superadmin

The Importance Of Cool Down Exercises

The Importance Of Cool Down Exercises

Published by on February 5, 2022 | Leave a response

Most people understand the importance of warming up and doing active stretching to avoid injury. However, it’s also important to do cool down exercises. Most people are ready to drop when their exercise session is over, so cool down is often overlooked. Omitting it might get you out of the gym quicker, but it comes with a higher price than most people think. Don’t neglect this important part of your workout.

What is DOMS and how does it relate to cooling down?

DOMS stands for delayed onset muscle soreness. It can occur as sudden pain in the muscles and often hits the back of runners legs, causing abnormal contraction in the muscle. Those cramps are caused by microtears in the muscles. You’d normally expect some soreness, but this is significant pain and occurs within 24 to 48 hours of exercise. One study from California State University showed that using a cool down cycling session after doing strength training, reduced the potential for DOMS significantly. Stretching after exerting your muscles help the muscles to relax and prevents the problem.

Blood pooling in the arms and legs can occur if you don’t cool down.

A tough workout increases your heart rate and the more you move, the more blood pumps through the body. If you suddenly stop, it can cause the blood to poll in your extremities by making the return back to the heart slower. That can cause lightheadedness, even fainting sometimes. Normally, it’s not really dangerous unless it’s masking a serious medical condition, but it is extremely scary.

You already know that warming up can prevent injuries, but so can cooling down.

After a tough workout, you may feel like you have jelly legs. That’s because all your muscles are extremely warm and loose. Stretching at that time can help lengthen the muscles and improve your range of motion. That means it also can reduce the risk of injury. It can even help parts of the body you might not suspect. For instance, tight hamstrings or hip flexors can cause back pain. Get more flexible by cooling down.

  • Walking, static stretching and swimming are examples of good cool down exercises. Don’t do ballistic or dynamic stretching. Save those to warm up your body and get it ready for exercise.
  • When you workout, lactic acid can build up in your muscles. If you take just ten minutes to stretch and cool down, you can clear the muscles of this waste byproduct that can cause muscle pain, burning and nausea.
  • Cooling down gets your heart rate back to normal slowly. In fact, you can tell that you’ve done enough if your heart rate has returned to normal for a few minutes.
  • Cooling down exercises do exactly as the name implies. Not only does it allow the heart to return to a normal rate and the breathing rate to be lowered, it also aids in lowering the body temperature and boosts the effects of endorphins, the feel good hormones.

For more information, contact us today at Body Sculptors Personal Training

Posted in
Does Tea Help With Inflammation?

Does Tea Help With Inflammation?

Published by on January 25, 2022 | Leave a response

When someone mentions tea, they normally are talking about the leaves from the camellia sinensis plant, which are often considered true teas. You see them in every grocery store under the names of Tetley, Bigalow, Lipton and more. There are other types of tea, since the definition of tea also includes, “Any of various beverages made by steeping the leaves, flowers, fruits, or other parts of certain plants.” While there are all types of tea that help with inflammation, let’s focus on the true teas.

Even with true teas, there are many varieties.

True teas come in a wide variety based on both the growing and processing techniques. There are black teas, red teas, white teas, oolong teas, Pu-erh teas and yellow teas. The difference in harvesting time, processing time and how the tea is processed, not only makes a difference in its color and flavor, it makes a difference in its health benefits, too.

All types of true tea have some health benefits in common.

No matter what the color of tea, where it was harvested or how it was processed, all true teas have some similar health benefits. All contain antioxidants called flavonoids, which include ECGC that help reduce free radicals that can lead to cellular damage, causing heart disease, clogged arteries and even cancer. They all contain both theanine and caffeine to boost brain and mental activity. They all contain polyphenols, but the amount varies by the processing. The polyphenols give tea its anti-inflammatory properties. The more processed tea is, mostly from oxidation and fermenting, the less powerful the antioxidants.

Oolong, green and white tea are the least processed.

These three teas have the highest amount of antioxidants, which can help reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, such as bladder, breast, lung, stomach, colorectal and pancreatic. Green tea and white tea have the highest amount, with green tea proven to help prevent arterial plaque, burn fat, reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and reduce the risk of stroke. One study found that black tea can even help prevent lung damage caused by cigarette smoke and reduce the risk of stroke.

