Virtual Reality is the Future of Fitness

Virtual reality is the future of fitness; you’re hearing it here, although this probably isn’t the first or last time you’ll hear it. Recently, we attended a special VIP influencer event for the kinda grand opening of a new VR spot in LA… Dreamscape. While we couldn’t stand a lot of the other influencers that were there (they thought they were really important, and were referring to themselves as influencers), we are very excited to return. They had three different options and we decided to be a part of a mission to save a baby whale. The experience was immersive and although it was less interactive than The Void (we did a Star Wars VR there), it was an amazing experience.

Jan022019

Achieve a Lifestyle, Not a Number

Happy 2019! New year, new you, right? Great! If that’s what you want. But how are you framing it? Are you saying you want to lose x number of pounds or BMI? Are you saying you want to fit into size x? That’s all well and good, but I don’t think that’s necessarily the right way to look at it. You should never attribute your value to a number. Never ever. I love the body positivity movement that has been gaining following, but it still has a long, long way to go.

Instead of just trying to achieve a weight loss goal of thirty pounds (or whatever), why not make a resolution to change your lifestyle? I’m not saying you can’t touch a slice of pizza or bowl of ice cream again. I’m saying shifting a few things in your day-to-day life that could make a bigger impact than you might first think. I’m not going to give a direct list of what you need to do because everyone will need a different plan of action, but let me give some overall advice.

Dec012018

The Push Up & Plank Challenge

While many of you are probably preparing for Freeform’s (although we all know it as ABC Family) 25 Days of Christmas, which starts today with Kittens vs Christmas Trees, there are others stressing about their physical health during the month of Thanksgiving all the way to Christmas. While we spoke about optimizing your health from a food and fuel point of view yesterday, we have a simple, yet rewarding challenge to issue for this month… starting today!

Everyone can do push ups and planks. By that, I mean, there are a lot of people who cannot swim because they do not have access to a pool or body of water. There are people who cannot cycle because they do not have a bike and cannot afford a membership to a gym. Nearly everyone can roll out of bed in the morning and get on the floor to put down a set of push ups and a plank.

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.

Nov082017

Why You Aren’t Getting a Six Pack!

Recently, someone in the gym asked us about an exercise we were performing, specifically inquiring if it was targeting our abs and then questioning how it differs from the abdominal crunch machine he was using. We explained that this particular variation of the abdominal crunch would activate more muscles in his core, since the weight could force his body left or right as well.

When he showed obvious frustration and explained how he’d been using the machine for years with no progress, we asked how he was using the machine, specifically referring to how many reps and sets he was doing. When he told us that he performed 30-40 reps per set, we asked him if he was happy with his upper arms. When he said that he was indeed happy with that body part, we asked him how he trained his arms, specifically referring to how many reps and sets he was doing. When he told us that he performed 8-12 reps per set, we presented the question: why are you training your abs differently?

Jun162017

TGIF Workout

Thank goodness it’s Friday! Another week has passed and I hope you have some fun (or relaxing) things planned this weekend. Get jazzed up! But you know what will make this weekend even better? A TGIF workout. Yep, you knew it was coming. No, it’s not just because we’re fitness freaks. Getting some exercise in before a weekend can make you feel so much better. We tend to get a little lax when it comes to eating over the weekend, so doing a workout beforehand can remove some guilt that may creep up. This one is for anywhere, you just need to find some type of hill! If you are using a treadmill, just put that incline up!

May312017

Our 3 Favorite Breathing Techniques

If you’re a regular reader, you probably know we are fans of meditation. We may not be perfect at it, but we try every day to deepen, or at least continue, our practice. It helps us find focus, grounding, and perspective. When the world threatens to put everything on your shoulders, it helps to sit down and take a breather. It puts everything in perspective and reveals that all is not lost, that there’s still hope. It gives you some space from all the stresses and anguish that may be coming down on you. It also helps you realize that this is just a current mental state and that it is and always will be fluid.

To get into a meditation practice, it’s always a good idea to start with breathing. This helps calm the mind down and pushes it to focus on one thing: your breath. Below are our three favorite breathing techniques to clear the mind:

May292017

5 Healthy Snacks to Have at Home

Here at the Hungry & Fit household, we know that what you put in your pantry is what you will put in your stomach. That’s why we typically don’t stock junk in the house. However, we are HUNGRY and Fit, and let me tell you, I get hungry very often. So, instead of yelling hangrily at Hungry, we always have a healthy stock of snacks at home. We go through lots of different snacks, but here are some of our favorites:

Snacks for the whole family!

Nov052016

Performance Shoulders Workout

Whether our injuries are actually located somewhere inside our shoulder or hip girdles, many injuries are caused by a lack of stability and mobility in those two areas. They’re two extremely complex joints that are surrounded by many different muscles, as opposed to our biceps or triceps that are far less challenging to isolate and deal with as a regular person working out at the gym. Fortunately, we don’t have to change anything in terms of “how to train” other than be aware of the various muscles that should be targeted.

This workout combines basic movements that activate all the major muscles in the shoulder girdle and eventually leads up to some lifts that are closer to what you’d see in competition. It’s not necessarily a workout for a beginner and that’s why we aren’t offering full explanations and pictures of the exercises. If you’re unsure what these (basic) exercises and muscles are, you should probably take a step back and start with the machines in the gym, rather than free weights.

Oct202016

Optimum Nutrition Opti-Bar Review

When you do it, do it right. I think that’s the first and last… and only impression that Optimum Nutrition (who I’ll refer to as ON for the rest of the article) wants to make. Even though they only have a few products with the name “Gold Standard,” it’s obvious that they want their name associated with being the best. For the past few years, you might have found your cabinet filled with their Whey Protein, Multi-Vitamin, and Creatine. More recently you might have added their BCAAs, AMINO Energy, Preworkout, Protein Water, and newer flavors of whey to your collection. Now, you can really take ON with you anywhere you go; meet the OPTI-BAR.

A protein bar is a protein bar, right? To a certain degree. While we shouldn’t need to explain to you that a protein bar is a few bites of nutrient-rich food that generally has a single texture, we do want to highlight some of the things that make the Opti-Bar stand out, or at least make you feel more comfortable consuming it. The reality is that when you go to a convenience store like 7-11, you don’t want to be inconvenienced trying to figure out which option to choose. You consider a few things so let’s address those directly.