February 2015 - The Family & Fitness Issue with Huston Street by Austin Fit Magazine

AustinFitMagazine.com

Love In Fitness One coupleâ€™s remarkable true story Compression Wear The truth behind this tight new trend

S t r i k i ng a B a l a nc e

Huston Street Family. Fitness. And the Fastball. February 2015

Huston Street, closer for the L.A. Angels

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Contents

February 2015 Features + Cover Stories

Never Letting Go How closer Huston Street finds balance between family, fitness, and pitching for the L.A. Angels

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24 Emotional vs. Physical Hunger

60 Compression Wear 101

Knowing the difference between the two will save you a trip to the fridge

We filtered through the claims and discovered some truth to this tight new trend

56 The Power of Love in Fitness

86 Insights from an Ironman Racer

In sickness and in health, this couple continues to stay fit and stand by each other’s side

Adhere to these six steps from a seasoned pro to see continued selfgrowth in your sport

cover and contents photography by Brian Fitzsimmons

46 Starting on page

Contents

February 2015 Departments + In Every Issue

In Every Issue 10

From the Publisher

From Our Readers

Contributors

On the Web

Fit Focus

FAQ

What’s in Your Bag?

Fuel

20 The Sustainable Food

Center’s Swiss Chard Fritatta

A protein-rich dish perfect for a pre or post-workout meal 22 What Triggers You? Awareness and self-evaluation practices can help establish positive habits

LIVE

30 Fit and Pregnant These ladies didn’t let their due dates deter them from working out 38 USA Cyclocross National

Championships Recap

Mud and mayhem flew as bikers raced their way through Austin’s Zilker Park

8 • au st i nfItm agazi ne. c om • 02 .2 015

LOOK

Special Section

62 Fit Finds: Headphones Never miss a beat with these customizable earbuds

78 2015 Gym Guide Four gyms to help you stick to your New Year’s resolutions

66 What’s New to Austin Studios that just rolled out their welcome mats

TRAIN

FEEL

70 Your Shoulder Has Flaws Sacrificing security for mobility is the mode of operation for this joint 72 Overcoming Adrenal Fatigue A commonly undiagnosed condition, caused by stress, could be affecting your breath 76 Blood Lab Basics What to know about a blood test before you take one

84 Freestyle Flip Turn Conquer this underwater feat to increase your swim stroke fluidity and speed 88 On Coaching and Being

Coached

How you best give and take advice will be reflected in the race results 90 Stabilize Your Shoulders Engaging your lower body to restore and enhance upper body alignment and strength

Healthy Bits

Events Calendar

Rides & Races

Discover!

Publisher’s Letter

A Family Affair

Publisher/CEO Louis M. Earle COO & Associate Publisher Alex Earle Managing eDITOR April Cumming Creative Director Weston Carls

n a world with so many distractions, staying healthy and fit can be a real challenge. One thread that consistently seems to connect those who lead healthy lifestyles is “the shared experience.” The fact is simple: in life, it’s tough to go it alone. Working out with friends, meeting folks down on the trail, or syncing up for a spin class seems to make life a little bit easier and enjoyable. And the benefits don’t stop there. Groups provide added motivation, inspiration and fun competition that make healthy living more sustainable over the long haul. But as potent as this shared-experience catalyst can be, it can also serve as a deterrent. For those who are just starting to consider the transforming journey of a fit future, the fear of embarrassment, failure, and social ostracization can be overwhelming. You hear stories every day of how stressed people get about joining a new gym or training class. The idea of “performing” in front of people and falling short is right up there with the fear of spiders, snakes, and public speaking. For some, it’s an experience to try and avoid at all costs. The success of YouTube video workouts and in-home exercise equipment is testament to the dread people hold in regards to this kind of public exposure. How ironic it is that other people—one of the most powerful enablers to changing one’s life for the better—are also one of our greatest obstacles. The good news is that there are people and groups out there ready to help beginners overcome these fears and encourage extraordinary results. Consider the powerful effect parents can have on their children. When we see a child follow in the footsteps of a talented parent, we often surmise that talent must be in the genes. More often than not though, the child was nurtured and groomed from a very early age in all the crucial knowledge and skills that drive success in that sport or discipline. It’s hard to argue that the combination of good genes, motivational teachers, and a significant measure of personal sacrifice don’t significantly increase one’s odds for success. In our features this month, we focus our attention on inspirational stories of perseverance that demonstrate the power of support that comes from family, friends, teachers and those humble few who make a difference in the outcomes of the lives they touch. Born and raised in Austin, Huston Street—who graces this month’s cover—grew up under the guidance of his mother, Janie Street, and father, James Street, who was the star quarterback of the University of Texas ’69 National Championship football team. From a young age, Huston saw his dad as a role model—albeit a tough act to follow. Today, Huston is a major league baseball phenom pitcher who has some of the best saves and closing stats in the game. But he didn’t get there easily or without a lot of support. Also in this issue, check out how some active ladies balanced fit lifestyles with pregnancy, and hear about the power love has in fitness as we share one special couple’s story that is sure to warm your hearts.

Lou Earle, Publisher, CEO 10 • au sti nfItm agazi ne.c om • 02 .2 015

Director of Marketing & Communications Carrie Crowe Senior Advertising Consultant Betty Davis Advertising Consultants Emily Vaughn, Brittany Summerford, Jessica Martinez Associate Digital Coordinator Gretchen Goswitz Operations Assistant Leila Noone Writers Carrie Barrett, Krista Bergeron, Kim Brackin, Lee Compton, Patrick Evoe, Payson McElveen, Elli Overton, Diane Vives, Anne Wilfong General Inquiries info@austinfitmagazine.com Advertising Inquiries ads@austinfitmagazine.com Submissions editors@austinfitmagazine.com fitfocus@austinfitmagazine.com Event Listings austinfitmagazine.com/events Subscriptions austinfitmagazine.com/subscribe 2201 N. Lamar Blvd., Ste. 220 Austin, TX 78705 p 512.407.8383 f 512.407.8393 Austin Fit Magazine assumes no responsibility for the content of articles or advertisements, in that the views expressed therein may not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or any magazine employee or contributor. This publication and all of its contents are copyrighted. photography by Dennis Burnett

Keep Austin Fit,

Copy Editor Alicia Dietrich

Austin Fit Magazine is the assumed name of its publisher, Louis M. Earle, who has no interest in the business of Denis Calabrese who operates an exercise program under the assumed name of Austin Fit, which trains individuals to improve their jogging or running skills to participate in marathons. The views, opinions and other representations published in Austin Fit Magazine are not those of Austin Fit or any of its directors, officers, employees or agents.

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FIND YOUR FIT.

From Our Readers

Need help stepping into the perfect size? Visit newbalance.com/GetFit and find the Local Run Store nearest you.

How do you #KeepAustinFit? We want you to show us! Tag AFM in your social media post with @AustinFit or #KeepAustinFit and you could be featured in the magazine. This month, photos by @jackie.torre, @fyf24, @yogabrett, @dietitiandeanna, @blendersandbowls, and @beyondfitaustin made the list. What We’re Looking For

Show us how you keep Austin fit by capturing your fitness moments—doing a handstand at an historic Austin landmark, SUPing around Lady Bird Lake, or working out with your children when you find time around the house. However you keep fit, we look forward to seeing what you can do!

com/GetFit ©201 ©2 014 N Ne ew Ba B lanc ance A ance Atth hllet hlet ettic ic c Sho hoe, h oe e, Inc c.

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Contributors Thank you to AFM’s contributors who make this magazine a worthy source of health and fitness information in Austin. back in the game faster. In addition to playing sand volleyball, he enjoys exploring Austin’s eateries, hiking the Greenbelt, and cooling off at Barton Springs.

Nate Turner, M.Ed., C.S.C.S. Nate Turner is a coach, author, and two-time Leadville 100 mountain bike race finisher. He is the Director of Training for Sport Speed Austin, a local sports performance training company that has helped more than 1,000 athletes of all ages in a variety of sports make powerful, positive changes to their games. nate@sportspeedaustin.com SportSpeedAustin.com

Daniel Bockmann, D.C. Dr. Daniel Bockmann is a chiropractor and rehab provider at his private practice, Austin Spine & Sport, where he focuses on treating spine, shoulder, knee, and other sports injuries. Dr. Bockmann has been the Medical Director for the Central Texas Wolf Pack semi-pro football team, provided medical support for the MS 150 Bike Tour, and developed the injury prevention program currently used by the University of Texas men’s and women’s club volleyball teams. As a competitive beach volleyball player himself, Bockmann understands the athlete’s desire to return to play as soon as possible while avoiding re-injury. He has developed “fast track” rehab protocols to help get his athletes healthier and

AustinSpineAndSport.com Twitter: @DanBockmannDC Facebook: Austin Spine & Sport

Anne Wilfong, R.D.N., L.D. Anne Wilfong holds a nutrition and business degree from the University of Texas at Austin. As a registered dietitian, she works closely with clients to encourage personal behavior modifications to achieve their goals. Wilfong is particularly interested in oncology nutrition, working with clients to improve overall health and diet and manage treatment side effects. As a frequent participant in local races, she recognizes the importance of sports nutrition and can help clients develop performance nutrition plans.

THRIVE Wellness & Recovery, where she specializes in lifestyle redesign, helping others achieve their personal goals and develop a healthy relationship with food, fitness, and their bodies. She works with clients from all walks of life, including those seeking support in eating disorder recovery, weight management, hormonal imbalances, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, stress, anxiety issues, and more. Lax earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Texas and completed her doctoral degree at Belmont University in Nashville before returning to Austin to complete her Residency. While she is a healthcare professional, Lax has also been a writer and journalist her whole life. Aside from her work with clients, she is a regular contributing writer to various health and fitness publications, including Optimal Performance Experience, Box Life, WOD Talk magazine, FloElite.com, the CrossFit Games website, and Austin Fit Magazine. MeantToThrive.com Lauryn@MeantToThrive.com MeantToThrive.com/blog

SparkmanNutrition.com

big part of her practice. She was awarded Naturopathic Doctor of the Year for Texas in 2011. DrAmyNeuzil.com

Carly Pollack, C.C.N. A lot of people strive for ultimate health and vitality, but most have no idea how to get there. Carly Pollack believes that if one does actually get to a place of satisfaction, they tend to sabotage themselves and perpetuate a behavioral pendulum swing between “food prison” and “reckless abandonment.” This was how Pollack lived her life until she acquired the tools to make a permanent change. She has been told that one often teaches what they most need to learn. After realizing teaching was her life passion, she went to school for nutrition, earning a masters degree in holistic nutrition, and became a certified clinical nutritionist and spiritual coach. Don’t let her snarky New York attitude fool you—she is a true spiritual gangsta! NutritionalWisdom.com

Lauryn Lax, O.T.D., O.T.R./L. Lauryn Lax is a Doctor of Occupational Therapy, Nutrition Therapist, and Fitness Professional living in Austin. She is the founder of the holistic health and wellness practice

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Amy Neuzil, N.D. Amy Neuzil is a naturopathic doctor, author, teacher and speaker. Her first book, DIY Health: For Women was published in 2009. She has been seeing local and national clients in the Austin area for 11 years. She focuses on complex multi-endocrine disorders such as PCOS, but mood and sleep disorders and homeopathy are also a

Write for AFM Letters should include the writer’s name, address (email included), and daytime phone number as well as a short description (250 word max) of the article premise. Send to Story Ideas, AFM, 2201 N. Lamar Blvd., Suite 220, Austin, TX, 78705. Email address is editors@ austinfitmagazine. com . Response

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video on one couple’s life-altering journey from hospital room to home workout gym. Hear Vanessa Cizmar and Joe Carter tell the story in their own words. And make sure to keep a box of tissues on standby. The video was the inspiration behind this month’s LIVE section “Devotion (to Fitness) Made All the Difference” piece.

Socket to Me. Desk-job workers and fast pitch throwers alike are prone to underusing and overusing certain shoulder muscles. Restore balance and improve posture and performance with these exercises created especially for the web by chiropractor, rehab provider, and this month’s FEEL section writer, Dr. Daniel Bockmann.

@AustinFit

Workout Video Squat, walk, lie down, and blast! (No, these aren’t commands for you to give your dog. They’re for you.) Follow along in this month’s Muscle Movement video as personal trainer, and our TRAIN section writer, Diane Vives leads you through a few lower body exercises focused on enhancing upper body stability.

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photography by Brian Fitzsimmons

THE FITTEST IS COMING. 5.30.15 R E G I S T R A T I O N N OW O P E N

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F it Fo c u s Comfort Zone Sarah Michaels climbs Super Cruiser (5.13a) at Reimer’s Ranch in Dripping Springs Jacob Bodkin Photography

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Send your active lifestyle photos to FitFocus@ AustinFitMagazine.com for a chance to be published. Guidelines are provided in our Fit Focus photo album on Facebook.com/ AustinFitMagazine

Fuel

Swiss Chard Fritatta

By Mary Jones of the Sustainable Food Center

What You Need

How to Make It

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

1/2 bunch Swiss chard (or substitute with spinach)

Remove stems from Swiss chard leaves and set aside. Coarsely chop Swiss chard leaves and stems, keeping them separate.

1 tablespoon olive oil

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

2 cloves of garlic

Sauté Swiss chard stems, onion, jalapeño, salt and pepper for 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes more. Be careful not to burn garlic. Add Swiss chard leaves and sauté until just wilted (about 1 minute).

1 medium onion, minced 1 jalapeño, chopped and minced 1/2 cup strong cheese (shredded Parmesan, crumbled goat cheese, feta, etc.) 6 eggs  1/4 teaspoon salt  1/2 teaspoon pepper Oil to coat pan

Whisk eggs in bowl. Add half of cheese. Coat pie pan with oil. Put vegetable mixture in pie pan. Add egg mixture. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven, put the rest of the cheese on top, and bake for 10 more minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Broil for 1-2 minutes to brown top. Serve hot or cold.

