CategoriesBlog Live Fit.

Why habits (not goals) are the key to success

“Our character is basically a composite of our habits. Because they are consistent, often unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character.” ―Stephen Covey

Habits account for roughly 45% of our daily activities — and success, or lack thereof, is a culmination of strong habits over time. There is no such thing as overnight success; professional athletes succeed not only because of superior athleticism and skill, but also from countless repetitions performed during practice. These repetitions become habit and allow them to perform at the highest level under immense pressure in a split second.

The good news is that you can start cultivating good habits now and succeed in creating better health, performance and happiness.

Why We Need Habits

Habits are essential to our survival and ability to function efficiently. Imagine if you had to stop and think about what you should do after you woke up every day or after you went to the bathroom; your brain would soon be overwhelmed. Habits emerge through “associative learning” — meaning they are triggered by anything in our internal or external environment that we associate with the habit. For example, the clock turning noon triggers many to be hungry for lunch.

Your brain is not capable of long-term behavioral change without creating habits; it would have to work too hard without them. That’s why you can force yourself to change behavior for a short period of time, but anything longer-term is much more challenging. For example, if your goal is to eat healthier, you could come up with a new, custom meal plan every day — or you could create a habit of yogurt for breakfast, salads at lunch and a protein/vegetable combination at dinner. Which seems more sustainable?

Goals vs. Habits

Goals are aspirations you set for yourself, and can be small or big. Goals are a great way to prioritize behavior and measure success; however, they are not very effective at creating changes in behavior.

On the other hand, habits are the routines you develop through constant practice, and they happen subconsciously. Habits create the behaviors you need to achieve success.

Why Goals Aren’t Enough

While we initially set goals to achieve success, they don’t create the behaviors we need to get there. Here’s why goals will never be enough:

  • Goals are temporary. Setting goals can be helpful, but what happens next? As soon as you feel depleted or like you want to reward yourself, you may be tempted go back to your old ways.
  • Goals are all or nothing. If you fail to reach a goal, that can cause you to become demoralized and give up, reaping no benefits from your efforts.
  • Goals demand too much discipline. We are not robots; we get tired, we feel emotions and we become distracted. The primary reason most people fail to reach their goals is from a lack of self-discipline.
  • Goals limit you. Once you set a certain target, you focus on simply reaching it — without considering that you can surpass that target.
  • Goals can be unrealistic. People tend to aim so high that if they come up short, it could still be considered a success, but we seldom see it that way. Setting unrealistic expectations makes people feel like they are failing even when they’re getting ahead.

Why Habits Create Greater Success

This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t set goals – this is to say that habits are far better investments to focus on when shooting for success. Habits are the incremental steps to reach your goals, so it’s essential to develop the right habits. Here are the reasons why habits bring greater success:

  • Habits are forever. The behaviors you develop will stay with you for life. Not only will they help you reach your goals, but you will also improve the chances of sustaining your success.
  • Habits are easier to accomplish. Goals are long-term achievements; habits are behaviors you can begin and realize success with immediately.
  • Habits often exceed goals. Habits become part of your lifestyle. Once ingrained, they will help you continue to succeed even after achieving your goal.
  • Habits are sustainable. Even if you are not successful in reaching your goals initially, you can still improve your life by creating healthy habits — then continue to build upon them to set yourself up for success down the road.

A Habit-Based Approach to Health

A common health goal is to lose weight. Many start with a goal of “I will lose X pounds by this date,” and a typical strategy to reach that goal may involve a plan such as:

  • Going to the gym three times a week.
  • Eating less carbs.
  • Drinking less liquor.

Sound familiar? Conversely, you can create a habit-based approach to weight loss and focus your efforts on creating healthy, sustainable behaviors, such as:

  • Going to the gym every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6 a.m.
  • Bringing a homemade lunch to work every day.

Once you’ve mastered those habits, you can build upon them by adding new habits, such as:

  • Going to your favorite fitness class every Saturday morning.
  • Switching from lattes to black coffee.

Which seems more achievable and sustainable in the long term: losing 10 pounds, or packing your lunch every day? A habit-based approach is not only more likely to help you achieve your goals, but to also sustain your success — because it becomes automatic and requires less mental effort.

Join Our Healthy Lifestyles Program

If you are tired of quick fixes and ready to create long-term success, Flow Fitness is now offering our Healthy Lifestyles Program. This program will teach and reinforce habits around nutrition and fitness that you will incorporate into your lifestyle over a 24-week period.

The Healthy Lifestyles Program uses simple, everyday concepts that increase the chance of success, and does not involve behaviors such as calorie counting, meal planning or specific fitness programs. This program is available on a one-on-one basis with a Flow coach or in a group setting. You can learn more here.

CategoriesBlog Live Fit.

Is COVID-19 the Tipping Point for Healthier Living

The coronavirus crisis has become the “new normal,” and so far, local leaders are using the strategy of imposing social distancing restrictions to contain the spread until a cure can be found. But even in the best-case scenarios, developing a vaccine will take a long time — if it’s possible at all. And there’s no way to know how effective it would be. Given this, we need to prepare for an unpleasant potential outcome: the threat of COVID-19 might be something we’re living with for a long time.

