In a perfect world, we wouldn’t even have to discuss diaphragmatic breathing because it is a naturally occurring process that every human being does naturally. However, as we spend large amounts of time stressed and in active, the muscles in our core and diaphragm weaken and our breath becomes more and more shallow.
This year, I had the privilege of attending The Arnold Sports Festival from March 1-3. This three-day event is held every year in Columbus, OH and hosted by the one and only, Arnold Schwarzenegger. My role at the event was to work the Nutrabio booth, representing, promoting, and selling their products. While I’ve attended many events with Nutrabio over the last five years, the Arnold Sports Festival was by far the most electric.
We all come in different shapes and sizes, and while much of that has to do with lifestyle and environmental factors, some of it boils down to the genetic “body type” we were born into.
When it comes core/abdominal training, the plank is usually the go to choice for gym-goers and trainers. However, it is one of the most poorly performed exercises and most people don’t realize they are doing it incorrectly. However, There is a lot of really great ways to do planks and great ways to program them into your workouts.
Every once in awhile, I’ll read a new nutrition study and think to myself, “Yea...no duh.” While this most recent study falls into that category, it serves as a great reminder that our nutritional choices do, in fact, become our biology. With increasingly evolving food technology, food choices and food categories have expanded, making it harder to make good choices. Not only do we have processed and unprocessed foods, but we now have the emergence of an entirely new category of “ultra-processed” foods.
Meet Mark! Mark is the owner and CEO of Nutrabio Labs, which is a supplement manufacturer of everything from protein powder to vitamins and minerals, and a plethora of other products for people who lead a healthy and active lifestyle. Being a good friend of The Body Shop Studio, Mark and I have shared plenty of meals dining out together. A few months ago Mark told me that he has eaten every single meal out at a restaurant for the last 365 days. No meals prepared at home. Moral of the story is that he still manages to look like this...
When it comes to factors that can limit your fitness routine, chronic back pain is high on the list for many. First and foremost, we highly recommend a doctor’s visit to address your back pain and immediately ditching the training motto, “no pain, no gain.” Trying to work through back pain without figuring out what the cause is and how to properly address it, can end in huge setbacks.
When it comes to organizing your workout, there is a method to the madness. Here are some basic principles:
1. Always Start with a Warm Up
Jumping into your workout right from the car is never a good idea. The goal of your warm-up is just what it sounds like, to warm up the muscle.
Most times when people say, “I’m not very flexible” in regards to not being able to touch their toes, inability to get into a proper deep squat or an overall feeling of stiffness throughout the day, in actuality, it is not really flexibility that is the issue.
It would be wrong of us to completely ignore the marriage between fitness and New Year’s Resolutions by not mentioning the topic in a Facebook post, blog or instagram story. So here it is...our obligatory New Year’s Resolution post!
The key is not just to live longer, the key is to live longer, while maintaining your quality of life. The more and more research that is done, the more clear it becomes that the key to successful longevity is movement. Movement is the key to maintaining activities that you love and our ability to care for yourself. Our bodies are not meant for stagnation.
Although this is not your typical gym before and after photo, it serves as a huge reminder for us about the importance of maintaining adequate hydration. The first photo is our studio plant after three days of no water (oops!) and the second is the transformation it made in just three hours after watering! The truth is that an estimated 75% of us are walking around in a constant state of dehydration.
When it comes to functionality, there is arguably no muscle group more important than your grip. The word “functional” is often overused in fitness, but in this case it is necessary. If your grip is weak, you’ll need help doing everyday tasks like opening a jar or carrying groceries to and from the car.
What constitutes as proper squat depth is highly debated and most often opinions depend on your lifting background (crossfit, powerlifting, bodybuidling etc.). However, for many of us who are not lifting competitively or keeping score, what matters most should be squatting safely, effectively and getting the most out of the exercise.
The benefits of a squatting to parallel or close to it is that it will help you
In my experience, there seems to be one behavior characteristic that our most successful clients have in common. It’s one that is not talked about enough, probably because it can’t be marketed and sold. However, if you can nail this one down, you can almost bet on success. The behavior is the ability to remain consistent.
The short answer is “Yes!” It is both safe and effective for kids (we are referring to adolescence as young as 7) to embark on a strength training program.
There’s one component to any diet or workout program that you don’t want to neglect. I would even argue it is the most important component. It’s so critical, it may even be the magical solution for you.
Are all Whey Protein Powders the same?
NO! and it’s important to understand the difference. Whey protein powders are produced by removing a certain percentage of non-protein ingredients from pasteurized whey derived from cheese processing. Let’s start with the two most common forms of whey protein, Whey Protein Isolate and Whey Protein Concentrate.
It seems like every week there is a new diet that people are raving about. People have lost tons of weight just eating X,Y and Z. Some of them have some merit to them and others just boggle my mind that people would actually do them and believe they will work. So when it comes to dieting, I have a few factors that I recommend people consider before jumping on any program.
“Which exercise is better?” is one of the most common questions I am asked as a coach/trainer. People want to know if a dumbbell bench press is better than barbell bench press? Is the back squat better than the front squat? Want to know the answer to all of those questions? You ready?
