Health should be everyone’s top priority – the saying ‘health is wealth’ exists for a reason.
Sometimes it is difficult to know where to start. With so much conflicting information out there on what is best for your body, improving health can become a frustrating pursuit.
However, it does not need to be! Read this piece to find out five things you can do today to improve your health.
Please enjoy a friendly post from Gary at https://garagegymplanner.com/.
Body fat recomposition: a topic that garners very mixed reviews from people. While some think it’s a myth and cannot be done, there are others who claimed to have found the secret formula and seen some very promising results too. Both men and women have tried their hand at this process but, mind you, it’s not a very easy one. The whole process involves first understanding how the body’s fat storage works and then breaking it down using exercise and most importantly, diet.
Jose James Hyland is an amateur boxer with a college degree, multiple certifications and years of experience as a personal trainer. He has worked with dozens of paraplegic and quadriplegic through the AXIS Project, helping them find their own form of fitness through boxing, with him as their coach. For those of you that aren’t working with a coach, but have practiced enough to no longer be considered a beginner, here are some more advanced tips to improve your technique. Essentially, if you’re just starting and don’t have the knack for boxing yet, you shouldn’t burden yourself with these more advanced ideas.
(Also, please remember that an amateur boxer has more experience than an expert. By that, I mean, an expert in the gym with no fight experience, hasn’t competed at the level of an amateur boxer. It takes a lot of time and effort to become an amateur. Unless you’ve been registered, fought in the ring with a referee, and even seen your face on an official poster for the card of a legitimate organization, you are not an amateur boxer.)
You can check out more tips from Jose at Flexing Fitness but until then, enjoy!
Usually, we associate getting fit with getting active because it’s only when we’re running around during the day that we burn off those calories, are capable of losing weight and can strengthen our bodies, right? Wrong. In fact, one of the key times in which we can get fit is actually when we’re horizontal. Nope, I’m not talking about leg lifts or chin ups. (Phew, says you.) I’m talking about night-time, when we’re getting our snooze on.
Getting enough, good-quality sleep is one of the best things we can do for our bodies and our minds. It can improve our memory, help us to lose weight, and reduce anxiety. It even lets us live longer! Sleeping properly makes us happier, healthier people and a little bit better at everything we do. And yep, that includes working out.
Here’s how sleep can help you become a workout machine… (Not literally. That’d be weird.)
As we grow older, we have to work to prevent certain things. These things can include working out to keep both our physique, as well as our insides, healthy, and this can include getting enough sleep at night to keep our brains healthy and alert. However, this includes hearing loss, or for some, going completely deaf. While most people think this happens as you grow into your senior years, that is false. Hearing loss happens for a number of reasons, and can happen at any age. There are ways at home to combat hearing loss, however. These home remedies are the best ways to ensure you keep your hearing, as well as keep your ears healthy.
We always have to work hard to keep Noke’s ears clean
As we move further into the twenty-first century, there is a continuous flow of innovative ideas and products that challenge the consumer’s ability to judge right from wrong. Amongst the sea of marketing and media, it’s hard to tell what is the right product for you. In the fitness and supplement industry, there are hundreds of versions of a product, but each one claims to achieve the exact same result. How could you possibly tell right from wrong?
As summer comes to a close, so do my summer fitness goals! It’s been an incredibly busy summer (including a move and other travel), but I’ve been working hard on my goals. Like the true procrastinator I am, I got 2 out of 5 done within two days of my deadline. But I’m super proud of what I’ve accomplished. I haven’t set real fitness goals for myself in a while and it was amazing to do again.
Why do goals matter? Whether you’re a newbie or fitness vet, goals are important! You need something to strive towards, something to keep you honest. It’ll stop you from getting bored or not knowing what to do: it gives you direction. I want to keep creating goals so hopefully you will see goals come up every season! They will probably all have different themes. Like summer’s goals, for example, were all body weight based.
Anyhow, enough talk, onto my results!
