Kim Musikant

On many evenings, you may see some members of our ALF family dragging themselves in, understandably so. They have been beaten up by the stresses and demands of their commute, family, and jobs. Sometimes they arrive wiped out, exhausted, and unable to fathom how they will get through their workout. Welcome to life in New Jersey. Once they start moving, their troubles seem to melt away, their energy level increases, and the stress of the day decreases. Witnessing this transformation is a beautiful thing and makes us so proud! Little successes add up to big ones, and changing our mindset in the process is critical! I know it's our job to inspire you, but lately, the tables have turned, and you have been inspiring us. We appreciate the fun, inspiring stories we have heard over the last few weeks as we have been on this push for goal setting and figuring out our WHY. The other day, a member shared a great story with a group of us. She was referring to the conversation she had with

For most of us, the only time we are aware of our breathing is when we exert ourselves, have a physical or emotional problem, or during the "breathing drills" we do before every workout at ALF.  Although the Central Nervous System controls breathing, the way we breathe is a habit and is considered to be one of our most dysfunctional movement patterns. Breathing also plays a critical role in the quality of how we move. When breathing is normal, posture and stabilization of the spine are easier to maintain. Conversely, when breathing is dysfunctional, it compromises our posture and stability, causing back, neck, and shoulder pain as well as many other health issues.  When posture is jeopardized by faulty breathing patterns, it affects spinal function, which then culminates into improper movement patterns. This combination can result in a perfect storm that creates pain, fatigue, and anxiety.  The muscle we most associate with breathing is the diaphragm. When inha

One of my goals this year is to become a master of time management. I have always used my google calendar pretty efficiently but not as well as I could. I was inconsistent with the reminder alerts, so my mornings went something like this: While still in my PJ's, I would take out my laptop and get to work. I am more creative in the morning, so that's when I get most of my writing done. While absorbed in a project, thinking that I am very productive, distractions would creep in. Maybe it was an email that led to a video that brought me to an advertisement for a tropical island vacation. Then possibly a day-dream of me on the beach ordering an umbrella drink. I look at the clock and realize how late it is, and frantically get ready for work. That story is somewhat embellished to get my point across, but distractions are a thing of the past for me (at least, on paper)! I am committed to being more in control of my mornings and my day! I will accomplish this by only checking

About seven years ago, I was at a party where the hostess was telling what she thought was a funny story about me in front of many people. Her story was the day she witnessed me in my car, screaming and carrying on while stuck in a line of traffic. Time stood still for me as she repeated the story numerous times, giving more details each time as she laughed louder and louder. As I stood there, uncomfortable and embarrassed, many thoughts went through my head: should I defend myself and explain to her how difficult my life was? Should I tell her that I didn't want to be late for my client and be unprofessional because of my excellent work ethic? Should I just laugh along with her and take it in stride? Maybe, I should deny that it was even me! I did none of the above, but instead, I stood there feeling self-conscious and vulnerable. She did not know that I was a sleep-deprived and depressed single mother trying to make ends meat. Although I was divorced for a few years, my ex-hus

I recently attended a workshop in New York City led by Phil Scarito, one of 12 master trainers in the world at StrongFirst, founded by Pavel Tsatsouline. In the world of kettlebells and martial arts, he is, like Madonna, recognized by one name: Pavel. He started the Russian Kettlebell Challenge, an advanced kettlebell training certification, with Dragon Door in 2001. Dragon Door is a website and publishing company catering to general health, weight loss, and fitness. Pavel has written many books and articles, he’s involved in martial arts, and he was the physical trainer for the elite Soviet Special Forces Unit in the 1980s. The physical challenge involved in obtaining a Level 1 certification through StrongFirst is intense, so imagine for a moment the level of strength Phil must possess as a Master Trainer or a trainer who trains trainers. One of the points he made was that being pumped or built or huge doesn’t always equate to being strong. Phil was about 5 foot 4 inches tall a

On the day of our Grand Opening Celebration, my husband and business partner asked me if I was going to be saying a few words that evening. I was annoyed at myself for not preparing something ahead of time but responded to him by saying, “No, I forgot”. I have always been petrified of public speaking and looking back on all of the preparations for the grand opening, addressing the crowd didn’t even enter my mind. Denial perhaps? The land of denial is a powerful place to be but it was time for me to leave the land of unicorns and rainbows to face the truth and face my fears. The issue I have always had with public speaking is that I cannot stand what happens to me beforehand; the nervousness, the gripping fear, and the increased heart rate. This is precisely what happened to me when he merely asked the simple question “Will you be saying a few words tonight sweetheart”? I have purposely avoided this activity my entire life except when I am forced to introduce myself at workshop

Is that your cell phone? Who is calling us in the middle of the night? I turned over in bed to find my husband looking out the window. He said,  "There's a cop at the door." My heart sank, and a flood of adrenaline pumped through my body.  Before I could remember if any of our teenage children had gone out the night before, I was already up the stairs doing a headcount. Everyone was home.  I knew that I could handle any news after that. We went down the stairs and opened the door. "Do you own a business on South Avenue in Garwood?" "Yes," answered Marty. "There is an active fire in the area." "In the area?" He didn't have any other details. Maybe it's Taco Bell, I thought....that stuff is terrible for you anyway. We were in the car within minutes, parked the car, and headed toward the flurry of activity. A woman with a warm smile and calm demeanor asked us if we wanted a cup of coffee. I found myself unable to answer

Marty and I discussed checking out Crunch in Garwood and had some errands to run yesterday, so we decided to put on our workout clothes and pop over after we were done. When we arrived, we stood at the front desk, scanning the room while patiently waiting for someone to acknowledge our existence. In our opinion, if a potential member is not greeted within the first 10 seconds, it is one second too long. We were finally greeted by Jacklyn, a warm, upbeat 25-year-old woman.  Jacklyn's personality made us quickly forget how long we were waiting. "Are you guys being helped?" she asked. We answered appropriately. "Have you guys ever belonged to a gym before?" was the next question. We paused for a moment, looked at each other as if we were dreaming, and finally answered with, "We own a gym." Her confusion quickly turned into empathy when we explained that our brand new gym was destroyed by a fire last Saturday. As she showed us around the facility, she

Twelve years ago my world came crashing down on me.  All of my hopes and dreams for the life I had planned were shattered.  My marriage was over, and I had become a depressed, angry, exhausted mother of three children under the age of seven.  My self-esteem was at an all-time low, and I knew I needed to make some changes. Although I was always physically active, I preferred running outside and exercising in my living room.  I needed a change and some adult interaction, so I joined the Westfield area Y. I took a lot of classes and continued to run, but it wasn't until I hired a fitness coach, who gave me guidance and motivation and started me on a resistance training program, that my fitness began to soar! As my body became stronger, so did my mind.  As a result, my confidence rose, my outlook on life became more positive, and my future seemed more hopeful. My passion for this new found “strong body strong mind” connection was thrilling and I wanted to share it with others. I be

I was out on one of my thinking walks the other day and was reminiscing about a workshop I had attended the weekend before. At this fitness conference, one of the speakers, Martin Rooney  asked us to do what I thought was a ridiculous activity. He wanted this room full of fitness professionals to stand up, jog in place with our hands in the air and sing the theme song from Rocky. I was remembering how annoyed I was when he asked us to do this. After getting up much earlier than I usually do on a Saturday, driving for about an hour in the cold rain, running through the parking lot dodging big puddles of water, and making my way through the crowd to find a seat, I was looking forward to sitting with my coffee in hand and listening to the presentations all day. I had ZERO interest in participating in this foolish activity. I started looking around the room to see if anyone began to follow his instructions and saw a few who were starting to stand up. I thought to myself, “I am g