26Jan

A Moment of Clarity

January 26, 2018 nestorbecomepaonessa

“A Moment of Clarity.”

“How brain cancer made my purposes in life crystal clear” (step 2 of my 8-step plan to get you back on track towards pursuing the life you envision despite a cancer diagnosis or other major life-altering event).

STEP 2:
Find/define your purpose(s) in life, i.e., your motivation to begin and continue fighting your disease. Write them down.

After my craniotomy to resect my brain tumor (a grade IV glioblastoma multiforme, or GBM) on July 1st, 2015, I spent a lot of time recovering in Duke hospital’s neuro-ICU and being nursed back to health by Ashley in our new home, speaking with my psychotherapist at the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke, soul-searching and looking for answers to questions that still remain unanswered. What did I do to deserve brain cancer? What DIDN’T I do to prevent it? Where did I go wrong? Perhaps more importantly, where do I go from here? I found myself craving nothing more than for life to return to NORMAL.

I wanted to be able to drive a car again, regain my independence, and end my reliance on Ashley for all of my transportation needs, especially to and from work and the Duke Cancer Center. Like the best nurse, Ashley regularly changed the dressings on my healing incisions, helped me with all of my activities of daily living, and made sure that I was eating three square meals a day while taking my numerous medications on time and in the correct dosages.

Like the best secretary, she kept track of my daily calendar of seemingly endless appointments for physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychotherapy, oncology follow-ups, lab work, radiation treatments, and managed the incredibly complicated system of health insurance issues and medical billing that still continues to haunt our mailbox. Like the best taxi driver, Ashley ferried me back and forth from the house to each and every one of my medical appointments and EMPOWER as I began to work again in a part-time capacity, all while managing her own work schedule at her regular day job as a Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley. I know that Ashley would never say that I was a burden on her, but I certainly felt like I was – how could I not? I wanted to be able to walk down our new street and climb up and down the stairs in our new house without having to hold Ashley’s hand or the railing because I was suddenly a “fall risk.”

I wanted to feel like I knew where I was in time and space again, and to have my vision restored to normal instead of having the right half of my visual field cut off (a problem I am still grappling with to this day). I wanted to know where things were located (like my socks and eating utensils) and how things worked (like the appliances and light switches) in our brand new house that so far felt like the farthest thing from home. I wanted to be able to sit down and play the piano the way I always did and have it feel effortless and sound “right”; I wanted to be able to run, exercise, and play tennis with the same intensity and level of success that I once did; to be able to work a normal, full-time schedule and perform all of my job functions with the same energy and precision that I always did right up until June 26th, 2015.

On August 4th, 2015, I received an email from a very good friend, Kim Chapman Page, owner of Bull City Running Company in Durham, NC. She had heard the news of my recent misfortunes with brain cancer and thought to connect me with a good friend of hers, a fellow brain cancer patient and accomplished endurance athlete, Greg Sousa. In addition to being an Ironman triathlete and BMX champion, Greg made headlines a couple of years earlier by completing a 900-mile bike ride from North Carolina to Florida to raise funds for the Duke Brain Tumor Center (read his story here: http://magazine.endurancemag.com/HTML5/Endurance-Magazine-LLC-Endurance-Magazine-July-2014 ).

After a few brief email exchanges, Greg and I had our first telephone conversation with each other, and already he was teaching me some very important lessons on how to cope with and manage the situation that Ashley and I had just found ourselves in. By making himself immediately available to me as a sounding board and source of invaluable advice, he became an instant role model and hero for me. Greg taught me not just how to LIVE with brain cancer, but more importantly, how to BE with brain cancer. As a brain tumor patient, Greg was also a member of the Planning Committee for the annual Angels Among Us 5K that benefits the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke – a committee that Ashley decided to join as well promptly after we learned about it. Through their monthly committee meetings, Ashley had the privilege of getting to know Greg a little bit better. When I finally had the opportunity to meet Greg in person myself for the very first time, Ashley and I visited him at the Duke Medical Pavilion where he was recovering in a hospital bed from a brain biopsy operation; he had just experienced a recurrence of his brain tumor, an oligodendroglioma, a different variety from my own but equally aggressive.

