Marion Freijsen » Excercises

5 Principles of Healthy Living Assessment

Marion — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:00:25 +0000

Courtesy of Dr Brad Jacobs (bradlyjacobs@gmail.com), I am able to present you here with a great questionnaire that will give you an insight into your HEALTH! Take 5 minutes out of your busy busy life and score the questions below – then you can devote a little time over the busy holidays coming up on YOU and improving that score ... Read More

Wheel of Energy

Marion — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:45:55 +0000

I have to share this with you all – another great example of how sports is a way of uniting strangers, of building new relationships, of helping each other and do things that you never dreamt were possible.

In this case, a great initiative has just launched in Amsterdam, right outside Schiphol airport – The Wheel of Energy. A massive wheel that will turn for 365 days non-stop powered by up to 3 runners at a time.

Originated by Richard Botram, marathon runner and man ... Read More

Hurdling…through the heart of San Francisco

Marion — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 04:27:27 +0000

I went of to a meeting today – which turned out to be one heck of an excercise.

The biggest news to come out of San Francisco today was not about the elections. Oh no, you are sadly mistaken if you believe that that got more then 1% of the attention of the crowds here today. No – the whole day, in fact the whole TOWN was focused on celebrating the San Francisco Giants World Championship win.

A massive parade took place and of course, my meeting was not only ... Read More

Simple and very effective

Marion — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 01:10:00 +0000

I like these new tools that you find now and again. Particularly if they are very simple and can work for anyone.

Here’s one I just discovered – a combination between a Bosu ball (one of those half balls on a platform) and a Step (you should all know what that is, even you only know the one your mother uses to grab something from the top shelf).

It’s called a Step 360 Pro and not cheap at US$150 but great to work into your workouts both for cardio and strength ... Read More

Safe Riding?

Marion — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 08:38:02 +0000

Yesterday I experienced once again how you never know what will happen when riding. As I was happily out mountainbiking and enjoying the great weather, a “normal person” came the other way, tried to move to the side of the path as my buddy and I came towards her, and slid off the mossy side of the path, she fell and her bike skidded across the path blocking it. Trying to avoid it I thought I had managed to pass, but unfortunately the sliding bike hit my rear tyre and blocked ... Read More

How to freeze an athlete…

Marion — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 22:34:47 +0000

It’s a simple ingredient to any training – ICE. We have all been there, you train hard, you go for it as much as you can and then you have to hurry up, get changed and go to work (or something). The next day, you wonder why your body is in agony and remember in misery that you didn’t cool down sufficiently after your training, and therefore all the waste produce of the hard training is still rumbling around your body and stiffening up those muscles. As you robotically try ... Read More

Massage – Shiatsu

Marion — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 15:44:28 +0000

In my massage series, here’s the second of 14 types…Shiatsu.

I had never had a Shiatsu massage myself as I tend to stick to Deep Tissue Massages to relieve strains and release kinks in my muscles. But a friend had been talking about it, so finally I decided to experience this for myself. It was a true revelation.

Shiatsu ((指圧 Japanese stemming from shi, meaning finger, and atsu, meaning pressure) is performed by a therapist ... Read More

The Travelling Warrior

Marion — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 13:06:03 +0000

Apart from the tips on how to eat when you are totally busy travelling around, be it for holiday or pleasure – it is obviously harder for us weak-willed individuals to work out whilst we are on the road. So here’s some ideas of things you CAN easily do, just send spouse and kids off to the buffet, whilst you buff your body!

In a hotel:

You really can do a ton of different exercises in a hotel, here’s a favourite selection of mine…find a radiostation you ... Read More

Listen to your body

Marion — Mon, 10 May 2010 16:54:14 +0000

This week a close friend of mine ended up in hospital. Hospital staff called it a miracle he came through the door upright, usually people with his issue would have been carried through! Although he had needed a little push to get him to go, he went to the doctor after not feeling great for a while and will live a healthy life because he listened to his body…

I have always believed that at the end of the day – you know your own body best. Or at least, you should know it ... Read More

on the right path?

Marion — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 02:36:32 +0000

Life is all about ups- and downs. Maintaining a healthy body and healthy mind is no different!