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photography by Brian Fitzsimmons

Yields: 6 Servings

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Fuel

How to Overcome Addictive Patterns Recognizing what triggers your subconscious, selfsabotaging behaviors can help you make positive health changes. By Carly Pollack

n our quest for ultimate health and vitality, it is inevitable that we’ll encounter behavioral roadblocks that threaten to sabotage our end goal. Old patterns and negative behaviors are bound to surface as we navigate new health paths. The good news: once we train the neural pathways of the brain, addictive patterns can be healed. There is a simple habit loop that forms in the brain, and this loop is what reinforces all behaviors. It begins with a trigger. This “trigger” tells the brain to engage in a behavior. That “behavior” then provides us with a reward. It is this reward that solidifies a new neural pathway. With time, this behavior becomes ingrained, effortless, and perhaps even subconscious. This loop is actually very helpful and has evolved as a way for us to save time and energy. Think about the times when you have driven to work and arrived at your destination wondering how it was you even got there. Turns out that habits can save energy, as you were using your brainpower for something else while you were driving. The problem is that the brain cannot tell the difference between a good and a bad habit. For instance, if stress triggers the behavior of late night eating and the reward is a sense of calm, then that addictive pattern will solidify, despite there being a delayed consequence (i.e. weight gain). The key to overcoming addictive patterns is to change the behavior itself while making sure

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that the new behavior is providing you the with the same reward. This process of re-patterning will not work if the reward becomes altered. For instance, if instead of eating late at night, you take a bath and it does not calm you in the way that food did, this new habit will not stick. The problem with our current attempt at changing habits is that most of us try to use willpower. Willpower removes the reward but does nothing else to retrain or change the behavior; therefore, it is only a matter of time before it fails. Eventually the trigger will become too strong, and the old behavior will rear its ugly head again Plug your addictive patterns into this formula:

Trigger

Behavior

Reward

Make a list filled with positive behaviors that will provide you with the same reward as the old behaviors did. Do not be scared of failure. It takes time to find a positive behavior that will be as rewarding as the old and start to solidify a new neural pathway. The most important thing to understand and accept about the process of overcoming addictive patterns is that, along with your desire for a different outcome, you have to be willing to shift your perspective—your current way of thinking. If you have an addictive pattern that you believe is stopping you from living your best, most healthiest life, but you also feel very connected to it and still enjoy certain aspects of the reward it provides, don’t rush the process. Start witnessing, without judgment, how this habit manifests in your day-to-day life. What triggers the behavior? What is the reward of acting out on the behavior? Consider the long-term consequences of this habit, of these addictive patterns, and reflect on what is holding you back from making a positive change. Only through personal awareness and gentle and kind self-evaluation will you arrive at a place of true desire for a new and positive pattern, and a new and more positive you. afm

Fuel

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Are you Really Hungry?

Distinguishing between emotional need and physical hunger is key to self-control. By Anne Wilfong, R.D.N., L.D.

After five years of writing for AFM, contributor Anne Wilfong has decided to focus on her expanding nutrition counseling practice, Sparkman Nutrition. In her honor, we’re featuring one of her favorite columns, which first appeared in our December 2013 issue. “I like this article because it’s a gentle reminder of the differences between the two hungers,” Wilfong said. “While it takes practice to learn the difference and substitute self-care in place of food, the improved relationship with your food is worth the effort. Learning the difference between emotional and physical hunger can help you maintain a healthy body weight without having to diet or restrict foods you love.”

o you know the difference between emotional and physical hunger? How often do you find yourself in the following situations? You have an argument with your significant other and, all of a sudden, you find yourself eating a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. Your kids are being kids but your patience is wearing thin, and you find yourself standing in front of the pantry or refrigerator surfing for that certain something…but nothing looks that good. You have a lousy day at work, go out for dinner, and have a “what the heck” moment, eating until you are stuffed. You are working on the computer and eating something out of a bag or

container, and all of a sudden, your hand hits the bottom, and you realize you can’t even remember what you just ate. These are examples of emotional eating. Everyone has, at some point in his or her life, had an emotional eating episode; however, it may become a problem when you find yourself eating more for emotional than physical reasons on a regular basis. Additionally, emotional eating can trigger guilt and shame, compounding an already altered mood, and, therefore, lead to restricting eating or binging. Typical emotions that may lead to emotional eating are anger, stress, loneliness, boredom, sadness, anxiety, or even happiness. With practice, you can learn the difference between the two types of hunger and 02 .2015 • au st infItmaga z ine.co m • 25

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TEXAS experiment with different techniques to use when emotional hunger is intense. I often use the descriptions of the two hunger types from Doreen Virtue’s book Constant Craving A-Z.

Emotional Hunger

Quick onset: You may just be plugging along during the day and, all of a sudden, you are famished beyond reason. Craving one specific food: This is usually something chocolate, salty, crunchy, or high fat. I have yet to meet someone who craves a salad topped with wild salmon and fresh vegetables when emotional. Generally paired with an upsetting situation or emotion: Often, you will find yourself eating right after you experience the emotion. Mindless eating: You eat without paying attention or even being able to recall what was eaten. Passing the point of fullness: You may eat until you are uncomfortable. Promising to start your diet tomorrow because you feel bad about what you just ate. Doreen Virtue said, “[T]he paradox of emotional overeating is that the person eats to feel better and ends up beating him/herself up for eating cookies, cakes, or cheeseburgers.”

Physical Hunger

It is patient, builds gradually, and is based on stomach hunger. It’s probably been several hours since you have eaten a meal or a snack; you feel your stomach grumbling, or you may even feel symptoms of low blood sugar. A variety of foods sound good to you. You may be thinking of a particular food, but if it’s not available you, you don’t get upset or overthink it. Emotions don’t dictate your eating schedule. You eat when you feel a physical sensation of hunger in your stomach.

You are aware of what you are eating; you take the time to prepare something you are interested in and know will fuel your body. You may also take the time to prepare a place setting, sit down when you eat, and focus on your food—not on work, a newspaper or magazine, or the TV. You can stop when you are satisfied, leaving food behind if you have served more than you ended up needing. You eat to fuel and nourish your body. Virtue said, “When the intent behind eating is based in physical hunger, there is no guilt or shame. The person realizes that eating food, like breathing oxygen, is a necessary behavior.” If you find yourself in a pattern of emotional eating, there are a number of techniques you can utilize to help break the cycle: • Acknowledge you are not physically hungry and that food cannot solve the problem at the moment. • Have a list of self-care activities that substitute for eating and commit to trying one of them when you find yourself refrigerator or pantry surfing: listening to music, deep breathing, taking a short walk, journaling, pinning away on Pinterest, calling a friend, or playing a game on your smartphone. • Set a timer on your phone. Try waiting anywhere from 10–20 minutes to see if the urge passes. • Sometimes using food journals is an effective way to see patterns of emotional eating. Track your hunger and fullness at each meal, taking note of your emotions as well. After some time, you may start to see patterns, such as eating while watching TV or when you are bored. • Last, but not least, if you are really craving something like a piece of chocolate, it’s better to simply have some chocolate in moderation. If you don’t, then you may end up eating your way through the pantry...and still eating the chocolate. Learning to eat for primarily physical reasons can take some time, but the more you practice, the better you get. You will also be able to more quickly recognize the difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger. afm

02 .2015 • au st infItmaga z ine.co m • 27

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FAQ

Guidance for working out your healthy conundrums

What’s the best way to cut and deseed a pomegranate?

A: For as nutritious as pomegranate seeds are for you (purported health benefits range from decreased joint inflammation to cancer cell prevention), they are equal parts messy and delicious when you de-seed them. Unless you are a huge fan of horror films, you probably don't want your kitchen looking like the prom scene from the movie “Carrie.” Trust me, I learned the hard way. It took several towels and an industrial-size squeegee to clean up my mess. Finally, I turned to Google seeking wisdom and learned a simple, fast, and clean way to extract those yummy seeds. Here’s how: 1. Cut around the entire rim of the pomegranate, but not all the way through. (You don't want to ruin the seeds.) 2. Pull the pomegranate apart. 3. Find a large mixing bowl and fill it half way with water. 4. Dunk one half of your pomegranate in the water and start digging away at the seeds with your hands. (They come out easily and the only thing that turns color is the water in the bowl. No post-murder scene clean up! The rind rises to the top of the water and seeds sink to the bottom.) 5. When finished, drain the water and enjoy the colorful seeds on top of salads or blended into your next smoothie!

Is there such a thing as too many supplements?

A: The old cliché, “Too much of a good thing is a bad thing” can certainly apply to taking too many supplements. In an article published in U.S. News and World Report, Dee Sandquist, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics said that more is not better when it comes to vitamins. Specifically, she said, taking in too much of Vitamin A, C, E, and zinc may actually cause health problems like nausea, diarrhea, and stomach cramps. Check with your health care provider to see if you are deficient in a particular vitamin before starting on supplements, and always follow the recommended dose. What may be a safe amount of supplements for one individual could be dangerous for another.

How far is too far to take your dog for a run?

A: Okay, so I'm a cat person, and I have to admit they are the worst running partners! (Actually, they're the best. If you don't want to go far or fast.) Dogs are much more suitable partners for your running regimen. However, it’s important to understand that not all breeds are built for running. Before you start training for a marathon with your furry friend, consult with your vet on how much exercise is good for your pup. In addition to the size and breed, things to consider when taking your fuzzball for a run are your dog’s age as well as the weather conditions. Dogs can't whine like us humans can about being hot, tired, and thirsty, so be extra cautious about the terrain and mileage you take them on. If your pup shows any sign of pain or excessive panting, stop and make sure they recover. Geez, come to think of it, I've been known to suffer from excessive panting during my runs too. Hmmm...

Do you have a health-care question that needs addressing? Submit your healthy conundrums to FAQ@austinfitmagazine.com (please include your name, email address, and phone number with your question). 28 • au sti nfItm agazi ne. c om • 02 .2 015

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Bumping It Up These women didn’t let their pregnant bellies get in the way of their workouts. By April Cumming

Olivia Toepfer

efore moving to Austin in 2008, Olivia Toepfer was living in Los Angeles as an event and wedding planner to the stars. She was very familiar with the idea of leading a fit and healthy lifestyle and chose yoga, Pilates, and kickboxing classes as her go-to recharge

outlets. When she learned she was pregnant with her first child, Toepfer said she initially had a moment of fear when she asked herself, “Oh my gosh, how do I stay in shape?” “There’s this bad, old rumor that once you have kids, you get out of shape, and there’s no turning back,” she said. She proved the rumor wrong, continuing with her same workout routine until her belly started to show and her Pilates instructor wouldn’t let her come to class anymore. That was six years ago though. Now, Toepfer says, instructors are much more likely to make posture adjustments in class to help you throughout your entire pregnancy. “[Pregnant women] aren’t as handicapped as people used to make them out to be. Now instructors have learned more modifications they didn’t used to do—like lying on your left side instead of on your back, propping you up so that your heart is elevated, and not doing any ab work. You learn to focus on doing a lot more arm and leg work.”

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Toepfer remembers one exercise she did in a prenatal yoga class where the instructor had her up on the balls of her feet, squatting down, and sitting on the backs of her heels. “You had to hold it for a long time. I think they did a 2-minute hold—enough to where it starts to hurt,” she said. “They would have us do that and breathe through it as practice for labor.” While it wasn’t incredibly painful, it familiarized her with the fatigued feeling her muscles would soon experience when giving birth. “It all helps you through labor,” Toepfer said of exercising. “I think if you’re just sedentary, and you give into your pregnant body, then [labor is] going to be a lot harder.” She motivated herself to workout with thoughts of how the exercise was helping her baby’s health; knowing also that if she stayed active while pregnant, her body would be able to bounce back much quicker after having the baby. When Toepfer moved back to Austin, she started her own event and wedding planning company, Liv by Design. She married her husband, Reynold, in 2012. During her pregnancy with their now 11-month-old daughter Lochlynn, Toepfer was working 18-hour days. “I had a very busy schedule,” Toepfer admits. “I spent a lot of time on my feet and had to be more aware of what I was carrying and what I was lifting at work,” she said.

photography by Brian Fitzsimmons

Occupation: Event & Wedding Planner Kids: Son Jacob, 6, and daughter Lochylnn, 11 months Lives: South Austin

Olivia with her two kids, Lochlynn, 11 months, and Jacob, 6, at Yoga Yoga.

As is true for most pregnant women, the further along she got in her pregnancy, the harder it was to workout. “No matter how fit you are, the point is that your body is growing a human and you need to listen to it and not overdo it,” she said. “You have good days and bad when you’re pregnant, but you have quite a bit of time before your body becomes cumbersome,” she said. “The most awkward thing is that you feel your body tightens [when working out]. It doesn’t hurt, but it feels weird; it’s definitely a new sensation.” In her first trimester, depending on how she felt—whether she was experiencing morning sickness or fatigue—it could be hard to go to workout. “Being active and getting fresh air always helped me feel better though,” Toepfer said. The second trimester was when she felt at her highest energy level. “By then, your body has grown a bit and you’re showing. That was the best time to get a nice, good schedule of workouts in.” In her third trimester, workouts and movements progressively got shorter and slower. “You can keep working out,” Toepfer said. “You just need to make a lot more modifications.” She lowered the weights of her Kettlebells and barbells, doing less heavy lifting, and made other modifications like using a med ball to do Burpees—so as to avoid going all the way down to the

ground—and getting on her knees or using a wall for push-ups so as to not put too much strain on her stomach. “As long as you’re still moving your body and using your muscles, you still have a lot of bodyweight you’re pushing even though you’re kind of leaning at an angle or off a wall,” she said. The main thing to do is to just focus on staying active, Toepfer said. For her, it was normal to feel fatigued and have sore feet in her third trimester. “I had little aches and pains, but as long as I wasn’t feeling any pains in my back or stomach, exercise helped ease things. And if my feet ever got really swollen, I’d just ice them,” she said. In addition to doing CrossFit and walking a lot, she took prenatal yoga classes at Yoga Yoga as well as Pilates at Reformer Pilates twice a week throughout her pregnancy. “I think prenatal yoga is super important because it not only keeps you active, but it helps you stretch while being mindful of your pregnancy. It also gives you a special time to yourself for quiet meditation—a little bit of baby and mother bonding that I think is special. It’s the only time you really get to do that; to step away from your busy, crazy schedule and have that mommy and baby time.” She did mommy and baby yoga classes with her son, Jacob, 6, 02.2015 • au st infItmaga z i n e . c o m • 31

Live when he was younger, and is now taking classes again with her daughter. “You probably get like 15 minutes of real practice, and then you get your kids and do baby yoga and baby yoga stretches with them,” she said. While instructors and fitness classes may have made modifications for pregnant women over time, Toepfer still had to answer to the occasional questioning and commentary of curious minds. “I was the only pregnant woman in my Pilates class, so people were always worried that I was going to go into labor,” Toepfer said, adding that the Pilates instructor was always freaked out when she showed up for class and would teasingly ask her if she was sure the baby wasn’t coming that day. Other people would see her rounded belly and say, “Wow, I can’t believe you’re here. If I were pregnant, I would be at home eating chips.” Speaking of chips, Toepfer feels the biggest misconception regarding pregnancy today is the expectation doctors have for all pregnant women to gain the same amount of weight. “[They] say you should only gain 25–30 pounds. I feel like that number puts a lot of pressure on women. That’s near impossible. A more reasonable amount is 40 pounds. You want to gain a healthy amount, but you shouldn’t be dieting as a pregnant person.” Before leaving the house to go to the studio or gym, Toepfer said her regular nutrition routine consisted of either a protein shake, a snack of almond butter and banana, or her own (not-yetpatented) creation—a magic muffin. While Toepfer tried to be as healthy as possible with the foods she put into her body, she didn’t deny the occasional craving. “For some reason when you’re pregnant, your body wants what

it wants and it’s okay not to feel guilty Magic Muffin: In about it,” she said. a coffee cup, mix “With my daughter, I ate a lot of together 1 egg, 1 comfort food. I loved burgers for teaspoon baking some reason, and I also had a major powder, dash of cinsweet tooth. I probably hadn’t eaten a namon, 1/4 cup of flax doughnut in 10 years, but then during seed meal, honey, my pregnancy with her I’d say to and your choice of my husband, ‘Honey, I really need a fruit (blueberries, doughnut. Will you please go to the store raspberries or baand get one?’” nanas). Microwave for Toepfer said the best thing a mother1-2 minutes. Drizzle to-be can do is join a prenatal class with honey on top. or group to meet other moms in the Enjoy! area who are going through the same experiences. “It’s really nice to have people working out with you. You can complain to each other and hear how they’re feeling. It gives you a community of moms that inspire and encourage you to workout each week,” she said, adding that one major bonus of joining a prenatal class or group is that you have a community of friends afterward so all your kids can play together. Toepfer and her husband continue to make fitness and health a priority for their family, choosing to teach their kids in the best possible way—leading by example. (Toepfer was featured with her son on Austin Fit’s November 2010 cover as one of Austin’s fittest mom’s.) “We try to teach them that this is a way of life; getting an hour of fitness per day, whatever that looks like,” Toepfer said. It could be a family walk with the dog, going to the park to play, or hitting up the yoga studio or CrossFit gym together.