My admittedly brief interactions with Greg had an enormous positive impact on my psychological state early on during my brain cancer journey. Whether he intended to or not, Greg and his story provided me with the motivation and inspiration I needed to take my fight to the next level. It became immediately clear to me that one of my main purposes in life would now be to beat brain cancer and to use my story to motivate and inspire others who might find themselves in a similar situation. The last time that I spoke to Greg, he was resting in a bed at a hospice facility following a second recurrence of his brain tumor, and on July 14th, 2016, after a four-year fight my hero Greg Sousa sadly lost his battle with brain cancer.

It is clear to me that my primary purpose in life is to be the best husband, teammate, and life partner that I can possibly be to Ashley, who demonstrated unequivocally what it means to be there for the person you love, unconditionally. It is also clear that my secondary purpose in life is to motivate and inspire others who may have received a cancer diagnosis or experienced some other life-altering event.

17Jan

Trainer Spotlight: Telese Coleman

January 17, 2018 Telese Coleman

Vydashon-Telese –

NASM, Z-Health, RKC

Telese has worked in the health and fitness industry for 16 plus years and has enjoyed working with a variety of clients up into their 90s. She began her fitness journey in high school with a desire to get in shape, which helped direct her studies in college. There, she spent a lot of time in the Recreation Center and was often asked by others to train them. That’s when she decided to get certified and share her love of fitness by helping others love fitness as well! She enforces the mantra “You only have ONE body, if YOU don’t take care of it….who will?”. Telese became a part of the Empower team in 2017.

As a proud “Bull-City Girl”, Telese has enjoyed serving the Durham community. She has volunteered at C.A.A.R.E. Community Center providing small group training and worked with the Community Health Coalition to provide health and nutrition education to lower-income areas and diabetic populations in Durham. Having close ties with the Diabetic community, she is dedicated to helping reduce its prevalence and complications that come with this condition. In this effort, she has worked with Diabetic Educators, Nurses and Physicians in Durham. Prior to joining Empower, Telese trained with Triangle Personal Training and later began Keep It Moving Personal Training, providing In-Home one-on-one and Small Group training. Although she loves helping clients work up a sweat, she is a strong advocate for practicing “preventive medicine” in order to avoid “pharmaceutical medication”. Therefore she promotes plant-based eating and education about what we put in our bodies. She often tells clients, “If you don’t know what’s in it, don’t put it in you!”.

On her fitness journey Telese has earned her C.S.C.S. from the NSCA, CPT from AFAA, RKC (Russian Kettlebell Certification), R.I.S.T.: 9S Z-Health Certification (a neuroscience base system to improve movement) and CPT from NASM. She received her Bachelors of Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with studies in Psychology and Exercise Sports Science.

Telese is a kid at heart, loves DIY projects and making jewelry. So when she is not training or into everything health-related, she loves game nights with family, spending time with her niecey and nephew, writing, or hopping in the car going for a good old road trip!

12Jan

Lower Body Mobility

January 12, 2018 paulbecomeborda

I often hear a lot from clients or other folks in the community that there never seems to be enough time in the day to get a workout in or get any kind of stretching or mobility work in for the body.

We are each given the same 24 hours each day to be as productive and efficient as possible. I know how difficult it can be to find time to work on flexibility in today’s world. Given that, I wanted to share a great 10 minute lower body stretching program that can be done to limber up the lower body in just a short amount of time.

Each of these exercises should be completed for 1 set holding for around 1 minute each (you can certainly do 2 sets of each for 1 minute holds if you have the extra time).

#1 – The Couch stretch

This is one of my all time favorite stretches period. It is incredibly effective for opening up some of the anterior chain muscles like the quads and hip flexors. It’s key to make sure that you don’t arch your back during the stretch so try and maintain that neutral spine. The further the knee is to the wall the more intense the stretch will be so you will need to gauge that for yourself. To intensify the stretch a little bit more you can squeeze the glute of the leg that you are stretching and you should notice that you feel the stretch a bit higher up in the hip flexors.

