exercises for the Office
    • Move More, Your Life Depends On It
    • Your Job is Killing You
    • I Can See Your Underwear
    • Selfried and the Secrets
    • Bulk Orders
  • The Move More Instituteā„¢
    • 3 Days to Better Balance
    • Balance 2.0
    • Get Off Your Butt!
    • Add Movement at Work
    • Move More! Coaching for Behaviour Change
    • Move More with Amanda
    • Free Videos
  • Blog
  • Media
    • Print
    • Video
    • Audio
  • Contact