  • There are various studies that show tea can help you lose weight. Oolong tea is known to have that property, so is pu-erh tea, rooibos (red) tea, green tea and white tea. Weight loss can help reduce inflammation.
  • Red tea has a number of benefits, which include helping aches and pains, headaches and high blood pressure. It’s anti-inflammatory properties can bring relief from asthma and allergies.
  • The anti-inflammatory properties of green tea can help reduce the chronic inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease.
  • Just like any food or drink, you can get too much of a good thing. Excessive consumption of green tea may cause stomach cramps and kidney stones, but it takes quite a lot. It’s far more dangerous to use the extracts, like green tea extract, which may cause liver damage or interact with medications.

For more information, contact us today at Body Sculptors Personal Training

Posted in
Is It Time To Shape Up?

Is It Time To Shape Up?

Published by on January 15, 2022 | Leave a response

What makes you want to shape up? It can be a lot of things. It might be feeling exhausted climbing a flight of stairs or trying on your favorite outfit, only to have it way too tight. Maybe your doctor advised you that it was time to make changes. No matter what the reason, the best time to do it is right now! Getting back into shape is more than just working out. It’s about eating healthy and making other lifestyle changes.

No matter what your age, getting fit is possible.

Sure, it’s harder to get back into shape the older you get. After 30, your body starts to lose muscle mass if you don’t workout. That means someone who has been sedentary has a longer road to take than someone who has kept in shape. It may take longer to build muscles as your hormone levels drop, but once you get started and start feeling the change, you’ll be glad you did.

You don’t have to diet.

That may sound deceiving, especially if you have a lot of weight to lose, but it’s true. However, that doesn’t mean you don’t have to change your eating habits. Dieting makes you feel deprived and often bored with your food. The worse part is that it often ends, either in success or failure, then you go back to old eating habits that put weight on in the first place. In order to lose weight, you have to learn how to eat smart and make better choices in food. It’s all about making some lifestyle changes.

Remember that getting out of shape didn’t happen overnight, so it won’t be solved quickly either.

Getting back into shape means eating healthy, getting plenty of sleep and following a workout program designed specifically for you. While you don’t necessarily have to have a personal trainer, their knowledge can help you get quicker results and help you avoid many of the downfalls. The longer you stick with the program, the more it will become part of your life and habits. That’s when you know you can conquer anything and make changes to any facet of your life. It’s all about taking that first step and sticking with it.

  • A body in motion stays in motion. A body at rest stays at rest. Thank you Isaac Newton for those great laws of physics. They work in fitness too. When you don’t feel like working out, just get up and get moving. You’ll feel great in no time.
  • The more you workout, the easier it will be to lose weight. Muscle mass burns more calories than fat does, so the more you have, the more calories you’ll burn 24/7. It just takes getting started.
  • Get plenty of sleep. One often overlooked part of fitness is getting adequate sleep. Too little sleep increases the hormones that make you hungry and diminishes the hormones that make you feel full.
  • Not only will you look better and feel fantastic, you’ll also have a better self-image and feel more confident. Exercise helps improve your posture, so you’ll look more confident, too.

For more information, contact us today at Body Sculptors Personal Training

Posted in
What Foods Help With Bloating?

What Foods Help With Bloating?

Published by on January 5, 2022 | Leave a response

Whether you feel overly full for hours or simply can’t pull your tummy in or zip your jeans, when you could with ease just a day before, you probably are bloated. There are several ways to approach the problem and even help prevent it. One way is to eat foods that help with bloating. There are two types of bloating. One may occur overnight and may be related to your menstrual cycle. The other occurs immediately after a meal. The first is normally from retaining fluid, while the second is more about the digestive process, the build up of gas and sometimes liquid build-up in the digestive tract.

Maybe the problem isn’t eating foods to reduce bloating, but not eating certain foods.

