Why You Need to Start Stretching and The Benefits

I’m sure that I’m not the first person to tell you how important stretching is. You hear it from fitness enthusiasts across the board, “Make sure you stretch every day and always before and after your workout”. You’re also not the first person to ignore the advice, think that stretching is a waste of time,  and that you don’t need to do it. Whether you are a runner, gymnast, gym rat, or couch potato – every one needs to stretch.

Why so serious?

 You wouldn’t buy a car without test driving it,  would you? Don’t skip stretching. Just don’t do it. But, why? Think of stretching as your test drive. You’re warming up your engine before the long haul, identifying any issues or areas of concern.
Stretching helps keeps your muscles flexible, strong, healthy, maintains your joints range of motion, and can also speed up your recovery (stretching does not prevent soreness). If you skip your stretches, your muscles will become shortened and tight which can then lead to an injury. An injured muscle can cause joint issues. Healthy muscles also help to maintain balance and create a longer, leaner frame. Who doesn’t want that?

I suggest always stretching first thing in the morning when you wake up, make it part of your morning routine. Your muscles have been in the same position all night which can cause muscles to cramp up, excess toxins to build up, and a decreased blood flow.  Stretching first thing in the AM will help to decrease stiffness in joints, release stress and waste from sleeping, and increase blood flow to the body thus creating more energy.

DIFFERENT KINDS OF STRETCHING

Static, Dynamic, SMR (Foam Rolling)  – who knew there were so many different types of stretches. Which should you do and when?

 Static Stretching – Static stretches should be performed in the morning or AFTER your workout. Static stretches are stretches that are held in the same position for 30 seconds and are considered the best form of stretching if you want to increase flexibility and range of motion.

Why 30 seconds?

All of your muscles have these things called “muscle spindles”. Muscle spindles are receptors that detect changes in the length of a muscle. When muscle spindles send the message to your central nervous system that your muscle is being lengthened your body responds by contracting the muscle being stretched or lengthened. Muscles spindles are there to protect us from overstretching. You also have these things called “Golgi Tendon Organs”, which are other receptors that send messages when your muscle changes in tension. Holding a stretch for 30 seconds or longer causes tension which then causes the GTO’s to activate. When the GTO’s are activated they send a signal to the CNS that overrides the muscle spindles response and the muscle will then relax. It is in this relaxed state that the stretch will increase flexibility and range of motion.

Dynamic Stretching – Dynamic stretching should be done before your workout, the stretches help prepare your body for your routine. These stretches are exactly how they sounds – dynamic. You are moving throughout the entire stretch. Dynamic stretching will help activate muscles you’ll use during your workout, enhance muscular performance, and improve range of motion. You should repeat each stretch 8-10 times. See the video below for an example of a dynamic stretch:

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​Foam Rolling (SMR – Self Myofascial Release)  – Foam rolling should also be done at the END of your workout and is great for speeding up recovery time. Foam rolling uses tension from the foam roller to put pressure on the muscles Golgi Tendon Organs (GTO’s). As we learned before, active GTO’s will cause the muscle to relax. When foam rolling, you want to slowly roll the area until you find the most tender spot and hold on that spot for 30-90 seconds.

Why would you want to skip something that has SO many health benefits and can help aid you in reaching your fitness goals?  So now that you’ve heard it for the billionth time. Stretch, stretch, stretch.

 

Why You Need To Start A Morning Routine & How To Start

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. You go to hit the snooze button on your alarm to fit in those 10 extra minutes of sleep. They seem necessary and the only way you’ll make it through the day but then you just end up feeling groggy and unenergized until you get your coffee. We ALL have these mornings. And that’s okay, on occasion. I can’t stress enough the importance of a morning routine. We all have busy lives and all feel like there is not enough time in the day. You are definitely not alone.

Having a morning routine sets the tone for the rest of your day. Starting your day generally the same way every day, will help to create good habits. Good habits lead to success.  If you set yourself up for success, well, you’re more likely to succeed. I’m sure many of you already have a morning routine. Is your routine productive? Does it help you? Does it reduce stress? Do you enjoy it? If you answered no to any of these questions then try adjusting your morning routine. What motivates you? What relaxes you? What will help you have a successful and less stressful day? Find out what these things are to you. If you’re not sure, try a few different strategies to see what you like. One doesn’t work for you – that’s okay – try something else! Try until you find THAT thing. Read on to see my morning routine suggestions.

