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Run Stronger

The sun is out and shining in Seattle which means it’s running season. When thinking about running, it’s easy to focus solely on running itself to improve our speed and endurance. To effectively take your running to the next level, cross training should be incorporated into your fitness routine.  These exercises will not only make you a stronger runner, but it will help prevent injuries. Below are some of my favorite exercises to incorporate with running:

  1. Lateral band walks are a great way to activate and strengthen the glutes which is crucial for running. Use these as a warmup exercise or in a circuit with other exercises to really feel the burn! Here’s how to use:
    1. Grab a mini band and place above the ankles or around the balls of your feet.
    2. Start with feet hip distance apart and toes pointing forward. From here, drive with your knee and step to the side.
    3. The other foot will step and return to your starting position (hip-width distance).
    4. Go for reps or for distance and make sure you do both sides.
  2. Deadbugs
    1. Deadbugs are a great exercise for strengthening the core. This exercise requires a neutral spine position while moving your arms and legs, so it is also great for stability and balance.
      1. Lay on your back with your arms straight in the air and legs bent with knees stacked over your hips. Press your low back into the floor to engage your abdominal muscles.
      2. Inhale and extend opposite arm, opposite leg while keeping your low back glued to the floor. Exhale and return to the starting position. Repeat on the other side.
      3. Start by doing two rounds of 8 reps per side and slowly increase the number of reps/sets. Use this as a warmup or as part of your workout.
  3. Glute Bridges
    1. Glute bridges are a great way to build strength and stability in your glutes/hips. Start with your bodyweight and as you get stronger, use bands, single leg variations, or even a barbell to challenge yourself.
      1. To start, lay on your back with your heels about a palm’s distance away from your glutes.
      2. Dig your heels into the ground and raise your hips, squeezing your glutes through the entire movement. Ideally, your hips should be in line with your shoulders at the top with your shins vertical.
      3. Pause at the top and control down to the starting position.
      4. Start with two rounds of 10 reps.
  4. Hamstring Curls
    1. Hamstring strength is crucial to running, but many of us struggle to activate this muscle group. Hamstring curls are a great way to strengthen and activate these muscles and can be done in different ways. Feel free to use a machine, stability ball, or gliders to start. My favorite are gliders.
      1. Lay on your back with your heels on a set of gliders about a palm’s distance away from your glutes. Dig your heels into the ground and squeeze your glutes to come into a glute bridge position.
      2. Slowly extend your legs away from you maintaining tension in the back of your legs. If you are able, keep your hips up and return to the starting position. If this feels too challenging, or you start to feel tension in your lower back, drop your hips to the floor and bring your heels back to the starting position.
      3. Repeat for about 8-10 reps.
Side motion view of young sexy attractive healthy fitness sporty active slim girl with sportswear running in front of the grey wall at night on the street.

Try adding one or all of these exercises to your strength routine and see how your runs become stronger and faster!

CategoriesLive Fit. Move.

Improve Your Performance with Plyometric Training

Whether you’re a runner, rower, soccer player, or do any sport that uses your legs, plyometric training can improve your performance.  Plyometrics are a series of jumping exercises to teach you how to exert maximum force in a minimum time.   Athletes us plyometric training to increase their speed and explosive power.

There are several simple, easy to learn plyometrics you can start with, so anyone can add plyometrics to their workout routine. However, make sure that you’re treating these as a part of your strength training and avoid going too hard and losing your form to avoid injury. When executed correctly, plyometrics can be a great way to supplement your current routine and make bigger gains. Here are great plyometric exercises you can start with:

1. Box Jumps: One of the most common exercises in plyometric training is the box jump. The box jump is a great exercise to increase your vertical jump height as well as strengthen your quads and glutes. Here’s what to do:

  • Set a box about 6 inches in front of you (start with a smaller box)
  • Get into a squat position with your feet about shoulder-width apart
  • Sink into a squat and explode up and on top of the box using your arms
  • Land softly onto the box and carefully step down
  • Rest in between reps
  • To make these more challenging, you can increase the box height
  • Start with 3 rounds of 8-10 jumps

2. Broad Jumps: Broad jumps are a great way to build leg strength and test explosive power. All you need is open space, so the setup is simple:

  • Start in a deep squat position – legs shoulder-width apart
  • Using your arms and pushing the floor away with your legs, explode forward and land softly in another squat
  • Immediately explode forward into your next jump
  • Start with 3-4 rounds of 3 jumps

3. Scissor Jumps: Scissor jumps are essentially jumping lunges, which are great for building single leg strength in the adductors and glutes. If these feel challenging at first, use TRX straps to help with balance, then move on to doing these without assistance.