While we can’t control our access to things like testing and vaccines, the good news is, we do have one incredible remedy within our power: our personal health. Here are the key takeaways of this post:

  • There is no guarantee that a vaccine for COVID-19 can be developed, and we should prepare to live with it for the long haul.
  • So far, the data shows that healthier people have largely avoided experiencing complications from COVID-19.
  • To date, many Americans have been resistant to living a healthier lifestyle. Will the threat of COVID-19 be the impetus for society to make this important change?

We’re still learning about COVID-19, but so far, one trend is clear: People with chronic health conditions and/or weaker immune systems are the most likely to experience coronavirus-related complications, while people with healthier lifestyles and without these conditions are the least likely.

In fact, research shows that 96% percent of COVID-19 hospitalizations had a pre-existing condition and the most common were high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes — and these conditions are typically caused by lifestyle choices such as lack of exercise, poor diet, high stress levels, drinking alcohol and smoking. By comparison, among healthy people, even those who do contract the virus may never even know they had it; testing of the abnormally healthy population of sailors aboard the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt crew, for example, found that fully 60% of its 600 infected sailors were asymptomatic.

The bottom line? Your personal health is a key factor in your risk of complications from COVID-19.

Despite sheltering in place for weeks or months and widespread concerns about combating COVID-19, it seems most Americans aren’t willing to make the lifestyle changes needed to truly fight the virus. Many would rather take a pill, get a shot, go under the knife or remain on permanent lockdown than live a healthier lifestyle.

But the dangers of poor lifestyle choices go far beyond the coronavirus. Obesity and physical inactivity have proven to be two of the most dangerous conditions yet:

  • Despite, or maybe because of, our relatively high standard of living, America has the highest obesity rates of any country in the world: Over 40% of Americans are obese, a number that has actually increased 40% the past two decades.
  • A shocking 80% of Americans still don’t get the recommended amount of exercise, despite one in 10 deaths being linked to physical inactivity.

Relying on our bodies’ natural defenses is an effective way to prevent COVID-19 complications and many other health conditions. Living a healthier lifestyle will strengthen our immune systems and improve our chances of beating this terrible illness while we await a vaccine, if there is one. COVID-19 is a global pandemic that has cost trillions of dollars  and changed the way we live. Whether we can make a change for the better by choosing healthy living is the challenge our society must face.

Flow Fitness can help you create a custom exercise and nutrition program to help you reach your goals and provide the support you need.  All can be done virtually as well.

CategoriesBlog Live Fit. Move. Nourish.

We’re staying home, but are we staying healthy?

Key Points

  • Shelter in place orders have created the unintended consequence of people living unhealthier lives
  • An unhealthy lifestyle compromises your immune system and can lead to higher risk of catching COVID-19 or increasing the severity of its symptoms
  • Social distancing will likely end before a vaccine is available. Until then, your best protection to COVID-19 is to have a strong immune system through a healthy lifestyle

As the COVID-19 crisis continues, cities and states around the world have enacted “shelter in place” regulations, encouraging citizens to “stay home and stay healthy” to slow the spread of the virus. But while we’re doing a great job staying home — we aren’t doing a good job of staying healthy.

Recent studies since many states enacted shelter in place acts show:

Health is more than simply whether you have COVID-19. While local governments have restricted movement and forced fitness centers to close, they’ve classified alcohol as “essential,” loosened rules around its sale and encouraged us to eat takeout food to support our local businesses: a dangerous combination. It’s in our nature to turn to alcohol and comfort foods during times of stress, but this is the opposite of what we should be doing during a health pandemic.

Our leaders and the media have focused their attention on social distancing and sanitation as the best ways to mitigate the damage of the coronavirus, but they are missing a  key piece of the puzzle. To truly protect our bodies from COVID-19 and the severity of its infection, we need to strengthen our bodies’ natural defenses by focusing on comprehensive, personal health.

Here’s how we can do that:

Boost your immune system. Research shows you can strengthen your immune system through lifestyle changes such as regular exercise, eating a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables, managing stress and getting enough sleep. These steps can help prevent illness by strengthening your body’s ability to defend itself from disease-causing microorganisms.

Maintain a healthy weight. Obesity may be one of the most important predictors of severe coronavirus illness, especially among younger people, studies show.  In fact, the chance of hospitalization due to COVID-19 for those under age 60 doubles if you are obese; obesity may also increase the risk of dying from the virus.

Limit alcohol consumption. Many believe drinking alcohol can help kill the virus; this is false. The World Health Organization recently issued a warning that alcohol consumption can actually increase the risk of catching COVID-19, as well as the severity if you do get it.

Exercise regularly. Recent studies show  that not only can exercise strengthen your immune system, but regular exercise may also help prevent one of the major causes of COVID-19-related hospitalization and death: acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Until there is a vaccine, there will always be a risk of exposure to COVID-19, even with social distancing. By making these changes to our lifestyles and keeping our bodies as healthy as possible,  you will not only reduce the likelihood of catching COVID-19 and the severity of its impact but you will also help society by reducing the spread and the number of hospitalizations from COVID-19.