1. Try getting up early. If you’re not a morning person, ease yourself into it. Try getting up 10 minutes earlier than usual. Once that becomes easy for you, 10 minutes earlier than that. So on and so forth. If you struggle to get out of bed – drink a glass of water before bed so you’ll have to get up to use the bathroom when your alarm goes off.
2. Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning. Your body get dehydrated over night, you need to replenish the liquids and flush out your body. I ensure that I get my water in the morning by not allowing myself coffee or tea until I’ve had a glass of water. It’s all about tweaking it to find what works for you and your lifestyle.
3. Stretch. You’ve just been laying in bed for 7-8 hours. This doesn’t have to be anything crazy, light stretches to wake up your muscles and get your energy flowing.
4. Meditate. Take 7-10 minutes each morning to clear your head and meditate. There are a ton of phone apps or youtube videos to help guide you. I personally use HeadSpace to guide my morning meditation. This is so good to reduce your stress and start your day in a clear headspace.
5. Read. However long you have time for – 5, 10, 15 minutes. This will wake your brain up and get those brain juices flowing preparing you for your day. This will help your mind stay creative and focused.
6. Set goals. Whether they are daily goals or long term goals. Set them and write them down. Every day. You know what you have to do and accomplish for that day. Those daily accomplishments should go hand in hand with your long term goals. Every small goal getting you one step closer to that long term goal.

“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” – John C. Maxwell

This quote rings SO true. How can you expect to achieve something or have something in your life change if you aren’t making the proper changes to get there. If you are unhappy right now, then something needs to change. Maybe you’re unhappy with your weight, unhappy with your significant other, unhappy with your career. Well, it’s simple. Nothing will change unless YOU change. What can make you feel better about your weight and boost your confidence? Incorporate working out into your morning or daily routine along with a little mirror pep talk telling yourself how awesome you are. Just tweak little things along the way that will promote the things you want. Feeling unhappy about your weight and then binging on a bag of chips because your eating your emotions is destructive and only digging your deeper in that hole.

Take some time and write down a few things you want to accomplish in the next 3 months, 6 months, year, 5 years. Then, write down something you can do daily to help you get there. Your goals will change, you will change, and your routine will evolve with you.  And just remember, you won’t change your life if you don’t change something you’re doing.

Comment below and tell me what your morning routine looks like!

 

5 Small Changes That Will Lead to Big Lifestyle Changes

If your reading this, then I’m sure we can all say we’ve been there. Scrolling through your Instagram or your Facebook, seeing all the super fit and healthy girls with their rockin’ bods and their seemingly perfect diet flooding your feed and thinking, “Why can’t I look like that?” I am 100 percent a culprit of this.  And then, I flash back to reality, I am who I am and you are YOU. Don’t wish or hope to be anyone or anything but the very best, most fabulous version of yourself. Those girls aren’t your competition, YOU are your competition. These fitness models and #fitgirls that are flooding our news feeds were not “just born with it” or maybe they were and in that case, thanks a lot mom and dad. These women worked extremely hard for their physique and I’m sure there were sacrifices and tears along the way (just like the rest of us). These transformations, healthier choices, and results – they take TIME. I know, I know, that’s the last thing you want to hear but give yourself one month. Don’t base it off of pounds lost, (this can be the most detrimental to your weight loss and motivation) but see how you feel, how your clothes fit, and how you’re sleeping. These small, what may seem insignificant, changes will lead you to that healthier lifestyle and rockin’ bod we see over and over again on Instagram.

When I was finally fed up with my weight and done with feeling like crap constantly I started with these small changes, ultimately helping me to lose 65 pounds. I never dreamt of being where I am today but I believe it was starting small that gave me big results. So start small (weight loss needs to be something that is manageable and maintainable so you don’t gain it all back) and just see how these little changes trickle into other aspects of your life and lead to substantial lifestyle changes down the road.

Okay, here they are:

     1. Create Distance. Park as far away as you can. Take the stairs. Walk down every single grocery aisle when grocery shopping. Get up and move at least every hour. In order to lose weight, you need a calorie deficit. In order to burn calories you need to move. Pretty simple, right?