  • Get into a standard lunge position with your back straight and knees and toes forward
  • Come down into a lunge and explode up switching legs mid-air
  • Land softly and repeat, making sure to switch legs with each rep
  • Start with 3 rounds of 8-10/side

4. Squat Jumps: If you’ve taken a team conditioning class, you’re probably already familiar with the squat jump. Squat jumps are great for strengthening your quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves while getting your heart rate up. This exercise is great for building strength in weighted squat exercises as well.

  • Start with feet shoulder-width apart
  • Sink down into a deep squat, then explode straight up swinging arms overhead
  • Land softly and repeat
  • Make sure you keep your core tight and use your arms to help propel you through the jump
  • Start with 3 rounds of 10 jumps

Please keep in mind the importance of maintaining good form. Plyometrics are often used as a form of cardio and it’s easy to perform these exercises with poor form when done quickly and carelessly. Make sure that you’re always landing softly and keeping your knees in line with your toes. Also, perform lower reps and take rest when needed – fully resting between sets will ensure proper form.

CategoriesLive Fit. Nourish.

Why Spot Reduction Doesn’t Work

Why Spot Reduction Doesn’t Work

One common question we get at Flow is how to lose fat in a specific area. We hate to break it to you — but it’s impossible to spot-reduce fat. So you can stop doing endless crunches to melt belly fat, or eternal tricep dips to slim your arms. Instead, focus on overall fat loss through a healthy balance of nutrition and exercise.

Nutrition is crucial to fat loss. It’s simple math: To lose body fat, you need to eat less than you burn each day (known as being in a “caloric deficit”). Keeping a food journal is a great way to track what you’re eating, which keeps you honest and focused on your goals. When meal planning, make sure your plate has a good balance of protein, carbohydrates and fat. This will roughly look like:

  • A palm-size serving of protein.
  • A fist-size serving of carbs.
  • A thumb-size serving of fats.
  • …and, of course, a large handful of veggies for each meal. 

Aside from what you eat each day, make sure you’re drinking enough water. Water helps flush out toxins while keeping you hydrated, which is very important when thinking about fat loss. 

CategoriesBlog Live Fit.

4 Easy Ways to Reduce Stress

As we enter the month of February and the craziness of the holidays, New Year’s resolutions and finding a new routine start to fade, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and stressed. Perhaps you’ve fallen back into old habits, or are disappointed that you haven’t started working toward your health goals for the year. If this sounds familiar — you’re not alone!

 When stress starts to creep in, I like to use these four methods to refocus and clear my mind:

            Meditation/Yoga

Slowing down and taking time to connect with your mind and your breath is a great way to de-stress. Yoga helps Improve circulation, which can help reduce cortisol production (stress hormones) and ease stress-induced digestive issues. Whether it’s on your lunch break or at the end of a busy day, I highly recommend adding breathwork and mindful movements to your weekly routine to relax and restore you.

Get to the Gym!

It’s easy to stay inside in the winter when it’s cold and rainy, but we are not meant to stay cooped up. Going to the gym and getting your heart rate up will help decrease cortisol production and increase endorphins (your “feel-good” hormones). — giving your mood a natural boost and clearing your mind. Try taking a spin class or lifting weights to break a sweat and feel rejuvenated.

Journaling

Sometimes the best thing to do when we’re stressed is to write down our feelings. Maybe you feel overwhelmed, but don’t know why – so just start writing, and see what you can figure out on paper. This is a great tool to use at the end of the day, when you can reflect back on sources of stress and then let them go.