Our training staff at Flow Fitness can provide you the guidance and accountability you need to help you reach your goals of living a healthier life.  Email info@flowfitnessseattle.com if you would like to speak to someone about how we can help you.

CategoriesBlog Live Fit. Nourish.

You can and should eat carbs at night

There are several myths in the nutrition and fitness world surrounding carbohydrates (or “carbs”) and their effect on our health. Most people believe carbs are “the devil” — the reason they gain weight. One of the biggest myths we hear is that if you eat carbs at night, they will turn to fat.  There is nothing farther from the truth.

Carbs are an important macronutrient, required for your body to perform at its best. In fact, consuming carbs at night can actually reduce stress while helping you build muscle and burn fat. Don’t believe me? Then keep reading.

When we are stressed, our bodies produce a naturally occurring hormone called cortisol.  Cortisol is released in response to fear or stress as part of our body’s “fight or flight” response, and it can affect every cell in our body.

Cortisol activates our sympathetic nervous system (sending commands to our brains such as “Run, Lift, Fight, Act Now”). When we are unable to properly shift from sympathetic to parasympathetic mode (commands such as “Rest, Digest, Recovery”), we can become caught in a vicious cycle of stress overload.

We should manage our cortisol levels so they peak at the right times, which include when we wake up in the morning, during our workouts and when we need to be alert and focused. However, we don’t want to spike our cortisol levels at the wrong times, either (i.e., just before bed or when meditating or relaxing), as this will lead to a state of stress. Reducing cortisol production allows our bodies to calm down so we can rest and recover.

Carbs can help us control our stress levels by blunting our cortisol response. Consuming them in the evening allows our bodies to tap into that parasympathetic mode, so we can ease into a more restful state of mind and eventually into sleep.

But that’s not the only benefit. Your body undergoes most of its repair and recovery while you’re sleeping, utilizing both protein and carbs as energy sources to repair your muscles. By eating carbs at night, not only are you blocking cortisol production, but you’re also providing the necessary resources for your body to build muscle and burn fat.

Of course, don’t take this as a license to eat pizza before bed; you still need to eat healthy and ensure your calories are in check, maintaining a caloric deficit or at neutral if you want to lose weight. You should also focus on carbs that are unrefined carbs such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains.  Your diet should be evaluated based on weekly nutritional behavior and objectively based measurements, not by a singular item or meal-timing strategy. But at least now you know the truth about carbs — so go ahead and have that slice of bread with dinner!

Need help creating a fitness and nutrition plan? Sign up for a personalized training session at Flow Fitness today.

CategoriesBlog Live Fit.

5 Tips for Successful Goal Setting

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Goal setting can be intimidating, but then again so can our goals. That does not make them any less achievable. We all have desires in life, whether in fitness, business, or relationships. Without goals, you can lack focus and direction. Setting personal goals puts you in the driver’s seat, giving you the power to take your life into whatever direction you desire. However, in many circumstances, the initial goals we set out to complete are abandoned somewhere along the way.

To accomplish your goals, you need to know how to set them. This process begins with careful consideration, followed by ample amounts of hard work in order to achieve what we set out to do. In order to make the most of this process, here are five tips for effective goal setting:

1) Establish your end result and do your homework to understand a realistic time frame. If your goal is to run a marathon and you can currently only run 2 miles, spend some time on google to understand how soon you can expect to reach 26.2!

2) Make sure that all of your goals are MEASURABLE. “Get in shape” is not a goal! A Real goal is something that you could test at the end of your progress to see if you achieved it. Examples of real goals are:

  • Run a marathon
  • Squat 225 pounds
  • Lose 10 pounds
  • Get a new job
  • Save 10,000 dollars

3) WRITE IT DOWN.  Commit yourself entirely to your goal. Write it on a sheet of paper and tape it to your bathroom mirror. Set it as your desktop background. Set a reminder on your phone to alert you every morning to chase that goal.

4) Establish periodic goals and celebrate your victories along the way. Sometimes our goals can seem enormous, so how do we achieve them? The same way you’d eat an elephant: one bite at a time. Let’s look at some of the example goals we talked about to understand this breakdown.

Ex 1: Run a Marathon (20 weeks)

  • Weeks 1-4 build up to running 5 miles without stopping
  • Weeks 5-9 build up to running 10 miles
  • Weeks 10-14 build up to running 15 miles
  • Weeks 15-19 build up to 20
  • Week 20 try for the full 26!

Ex 2: Lose 10 pounds (12 weeks)

  • Week 1 establish your nutrition and workout programs
  • Week 2 hit your targets every day
  • Week 3 first weigh in
  • Weeks 4&5 escalate your workout intensity
  • Week 6 second weigh in
  • Weeks 7&8 escalate workout intensity
  • Week 9 third weigh in
  • Week 10 Celebrate your success

5) Reassess your progress at each checkpoint.  This one is critical to reaching success, but perhaps not for the reason you think. Notice that periodic weigh ins are built into the structure of the weight loss goal. We do this for two reasons: first, if you are not making progress as quickly as you should be to reach your goal in the target time frame, these reassessment periods leave you enough time to attenuate your program to still achieve your goal on time. Second, if you are in fact making adequate progress it is important to celebrate yourself for achieving that success! If you lost 3 pounds in 3 weeks, sure it’s not the 10 you want to lose, but you still put in work and got a good result, and that’s no small feat.

