The key to achieving what you want

Perseverance is golden. If you've followed the winter Olympics in Sochi and watched the men's figure skating event, you may have witnessed a dramatic moment involving one of the U.S. skaters.

Jeremy Abbott, the 2014 U.S. Champion, took a very painful spill on his opening jump in the short program. The mistake launched him forward, throwing him to the ice on his hip and for a moment, it appeared like he might not be able to continue. When skaters fall they're conditioned to get up immediately. When he didn't, it was obvious he was in a lot of pain.

In more ways than one. Can you imagine what would have initially gone through his head? What would any of us have thought? Woe is me, what am I going to do now, etc. But he collected himself and got up.

He's criticized for crumbling under pressure but stood up to perform brilliantly for the remaining time on the clock. Having missed so much time, his choreography was initially out of sync but he completed all of his elements and finished with the music. Asked for comment, he said to ABC News "I wasn't going to let it go. I was like, 'Not this time.' My personal story has always been about perseverance and always getting up when I fall," said Abbott. "Maybe I'm not Olympic champion, but I can teach the world about that." (Quote via abcnews.go.com, By GILLIAN MOHNEY via Good Morning America)

 An Olympic Gold Medal is surely an achievement, but one of the single most important things to live with and strive for, is perseverance. It separates the onlookers in life from the heroes. With it, you can make a difference. Look to any grass roots effort for social change, weight loss story, comeback from injury, a business built from nothing... and you will see evidence of perseverance.

Whether I am training someone for sport, or a senior or active older adult looking to increase mobility, or someone who wants to lose weight and be more fit.... perseverance is a big part of it. Moxie means force of character, determination, or nerve. To work through the ups and downs on the way to any goal, to go through the grit and come out shining, is to have moxie. Do you have moxie? Be an athlete in your own life.

A Growing Trend in Exercise -- Hooping

Every day people do it. The First Lady does it. Overweight people do it and shrink themselves, changing their lives for the better. Adults do it. People who couldn't do it as kids.... they do it.

What is it? It's hooping. As exercise. As fun. As play. As something to do while watching TV, sending email, thinking, or getting lost in the moment. And it's spreading. You're going to be surprised. Everyone can learn to hoop, when given a size that fits and instruction that works. Try it and be the first to tell your friends.

Proof of its rise and accessibility is everywhere. See a recent New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/fashion/hula-hooping-is-a-trend-thats-getting-around.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0

It's fun, it's aerobic

Veteran hula-hoopers have long stood by its aerobic virtues. “A lot of people are interested in hooping for its health benefits, which might get them hooked, but it’s also such a fun way to do cardio,” said Bex Burton, a hula hoop instructor who founded Sense of Motion, a Brooklyn-based company that teaches hula-hooping, Pilates and yoga.

 It's not about being perfect

“One of my constant quotes in class is if you’re giggling, you’re doing it correctly,” Mr. Pildes said. “It’s not about how graceful you are, or what trick you can do. It’s about finding the joy in your workout.”

What do you have to lose? Don't wait. Classes are here. I teach in the Farmington area at Dancing Feats. New single-day workshops in December on Wednesday nights, 7:30pm. Details coming soon. In the meantime, you can create a class of your own at the above link. I can also come to your home, or workplace. Message me for specifics on your class.  

How to get what you want

Everything in life involves an amount of risk.

If we want something, it doesn't usually fall into our hands. Sometimes we have to take a step beyond what we think is possible in order to attain it. That puts us into vulnerable and uncomfortable situations. It might be, that someone might see us exercise and sweat and if we're usually in a position of power, it might alarm us to appear weak or on the same level as everyone else. Or maybe we expect perfection of ourselves all of the time and so learning a new skill is unfamiliar and are able to convince ourselves that we can't do it. Or sometimes, we just feel in over our head.

It's all about perception and perspective.

I went to a hooping retreat to expand my hooping horizons, open up and explore hooping from a personal view rather than a professional one. I enjoy the outdoors, love to hike and go on trails, etc. I camp but I've always camped where there are brick and wood shower facilities with electricity and full plumbing. Before the retreat I tried to find out more details about the camping and what my environment was going to be like, and didn't get very detailed answers. I resolved to just go with the flow, because that seemed to be in the spirit of the event.

When I arrived, I saw that it was indeed rustic, the showers were co-ed and in a tent structure with very creative hose design. I was dependent upon the event organizers for food and water since it was provided. I was at the mercy of the weather. I was the "new kid" who had never been to a hooping retreat. I saw hoopers who seem natural born dancers and so engaged with their body to the point of letting a lot of it show. I don't hide in sweats, I allow my fitness to show, but some take it to the next level. First impression: OMG.

And so, I was vulnerable. As the weekend continued though, I allowed my experiences to open me, to guide me in a new growth. That is how you get what you want. You need to reach for it. Take it, don't wait for it to come to you. It is not easy or comfortable. I'm here to help you through that.

As a trainer and hoop instructor, I often hear various explanations for the lack of action toward what people want:

"Oh I can't hoop. I could never as a kid."  (Did you try first before making that judgement? Today?)

"I don't know why I ate this! I feel so bad for eating this." (There is no good or no bad, just your next action in the direction that achieves what you want. And if you haven't finished eating the "bad" thing, you can stop -- it's ok.)

"I don't have time to exercise." (Do you watch any TV? You have time to exercise.)

"I can't afford a membership/classes/training." (Do you eat out multiple times during the week or get a daily coffee? It all adds up. Skipping it and preparing meals from home not only saves you money to put toward fitness, it also cuts back on restaurant calories. And park walks are free...)

Quite often, we're the ones in the way of getting what we want. There are many reasons why your plan may be on pause, this is by no means a complete list -- rather by popular example. It's a start to the dialogue though, and when I meet clients for the first time we talk through what is holding them back. No judgement, just encouragement. Release, let go of the "I can'ts" and "I don'ts" and allow yourself to "see where this goes".

You'll probably find yourself on the path to getting what you want.

Personal Hoop Classes now available - It's all about you

I am pleased to draw upon my experience as a personal trainer and offer the hoop instruction in a personalized format. In so many aspects of our lives, we are asked to conform to a schedule or format that's already set for us and it's not always the best fit. Sometimes, it doesn't fit at all.

I want to say, it doesn't have to be that way.

For some people, trying something new may be embarrassing. Feeling silly among friends is one thing, but strangers? Not everyone makes fast friends. I walked out of a step class early in my workout days, because I couldn't follow the directional changes on and off the step. No one came to my aid and the instructor was oblivious in the large class. Among all of those strangers, I couldn't have felt more alone.

It doesn't have to be that way.

I'm offering small hoop groups that you create, with your own friends and family... or coworkers you're close to. Fun and silliness among familiar faces. I don't let students suffer in silence. If there is a struggle, I'm right there to help and offer a solution. No one is going to leave class without achieving some success among the skills. If you don't have a circle of friends or need more privacy, private and semi-private hoop lessons are available. In either case, we work together to choose a day of the week, the time, and even location. Travel charges may apply, but I will visit outside my general area, too. Choose the length of your series, and class format, and you've built yourself a custom class.

The benefit to being a group leader is discounted class tuition, or your very own private lesson where the whole hour is all about you. How often can we claim an hour for ourselves???

By doing so, you've taken a step for yourself toward fun, fitness and health. How's that for charting your own destiny?

Visit my hoop class page here.

Summertime, and the people go hooping

If you've been thinking about it, now is the time! Hoop classes starting up June 19 in downtown Farmington. Registration info here and online payment and class descriptions are found on the classes page here.

Welcome back to those who have discovered the joy of hooping already, and a warm welcome to people experiencing for the first time how great it is to play like a kid again, and get fit in the process!

Lighting the way

LED hooping lights up your workout in a way machines can't.

The news on hooping continues to be very positive in terms of weight loss results and exercise compliance. It's pretty simple. If it's fun and you enjoy it, you'll do it. The more you do it, the more active you are, the more weight you can lose. In its place, you gain a new perspective on yourself.

If you want to try it, or if you're thinking about starting an exercise program, today is always the best choice. By putting it off, something likely gets in the way. There's a simple message in the iconic sportswear slogan: Just do it. They're so right.

Be part of your hooping community. Participate in classes at your studios and community centers and join "jams" in local parks. Hooping is very much a growing, grass roots-type movement. Nurture it, help it to grow and it will pay you back in mind, body and spirit. Light the way for others to join you!

A fellow instructor and I will be lighting the stage on May 19 (2pm Mercy High School, Farmington Hills) with our hoopdance number in Positive Attitude Dance Academy's spring recital. Come out and see our illuminated hoops in motion... fueled by our abdominals, quads, lats, deltoids, etc.

I will be teaching a sampler class on Friday May 11 from 7:30-9pm. There will be a 30 minute session on waist hooping basics which will give participants time to practice the movement before we incorporate it into a "Fit" segment for 30 minutes. HoopnoticaFit uses traditional cardio class cuing and bodyweight movements in tandem with the hoop to create a fun workout that's customizable for many fitness levels. The final 30 minutes will be spent introducing students to the first moves of hoopdance, known as HoopnoticaFlow. The elements are skills to practice and master, and then put together in one movement to the next, creating a flow and dance... and ultimately reshaping your body while the minutes and hours tick away, unnoticed. This is why so many people get hooked on hooping and become obsessed "hoopers". It's a good obsession.

I am teaching the class for CC Plus dance, fun and fitness based in Mt. Clemens. The class will be at their new studio, CC Plus @ The Center. For more information go to http://www.ccplusdance.com/index.html.

Meanwhile, follow this blog for updates and additions to Moxie's hooping class schedule and if you want to get started right away, private lessons are available.

You are your vehicle

How are you fueling your body? You love your car, or you like it, or maybe you simply need it to get from point A to point B. Same as your body, correct? Would you put sludge in your gas tank, harming your vehicle and causing it to not run properly or eventually break down? You wouldn't? Does that mean you take better care of a car than you do yourself?

You are your vehicle. What if you consumed less butter, refined sugars and flour, and saturated fats (in butter, cheese, red meat)... and put more fiber, fruit, vegetables and grains into your gas tank. Don't be confused by memories of "Grandma's natural cooking". Sure they didn't have as many additives in food back then, but we know so much more now about what saturated fat does to the body. Clogged arteries begin in childhood. Just because a child needs energy doesn't mean it's safe to eat a lot of saturated fat and red meat. Everyone needs energy, and avoidance of saturated fat is important at any age. Think of it this way. Poison ivy is "natural", but you wouldn't eat that, would you?

Something else to ponder. Who makes your orange juice? An orange, or a soft drink company?

It's March and we're past the promises of a better year. All of those resolutions made in January typically lose their shine by this point. However it's never too late to join a new fitness class, learn a new skill, or take some advice that current research suggests. Small changes over the course of a year can add up to improved health and pounds lost. 

You will look back and be surprised, and you will have discovered what the rest of us already know: that you can do it.

The decision that changed her life

Jen Moore -- Hoopnotica Master Trainer, Rochester, NY

One of my fellow Hoopnotica-certified instructors (now Master Trainer) is a great example of how hooping can help you to lose weight and reshape your body and in effect, reshape your life. She lost over 40 pounds in her first 3 months of learning to hoop with the Hoopnotica DVDs. During her weight loss she committed herself to the teacher training program so she could share hooping with others. Overall, she lost 140 pounds. Her husband lost over 100 pounds. Hooping! So true. They both teach, their young daughter hoops, and they have a successful business. They are setting a beautiful example for their children, especially when childhood obesity is such a concern. I am hoping the Moore family will begin to represent normal FIT America, rather than being an exception. I share the link to her story with you because it fits with the Moxie Personal Training message that anything is possible when you set your mind and body to do it! To believe in the power of that choice to change your life today. She shares a great story with us but the pictures alone say a lot. This is what hooping can do for you. Or anything that you do with great frequency. Hooping is effective because it's not your traditional grunt workout, so it's more enjoyable for more people, for longer periods of time, more frequently. That frequency is going to get you results. On top of frequency, you have the intensity which can be controlled with your hooping speed and types of moves, and duration.... round and round the hoop goes, nobody knows where the time goes....

While I don't have the weight loss story in common with Jen, I had my own epiphany with the hoop. My core business is personal training -- hard work like treadmills and weight lifting -- but I liked how group exercise instructors can motivate whole rooms of people to move. In a culture of quick food and conveniences, there are a lot of people who need encouragement to move. I was pondering how I could reach larger groups of people, when I fell into the hoop in April of 2010 after trying the Hoopnotica travel hoop at my local Lucy store. That May, after just 3 classes with my instructor Shavonne, I attended a teacher training among people who looked like veterans in the hoop, doing things my instructor could do. I was asked to practice teach a move in front of the group and despite my newness, I got up and did it. I passed the exam and throughout the summer and fall I practiced and improved my hooping skills, continuing to go to weekly hooping class, which was so fun! In December 2010, I received my teacher certificate for Level 1 and began teaching in 2011! I couldn't hoop as a kid. I'm not a comfortable dancer outside of the hoop. But with it, I am transformed. I can hoop, you can hoop. Just as Jen Moore built up her community of hoopers in her area of New York and is changing lives and having fun, it is my goal to have a similar effect here in Metro Detroit. Hooping is accessible, it is fun, it is affordable, it is here, and I am so excited to share it with my community.

Read about Jen here:
The decision that changed her life part 1

The decision that changed her life part 2