Great Music: Secret Weapon for Water Workouts

Saturday, February 6, 2010 by Tina Ramser

I was talking with a friend of mine who takes a lot of spin classes. She was talking about how even though she thinks one instructor is far better than another, she chooses the mediocre teacher because her choice in music inspires and motivates her to workout.

I don’t have nearly as much experience as my co-teachers. I have nothing near a degree in body physiology. Yet my students tell me they love my class. Most importantly, they keep showing up. Like religiously.

You know what one of my main weapons is to retaining students? I can offer my students a mean water aerobics mix. One that makes you want to move. One that makes you go, “Oh my gosh – I LOVE this song!”

I also do not overplay my music. I ask for suggestions when creating a new mix. Music truly unifies you with others. In that unification, accountability is created. If you’ve ever been to a concert, you know what I’m talking about: You all fall in love with the music together. Someone else’s smile or singing along to the lyrics has as much importance as your own. So when it comes to falling under the enchantment of a very exciting song during exercise, it becomes very important that you’re working as hard as the person next to you.

A great mix has a little bit of everything. You’ve got slower warm-up songs, nostalgic songs, and songs with a challenging beat per minute (bpm). I’m not so much into the techno stuff with fast bpm (136-140). When I first started teaching, I tried to use this but felt phony. I don’t care for techno.

I’m actually into songs you’ve never thought of working out to. Reggie, which creates a nice slow beat for ab crunches and full-range-of motion movements. The Rolling Stones gets my students to flutter kicking in full aerobic form while Mick Jagger’s voice draws out chorus. The B52’s is high-energy fun.

I do not deny myself and my students the pleasure of music. I heard somewhere you’re supposed to “play to your strengths” and I feel I’m doing just that for myself and my students.  Here’s one of my favorite Playlists on my iPod:

Water Aerobics Mix #2

These Eyes – The Guess Who (60’s)

Run On – Moby (late 90’s)

Love Lockdown – Kayne West (today)

Double Dutch Bus –Frankie Smith (70’s – one of the first rap songs ever!)

Magical Mystery Tour – The Beatles (60’s)

Family Affair – Mary J. Blige (today)

Cosmic Thing – B52’s (80’s)

Bad Girls – Donna Summer (70’s)

Cracklin’ Rose – Neil Diamond (70’s)

Don’t Lie – Black Eyed Peas (today)

Say it Right – Nelly Furtado (today)

Rock With You – Michael Jackson (RIP)

Eye in the Sky –Jonatha Brooke (remark of a 70’s song)

I dare you to download on iTunes and try not to workout to that one.

Revisiting Goal-Making on Squidkid

Wednesday, January 6, 2010 by Tina Ramser

Do you recall the 2009 goals I tasked myself to complete for Squidkid.com? I wanted to seriously increase traffic, possibly start a second blog, and completely restructure my swimming business. Here is how I did:

  • Came about 5,000 under in hits. I tasked myself to achieve 45,000 hits in one year for a total of 60,000 hits here on Squidkid.com. I thought this was a ridiculous amount, so I feel great getting just under 40,000.
  • I didn’t start a second blog. I did, however, take a demanding 6-week online book writing class where I completed an entire book draft to find out if my topic in question was the right new venture for me. I decided that it wasn’t which is the norm: 7 out of 10 entrepreneurs drop their idea upon serious research.
  • I completely restructured my swim business. But I took an estimated 20% loss on total net income due to uncontrollable circumstances. Swimming is a temperature-contingent activity, after all, and at mercy to the weather which didn’t clear up until mid-June.

Boy, sure sounds like I didn’t do too well, doesn’t it? Quite the contrary. I learned a couple great lessons this past year. For example, singular successes matter. We’re always pluralizing our goals. We want to work out more, cook more or write more. This past year I completed a 200-mile foot race and got one swim piece published in Parenting Magazine. Two pretty big items. One can be bigger than two. It’s sometimes called the shotgun approach: aim carefully and pull the trigger when you’re sure you won’t miss. Beats spraying bullets everywhere.