CategoriesBlog Nourish.

The Holiday  Survival  Guide 

The holidays are a busy yet wonderful time.  It’s the season for friends and family , holiday travels and delicious food and drinks. With so much going on, how do you stay consistent with your workouts and nutrition and avoid gaining weight during the holidays?   

We’ve created this Holiday Survival Guide to help you enjoy the season without wasting all the hard work you’ve already put in. With a little bit of structure and some planning, you’ll stay feeling your best this holiday season. 

Holiday Survival Tip #1: Eat slowly, and to “satisfied” — not stuffed  

  It takes your digestive system 15 to 20 minutes to physiologically tell your brain: “Stop eating, you’re full!” Eat slowly and enjoy your food so your brain can catch up with your gut. This is your most effective yet simple tool  and will allow you to still enjoy all the food during the holidays.   

Imagine your hunger is on a scale from one to 10, with one being starving and 10 being “stuffed.” Aim to finish at a seven out of 10 on that hunger scale. This will allow you to enjoy your food and feel satiated — while saving you a ton of calories.    

 

Holiday Survival Tip #2: Use portion control, not calorie counting 

Counting calories during the holiday is usually a recipe for failure. It’s annoying, impractical and the last thing on your mind when you’re trying to celebrate. Instead of calorie counting, focus on portion control.   

This video illustrates how easy it is to create your own meal with the right portions using just your hand.   Your hand is proportional to your body, making it the perfect tool for measuring food and nutrients with no calorie counting required. 

 

 

For more details, check out this  article.

 

Holiday Survival Tip #3:  Resist hitting the “pause” button  

One of the biggest issues we see is people embracing the “pause button” mentality during the holidays: putting their diet and exercise on hold with the expectation that they’ll make up for it in the new year. Sticking to your workouts will not only help you stay on track toward your goals, but can also be the perfect holiday stress reliever.   

There is never a “right time” to resume healthy habits. The truth is, you never want to stop any momentum you have; it can create potential roadblocks to restarting in the future.  Keep to your regular routine as much as possible to help balance out your food intake and boost your mood during this busy season. 

 

Holiday Survival Tip #4: Limit alcohol consumption  

Drinking too much alcohol can affect your sleep, workout performance, mood, immune system and more. Not to mention, drinks are serious calorie bombs to your waistline.  

However, you don’t need to completely cut yourself off. Consider giving yourself a “drink limit”: e.g., two glasses of wine per meal. Another tip: If you know you’ll have a few drinks, space them out with a full glass of water in between; this will keep you hydrated and slow down your consumption. Lastly, avoid drinks that have sugary mixers, which can often double the calories already present in alcohol.   

   

Holiday Survival Tip #5: Prioritizing “me” time   

Offset the stress of the season by making sure you set aside a few moments each day for self-care. This will help reduce anxiety and keep your mindset positive throughout the holiday hustle and bustle. Take a yoga class, do some meditation or buy yourself a massage!    

  

Holiday Survival Tip #6: Get enough sleep  

Most of us don’t get sufficient sleep. Too little sleep can leave you feeling anxious and fatigued, and can even lead to the overconsumption of calories.  

The added stress of the holiday season can compound the effects of poor sleep even further. Do your best to stick to your regular sleep routine,  and  make it your goal to get seven to nine hours of sleep each night.   

 

Holiday Survival Tip #7: Focus on what’s around you  

While people tend to think of the holidays revolving around food and drinks, remember the real importance of the season: family and friends. This is a rare time of year where you get to spend extra time with the ones you love, so take full advantage of that. Make time for special moments together, or start a new family tradition that involves healthy activities.  

Here are some ideas:  

  • Do physical activities such as a “Turkey Bowl” football game, round of cornhole or tossing the Frisbee.  
  • Break out the board games or cards.  
  • Go on a family hike, or go ice skating or skiing.  
  • Look at the neighborhood Christmas lights.  

There is no need for an “all or nothing” mindset during the holidays. With a little bit of moderation and by sticking to a fitness routine, you can enjoy the holiday season without taking three steps back. 

CategoriesBlog Move.

Seven Habits That Will Transform Your Life

Many of us set health and fitness goals to change the way we look — but transforming your health and fitness habits can also change every aspect of your life. Not only will you look better, but you’ll also feel and think better.

Follow these seven highly effective habits to become the best version of yourself:    

Habit #1 If you are not assessing, you are guessing. 

When it comes to health and fitness, ignorance isn’t bliss: It’s important to constantly assess and monitor your nutrition. In order to make a change, you need to know your starting point — which means tracking your nutritional habits. While counting calories may not be a long-term solution, it will give you your strongest weapon in any successful transformation: awareness.    

