How to Measure Your Fitness

Hungry and I make goals every month in a few different categories: Personal, Hungry & Fit, Home, and Fun. This month, one of my personal goals was to create and follow a training program that would help me with the upcoming Tough Mudder we have in a month. Yeah, probably left it a little bit late to start training, but better late than never, right?! Well, as you know from being a loyal subscriber, we are both personal trainers. So in all rights, I could make myself a training plan–I’ve done it many times before. However, even trainers need trainers and I happen to be married to a pretty fantastic one. I whined about making one so he took a pad of paper and drew one up for me instead. Perks!

The first part of this training plan is measuring my fitness aka performing an assessment of sorts. Luckily, since I am a trainer and I know my away around a gym and loads of exercises, Hungry doesn’t have to stand over me and watch. It’s good to do this before and after a training program to test that program’s effectiveness. So if you’re gearing up to start a new training plan (perhaps from us), make sure to do this assessment first.

Feb012018

The Problem with Articles About Exercise

Just a few days ago, we saw this (old) article shared on social media. I’m sure we looked at it back in 2013, but I couldn’t help myself from taking another look, especially with such a bold title: “The 5 exercise machines you should never use at the gym.” Companies put more money than you’d expect into the R&D (research and development) aspect of creating fitness equipment, so it’s hard to believe there’d be a machine you should never use at the gym, right?

Yes and no.

There really aren’t many pieces of equipment that a legitimate gym would have that should be avoided by every person. Gimmick products that you see on TV such as the new “Squat Magic” would be on that list, but that was surely created in an effort to make money fast. Even with those gimmicks, if performed properly by the right person, calories are going to be burned, at the very least.

Jan232018

What is Sports Performance and Why Does it Matter?

You might have been shopping around for the right person to help you get in shape, and throughout that process, seen a ton of job titles. Ranging from personal trainers to holistic wellness coach, from healthy lifestyles expert to sports performance specialist, there are dozens of monikers that are used in the health/wellness/fitness industry. Ultimately, a professional can put anything on their business card to best represent the service that they offer, but in general, there are some notable differences in the positions.

Jan162018

No-Bake Sticky Protein Bars

How are everyone’s goals progressing? Are we still working hard? Even if you slip up every now and then, don’t let go of the dream! You’re going to mess up, it happens, it’s better to accept that than be blindsided down the road. However, you need to set yourself up for success as much as possible. That means providing yourself with good snacks and good workouts. In this post, I shared some recipe and workout ideas. Go check them out!

It’s important to get enough protein as you’re chasing goals, whether they be losing weight or gaining muscle. I just discovered this super easy no-bake protein bar recipe from Bodybuilding.com. Yep, that’s right–no baking involved. I changed the recipe somewhat to fit my own needs as you’ll see below. These no-bake protein bars are delicious and I accidentally ate three yesterday (whoops). And yeah, there is no baking involved so this recipe takes as long as it takes you to mix all this things together. You can use any protein powder you want and I used Red Velvet protein powder which is why it’s all red!

Jan142018

The Perfect Diet

The perfect diet: a holy grail we have all been seeking for years. Well, turns out–SPOILER: there isn’t one! The purpose of this post is to encourage you not to listen to zealots, but to science. And even more than that, decide on your goal and then decide how you’re going to tackle your nutrition. We want to see you succeed.

Jan092018

3 Health Benefits to Using Protein Powder

Have you ever had an experience where you ate something only to fill your stomach and get you through the day without thinking about getting proper nutrients to your body? Have you been to so many work celebrations, coffee meetings and late-night drinking socials that you ate so much food and still felt hungry after? In today’s fast-paced world where quick and easy meals, mobile food and convenient snacks are all the rage, it is easy to overlook the importance of eating the right food at the right the time. Over time, you start to develop an unhealthy relationship with food that you no longer recognize what it is to be healthy.

Luckily for us, there are food alternatives available that can help us transition and improve our health and well-being. Protein powders have a huge impact to our health and lifestyle. If you are looking for a protein powder that will fit your needs and you want to learn more about their ingredients, be sure to check out Protein Powder Xperts Review for a ton of credible and proven options. There is no better time than now to start taking care of your health. Here are three out of the many health benefits to using protein powder.

