exercise

Strength of Speed

I’m not sure that everything in life relates to this, but I have certainly found it to be the case since I’ve joined a Dragon Boat team. The faster we paddle, the slower we move. The problem is, we are moving fast, but not getting much strength behind each paddle. When we paddle slower we get more for our effort. Still, it’s hard to convince people to go slow. Our minds think the faster we move our bodies the quicker we will go.

More and more in life, I am finding this to be the case. When I try to rush through things, […]

Strength of SpeedMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:10-04:00

Saturday Fun

We had another beautiful day for Pilates alongside the Connecticut River in East Hartford. The fact that we’ve had such good weather is just a reminder, as summer nears to an end, that we’ve had a great summer with lots of sunny, warm weekends.

Thank to you everyone who has been joining us and to all our instructors who helped out in organizing and teaching.

Saturday FunMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:10-04:00

Pilates Proven

Researchers from the kinesiology and physical education department at McGill University in Montreal found that Pilates improves shoulder stability, strengthens the lower abdominals and improves posture.

Let’s hear it for Pilates!

Pilates ProvenMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:11-04:00

Dragon Boat Obsessed

So, is it sad that on Thursdays at 7:30am I’m totally bummed that I have to wait five whole days until I get to go on the Dragon Boat again? Tuesdays aren’t as hard as Thursdays–it’s just two whole days that separate practice, but from Thursday morning to Tuesday morning seems like an eternity!

Luckily it’s the weekend.

I guess I should be grateful. What I’ve learned from paddling so far is that I’m a lot more sore on Thursdays than I am on Tuesdays. It’s a reminder that sometimes a little rest for exhausted muscles is a good thing.

Paddling is so much fun and the team is great. If you’re interested, I can’t recommend it enough.

Dragon Boat ObsessedMaggie Downie2014-08-04T18:04:19-04:00

Dragon Boat

On Tuesday I joined a Dragon Boat team in Hartford. You can visit the team’s site on Facebook, if you’re interested. Over the past few years I’ve had two clients recommend joining a Dragon Boat team. It actually fits into my schedule since I’m an early riser, and since I teach in the evenings I can’t join most team sports.

And quite frankly lately I’ve been really missing being part of a team. When I was in college I played field hockey and did theater. In both there is a team and a group of people working together to achieve the same goal. I miss that. Plus, it’s a fun excuse to get a workout with a group of people.

So Tuesday, I set the alarm clock a little earlier (we meet at 6:30am–really, not that bad) and went to my first practice. Now, I had no clue what I was getting into and I wasn’t that good. I couldn’t even keep time with the rest of the boat, let alone do the exercises properly. Being a […]

Dragon BoatMaggie Downie2017-09-12T19:32:14-04:00