Pro tip:  If you are not assessing, you are guessing. 

When tracking calories, do keep in mind that too much restriction can lead to failure.  This is normal, and it’s why adopting a flexible approach is essential. A general rule of thumb is to eat healthy 80 percent of the time, while treating yourself the remaining 20 percent. By accounting for the occasional indulgence, you’ll be able to quickly get back on track.   

Habit #2 Follow the six-month rule. 

Create habits that are sustainable for at least six months. While short–term fixes can lead to quick results, they are often unsustainable — and you’ll soon end up back at square one. When you are developing your nutrition or fitness plan, ask yourself: “Can I do this for half a year?” If not, it’s time to reassess.   

Pro tip: The best training program is one you enjoy and able to stick to in the long term while making consistent, measurable progress. 

Habit # 3 Eat mostly whole and minimally processed foods.

The saying “You can’t out train a poor diet” is 100–percent true.  It doesn’t matter if you’re busting your butt in the gym: If you are eating poorly, it will be difficult to lose body fat. Focus on eating minimally processed, whole foods. 

What do we mean by “whole foods”? Follow these guidelines when eating: 

  • Stick to foods your grandparents would recognize. 
  • Shop the perimeter of the grocery store; for example, choose the produce section over the cereal aisle or the snack foods. 
  • Eat one serving of fruits or veggies (the size of your fist) with each meal, and eat a variety of colors when doing so. 
  • Replace calorie-dense and artificially sweetened drinks with water. 

Habit #4 Eat enough protein. 

Proteins are essential for repairing and building muscle, so make sure to eat one or two servings with every meal. It’s also the most important of the macronutrients; if you are going to overeat one of them, make it protein.  

Other benefits of eating protein include: 

It prevents muscle wasting: Muscle tissues are the most metabolically active tissues. Along with resistance training, consistently hitting your protein intake helps you retain your muscle while carving away fats — which will ultimately show off your muscle definition.  

It keeps you full:  When caloric intake is low and you have those cravings for carbohydrates, protein is your BFF.

It burns more calories during the digestion process:  Protein has been proven to be up to 30 percent more metabolically expensive than carbs or fats. This means that if you have 100 grams of protein, then your body will burn 30 calories simply by breaking the protein down into usable amino acids.  

Habit #5 Focus on building muscle 

any still believe that building muscle is only for bodybuilders. Strength training is for everyone, and has proven to help people be more active, keep fat at bay, live longer and improve self-confidence. 

The most efficient way to build strength and muscle is to focus on the main compound lifts. These lifts use multiple muscles in one movement, giving you more “bang for your buck.”  

Most of your compound lifts should include the following movements:  

  • Squat 
  • Hinge 
  • Push 
  • Pull 
  • Lunge 
  • Carry   

To build muscle, you also need to emphasize progressive overload: lifting heavy weights while properly executing each rep. Progressive overload also means you’ll need to challenge yourself by constantly adding weight. However, you should always emphasize form and technique over the amount of weight you’re lifting; piling on the weight with poor technique will do more harm than good. 

Habit #6 Drink plenty of water and/or calorie-free drinks. 

Proper hydration can have a significant impact on your health, performance and weight. Most of us know we aren’t drinking enough water, but we may not be aware of the potential problems that can arise from dehydration. 

The main reasons dehydration has as adverse affect on exercise and overall health are that it: 

  • Decreases blood volume and blood flow 
  • Decreases heat dissipation and removal of wastes from exercise 
  • Decreases metabolism  
  • Decreases body temperature 
  • Increases organ stress 

The general rule of thumb is to drink half your bodyweight (in pounds) in ounces of water. That means a 150-pound person should drink at least 75 ounces of water — about nine standard glasses — each day. Carry a water bottle, drink it up and refill it every two hours or when empty. 

Habit #7 Sleep like a baby again

Sleep is often the forgotten component of health. In fact, it’s equally important to your workouts and nutrition. As many as 30 percent of adults sleep less than six hours per night: the minimum amount necessary for proper health. If you think you can make do with less than six hours, think again.   

Pro tip: Both sleep quantity and quality are incredibly important for optimal health and fitness and for regulating our circadian rhythm. 

  Need more reasons?  A lack of sleep can negatively impact: 

  • Cognitive ability 
  • Recovery from exercise and injury 
  • Sex life  
  • Mood and dietary decisions 
  • Workouts 

Get six to eight hours of quality sleep every night. Without proper sleep, it’s difficult to see significant improvements in general health and/or fitness — and your body, your workouts and your performance will suffer. 

By sticking to these seven habits, you’ll transform your health and your life with results that really last. Come to Flow Fitness today to get started on your journey.   

CategoriesBlog Move.

Single Leg Exercise to Run Stronger

By Christian Garcia, CSCS

With so many running routes next to beautiful lakes, trails, and the Puget Sound here in Seattle, running is a popular exercise of choice for Seattleites. But running with weak leg muscles/bad form will only cause injuries down the line. If you are a runner (no matter what stage of experience you are in), you need to increase your single leg strength. When you are running, you generally only have one leg in contact with the ground. You have to be able to absorb impact and then launch yourself, from on foot to the other. When we walk there is a period of support from both legs, but in running there is a drive/flight phase and it is all done on one leg.

