To Tweet or Not to Tweet?

I can’t believe it took me so long get with the Twitter program. Click here if you’re the Twitter-type.

Xmas Gift Potential!!

Itching for new workout clothing or the perfect gift for a fellow Buff Girl? Beyond Yoga Clothing is offering 20% off of your online purchase. Just go to www.iambeyond.com and type in ELLEN at checkout. FYI, these are the clothes exclusively worn in Barefoot Cardio!

Experience BAREFOOT CARDIO, Live

New York Times Article About Training “The Core”

Check out June 17th’s NYTimes article titled “Is Your Ab Workout Hurting Your Back?” by clicking here. It mentions research that touts the core should be trained as a whole, not just “the abs” and that many people experience back pain because of a strength imbalance in the core. (If you are someone you know has back pain, it’s worth a read!)

My First Media Appearance Since Baby

Here’s a fun news segment I shot this morning at WTNH’s “Connecticut Style” showcasing core training cardio. (Sonia and Desiree are Buff Girls – most news hosts dread fitness segments because they have to wear fitness clothes and can’t hide behind a desk, but these two actually enjoy them.)

Workout With Me in June

Oh My Muscles…

Went skiing in Colorado. The first time I snow ski every winter, I feel “beaten up” the next day. I think it has to do with muscles being cold as well as using muscles that aren’t in my regular repertoire. The blazing fire helps as does the whirlpool. Anyway, I wrote about ways to recuperate post-workout in this week’s Lifetime TV.com post. Click here to read it. Hope it helps all you skiers out there, as well as non-skiers (I think, now with baby Luca, I’ll be a “non-skier” and opt to hang out in the lodge, sipping hot cocoa, for the rest of the year!)

My Favorite Fitness Props

 

Every year, we move our living room furniture around so the xmas tree gets center stage, but look to the left - my two fitness staples, the foam roller and the physio-ball, also got relocated (but at least they stayed in the room!). When guests come over I'll stash them somewhere i swear....

Have you gone shopping in search of holiday gifts yet? I’ve gotta say, it’s not a pleasant experience for me and some people are really hard to buy for. Here are two wellness-oriented ideas that are inexpensive, and great for men, women and children, older folks and youngsters, the fit or the not very fit. They are the only two fitness props permanently in my house and they actually get used! Plus, they don’t take up much space and can be transported from room to room easily.

1. A Foam Roller (see in the picture, it’s the white cylinder standing upright) is great for muscle massage, posture perfection and ab-toning. You can find them online and also at most sporting goods stores. (I wrote a column about my love of the foam roller – to read it, click here.)

2. A Physio-Ball (the green thing in the pic besides the tree) is fun and versatile. I do passive back bends on mine and it really helps remove the day’s tension that accumulates around my lungs and chest. Physio-balls, also known as stability balls and swiss balls, are for sale at Target and cost anywhere between $20 -$50/each.

* As for a “honorable mention”  - I also adore using very light (1lb or 2lbs) wrist/ankle weights, but those I leave for full on Pilates/toning classes at the studio or the gym – they aren’t in my house.

I wish you all pain-free holiday shopping experiences! Good luck.  xo Ellen

Fabulous Feet Treat!

‘Tis the season...The Buff Girl Online Boutique (a.k.a., THE SHOP at ellenbarrett.com) is offering our best-selling Buff Girl Socks at 2 pairs for $6. A great deal for these cuties! Great holiday stocking stuffers and really, who ever has enough clean socks?

* We ship items as soon as possible, and everything goes first class mail or priority mail with delivery confirmation – usually arriving within 5 business days of order. We don’t gift-wrap, but all items do not have price tags on them and the invoice is send to you online, so items can be mailed (fairly discretely) directly to a gift recipient. State tax only applies if you are shipping within Connecticut. 

Burn Fat, Not Oil

Gas prices, climate control, and global warming are big topics right now. We seem to be looking at politicians to “rescue” us…It can get depressing after a while and the popular chant, “Drill, Baby, Drill” is worrisome. I think the solution resides in everyone doing a little something, whatever that may be. Think to yourself, “What can I do?” Here’s what I can do and do do – I recycle. I do all my laundry in cold wash. I also ride my bike whenever and where ever possible.

My bike is famous in my neighborhood – lots of people have stopped and asked where I got it. I’ve had it for four years now. It cost $100 – got it at Walmart, not ashamed to say…worth every penny. People think I had to pay much more for it ’cause it’s so cute and sturdy. What’s great is I sit upright and I can wear flipflops and skirts and tube-tops. Honestly, it never seems like exercise, even when it is! My purse goes in my basket and sometimes, Roxy (the dog) goes in the basket! Riding my bike is a painless way for me to help the environment. That’s what you’ve got to discover for yourself – a painless way to help the environment. Maybe it’s riding a bike like me, or maybe it’s something else….

 

Here's my bike, aka, "Moon Dog." The basket makes it really handy for errands. And, no parking tickets!

I used to only drink bottled water, but getting a water filter has helped me reduce my bottle use. (This wasn’t so painless as I was a water snob!)

I admire ultra eco-sensitive people – “off the grid” sounds exciting. Just read LIVING LIKE ED: A GUIDE TO ECO-FRIENDLY LIFE -the book features a ton of great tips on reducing energy consumption. The author is really advanced on the eco-front, yet offers little things that you can do to make a big impact. Maybe it’ll serve as inspiration.

Oh, and interestingly…my local bike shop owner said that his business is booming right now – more fat burning, less oil burning – win/win!