     2. Find Time Everyday to Exercise. Even if it’s only for 15 minutes on some days (I recommend your workouts be 35-50 minutes at least 3x a week). Go for a walk, run up and down the stairs, do some core exercises on your living room floor, do a short yoga workout.  Finding the time everyday to fit in a workout will create a habit. Working out is the best habit you can create.

  3. Drink More Water. Drink water consistently throughout the day (I set a reminder on my phone that goes off every 30 min). Drink a glass of water before every meal. Drink a glass of water when you feel hungry to see if your body is just thirsty. The  recommended daily water intake for women is 91oz (2.7 Liters) and 125oz (3.7 Liters) for men.

    4. Limit Meals Out. With every one’s busy schedules these days, it is so easy to just grab and go. We are so caught up with work, school, whatever it may be that eating out becomes our social time. Break that habit. Instead of going out to eat or to a coffee shop with friends, go hiking, go on a bike ride, walk to your nearest shopping plaza. Keep it active. Try and limit yourself to two meals out per week (one is better, but lifestyles vary). Not only will this help you on your weight loss journey but it will also save you some extra money for that super cute new LuluLemon outfit you’ve been wanting.

     5. Track, Track, Track. I HIGHLY recommend tracking your food intake, even if its only for a short period of time (try for at minimum 3-4 weeks). You can write a note in your phone, a paper list, one of the hundreds of food tracking apps (my favorite is MyFitnessPal), email a list to a friend, just get it down somewhere. Tracking your food will help provide you with SO much insight on your diet. You can note what you eat and how you feel after – this will help teach you foods that fuel your body and foods that hurt you. You can see if your overeating, under eating, eating too much fat, too many carbs. It really helps to see it “on paper”.

Remember, start at a manageable and maintainable pace. Maybe you don’t do all of these at once – start with one. Then in a week or two incorporate another. Before you know it these will lead to different changes and so on and so forth. You’ll look back a year from now and not believe the life you life compared to the one you used to.

I have more tips to come in the coming weeks! Leave a comment and let me know if you give any of these a try, how it goes, and if you need any advice!

No Gym Membership? No Problem!

How many of you can’t stand the idea of stepping foot into the gym? Same.  Waiting for machines, weird dudes checking you out, the grunts, the smells, etc. Sometimes it’s the last place I want to be. You don’t need to step foot inside a gym to lose weight, get fit, or transform your life. Let me explain.

Funny enough, I used to ALWAYS have a gym membership and that was the only place I would workout aside from an outdoor run (which, let’s be real, I wasn’t doing very often a few years ago). Well that all changed once I moved to California. It wasn’t that I didn’t want a gym membership, it was that I could not afford even the cheapest gyms out here. Going without a gym membership ended up being one of the best things for me. I lost the bulk of my weight during that time. Whatever the reason is your not a gym member – cost, location, anxiety, whatever it is – you have options.

How? How did I lose 45 lbs without stepping into a gym?

I got a pair of dumbbells, downloaded some fitness apps, found a park near my apartment, and set aside time everyday to get there and get it done. I would do high intensity workouts with light strength training for about 30-45 minutes 5x a week. Can’t get your hands on a pair of dumbbells or any other equipment? No worries. You can still get results simply using what you have – your bodyweight. Later this week, I will post a blog providing my favorite bodyweight exercises.

So, for those of you who can’t get in the gym – Go get a pair of dumbbells, download some fitness apps, hop on pinterest or youtube for workouts, find time,  find some open space, and get to it. You can workout in a park close to home or your yard if you’re lucky enough to have one (boo). You can workout anywhere in your home with a little bit of open space. Apps such as Nike Training Club, 7 Minutes Workout, RUNNING for weight loss, My Fitness Pal, and many more (another blog post coming soon on fitness apps!) can help you reach those goals and stay out of the gym.

To start try and do three 30-45 minute high intensity workouts a week. Get your heart rate up and P-U-S-H yourself. If you’re up for it try to incorporate interval runs 2-3x a week – switching off between intervals of running, walking, and sprinting. If you’re new to running – do what you can. Work yourself up to those sprints. Most important – stretch, stretch, stretch. Don’t skip your stretching. Stretching prevents injuries and helps speed up recovery. Throwing yoga into your week will help you to stretch and recharge. You can do it at home or go to a yoga studio – whatever you prefer! I like to do yoga at home – I just youtube what I’m feeling that day and get to it.

