In a recent episode of the podcast, TaskHuman Talks, host and provider Jamie Carroll sat down with provider Timea Perecz to discuss her views on fitness. Timea is a personal trainer and yoga and Pilates coach on TaskHuman.
The key ideas from the episode are: Your workout should fit your habits and personality & any form of movement is better than stagnation.
Timea reveals her experiences with candor. Here are the highlights from the interview:
In order to feel like she can give you the precise, individualized coaching you need, Timea makes sure she gets to know you before training starts. She wants to learn about your background, your habits, and even your past injuries.
“Sometimes it is a precise problem I need to solve,” she says. “I can just personalize the program for them.”
Timea specializes in a form of yoga that is similar to Ashtanga. Her style pushes clients’ muscle mobilization and stabilization while giving them a good stretch. In this type of yoga, you practice powerful positions.
“We do a little bit more of a dynamic flow,” she says.
While this is her personal preference, she also is more than ready to support more traditional yoga forms if a consumer prefers.
New consumers can often have confusion around their wellness journey and what they want to focus on. They can be overwhelmed with the information or amount of options.
Timea understands and helps her clients work their way through the noise. As she talks to them to find out their preferences and habits, she also listens to see what fits their personality best.
“Sometimes they know what they want, but they don’t know what to do,” Timea explains.
Timea also encourages her clients to try many different types of movement and exercise. It’s not a one-size-fits all approach. What works for someone who is high-energy will not benefit someone who likes quiet movements.
“If somebody hates what he’s doing as sport,” she says, “after a while, they will quit.”
Timea firmly believes in the importance of getting enough quality sleep and being hydrated. For her, health and wellness start here. Even if you change nothing else in your life, getting better sleep and drinking more water can work wonders.
She believes most people need between 7 – 9 hours of sleep in order to have at least 3 REM cycles. It’s the REM sleep that is deep and makes you wake feeling rested.
“Sleep is the basis of everything,” she says.
For optimal sleep, Timea advocates for not eating too close to bedtime and supporting your relaxation through essential oils and lemongrass tea.
Timea feels she cannot give specific food guidelines without understanding someone’s diet and possible dietary restrictions. She does believe, however, that there are some elements that everyone can focus on.
The first is to eat fewer preservatives. Whenever you can, you should be making your own food. Even if the food is not a classic “health food,” it will be healthier than the premade or restaurant version.
Second, eat slower. When you rush through eating, you do not allow yourself to notice when you are full. Timea believes you should stop eating before you stuff yourself. If you need to rest after you eat, then you’ve eaten too much in one sitting.
Third, eat fewer refined carbohydrates, such as white bread. Timea sees the modern diet as so dependent on refined carbs that it is an addiction. And like any addiction, you need to wean yourself from the dependency one small step at a time.
“Reduce slowly, slowly, slowly,” she says.
While it may be tempting to make all of the changes you want at the same time, it becomes too difficult and most people give up. By making one small change and then another small change, you build up success and, over time, work to a healthier lifestyle.
It can help to replace unhealthy foods with healthier versions gradually. So, if you really like candy, try eating dried fruit as the substitute. You still get the hit of sweetness, but from a much healthier source.
Timea is very in tune with her own body. She pays attention to what it tells her and honors her needs. Her self-care routine reflects that attention.
As a professional Samba dancer, Timea uses dance as a stress reliever. She finds joy in the movements and it can change her outlook. But the pandemic forced her to improvise.
“But now we don’t have anywhere to go, so I dance in my living room,” she says.
It isn’t only dancing that she uses as self-care.
“Sometimes my body wants yoga,” she explains. Other times she feels very energized and lifts weights instead.
She knows to pick the movements that fit her mood the best, and she moves her body at least 5 times a week. If she doesn’t, she can tell.
“I’m more stressed if I don’t move,” she says.
Timea also has self-care routines that don’t involve movement. She will take a bath with candles to relax, and takes supplements to optimize her nutrition.
“I try to find the solution or the time,” she says.
To tune into Timea’s full interview, click here.
If you’re ready to prioritze your wellness goals, reach out to Timea and schedule a 1 -on- 1 live session through the TaskHuman app today.