Jessica Tranchina Occupation: Physical Therapist at PRIMO Performance and Rehab Kids: Son Domenico, 4, and daughter Giovanna, 20 months Lives: Barton Hills

essica Tranchina’s love for fitness started when she was in high school. “That’s when I started running and realized I loved it,” she said. When Tranchina was 18, she was a spin class instructor as well as a college student. Her passion for overall fitness, running, and biking soon led Tranchina to compete in triathlons. Fast forward to today, and she’s been a triathlete for the past 16 years—the same amount of time she’s been practicing physical therapy. “I’ve always been in the gym environment; in the fitness world. Teaching, personal training, and helping people. That naturally segued into doing triathlons,” she said. Her and her husband, both physical therapists, met abroad 10 years ago while doing travel therapy. They’ve been married for 7 years and have one son, Domenico, 4, and one daughter, Giovanna, 20 months.

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While not originally from the city, the couple shared a mutual love for Austin, and decided to settle down and start a family here five years ago. Tranchina wasted no time in starting her own physical therapy practice, PRIMO Performance and Rehab, in her first year living in the city. “I always knew I wanted to start my own clinic,” she said. She specializes in manual based and hands-on therapy, practicing active release therapy (ART) techniques and Kinesiotaping methods on her patients—both athletes and nonathletes alike. Shortly after her and her husband moved to Austin and she started her practice, she learned that she was pregnant with her first child. Throughout the first trimester, she said she felt fatigued but

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Jessica and her two kids, Giovanna, 20 months, and Domenico, 4, play on their backyard playset.

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quickly discovered that exercise helped her feel better. After moving past the first three months, Tranchina said the other two trimesters “felt pretty fabulous.” “I never really had a moment where I thought, ‘Oh I can’t exercise.’ My life is just so active that I thought, ‘You know what? We can do this. This is just for nine months. This isn’t forever.’ And exercising actually made me feel better,” she said. “I listened to my body. And if my body called for rest, I would rest it.” Tranchina continued to run races like the Turkey Trot 5-miler in addition to area 5Ks throughout both of her pregnancies—just at a much slower pace. “I wasn’t trying to reach any fitness goals or trying to win,” she said. Although, she admits, when she was five months pregnant with her son she ran an XTerra 10K trail race and actually won her age group. “I wasn’t going that hard. I think there was just a low turnout,” she reasoned. “When I was pregnant, it was not about reaching my fitness goals,” Tranchina said. “Obviously I had to take care of myself, so I had to be healthy. But I wasn’t trying to achieve or master anything, or hit any specific fitness goal. I did just enough to keep myself happy and to keep my babies healthy.” When she was pregnant and showing with her daughter, she would often push her son, Domenico, in the jogger and go for a run. “I had a 2-year-old at that point, so you can’t really rest anyway,” she said. Between taking care of her son, dealing with the waves of nausea she experienced off and on in her first trimester, and managing her new business, Tranchina was always active and on her feet. Now her son is starting to follow in his mother’s footsteps, occasionally riding his bike alongside her as she runs and pushes his baby sister in the stroller. “He is so agile,” Tranchina said of her son. “He sprints and plays soccer. He’s riding a bike and swimming across the pool. Anything athletically-related, I wouldn’t put it past him.” She said it’s important to her to set a good lifestyle example for her children, and that’s what her and her husband try to do. “You want to be good examples for them, you want to demonstrate what you think is the right behavior—keeping yourself fit, moving, and eating the right foods.” That good behavior and role modeling started when her kids were still in her belly. Tranchina adopted a healthy diet while pregnant, drinking a lot of protein shakes and eating meals of eggs and oatmeal in addition to taking her daily vitamins. In her mind, exercising and eating right was training and preparing her for labor. Exercising properly meant making modifications to her runs and doing a lot of prenatal yoga—avoiding postures that asked her to lie on her back or right side body. She knew if she were to put her fitness regimen on hold for nine months, it would be harder to pick up where she left off after giving birth. “If you’ve been running, and your body is used to running, it will adapt to that motion during your pregnancy and it won’t be that much of a shock to your system. Consistency is key, and you can do more than you think you can,” she said. If anything changes in how you feel, it’s likely you just feel a little or a lot slower. “You don’t feel the baby jostle,” Tranchina said. “The baby actually stays still during exercise, since what you’re essentially doing is rocking the baby to sleep. It’s a calm, relaxing time for the baby. I always went slower and just tried to enjoy it.” When she was nine months pregnant with her daughter, her

and her husband moved from downtown Austin to the Barton Hills neighborhood. “I remember cleaning the condo floors and thinking, ‘I can’t wait to have this baby. I’m ready for this pregnancy to be done,’” she said. In regards to her fitness routine, Tranchina said it gets harder to maintain motivation the closer you get to the end of pregnancy. “I remember thinking I wanted to do a whole lot more walking than running,” she said. “The last month is the most challenging. That’s when you’re at your largest. The hormone that you have in the first trimester—hCG, the one that makes you feel tired and nauseated—kind of comes back. So not only is your body huge, but your back might be hurting, it might be summer, and you’ve also got this hormone kicking in. It’s hard to do a lot of things.” It was during that last month of pregnancy, Tranchina said, when she was most worried about how other people would react when they saw her working out. She thought there might be someone out there who would think she was causing harm to her baby, even though she knew—when done in moderation— working out while pregnant is actually beneficial to both mother and child. “You know, I was worried. I would worry that people would look at me and say, ‘Why is she exercising?’ But in Austin, everyone reacted wonderfully. I got so many smiles, high fives, and people saying ‘Way to go’ or ‘You look great.’” She was pleasantly surprised and reminded of one of the reasons why she loves this city so much. “I don’t remember what other city we were visiting—let’s just call it a city outside of Austin—where I got a frowny face while running, and I remember thinking ‘Oh my gosh, people here don’t react the same way Austinites do,’” she said. Tranchina had natural births with both of her children—no medication, no epidurals, nothing. While she had them both in a hospital room, her labors went unmediated. “Giovanna was a 27-hour labor,” Tranchina said, now with a laugh, “So the added strength and endurance [I gained] from working out was really helpful. Had I not been in shape, I would not have been able to have a natural birth. I would have been too tired to push when it was time to push.” She says she looks back on both of her labors in the same way one might look back at the finish line of a marathon, half-believing that they actually made it through in one piece. She often wonders how she was able to do it. Then she remembers all the hard work she put into maintaining her endurance and fitness while pregnant. “What else could it be, right?” she asked rhetorically. Staying active made her feel both physically and mentally more prepared for the marathon that was labor. “I knew I was doing the babies good. I knew I was doing something very healthy and beneficial for my children. That was a huge motivation,” she said of staying fit. When asked if she could go through it all over again, Tranchina said she would do everything exactly the same.

Favorite Quote:

“When you think about quitting, think about why you started.”

02.2015 • au st infItmaga z i n e . c o m • 35

Live

Lauren often brings her kids, Ava, 7, and Eli, 3 months, to hang out with her at Milestone CrossFit gym.

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Lauren Dowdy Occupation: Stay-at-home mom Kids: Daughter Ava, 7, and newborn son Eli, 3 months Lives: Round Rock/Hutto

auren Dowdy had just gotten the hang of CrossFit when, four months after joining a local gym, she found out she was pregnant with her second child. Telling the news to the other women she worked out with was just as common as hearing a grunt echo around the room. Contrary to what one might think, Dowdy was far from being the odd one out. “My CrossFit gym is no stranger to pregnant women. We always joke that you shouldn’t drink the water there because you might get pregnant,” she said. “When I started, there were two women currently pregnant and two moms who had just had their babies who had continued to do CrossFit throughout their pregnancies. So it wasn’t foreign to our gym or to our coaches at all,” she said. Dowdy had been fit and active her whole life, participating in endurance sports, running marathons, and finishing an Ironman in 2013. She was confident that if women who had been pregnant before her could do it, she could continue pursuing the sport of CrossFit too. It wasn’t until her last trimester that working out started to feel uncomfortable—her hips hurt and her body was changing more and more. “That’s the hard part,” Dowdy said. “Up until then, working out doesn’t feel too different. You just look different.” In response to the discomfort, she began to make a few modifications to her workout routine. “When my belly started getting in the way of things, probably around 6 months, regular burpees and pushups had to stop. I could no longer do a hang clean or handstand pushups, and as I got closer to 8 months, I just couldn’t be upside down anymore. So I had to change things up to make it work for me.” Besides CrossFit, going to yoga was one of her favorite times of the week. “That was my calming and stretching time; my excuse to slow it down. It kind of got a little boring toward the end because it’s like, how much yoga can you really do being that pregnant? But I still stuck with it.” Working out was my saving grace; my one hour a day where I could sort things out and take care of me and forget about everything else that was going on,” Dowdy said. It was also one of the few times her baby was calm and not kicking around. “He was so active inside of me. The only time he wasn’t moving was when I was working out,” Dowdy said, referring to her pregnancy with her son, Eli. “That was a bit of a relief to me. He liked the movement; he liked the loud music in the gym. I looked forward to that still time with him in there. But then as soon as I was Favorite Quote: done, it was like he was awake and “You’re off to great it was on.” places. Today is your In addition to CrossFit and yoga, Dowdy continued to do body day. Your mountain is pump classes at the YMCA. The waiting… so be high reps and low weight body on your way!” pump classes were a nice change –Dr. Seuss (This is of pace from the low reps and one of my favorites heavy weight CrossFit classes. for my kiddos!) When someone would

approach her and ask what she was training for, Dowdy enjoyed watching their reaction when she responded, “Well, now I’m just training for labor and birth.” She was so used to training for things, whether it be a triathlon or a marathon, that it was easy to approach delivery in the same way—especially since she had chosen to take the natural route. “I knew I was training for a hard labor and delivery. I knew it was going to be physical and that I had to be strong and capable of that. So I kept that in my head, and just trained for that day.” Dowdy said the reaction from most people she encountered working out while pregnant—doing CrossFit, body pump classes, or yoga—was mostly positive. “I can’t tell you how many times I got told, ‘Oh my gosh, you just inspire me,’ or friends would say, ‘If you’re here doing this, then so can I.’” You get the occasional, ‘Oh are you sure that’s safe?’ and ‘Be careful’ because I think some people still see pregnancy as somewhat of a disability. They just expect you to sit and do nothing and that’s not real life,” Dowdy said. “I mean, I’m still a mom and a wife, so I might as well take care of myself in the process.” CrossFit and pregnancy is kind of one of those taboo things. People are either going to rip you to shreds, or they’re going to support you. There’s no in-between there. So to have the group of women [at my gym] back me up and support me was exactly what I needed.” Her first pregnancy was a completely different story from her second, Dowdy said. “I was 22 when I had my daughter Ava, and I didn’t really work out during my pregnancy with her. I was 22 and invincible and like, ‘Ah, whatever. I’m gonna eat whatever I want and do whatever I want.’ You know, you’re 22 and you can bounce back from anything. Fast forward to me at 29, and my husband and I are super active people, so this [second pregnancy] was a whole different ball game for me,” she said. Along with taking her regular vitamins, she would drink a protein shake before and after her workouts, trying to eat as healthy as possible. She admits her husband and her are realists though. “As much as we love to eat food that’s good for us, we’re also not ones to turn down pizza,” she said with a laugh. She reminded herself that by being active during pregnancy, the weight would come off much easier later. “It’s always going to be harder if you just sit there, you know?” she said. “I just told myself to just keep moving, whether it was walking, or something else.” For women out there who hesitate to workout while pregnant, Dowdy said to not worry about it. “If your body is used to [working out], then go for it. You’re not disabled, you’re pregnant. Don’t be afraid of it; there’s nothing to be afraid of.” Dowdy’s daughter Ava appears to be following in her mom’s fit footsteps. At the age of 7, she’s already participating in cyclocross races in the Austin area. “She thinks the way we live is normal,” Dowdy said. “If she were to hear about parents who weren’t active, that would be foreign to her. And that’s always been our goal—for her to think that taking care of yourself is normal and that’s how you should live.” afm 02.2015 • au st infItmaga z i n e . c o m • 37

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photography by Brian Fitzsimmons

02 .2015 • au st infItmaga z ine.co m • 39

C Y C L O C R O S S

In Belgium, the top cyclocross riders make seven-figure livings, and loyal fans enjoy beer and fried food while raucously cheering on their favorite gladiators. Despite enjoying celebrity status, being a top-level Belgian cross racer is an incredibly blue-collar profession. The season takes place during the winter, no matter the weather. Actually, the season is held in winter because of the weather. Racers must ride, run, and jump their bikes over whatever is thrown at them—from long staircases and mud pits to man-made barriers, sand pits, and incredibly steep climbs and descents. Condensed into a one-hour race consisting of 6–10 laps on a different course every weekend, participating in (and watching) a cyclocross competition is exhilarating. In the last several decades, the sport of ‘cross has moved across the pond and is now seeing increasingly popular growth around the world—in the United States particularly. Some of the world’s best racers in the sport now come from America, and individuals of all ages are giving it a try in the amateur categories. As a mountain bike racer, I’ve always been tempted to give it a shot myself. After just coming off of a long seven months on the pro mountain bike circuit though, by the time winter rolls around, I’m usually ready for a break. Upon learning the news that the 2015 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Champi-

T R I AT H L O N

The national pastime of the country of Belgium looks very different when brought to the United States. Instead of thousands of roaring fans packed into stadiums with body armor, and big hits happening, it involves thousands of roaring fans leaning into muddy course tape, bicycles being mounted over big obstacles, and incredible feats of endurance. The sport is called cyclocross, and it holds more similarities to the sport of football than you might think.