Summer Fitness Goals:
-Goal #1: 20 consecutive push-ups
-Result #1 >> SUCCESS
A while ago, we posted our “Top 5 Male Fitness Personalities on YouTube” (we also did Hungry’s Top 10 Fitness Heroes) and although we don’t get as many comments as we used to on our other host (LEAVE MORE PEOPLE!), there was one that really got our attention. Someone requested a list of the five most influential females in fitness. At first I thought, sure, no problem. Then it began to haunt me and I realized that I bit off more than I could chew. Martial arts, sports, fitness, aquatics, athletics, and more are all “fitness” and there are countless qualified candidates for this list.
Thus, I’ve finally decided to take on this monumental task the only way that I know… without any preparation, research, or any kind of grading rubric. I am going to think of decades of females in fitness within a few minutes and deliver to you a list of five that are nothing but pure inspiration. Anyone should be able to look at these five and immediately feel more than motivated to get to work and make some changes for the better.
Well, I guess there are some overall factors that influenced my decisions. No matter how inspirational they are this list will include… No one that tells you constantly to buy products that don’t work. No one that’s been “in the industry” for less than a year. No one that gives you incorrect nutritional advice or inaccurate explanations of exercises. You don’t get bonus points for having ten million followers over all your social media. AND I am trying to represent different communities in fitness because even though one person requested this list, I am creating it for everyone.
And in NO particular order…
Abby Wambach – The Women’s World Cup is upon us and Abby will lead a team that has a #scoretosettle. She’s a total beast, tougher than the men that hit the pitch, who might go down but doesn’t stay down. She’s also a great role model for the LBGT community, showing that one doesn’t have to hide anything but also doesn’t have to extremely outspoken. She lives the life she wants, has a positive influence on others, is one of the top female athletes in the world, and still rocks the pages of the ESPN Body Issue, butt-naked.
Disclaimer: I would never suggest this “diet” to anyone else. For me, it was just a willpower test I’ve wanted to try. I am highly against crash or fad diets.
Second Disclaimer: This is kind of a long post, but only because it means a lot to me.
I did it. I did it! I did it! If you’re wondering why I’m seemingly raving mad right now, direct yourself to this post. If you don’t feel like reading the whole thing (even though it’s short), I’ll give you a little summary. I did a crazy thing of subjecting myself to 7 days of 560 caloric hell. The actors from Spartacus did this to get lean and in slave-gladiator-like shape for their show. It was a prescribed four water protein shakes a day. That’s it. For an entire week. And that was while they were at “Gladiator Camp” doing 4 hours of combat work each day. I unfortunately had no such camp to attend, so every other day I completed the hellish Spartacus Circuit (3 times over). And on the other days, I did other cardio and strength exercises.
Working hard during a Spartacus circuit
So last Wednesday I forwent food, subsisting on only 4-5 protein shakes a day (water mixed with protein powder). If any of you know me, I am hungry most of the time. Why do you think we named this blog Hungry and Fit? I didn’t choose to do this to lose weight or lose inches (even though I am doing this contest), I did it for the sole sake of testing my willpower. And I did it. I didn’t touch any food for that entire week though I drooled and craved it constantly. I’m waiting for someone to send me my “Willpower Extraordinaire” plaque, but I guess it takes time to mail.
I am very proud of myself and happy I pushed through. Water, gum, and ice are the three material things that really helped me get through it. Oh, and video games. Thanks, nerdy side of myself, for helping me get lost in that while I wasn’t working out or working. More than those, Chris and friends really supported me. Chris was there for me every step of the way and my friends would text me each morning say, “Alana, still staying strong?!” I appreciated it more than they know. Because I was definitely an infinitely more grumpy person during that week. You can especially ask Chris, but also my workmates like Daisy or Kim too.
How I felt
Again, I would not suggest this to anyone. After only consuming 560 calories a day, working out every day, and continuing an active-paced job, I lost ten pounds (I know my mum is yelling at me right now back home). Ten pounds in a week is NOT GOOD. Listen to me, I’m a trainer. That’s what you call a bad crash diet. Again, I want to reiterate, I did it for the willpower test, because for me, I think at the end of the day, if you don’t have your willpower, you don’t have anything. It was extremely rough the first few days–who am I kidding, it was rough for the entirety, but I started getting used to not consuming food. However, by the end, my body was pretty mad at me, making me a little sick and weak. Again–DON’T do this. I’m just sharing my achievement. It ended up de-motivating me for my contest because I was so miserable without food and feeling weak.