Write Down Accomplishments

My last tip is probably the most challenging, but it’s definitely worth a try. Stress makes it easy to dwell on feelings of negativity. When this cycle starts, take a time-out; find one thing you’ve accomplished that day or week, and write it down somewhere that’s easily visible. The next time you’re stressed, you can see this reminder of something positive you’ve accomplished to help ease your mind.

Try using these tips the next time you’re stressed — and remember to take care of yourself this month!

CategoriesBlog Live Fit.

Sleep: Your Most Important Training Partner

By Flow Coach, Mackennon Klink, B.S., CSCS, PN1

Did you know that roughly 30% of adults sleep fewer than 6 hours each night?
Poor sleep quality and quantity can have a huge effect, both inside and outside the gym.  Poor sleep is associated with negatively impacting your workouts, recovery, sex life, mood, dietary decisions, and can lead to other potential health problems. 

Outside of these issues, sleep duration and quality are often the forgotten, neglected aspect of training.  Why is it so important?  Your body’s growth hormones are peaking while you are sleeping, which means you will maximize your fitness by sleeping.  That’s right – by sleeping seven-nine hours each evening you will see a decrease in both body fat and increase in lean body mass. 

During your training (and in life), sleep is your best friend and if anyone tells you otherwise, they’re confused.   In fact, sleep should be your most important training partner.  How can you prioritize sleep?If you’re having difficulty sleeping, or need some tips to develop a sleep routine and get better quality sleep, read more here.

  What are your favorite ways to improve your gym performance?  Let us know in the comments below.

CategoriesBlog Live Fit.

#thelast100days: December ~ Renew You

December is here, and we invite you to consider Renewal.

Renew (verb): to restore or replenish

What do you do to restore your vitality?  This isn’t about being well, but it certainly contributes to your well being.  Renewal practices are like hitting the reset button.  Not something you do every day, but reserved for “every now and then”.  A cleanse, floating or that book that you read every year.
This month, we’ll offer up a few ideas in the form of workshops: Gut Health, Living Your Mission or Solstice Flow.  We’ll also have coupons in some classes (stay tuned!) and ideas on social media – AND, we’d love to hear from you.

How do you hit reset?

CategoriesBlog Live Fit.

Three Quick Tips to Develop a Meditation Practice

written by, Flow Coach Nigel Bryant

Feeling stressed lately? Like all humans, we go through the ups and downs of life and sometimes our mind gets the best of us. This is something that while can be inhibiting, is totally normal. Especially with regard to exercise. Your mind can make or break your work out.

For me, developing a meditation practice has helped calm my mind and my soul. I aim for twenty minutes in the morning when I get up, and twenty minutes before I go to bed. It has been a calming and satisfying experience, and as our society becomes more technologically advanced, I’d encourage you to embrace a meditation practice as well. With that said, meditation, like exercise, is a process and a journey and will not happen overnight. Furthermore, with regard to exercise, most of my meditation routine comes from using the foam roller.  This practice works for me – what routine and technique will work for you?

Three quick tips on finding you own routine and technique to lead to successful meditation are:

Find a quiet place

Keep your phone AWAY from your meditation

Be as STILL AS POSSIBLE.

These three tips in my meditation journey have proven fruitful and necessary. A quiet place gives you the serenity and composure to feel calm and gives your mind, body, and soul a place to relax. Keeping your phone away from your meditation practice will help you avoid those annoying pings and dings that will cause a distraction from your meditation practice. Lastly, and the most important but will most likely be the most difficult is being STILL during meditation. For me this took four weeks to master, as in our technological driven world we are used to being on alert. Taking time to meditate and be still will help you slow your mind and body down from life’s everyday stress and also be a catalyst for less stressful life and kickass workout! Meditation has several benefits that enhance your mood and overall work/life balance.