Just remember, the hardest part is starting. Once you’ve found your groove , you won’t be able to stop. Make the effort to make YOURSELF an everyday priority. Those 30-45 minutes a day will make a world of difference. It doesn’t happen over night and you have to be consistent. Message me if you ever need that extra motivation, encouragement,  or have any questions! We’re in this together.

Hi guys! After much procrastinating, I’ve finally brought myself to write my first blog post. I’m here to share my fitness journey, connect with people who share my passion for fitness where we can learn from one another, and to give you (and myself) that little extra motivation that we all need from time to time.

Growing up, I always struggled with my weight and body image. I was always a bit heavier but stayed fairly active. I never had much of an issue sticking to the working out side of things. Once I get into a routine, it’s not hard for me to stick with it, I’m a very routinely person – to a fault I could even say. My downfall was and still is the eating side of things (of course, the most important). I grew up in a big family that focused heavily on eating. We did Sunday Dinners every week, family parties more often than not, e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g involved a lot of food. As I sit here writing this, I am drooling, dreaming of all of my dad’s best recipes.

Things got out of hand in college when I became less active and was living the college lifestyle of eating and drinking whatever and whenever I wanted, thinking I was invincible and it would never catch up to me. Well, did it ever. Graduating college – Summer 2014, I was at my heaviest, 205 lbs. I couldn’t do it anymore. I was at the point where I was beginning to accept the fact that “I’m just a heavier set girl, I’m not meant to be thin”. As soon as this thought started crossing my mind, I knew I had to get it under control before I lost all hope.

I started using the Nike Training Club app and creating plans and really sticking to them. I also started making very minor adjustments to the way I was eating and tracking everything in My Fitness Pal (I still use both of these apps often). Let me tell you, it was a very long process to get to where I am now and I still have so many more improvements to make. Instead of eating the pancakes, bacon, eggs, for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and a very high carb, high fat, unhealthy dinner that my dad would make, I started to eat my own breakfast – scrambled eggs & toast, my own lunch – spinach and grilled chicken wraps, and then I would eat what he made for dinner. Which, yes, wasn’t very healthy but I would watch my portions, not go back for seconds like I typically would. Eventually these small changes to my diet led to even more changes down the line. Now, breakfast is oatmeal with fruit, lunch – a salad with yummy toppings, and dinner – turkey or chicken with veggies and whole grain rice. This did not happen overnight. It took me a long time to get here but it never would have happened if I never started making minor adjustments. A little at a time.

After a few months of sticking to the workout routine and monitoring my food intake, the pounds started coming off and I started feeling more confident. This confidence made me work harder and it was a domino effect. I felt good, I worked harder, it was a constant cycle.

                           September 2014                      September 2015

During all of this, I decided to move from my home state of Connecticut to California. This was probably the best thing I could do for myself and for my health. It is really difficult to live in Santa Monica, CA and not live an active lifestyle. Everyone around you is constantly moving and there are a ton of healthy options so it does make it a little easier. Also, finally being in control of all of my grocery shopping and cooking made a world of difference. I now had to cook for myself and go grocery shopping for myself (I did this in college too but let’s be real, my diet was much different then). After about 8 months in CA I was down 65 lbs and felt better than ever.

 

                                                    January 2017

It’s been almost 3 years since I made this lifestyle change and I’ve been able to maintain the weight loss. Not only have I accomplished my goals, throughout my weight loss journey, I learned a lot about myself and realized that fitness is my passion in life. In the past month, I took the National Academy of Sports Medicine Personal Training exam and got my certification as a NASM Personal Trainer. It’s truly amazing to be able to do what I love and help people gain confidence and accomplish their goals along the way. I want to be able to share my story with people and inspire them. I was always the girl who thought I could never do it and I better just be happy because that was the way I was built. I want you to know that you can do it, don’t settle. Push yourself. If I did, trust me, then you absolutely can. You just have to start. One day at a time. Not every day is going to be great, you will have set-backs and bad days, it’s normal. It’s also part of the journey, how you grow and how you learn. Take something away from each and every day, even the shitty ones. So, welcome to my blog old and new friends! What’s your story? I can’t wait to connect with all of you and see what this crazy ride has in store for us!

HAPPY TRAINING! GET OUT THERE AND GET IT!