Single leg exercises prepare the body to handle the challenges of running from one foot to the other. Cue the Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat (RFESS), Single Leg Deadlift, and the Reverse Lunge.

1.RFESS

Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat, this movement can be extremely beneficial for beginners as it will develop balance and hip flexibility, along with strength, size and the ability to endure discomfort while training. Best results come from loading up the exercise, huge advantage in the fact that weights can increase with limited spinal compression.

2. Single Leg Deadlift

This movement increases single leg stability and strength in the hamstrings while sparing the spine (like the RFESS). This exercise can be loaded on the same side or with two dumbbells, the single dumbbell in the opposite sided hand will help you get the most out of your muscles. You will not control this movement without stability. Keep tension on your glutes, core and shoulders before you start lowering.

3. Reverse Lunge

The Reverse Lunge is great for developing an athletic lower body, perfect for any sport requiring speed and power. Balance is important to learn as the stability needed is essential to build strength and power. If you are unstable, you will not be able to add sufficient weight to improve your leg strength. Start by practicing a body weight split squat.

If you are unsure how to get started with the single leg exercises stated above, feel free to join one of our Team Conditioning classes or Strength Camp sessions here at Flow Fitness! We cover all the fundamental exercises with variations in a interval setup, meant to burn fat and build lean mass! Happy Running!

CategoriesBlog Nourish.

Your Ultimate Guide to Meal Planning

Photo, iStock.
By Mackennon Klink, CSCS, PN1

Sooo……. What do you wanna eat?

This is the million-dollar question we ask ourselves (or significant other). Typically, we don’t either plan or know what we are going to eat for lunch or dinner the following day(s). If we do plan ahead, it’s usually that uninspiring sandwich for lunch or having leftover (again) for dinner when we’re exhausted arriving home.

It may seem like a daunting task to organize and plan your meals ahead of time, yet it’s actually an easy process that will allow you to consistently nail your nutrition, save your time and money, and improve your relationship with food.

There’s a lot to unpack so I’ll break it into sections and address each mental hurdle step by step.

What Exactly is Meal Planning?

Meal planning is the process of planning what to eat in advance for the next meal, day, and/or week. At first, meal planning seems like an impractical task, yet it’s a much easier task than imagined. In fact, you’re already meal planning without knowing it. Don’t believe me? Think to when you are grocery shopping. You aren’t just purchasing a bunch of food for tonight, but for foods you’ll be eating in the upcoming weeks. That is a basic form of meal planning.

Meal planning simply revolves around being more organized with your eating habits and food selection with a talented list of foods you want to eat. With the key words in that previous sentence is “want to eat.” In order to meet your nutritional goals (lose weight, eat healthier, etc.) you must adhere to your food selection. It makes absolutely no sense to purchase a bunch of foods you absolutely hate or using complex recipes requiring hours to finish when you starting.

The Benefits of Meal Planning

Hopefully, you realized that meal planning isn’t as of a daunting task and you’re already doing a basic meal planning every time you get groceries. Truth be told, there is no right or wrong way to meal plan. The correct meal planning method is the one you are consistency able to do. Meal planning is different for everyone, depending on their financials, obligations, lifestyle, and other factors. Regardless, there’s numerous benefits everyone can reap from meal planning.

1) Save Money by Cooking

Learning how to cook is THE best thing you can do and is a thousand times cheaper (and healthier) than going out to restaurants.

Even if you’re just ordering a salad, you don’t fully know everything they put inside. They don’t care about your waistline. They’ll load that sucker up with as much food topping and items as possible. Restaurants are more concerned about making it as tasty and enjoyable as possible to get yo money.

Here a quick comparison: For the price $12-15 of a meal at a restaurant, you can buy 2lbs of chicken, 2lbs of potatoes, and bags of frozen veggies at the same price point. So instead of having a single meal, you now have the necessary resources for 3-4 meals. In addition, you’ll avoid the hidden sugars, fats, and oils restaurants use to make their food so good.

Mack Tip: your significant other will find you 1000% more attractive if you are able to cook a few decent meals from scratch.

2) Nutritional Consistency and Adherence

When it comes to improving your health, consistency is the name of the game! While I’m sure you heard that before, it’s so true that consistency and adherence are what makes any diet successful.

Here some honest truth; Paleo, Ketogenic, Whole 30, South Beach and any other diet literally works for it places you into a caloric deficit. There’s absolutely no reason to starve yourself in order to lose those pounds. If your diet doesn’t fit with your lifestyle or you cannot consistency adhere to said diet, it’s time to get a new one. The best diet is the one you enjoy while making consistent, objective progress. Period. End of story.

3) Making Healthier Decisions

Planning your meals ultimately allows you to take control of your own personal nutritional needs. By having your ingredients readily available and know what you’re cooking is essential to making nutrient dense meals you’ll enjoy.