The benefits of meditation that have been researched and documented:

  • Clear mind
  • Less stress
  • Decreased blood pressure
  • Increased brain activity
  • Increased Sleep
  • Increased energy

One last key that I would advise you guys on your meditation journey is to stick to twenty minutes. If you know you have a meeting in the morning that might be stressful, get up twenty minutes early and MEDITATE! If you come home after a long day, take the twenty minutes and MEDITATE! We have all heard the phrase “your body is your temple”. I also subscribe to the notion the your mind is a temple and having a clear, conscious, and focused mind will help you in being the best version of yourself possible. BE WELL!

Success Through Stillness by Russell Simmons and Mindfulness an Eight Programme for a Frantic World are two books I highly recommend for your journey. These two books will help give you the tools and guide you in the right direction in regards to honing meditation and it’s benefits, as I personally believe meditation and exercise go hand in hand.

CategoriesBlog Live Fit.

#thelast100days: November ~ Be Well.

As we move into November, we shift the focus from Move More to Be Well.

Every day, you make hundreds of decisions, whether you realize it or not, on being well.  With each choice, you move toward wellness (eating greens), or further away (sitting for hours on end).

As we move through this month, we invite you to consider your habits.  Are they contributing to your health & wellness practice?  Because that’s what this is:  A practice.  Something you repeatedly do, and hopefully, feel better for it.  You may not always get it right, but you keep experimenting and find what works for you and your body.

Your practice may include going to the doctor or the dentist regularly, a monthly massage, eating mostly unprocessed foods, moving your body daily and perhaps a little chocolate (because who doesn’t need a little sweetness?!).   There are thousands of ways to be well.  Explore what works for you this month.  The Flow team will provide suggestions, workshops and some tips and tricks that we use – and we’d love to hear from you. This month, try something new – or at the very least, schedule your doctor’s appointments!

What will you do to be well?

CategoriesBlog Live Fit. Move.

Seven Gym Mistakes to Avoid

By Flow Coach, Mackennon Klink, B.S, CSCS, Pn1

As you begin to move more, you will make many mistakes on your journey. And you know what? Good. This is totally normal. Every mistake you can possible make hasbeen done a thousand times before. However, ifwedon’t learn from our past or history, we are doomed to repeat those same mistakes over and over. To make progress, there are mistakes that can easily be avoided. Let’s bring to light a few common gym mistakes that will derail your training and bring your gains to a halt.

  1. Not Using a Training Log

“What gets measured, gets managed.”Peter Drucker
This is a cardinal sin within the gym. How do you know if you are making progress if you are unsure what you did last week orat which weight? To make continuous progress, write your workouts down. Track your weights, reps, sets, and even how you’re feeling pre/post workout. Stop making this cardinal mistake. Write down your damn workout!

2) Working out without a Goal or Vision

Not planning your workouts in advance (also known as programming) always leads to mediocre results because there is no direction or focus. Regularly strolling into the gym and then using whatever machine and/or weights are available will usually lead to a less than stellar workout and not be an efficient use of your most valuable asset. TIME! Plan and know what each workout will consist of, so you can be mentally prepared and take the guess work out of the equation.

3) Program Hopping

Ignore the latest fitness trend or fad. Discard the “flashy” exercises and stick to the essential movement patterns: hip hinge, squat, lunge, push, pull, and carries. Just because you saw an exercise on Instagram doesn’t mean you should do it. As a rule, you should stay on the same program anywhere between 6-12 weeks before changing it up. Stay on course, be patient, be consistent, and you will get great results.

4) Ignoring Progressive Overload

To improve mobility, increase strength, and make gains in your overall conditioning, you must force change. You need to push your body to work harder than it is used to, otherwise it will not adapt. Progressive overload is the most basic training principle and goes hand in hand with using a training log (See # 1). Your training should be challenging yet allow enough recovery between workouts, so you can continue to increase your level of intensity.

