Think for a minute…. What would it be like to power through your gym session with energy to spare? Today I want to talk about the popular supplement class dubbed “ergogenic aids.” Why take them? Are they safe? What are the dos and don’ts?
It’s officially that time of year.
The time of year where you start to notice more sniffles and coughs from your coworkers. More runny noses and feverish temperatures from your kids. Or perhaps – no shows from your invited list of guests for a birthday party or fall gathering because they’re home sick with the flu.
When it comes to exercise and achieving fitness goals, it can be so easy for members to fixate solely on the effort put into a workout that they can forget to make time for other beneficial components of a fitness routine such as recovery. More specifically, heat therapy. With benefits that help stimulate hormone production, rid the body of toxins, improves cardiovascular health, and speeds recovery and injury rehabilitation, heat therapy is one recovery method that your workout routine can’t afford to miss out on.
Magnesium is one of the most important essential minerals for human health, along with sodium, potassium, and calcium. It’s known to be a vital cofactor for several hundred metabolic processes that keep us alive and well (some estimates suggest magnesium is need for up to 600 different biochemical reactions in our bodies!).
Our bodies contain about 25 milligrams of magnesium, most of which is found in our bones, muscles and brain. About 1% of our magnesium circulates through our bloodstream.
Each day we encounter a number of different physical, emotional, physiological, chemical, nutritional or environmental stressors that we need to respond or adapt to. Whether it’s stress induced from a workout, the pressure to hit a deadline, harsh chemicals looming in the air or mending a difficult relationship, the way your body physically reacts to stress will always be the same—the same physiological systems will be involved and the same hormones will be released. While not all stress is bad, when we experience too much for too long, there can be serious consequences to our health.
The buzz of summer is coming to an end, and while transitioning into a new season never goes quite as planned, there are some smart ways you can capitalize on the change of pace to get back to healthier eating habits. Whether you’ve been off track for a week, a month or maybe even longer, try implementing these effective strategies that can yield big improvements to your nutrition.
Sugar has a sneaky way of making it into our food, and if we’re not careful, too much of it in any form can lead to a variety of health issues. Too much sugar can not only impact our waistline, but it can also have a negative impact on our blood sugar, energy, mood, gut health and even worse — can cause you to have more cravings. According to data from the USDA, the average American consumes 90 pounds of sugar per year (that’s equals 1.7 per pounds per week and 3.9 ounces or 110 grams per day). Here’s the thing. The fitness journey can feel monotonous. And generally speaking – it really is because you continuously are sending your body the same signals (eating healthy, working out, sleeping, etc.) over and over. As fitness pros – we feel you. Eventually we can tire of the same exercise circuit or meal lineup. But, simple tweaks in our weekly routines can have the power to stir up new enthusiasm and even push us to the next level in terms of physical change, metabolic function and mental game. At the end of the day, we want you to avoid any inkling to throw in towel or fall off track. So it’s important to have a list of go-to’s in those instances you feel like you’re in a rut
If someone asked you how much fiber you get in each day – or how much you’re supposed to get –would you know the answer? You probably know that fiber is important for your health, but if you’re like most Americans, you’re probably not getting enough. In my work with clients, I find that many don’t know which foods contain fiber. Others have a narrow, misguided understanding of fiber sources they absorbed over the years through food marketing claims.
When gut health is compromised, it can lead to a variety of unwanted symptoms including indigestion, poor energy, bloating, stubborn weight loss, skin problems, poor immunity, inconsistent bowel patterns, mental fog, and low mood. While many tend to rationalize these symptoms as the new normal, it’s actually far from what it’s supposed to be.
Gut continues to be a buzz-word in the world of nutrition and holistic health. More and more research continues to come out on how our gut health has a bigger impact than we once thought when it comes to our immune system, metabolism and overall health.
And here’s the thing: There are a lot of gut health promotion programs out there (and more surely to hit the market soon) that offer up eating plans and supplemental treatment. But ironically, many of the recommendations within them could actually negatively impact your gut health.
Exercise itself is merely a stimulus for change. The purpose of exercise is to induce stress on the body (e.g. mechanical stress, metabolic stress, nervous system stimulation). It’s not just to burn calories or to get our hearts pumping. Exercise is a tool we need in order to force our bodies to change.
You probably know that taking a high-quality multivitamin can be an essential part of your weight-loss or health promoting plan, but did you know there are certain nutrients that appear to play a more critical role than others when it comes to your health and metabolism?
Below are 5 critical nutrients we all, in truth, should be monitoring if we’re looking optimize our metabolic function. All of these nutrients are also among the most common deficiencies in our population, giving us even more reason to assess our intakes.
Figuring out how much cardio you need, how hard you should be working, and which cardio exercises are best can be a real challenge when you don’t have the right tools or information. While many people are pretty clear about their exercise goals, it can be pretty easy to fall into a cardio routine that isn’t as beneficial as we may have originally hoped for.
When it comes to warming up prior to exercise there are a few different options to choose from. On one extreme you have people who don’t warm up at all – whether the workout is lifting or cardio, they just go right into it regardless of the movements or intensity. On the other end of the spectrum you have people who literally spend 40+ minutes on warming up and causing the actual workout to be less effective as a result. Finally, you have some people who do their version of a warm up which is a quick stretch of some kind regardless of the workout.
Gut health continues to be on the forefront of conversation, and rightly so considering its growing correlation to the functionality of almost every system in the body. While many are aware of the buzz gut health has created, of the estimated 60-70 million people who are affected by digestive diseases in the U.S., a large majority of people in this group continue to go undiagnosed. If you’ve become accustomed to indigestion, poor energy, immune health, bloating, stubborn weight loss, skin problems, inconsistent bowel patterns and mood issues as a regular part of life, there’s a chance your digestion is at the root of the problem. If gone unchecked, it can manifest into a slow-moving metabolism, hormonal imbalance, difficulty losing body fat and other health issues.
For some, the world of supplements can be a confusing, overwhelming and sometimes challenging space to navigate. With so many supplement brands and varieties available at the store and online, and considering consumers are constantly bombarded with opinions from media, close friends, self-proclaimed health coaches and social media, the barrage of options and voices can often point people in the wrong direction.
Many people are catching on that losing weight goes beyond calories in, calories out. While of course energy balance does matter, our underlying physiology dictates weight loss success—including our hormones. Even if dropping pounds isn’t your primary goal, our sex hormones impact our sense of vitality, strength, sexual health, fertility, bone health, skin, and even mood and cognitive function.When is the last time you did something for the first time? There’s no doubt that mental barriers, rooted fears and perceived limitations can hold us back from trying something new, particularly when it comes to personal training and group fitness. While this pattern of thinking tends to hold us back from life-changing experiences, our expert trainers are on a mission to change that.
The rise of social media has created one of the largest digital ecosystems where anyone can consume, re-share or publish almost any type of information they stumble across. While many argue this is a step forward in connectivity, innovation and unity, many don’t stop to pause and understand the consequences that can come along with it.