Nutrition dense meals means the food is high in vitamins, minerals, macros, yet low in overall calories. A few examples would be fruits and veggies, lean meats, and potatoes to name a few. As previously mentioned, every diet works by having the individual eat more lean meats/protein and more veggies. In addition, by getting more nutrient dense meals, this means lower total calorie meals, more quality macronutrients, and getting the vitamins and minerals your body needs.

4) Increase Food Variety

No one likes to eat the same meal over and over again, or sticking to strict, rigid diet. By meal planning, you’re in complete control what you eat and the foods you want to eat. This will allow your meals to remain enjoyable and “fresh.” As they say, “variety is the spice of life.”

5) Decrease stress

Cooking and preparing for dinner should be enjoyable – not a mad rush to subdue your hunger. Since you already have everything readily available, this allows you to be creative with your meals. A creative and thoughtful menu takes the pressure off the week and ensures your happy with your nutritional choices.

6) Save time

When you are organized and plan ahead, you avoid the frantic, last minute mad scramble of “what the hell am I going to eat?” when it’s 8:30pm at night and you’re exhausted after working all damn day.
With your ingredients and recipes already at home, it’s much easier to prepare your meal quickly, efficiently, and stress free.

These are just a few rewards you’ll reap as you progress through your meal planning journey. If you are unsure what you should prioritize while food shopping, I’ve put together a quick and easy recommended food list for you. This isn’t an “end all-be all” list. This is simply a list of foods I enjoy eating and cooking. With this list, you’ll have all the tools necessary to create healthy meals.

What is the Goal of Your Meal Plan?

Even before you begin planning out and rationalizing your weekly food items, you need to identify why you want to do this. Some people want to eliminate the evening stress of cooking, while others simply want to get into the habit of cooking.
Since we have been discussing meal planning in fat loss terms, the majority of individuals begin meal planning to lose body fat and gain muscle. The honest truth is, these are common goals and isn’t enough to sustain a diet or consistently going to the gym, especially when it becomes tough. To lose body fat, you need to know “why” it’s important to you.

Ask yourself, “Why does this matter to me?”
Don’t just focus on the superficial level, go deep.
Dig deep, and please, don’t say because abs are “hawt.”
Once you clearly establish your “why”, you need to maintain it throughout your journey. When it becomes difficult, you want to remember why you started in the first place to help you resume the course.

One you establish you “why”, the next step is to figure out your meal planning goal(s). Do you want to:
Eat better?
Save money?
Save time?
Cook less/more?
Adhere to a new diet?
Have family dinners be less stressful?

Someone who’s sole intention to save money will have a very diffident approach when compared to someone losing body fat or addressing a specific health concern. If you simply want to stay in budge or get into the habit of cooking meals, you probably want to stick to a simple recipe, rather than a complicated recipe with a bunch of ingredients.

By clearly identifying your primary goal, you’ll automatically set yourself up for long term success when compared to others. Focus on your daily nutritional needs and work back from there. Don’t try to change everything at once. Small hinges open big doors, so focus on making small sustainable changes, like cooking 2-3 times throughout the week.

How to Get Started with Healthy Meal Planning

Up to this point, you have figured out why you should be meal planning and what success means to you. Now let’s actually get started.

Meal planning needs to fit around your lifestyle – work schedule, gym routine, family and work obligations and responsibilities. I have found that Sunday is usually the best day to meal prep for the week.
Your primary goal when meal prepping should be focusing on cooking enough protein and veggies, plus a starch if you need the additional carbs. Eat real foods and keep it simple.

Let’s break this down step by step:

1) Determine how many meals you are preparing:

First thing is to determine how many lunches/dinners you need to prepare. For example, if you want to eat a healthier lunch, then focus on preparing for 3-5 lunches that week.

If you want to take it a step further, you can divide your daily macros to ensure your prepped meals keep you on track to hitting your goals. Based on your daily macro goals, you should have an idea on your meal’s “macro goals.” For example, my daily protein goal is 200g. I know I eat 4 meals a day, so that means each meal needs to have 50g of protein. Obviously, your macros would be different due to your training and physique goals height, weight and other physical characteristics, but the example works.

2) Choosing what foods to eat/prepare:

You want to focus on preparing foods you enjoy and know you’ll eat. It makes no sense to prepare a Tri tip steak if you are a vegan (why would a vegan cook this, idk, but just roll with it).

To make your life easier, I’ve prepared a list of foods to choose what to prepare.
Choose 1-2 PROTEIN sources from this list to cook & season to your liking:
Chicken Breast
Steak
Fish
Turkey Breasts
Ground Turkey
Grass Fed Beef
Wild Game

Choose 1-2 CARBOHYDRATE sources from this list to cook & season to your liking:
ALL the veggies
Gluten Free Oats
White Rice
Quinoa
Beans/Legumes
Sweet Potatoes/Yams
White/Red Potatoes
Fruit

If you tend to run low on fats, consider preparing, portioning out, or cooking your carbs/proteins with some of these FATS:**
All Natural Nut Butters
Tree nuts (Almonds, Cashews, Walnuts, Pecans, Brazil Nuts, etc.)
Seeds (chia, flax, pumpkin, etc.)
Avocado
Coconut Oil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Grass Fed Butter
Ghee
**Beware that fats are the most calorie dense macro at 9 calories per gram of fat. Make sure you are weighing/measuring fats accurately to not go bust on your fat/calorie goals.

