Education Archives — Page 3 of 18

What’s Sup!

I’m not a huge fan of taking lots of supplements. Why not? I actually had to think about this for a second… and honestly, I think it’s because I’m too cheap! Supplements are super expensive and often times they are gimmicks. Rather than spending money on something to “supplement” my diet, I try to eat healthy. Plain and simple. Between Chris, Annie and Nicole, I’m definitely the worst at eating healthy. No doubt about it. But I do my best 😃 I’m on no medications, as strong as ever and I rarely get sick… can’t think of the last time […] Read more

Supplementation: Good Idea? Bad Idea? No Idea:-/

MY BACKSTORY:

This week all the coaches are talking supplements. Over my exercise history I taken lots of different supplements over lots of different phases in my career.

I remember starting in High School (96′) playing on the varsity basketball team and lifting with the football team in the off-season. I was a skinny, (6’3″ 160lbs #yikes). My first exposure to supplements was the following:

-Creatine Monohydrate (4x/wk; pre lifting session)
-Creatine Stack; (1x/day at night)
-Muscle Blast (2x/day)

My sole purpose for taking them was to gain size and strength (obviously). And back then supplements did not taste as appealing as they are now. I […] Read more

Stay Fit While on the Road!

I chuckled to myself when Chris mentioned our blog topic for the week. Staying fit while on vacation. ☀️

I used to workout like a machine while on vacation. As I’ve grown older, my days of vacation exercises have disappeared. That being said, I was ready for a workout after a few days at the lake this 4th of July week. Brownies, banana bread, trail mix and everything in between had me desperate for a workout.

Do you enjoy working out while on vacation? Yes? Great! My list of favorite outdoor and hotel workouts are below. If you don’t, give your […] Read more

Summer Shape, Vacations, Out of Town Made Easy

July is here and this means summer is in FULL swing. Just like there are seasons of weather there are seasons with your FITness and Health. I think it is very healthy with your mind, body and soul to change your routine with the change of season.

Here in the mid-west I think this is the biggest shift for most people in seasonal change. Summer means a few things…
*Kids out for summer
*Urgency to take advantage of going to lake/beach.
*Staying up later due to sun setting later in the evening.
*More out of town trips will happen.

One of the hardest things for those […] Read more

Track Your Max

Do you know your numbers?

Life is crazy. We are constantly making decisions from the time we wake to when we go to sleep. Have you ever thought about how many choices you make in one day? I bet you would be surprised. So you walk into CPM and see 1 RM Back Squat on the board for Part A.

Do you have any idea where to start? 🤔
Do you know your goal? 🤔🤔

No? Well, start tracking your numbers. It only takes a minute after class and will not only help you get better but make your life easier!

Here’s a good starter […] Read more

The Fitness Puzzle

Jigsaw Puzzles are one of my favorite pastimes. I love to problem solve and find it’s a great way for me to unwind. For many people, 1000 piece puzzles can seem frustrating. Sometimes we get too excited or impatient and try to force pieces in places they don’t belong. We get ahead of ourselves. Frustration sets in because it’s not turning out how we expected it to, only having to start over again.

Does this sound familiar? How many diets or exercise programs have you started only to be disappointed in the end results?

Fitness is not a one-size-fits-all.

Fitness is a puzzle. […] Read more

What Is a Metcon?

Metcon Defined

We like to throw a lot of terms and acronyms at you throughout the week.
👉 AMRAP
👉 EMOM (sometimes we call it EMOTM)
👉 RFT
👉 Power Clean / Squat Clean / Hang Clean / High Hang Squat Clean

Can it get any more confusing? Probably not but if you pay attention, eventually all of this will become second nature to you.

Today I want to help you understand the term Metcon. When your friends ask you what kind of workouts you do, what do you tell them? Intense workouts? 😂 That would define a lot of them quite well but they can be […] Read more

I scream, you scream, we all scream for…vegetables?!?

Fruits and vegetables contain essential nutrients for a healthy body but what if you don’t like vegetables? Is it possible to eat healthy and attain certain fitness goals without having to “eat the rainbow”?

Whether it’s the taste, texture or just pure hard-headedness, veggies can be a challenge for many. For some the dislike or hatred can turn into a full blown panic attack at the mere sight or thought of a veggie. This really exists it’s called — Lachanophobia. I hope that none of you reading this have this condition as it’s not really what I will be discussing here […] Read more

Jump and Shrug – But Why?

The Burgener Warm-Up

Alright guys, grab a bar. Get your feet hip width apart, snatch grip on the bar. Let’s Jump and Shrug.

Why? Why do we have to do this every time? When I attended a Crossfit Weightlifting Cert, we did this over and over and over. We were even forced to use the dreaded hook grip. If you got caught without the hook grip, you did burpees 🤢 But I digress. Why the Burgener Warm-Up?

Mike Burgener has been called the Godfather of American Weightlifting. He is a Level 5 Senior International Weightlifting Coach and has had a huge […] Read more

Meal Prep is Key🔑

With summer break upon us, I am filled with mixed emotions. It’s more of a relaxed time. There is less structure and more freedom. Calendars are full of summer activities, camps and family vacations. All of which can throw a major curve ball when it comes to sticking to healthy habits.

For me the key to staying on track is meal prepping. Most of our nights consist of rushing from one activity to the next. Having food ready to eat when hunger hits keeps me from bingeing on snacks or prepackaged convenience food.

Meal prepping does take some effort but it is […] Read more

4 Pillars of Health – What Is Missing In Your Life?

Are You Balanced?

