With a delicious cup of coffee in hand on this, the second only rainy day in Los Angeles, this LAX Coastal writer says hello!
If you’ve ever visited our wonderful space, then you’ve witnessed firsthand that we are a pretty healthy office. Aside from the occasional donut (or maybe a little bit more than just occasional…), your local chamber staff is a fan of fitness and a healthy lifestyle. Our very own fearless leader, Christina, often runs 3 miles before she coming into work, Chamberlain frequents a local gym, Kirby and I train martial arts together, and our coworkers and members are active as well! It comes as no surprise when a few of us gather in an unused space and do a round of squats or pushups—these small bursts of activity give us a healthy rush of blood and energy and then it’s back to productivity! In fact, one of the many highlights I have had since joining the wonderful team is holding a two minute side plank (on each side!) with our fabulous Chairman of the Board, Kristen Lonner of Burns & Bouchard.
Holding 2-minute side planks… Harder than we expected!
Although all of this sounds awesome (and it really is), sometimes being healthy is difficult. With daily challenges, packed schedules, and attempts at keeping a work/life balance, is it even possible to make time for personal fitness?
A few weeks ago we asked Chamber member and fitness extraordinaire, Jeff Blair of Jeff Blair Fitness, this exact question, and he joined us for a Lunch N Learn presentation aimed at fitness for the busy professional. Through tips, tricks, stretches, and exercises, Jeff taught us how to lose weight and build strength in your lunch break; no equipment needed, but no excuses accepted!
Are you faced with the same fitness challenges we are? Did you miss Jeff’s (co)working out presentation? Here are some of his tips, mixed in with a few of our own, to help get you started. And if you need a little more motivation, feel free to drop by our office to declare a pushup competition.
Jeff Blair of Jeff Blair Fitness
COASTAL (CO)WORKING OUT TIPS
Perspective. Your approach to changing your lifestyle can be very important. How many times have you wanted to start a healthy habit and said, “I’ll start tomorrow?” Or, my personal favorite, “I’ll start Monday?” (because somehow Monday is a clean slate…) As Jeff said, “healthy habits aren’t a light switch, they’re an evolution.” Start off small. Give yourself realistic goals. Hold yourself accountable, but don’t beat yourself up if you fall behind now and then. When you change your perspective from “I need to lose twenty pounds” to “I’m going to take the stairs instead of the elevator,” you’ll be surprised at how quickly you’ll start seeing progress. Little by little, you’ll get there!
Walk. Your local chamber is located in the amazing community of Westchester, where everything you need is within walking distance and the views along the way are spectacular, so it’s very easy for us to get up and move! A great tip Jeff gave us is to use 20 minutes of your lunch time walking. Not only is this a great fitness tip, it’s also a great way to de-stress and clear your head, so you’ll be more productive when you make it back to the office.
Water. You hear it all the time, right? Drink. More. Water. Drinking water is healthy for many reasons: it keeps your body hydrated (trust us, the effects of dehydration are not pretty), helps you lose weight, lessens joint pain, prevents headaches, and gives your skin a healthy glow. Ditch the fifth cup of coffee, pass by that energy drink, and reach for a glass of water!
Snack healthy. Although our Honest Bar has small goodies to satisfy your sweet, we also have an assortment of healthy snacks. And no, snacking healthy doesn’t just mean eating celery sticks (although they are delicious), it just means thinking a little but more about your options. From apples to nuts to protein shakes, find what you think is delicious and reach for that instead of your fourth donut (right, Kirby?).
Protein. Protein is your friend. Not only is protein delicious, but it is also faster at telling your system you are full and, because it takes longer to digest, helps burn off a few extra calories in the process. Thank you, Jeff, for this awesome tip!
Time. LAX Coastal and LAX Coworking are both examples of how you can squeeze activity into your work day. Be flexible. I’m one of the people who enjoys working out in the morning because I feel like I have a better attitude for the rest of the day, but if that’s not your style you can incorporate workouts anywhere into your daily routine. Do squats when you’re brushing your teeth, calf raises when you’re on a phone call, or pushups while you’re waiting for your shower to heat up. Whatever you want to do, whenever you can do it, make it work!
One-Handed Pushups. Okay, maybe not really. We can’t all be the amazing Jeff… But that doesn’t mean you can’t try! (See the video below as an example)
Looking for more? Try out some of these exercises that don’t involve anything more than your body, but can build muscle just the same! They’re definitely a few of the favorites of this office.
Push-ups
Lunges
Plank
Squats
Feeling ambitious? Pistol squats!
Good luck everyone! That was a great workout, and now you deserve a rest (and a weekend).
