Health and fitness

What’s the deal with….taking a break?!?!

What is the connection between my favorite Christmas gift and having Covid???

For several years I was obsessed with getting a smart watch. I’d had a Fitbit for a long time, but I wanted an upgrade. So, I did research on what was available, read reviews, and even borrowed one from a friend. I finally decided on a Garmin Forerunner 745, and lucky me – Santa delivered!

What made this watch so special? I’m a bit of a tech gadget nerd, and I love keeping my workout stats, so this was perfect for me. It had all of the typical smart watch features (notifications for emails, texts, and more) but it was also perfect for working out. The Garmin Forerunner could go under water, it had a heart rate sensor, and it had GPS that could track runs, bike rides, and even open water swims! But my favorite feature? I could download music onto my watch and use my AirPods to listen to music. No more carrying my phone on walks and runs! 

Needless to say, my new watch became my baby, it could track all of my exercise and I wore it everywhere. Not just that, but I would also get detailed reports on the quality of my workouts, activity, sleep, etc. It was like having my own coach or personal trainer who could hold me accountable. Ha!

And then ….. I got Covid.  I felt so lousy and fatigued, and I couldn’t work out. Even after I started feeling better, I knew I needed to take it easy, so I continued to rest. But then I started getting negative commentary from my beloved Garmin!!! It toId me that I needed to work out again. I’d been taking a break for so long, and that my training was no longer productive. I was actually “detraining”. I was horrified – didn’t my watch know I had to rest, and that I couldn’t be active? Lol!

Obviously, I knew I was doing the right thing, and I couldn’t take these updates seriously. But it was a good reminder, that sometimes we really do need to take a break. And when do, we shouldn’t be so hard on ourselves!

At some point everyone needs to rest. It doesn’t matter if you’re a super star athlete, or you just like to work out regularly. So, listen to your body and mind, and take a break when you need to and don’t feel guilty. You know it won’t last forever, and the next time you exercise, you’ll probably feel energized and ready to go!

Health and fitness

Working Out with Scout – Core and Pelvic Floor

As a follow-up to our post on pelvic floor physical therapy, we’re going to show you some great exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor. Remember – this is more than just kegels! For a detailed description of how to do kegels and for more information on how strengthening your core helps pelvic health take a look at the articles linked below.

You cannot separate the core from the pelvic floor, because your pelvic floor is part of your core,” says Dr. Hoover. She explains that the core consists of the deep back muscles, the abdominal muscle, the pelvic floor and the diaphragm, which all need to work in harmony to help support the spine and pelvis and help to prevent injury.

Zoe Weiner Well + Good
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Health and fitness

What’s the deal with….. pelvic physical therapy?!?!?

Yes, I’m really going there – “down there” in fact! Ha! I have a close friend who works as a massage therapist at a physical therapy practice, and a few months ago she mentioned that her practice had hired a new Pelvic Physical Therapist. Wait what???? Is that even a real thing??? And of course, within a week after our conversation, it seemed like I kept hearing and reading about Pelvic PT everywhere! So, yes, Pelvic PT is such a real thing that in other countries it’s  often a regular part of postpartum care.

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Health and fitness

What’s the deal with…. open water swimming???

Try an open water swim in Long Island Sound (or any other salt water!) It’s not only great exercise as it’s easy on your joints, but the salt water is great for your skin! Sea salt contains many skin healing minerals like magnesium, which is an anti-inflammatory, so it’s also great for acne and it’s a natural exfoliant. Saltwater also contains sulfur which is a natural antiseptic and potassium which promotes healing. Whenever I had a cut or scrape as a kid, my mom would always say “take a swim at the beach and you’ll be fine”! Maybe there was some truth to that!

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Food, Health and fitness

What we’re eating –


Let me start by saying, I am not an expert cook like Ina Garten or an amazing baker like my friend, Avery Wuest Horne, so take my baking recommendations with a “pinch” of salt. Ha ha! I do, however, enjoy baking when I have the time. My friends all know my go-to Blondies that I bring to every party, but that secret recipe is for another time. If I tell you, I’d have to kill you!

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