3) Time to cook!

At this point, we know what our ingredients/foods are so let’s get cooking! It’s time to take over that kitchen with your set ingredients. Feel free to cook with your preferred sauces and spices. Once cooked, portioned into your individual container and your done! See?? Not too complicated after all, right?!

Meal Prep Tips and Tricks

As previously mentioned, there is no “right way” to meal prep. Meal prepping will be slightly different for everyone depending on their diet and nutrition, lifestyle, food choices and selections, and adherence. Think of it more as a learning process to help you achieve your individual nutritional choices and fitness goals. To help speed up the learning process, here’s a few tips I’ve learned along the way.

1) Start small
If you have never meal prepped before, it can be overwhelming to think of everything you need to do. Instead, focus on cooking enough for 2-3 meals and start pre-planning your grocery list. (side note – never go to the grocery store hungry, otherwise you’ll be over indulging in foods you don’t need.)

2) Multi-Task
If you have an oven and stove, you can always be cooking multiple items at the same time. For example, if you are cooking steak, chicken, or ground beef on the stove, cook your veggies in the oven.

3) Cook an extra dinner
The last thing you want is to run out of food on a Wednesday. Instead of splurging additional money at a restaurant, which you have no idea of how much oil, spices, and what else they put inside, make an extra-large dinner. This will ensure you’ll have plenty of leftovers for the whole week.
For example, if you are making stir fry, you can easily double or triple the number of veggies and protein for additional meals throughout the week.

Once you understand how to meal prep, it quickly becomes an easy task. Make sure you keep it simple and fun by focusing your meal prep on veggies, protein and modifying as necessary to fit your individual preferences.

The difference between hitting your macro goals just simply rely on willpower, and hertanic effort.

Once you get the hang of it, your meal prep can be done within 1-2 hours. That small chuck of time will make your diet more nutritious, save you time, money, and stress throughout the week and allow you to achieve your goals faster!

CategoriesBlog Move.

How to Increase Muscular Endurance

By Christian Garcia, CSCS

Behind on your fitness goals? Try incorporating these training styles into your workout to increase muscular endurance. 

Here is what you can do: HITT Training

  • AMRAP
        1. As Many Rounds as Possible (AMRAP) lives on the basis of time, its you against the clock, working to complete as many rounds or reps of exercises as possible. This means you’ll be performing several exercises back to back with as little rest as possible between exercises. You will have to pre-determine the number of reps for each exercise you decide to incorporate 
          1. For instance, if you include a squat, pushups, single leg deadlift and plank ups, you might perform 20 squats, 15 pushups, 10 single leg deads per leg, and 5 plank ups. Then rinse and repeat as many times as possible within the total time allotted. 
        2. Form is more important than speed, the idea is to feel the muscles you are targeting in order get the full effect, You won’t be able to continue towards the summer shred at full strength while being injured. Your body is going to get tired. If you compromise your form when you are tired, that is when injuries are most likely to occur.
        3. Rest as needed, you’re in complete control of determining when your body needs to rest. Keep any rest as short as possible so you can continue the workout and reap the rewards. 
        4. Keep exercises simple, if you decide to use more complex exercises or plyometric movements, pay attention to form and slow your pace when needed. 
        5. Record results, you are competing against yourself. There is no way to figure out if you got better the following week if no record was written down!
  • EMOM
        1. Every Minute on the Minute, where you perform a specific task at the start of every minute for a set amount of time.
        2. Pacing; the clock decides when you’ll be working and when you’ll be resting. For instance, for clients who are beginners I usually like ending training sessions every other week with 8-10 minutes of 10-15 bodyweight pushups and or squats. If it takes you 20 seconds the first minute and 50 seconds the second minute, you can clearly see you have fallen off pace. 
        3. Progression; EMOMs are a great tool for measuring progressions from week to week. 
        4. Versatility; EMOMs can be incorporated to train anything (power, aerobic & anaerobic systems, mechanics and or skills. 
        5. Record results, you are competing against yourself. No way to figure out with you got better the following week if no record was written down!
  • Team Conditioning at Flow Fitness
      1. Increase your conditioning and muscular endurance using multi-joint and multi-plane functional movements in Team Conditioning at Flow Fitness.
      2. The classes are instructed by trainers, who will lead and push you through timed blocks that incorporate TRX, Medicine Balls,Kettlebells, Dumbbells, Ropes, Sandbags, and our high intensity training equipment. 
      3. The timed blocks are set as intervals such as 30’’/30’’ for 6 rounds or 45’’/45’’ for 4 rounds, in which challenge you to keep up with the clock while performing quality repetitions of a Squat, Push, Pull, and Hinging exercise.
      4. Come try a Team Conditioning class at either location (SLU&FRE). Early morning, lunchtime and evening classes available!