What NASM’s Acquisition of AFAA Means Right Now

Yes, this is old news to most fitness professionals, but it came up in the office the other day and I realized that I never shared this with you! If you click on this link you will see that NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) and AFAA (Aerobics and Fitness Association of America) are both listed on the same screen, on AFAA’s website nonetheless. Don’t be confused, AFAA has not acquired NASM; it’s actually the other way around. On this particular page, AFAA is offering a NASM Group Personal Training Online Workshop for $129, granting 7 AFAA CEUs. Essentially, you read a bit, watch some videos, and take a quiz that you need to pass in three attempts.

Image source: NASM

Oct302015

LA Residents: Workout with Hungry into 2016!

Every year since 2013, the Westside Family YMCA (in the Sawtelle neighborhood of West Los Angeles) has had a three-month program to help individuals make it through the most challenging time of year for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The holidays present all kinds of travel issues such as staying at hotels, going out to eat a lot, huge meals with your family where saying no might be impolite, and just overall craziness. In this chaos, it’s hard to maintain balance, but we know that consistency is the key to success. Whether you’re trying to gain muscle mass, cut body fat, or just become stronger, you need to have a realistic and smart nutrition and exercise plan to accomplish these goals.

Oct292015

How to Sleep Better with Arthritis

This post is brought to you by our friends at Adjustamatic

If you suffer from arthritis, you’ll understand how it can make even the simplest of everyday tasks like getting in and out of bed a major challenge. The discomfort caused by the condition can also lead to low-quality sleep, which can have a detrimental impact on your overall well-being. If you’re struggling to nod off at night due to painful, stiff joints, this simple guide should help.

Oct272015

Learning How to Stretch

Very recently, I’ve been getting lower back spasms. It doesn’t happen all the time, just sometimes at work when I’m sitting. It’s particularly worrying to me because those kind of things don’t really happen to me. Sure I’ll hurt myself doing something, but I don’t get chronic pain or ongoing behind-the-scenes stuff. Because it was so concerning to me, I wanted to get to the bottom of it immediately before anything got worse. So I got to thinking…what could of caused this? I looked up symptoms, treatments, causes…tight hamstrings, lack of strong core, poor posture. I then thought through my lifestyle lately, and realized I haven’t really stretched or done yoga in about 6 months. Yikes.

Sep302015

Movement Feeds Our Soul [Giveaway!]

Disclosure: I am part of the PTPA Brand Ambassador Program with Rocky 4EurSole and I received compensation as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

If you know us here at Hungry and Fit, you know we are on the move. Here to there, constantly running our tootsies to this place then that–never staying still for more than a few minutes. You may also know that we both have flat feet–I even have hallux rigidus, a condition similar to bunions. This makes constant movement without constant support bitterly painful. I’ll be okay for an hour or so, but if I’m not wearing proper shoes with proper support, I am going to feel it now and feel it later into the night. However, you know that doesn’t stop us! We run around training people and helping others find their health journey, because it feeds our soul.

Sep232015

How to Calm a Coughing Attack

The changing of the seasons is upon us and while that may not be very apparent to us Southern Californians, it’s definitely happening everywhere else! And what happens when seasons change beside the lovely new exciting things? SICKNESS. Yes, unfortunately, when the seasons change, the weather changes, and our bodies just get all darn confused! It could be the flu, a cold…whatever our lowered immune system decides to let in. With those nasty sicknesses, comes the dreaded, lingering cough. This cough is wet and deep at first, but then, as your sickness dries up or gets better, it turns into a dry cough. Then you’re that person coughing over and over in class or in the office and you have deep circles under your eyes because it wakes you up.

My most recent hot toddy

Sep212015

What Do Female Athletes Look Like?

This was inspired by observing high school female athletes. Being in your teens as a female comes with a ridiculous amount of self-esteem issues, self-judging, and self-criticism. Media doesn’t help this (but at least it’s getting semi-better) so girls think they all have to be that cookie-cutter shape–those “thigh gaps,” an unhealthy body fat percentage, and no muscle. I saw one girl, probably going home from sports practice, look at a car mirror to find her reflection. I can online imagine what was going through her mind when she looked at her thick thighs. And I want to say, GUESS WHAT GIRLS–you are athletes. And athletes aren’t “Angels” (see below). Your bodies have a purpose.

Image source

Sep162015

How to Choose a Good Pair of Protective UV Sunglasses

This post is brought to you by Catherine Lavinia in order to help your eye health!

Many people believe that sunglasses can be just a stylish accessory. Nevertheless, there are some good reasons why they are called “protective”. Their main purpose is to protect your eyes from too bright sunlight, and most importantly – protect from the destructive action of the “invisible enemy” ultraviolet rays. How to distinguish real protective sunglasses from fake ones? Let’s try to find out.

Sep152015

How to Swim in Front of Large Crowds

This could be for anyone: it could be for you, your children, your parents, or your friends! It could be a child swim meet, it could be a swim-a-thon for a good cause, or maybe it’s a triathlon. What do these events mean? Besides being great athletic trials, these events mean there will be lots of people around! This could completely throw people off. In this video, we tell you how to get past worrying about swimming in front of large crowds.

Sep112015

How to Get Better at Push-Ups

Just like pull-ups, push-ups can be a really tough point for most people (especially females who aren’t used to strength training). However, you can get there! As you may know, one of my summer goals is to be able to do 20 consecutive push-ups. And I am already at 14! I really hope to be able to finish my goal by the end of October, and I think I can do it! It’s all about practice. And what are you trying to practice exactly to reach multiple push-ups? Muscle endurance!

Those major and minor pectorals need to build up their endurance if you want them to be able to carry you through twenty repetitions of full body-weight! I’ve built a few different workouts, but here are some exercises that will help you get there. Remember, to build muscle endurance, you want to do at least 12 reps for each set.