M O U N T A I N

The days were cold. The course, extremely muddy. The obstacles, more than plenty. But the cyclocross racers—well, they were born ready. By Payson McElveen

R O A D

Leaving a Mark at Zilker Park

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onships were going to take place in my hometown this year, on the grounds of Zilker Park no less, I finally decided to join my friends in the mud. Without a pro cyclocross team or sponsor, I purchased my first bike rather quickly and started to prepare for a new offseason hobby. I practiced the mount, dismount, and bike-shouldering techniques required for the race. I did some shorter, more intense workouts to mimic the type of racing environment I would encounter. In November and December, I found success in some of the regional races around Durango, Colorado—getting a feel for just how diverse weather can shape the sport: it was dusty and warm one weekend, fast and grassy the next, and eventually the course was all snow and ice! The weekend before the National Championships at Zilker, I competed in my first international-level race weekend. Despite starting many rows back in the grid, I finished in the top 15 both days. The prospect of being in the running for a stars and stripes jersey the following weekend, in front of a home crowd no less, was incredibly exciting. Cyclocross might just be the only sport where athletes and spectators alike actually wish for bad weather. And Austin didn’t disappoint. The weekend weather brought steady rain and temperatures hovering in the low 30s. The course in Zilker Park was a very challenging setup: steep, sharp climbs punctuated three long-running sections along the twisty lap. As more rain fell, the track became increasingly difficult, requiring racers to spend much of their time running. All riders rejoiced at the prospect of having a truly Belgian-style weekend of racing. During the collegiate race on Saturday, I had a great start—trading the lead with a rider from Marian University and one from the University of Colorado. Near the beginning of the of the second lap, however, the ratchet system on one of my shoes broke. As you can imagine, running in ankle-deep mud with a loose shoe was a recipe for disaster and resulted in more than a few embarrassing moments. From that point on, the race didn’t go according to plan, but with family members as well as childhood and high school friends lining the course urging me on, it was an experi40 • aust infItmaga z ine.co m • 02.2015

ence I’ll always remember. And after all, I reminded myself, I’d get another shot on Sunday in the U23 race! Or so I thought… Around 8:30 a.m. on Sunday morning I checked the weather to verify that the terribly perfect ‘cross weather would continue for the final day of racing. It would. Good. Next I checked social media, but this time my heart sank. Over the next few hours, my family and I stayed glued to our screens as we watched the National Championships get cancelled, postponed, and then rescheduled the following day. All due to… excessive mud? As of press time, the controversy was a still-unfolding fiasco of miscommunication and misunderstanding that left a bad impression in the minds of many racers. For someone like me, who had family in Austin, the change was of little issue— in fact it gave me another day of rest following the collegiate races! However, for the vast majority of others, it was a massive headache costing thousands of dollars in hotel and flight changes. For about 30 percent of the racers, it meant having to miss the marquee event of their entire race season. While much has been said about the way things were handled, and how United States ‘cross racing became the laughing stock of the mud-loving bike racing world for a day, I was amazed at the outpouring of support from the community. Within minutes of the news, Twitter and Facebook became inundated by locals offering up their homes for the night. A few wealthier racers even offered up financial assistance to others. Although Sunday’s cancellation was an unfortunate situation, everyone seemed to come together in the moment to help each other surmount the barriers. While the entire debacle underscored how far ‘cross is from being a mainstream sport here in the U.S., the 2,500 Belgian-inspired riders that attended the National Championships, and took on the mud, proved that little can get in the way of them enjoying this unique sport. I can’t wait for September—and the bad weather months—to roll back around. afm

What’s in Your Bag?

Q&A with personal trainer and co-owner of Austin Simply Fit, Krista Bergeron Your gym bag. For some it’s a top of the line, multi-functional fashion statement. For others it’s a simple backpack. No matter how fancy their features are, what really matters is what lies within. This month we asked Krista Bergeron to show off what her bag holds for her. What items do you always carry in your gym bag? I’m a powerlifter, so I always have a lifting belt, lifting shoes, knee sleeves, wrist straps, deadlifting socks, nose tork, training log, and headphones! I also pack extra snacks, BCAA’s, and aminos to refuel mid-training when necessary. Your go-to pre-workout and postworkout snack/drink? Lifting heavy weights is metabolically demanding so all my workouts are hugged by carbs and protein for fuel, growth, and recovery. My favorite preworkout food is oatmeal, fruit, and a protein shake. Post-workout, I usually have a protein shake and a meal consisting of chicken, rice and veggies. I love PB&J’s for competition fuel. I consider it one of the most perfect combos in this world. What is the newest piece of gear/apparel you purchased? I was given some new Anderson powerlifting wrist straps. Having new gear is always nice because its integrity is strong and supportive when they are brand new, which is helpful in holding tension when lifting heavy.

On a good day, your optimal workout routine looks like… On a great max effort day, I will successfully break a personal record on one, two, or three reps max for squat, bench or deadlift, followed by a secondary lift for higher reps. Favorite quote/mantra you live by? “Motivation will almost always beat mere talent.” —Norman R. Augustine What’s your favorite color? Red 42 • au sti nfItm agazi ne.c om • 02 .2 015

How old are you? And how old do you feel? I am 38. Some mornings when I wake up I feel every single year. When I’m under the barbell though, I feel as young and powerful as anyone in the gym. Who do you admire or look up to as a role model? I am most inspired by my teammates and coaches. I’ve seen what my team puts in everyday, in addition to being exceptional people and friends. Their victories are mine too.

The best workout playlist would feature the following songs… I have a broad musical taste, but when I train my go to is rap. Some competition favorites of mine are: “Don’t Say Nuthin” – The Roots “Throwback” – B.O.B. “Auditorium” – Mos Def “Universal Mind Control” – Common “Monster” – Kanye West If you could change anything about your workout bag, what would it be? The smell. It’s terrible. afm

photography by Brian Fitzsimmons

If your bag somehow caught fire and you could only save one item, what would it be? Definitely my powerlifting belt. Not only does it help protect my back and allow me to safely train, but I feel like using a belt helps people learn how to use their breath properly. A belt will never replace a super strong core (which is the first thing to focus on), but once you are pushing max efforts, it’s my most important tool.

02.2015 • au st infItmaga z i n e . c o m • 43

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Never Letting Go

By April Cumming

Photography by B r i a n F i t z s i m m o n s

Holding on and finishing what you started is a way of life for Angels closing pitcher, Huston Street

46 â€˘ au sti nfItm agazi ne.c om â€˘ 02 .2 015

02.2015 • au st infItmaga z i n e . c o m • 47

“Everybody feels something when it’s about to be over— whether it’s the end of a movie, the end of a relationship, or the end of the last few hours of Christmas,” said Huston Street, the relief pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels. For Street, that moment is when he steps on the mound in the ninth inning to close the game. He loves the competitiveness. The finality of the last out. The fact that other people believe pressure exists, but he believes pressure is a pretend idea; a choice. While other people worry about the consequences, he couldn’t care less. He’s focused on his pitch and where he’s going to throw it. When the game’s about to be over, he wants to be the guy with the ball in his hand. He knows he can handle it—the competitiveness, the finality of it all—and he wants to be in that moment. 48 • au sti nfItm agazi ne.c om • 02 .2 015

To him, performing means choosing to treat every moment the same. “When I’m running into the mound I think, ‘Get the first guy out.’ When I’m walking around the mound, I’m thinking about my timing and my rhythm. And then, when a batter steps into the box, I’m thinking, ‘First pitch strike. Get ahead.’ After that first pitch, the battle begins. From there, it becomes very adaptive. I adapt to what I see, to what I feel,” he said. With every hitter that comes to bat, the process starts anew, and the same thought, “First pitch strike. Get ahead,” runs through his mind. For Street, his life is a series of moments—of periods in time—like this. He’ll be the first to admit that not a moment of his day goes by that’s unscheduled. Even his unscheduled time is scheduled—from the minute he wakes up to the minute he goes to sleep. “I try and take everything in windows of time,” Street said. Once the season starts, he goes to bed around 2 a.m., waking up to have coffee around 11 a.m., and breakfast around 1 p.m.—when he arrives at the field. He’ll eat again at 3 p.m., 6 p.m., and then again after the game around 10:30 p.m.—always staying on West Coast time. (When he’s on the East Coast, this means going to bed at 5 a.m. and waking up at 2 p.m.) “That’s just the baseball life,” Street said.

While he shakes his head at the query of having any pre-game superstitions or rituals, he does have one routine he follows. “Before batting practice, I go and grab five bottles of water, put them in front of my locker, and will not step foot on the field until those bottles are gone,” he said, noting that hydration is probably the biggest change he’s made in his training over the years. “Baseball season is all about surviving,” Street said. “Winning matters, results matter, but you have to find the process that works best for you and stick to that.” For him, finding the perfect training process took awhile. “Around my fifth or sixth year in the big leagues, I learned the difference between overall fitness and ‘Okay, I am now training to survive a baseball season.’ It took me about five years of tinkering with how often to lift weights and how much weight I should lift. That’s why I got hurt so much in the beginning,” he said. Street missed a total of 60 days due to a calf injury in 2012. In the last two years, he’s only missed 7. “My dad used to say that the hardest thing to do in the world was the same thing every day. To find something that’s successful, and then do it over and over and over again. If it’s a physical thing, it gets hard to repeat. And if it’s a mental thing, you get bored. I think we all fight the idea of ‘Do I really want to go through this today?’ and the

“It took me about five years of tinkering with how often to lift weights and how much weight I should lift.”

02.2015 • au st infItmaga z i n e . c o m • 49

At home in the gym. Ripken, 4, Lacey, Ryder, 2, and Huston hang out in their workout room.

James Street, Huston’s dad, wore the number 16 as quarterback for the UT ’69 National Championship team. Huston sports the same number on his jersey.

answer is normally, ‘No, I don’t want to. But I’m going to.’” Street’s days are bookended by thoughts of his father and mentor, the late James Street, who passed away in September 2013. His Angels jersey sports the number 16—the same number his dad wore as the quarterback for the University of Texas ’69 National Championship team. “I believe he’s with me all the time, but wouldn’t want me to worry about him. Just as he wouldn’t when he was alive,” Street said. “I still miss him. And I think of him. Not so much when I’m out there play50 • au sti nfItm agazi ne.c om • 02 .2 015

ing, but in the mornings and at night. Nostalgic moments you remember sneak up on you.” Street started his athletic career early on, lettering in baseball and football at Westlake High School—where he won all-district and all-state honors in both sports—and fielded offers to play on both the University of Texas football and baseball teams. “All I really cared about was going to UT,” Street said. “Even from a really young age, all I really wanted to do was go to UT, play sports, and kind of be like my dad.” His dad, however, was surprisingly unsupportive of the idea Huston had of playing football for UT. “That was one of the first times where he spoke out against something I wanted to do. Usually I would come to him and say, ‘Hey dad, I’m thinking about doing this.’ And he would weigh both options evenly. In that instance though, he told me, ‘Bud, I think you can play football. But you’re going to have to get a lot bigger, a lot faster, a lot stronger, and then maybe, just maybe you can play in college.”

Street remembers considering if football was something he really wanted to do everyday. “It was a blast playing, but I knew I was just going to be average. It would be tough to be passionate about [that sport] everyday,” he said. When he started playing baseball at UT, it soon became clear that he had a shot at playing in the major leagues. That baseball was a realistic career opportunity and it was something he wanted to pursue. Under the guidance of coach Auggie Garrido, Street played on the team for three seasons, from 2002–2004. In his freshman year, he led his team to the College World Series—defeating South Carolina to win the title. In 2004, he entered the Major League Baseball Draft and was selected in the first round by the Oakland Athletics. After spending a short few months in the minor leagues, he made his relief pitcher debut with the Athletics in the spring of 2005. “You get swept up in it—that whirlwind. You don’t realize it until you’re three years in. It takes a significant amount of work [to be in the major

leagues]. In college, I anticipated the big leagues to be much more emotionally intense. But it’s actually more intense as a subtle grind. Every day, you have to work on being focused. You have to be focused on what you need to spend energy on,” Street said. After playing with the Athletics for four years and the Colorado Rockies for three, he started his 2012 season with the San Diego Padres before being traded to the Los Angeles Angels halfway through the 2014 season. In the offseason—from November to March—Street returns to his home in Austin. His family, wife Lacey Street, and sons Ripken, 4, and Ryder, 2, follow his lead. “Coming back home is always hard, because it’s the first time in eight months where I have nothing to do,” Street said. “You have to like to go, and you have to enjoy going,” Lacey said of all the travel that comes with being the wife of a professional baseball pitcher. In the past year, with spring training, the regular season, and a trade mid-season last year, Lacey moved four times to keep up with Huston. And at the end of the season, they moved, as they always do, back to Austin. Total move count: 5 Street considers himself neither a traveler nor a homebody at heart. “I’m schizophrenic,” he said. “I’ve been trying to figure myself out. I love traveling when I’m traveling, and I love being home when I’m home. I have to love both.” “As I’ve gotten older and traveled more to other cities, I’ve realized how authentic Austin is. It has that element. I hope it stays that way.” Would he ever consider moving away from Austin? “No, no chance. They’ll never get rid of me,” Street said. He still has fond memories of family outings to Dan’s Hamburgers and Matt’s El Rancho as a kid. “You know, the staples,” he said. At night, when Huston returns home from a season game, he’s greeted by two of the most outspoken announcers he’s ever met. His sons. “Dad, you won the game tonight,” they’ll say to him, or “Dad, you blew the save.” His family keeps him humbled and centered. “He was raised grounded,” Janie Street, Huston’s mother, said. “You don’t wake up that way. His dad was a football player, but when Huston was growing up, he didn’t know who his daddy was. There were lots of football players around. That’s not what defines you,” she said. The same is true for when Huston’s sons sit down and watch a Los Angeles Angels game on TV “To them, those guys

Quick Q&A with Huston Street Favorite pitch: “It changes every game. I expect all my pitches to be good because I have just one inning to get people out however fast I can. But, if I had to choose, it would be the fastball.” Stepping up to bat…terrifying or exciting? “It’s awesome. They don’t let us bat in the American League, but I think I could get a hit if they let me.” Favorite song: “Texas” by George Strait. “I’m a fan of old school country.” Best barbeque in Austin: “An order of brisket and sausage at Iron Works. It doesn’t get better than that.” Kid outing: Zilker Park to ride the train or walk around the Lady Bird Lake trail. Date night outing: Anywhere from restaurants on Austin’s East Side to those along South Congress or Lamar. Uchi and laV are two of their favorite restaurants in town, Lacey said. Favorite book? “I read newspapers, but not books. It’s a definitive choice I’ve made. Later in life, I’m sure I’ll realize how wrong I was.” Favorite quote: “But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Luke 12:48 “That’s the one book I do read,” Street said.