Also, by planning for failure, I came ahead. I knew when I started booking my home private swim lessons I was without the usual safety net a third-party pool gives me (ie. enforcing a policy where I get paid even if the client cancels). I decided I didn’t want to put that expectation on people, so I planned to loose 20% of my business due to cancellations, which I did. I planned for losses but still made more money working less.

Finally, I didn’t waist my time doing something I wasn’t 100% into. I love the topic of personal finance. I’ve been possessed with some powerful ambitions to start a blog or write a book about it, so I took myself seriously and signed up for a class with a seasoned and published author who would knock me and my idea around to see if I would still hang on. What I learned is that I’m not ready to go big until I can handle small. So I picked up a personal finance client, Creditopia.com, and am getting my fix, experience and paycheck writing about financial topics on a regular basis (the pay part would have been much harder to eradicate from running a blog or selling a book).

Failure is an important word and I’m not scared to use it. We tend to look down on its usage or substitute the term for something less harsh in this society. I think if you don’t acknowledge your failures, you’re missing a huge part of how to figure out who you are and what you should be doing in life. How has failure shaped you?

Great Swim Gifts for All Ages & Abilities!

Thursday, December 10, 2009 by Tina Ramser

I cannot believe I haven’t done this post yet: Great Holiday Swim Gifts. I’m asked a lot around pools such things as, Where can my kid buy those great fins you have? What do you use to make your hair stay so healthy around pools? How come your bathing suit has lasted well over a year and still looks great? Well, I got answers and links — or great swim gift ideas — for you.

Speedo “Endurance” suits. If it don’t say endurance, it’s not 50% polyester and 50% PBT, and therefore will fall apart on you sooner than anything else. Any suit with any percentage of lycra or spandex can stretch beyond wearability in as little as a matter of weeks depending on how much you swim. (I think I’d make a great product tester for Outside Magazine where suits are concerned, as I’ve tried them all in terms of brands and material percentages). My co-worker Virginia has one of these and said it has lasted her years.

Rubber swim fins. The majority fins out there available at Target or sports stores are made of plastic and really, really hurt to wear; not to mention fit terribly. You’ll have to order these at Kiefer.com here. Fins offer more than just fun and games: I strongly endorse fins as a way to improve independent swimming as it give a physical (and mental) boost to the surface for kids who cannot quite yet come up for air on their own.

Pantene conditioner. There’s nothing like the smoothness found in a conditioner with pantenes. For around $3.50, you can get one soft mane. I trust a lot of what “Cosmetics Cop” Paula Begoun recommends, and she states one type of Pantene product isn’t different from the rest (ie. buying the “For Thick and Full Hair” label verses “Smooth for Blondes” or something). Also, wet your hair and slap a little of this into it before you go into the pool.

Bumble & Bumble “Sunday” shampoo. You need a good shampoo with chelating agents in it to strip the chlorine off. I don’t follow up with a chelating conditioner because in my experience, it leaves my hair way too squeaky clean and hard to comb. Which is why I recommend pairing it with the pantenes.  Plus, the costs balance themselves out, as this B&B product is like $19. If you want to know more about what chlorine does to your skin and hair, go here.

WaterGym Float Belt. I linked and wrote about this product here, citing this is the only real water aerobics and “mom” pool item  you really need when swimming with your kids or pool exercising. When I know I’ll be swimming in the deep end with a student, I always slap one of these on. You want to be able to last in the water as long as your kids, so for $22, help yourself out and be both safe and fun.

Quick-Dry Chamois. I’m dying to get one of these towels: Wipe yourself off and squeeze the water out. They are a great big green answer (no washing or using the dryer involved) and store better in your bag than a bigger towel. I’ve found when you take greater responsibility for your swim things — like managing your only towel or self-purchased pool toys — one tends to take better care of them.

The Importance of Treading Water

Tuesday, December 1, 2009 by Tina Ramser

I’ve been teaching baby classes for some time now, and while I like to make the curriculum full of bonding and tender approaches and songs and all that, I’ve also been focusing on parental safety more. Meaning I get some shocking looks when I tell my mommies and daddies we’re now going to practice treading in the deep end while holding our babies.