Another podcast… I know, I know. But this is a good one. If you don’t subscribe to Lewis Howes podcast, The School of Greatness, you should. I always feel motivated and smarter 🤓 when I finish listening to one of his episodes. In this particular episode, they talked about health and how it can be divided into 4 categories. (Keep in mind I’m paraphrasing all of this and may not get it exactly right).

1️⃣ Nutrition
2️⃣ Exercise
3️⃣ Sleep
4️⃣ Relaxation

Take a close look at your life? Are you missing any of these? Let’s see…

Nutrition – I’m pretty good on this. […] Read more

Why TGU’s?

If you are looking ahead you have probably seen that Turkish Get-ups (TGU) are on the menu to end the week. This is becoming one of my favorite exercises. Why? It’s the one single movement that targets every inch of your body.

The Turkish Get-up incorporates all kinds of ankle, knee and hip movements as well as shoulder stabilization. It’s a great way for anyone to learn how to connect his or her whole body while maintaining a strong core to complete the task.

TGUs can be used in a variety of ways: an identifier for weak/tight muscles, a warm-up for your entire body and/or a strength exercise […] Read more

The Benefits of Static Holds in Workouts and in Life ….

Thursday we will be doing a workout that consists of all static holding for different positions ..

Handstands
Squat
Hollow Hold
Bar Hang

Why did I program this you ask?

Well you all know I am the “Why” Girl so here is your answer …

Static exercises, also known as “Isometrics”, are a form of exercise where the body performs little to no movement while contracting its muscles.
Key benefits of static training are:

1. Increased muscular endurance – Static training is very taxing on your CNS (Central Nervous System). This occurs very quickly while performing static holds. Which is why you notice that you […] Read more

Carbs Can Work For You…

Overconsume carbohydrates, and you could incur unwanted weight gain, blood sugar issues, and a long list of chronic diseases.

Eat too little, and you could experience hormonal imbalance, weight loss resistance, and major drops in athletic performance.

To add to this conundrum, what is one person’s high carb can be another’s too low carb – making mainstream “general” intake recommendations entirely inadequate.

While both sides of the coin project carbohydrates in an unpleasant light, rest assured – your right carb does exist, and eating the appropriate amount of this macronutrient can help you achieve health, longevity, and natural leanness.

The big (and quite controversial) question now becomes… What is your right […] Read more

Going Deeper with your Body… #joints

We all know you can only be as strong as your weakest link. And we all want to work out hard to feel accomplished, challenge ourselves and get awesome results. It’s fun, exciting and motivating to train with INTENSITY! However as we age we must think and act responsibly with our bodies so we can train hard and effective for the long haul. One of the most under-trained parts of our body is our joints!

Why should we focus and train our joints?

Joints are the foundation of our bodies infrastructure.

Good News: When healthy and adequately prepared we can train harder, longer, […] Read more

The Swiss Army Knife of Exercises… the Sots Press

Why? What’s in it for you?

Isn’t the goal?… Creating an anti-fragile, strong, robust and mobile body so we fight father time and look as good as we can the longer we can:-)… Oh good I thought so;-)

One of the big attractions to “Functional FITness” is how you can get the most amount out of not only your workouts but out of each exercise. Sots press could be one that can give you the most bang for your buck. Think about the “Useable Mobility”–> (LINK) we discussed previously.

The Sots press is a viable training exercise for most athletes looking too…

Promote sound […] Read more

Weightlifting Belt; Too Wear or Not to Wear…

Monday we had Deadlifts. You may have noticed that day (or even on other days) that some gym buddies were wearing a weightlifting belt.

If you’ve ever wondered if a weightlifting belt is for you I like to give you my take on it, some benefits and how to use it.

Personally, I’m a BIG fan of using weightlifting belts. Even though I’ve used a belt just a handful of times in my ‘extensive’ lifting career;-) My objective for using them would be for powerlifts and if I going for a HEAVY lift or PR! You really won’t see me using them in a conditioning […] Read more

But Is Your Mobility Even Useable?

So now that we have the rules of Flexibility I beg the question… But, why should I stretch?
.
We want something USEABLE. Something(s) that will transfer over in Real Life that we can use everyday.
.
What is “Useable Mobility”?
.
?️One, injury prevention. We want the stretching we perform to improve our strength in a range of motion. This stretch helps prevent injury. For example, what if you slip on some ice and needed to catch yourself or even drop a bit into a split:-O. Life (and our workouts) is unpredictable so we want to be strong everywhere. If we train and strength end ranges we […] Read more

Sun for the Soul

As you read my blog this week, I will be enjoying my last few days in the Caribbean. This is something my husband and I commit to doing yearly. Although the finances don’t always look like we can afford to go, we say each year that this is something that we can’t afford not to do.

With the daily hustle and bustle of daily life, it’s easy to forget about the person you married. This is our time to reconnect, spending quality time together away from the kiddos to help us refuel after a long season of busyness.

Maintaining our health routine […] Read more

Do You Even Stretch?

Do you stretch with a purpose?

Or do you just stretch for the sake of stretching?

Sure, you have mobilized some. Pulling your leg behind you until you feel a strain on your quads, or kicking your leg up on a bench and leaning into it before a run. Real stretching is not part of a warm-up or cool-down though, real stretching is work. Sweaty, dizzying, (occasionally) nauseating work.

Let’s clarify one point before we get too far. When I talk about stretching (with a purpose), I am talking about actively working to increase your range of motion and your flexibility, with the intention of achieving […] Read more