are just Daddy’s friends. They’re just people who work with Daddy and play ball with Daddy,” Janie Street said. “We were watching a game one time,” she said, “and Ripkin was like, ‘Oh, that’s Mike Morris. Now he’s the guy, he’s the one that hit the home run off of Daddy, remember?’ And I’m like, ‘I remember,’ but I didn’t think a 4-year-old would.” “He’s a genius. He loves baseball,” Street said of Ripkin. “My oldest son is the sweetest, most polite kid. And my 2-year-old just has to have his way, and he’s the boss,” Street said. When it comes to his sons and baseball, he couldn’t care less if they ever considered playing the sport. “My dad used to tell me, ‘Bud, I don’t care what you do. Just do something you love. And every day, get a little bit better. Be the best that you can be.’ That’s what I’ll tell my sons; the same thing my father told me.” It’s a cold and ominously overcast December afternoon and Janie Street is sitting in her son’s living room, in front of a series of ceiling-high bay windows that look out on Lake Austin. “I saw a new side of him—of all my sons—this past year. They’ve been there for me,” she said, tossing a glance toward the travertine-columned kitchen where Huston is pulling his sons apart from a tussle over a Superman flashlight. “I’m so proud of how they’ve handled their difficulties. They’ve shown their true character, and I’m proud of the people they’ve become.” The night before her husband James passed away, the two had just returned from a 3-day trip to watch Huston close out the 2013 season for the San Diego Padres. The night before, Huston and his dad had been sitting in the hotel lobby, discussing the game and James’ future plans for the settlement business he had started. “We were a team. We had fun. I’m still mad at him [for leaving],” Janie said with a muffled laugh. “There’s all the clichés, but they’re true,” she said. “You try to focus on the good, and treat each day like the present. You focus on what’s meaningful and important. Accomplishments are nice, but it’s the simple things that matter.” Huston’s younger twin brothers, Juston and Jordon, also pitched for the Longhorns, with Juston lettering in 2005 and Jordan lettering in 2007 and 2008. Juston, now an actor, will portray his dad in the upcoming film, My All American. The film tells the story of defensive back Freddy Steinmark, and the Univer52 • au sti nfItm agazi ne.c om • 02 .2 015

“I saw a new side of him— of all my sons—this past year. They’ve been there for me. I’m so proud of how they’ve handled their difficulties. They’ve shown their true character, and I’m proud of the people they’ve become.” — Janie Street sity of Texas ’69 National Championship football team. James Street, the team’s quarterback, was most famous for his 44-yard pass completion that secured the Longhorns’ win against Arkansas. He later led Texas to win 21–17 against Notre Dame at the Cotton Bowl. “We all have a little piece of Dad in us, and we all have our moments,” Street said. “But Juston’s the storyteller in the family. He’s always had that gift, and he’s gonna kill it [in the movie].” Jordan went on to major in Spanish and attend seminary in California. He recently returned from a missionary trip to Central America. Hanson, the brother who called Huston in the early morning hours after the night of their dad’s passing, now works in finance in Houston. Ryan, their older half-brother, has two kids, ages 11 and 8, and works as an architect in Austin. With a schedule that has him playing games almost every day of the week, Street prefers not to watch too many games on TV when he gets home. Instead, he and Lacey will binge watch two or three new shows a year—past favorites span from Parenthood and House of Cards to Game of Thrones, The Newsroom, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Scandal. “It’s something we can do together, and it gives us something [besides baseball] to talk about,” Street said. He confides that in the two, 30-minute

blocks of unscheduled time he allots himself a day, he plays an average of 15 speed chess games an hour on chess.com. In the 10 years since he first got into the online sport, he estimates he’s played around 20,000 games. “Lacey can tell you how serious I get about my chess games. The thing that frustrates me the most is a slow Internet connection,” Street said. That’s to be expected from a guy whose favorite pitch is the fastball—clocked at 94 miles per hour. Someone whose one setting is speed. That’s not to say Street never slows down or steps away from the regular routine for a night. “He’s pretty romantic,” Lacey says of Street, adding that he’ll often surprise her with flowers or gifts. “He’ll know when we need to take a break and have a date night. And he’s always making sure we take a vacation at least once a year,” she said. The couple first met ten years ago in downtown Austin. By the next day, they were floating the Comal River together. “We met, and then she told me she was going to go tubing the next day, so I invited myself,” Street said. “He was like ‘Oh wait, I’m going there too.’ And I was like, ‘Really, that same spot?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, right there,’” Lacey said. It was the perfect and the worst time to meet each other, Street said. The perfect time because they were both

starting something brand new. It was the night of Street’s last day of college at UT. “We had just lost the College World Series (to Cal State Fullerton), and it was our last night as guys going out,” he said. For Lacey, it was her first day of summer break after high school—before her freshman year of college at TCU (where she went on to compete in cheerleading). “We just hung out with each other for probably three or four weeks. After summer ended, we talked on the phone every night. And then somewhere along the line, I was just like, ‘Listen, I’m not letting you go,’” Street said. Lacey said she feels like baseball is good for their marriage. “We kind of have to lean on each other a lot because we don’t really have anybody else. And we’re always in these random cities, where it’s just us. You’re in your own little bubble,” she said. They just celebrated their seventh anniversary on Jan. 5 with the news that they are expecting. They’re both hoping for a girl. “They’re really grounded with this life,” Janie Street said. “You know, they’re normal. Their life is normal. They have a little more stuff than most of us, but when you’re around them, it’s real easy to see they’re not caught up in all that. They appreciate their opportunities, they work hard, and they’re disciplined. They’re no different than anyone else who has a job; someone who’s made a commitment. They have some things [other people don’t have], but they also give up some things—like time. Time is really valuable to them.” “Everybody, when they experience success, gets bigheaded,” Street said. “Even I get excited. When you see people starting to get anxious [from success], that’s when you know they need to just chill.” Street has both a mental side for baseball, but he’s got a soft side too, said Janie Street. It’s a personality pendulum that keeps him focused, down-to-earth, and levelheaded. “My dad used to say, ‘The good ones learn from their mistakes, but the great ones learn from other people’s mistakes,’” Street said. “So I always try to watch guys in front of me, guys who have been 31 before. What did the successful ones do and what did the unsuccessful ones do? I try to learn from them; I’m always learning. Sure, I’ve played baseball before, but I’ve never played baseball at 31.”

Two of the closers Street admires and looks up to most are Dennis Eckersley and Trevor Hoffman. “When I played in Oakland, Eckersley was someone I really looked up to. He was very aggressive, and he took charge. He had supreme confidence on the mound. But then, when you talked to him away from the mound, you saw it was all fear. He used fear to motivate himself,” Street said. “When you’re on the mound, you really function in your own little bubble. But it’s all the moments before that— the preparation, the process, every single pitch—that make closing pitchers great,” he said. Street, a two-time All Star, has been a closer since his rookie year with the Oakland Athletics—when he won the American League’s Rookie of the Year award. He has saved 275 games in 319 chances (86 percent) in his career with a 2.82 ERA. He is ranked 30th on the MLB career saves list, and climbing. His two idols, Hoffman and Eckersley, are ranked 2nd and 6th on the list, respectively. In the 2014 season—the first half of which he spent pitching for the Padres before being traded to the Angels— Street posted a 1.37 ERA and converted 41 of 44 save opportunities. So what are his goals for next season? “I want to win a World Series. I’m on one of the few teams that has a fair shot. There’s not many teams that come along like the Royals, and I have a lot of respect for them,” Street said, referring to the Kansas City Royal’s Divisional Series win that ended the Angels’ 2014 season. “Eckersley and Hoffman, they never gave a pitch away. And that’s what I try and emulate,” he said. As a kid, Huston was conditioned to never let go of or give anything away easily. “If I had a baseball practice and a piano recital the same day, and I wanted to skip my piano recital because I hadn’t practiced, mom would make me go to my piano recital because she had signed me up for it. Her point was that if you commit to something, then you’re going to be there.” Janie Street nodded in agreement. “Whatever you start, you finish,” she said. Those words of wisdom are as familiar to Street’s ears as the reverberating sound of a raucous stadium crowd when he takes the mound in the ninth inning. Whatever you start, you finish. afm

02 .2015 • au st infItmaga z ine.co m • 53

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Devotion (to Fitness) Made All the Difference After already traveling down one of the worst roads possible together, this couple continues to stand by each other’s side.

The date was Nov. 30, 2008. The time, lost in memory now, was late. The roads, dark. Visibility, spotty. High on life from a concert they had attended that night in Houston, Joe Carter and his girlfriend, Vanessa Cizmar, were on their way back home. 02.2015 • au st infItmaga z i n e . c o m • 57

Video Interview

Watch a bonus video interview with the couple on our website, austinfitmagazine.com

For Cizmar, the next few months were a medicated blur. For Carter, they were a dramatic haze. On their way home—a short drive from the city center—they had hit a cow standing in the middle of the road. The accident instantly paralyzed Cizmar from the neck down. She was 25 years old. After spending three weeks in the Intensive Care Unit, she was transferred to Houston's TIRR Memorial Herrman Rehabilitation and Research Hospital where she stayed for several months. She couldn't speak or breathe on her own. Placed in a halo for her spinal injury, she couldn’t move anything 58 • au sti nfItm agazi ne.c om • 02 .2 015

either. Doctors said it would be nearly impossible for her to ever breathe or move on her own again. Six years later, and Cizmar and Carter are now engaged. They have been by each other’s side for more than 10 years, and while not officially married, have already lived through more “for better or worses” and “in sickness and in healths” than most married couples will ever have to endure. Devotion to each other and devotion to a regular fitness routine is what they credit for keeping their relationship in the shape it’s is today.

“We pretty much structure my day around physical therapy and bowel movements!” Cizmar said, pausing to laugh before launching into what a typical day looks like for her and her fiancé. She no longer takes for granted the small victories of life. When you’ve lived through a time where you can’t comprehend doing anything on your own, your appreciation for moments of independence changes. In the morning, Carter lifts her out of bed and they immediately check her blood sugar. (Cizmar was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 2 and still deals with the daily realities of the disease.) If Cizmar is stable, she gets on the FES (Functional Electrical Stimulation) Bike—with electrodes on her arms and legs to help stimulate her peripheral nerves. According to the FES website, “Stimulating the peripheral nerves evokes patterned movement of the legs or the arms. [In this way], the bike enables your muscles to perform work even though you may have lost all or some voluntary control of your muscles.” For Cizmar, hopping on the FES bike is a mandatory daily movement exercise that helps soften and stretch out her stiff muscles. In the afternoon, after they’ve had lunch and rested for a bit, they work out on the system Cizmar credits for helping her gain most of her strength and independence back: Primal 7. Developed by Brian DeMarco, who played as an offensive lineman for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinatti Bengals—and whose professional career ended in him taking painkillers to mask the pain of extensive spinal damage sustained while playing in

10 Years Together. 10 Love Lessons Learned. 1. Weed out the negatives as best as you can and focus on what lies ahead. 2. Remain patient, be compassionate, and communicate. 3. Love each other unconditionally. 4. Apologize and say thank you. 5. Encourage each other's individual dreams. 6. Pray for and with each other. 7. Don’t be afraid to try new things—even if you don’t think you have the time. 8. Don’t allow yourself to get stuck in a rut, and never give up. 9. Help others who need assistance. 10. Pull over and roll around in the bluebonnets (literally!)

the NFL—Primal 7 is a workout system that supports bodyweight to help promote and enhance functional movement. The system has saved Cizmar thousands of hours that could have been spent driving back and forth from physical therapy sessions. With Primal 7, she can now work out in the comfort of her home—with Carter by her side. “There are definitely days where I don't want to keep doing all of this,” Cizmar admits. “But Joe holds me accountable.” Even though her day-to-day improvements are almost unnoticeable, the progress she's made in the last six years is nothing short of miraculous. The couple credits her daily determination and endless supply of faith for the considerable recovery. While still wheelchair-bound, Cizmar continues to regain movement in her arms and neck and, with Carter walking by her side, she can now take aided steps—moving herself from her wheelchair to the car. A sight her doctors no doubt would drop their jaws at in disbelief. “In a lot of ways, we lost everything we had worked for in our lives [that day],” Carter said of the accident. “But we make a conscious choice to focus on

recovery and acceptance.” Working out together is a way, an outlet, for them to transmute their mutual respect and love for one another. How they see it, there is no alternative. Their admiration for each other is shown through their daily actions and self-sacrifices. There literally isn't anything that Carter hasn't or won't do for her. “We went from being vulnerable to extremely vulnerable in the blink of an eye,” Cizmar said. Like any couple, they fear the unknown and what lies ahead, but they also acknowledge they've already been down one of the worst roads possible together. And still, when they look into each other’s eyes, they see that intangible spark that makes their lips break into a smile. Instead of worrying about what the future has in store, they decide to be excited about the unknown. Sometimes that means taking risks, even if it is sometimes inconvenient. “If you never take risks, you’re never going to have any fun!” Cizmar said, adding that she loves a challenge because it makes her stronger and more

fearless. This past summer, she got on a surfboard and floated the San Marcos River with her fiancé. She laughed when other tubers on the river unknowingly joked with Carter because he was feeding her sips of beer with a straw. “They had no idea I couldn't lift my arms since I was sitting in my tube like everyone else!” Cizmar said. For anyone who takes the time to get to know the couple, it's clear they are happy and want what is best for each other at all times. They hope their story serves as an inspiration for others who are struggling and having to make sacrifices. And they are always pushing ahead in their personal and fitness goals. For Cizmar, building her strength means improving her independence. Her current goal? To look down the aisle on her wedding day, see Carter waiting for her at the altar, and walk herself down the aisle to start a family with the man who loves her and has stood by her side this whole time. afm

02.2015 • au st infItmaga z i n e . c o m • 59

Look

The Skinny on Compression Wear

We decided to filter through the hype of compression wear claims— from improved power and performance to quicker recovery times. Here’s what we found. By Nate Turner

ou’ve more than likely seen it down on the trail or skirting around at the gym. It’s been modeled and endorsed by celebrities and pro athletes in fitness magazines and infomercials. A growing segment of the athletic apparel industry, compression wear is sold as socks, shorts, shirts, tights, sleeves, and tri-suits. Made

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of colorful, high-tech fabrics, their claimed benefits run the gamut from improved power and endurance performance to speedier and less painful recovery. Curious if these claims had any merit, we dug into the research and talked to scientists, athletes, and vendors. What was their consensus on compression wear? Here’s what we discovered.

Background

Tan-colored (and fairly unflattering) compression hose have been used effectively in clinical settings for the past 50 years or so. Research and experience have shown compression hose aid in the return of venous blood from the legs to the heart and lungs of patients confined to hospital beds or wheelchairs. This practice helps prevent blood from pooling and clotting—which can lead to all kinds of complications and even death. Other benefits include promotion of lymphatic circulation, joint stabilization after surgical repair, rehab, and wound care. Somewhere along the way, an enterprising trainer, physical therapist, or marketing executive thought that athletes might benefit from improved blood flow as well, and a new product line was born.

Technology

Socks were the first compression products adapted for performance purposes; they are the most common items in use by athletes today. They function by way of a progressively tighter weave in the fabric that makes them snug at the top of the calf, a bit tighter at mid-calf, and even tighter at the ankle. This provides greater positive pressure from the bottom up, which works with the natural skeletal muscle pump of the lower leg muscles to return de-oxygenated (venous) blood back up to the heart and lungs.