“Before”
“After”
I’m showing you pictures of how my body slightly transformed, not as motivation, but to document how this affected me.
You can imagine how blissfully amazing this day of rebirth into food has been (if you think I’m being dramatic, blame my dad, he’s an actor). I had my meals planned days in advance (because what do you do when you can’t eat? You think about food!). I was in such a better mood than I had been all week and I was just happy because I did it. I accomplished something I had wanted to for a long time now. I’m all for celebration, but I’m still on track for this contest. And although today is a “cheat” day (you’ll get descriptions and pictures after this of my meals today), I’m going right back to strict eating of lean proteins, veggies, fruits, and complex carbohydrates to get to my “extremely fit” goal with Chris at my back as a coach.
This wasn’t even close to my cheat day before the Spartacus Hell Week (in terms of bad food), but it was cheat enough for me because it was real, beautiful FOOD. Let’s look at the menu.
For Breakfast: Dot’s Diner
Small House Breakfast…that’s fake meat
I really tried slowly eating, but you can’t understand my excitement and happiness. I ate most of it, but not the whole biscuit. Stomach felt funky for a few hours, but it just needs to get used to solids again.
For Lunch: Snarf’s
Tuna sandwich…mmmm
Face of bliss
The mouth-watering in this situation happened to be ridiculous. Again, tried to take my time.
For Dinner: Korea House
Korea House in its amazingness…we would eat here every night if we could afford it
Happy last meal
I wasn’t going to (or supposed to) have any thick dairy like milk or ice cream, but we were served it by our favorite Korean chef and we always put respect, honor, and morals before anything else.
All in all, I’m glad I did it. I’m proud of myself. But I will never do it again. I only wish to inspire people to try to reach higher and higher, because you never know what you’re capable of. Wish me luck on the rest of my 5 weeks til the end of the contest! Going to be on an eating plan of tuna, beans, rice, vegetables, grapefruit, banana, fish and oatmeal! Use your willpower to stay hungry and fit!
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Listen to your body. It is a simple rule that many many many of us tend to forget, including myself. Well, perhaps forget is a rather passive word, but instead ignore. And what do we do? Keep pushing our bodies even though it’s saying, “Um, hi! I’m done now, please stop!” Many of us will call this “wimping out” or just a complaint that can be pushed through. But that is where you need to acquire a skill.
This skill is understanding and knowing your own body. Picking up on the language that your body uses to communicate with your mind. Often, beginners to fitness are a little out of tune with this language. It’s taken one of my clients several months to come to the point where he can really tune into his body and understand when it is telling him to stop or push just that one rep farther.
Working it right
Take the time in your next workout to feel out what’s going on with your body. Try to learn the difference between muscle pain (good) and joint or tendon pain (bad). If your muscles are filling with lactic acid, you can feel that pressure, that burning pain, but you know you can just do one more rep to push your body to the proper place. And if you feel your elbow joint or rotator cuff hurting with a sharp pain as you continue to bench press or curl, you know to stop before pushing yourself to injury. You have to walk that tight rope of pain. You have to know which is which.
If you’re unsure, ask a trainer. Point out what’s bothering you and they can tell you if that’s A-OK (ripping muscle fibers to make them stronger!) or a big NO-NO (overly-stressing a joint or ligament). If they’re a good, quality trainer, they will want to help you. Don’t be afraid of asking. It could save you an injury or make a workout that much better.
Chris taking a rest day with the kittens
Don’t be (too) stubborn. Now here, I really need to take my own advice. Tonight we did a chest and triceps workout (here’s a sample). My (we think) rotator cuff has been a bit strained and stressed lately and can get pretty painful with certain exercises like push-ups, chest press, shoulder exercises, and other triceps exercises on the bench. I endured it pretty well tonight, but it kept me from completing as full sets as I would like. However, even though I wanted to push myself harder, I knew that it was worn out after a good number of supersets. I wanted to do another superset or so, but I held back. I didn’t want to seriously injure anything. Often, I can be way too stubborn for my own good, but here is a prime example of listening to your body.
Working myself to a good place where my skin needs to get tougher!
So next time you’re in the weight room or out on a run, keep a finely-tuned “ear” to your body and listen to it!
Cheers! And let us know if you have any questions!
