Call Today! 860-748-7574|maggie@personaleuphoria.com
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About Maggie Downie

Thank you for giving your time to stop and read my blog. I hope it encourages you to keep moving. Move and the body will be happier. And when you're moving you can hike, run, swim in Jell-O, race over non-Newtonian fluids, travel the world or build igloos--if that's your thing. If not, you can watch me do it. This is just a spot to try and feel good about life.
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Fitness Holiday Gift Ideas

Buying a loved one a fitness gift provides more than just the surface level gift. It shows you really care about their health and wellness, which is key to a quality life. Here are some of my favorite fitness holiday gift ideas for all types of friends this year:

 For the Fun Fitness Type:

How about going a little retro with a pogo stick? Sure you can get this gift for a child, but you can also find one for your silly, fun loving, Tigger-impersonating friends. If you opt for this just make sure it’s weighted for an adult. I’ve seen them weighted up to 180 pounds.

If you have a group of friends that workout together or you know a sports team that exercises together, consider HIIT the game. It is a card game where you draw high intensity exercises, but along the way you can swap cards with players or make someone do an exercise you don’t want to do. You get points for each move you can complete.

 For the Practical Fitness Type:

A fun water bottle is a good reminder for anyone in your life to stay hydrated. This is especially important when we exercise.

Gaiam now makes foldable yoga mats. While […]

Fitness Holiday Gift Ideas2021-12-20T14:56:44-05:00

How Many Steps A Day?

Many of us believe we are supposed to walk 10k steps per day. The truth is that there has never been research to back that up. The number comes from a 1960’s, Japanese ad campaign for the first pedometer. Clearly the campaign worked because we’ve all been believing it ever since.

But now we have three research studies that indicate, perhaps to some people’s delight, that we may not need 10k steps for a substantial benefit. It looks like the magic sweet spot is between 7,000 and 8,000 steps. Upon crossing that threshold people decrease their chances of mortality by all causes by 50-70%.

These studies showed correlation not causation, so it is not evidence that walking makes you live longer, but people who walk certainly live longer. If you’d like to be in the “live longer” group, I’d encourage you to build up to 7k steps per day.

To be clear, I’m not suggesting if you already walk more than that (perhaps you have gotten in the habit of 10k steps) that you should reduce your goal. Increased steps was correlated with even more gains, but the most profound leap in longevity came […]

How Many Steps A Day?2021-11-14T16:40:11-05:00

The No Pain, No Gain Fallacy

We’ve all heard the phrase, No Pain, No Gain in relation to exercises.  It’s a popular expression but it is not true.  Actually, it’s potentially harmful.

 

When we think No Pain, No Gain in terms of exercise we tend to think that either our workout should be grueling, or we should be sore the day or two afterward.  If we aren’t then we presume we haven’t done enough.  The problem is working out and pushing through pain increases our risk of injury.  Once we are injured our whole workout plan can be derailed.  Plus the Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) we feel 24-48 hours after a workout isn’t practical or functional.  We are more likely to get injured then because we have to alter the way we naturally move to work around how sore we are.

 

While you can choose to only do an upper body workout every other day, you can’t not use half your body for a whole day.  We need our arms to pick up our children, reach for something off the top shelf, and open the refrigerator.  We need our legs to go upstairs, get in and out of […]

The No Pain, No Gain Fallacy2021-10-15T16:20:14-04:00

Carving for a Cause Charity Pumpkin Patch

Personal Euphoria is hosting the third Carving for a Cause Charity Pumpkin Patch

 

Carving for a Cause Charity Pumpkin Patch was designed to highlight our local creativity, bring joy to our community, and raise money for a local charity. Personal Euphoria began sponsoring this event when, in the midst of COVID, we all needed a little glimmer of joy. Due to its popularity, we are continuing the event.

This year will have 3 winners.

All are welcome to participate by dropping off a carved pumpkin at 400 Hartford Ave, Wethersfield, CT on Saturday or Sunday, October 21 or 22, 2023. Please submit name/email/phone number/picture of your pumpkin to [email protected] to officially register your pumpkin. Please write your name on the back of your pumpkin with a sharpie. Place your pumpkin as close to the garage as possible. Note: any carvings deemed offensive will not be displayed.

Others can join the fun by voting throughout the week. Simply click this link to vote. One vote per person. Votes will be collected through Halloween night at 10 pm and then tallied. Personal Euphoria […]

Carving for a Cause Charity Pumpkin Patch2023-10-01T09:28:51-04:00
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