Did you eat too much on Thanksgiving?!
Yea, most if us did. It's ok. Don't continue to beat yourself up over it, just get moving! Go for a walk! Go to the gym! Turn on some music and dance in your living room like no one is watching!!
Here's your daily reminder to get off of the couch!
How is your sleep hygiene?
Do you have a hard time getting to sleep at night? Are you sleepy during the day? Irritable? Trouble focusing?
Try turning down the lights an hour before bedtime. Turn off the screens. Maybe play some relaxing music. Drink some sleepy time tea. Run a warm bath or read a book. Use some lavender aromatherapy.
Getting a good night sleep is the best way to rest/recover and prepare for the day ahead.
Do you know why it's recommended to get 8 hours of sleep per night? The answer is because it takes 1 hour to recover for every 2 hours of being awake and under stress.
Being active and physically fit is only 1 facet of being fit. Regular exercise has been proven to help boost energy and mood. Meditation also helps reduce stress (cortisone) levels and improves focus.
Set a daily reminder to meditate
If you need/want a guided meditation YouTube has loads to choose from.
Even just 10 minutes a day will help to get your mental gainz on!! OM
Hate running on the treadmill at the gym?
Yea, me, too. I'm not a massive fan of running in general, but that's a whole other post. Did you know that you can replace running on a treadmill with walking? Decrease your pace to a walk and increase the grade to a hill. You heart rate will increase and you get your cardio in, I promise!
Don't forget to warm up and cool down!
4 components to include in every strength training workout:
Push: also known as press
Pull: also known as row
Hinge: Dead lift or kettlebell swings are hinges
Squat: So many variations of these
Many exercises include multiple of these like the deadlift which is a hinge and a pull. Be sure to include all four of these for a well rounded workout!
Want to increase your testosterone?
Get regular exercise.
Maintain a regular sleep schedule. (Fun Fact: THIS is when the body makes most of its testosterone)
Eat mostly whole foods
Avoid: tobacco, caffeine, excessive sugar, excessive dairy, animal fat, and opioids.
How many reps in a set?
Well, that depends on what you're trying to achieve. Muscle definition? Less reps (1-5) , more weight (it should be a struggle). Strength? More reps (8-12), less weight (the last few should be hard to achieve, but the first few should be kind of easy). Endurance? Less weight, LOTS of reps (less than 20, if you can do 20 easily, add more weight). This is more time bound, like keep going for 30-60 seconds. Feel the burn.
How much water is enough water?
It's always hard to determine if we've had the minimum amount of water each day. It comes from so many sources. Obviously, you can drink straight water, but do we count coffee or tea? There is an argument that anything containing caffeine doesn't count. This is because caffeine is a diuretic and causes people to flush it right out of their systems. I still haven't gotten to the bottom of that one. Does that smoothie with lunch count? Obvously, it's liquid, but it's so dense, so how much is liquid? The banana? What about the burger? Yea, we ingest fluid with almost everything we eat, so how do we measure that? What about really salty things, like chips? Well, we guesstimate. Just like we do with the approximate number of ounces we're supposed to drink everyday. How do we know? Take your weight in pounds and divide that number in half. That's the minimum number of ounces of fluid recommended for you eachday. Keep in mind; if it's hot outside or if you're exercising you should double that number.