A happy home = A healthy home

Today I'm going to write a little off topic, but very important advice to any married couple (or too be married couple)...
A little advice I was given long ago was "A happy home equals a healthy home".

Here is a very quick explanation of some biochemistry...There is a chemical that is naturally produced in our bodies called Cortisol. Cortisol, for the most part, is produced from stress. Too much stress raises cortisol levels quite a bit and suppresses the immune system.  Too much Cortisol in the body, eventually results in a higher amount of belly fat that is near-to-impossible to lose with exercise.  Therefore, bottom line, is less stress equals a healthier and sexier looking body. So, husbands and wives out there, work on reducing stress in your marriage and your daily life with your spouse and you instantly will look sexier. ;)
My husband and I have been so blessed with our marriage.  We both have business that operate out of our home (for the most part) and we get to spend countless hours sitting next to each other in the office, brainstorming ways to improve our businesses.   We both have entrepenurial mindsets, we both are very slow to anger, we communicate great with each other, and we have fun "at work" on a daily basis. Very little stress enters our marriage and I wish that upon all marriages.  Tell yourself everyday...."pick and choose your battles"...you will be amazed how many things you "argued" about in the past, will not even be verbalized or thought of.  Focus on communicating only positive thoughts and your life will instantly be more enjoyable and you and your spouse will instantly be sexier looking to each other.
I love my husband, Dave Kaminski, and I support all of his businesses: Professional Window Cleaning, Pine Country Window Cleaning, Sedona Window Cleaning, & Terminator Marketing.

Wishing everyone a low Cortisol level body and a super happy marriage!
Marilyn

The scary thought of how to pay for my kid's college

I woke up last night from a dream/stressful nightmare more or less....How in the world am I going to pay for my kid's college!! I'm sure there are many parents out there with stressful thoughts on this topic. Well, since I am from the family background and mindset of sports, sports, sports...I instantly think of "how do I do everything I can to ensure my kids get some or all of college paid for through sports". I know this isn't something many parents even have as an option to pay for college, but for those that have kids that play sports, love sports, and have the mindset to succeed in sports...listen up....I did some research: There are roughly 138,000 athletic scholarships available for Division I and Division II sports annually. Sounds like a lot, but it's really not. For instance, more than 1 million boys play high school football, and about 19,500 football scholarships available. Nearly 603,000 girls compete in track and field in high school, but only about 4,500 scholarships offered. Plus Most scholarships are split among multiple players and substituted with other financial means, such as academic scholarships, grants, work study, etc. The NCAA dictates how many athletic scholarships each school and each sport can offer. To squeeze out the maximum benefit, coaches routinely split up these financial scholarships among multiple players. For instance, a Division I soccer coach is allowed up to 10 scholarships, but he or she can divide out this money into partial scholarships and take advantage of getting more athletes on their campuses. Some schools will pair up an athletic scholarship with an academic scholarship too, so grades are just as important as athletic skills. And here is another interesting fact: Scholarships are not guaranteed year after year. If a child receives a sports scholarship, you can not assume they will get that funding for all four years of college. Athletic scholarships must be renewed each year, therefore an athlete that doesn't meet the coaches expectations year after year can be cut from funding. Also, you have to keep in mind that if a college scholarship athlete sustains a serious injury, it could result in a loss of the scholarship money. So, with this information I researched, I pray and hope that I will be a parent that will be able to keep focused on doing whatever possible to bless my children with excellent grades, superior athleticism (with the help of some great sports performance coaches and sports coaches), and ensure I am focused on injury prevention to the best of my abilities. Being that I have worked in the sports performance for over 10 years, I have seen many many athletes that had so much potential for college athletic scholarships go to college without any funding. I have also seen some great, hard-working, determined athletes get full rides to excellent colleges. So, parents, don't be discouraged, be encouraged and do your research. Find a sports performance coach, athletic trainer, nutritionist, physical therapist, etc and be sure to optimize their knowledge and expertise with your child starting at a young age. Do not overlook small injuries throughout playing youth and high school sports. Be sure to get those injuries properly taken care of. If you are serious about a college scholarship, be sure to hire a knowledgeable sports performance coach to work with your athlete starting as young as age 10. They can assess an athlete and determine exactly what exercises needed to be incorporated to improve a child's athleticism by leaps and bounds, as well as significantly reduce the chances for injuries. If you are a parent or athlete reading this blog in or near Scottsdale, Arizona please contact Efficient Movement and schedule a total-body athletic assessment immediately to know how to maximize the athletic potential you have. Let me help you and your child get a athletic scholarship! www.EfficientMovement.com Wishing every athlete success in sports & academics! Marilyn

Gluten Free Diet highly suggested for youth athletes

I have now learned first-hand the complexity in creating meals that are Gluten-Free. I have had to go on a restricted diet (gluten-free & dairy-free) due to the colicky symptoms in my 7 week old baby boy. I have now been gluten free for a week. My energy level has skyrocketed. This has made me really think about the importance for athletes to eat gluten-free, or at least limit  the amount of gluten, in their meals.  Here are some excellent gluten-free, high-protein, meals I recommend for youth athletes to eat:

1) eggs, avocado, brown rice tortilla 

2) steak fajita with avocado wrapped in a corn tortilla 

3) grilled chicken, gluten-free pasta, Italian dressing

4) pork chop, avocado, greens salad with 

Lemon juice and olive oil 

5) fresh shaved lunch meat wrapped in lettuce

I hope these gluten-free meal ideas get shared with parents of youth athletes. And most importantly, that athletes and parents start to really think about at least limiting gluten in your meals!!

To learn more about improving athleticism in youth athletes in Scottsdale, Arizona contact us at Efficient Movement www.EfficientMovement.com.

In health & happiness,

Marilyn (Hintz) Kaminski, MS, ATC/L, CSCS