Performance Claims

A quick survey of the sport science literature turned up considerable research supporting the likelihood of compression wear benefits for athletes in endurance, strength, and power sports, though there are some studies showing no significant effect. Professor Aaron Coutts of the University of Technology, Sydney and an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, wrote the following in an article: “It appears the use of compression garments may have a positive effect on athletes during exercise and during recovery periods following exercise. As no studies have reported negative effects on exercise performance or perceptions of pain, the use of compression garments may provide a useful training tool for athletes across a wide variety of sports.” Coutts continues with an impressive list of potential benefits backed up by science. Here are a few, with the type of athletes

likely to see the greatest benefits included in parentheses. • Enhancing blood circulation to peripheral limbs (everyone) • Reducing blood lactate concentration during maximal exercise bouts (runners, cyclists, rowers, sprinters) • Enhancing warm-up via increases in skin temperature (everyone) • Increasing vertical jump height and improving repetitive jump power (field and court sport athletes, strength and power athletes) • Enhancing recovery following strenuous exercise by aiding in the removal of blood lactate and improving subsequent exercise performance (everyone) • Reducing the effects of delayed onset muscle soreness in the days following strenuous exercise (strength athletes, runners)

Chuck Duvall, performance apparel guru at Austin Tri-Cyclist, has had personal experience with wearing compression gear, and has conducted his own research on companies like 2XU, 110%, and Under Armour that produce the products. “I believe the primary benefit [of compression wear] for endurance athletes lies in the area of recovery more so than in performance,” Duvall said. Carey Kepler, four-time international Crossfit Games competitor and co-owner of Crossfit Central, uses the SKINS brand calf sleeves for training and competition. “I feel an improvement in circulation during both my workouts and recovery. They keep the barbell off your shins too,” Kepler said.

Finding The Right Gear For You

As with most performance gear, compression wear is a “buyer beware” adventure. A wide variety of pricing and quality exists. Buying local, with advice from an expert, is a good way to make your first purchase. Local running and triathlon stores, Dick’s, and even Target carry the products. Duvall recommends finding out everything you can about the materials, construction, and fit of what you plan to buy before you make the purchase. “With most technical gear, you get what you pay for. This is no different,” he said.

Lots of sports performance products are all talk and no action. Refreshingly, compression wear lives up to the hype. Find a local outfitter, add it to your arsenal, and let us know how it goes. afm 02 .2015 • au st infItmaga z ine.co m • 61

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4406 Burnet Road; modfitnessaustin.com After suffering from a severe cervical spine injury, Marnie Duncan turned to the Barre method to help her recover. Inspired by the results she saw, she founded MOD Fitness on South Lamar in 2012. Those in search of workouts that are continually evolving need look no further than MOD Fitness. MOD Barre classes combine low-impact strength training, cardio, and stretching routines that are welcoming to participants of all fitness levels and athletic abilities. With the opening of their second studio on Burnet Road, they hope to expand their reach in the Austin community.

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4005 Market Street, Suite 110, Bee Cave; thelagreestudio.com As a child growing up in France, Sebastien Lagree was always fascinated by human physiques and machines. While in L.A. to pursue a career in entertainment, Lagree discovered that he had a gift for personal training. Inspired by his personal experiences with weight training, cardio, and Pilates, Lagree was motivated to help his clients achieve peak physical performance. To help optimize their time and effort, he restructured the traditional Pilates reformer machine. The result? The Lagree Fitness Method. The method uses an innovative machine called the Megaformer M3S to add elements of resistance and counter-resistance to your training. Followers of the fitness method receive a full-body workout that tones, strengthens, and elongates muscles, while also revving up metabolism, burning fat, increasing flexibility and postural alignment, and restoring the bodyâ€™s natural balance.

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7010 Easy Wind Drive, Suite 130; modoyogaaustin.com Get ready to sweat at this new hot yoga studio. Modo flow series classes are done in a 100-degree room at 30–40 percent humidity. Over the course of an hour and a half-long class, students are led through a set of 26 poses specially designed by a yoga therapist. (For students looking for a slower, not-as-sweaty practice, the studio also offers Yin yoga.) Modo Yoga’s environmental awareness can be seen in the studios cork flooring, pull-chain showers, and hypoallergenic radiant heating system. Conveniently located near Crestview station, the studio offers discounts for yogis who ditch the car and ride their bike to class. They also offer weekly community classes for $7 and karma classes for $5. Modo Yoga hopes to open two more locations in Austin soon. Their main goal: to make the practice of yoga accessible to all. (Treat yo’ self: Black Star Co-op and Fuzzy’s Tacos are Modo Yoga’s neighbors. Just sayin’, you did work up quite a sweat.) 68 • aust infItmaga z ine.co m • 02.2015

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Your Shoulder Was Designed to Fail By Daniel Bockmann, D.C.

nce you see how shoulders are put together, it becomes pretty obvious that they have some serious design flaws. Let’s take a look. A joint can be defined as any place where two bones meet and move. As such, every joint has two basic jobs: 1. Hold itself together 2. Allow movement These are actually competing ideas since the “stiffness” that keeps your joints from pulling apart is, by definition, limiting the movement of the joint to some degree. Our joints are faced with the challenging task of restraining the two bones just enough so that they stay attached to one other. Therefore, every joint falls along a continuum between flexibility and stability. And every movement concentrated more toward one end of that scale sacrifices benefits received from the other end. Both the shoulder and the hip are joints where a limb attaches to the torso, but that is where their similarities end. Hips are incredibly stable joints, with nice, deep sockets that help lock the head of the thighbone in place. Shoulders, on the other hand, have only a suggestion of a socket—so shallow that

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it’s basically like a golf ball sitting on a tee, offering hardly any “built-in” protection or stability. Also, hip joints are equally surrounded on all sides by big, powerful muscles that can generate massive forces, take a beating, and still keep the joint snug and secure. Shoulder joints, on the other hand, are surrounded by much smaller and weaker muscles, making them much more prone to dislocation and injury. But, these differences simply illustrate how hips and shoulders are specialized for their unique jobs. Hips carry a much bigger load, so it makes sense that thick ligaments, deep sockets, and powerful muscles would make solid design features. Conversely, since shoulders generally carry lighter loads, it makes sense they would trade a little stability for some extra mobility. This makes shoulders much more versatile and able to perform a huge variety of movements through a much bigger range of motion than is possible at the hip. Since the shoulder has sacrificed some security for mobility, the job of protecting and securing the shoulder falls on the muscles that attach around it. This is where the rotator cuff

ATTENTION ALL

comes in to play. The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that attach in a ring around the shoulder joint—like a cuff. Their job isn’t to move the shoulder; it’s to secure the shoulder while it’s moving. Check out a few of Dr. Bockmann’s shoulder strengthening Essentially, the exercises on our website, austinfitmagazine.com. rotator cuff muscles fire off like retrorockets on a spaceship, coordinating their actions to help maintain the correct “attitude” of the shoulder joint within its shallow socket. In this way, the rotator cuff makes up for the relative lack of built-in stability of the shoulder by providing dynamic stability, ideally able to make split-second corrections as needed to protect the shoulder joint. The real problem with shoulder design is that the muscular support is hugely imbalanced. While the shoulder does have a team of muscles around the joint whose job it is to equally support and secure it from all directions, some of those muscles grossly overpower others. And if one muscle overpowers another in the shoulder, it can pull the joint out of position and allow for a rotator cuff injury, a labral tear, a sprain, an impingement, a separation, or even a dislocation. Specifically, there are two groups of muscles that commonly run unchecked: 1. Protractors 2. Internal rotators Protractors are the muscles that pull your shoulders forward, like when you slouch. Internal rotators are the muscles that press your palm against your belly or down on the top of a desk. These two muscle groups are greater in number, size, and strength than their antagonists, whose job it is to restrain and “moderate” them. Not only that, but since your eyes face forward and your hands are designed to grasp in front of you (rather than behind you, which would use retractors and external rotators for), everyday tasks like picking up objects, washing your hands, driving, and typing on a keyboard all exaggerate this imbalance even further since they all primarily use—you guessed it—protractors and internal rotators. Average folks with healthy, painless shoulders have internal rotators that are 33 percent stronger than their external rotators. However, a study of 125 professional baseball pitchers (who use their internal rotators to throw all day), found that, for them, this imbalance was hugely magnified—with internal rotators clocking in at a staggering 93 percent stronger than external rotators! This tells you the scale of the imbalance that may exist in your shoulder, especially if your sport or workout of choice pushes you even farther in the wrong direction. Now you know why I said your shoulder was designed to fail. But there is a solution, and it’s a fairly easy one. It’s simply a matter of finding deficits and addressing them. For example, since we know that you’re starting off with strength deficits in your shoulder retractors and external rotators, strengthening them merely means incorporating retractor and external rotation exercises into your weekly regimen. This will help ensure that your shoulder is far more protected—and functional—than it was before. Be sure to consult a doctor if you have sharp pain that won’t go away or pain that is worsening. It’s better to know early if something serious is wrong than wait for it to worsen. Although your shoulder may have been designed to fail, it’s not that hard to prevent its failure. Try working on your external rotators and retractors and see how big a difference it can make—both in how your shoulder feels, and in how it functions. afm

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Running Out of Breath

My Battle with Adrenal Fatigue A stressful lifestyle has a way of catching up to you. I know that better than ever now. By Lauryn Lax

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5:30 a.m.: My alarm goes off. 6:00 a.m.: Slam down some coffee and get out the door for an early morning workout. 7:05 a.m.: Get ready for work. 8:15 a.m.: Drop the dry-cleaning off at the cleaner’s. 8:40 a.m.: Eat a granola bar in the car on the way to a 9 a.m. meeting. 10:30 a.m.: Meeting wraps up. Make a quick run by the bank. 11 a.m.: Take a phone call in transition to another appointment. Noon: Grab some lunch on the go at Snap Kitchen. 1 p.m.: Sit down at desk to answer some emails or work on a project. Another meeting at 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and phone call at 4 p.m. 4:15 p.m.: Pick up kids from school and have coffee date with friend. 5:25 p.m.: Hit Lady Bird Lake trail for a 3-mile loop run. Quick shower before social or happy hour. Eat a snack on the way to the bar. 9:15 p.m.: Home. Heat up some leftovers for dinner. Check more emails and read up on the news (and newsfeeds) from the day. 11 a.m. or 12 a.m.: In bed. Sleep for about 5-6 hours. Wake up, do it all over again. Phew. Sound exhausting? Sound familiar? There is no question that, if you are like most Americans, you live and breathe in the daily grind, or rat race, of our society. Endless to-do lists and obligations tug at your shirttails on a daily basis—in every area of your work, social and fitness life. You want to do it all, and be it all, and gosh darn it, you want to get things done. While all of these facets of life can find a way to fit into your daily schedule, it can also be downright draining—particularly without much built-in time for the basic self-care practices of good sleep, quality fuel, adequate training, and a proper work-life balance. Preaching to the choir? Yes, I get it. It’s easier said than done. However, if you are not careful, this rat race or stressful lifestyle can—and will—catch

up with you, and possibly in the form of adrenal fatigue. Nearly 80 percent of all Americans will suffer from adrenal fatigue at least once in their lifetime—particularly if you are a dedicated athlete, parent, or have a stressful job. Adrenal fatigue is defined as chronic stress, and has actually become known as “21st Century Syndrome.” It occurs when the amount of stress you’re experiencing overextends the capacity of the body to compensate and recover. There are a number of reasons why this symptom can occur:

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Fear and guilt Depression/mood instability Chronic illness Mal-absorption/mal-digestion Sleep deprivation Inadequate nutrition intake Excessive sugar and/or caffeine intake Working late hours Excessive exercise Surgery Low blood sugar Anxiety

When a person is stressed, the body reacts by mounting a stress response through the stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system. This is also called the “fight or flight” response as the body arms itself to face what it perceives as a danger. When this happens, epinephrine is secreted, causing the adrenal cortex to increase production of the anti-stress hormone cortisol. In simpler terms? As cortisol rises due to various stressors, your body begins to do funky things to get by, survive, and try to find homeostasis to function the best it can. In turn, an array of signs and symptoms may present themselves, all of which may vary from person to person. While stress is a natural part of life, the difference between adrenal fatigue and just being “stressed out” is when the body becomes maxed out and begins to cope in a sub-par state to try to overcome feeling rundown. The crazy thing is that adrenal fatigue is not a diagnosed condition recognized in Western medicine until it has progressed from Stage I (alarm reaction) to Stage IV, also known as adrenal failure— the most severe case of the condition. Two years ago, my body decided to shut down my respiratory function. After three long, grinding years spent in gradschool, stressing over tests, sleeping 4–5 hours per night, working out excessively to relieve that stress, my body finally had

enough. The straw that broke the camel’s back was a 5:30 a.m. workout consisting of a short, quick, and intense set of thruster and pull-up reps. When I was finished, I couldn’t breathe. I literally lost my breath. Unlike a workout loss of breath, this shortness of breath lingered—for the next 28 days. Initially, walking out of the gym, I shrugged it off. “Man, that was a good workout I guess. I’m beat,” I said to myself. As the shortness of breath continued into the next day, I started to worry. Three days later, I was more than worried and made an emergency stop by the ER, telling them my symptoms. “I can’t breathe. Am I having a heart attack? A stroke? I don’t know what’s up,” I said. The ER nurses strapped me up to a heart monitor, ran an EKG, took my vitals—and found nothing. “Everything looks fine on paper. It must be anxiety,” the doctor said. The shortness of breath persisted, and I didn’t feel like my normal self. Running a simple errand to the grocery store soon became a chore; my workouts became breathing battles; and doctors appointments now took the place of my usual to-dos in my daily planner. The consensus? One doctor told me I had asthma and prescribed me an inhaler. Another said it was inflammation in my chest and to take Motrin. Another diagnosed it as a blow to my chest—had I hit it? And another: maybe I had a blood clot somewhere in my body? Nothing lined up. Nearly four weeks into this lingering chronic shortness of breath, I Googled “integrative medicine doctor, Austin” and made an appointment with the first doctor that the search revealed. The consensus was cut and dry: adrenal fatigue. I had never heard the term before, but as I began to look into it, the signs and symptoms all matched up perfectly. The doctor prescribed me a few lifestyle changes I could start to make, a few natural supplements I could take and, within weeks, I began to make a 360–degree turnaround. In total, it took me about 8–12 weeks to make a comeback and not experience anymore shortness of breath. Through my experience, I learned that adrenal fatigue, and the stressful life that leads to it, can affect anyone—including me. afm The author, Lauryn Lax, is now a doctor of occupational therapy and a nutritionist. She specializes in working with individuals dealing with adrenal fatigue symptoms, and remains dedicated to helping them recover. 02.2015 • au st infItmaga z i n e . c o m • 73

