When was the last time you were staying at a resort that offered aqua fitness classes? Usually it is some sort of aqua aerobics or Zumba class. You watch with amusement and embarrassment for the participants as they awkwardly move through the water doing what looks likes very little real exercise. Before you write all water exercise off as pointless, consider the benefits of the following new water fitness trends.

AQUA YOGA
This variation of yoga often makes the practice more available to beginners, those with limitations, and injuries. The gentle support of the water allows many people the opportunity to discover ranges of motion that they might find inaccessible on land. Many people also find that there is a mind/body connection that they are able to identify as they work from pose to pose. 

Pilates In The Pool
Pilates is making a name for itself with younger fitness enthusiasts, professional athletes, and seniors alike. Pilates in the pool seems to be drawing attention from those very same groups who are looking for muscle conditioning exercises. Many Pilates classes in the pool use floating dumbbells or noodles to allow students to do many traditional Pilates moves such as plank. The instability of the water makes may exercises more challenging forcing students to pay extra attention to their breathing and posture. If you feel like you have a strong sense of core control and balance, give this class a try.

Standup Paddleboarding
Those fitness enthusiasts looking for a total body workout with a mindfulness component might enjoy standup paddleboarding. SUP is a great low impact form of exercise that uses all major muscle groups at one point or another.  One added bonus of over all improved strength from SUP is increased balance. While on the board small stabilizing muscles must constantly be contracting in order to keep you on your board. Becoming more balanced in the unstable water will make maintaining balance on land much easier.

Next time you get the opportunity to try one of these low impact workouts, give it a try. You might be surprised that they are more challenging than you think. 

If you are ready to start a training program but are not sure where to start, visit us at Truve where we can set you up with an in person or virtual training program today.

Did you know that ovarian cancer is one of the most deadly types of cancer? 1 in 75 women will be diagnosed, and her lifetime chance of dying from ovarian cancer is 1 in 100, according to the American Cancer Society. Those odds are certainly not in women's favor. What should you know about this deadly cancer and are there steps you can take to help reduce your risk?

Keep the following in mind to make sure you catch ovarian cancer as early as possible.
1. Ovarian cancer risks increase with age. Ovarian cancer rates are highest between ages 55-64.
2.  Be on the look out for bloating, pelvic/abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly, and urinary symptoms which are all early signs of ovarian cancer.
3. Ovarian cancer symptoms tend to hang around longer. If you experience any of these symptoms 12 or more times per month, visit your gynecologist, fatigue, upset stomach, back pain, painful sex, constipation, menstrual changes, and abdominal swelling. 
4. Pap smears cannot detect ovarian cancer. They can help find irregular cells that will become cervical cancer but not ovarian cancer. Even the swelling of the ovaries that your physician may detect isn't enough to conclude if ovarian cancer is a threat.
5. There is still no standard or reliable way to screen for ovarian cancer. Paying close attention to your body and symptoms can help in the diagnosis process.
6. Transvaginal ultrasounds can detect masses that could be tumors but won't be able to indicate whether a mass is malignant or benign. 
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Knowing what signs and symptoms to look for is half of the battle. What else can you do?
1. Exercise regularly. Regular movement helps your body to function at an optimum level.
2. Get adequate sleep. Your body can only repair itself while you sleep. Giving yourself the proper rest is crucial for your body to heal.
3. Eat a balanced diet with emphasis on as many different fruits and veggies as possible. By providing your body with large doses of raw/whole sources of vitamins and minerals will allow it to process them more efficiently and in turn will improve the overall function of your body.
4. Maintain a healthy outlook on life. Negative thoughts and stress have been proven to impact our bodies on a physical level. Keeping a positive outlook may improve the outcome should your body find itself under ovarian cancer's attack.

If you are ready to start a nutrition or training program, visit us at Truve. We have programs for locals in Oakland and the East Bay, but also have online programs for those out of area. 

Halloween marks the beginning of holiday eating. We don't realize it until January or even February rolls around and our muffin tops are covered by comfy sweaters but the majority of Americans eat on average 1,200 extra calories per week during the holiday period of Halloween to New Years.

How is it that we can eat so many more calories without even realizing it? Blame it on the homemade cookies in the break room or left over Halloween candy circulating the office. Most people believe that just one cookie or just one piece of candy won't impact their waistline. The truth is, one cookie won't impact your waistline, but a study done by the CDC of 5,222 employees across the US found that employees were eating 70% more than usual compared to other periods during the year from free foods found at work. People spend about 50% of their time at work and the empty calories add up! For the average person that would equate to .5-1 lbs of weight gain per week over the holidays. 

What can you do as an employee to help yourself and co-workers maintain dietary health through the festive holiday season?
1. Encourage your employer to offer wellness programs that promote healthier eating habits.
2. Encourage your employer to provide fruits, veggies, and other healthy options for snacks.
3. Organize a sexy salad lunch party in the office where each person brings a healthy salad ingredient to share and people build their own salads.
4. Bring in a nutrition counselor to help people better understand how what they are eating impacts them.
5. Organize a walking group that meets before work, at lunch, or after work. 

You do not have to be another holiday weight statistic.

​If you live or work in Oakland, Ca contact us at Truve to help you get a nutrition or fitness program started today!

Did you know that about 20 million Americans suffer from depression? This doesn't take into account all of the people who suffer from another anxiety disorder. It is believed that about 40% of the population of the United States suffers from depression, an anxiety disorder, or a combination of the both. This means that you very likely know someone who's life is impacted by these conditions.

What if you could help them reduce their symptoms of depression just by getting #hellafit with them? What if there was research that demonstrated a link between strength training and the reduction of depressive symptoms? Would you drag them with you to the gym? 

 Dr. Brett Gordon, MS, from the University of Limerick, Ireland recently published data from a study that included 1,877 participants from 33 clinical trials that points to just that. While the studies did not determine precisely how the strength training might affect depression, Dr. Gordon offered a couple suggestions:
"Cognitive and psychological mechanisms [could] include the expectancy is improved mental health following exercise, social interaction and social support, and improved cognitive control."