Okay. Back up. I don’t shock them that much. I build up to it. After the units (meaning individual families) have learned back floating techniques and are truly understanding floatation properties, we give a focus to their treading.

Treading is the art of combining “egg beaters” on the lower body/legs and “sculling” with the upper/arms. In this case, treading becomes just lower body movement as parents must use their hands to lightly support a floating child either on their back or tummy down.

To get a good tread started, I’d begin in about four feet of water. I get a lot of parents saying, “It’s too shallow!” You want shallow. Because a good treading position almost looks like you are sitting in a seat. In fact, the longer you extend your legs/body, the quicker you are going to sink.

So in our “sitting” position, begin by rotating your lower legs at the knee joint drawing circles with the heel. You can have righty move in first and lefty follow. You can have them move in together at the same time. Your body mechanics will straighten out the best coordination. But start out moving the feet inward. That equates to going clockwise for lefty and counter-clockwise for rightly (what I’m saying above is that you don’t both have to be at 3 o’clock at the same time).

You might be asking, What am I supposed to be doing with my child here? Hello! I have a baby in my arms! My answer is stop trying to hold your baby so close to you or out of the water. One of the top reasons a baby cries in the water is that mom or dad has held them too close to their body heat and thus refrained from getting the baby used to the actual temp of the water. All of us experience a 50-80% totally body weight loss due to buoyancy, so work with it: Lower your child to their chin and support lightly with your hand under their tummy (or head/back, if they are doing a back float). If you try to lift your child out of the water, you will submerge yourself. So get your baby used to the temp and floating.

The hard part about treading is that it is hard. The good part about treading is that you can get better real fast with a minimum amount of practice. That piece of information should inspire you enough to stick with it. Begin with keeping your feet up for 10 seconds. Then move on to 15. And so on. Look, if you can keep your mouth out of the water and at surface, you are a success.

Treading is great for building defined quads. It is even better for saving lives. You have to ask yourself as a parent, What would I do if I found myself in deep water with my baby? It’s what I ask my units in my baby classes. And that’s why we work on treading in the deep end.

Chlorinated Pools Provide Resistance Against Swine Flu

Monday, November 16, 2009 by Tina Ramser

I have decided to get my holiday shopping done early this year. I like to give useful and homemade gifts, so I thought about creating H1N1 or Swine Flu Care Kits. My little gift bags will contain baterial wipes, vitamins, cold tea, Advil, tissues, and a little card with the web address to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.

As I was reading the CDC site, I came across some interesting information about how adiquately chlorinated pools disinfect afluenza viruses. Here’s what CDC says about the H1N1, pools and chlorine:

  • CDC found several chemical germicides, including chlorine, are effective against human influenza viruses. This is if used in proper concentration for a sufficient length of time, so any public or private spas and pools compiling with OSHER standards.
  • There has never been a documented case of influenza virus infection associated with water exposure. Recreational water that has been treated at CDC recommended disinfectant levels does not likely pose a risk for transmission of influenza viruses.
  • Recent studies have demonstrated that chlorine levels recommended by CDC are adequate to disinfect the flu virus. Although no actual research has been completed  H1N1, it has been conducted on other common strands and CDC says the H1N1 virus would also be similarly disinfected by chlorine.  (Chlorine levels recommended are 1–3 parts per million [ppm or mg/L] for pools and 2–5 ppm for spas).
  • Any influenza virus is destroyed by heat. Specifically 167-212°F [75-100°C]). Warmers the pool or spa, the better. Or steam room.

Of course this doesn’t mean take your sick kid to the pool for healing — or even prevent the H1N1 virus from happening. Just like CDC recommends, stay home for atleast 24-hours if you don’t feel good or suspect you have a virus. It’s just kind of interesting to know the pool is one place where your child can be a little more safe from getting the H1N1 in comparison to other non-chlorinated after school activities!

Back to The Abs Diet: Bad Fats & Carbohydrates

Wednesday, November 4, 2009 by Tina Ramser

I’m back on The Abs Diet, which I first wrote about here. I agree with the author, Men’s Health editor David Zinczenko, that it isn’t fair to call The Abs Diet an actual diet. Because as we know, diets don’t work. They leave you famished, angry and defeated. The Abs Diet food suggestions — which I have outlined here – include tons of generous suggestions. It is easier to remember this diet by the few things you cannot eat simply because you are encouraged to eat so many things and so much of it.

