Ellen Barrett's Good Bones (20minute workout)

“For Her Bones”

When I was in my twenties, and completely clueless about bone health, I trained an opera singer, who was in her sixties. To this day, she’s the most disciplined person I have ever been around. In order to perform at such a high level, and keep her voice in tip top shape, she was all in. She fastened a silk scarf around her neck to keep her throat warm!   She traveled a ton, but whenever...

Weak in the knees?

“A boat in the harbor is safe, but in time its bottomwill rot out.” – H. Jackson Brown The older I get the more spiritual I feel about the human body. I mean, just wow…what a divinely designed masterpiece, right? We’re lucky to have a body and even when a part of it is injured or out of whack, it’s important to remember there are millions of other parts in perfect flow.  An especially vulnerable part of the body is our knees....

New Workout: Fusion Kick With Phoenix

Every form of martial art, whether it’s karate of jujitsu, integrates. It integrates the muscles of the body, and it integrates body and mind. I’ve always admired martial artistry and it’s, without a doubt, mindful movement, but with a fighting spirit thrown into the mix. Fusion Kick is this month’s new workout, now streaming on Let’s Move! I’ve wanted to offer a 30minute, modern, non-hyper tae bo-type class for a long time, and Phoenix is seriously the most perfect instructor for...

My Two-Cents

There are several health and fitness related questions I get asked repeatedly. Some of them, I’ve been asked about since day one of being a fit pro. Some of them, have popped up only recently. Here they are along with a quick answer:  Is there an energy bar you recommend?I’m not a fan of 99.9percent of them. I try to avoid packaged food, and energy bars are packaged food. However, if I have to pick...

Ellen Barrett

Focus on Function

Did you know there’s a chain of gyms called Fitness For Life? (I think it’s the best name ever…says it all!) Well, fitness is for life, for a good, capable, high quality life. Mud doesn’t stop me from taking my two labrador retrievers on a hike. Sometimes I think it should, as the clean up required post-hike is urgent, physically demanding, a little gross, time consuming, and not fun! At any rate, here’s how it typically goes: I get the...

Ellen Barrett Let's Move!

Optimism is Optimal

I bet you have a pessimistic friend or family member. This is a person who tends to think about the worse case scenario, or perhaps they offer a negative comment here and there. Sometimes this person is super funny and pessimism is part of their humor. They crack you up and their words are benign to your psyche. Other times, this person is bad for your health. (Not kidding!) I’ve recently distanced myself from a...

If You’re Moving, You’re Detoxifying

“Detox” is a buzzword that’s been buzzing for a long time. Some might think it means some sort of drug rehab. Others may think it’s a serious liver cleanse. However, “detox” should be part of our everyday. It simply means getting rid of unwanted stuff, and you know what?  If you’re exercising, you’re detoxifying. Here’s how: 1. Exhalation Every exhale is detoxifying. The amount of inhaled air contains (approximately) 21% of oxygen and 0.04% of carbon dioxide, while...

Epic Barre With Ellen Barrett

Three Things To Know About Epic Barre

Kick off your shoes and grab a chair, it’s EPIC BARRE time! Yes, our newest video workout has arrived and the peppy pace, the concentrated moves, and the core galore make for a truly epic, 45minute, cardio sculpt experience.  There are three things I want to quickly mention about EPIC BARRE: 1. We don’t sit down all that much in this workout! In my mind, when I decided on the cover pic, I thought the photo illustrated a unique “pose,” adding a...

Diet, Exercise, Sleep…And there’s one more!

When it comes to wellness, there are the big three plus one – diet, exercise and sleep, then there’s time management. Diet is what you eat, exercise is how you move, and sleep is when you restore. Time management is how you structure and schedule your days. Today, I thought it might be insightful to gaze into your typical day with these three+one components in mind.  I’ll use myself as an example:I’ve got the exercise part down....

The Three Beliefs of the Very Well

I just spent an afternoon with human resource directors from some of the biggest companies in the world. I listened in on parts of their conversation concerning their employees. The primary conundrum that each of these HR directors faced was how can they keep employees healthy and strong, and thus productive? Many of their employees work long hours and when their workday ends, family responsibilities begin. Basically, everyone’s busy and exhausted, so how does anyone...