This weekend, I was trying out some fitness wear. When showing my choices to my patient shopping friend, the sales woman said to him “I hope I will look like her when I am as old as she is”…

I think I’ll take that as a compliment…. ... Read More

Zurich2Venice

Marion — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:26:34 +0000

So from time to time, I am inspired to write not just about my own love of sports and keeping fit and healthy, but about the journey someone else takes.

I have this great friend, Roddy, that when we used to work together, would always be on the verge of starting a fitness regime. We’d travel around Europe together on business and he would “maybe” join me in the gym in the morning, or “almost” go on a run with me at 5am..but never quite make it. So we joked ... Read More

Swimming

Marion — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 15:35:27 +0000

As a (former) triathlete, swimming is 30% of the race. Not so much in time, but definitely in effort I never knew how to do freestyle, and started out doing my triathlons swimming my 1500 metres or even 3km doing breaststroke instead of freestyle. But although I was a fast breast-stroker, I realised soon enough that I simply would never improve my speed out of the water until I ... Read More

Running Schedule

Marion — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 10:55:27 +0000

It’s Spring… finally! Spring means you wanna get outside again, (well if it isn’t raining too much

Spring also means that you start looking at that bathing suit or trunks and wonder how it’s going to look this year. Or rather more pertinently – how YOU are going to look. So Spring is the time a lot of people try and make good on those resolutions ... Read More

TRX training

Marion — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:30:54 +0000

In the last year, I have been introduced by my PT Nando to TRX training. Yesterday I continued on the learning path with Chris Dovale at Equinox San Francisco.

TRX training is a great way or working out and can literally be carried with you anywhere. I just love it. Instead of using all sorts of machines, or even dumbbells/weights, it uses your own bodyweight. The core system consists of two pairs of straps, hooked at an elevated level. That means, you can hook it over a door, a ring ... Read More

Wundachair

Marion — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 09:43:17 +0000

No, I didn’t make a spelling mistake- this piece of torture is called the Wundachair. It’s part of the standard Pilates session – and it is really quite amazing.

In sickness….

Marion — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:05:01 +0000

Here I am writing a blog about health… and end up talking about illness. However it’s the natural other side of being healthy and worth spending a few words on. And those words are “don’t let being sick stop you from being healthy!”. What I mean is that too often a slight cold, or even light flu does not mean you have to stop exercising (obviously you need to consider how sick you are! I am only talking about minor illnesses here). As with all things though, you ... Read More

Crosscountry Skiing

Marion — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 16:50:24 +0000

Adding a bit of variety seems to be quite easy at the moment – the winter weather is throwing in all sorts of challenges and obstacles but at the same time – it makes it a great time to do something out of the ordinary. Ofcourse, you can continue your workouts as you did before indoors, but why not make the most of the cold weather (across a lot of the western hemisphere at least) and go out in the snow and on the ice?

Cross-Country skiiing – like many sports really ... Read More

Great set of stretches!

Marion — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:49:27 +0000

Here’s for all of you who didn’t buy into my winter fun suggestions of earlier this week… a nice half an our stretch work-out you can do in the warmth of a fitness centre or even at home.

Start loosening up – just take a couple of deep breaths in, letting your stomach extend as you inhale. Exhale through your mouth.

Do all off the below about 20 times (either side for arm/leg movements) not forcing the pace, but letting it flow ... Read More

Snow fun

Marion — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 10:06:34 +0000

This time of the year offers heaps of new types of entertainment and fitness-ability… due to that one special ingredient: snow.

Snow means you can go skiiing, or cross-country skiing, often at the same time as skating etc. But even without resorting to special sports – it offers so many ways of getting a flush on your cheeks and your heart pumping. Simply taking a walk becomes a different kind of work-out. Don’t be put off by the fact that it is cold, bundle up and ... Read More

Swim training

Marion — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:51:10 +0000

Of all the training sessions you can do, swimming is often overlooked – even by me. I realised suddenly I hadn’t written up any swimsessions yet! Major oversight, for sure. Swimming is great exercise. I once looked at a health magazine that posted pictures of sports men/women of various sports AND at various ages, so like at 20, 40 and 60. The swimmers aged the most graceful of all of the sports displayed by far. They kept a great shape (that nice V-shape) and long, defined limbs. ... Read More