As I revisit this book, I can grasp much deeper about the points the writer is making about the bad stuff, which includes trans fats (or also known as partially hydrogenated vegetable oil), saturated fats, and high fructose corn syrup. Let me share:

  • Trans fat. To understand trans fats, just imagine vegetable oil in a solid form, which essentially is what margarine is. It’s so bad that the food companies have fought for years to keep it off of their labels (it was only in 2003 that the FDA finally made regulations about how it was supposed to be labeled). If 3% of your daily diet is made up of trans fats, you are increasing your chances for heart disease 50 percent. And 3% equals about 7 grams of trans fat, which is like a single order of fries.
  • Saturated fats. These are animal fates, like whole milk and fatty cuts of meat like Rib Eye. These are my weakness, as I have a hard time saying no to triple-cream bries, sour cream or steaks. The sad thing about saturated fats is the first place they are stored in your body — just like the animal they were in before you — is the stomach. They have a powerful staying factor more than any other fats. Of course it is fine to eat fat-free or low fat yogurt, milk and cheese.
  • High fructose corn syrup. A nasty carbohydrate the body cannot process because it doesn’t recognize fructose. Corn syrup isn’t that bad because it has glucose, which the body can break down. You know why 7-11 invented the Big Gulp and then the 32-Ouncer? Because you can drink that much soda or fructose and never feel full for the body doesn’t understand fructose as anything with nutritional value. If a label says sugar or cane sugar, you’re looking at an item that is 50/50 with glucose and fructose. If it’s just a gram or two, don’t worry about it because the body can deal with anything (in small doses — honey and fruit have small doses of fructose). But if HFCS is the first ingredient, dump it.

Just read the back of all packages, cans and containers for fat and ingredient contents. I had to toss out a seemingly harmless container of bar-be-q sauce the other day. I ended up making my own using chopped up onions, garlic, organic ketchup, spices, and honey. It was delicious. For more entries here on The Abs Diet, go to:

Squidkid Answers Your Questions: I’m Failing at the Breast Stroke

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 by Tina Ramser

Do you remember this entry where I answered a regular Squidkid reader’s question about performing the freestyle better? It was a very tailored answer. If you’re visiting for the first time because you want to learn more about doing the freestyle right, you’ll also want to visit here and here.

It has been 3 months now since I got your advice and I am happy to tell you that after consistent effort, I am able to do a complete lap now. I have followed your advice on relaxing as much as possible with a lots of practice on my back. I find myself more relaxed now and also I am able to concentrate on my arms’ movements that propels me forward.

My next attempt is breast-stroke where I am failing quite miserably. Whenever I get my head up for a breath and get my head down again, I go deep inside the water. Not sure whats going wrong.

First of all, congrats are in order if any of you are feeling a bit more comfortable from where you started with freestyle. It’s also a great idea to tackle the other strokes, as they use different muscles in your body and make your workout more interesting = more of a chance you’ll stick with it.

The breast stroke actually takes more strength to perform than the freestyle. This is because you are making deeper, bigger movements with the breast stroke and thus working the water away like a weight. So it makes sense our reader Rahul here would come down hard under the water as he is pulling to the surface very strongly with his arms. We call that velocity or momentum. But you can make the physics work for you.

  • Your hands are your steering wheel. When you do the breast stroke, reach forward with your fingers parallel to the surface and just slightly under water.  If you point or pull down with your hands, you’re going to go — well — down.
  • Breast stroke uses gliding a lot. Many people forget this: The patter for the breast stroke is Reach, Pull, Kick, Glide. That glide part should have you, again, hands/fingers stretched forward and parallel just slightly under the surface with elbows straighten almost squeezing your ears with your face looking down. Savor the glide. Don’t rush to the next Pull.
  • Grab the kickboard and just do the frog kick. Holding the top with arms stretched on the board and chin close to the water, practice this breast stroke kick. I think of it in 3 parts: Knees up, Apart, Together. That “V” your outstretched legs create from Apart to Together is crucial — it is what traps water and propels you forward.
  • Keep body at a slight angle. Too much and the legs will sink and the arms will over-compensate, which could be what is happening here. Head needs to not look up, but rather look forward both above and under water.