5) Resting too much (or too little)

Rest periods are integral and have a huge influence on overall progress. Unfortunately, most people don’t know if they are spending either 45 seconds or 5 minutes between sets. To build strength, you’ll need to“earn your rest”by feeling stimulated, not annihilated while being specific to your goals. We recommended having a stop watch with you while you train. Here are some guidelines to determining rest periods based on your goals :

  • 0 – 30 seconds for circuit and metabolic conditioning •30 seconds – 2 minutes for muscle building (hypertrophy)
  • 2 – 3 minutes for strength training
  • 3 – 5 minutes for power training
  • 5 – 10 minutes for maximal intensity strength and/or power training

6) Sacrificing technique for Weights

While it is important to track your weights, beat personal records and add weight to the bar, it is more important to improve the quality of each rep. Focus on perfecting technique and mastering mechanics. If unsure, go to one of our Strength Camps sessions or hire a personal trainer.

7) Doing Everything at Once

No one can completely overhaul their life overnight. You cannot go from 0 to 100 with your fitness aspirations without causing a complete burnout. Instead, take one small step. Do something more than you were yesterday.

This is not the end all, be all list of gym mistakes. There are hundreds of thousands of different mistakes individuals make within the gym, both beginners and veterans. However, the biggest difference between beginners and veterans are beginners are discouraged by their mistakes, while the veterans use their previous experience and the wisdom of other coaches to get better. Within the fitness world, there is very little black and white, only shades of grey.

CategoriesBlog Live Fit. Move.

Five Warm-up Tips to Boost Performance & Avoid Injuries

Getting hurt sucks! We exercise to lose weight, build muscle, feel better, and improve quality of life.  However, it is tough to do any of these while sidelined with an injury. Though it is next to impossible to prevent ALL injuries, there are steps that we can take to reduce the likelihood and, in the process, increase results. One of the most important and often overlooked of these steps is properly warming up prior to activity.

To set the record straight, hopping on the elliptical/treadmill for 10-15 minutes to “get a good sweat” before heading to the more intense part of your training is an unproductive way to warm-up. If this sounds familiar, don’t worry. Flow Fitness has you covered with these 5 tips to help you prepare your body efficiently and effectively!

  1. Don’t Static Stretch – Prior to most physical activities you want your nervous system to be “excited” which in turn will lead to better recruitment and activation of muscles. To achieve this, any ‘stretches’ that you do must be dynamic in nature. For example, instead of sitting and holding a straight leg hamstring stretch for 1-2 minutes, do walking (or skipping) leg swings, which not only improve hamstring and hip flexor range of motion, but also gets the body ready for the more intense parts of your workout while increasing core temperature and heart rate.
  2. Be Multi-directional – Most activities require movements in different planes. This is one of the major reasons that hopping on a bike or treadmill is an inefficient way to warm-up as you are only working in one direction. Instead try to incorporate dynamic side to side (shuffles), diagonal (medicine ball chops), front to back (lunges), and rotational (hip twist) movements.
  3. Activate ‘Sleepy’ Muscles – Warm-ups are much more than just getting sweaty. It is also necessary to prime the muscles that will be active during most of your workout. For example, if you plan to do squats and lunges which relies heavily on the glute muscles (which have been inactive during 8 + hours of desk work), then it would be wise to include exercise such as clam shells and glute bridges to ensure your body performs optimally. So always think about what exercises you are doing and what muscles you need to be “awake” to ensure success.
  4. Groove the movement – Along the same lines of muscle activation, it is also important to take the body through a “less intense” version of the movements in your workout to fine tune the mechanics.  If you are doing a large compound exercise such as the overhead press, always do 1-2 warm up sets with very light weight prior and then another 2 workup sets with a slightly heavier weight, before diving into your more intense working sets. These sets will help reinforce proper form and address any areas that may need additional activation or range of motion.
  5. Be Mindful of Time – Though important, your warm up should be between 6-15 minutes in duration and not consume your whole workout.  However, you can always add mobility and activation drills in between sets of an exercise. For example, band pull aparts following 8 reps of bench pressing can keep shoulders mobile and primed for another set.

Properly warming up prior to working out is the most important thing you can do.  The truth is this:  If you do not have the time to warm up, then you do not have time to work out.  Warm ups can keep your joints healthy, increase range of motion, help prevent injury and improve performance.  So, incorporate these 5 warm-up tips into your training plan and see how far you will progress!