Healthy Bits The science behind health and wellness

E-reader Before Bed Makes for a Morning Sleepyhead It can be hard to let go of the world when your head hits the pillow at night. Even more so if you take one more scroll through your social media feeds or read “just one more chapter” on your e-reader before setting your alarm. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences compared the circadian (or sleep) effects of reading an E-book versus a printed book before bed. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that using a light-emitting device before bed can have an adverse effect on the secretion of melatonin, a hormone that normally rises in the evening

and plays a role in inducing sleepiness. Although iPads were used in the study, BWH researchers also measured other E-readers, laptops, cell phones, LED monitors, and electronic devices, all of which emitted blue light. “We found the body's natural circadian rhythms were interrupted by the short-wavelength enriched light from these electronic devices,” said Anne-Marie Chang, an author of the study. “Participants took longer to fall asleep, spent less time in REM sleep, and had reduced next-morning alertness than when reading a printed book [before bed].” http://bit.ly/1A5LIwD

Dose of Daily Optimism Leads to Healthier Hearts There’s a saying that it takes just as much energy to be negative as it does to be positive. And it just so happens that being positive and having an upbeat outlook on life has now been proven to increase cardiovascular health, according to a new study. The findings, published by researchers at the University of Illinois, found that optimistic people had twice the odds of being in ideal cardiovascular condition as their counterparts. Optimists had significantly better blood sugar and total cholesterol levels than those who had a negative or pessimistic outlook on life. Optimists were also noted as being more physically active, having healthier body mass indexes, and were less likely to smoke. “This evidence suggests that prevention strategies that target modification of psychological well-being (i.e. trying to be more optimistic) may be a potential avenue for the American Heart Association to reach its goal of improving Americans' cardiovascular health by 20 percent before 2020," said Rosalba Hernandez, lead researcher of the study. http://bit.ly/1A5LIwD 74 • au sti nfItm agazi ne.c om • 02 .2 015

An Avocado a Day Keeps the Doctor Away Sliced up in a breakfast taco, mashed up and spread on toast, or tossed in a salad. No matter how you serve it, there’s no getting around it: avocadoes are awesome. A recent study released by the American Heart Association gives us even more reason to cherish the alligator pears (their given name in China). Study participants who consumed a moderate-fat diet and ate one avocado a day saw their bad cholesterol levels reduced twice as much as the cholesterol levels of participants who consumed a low-fat diet without eating an avocado each day. Triglyceride blood levels also showed improvement among participants who added some of the delicious green goodness to their daily diet. The goal of the study: to show that replacing saturated fatty acids with unsaturated fatty acids—like those found in avocados—can benefit your cardiovascular health. http://bit.ly/1DBoPVs

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Part I: CBC,r RBC, and PLT Pa t 2

Knowing the Basics of a Blood Lab By Amy Neuzil, N.D.

t can be easy enough to take the doctor’s word that your blood tests are normal, but what does that really mean? Are your blood sugars right on the dividing line between normal and pre-diabetic? Did they go over the line but that particular doctor isn’t too concerned? Is your vitamin D level optimal? It isn’t enough to get an “all normal” over the phone and never see the results for yourself. In terms of disease prevention, information is power. Knowing about minor problems the minute they arise gives you the opportunity to change things before they become a major issue. Keeping copies of your previous labs in order to keep an eye on trends also provides you with an edge in preventing and managing disease long-term. A Complete Blood Count (CBC) and a Complete Metabolic Panel (CMP) are blood tests that should be collected each year in adults. Most doctors will also want to collect a Lipid Panel, which tests your cholesterol and triglycerides. While vitamin D levels are now being tested more commonly, this may be done less frequently. Glycosylated hemoglobin—a long-term measure of blood sugar—and thyroid screening (TSH) may also be performed during a blood test. In Texas, patients can also choose to do blood testing without having to visit their doctor by ordering their own labs from a number of services like Any Lab Test Now.

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K Karen Knight D.D.S.

Advanced Dentistry for

Complete Blood Count The CBC is the most basic of screening tools, but delivers a rich stream of information vital to understanding your overall health. Generally, it is a test of the quality and quantity of your different types of blood cells. The individual tests can be broken into several groups: • WBC — This stands for white blood cell and screens to see the number of white blood cells in a particular volume of blood. White blood cells are the immune components of your blood and help to protect your body from pathogens and other stressors. A low WBC count is usually more of an issue for long-term disorders whereas high WBCs indicate a more acute problem—like the onset of an infection, inflammation, allergies, asthma, or some stressor that causes tissue death like a recent heart attack, burn, or even intense exercise. Low white blood cells merit further investigation as they can indicate many serious illnesses like bone marrow disorders or autoimmune conditions. Severely low or high WBCs are worth a quick trip to the doctor. • RBC — This stands for red blood cell and screens to give a good idea of how iron-rich the blood is, as well as the basic B vitamin status. Similar to WBC testing, this is a measure of the raw number of red blood cells. Low numbers indicate a blood deficiency and are usually felt as fatigue and lethargy, precursers to anemia. This can indicate a deficiency of iron, B12, or folic acid. By far, the most common causes of amenia are nutritional deficiencies, and even just-below normal numbers can produce symptoms. These numbers, in combination with the RBC indices (see next paragraph), can pinpoint which nutritional deficiency might be present. High RBCs are most commonly an indication of dehydration, but can also indicate low-oxygen states such as smoking or lung disease, or rare blood and bone

Comfort, Health & Aesthetics

marrow diseases. If RBCs are high, then it is a good idea to focus on getting eight, 8-ounce glasses of water daily for two to three weeks and test again.

• RBC Indices – These values are qualitative measures of red blood cell health and help to give more detailed information on blood disorders. These measures include the mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and red cell distribution width (RDW). A corpuscle is another name for a red blood cell. Cell volume measures the average size of red blood cells. In iron-deficiency anemia, the volume is typically low because the cells are smaller. MCH and MCHC both indicate the hemoglobin levels in RBCs and low measurements help confirm an iron deficiency. High MCH can help to verify B12 or folate deficiency, while high MCHC is more rare and indicates that further exploration is necessary. RDW is a measure of how different the sizes of red blood cells are. If RBCs are being produced normally, then they should be reasonably uniform, which gives a low value for red cell distribution width. If the RDW is elevated, it means that the body is either producing red blood cells very quickly to compensate for anemia, or that there is a problem with production. • PLT – This is a test of platelet numbers, which is highly important to blood clotting as platelets physically form the clots. Low platelets can indicate viral infections including mono, measles, herpes, liver failure, autoimmune disorders, recent drug use, or therapeutic measures including acetaminophen, sulpha, quinidine, chemo, or radiation. It can also indicate severe infections, some cancers, and bone marrow disorders. High platelets are equally problematic and can indicate some cancers, rheumatoid arthritis, irritable bowel, lupus, anemia, and bone marrow disorders. Abnormalities in platelet counts should be retested in three months if they are normal and more often if they are strongly abnormal.

This list may seem daunting, but it is merely the beginning of understanding basic blood labs. Your blood offers a wealth of information and should be understood by everyone. Collecting and analyzing your own health information is a vital step in maintaining optimal health and fitness and can help you avoid problems before they start. afm 02 .2015 • au st infItmaga z ine.co m • 77

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S p e c i al A dv e r t i s i n g S e c t i o n

The 2015 GYM GUIDE Stick to that New Year’s resolution you set in January. These gyms are here to help energize and motivate you to strive for, attain, and become the best version of yourself you can be.

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Yesterday you said tomorrow... You have a dream? Protect it. You want something? Go get it. Does something scare you? You’re on the right path. Kor180 believes in changing your body, changing your mind and inevitably inspiring your life. It’s not going to be easy. There’s no quick fix. It’s going to take hard work, passion, and determination. With two fitness disciplines, Reform & Ryde, Kor180 has your strength and cardio training covered. Reform is not for the faint of heart, taking the foundational principles of Pilates and adding high-octane interval training. You’ll be using the proprietary and patent pending korFormer to bring you a workout that combines cardio, strength and stretching. This isn’t your momma’s Pilates class! If it’s challenging enough for

pro athletes like J.J. Reddick, of the Los Angeles Clippers, then you know it’s going to make you sweat! Be ready for a series of high-intensity exercises designed to shock, exhaust and trigger muscle fatigue. You’ll burn 600-900 calories in a session. Kor180 believes how you Ryde is how you live! So why not Ryde…Inspired! Set an intention, clip in and climb your way to the top. Get ready for a real Ryde with rockin music, inspirational instructors and power training. Gone are the days of spinning out of control with no resistance on that fly-wheel. Push ups and weights? Save that for the Reform studio. Their training methodology is about pushing your Watts to maximize calorie burn. No weights, no push-ups, no bull! Kor180 is the only studio in Austin combining cycling with

reformer-based Pilates. Get ready to burn 900-1200 calories in their Extreme class. Inspired living goes beyond six-pack abs and skinny jeans. It’s difficult finding balance, which is why they take a multipillar approach, incorporating exercise, nutrition & community. Community events have taken clients to Costa Rica for yoga & surfing and Park City for a snowboarding & korKitchen series featuring their in-house Culinary Ninja, Tanner O’Dell. Kor180 gives you a physical space for the best workout of your life, information leading to a healthier you and a community of likeminded people.

Yesterday…you said tomorrow. Welcome to today! kor180.com • 512-243-7955 • 1611 W 5th St., Suite 140, Austin, TX 78703 02.2015 • S p ec i al S e c t i o n • 79

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Castle Hill (as it’s named by the locals) is a casual, funky, and fun health and wellness center located in the heart of downtown Austin. While a lot might be changing in Austin since Castle Hill opened its doors 12 years ago, our mission and core values have not. They drive every piece of our operation: 1. PROVIDE a welcoming environment for the Austin community to improve their overall health. From the smiling faces at the door to fully stocked props closets in one of our 7 classroom studios, we want you to get your workout on and be well equipped for it.

2. EDUCATE our clients that overall health

3. We EMPOWER our clients towards a

is more than just a fitness goal - it's about community, variety, refueling, recovering, and challenging your mind and body. When you are here, you are family. And keeping our family members in really good health is important. With an onsite wellness spa providing Acupuncture, Rolfing, Massage, and Skin Care you will find some rest and recuperation for a tired body and mind. We donate time, space, and services to over 80 charitable organizations a year because giving feels good.

greater quality of life with seasoned professionals, varied programs and disciplines, and conscious living principles all under one roof. We want you to find the best prescription for vitality for YOU. That means customized personal programs from a staff of 30 service providers, discovering one of our 100 different group class offerings per week, or learning how to create a lighter foot print on our Earth and our environment.

Come and experience why Castle Hill has been named one of the Best Gyms in Austin by the community for years. You won’t find another gym like it. castlehillfitness.com • 512-478-4567 • 1112 N. Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78703 80 • S pe ci al Sec ti on • 0 2.2 015

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You like a good workout. Being fit feels great. Going to a gym is likely a part of that. Often. Repeatedly. For years. Pure Austin was built on the idea that ‘going to the gym’ should be fun. Inspiring. Clean! A place where you meet your friends, where the employees know your name, where people are happy to be there. These were the founding tenets of Pure Austin Fitness. It’s hard to say the word ‘gym’ without wincing. The word ‘gym’ brings to mind the hum of treadmills, random one-dimensional weight machines, low ceilings and bad lighting. But this locally owned gym was built with the idea that people should gather to celebrate healthy lifestyles day after day. Where going to the gym can be ‘cool’. A gym where professionals who are passionate about fitness could find long-term jobs where they are valued for their expertise. A gym that was in stark contrast to what most people think of when you say “gym”. Pure Austin is a full fitness experience. Since opening 15 years ago, Pure Austin has grown to three locations. One at 5th and Lamar, one on Braker Lane, and most recently, the “Pure Austin Speedshop”

on Pressler Ave. Pure Austin has won “Best Gym” or “Best Local Gym” in Austin every year since Austin Fit Magazine began the “Best of” Awards. This year the Huffington Post and Self Magazine recognized it as the “Top Gym in the Nation”. The awards and national recognition over the years has been plentiful. Every year, the degreed Coaches, Nutritionists, and Instructors amass numerous awards as well. In addition to the professional staff and the breathtaking facilities that include a heated pool and it’s own private lake for paddleboarding and swimming, what really sets Pure Austin apart is the local flavor and love for all things Austin. Austin is friendly, Austin is fun, and Austin is always changing. Pure Austin is not just a place to workout, but it’s a place to meet your friends and make new ones. If Pure Austin was a matchmaker, it would have it’s own reality TV show. Pure Austin is a gym that bucks the usual gym paradigm by being true to its initial goals – to provide active people a unique, and sometimes quirky, inspiring place to hang out. It’s Pure Austin.

pureaustin.com • 512-474-1800 • Mulitple Locations 02.2015 • S p ec i al S e c t i o n • 81

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Champions Westlake provides a boutique gymnastics, cheer, parkour, trampoline and adult fitness experience right in the heart of the Westlake Community. Our staff is dedicated to making your child feel like a Champion! From the youngest KidSpark preschool gymnastics classes to our oldest competitive gymnastics teams and adult fitness programs, we strive to motivate and build confidence every step of the way. The KidSpark program at Champions Westlake for ages 16 months to 5 years is the foundational gymnastics program for our future athletes. Our goal is to spark your child’s passion for physical activity by offering a wide range of fun and exciting equipment to safely learn gymnastics skills and body control. Our Parent/Tot classes for 16-36 month-olds offer parents and kids the opportunity to interact in fun, coach-supervised activities designed to strengthen your child and socialize them with other students. In our 3-5 year-old classes, students work with the coaches to gain confidence and learn forward rolls and front supports on the bar as well as pike, straddle and tuck jumps.

“My child is never ready to leave the gym when class is over!” – Parent/Tot Mom

“Enhanced strength, fine motor skills, and coordination are just a few of the positive visible changes I have observed in my 4-year-old since he started at Champions Westlake.” – KidSpark parent

Exclusive Austin Fit Magazine Special! Mention this add to receive your 1st class free during the months of February and March! Offer also applies to our Nova Adult Fitness Zumba and Parkour classes! See you at the Gym! • ChampionsWestlake.com • 512-426-1990 • 2805 Bee Cave Rd., Suite 405, Austin, TX 78746 82 • S pe ci al Sec ti on • 0 2.2 015

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s e e t h e i r f u l l s u c c e s s s t o r i e s at c e n t r a l at h l e t e .c o m

Train

By Elli Overton

here is no time like the swimming off-season to learn how to do a freestyle flip turn. Do you touch turn when you swim laps but notice the people flip turning are blowing you away at the wall? Perhaps you tried flip turning, but got water up your nose. Or maybe you tried it, completely missed the wall, and decided “Oh well, I don’t need to flip turn anyway!” Whether you’re swimming for exercise or training for open water swims or triathlons, you may feel you have good grounds to justify why it is you don’t do the flip. You’re missing out though. Flip turning improves the aerobic benefit you get from swimming by making your effort more seamless and continuous, with no rests. After all, there is no wall in open water. As you learn to flip turn, you’ll notice the increased aerobic workload from not breathing during the turn. Don’t worry if it feels hard in the beginning. You’re just getting fitter! You’ll also benefit from flip turns by enhancing your body awareness in the water. Learning new skills and strokes helps you better understand how you move through the water. A bonus benefit of learning this technique: the sense of accomplishment you’ll feel after mastering it.

