How Does Exercise Impact Sleep?

Being in the fitness industry, we know how important sleep is for the body. Getting fit doesn’t just happen in the gym, it also happens at home in your bed. Recovery is a huge part of fitness and if you just work out with no recovery, you can only get so far. Your body needs to recover, rebuild muscle proteins, and get proper rest. Good recovery tools include foam rolling sore muscles, icing and heating, proper nutrition intake, massage, and SLEEP. Want to build muscle? Get a good night’s rest. Exercise and sleep affect each other.

We would like to share an awesome resource and article with you guys to underline our point of how sleep can help you get fitter. The scientists behind the Casper mattress created a sleep blog called Van Winkle’s to share their science, health, and cultural discoveries with health communities like ours. If you haven’t already heard of Van Winkle’s, you should check them out here. They recently posted this article “7 Things to Know About the Sleep-Exercise Connection.” Did you know the reason “why” you workout also contributes to your sleep quality? Who would have thunk it? See below. Check out the article and tell us if any of these points resonate with you. And as always, stay hungry and fit!

“In one study, participants who got the best sleep reported getting (a lot of) exercise from leisure activities. People who were active for other reasons, e.g., due to occupational demands, reported worse sleep, as did people who didn’t exercise at all.”

Jun082017

Meditation to Find Your Center

In this rough and tumble world, it can be exceedingly difficult to find grounding. Most of us live in an environment of stress where it feels like we are just bouncing along and unable to get a grip. The stress whips us up and it’s hard to find grounding and perspective. The tornado of stress is the center of our attention and everything else falls to the wayside. It feels turbulent, dangerous, and unsettling. There could be a myriad of factors that play into this: your work, your partner, your boss, family life, money, and so forth. Unfortunately, the list of stressors is a lengthy one.

I find that the meditation below helps calm the world around me down and reminds me that everything I need is already inside of me. I hope you find it useful.

Jun062017

KISS Workout!

No, this has nothing to do with the band or the action. And no, this isn’t a risqué workout to do with your partner (but you can totally do it with your partner!). If you’re a chef or a fitness person, the phrase KISS means… keep it simple, stupid. That is exactly the point of this workout and while we are going to give you an actual workout to do, this is more about considering an extremely different approach to your training sessions, no matter what your level of fitness is.

A handful of people in the gym will go on a piece of cardio equipment for an hour, a handful of others will perform 10-15 different exercise just for their biceps, and a handful of others will try whatever circuit they read about in a health magazine. Sure, there are tons of others as well, but here’s a different way of considering a workout.

Take some of the best exercises possible for a muscle group and focus on those few movements. Perform at least 4 working sets, which involve a high level of effort… warm-up sets don’t count towards that goal of 4. Push yourself by going heavy and hitting a high(er) rep range (8-12) and give yourself ample rest in between sets. This is a hybrid-style workout in some ways.

Jun012017

When to Prioritize Cardio & Strength Training to Fit Your Goals

It’s hard to know when to work out or even what to workout. Our goal is for you to be hungry and fit, and whatever we can do to take out less work and thinking for you, the better! Should you focus on cardio or strength training? How often for each? We want you to be able to dive into a plan of action without having to do too much studying up on something. This is why we are happy to share an awesome infographic with our friends from Health Perch to make it simple as possible to recognize your goals and go forth and achieve them. You can click on the actual article to find more sample workout weeks. Enjoy!

“When to Prioritize Resistance and Aerobic Training to Fit Your Goals” on Health Perch

May302017

How to Deal with Your Snoring Problem

Snoring is something that a lot of people struggle with. It’s uncomfortable for those that sleep next to us or near us and it can also disrupt our own sleep. If you are struggling with snoring yourself then you are probably looking for a way to treat your snoring problem. There are different types of snoring and there are different things that cause it in the first place. It’s pretty hard to just tell what your snoring problem originates from because of it, and more people feel frustrated because of that. But let’s take a look at some ways in which you can deal with this problem and make sleep time better not just for yourself but also for the people around you who are struggling with your problem just as much as you.

May262017

FriYAY Workout

We made it to Friday! I know some of us don’t have typical M-F jobs, but there’s still something about Friday that gets the happy dance going. We’re scooting through work with weekend plans on our mind and rejuvenation in our hearts. Maybe we have something scheduled for tonight–a party, a barbecue, an outing of some sort. We are looking forward to getting done with the day so we can embrace the weekend! But wait! What about a workout? A workout on a Friday?! Don’t roll your eyes at me. You don’t even need to go to the gym for this one. Just set aside twenty minutes (max) and do this before you get ready for your fun weekend. Get it done–at least one round, but why not three!

May172017

3 Tips for How to Find the Best Care for Hidden Diseases in Missouri

Drug addiction is often referred to as a “hidden disease” because in the early stages of addiction, drug or alcohol problems can be kept hidden from the rest of the world. As an addiction takes a hold of an addict, it often, but not always, becomes more obvious. This can manifest as a loss of employment, the breakdown of relationships, erratic or violent behavior, or even injury or death. But things don’t need to get to this bad for you to seek help. Early intervention or treatment can often prevent the downward spiral into these situations. Here are 3 tips to finding the best care in Missouri.

May112017

3 Ideas on Creating a Versatile Home Gym for the Entire Family

Home gyms have become a popular household trend among many families. Having a home gym in your house shows that you are a person dedicated to fitness and health. In some cases, families who have no time to go to the gym or do not want to spend money on gyms follow this concept. They prefer a home gym because it is accessible and they can work out in peace and without distractions. They can hit the gym any time they want; no more waiting in line when you want to use equipment. It can also help you save money: rather than paying those monthly gym bills, you can just make your own gym at home. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to buy expensive equipment to match the quality that the gym provides, all you need is a creative mind and help from the internet to make your own equipment. We came up with a list of ideas which will help you in creating your own home gym.

May102017

Meditation for Peace

Life is tumultuous. It’s not easy and it’s certainly messy. Our own life can be stressful, and then add on all the events happening across the world. It’s hard to find clarity, balance, and peace among the mess. It’s hard to pause and take a moment to be, instead of stressing over this or over-thinking that. However, it’s paramount that we take a second and stop. We pull in the gratitude and focus on being in the present. We realize life’s not so bad and that perspective is important. I’ve designed this meditation to focus on peace. Try it out!

Apr142017

How to Balance Exercise with Work

Having a full-time job (does that ever actually mean only 40 hours a week?) and getting the proper amount of exercise in your week often don’t quite match up. Most times, the job gets the better of you and you either don’t have enough time in the morning or you’re too exhausted after work to get one in. We’d much rather plomp down on the couch than find some shred of willpower to get our body moving. We partnered with Quill to bring you this helpful infographic which shows you how to get exercise even with a hectic work schedule. If you click on it, there’s also a great article about it on their website.