#2 – Supine hamstring stretch w/ strap

This is a great stretch for the hamstrings that can be done anytime and anywhere. All you really need is a stretching strap or even a belt would work. With all of these stretches we are looking for moderate intensity for the stretch. It shouldn’t be so painful that you can’t hold it for at least 1 minute.

#3 – Elevated pigeon stretch

I love this stretch for my hip rotators and glutes. Many people are not flexible enough to get into the pigeon stretch on the floor in a safe and effective manner so this is a great alternative. This can be done on any surface like a bed, couch, or massage table. Make sure to stay tall through the spine and maintain good posture throughout the stretch. If performed correctly you should feel a good stretch on the outside of the glute (no pinching on the inside of the hip!).

#4 – The Goalie stretch

The adductors are one muscle group that I feel are largely neglected by most people in terms of including them into any type of flexibility or mobility programming. Try to keep the outstretched foot flat on the floor as well as maintaining good posture through the spine (please don’t slouch!).

#5 – Calf stretch on slantboard

Most people don’t know how tight their calves are especially if you are a runner. You can do this stretch pretty much anywhere like on a step at home or any slightly inclined surface similar to the slantboard that is pictured. There are two variations of this that you can do. The first is with the leg straight which targets the gastrocnemius muscle of the calf and the other would be bending the leg you a stretching a bit and that targets the soleus muscle. This can be done one leg at a time or both legs at once.

Be consistent and set aside 10 minutes in your day and you’ll notice that these stretches really start to improve the flexibility in your lower body!

28Dec

Adults Should Play

December 28, 2017 Amanda Fontaine

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing”- George Bernard Shaw

Kidult definition:

Noun- an adult with an air of free-spiritedness; childlike in spirit. A person who knows how to have fun.

Adjective- Characteristic of an adult engaged in lighthearted behavior; to have a good, entertaining time.

Take a few minutes and think back to your younger years and what you did. Picture yourself first as a kid- did you play outside, read books, play sports, build Legos, do arts and crafts? Now picture yourself a littler older in high school. What emotions were present at those times? What energy did you feel? Two emotions I feel when “playing” are joy and connection. They are two things I really value in life, and two things I felt as a kid. I can feel this way when I’m playing Ping-Pong or games with my cousins, also when I’m engaging with my coworkers, joking around with each other. It’s that simple.

Somewhere in adolescence is when we start to define our lives based on what the world thinks of us, and what the world is pushing us to do. We lose sight of what is fun. Without realizing it we stop doing these things from our youth.

What would it look like for you to be a kidult? If you could be free now and be a person who knows how to have fun (put time, work, kids, all responsibilities aside) what would you do to feel the way you did before you were an adult? What would life without restraint be like for you? I don’t just mean be able to get a couple more rounds of golf in or binge watch your favorite TV shows, even if those are things you enjoy. What could you do today to feel those same emotions as when you were a kid?

Just like exercise requires getting yourself in the right mindset, the same is true for play. As adults we don’t think it’s okay. You need to ALLOW YOURSELF TO PLAY! Many studies are now showing the biological importance of play and it’s positive impact on the human brain. Other benefits include better relationships, more successful at work, bonding, and better moods.

Be spontaneous, set aside your ego, do something you haven’t done in a while and create those opportunities to play. Be a Kidult.

https://usplaycoalition.org/play-the-fountain-of-youth-the-role-of-play-in-adult-neurogenesis

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/benefits-of-play-for-adults.htm

22Dec

Beat Low Back Pain

December 22, 2017 Chris Lathrop

Do you have low back pain? Would you like to enjoy not having back pain? Chronic low back pain has many causes that often have the same solution. This means getting your pelvis and spine back to their neutral position. The stretch below helps kill many birds with one stretchy stone. This exercise stretches both the muscles in the front of the lower body (bottom leg) and those on the backside (top leg) of the lower body. These muscles often become tight from the seated positions we take for hours every day and in turn pulls our bodies out of alignment. Try it for a few months and see.

Hold the stretch for two minutes on each side, at least 3 days per week

15Dec

That Fateful Day in June

December 15, 2017 nestorbecomepaonessa

“How brain cancer EMPOWERed me to create and experience the life I envision” (step 1 of my 8-step plan to get you back on track towards pursuing the life you envision despite a cancer diagnosis or other major life-altering event).

STEP 1: Perform a self-assessment. What is my vision for my life? Write it down.

This post stems from a very simple, yet very powerful question: What is my vision for my life? If you would have asked me that question prior to June 26, 2015, I probably would have said something along the lines of, “I envision a life where my wife Ashley and I have created a happy, healthy, and love-filled family and home; where we both have jobs that are fulfilling and that we enjoy; and where we invest our resources in creating memorable and rewarding experiences. This would likely manifest as lots of fun, challenging, and interesting adventure trips around the world.” A more succinct way of putting this would be, “My vision for my life is to build a HAPPY and HEALTHY home and family together with my wife Ashley, and to have many fun and fulfilling adventures and experiences around the world with her.”

Getting back to that date of June 26th, 2015, that was the day that Ashley and I were scheduled to close on our first home together, a house that we designed and built from the ground up and watched grow together over the course of 8 exciting months. This was part of our grand vision for our life together, our “forever” house where we would start and grow a family, and which would serve as our home base for all of our future adventures around the world.

Speaking of adventures, a few short weeks earlier in May of 2015, we had just completed a week-long trek on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru, which was by far the coolest and most rewarding trip we had ever taken together, and it was the first of what we dreamed would be a lifetime of amazing adventures. Earlier on that very same day, Friday the 26th of June, I had an MRI of my brain to figure out why I had been experiencing some very serious headaches and visual disturbances over the weeks following our return from Peru. A few hours before we were supposed to be at the lawyer’s office for the closing on our new house, we received a phone call from my doctor’s office: the brain MRI revealed a golf ball-sized mass on my right thalamus and I was to go straight to the emergency room.

The next day, instead of participating in the scheduled move into our brand-new house we found ourselves sitting face-to-face with world-renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Allan Friedman at the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University Medical Center. Ashley and I learned that day just how quickly the course of our life could (and would) change, from the very height of excitement about the awesome trip we had just taken and moving into our brand-new home, to the very depths of uncertainty and despair as Dr. Friedman laid out the stark reality that I would be undergoing an urgent yet incredibly risky brain surgery just four days later.

One week after surgery we would discover that the cause of all of my strange and sudden symptoms was a very aggressive malignant brain tumor called a grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), which historically has a very poor rate of survival (median survival time left untreated is something like 15 months). My vision for my life clearly did not include a provision for brain cancer, so what to do now? Suffice it to say, we were very unprepared for all of the trials, tribulations, and minutiae of recovery from surgery, radiation and chemotherapy treatments, immunotherapy treatments, physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychotherapy, medical bills and health insurance issues, and seemingly endless visits to the Duke Cancer Center for follow-up MRI scans, PET scans, blood draws for lab work, and doctor’s appointments. This was a far cry from the life I had previously envisioned, but it is the life that I was suddenly thrown into and have been living ever since that fateful day on June 26th, 2015.

22Nov

Healing from Exercise Boredom: 3 Workouts You Can Use at the Gym

November 22, 2017 Amanda Fontaine

So many people go to the gym and just don’t know what to do. Here are a couple methods you can use to vary your workout routine.

1-The Countdown:

Pick 5 exercises, do 10 reps of each exercise then start over with 9 reps of each. Keep going all the way down to 1.

Ex- dumbbell curl to overhead press, squats, V ups, ball slams, Kettlebell swings

2-Inverse ladder:

Pick 2 exercises, start with 10 reps of exercise A (usually the harder one), and 1 rep of exercise B. Then do 9 reps of A, 2 reps of B. Keep going until you’ve gotten to 1 rep of A and 10 reps of B.

*Hint* they should always add to eleven.

Ex- Exercise A= Squat to upright row, Exercise B= Weighted burpee

3-Evens and odds:

Set a timer for 2 mins (or longer if you wish). Start with 2 reps of exercise A, and 2 reps of exercise B. Keep increasing by 2 until timer runs out. Rest, and then go back down odd numbers. Challenge yourself by starting a number higher than the one you finished on.

Ex- Exercise A= Supermans, Exercise B = seated twists (each way)

Vary any of these by plugging in any of your exercise favorites (cardio moves, core, or strength) depending on what your focus is that day.

Your gym routines will never be boring again!

08Nov

Chasing The Man Bod: Secret #2

November 8, 2017 johnbecomehinkle

My second secret for getting that svelte man bod of yesteryear is weight training. There are several things to know about weight training so I’m gong to simplify them for you. Let’s get back to the basics.

Workout Order: Warm up 5-10 minutes, weight training workout, finish with the cardio. This order allows your body to focus its fuel stores on the weight training. If you do cardio before weights, there won’t be much left in the tank for pumping iron.

Frequency: At least 3 days each week. One of the ways you make gains is to work hard enough to break the muscle down a little bit. This forces the body to repair, grow, and get stronger. You can contribute to this process by lifting at least 3 days per week.

Lifts to Perform: Focus on the basic, multi-joint moves like bench presses, deadlifts, squats, and rows. These movements use A LOT of muscles. And, therefore, require a lot of calories.

Intensity: Start with a light weight that allows you to do 10-12 repetitions for 4 sets. If you are just getting back into lifting, this will be enough. Remember, these movements use a lot of muscles so you’re probably going to get sore your first couple of workouts.

Next time we talk about FOOD. Who doesn’t like food? Now, go lift something!

01Nov

Trainer Spotlight: Amanda Fontaine

November 1, 2017 Amanda Fontaine

I am a fitness advocate, enthusiast and lover.

That’s what I spend a majority of my day doing, but who I am is a person who values God, my family, friends, serving the community and leaving a legacy in this world. I am strong, sensitive, reliable and a giver.

I was an only child growing up, and only grandchild on my mom’s side until I was 26. My mom had me really young and we lived with her parents until I was 12. I didn’t meet my dad or my 3 half siblings until I was almost 27. I went to a small, private catholic school for most of my youth until high school. I was super involved in extracurricular activates like dance, soccer, basketball, band, choir, cheerleading and gymnastics, but I always stuck with dance. I had a passion for being on stage and expressing myself through movement.

Growing up, I lived on a street in almost the middle of nowhere with hardly any kids close by to play with. I envied neighborhoods with playgrounds and cul-de-sacs where kids could run around and play freely. This led me to playing by myself often (which as a kid comes somewhat naturally). I could entertain myself for hours, but there’s always that basic need of human connection, the desire to be close to others. A child needs some attention or other individual to entertain them. This, I believe, is what’s made me more of an extrovert today and developed my passion for working with people. I enjoy engaging and interacting with others.

I was involved in plenty of activities and sports but there were still that need to have someone to play with at home. In high school I was homeschooled starting my sophomore year so I could focus on ballet. I danced from the time I could walk until I was 19. It was my dream to be a professional ballerina as my first career, but that’s not what God had intended.

After I stopped dancing I needed to find something to replace the 30+ hours/week of extreme physical activity I was doing. I joined a gym, took some classes and became friends with trainers who showed me the ropes. A few years later I decided to go back and get my Masters in Sports and Exercise Science – Applied Exercise Physiology. It wasn’t until my second to last semester of graduate school that I knew what I wanted to pursue as a job. Being a former athlete, I interned at Spectrum Sports Performance (SSP). I’ve always loved serving, helping outreach in my church and volunteering. Fitness was a way where I could serve people for a living. I found my new passion after dance.

After my internship I was hired at SSP. Although the internship was working with athletes and sports teams, they had a need for general fitness clientele. I learned the art of functionally training people and how to entertain them at the same time.

I moved to North Carolina to pursue a great personal training opportunity with Empower in 2013. I connected with anyone, and everyone I could. Whether I was handed a client with type A personality or type B I would find a way to relate to them and connect. I’ve built relationships with people that will last a lifetime. My clients trust me, and we learn from each other. They look forward to coming to see me (minus the torturous exercising part) and most have said it’s the highlight of their day.

I can work with athletes: anything from golf or tennis specific workouts, to kids, older adults, and everything in between. I love it all. One thing that I’ve always tried to do in my personal training environment is creating FUN. Empower nicknamed me the CFO: Chief Fun Officer. I always bring energy to the studio. When I’m not around it’s quiet and people notice.

What I do every day makes a difference in people lives. I help my clients with desk jobs maintain better posture and not end up hunched over. I keep my older clients able enough to play on the floor with their grandchildren, and get my females strong enough to lift their suitcase up on the airplane without any assistance. I help my runners train for 100-mile races. I teach my high schoolers proper workout technique and what it means to be healthy and fit. Those are just the physical side of things.

All in all, I help people live the life they want to live, and I do this while having FUN. If we don’t enjoy something in life we will eventually stop doing it. The activities we are involved in consistently are things we enjoy. My role is to help you be the best you can be and have fun doing it.

If fitness isn’t fun, I will find a way to make it enjoyable for you.

30Oct

Trainer Spotlight – Nestor Paonessa

October 30, 2017 nestorbecomepaonessa

I am Nestor Paonessa, Assistant General Manager and Health and Fitness Coach at EMPOWER Personalized Fitness in Durham, North Carolina. I am a brain cancer survivor, ultra-runner, backpacker, world traveler, tennis player, pianist, and very lucky husband to Ashley Paonessa.

Now, at the relatively young age of 36, I believe that I have already had quite a diverse array of life experiences and have encountered and overcome many significant challenges along the way. Some were voluntarily, others not so much; most notably I found myself faced with a diagnosis of a grade 4-glioblastoma malignant brain tumor at the age of 34.

Some voluntary challenges that I have taken on include several ultra-distance trail races (40 miles, 50km, and 100 miles), hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru, and hiking to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. As a result of all of these experiences, I have figured out to what extremes I am able to push my body and my mind and still come out okay in the end, if not stronger and better. I also confirmed some facts about myself that I already believed: that I possess great physical and mental strength and endurance, willpower, and resolve. I think the tangible and measurable results of my recent life experiences speak for themselves.

I succeeded in completing each ultra distance race under my own power and within the time limits set for each event. I did this by creating and executing a comprehensive training plan before each race, trusting the results of my training, believing in myself, being as mentally tough and stubborn as I’ve ever been, and by leaning on my race crew for encouragement and logistical support (mainly Ashley every time, with several other friends included for the 100-Miler).

I succeeded in climbing to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa by physically training beforehand with lots of weighted stair climbing, heeding the advice of my doctors and taking the altitude sickness preventative medication as was prescribed to me, and by leaning on the massive support crew of guides, porters, fellow adventurers, and of course, Ashley. I succeeded in beating brain cancer by following my doctor’s treatment plan of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy, maintaining a high level of physical fitness and healthful eating throughout, and by leaning on my extraordinary social support system for motivation, encouragement, and accountability. Oh, and because… Ashley! I am going to teach you how to redefine, reframe, and recommit to your personal life goals in the face of a recent diagnosis of cancer or some other life-altering illness or event, all to help you get back on track towards creating and experiencing the life that you envision for yourself.

Welcome, Empower Community - WE ARE OPEN, and now is the perfect time to prioritize your health and wellness. We take your health and safety seriously, and we have designed our studio to allow for proper social distancing during your workouts. Join us for: