aerobic – Personal Euphoria: Pilates & Fitness Classes in CT

Where is My Body in Space? Aerial Circus Class

Taking an aerial class has been on my bucket list for a while. This involves two silks hanging from a tall ceiling that you use like Cirque du Soleil would (please don’t think for a second I think I’m ready to join Cirque du Soleil). They refer to it as ‘circus.’

Most of the Personal Euphoria team wasn’t available to attend, but Jeannine and I thought we’d go anyway. After a dynamic warm-up, they got us in the silks. Honestly, I was surprised at how much we could both do. I was a little worried this might wind up like the pole dancing class we once took as a team. None of us could even begin to do the moves. But here, Jeannine and I could actually (with assistance) get into the positions they prepared for us. A big part of that was that they selected moves that were manageable but still made us feel like we were doing something cool—flipping upside down, arching into a backbend like a crescent moon hovered in the air.

I’ve never been able to climb a rope—not in […]

Where is My Body in Space? Aerial Circus ClassMaggie Downie2023-06-29T23:32:12-04:00

How Many Steps A Day?

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

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

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

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

How Many Steps A Day?Maggie Downie2021-11-14T16:40:11-05:00

Exercise & Sleep

For two days after I ran the half marathon, I slept so soundly for a good eight hours. The great sleep I got makes running another half marathon very tempting. But 30-minutes of any aerobic exercise should do the trick. Whenever I am extremely physical, I tend to get great sleep.

And there is research to prove it. According to a study in the journal of Sleep Medicine 20-30 minutes of aerobic exercise will help improve sleep by enabling you to fall asleep faster and stay in a deep sleep longer. One of the reasons they think this happens is that exercise raises the temperature of the body. It can stay raised for four hours, but when it cools off the temperature is usually lower than prior to exercising, which may help in falling asleep.

The benefits of better sleep are huge. The longer you are in a deep sleep the more growth hormones you produce, which helps you to rebuild and heal your body. But for me, I just love the feeling of waking up and feeling refreshed.

Personal Euphoria

Exercise & SleepMaggie Downie2014-08-04T18:02:40-04:00