Jeff Blair and proud LAX Coworker, Angela Chen, resting after a successful workout!
Staying Healthy – Coastal Style!
With a delicious cup of coffee in hand on this, the second only rainy day in Los Angeles, this LAX Coastal writer says hello!
If you’ve ever visited our wonderful space, then you’ve witnessed firsthand that we are a pretty healthy office. Aside from the occasional donut (or maybe a little bit more than just occasional…), your local chamber staff is a fan of fitness and a healthy lifestyle. Our very own fearless leader, Christina, often runs 3 miles before she coming into work, Chamberlain frequents a local gym, Kirby and I train martial arts together, and our coworkers and members are active as well! It comes as no surprise when a few of us gather in an unused space and do a round of squats or pushups—these small bursts of activity give us a healthy rush of blood and energy and then it’s back to productivity! In fact, one of the many highlights I have had since joining the wonderful team is holding a two minute side plank (on each side!) with our fabulous Chairman of the Board, Kristen Lonner of Burns & Bouchard.
Although all of this sounds awesome (and it really is), sometimes being healthy is difficult. With daily challenges, packed schedules, and attempts at keeping a work/life balance, is it even possible to make time for personal fitness?
A few weeks ago we asked Chamber member and fitness extraordinaire, Jeff Blair of Jeff Blair Fitness, this exact question, and he joined us for a Lunch N Learn presentation aimed at fitness for the busy professional. Through tips, tricks, stretches, and exercises, Jeff taught us how to lose weight and build strength in your lunch break; no equipment needed, but no excuses accepted!
Are you faced with the same fitness challenges we are? Did you miss Jeff’s (co)working out presentation? Here are some of his tips, mixed in with a few of our own, to help get you started. And if you need a little more motivation, feel free to drop by our office to declare a pushup competition.
COASTAL (CO)WORKING OUT TIPS
Perspective. Your approach to changing your lifestyle can be very important. How many times have you wanted to start a healthy habit and said, “I’ll start tomorrow?” Or, my personal favorite, “I’ll start Monday?” (because somehow Monday is a clean slate…) As Jeff said, “healthy habits aren’t a light switch, they’re an evolution.” Start off small. Give yourself realistic goals. Hold yourself accountable, but don’t beat yourself up if you fall behind now and then. When you change your perspective from “I need to lose twenty pounds” to “I’m going to take the stairs instead of the elevator,” you’ll be surprised at how quickly you’ll start seeing progress. Little by little, you’ll get there!
Walk. Your local chamber is located in the amazing community of Westchester, where everything you need is within walking distance and the views along the way are spectacular, so it’s very easy for us to get up and move! A great tip Jeff gave us is to use 20 minutes of your lunch time walking. Not only is this a great fitness tip, it’s also a great way to de-stress and clear your head, so you’ll be more productive when you make it back to the office.
Water. You hear it all the time, right? Drink. More. Water. Drinking water is healthy for many reasons: it keeps your body hydrated (trust us, the effects of dehydration are not pretty), helps you lose weight, lessens joint pain, prevents headaches, and gives your skin a healthy glow. Ditch the fifth cup of coffee, pass by that energy drink, and reach for a glass of water!
Snack healthy. Although our Honest Bar has small goodies to satisfy your sweet, we also have an assortment of healthy snacks. And no, snacking healthy doesn’t just mean eating celery sticks (although they are delicious), it just means thinking a little but more about your options. From apples to nuts to protein shakes, find what you think is delicious and reach for that instead of your fourth donut (right, Kirby?).
Protein. Protein is your friend. Not only is protein delicious, but it is also faster at telling your system you are full and, because it takes longer to digest, helps burn off a few extra calories in the process. Thank you, Jeff, for this awesome tip!
Time. LAX Coastal and LAX Coworking are both examples of how you can squeeze activity into your work day. Be flexible. I’m one of the people who enjoys working out in the morning because I feel like I have a better attitude for the rest of the day, but if that’s not your style you can incorporate workouts anywhere into your daily routine. Do squats when you’re brushing your teeth, calf raises when you’re on a phone call, or pushups while you’re waiting for your shower to heat up. Whatever you want to do, whenever you can do it, make it work!
One-Handed Pushups. Okay, maybe not really. We can’t all be the amazing Jeff… But that doesn’t mean you can’t try! (See the video below as an example)
Looking for more? Try out some of these exercises that don’t involve anything more than your body, but can build muscle just the same! They’re definitely a few of the favorites of this office.
Good luck everyone! That was a great workout, and now you deserve a rest (and a weekend).
Related Posts