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To Get Started First, try making the flip-turning motion in the middle of the pool. 1. Start by lying stomach-down on the water surface, with one hand by your side and one stretched out in front of your head. 2. Pull the hand that is out front down toward your side like you’re doing a freestyle stroke, and simultaneously tuck your head and start bringing it toward your knees (as if you were going to touch your toes). Don’t bend or try to tuck your legs just yet! They should be lying straight on the surface. 3. Hold your breath as you start moving your head to your knees and breathe out through your nose as you continue the turn. This will help you avoid getting water up your nose (the worst!). 4. Leave your hands by your sides. Face your palms toward the bottom of the pool. As you bring your head toward your knees, bend your arms at the elbow, and use your palms to make a scooping motion, increasing your momentum. Finish with your hands close to your face.

5. Meanwhile, with a small, short dolphin kick, “throw” your legs over, bending your knees at right angles. Your legs should have momentum as your heels leave the water and head for where the wall would be. Keep your head tucked and facing toward your knees as you do this (it should feel like you’re in a fetal position). 6. Your flip should have you moving directly around, not turning sideways, so you finish this motion with your head underwater, looking up at the surface, and your back parallel to the bottom of the pool, with your legs at right angles like you’re sitting on a chair. Practice this move a few times, then practice swimming a few strokes of freestyle and going into the turn motion described above in the middle of the pool. Remember, your arms should be close to your sides at all times, not pointing out to the side of your body.

illustration by Emily Parsons

Do a Freestyle Flip Turn

At the Wall Correctly judging your distance from the wall is crucial for a successful flip turn. 1. Use the “T” marking on the bottom of the pool and on the wall at the end of the lane to judge were the wall is. Never lift your eyes above the waterline to look for the wall!

4. Swim toward the wall and go into the flipping motion described above when your hand is ankle-to-knee length from the wall.

2. You need to be close to the wall, but not too close. A good rule of thumb is to think of the distance between your ankle and knee. This is about how far from the wall your hand should be when it starts to pull you into the turn.

5. Your feet should land on the wall underwater, toes pointing towards the surface, knees at right angles, with your back parallel to the bottom.

3. Take your last breath to the side before turning.

Judging the correct distance from the wall takes practice. Keep trying, noting your position in relation to the markings on the bottom, and you’ll eventually get it just right!

Push Off and Streamline If you landed the turn correctly, you are in position to push off on your back. Your feet should be a little bit apart, legs positioned at right angles, and arms bent with your hands close to your face. 1. Push off as powerfully as you can from this squat position while your hands extend over your head into a streamline (one hand over the other, arms extended and pressing on your head just behind your ears). 2. As you push, begin the body rotation needed to return you to your stomach. Continue rotating as you kick up and reach the surface.

3. The push and rotation occur simultaneously. (Don’t rotate to your stomach before pushing off!) The flip turn sounds like a lot of small steps to put together, and it is. But with practice, it becomes fluid and effortless, and the end result is worth it. You’ll be more aware of your body than ever and become a stronger, fitter, and faster swimmer to boot. afm

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Train

Off-Season Insights from an Ironman Racer Taking a step back to assess your training and racing regimen can put you a step ahead of this season’s competition. By Patrick Evoe

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photography by Brian Fitzsimmons

s a professional triathlete, it’s my job to perform in races and get faster each year. Looking ahead at the 2015 racing season, I’m paying special attention to this off-season as a time to help prepare and ready myself. Not only do I need to get faster, but I need to get faster at a quicker rate than my competition. With now almost 1,000 registered Ironman professionals out there, each year the field gets more competitive, the times get faster, and the field gets larger. My job: to face these factors head on and continue to be successful. In the last several seasons, I won one Ironman and had seven podium finishes at other Ironman-branded races. When I reflect on my race history from a placebased perspective, I’m very happy and satisfied. There were a number of races in the last couple seasons though where I didn’t perform to my expectations. Now that it’s the off-season, my new job is to analyze every aspect of my training and racing from the past year and look for areas to improve on. Like all athletes, I want to continue to grow in my sport. Here are some steps I am taking now to ensure my upcoming racing season is the best yet.

Coaching I’ve been self-coached for many years, and I’ve learned a lot about myself through the process that I wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. I took myself to a new level in the sport by creating my own training plans and scheduling workouts with great athletes. Then, over this past year, I started working with a coach—one who wasn’t me. It took time for my body to adjust to another person’s style of training, but I soon noticed my body adapting in great ways. My coach and I are currently collaborating on how to address some of my shortcomings without hindering my strengths, and have set up a winter training plan to address these areas.

Equipment Choices

Bike Position

As I craft together my race calendar for 2015, I’m taking great care to examine each race thoroughly. I’m looking for races that play to my strengths and shine the light away from my weaknesses. I don’t mean to say I’m picking races that are convenient— maybe because they're located nearby, or they just sound fun. I'm actually dissecting every race option—those both near and far away—to find where I think I can make the biggest impact. To find where I think I can lead the pack.

Mental Preparation

By assessing myself and observing my strengths and weaknesses from the past year, I’ve found a few areas I need to work and improve on. By doing so, I know I’m positioning myself to have the best year of training and racing yet. If performance is important to you this year, I strongly urge you to do the same. We give so much of our lives and energy to the simultaneously demanding, draining, and super rewarding sport of racing. It's worth the time and effort it takes to step back, reflect, and make any changes that, when added together, will have a beneficial effect on your racing future. afm 02 .2015 • au st infItmaga z ine.co m • 87

TRI SE S

I’ve dabbled with sports psychology techniques on and off for several years, and have noticed that when I take the time to practice mental preparation exercises, I see results. Yes, it takes time and effort, but it’s well worth the work. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to stop practicing these mental exercises since it just makes for one more thing to add on top of everything else competing for time and attention. But I’ve found that my performance improves when my head is in a good, centered, and confident place. This past season, I fell away from the practice. For this upcoming year, I’ve recommitted to my mental training program. It’s such an important aspect of racing, and it deserves more acknowledgement and attention.

How we sit on our bicycles has a huge bearing on aerodynamics, physical power, and efficiency, as well as how well we run off the bike. I’ve been working with some of the best bike fitting experts in the industry to observe and understand how my body interacts with my machine, and little by little we're making changes to my seat position to optimize how I ride.

Races

The triathlon industry's three sports are always evolving, and as they do, companies continue to release the latest and greatest gear and

equipment. I decided to wade through the information overload to determine which trends and equipment upgrades are simply hyped-up marketing and which would actually lead to legitimate gains. I’m spending extra time and attention examining possible upgrades, reading the supporting research and data, and then weighing the pros and cons. For example, this last season I started working with a company who specializes in coating bicycle drive train components with low-friction coatings. While each piece individually saves an incremental amount, when you sum up all the moving parts on a bicycle, the savings you receive from reduced friction really add up. By sifting through the triathlon industry’s advancements in this way, I’m optimizing all of my equipment choices for next season. One piece at a time.

During my break, I have taken time to make a full assessment of myself and every aspect of my training and racing. I identified those things I felt were good and working, but also took note of any problematic issues or changes I need to make to continue to excel in my sport. I not only looked for changes, but made sure to note what has been working well so I don't fix what's not broken.

Self-Assessment

TEXAS

Train

How to Coach and Be Coached

egardless of the skill you are trying to learn or improve, it is important to recognize how you best absorb new information and then make a plan to practice. As an adult, learning something new can be incredibly daunting because, let’s be honest, it’s embarrassing not being able to do something your 10-year-old can do! Dr. Tim Elmore, founder of Growing Leaders, writes frequently about how to engage the millennial population. He suggests there are four major concepts that coaches and teachers of millennials should employ, but I believe his concepts on teaching spread beyond that specific generation. Through coaching both younger and older athletes in swimming, I have found that today's student prefers to hear stories that document what they are learning. They want to be involved in the conversation to give their opinion. They want to see images that help them process. And lastly, they appreciate when you can keep concepts simple. As a teacher and coach, I find it’s important to be myself, but to be effective it’s important for me to understand how each of my athletes learns best. My current coaching environment is not built to accomplish physiological training, but rather neural. With one-on-one interaction, it is easy to create a dialog that is engaging and one that my athletes can relate. When practicing a specific skill, I make a point of asking them "What were you focusing on or thinking about? How did that feel? What do you see?" Not only does this engage them in the learn-

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Understanding how you best give and take advice is the first step to improving performance. By Kim Brackin ing process, but it helps them learn how to coach themselves when practicing on their own. My goal is to build a selfsufficient athlete—one who is building confidence in themselves, is constantly learning, and is able to measure their own success. As an athlete, don’t expect your coach to give you all the answers. Elmore suggests that coaches engage athletes in the process of learning; try to be open to this challenge. Be prepared to face not only a physical test, but a mental one as well. A coach at a traditional swim practice does their best to give each athlete feedback, but it is impossible to have eyes on every athlete all the time. Visual feedback seems to be the most valuable piece of information I can give an athlete. When possible, stand in front of a mirror or get filmed when learning a new skill. Know what you look like. Kinesthetic awareness seems to separate weaker athletes from more successful ones. The ability to see where your body is in space may help you control your movements better. Just like when you hear yourself on a recording, I have swimmers swear they don’t look like that when I am showing them actual footage of themselves! It can be an incredibly eye-opening practice. After all, seeing is believing! In that same vein of thought, try watching footage of athletes doing a skill properly. I am fortunate to have a huge library of tapes of elite-level swimmers that my athletes can learn from, but YouTube can be a great source for anyone to find countless skills videos. Keeping concepts simple means a few

things to me. Break down a movement, understand why it is important or what it will accomplish, and focus on one thing at a time. When you take on something new, give yourself time to learn a skill properly and then repetitively practice it. When I coached elite triathlete and Ironman Pat Evoe, he used his recovery day to head to a pool and literally do drills for 45–60 minutes. No training, just focusing on skills. This strategy allowed him to mentally and physically rehearse the specific skills he was trying to implement into his racing stroke with tremendous success. When coaching or being coached, recognize that there is a process to get to your desired outcome, and that you have to be part of the process. When learning a new skill, athletes should become problem solvers, take initiative, and notice their confidence growing. While all these strategies can certainly help you in the learning process, the most important thing you need to do is act on them. You can have the best learning strategies at your disposal, but unless you get out there and practice those skills, you won’t see much progress. Doing a new skill takes discipline and motivation, which can often be hard to summon. Use organizational training tools like goal setting, scheduling, and logging your workouts and progress. Consider hiring a coach, or joining a team or group that can help hold you accountable. It’s okay if you take small steps, just be sure to get out there and take one! afm

Workout

Improve strength of shoulder muscles by isolating your lower legs and core

Engage the Lower Body to Enhance Upper Body Stability based on the video by Diane Vives, M.S., C.S.C.S., N.S.C.A.-C.P.T.

his month, Diane Vives is at Of the Lion Fitness in North Austin with Head Boot Camp Trainer Courtney Carlisle, who is demonstrating the movements. This series of exercises is designed to focus on improving and strengthening shoulder stability to help those with shoulder weakness progress toward more dynamic movements.

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Rear Elevated Split Squat

Why: build strength and power through single leg, lower body isolated movement What You Need: 1 Kettlebell; 1 Plyobox

Starting Position: • With Plyobox positioned 1–2 feet behind you, stand with left foot to left of Kettlebell and right foot behind Kettlebell. Motion: • Maintaining a straight back, grab Kettlebell with both hands, and lift to shoulder height. Glancing over right shoulder at Plyobox, lift right leg so top of right foot rests on box.

• Pushing weight into your left standing foot, squat until left thigh is parallel with floor and right knee is pointing directly down at the ground. • Keep your torso upright and spine in line throughout squat. Kettlebell should remain at shoulder height. Hold for 3–5 seconds. • Release squat and straighten left leg to standing. Bring right foot back to standing and, keeping a straight back, lower Kettlebell to floor.

Farmer’s Walk

Why: work grip and static motor control to activate shoulder complex for stability What You Need: 2 Kettlebells Starting position: • Place Kettlebells slightly more than hip-width distance apart on floor. Position feet hip-width distance apart along the insides of Kettlebells, with outer edges of left and right foot touching the inside of left and right Kettlebell, respectively. Motion: • Keeping arms at your sides, and maintaining a straight spine, sit back into squat as though sitting

photography by Brian Fitzsimmons performed by Courtney Carlisle at Of the Lion Fitness

back into a chair. • Grip one Kettlebell in each hand and lift straight up to standing. Shoulders stay back and down. Arms are down at sides. • Take a few nice and controlled steps forward, maintaining shoulder alignment and fighting the urge to drop one shoulder or the other forward. • Reverse process, taking controlled steps back. • Squat and release Kettlebells to their starting position on floor.

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Workout

Supine Core Strengthening Twist Why: to enhance core strength What You Need: a flat surface floor

Starting position: • Lie down on back, legs stretched out straight like a pencil. • Stretch arms out at your sides at shoulder height, forming a “T” with your body. Make sure your lower spine, as well as your shoulders, is resting and in contact with the floor. Motion: • With right palm open to the ceiling and left palm facing the ground, use your

core muscles to lift and extend your legs straight up to the sky—forming a 90–degree angle between your lower body and your upper body. • Maintaining contact between your right shoulder and the floor, start to trace your legs across the ceiling and down toward your left side body, stopping when your right shoulder starts to lift up off the ground. There should be no movement in the upper body. • Bring your legs back to center,

engaging your core muscles to keep them strong, straight, and extended. • Reverse the process, flipping your left palm open to the ceiling and right palm toward the ground. Start to trace your legs across the ceiling and down toward your right side body, stopping when your left shoulder starts to lift up off the ground. • Return to center.

Metabolic Blast

Why: work rotary stability by disassociating the upper and lower body What You Need: agility ladder; low weight medicine ball Starting position: • Stand at start of agility ladder with shoulders, hips, and feet facing forward; biceps should be down at sides; palms face up as though serving a platter; low-weight medicine ball is held out at chest height.

Motion: • Keeping shoulders squared and facing forward, activate core muscles (instead of shoulders) to turn lower body. • Maintain a good pace as you make a 90– degree turn with your lower body, the left foot landing in the agility ladder as you move toward the left side of the room.

• After reaching the end of agility ladder, reverse the process, making a 90– degree turn with your lower body, this time with the right foot landing in the agility ladder as you move back toward the right side of the room.

Want a guided look at these movements? 92 • au sti nfItm agazi ne. c om • 02 .2 015

For a more detailed look in action, check out the workout video on austinfitmagazine.com/Videos/

ALAMO HALF

• ALAMO 10,000

Start with a musket blast!

• ALAMO 5K •

Finish inside the Alamodome!

Great Race Routes Over four miles of the Alamo Half route will pass through Fort Sam Houston!

H-E-BUDDY KIDS CLASSIC

February 21 and 22, 2015

Alamo Health & Fitness Expo Live Music Cool Finisher's Medals Passionate Volunteers

For info and to register: alamorunfest.com Primary Beneficiary:

Associate Beneficiaries: