Let's talk about December depletion: that sense of exhaustion you feel after a marathon month spent hustling to holiday parties and hurrying through airports, thinking up thoughtful gifts and cramming into close quarters with family. What we really need on January 1 isn't another demand. We don't need to sign up for a boot camp or commit to a cleanse. What we need in January is to nurture ourselves: mind, body, soul, and planet.

Don't push yourself enough? This January, nourish yourself. Instead of focusing on flaws to fix, this January I'm nurturing myself back to balance with simple, grounding steps. I vow to consult with the most innovative, inspiring minds in wellness to start this new year replenished and ready to take on the world.

Every day, I plan to seek inspiration of simple ways to nourish myself, my community, and my world through eating, moving, giving, creating, and…

I hope you've been having an awesome weekend so far!

It's fall - the time of year in the fitness industry when there's a big push on getting back to fitness.

But maybe you are bored to tears at the thoughts of going back to the gym or you're rolling your eyes at the whole "let's get back to fitness" campaigns rolling around in the media throughout September (and of course we'll see it yet again in November in the form of ads saying "get in shape before Christmas!").

Or maybe you've already done the whole gym thing and you are open to setting yourself a new and exciting fitness challenge?

Or, maybe you're more concerned with working some time into your busy schedule for doing something for YOU?

There is no substitute for strength. Use these to prevent injury while you're training your hands and forearms for the strength required for pole and slowly wane off the products.

Note: A pole that is cold will be more difficult to grip and extra dry skin will not grip or stick to the pole.

Jason Aloe – non-greasy for dry hands, lotion to apply in advance

Mighty Grip – can use instantly after application, is chalky

Tite Grip – Some are scented, needs 20 minutes to finish into the skin (is a liquid)

Dry Hands – prevents perspiration, liquid

You want to succeed, right? You have the desire to exercise and have fun in a way that will cause you to manage stress better and/or get fit, don’t you? I know I do!

So why is it SO HARD to actually make it happen?

When someone starts out gung-ho about a new fitness program or idea about changing their lifestyle, they’re often so excited that they overlook how truly challenging it will be. When someone embarks on a fitness program, they always need to write down tangible goals and then share them with their trainer and or their friends/family for accountability (we're big on having goals here at DPF!)

What I believe is almost as important as setting the goals themselves is making a list of limiting factors – those things that will potentially hold you back and make achieving goals more difficult. The ones I most often see…

Pole Fitness has been climbing up in the charts as another form of fitness. This is a female dominant sport but it is not uncommon for males to participate as well. We’ve watched the professionals compete in the Pole Championships. We’ve seen the videos of the online pole fitness gurus like Dirdy Birdy, Michelle Shimmy, Felix Cane and so many more. The pole fitness community is growing and you want to be a part of it. That is great! However, before we jump right into it, there are two things in particular I’d like to address. Pain & Bruising.

When it comes to pain, I want to say that you won’t feel it but the truth is, it will hurt. Yes it will. The more advanced your moves become the more it will hurt. Why? Your skin needs to be exposed in order for you to grip and hold yourself in certain positions. Some…