I hate to say this, but I have to be honest — the breast stroke either comes very natural to a person or it comes very awkward and hard. This doesn’t mean it isn’t possible — I’ve trained many a body to melt into the breast stroke — it just means you needs to work on morphing your movements into a very graceful blend. That takes time. Begin by staying loose, not tense. Shear will and direction cannot get you there — only time and practice.

6 Reasons to Never Downsize Swimming Time

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 by Tina Ramser

Holy smokes have I been under a time crunch lately! My writing or work-from-home business has seemingly quadrupled as of late with additional work from previous clients (and a new one as well). But this is no excuse to not write about swimming. So I’ve been thinking lately how parents must feel when they are under a financial or time crunch and looking to downsize activities. I’m going to fight for swimming to not be one of them, pointing out all the hidden benefits:

  • Swimming cleans you up. I made this point in my Parenting article. I’m not suggesting the pool is a bathtub as much as I’m suggesting parents take advantage of the free locker room showers and soap products if you have ‘um. Time and money (on water and soap bills) is saved for sure.
  • Swimming gets your kid one step closer to bed. I often see parents change their kids into pajamas after an afternoon lesson. That saves time wrangling the critter into sleeping clothes later.
  • Swimming provides a barrier against colds. While it isn’t wise to go swimming when sick or to stand around in cold water, the pool has a nice chlorine barrier that I have used numerous times when coughed upon.
  • Swimming is the only exercise that makes sense on a rainy day. Can’t play on the monkey bars. Can’t play soccer. But you can do cannonballs and get in many laps in if you belong to a warm, indoor (even heated outdoor) pool.
  • Swimming doesn’t require a lot of expensive equipment. You need a discounted Old Navy swim suit, and old towel and a pair of $12 Speedo googles. Good teachers should provide the tools such as fins, kickboards, hand paddles and diving toys.
  • Remembering how to swim saves lives. Kids can forget their swim skills after a few months — even week’s — time. Also, I ask my parents of infants exactly what they would do if they ever found themselves in water over their head with their child. And then I teach them how to handle the situation if they need a workable answer.

My Article on Swimming is in Parenting Magazine!

Thursday, August 20, 2009 by Tina Ramser

I couldn’t be more pleased! The September 2009 issue of Parenting Magazine/School Years features on page 133 an article I wrote about swimming! If you’re going to pick up a copy, I’d like to point out the “School Years” version (as opposed to the “Early Years” version) is only available by subscription or at Barnes & Nobles. Otherwise, you can certainly click this link here and read the story on-line. (In case you didn’t know, Parenting has two monthly issues, so I don’t want you to pick up the wrong one and call me a big old liar.) I’d also like to note I quoted Squidkid reader and swim instructor Leslie Haney in the piece. So now the whole world also knows what a great teacher Leslie is! Who knows! Maybe next time is will be you! (Jennifer P., I promise I am going to find a way to use all that great stuff you sent me when I interviewed you! Hello Henry and Owen!)

That’s the plan, anyway: More stories on the importance of swimming in big media publications. Hopefully I grace the pages of this big-time rag again soon, as you parents (and your kids) gave me plenty of more topics to garner interst from the wise editors at Bonnier Corp.

Thanks for reading, supporting, and everything else. And come to think of it, thanks once more to all the families I worked with this summer! I would say my home private swim lesson took off with much success! See you all again next year, and don’t forget to contact me early in 2010!

Creating a Water Aerobics Routine, Part 4: Customizing or Maximizing Aquasize

Monday, August 3, 2009 by Tina Ramser

Now that you’re familiar with many water aerobic or water workout moves, terminology — and finally executed your first water routine — you are now officially “aquasizing” (or exercising in the water).

I mentioned in my last post on creating your first water routine that my instruction and advice is my own brand of water exercise. Although I believe water is a healer for everyone, certainly not everything I promote works for all bodies. This is where you want to start customizing your routine or aquasizing. Whether you want the information broken down into different (or simpler) terms; or perhaps want it work harder (or longer) for you; you need to start focusing on exercises, time frames, and/or muscles that your body is asking more of.

So how does one do that? Well, let’s take Water Aerobics Routine #1 presented in the last post. Let’s say that your mind or body wants the information presented in a different, more accessible manner. To you, that means breaking it down by muscle groups or body parts. Or even calling the movements something different and doing less of one or more of another. So to meet our goal, we re-write Routine #1 to look like this:

WATER AEROBICS ROUTINE #1 — BEGINNER LEVEL (MODIFIED)

*Goal for Student/Routine: To take original routine and customize it by body parts or muscle groups.

:05-:07 minute Warm-Up.

ARM MUSCLES (biceps, pectorals, deltoids, trapezius).

  • Sitting Breast Stroke. Travel back-and-forth across the pool length-wise using arms only. Give care to alignment by bringing legs up as if sitting in a chair. Full range of motion approach. REPEAT 4x or 4 laps.
  • Sitting Elementary Backstroke. Same position and movement as above, only reverse direction of arms so you are now traveling backwards. REPEAT 4x or 4 laps.

LEG MUSCLES (quads, knee joint, gluteus maximus).

  • Treading. Stay with above arms but add in legs, full range of motion. REPEAT 4x or 4 laps with each arm movement.
  • In-place “Scissors” kick (replacing Cross Country vocab with Scissors term). Full range of motion, work on getting the legs wide apart.

:15-:20 minute Conditioning Phase.

ARMS (biceps, pectorals, deltoids, trapezius).

  • In-place tripcep pull. Drop elbows to side — now side elbows back further. With palms down, push water back. Alternate right-left, then try right for 10-12 reps and left for same duration. Stand in shallow end of lightly tread for better balance.
  • In-place bicep pull. Drop elbows to side. With palms up, pull water up to surface. Alternate right-left, then try right for 10-12 reps and left for same duration. Stand in shallow end of lightly tread for better balance.

LEG MUSCLES (quads, knee joint, gluteus maximus, hip flexors, hip abductors, psoas).

  • Biking traveling. Stretch arms forward as if grasping handles on a bike.
  • Jogging traveling and in-place. Add upper arms or some punching out for full-body workout.
  • Scissors traveling. Use breast stroke pull to go forward; combine with elementary backstroke to ull backwards (or reverse direction/movement as describe in Warm-Up).

ABDOMINAL MUSCLES (upper/lower abs, intercostal, oblique).

  • Crunches sitting. With tailbone pointing to bottom of pool, bring knees into shoulders (as if coming in and out like a hinge). Legs in and out. Then crunch to left and then to right.
  • Crunches upright. Standing upright with bottoms of feet pointed to bottom of pool, bring knees up. Alternate left for 10-12 reps and then left.
  • In-place Side Scissors at a 4 o’clock (replacing Jumping Jack vocab with Scissors term). Bring legs up to 4 o’clock and down to 6 o’clock.

:03-:05 minute Cool-Down.

ARM MUSCLES (biceps, pectorals, deltoids, trapezius).

  • Sitting Breast Stroke. Travel back-and-forth across the pool length-wise using arms only. Give care to alignment by bringing legs up as if sitting in a chair. Full range of motion approach. REPEAT 4x or 4 laps.
  • Sitting Elementary Backstroke. Same position and movement as above, only reverse direction of arms so you are now traveling backwards. REPEAT 4x or 4 laps.

LEG MUSCLES (quads, knee joint, gluteus maximus).

  • In-place Treading. Legs full range of motion.
  • In-place “Scissors” kick (replacing Cross Country vocab with Scissors term). Full range of motion, work on getting the legs wide apart.

When it comes to water exercise, generally asking if you’re “doing it wrong” is like asking if it is a wrong choice for you to get into the water and initiate a workout. Of course it isn’t wrong — it’s only wrong if you feel wrong pain because you’re doing something your body doesn’t like or understand.