Helps Build Muscles and Improve Metabolism

If you work out constantly and you are a very active person, it is highly recommended that you take protein-enriched foods before and after a workout. A fast and easy way to do this is by drinking protein shakes. Taking protein shakes at least 30 minutes before your workout helps prepare your muscle and improve your strength which also lowers the damage to your muscles during training. On the other hand, drinking protein shakes right after a workout helps your muscle regain all the nutrients for recovery and growth. As your muscles grow, your metabolism increases which help with digestion and burning of fat.

Fills Your Body with Essential Nutrients Without the Urge to Binge

You do not need to consume lots of junk foods and even convenient foods that will not provide you with essential nutrients to keep your energy levels up. Protein powders are packed with nutrients that you can consume any time of the day. You can make them into protein shakes or even add the powder to your favorite salad. They are easy to prepare and you can bring them wherever you go. It will keep you full and satisfied and you will not feel the urge to pick up a junk food just to fill your stomach.

Helps You Lose Weight Naturally and Permanently

Losing weight is hard and takes time. If it is easy, everyone will be at their optimum weight and right vitality in one instance. There are a lot of ways to lose weight but not all of them are effective in terms of maintaining an overall healthy lifestyle. The best thing about consuming protein powder is that you know that it’s not the be-all and end-all. Adding protein powder to your healthy routine which includes exercise, proper sleep, mindfulness and eating nutritious food is the best way to maximize its benefits and keep those extra weights off.

Jan032018

Easy Recipes and Workouts for a Healthy New Year

Happy New Year! This is the time to set the tone for the year--to make smart goals, decide on an intention, and kick things off on the right foot. Of course, this isn’t the only time of year to set yourself straight, but it’s a great opportunity. However, this time of year can be daunting–there’s all this pressure on becoming the “new you” and that’s not exactly a straightforward laid-out plan. There could be a thousand possibilities of what to do for fitness or what eating style to go for.

Let us help you in a small way. We’ve gathered five easy healthy (and delicious) recipes as well as five workouts you can do from the comforts of your home. Not sure what gym to subscribe to? No problem. Start with these home workouts first and then go from there. The recipes listed below range from snacks to meals and are all very simple (it’s rare to find a complicated recipe on our blog–I don’t have the patience for it).

Dec202017

How Much Do You Bench?

Hungry talking here. We receive a lot of questions through our various platforms. While we’re most responsive to email and text/phone calls (as long as it isn’t blatant spam), we try to give as many personal responses to comments on the blog as well. Sometimes, Facebook Messenger, YouTube comments, Instagram direct messages, and Twitter whatever-they-haves (plus all of the other platforms… LinkedIn, etc.) are lost, and we apologize if you’ve never received a response.

Often, these questions are repetitive. That is, if you weren’t aware, one of the reasons that we created the blog. As we moved across the country, and left clients behind in the process, we decided to use the blog as a way to communicate with our former clients. When the blog picked up, and we started seeing tens of thousands of views in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe, we decided to use the blog to provide free advice.

Dec192017

The Perfect Addition to Your Home Gym

New year, new you, right? Well, we’re not quite there, but two of the most challenging weeks of the year are separating you from 2018. Most people focus on their struggle with large family meals and tins full of cookies, but why bother stressing about that when you can focus on something else… something rewarding.

What’s this crazy rewarding thing we’re talking about? Well, it’s simple and it is all based on performance. Looking in the mirror feels good; we don’t disagree with you there, but nothing feels better than feeling better! Huh? When you’re physically capable of something, especially something you were never capable of doing before, you feel amazing.

Dec132017

How to Get Big Calves!

Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses; Hungry is often told that he has really nice calves. Whether it was cheerleaders on the sidelines during his high school basketball games or bros in the gym in Los Angeles, a lot of people have a tendency to stare at Hungry’s calves. Calves are often seen as one of the hardest muscle groups to successfully train, and as a result, a lot of people end up asking, what do you do for your calves?