If the bloating is severe and is followed by diarrhea, maybe you need to identify what caused the issue. You might have a food intolerance or allergy, such as lactose or gluten intolerance. Both of which can lead to sudden gas and digestive upset. Try removing milk products from your diet for a few days or cut out products with gluten and see what happens. Foods high in fructose can also cause bloating. Finally, high fiber foods, while good to prevent bloating, must be increased slowly. If you don’t, you’ll be faced with the problem you’re trying to eliminate.

Make it simple and drink more water or consume more fluid, like chamomile tea.

Sometimes, bloating can occur because you don’t have enough fluid to match the fiber you ate. Drinking more water, particularly before a meal can help. If it’s water retention that caused the bloating, water also helps. It balances out the amount of fluid and sodium in the body and helps flush out the extra sodium. Dandelion tea is also a natural diuretic. Ginger tea helps relieve stomach and digestive issues, such as gas. It increases the movement of food through your system and relieve bloating.

Increase your greens, especially spinach.

Spinach is a good source of magnesium. In fact, one cup of cooked spinach gives almost 40% of the daily recommended amount. Magnesium is important for activating enzymes that help with digestion. It also helps keep the muscles relaxed in the bowels and keeping stool soft. Celery, another anti-bloater, is high in water and also has potassium. Potassium is good to relieve bloating from water retention and the fiber and fluid helps relieve gas. Another salad topper that can help is cucumbers. It is an anti-inflammatory food that can help prevent intestinal inflammation caused by food allergies and gut imbalances.

  • Toss away those straws, that chewing gum and even cigarettes. They tend to cause you to swallow air that can add to bloating. Even eating fast can be one of the bloating culprits.
  • Try some yogurt for bloating. It can provide beneficial bacteria to normalize your digestive system. Kefir, sauerkraut and other probiotic foods also help.
  • Just like the potassium in celery can help reduce bloating, so can the potassium in bananas. One medium-sized banana provides 422 mg of potassium, plus resistant starch. That helps eliminate constipation and gets rid of trapped gas.
  • Chew on a fennel seed or two after a meal. Fennel is a folk medicine for digestive issues. It also has diuretic properties to eliminate both types of bloating.

For more information, contact us today at Body Sculptors Personal Training

Posted in
How To Stay Motivated As A Beginner

How To Stay Motivated As A Beginner

Published by on December 25, 2021 | Leave a response

Most people start a workout program excited and determined. Little by little, they lose that excitement and eventually the skip their workout entirely. Before you know it, that one day of avoiding the gym turns to several and then, they’re right back where they started. It’s hard to stay motivated as a beginner and finding out your downfall and ways to avoid it can help.

Working out is hard and makes your body hurt.

This is one of the first reasons people quit workout programs. It really isn’t natural to make yourself work harder. Even worse, your body sometimes hurts a bit. Let’s start by finding ways to avoid this problem. Don’t overdo it to the point that you’re in real pain. Start slowly. Sure you’ll have some sore muscles, but it’s a good kind of sore that says you’ve accomplished something, not the type of soreness where you can’t walk. Stay hydrated and do both warm up and cool down exercises.

Progress is often slower than you’d like.

Even if you make great strides in your progress, it’s still pretty slow for most people. You won’t see a difference the first few weeks, which can drain you of enthusiasm. You may feel different, so focus on that to help keep you going. Start by taking a snapshot once a month. Wear the same outfit and stand in the same spot so you have the same perspective. Track your progress in the gym and see how much you’ve improved from your first few days.

Sometimes, you get too busy to come to the gym.

This is one of those reasons that I hear quite often, “I was just too busy to come last week.” That’s why I always suggest people schedule an appointment in their own time management program. Don’t let the decision depend on whether you have extra time or not. Coming at the same time every day will turn your workout into a habit, and we all know habits are hard to break. Working with a trainer is also a benefit, since you have an actual appointment and someone is holding you accountable.

  • Change your mindset. Find something positive every time you workout. Maybe you felt less stressed afterward or even felt fabulous. Maybe you noticed you have more energy throughout the day. Find a positive and focus on that.
  • Set a big goal and break it down to smaller goals that are easier to achieve. If you have to lose 40 pounds, focus on two pounds a week. You’ll get to experience success quicker and success is motivating.
  • Workout with a friend. If you don’t have a personal trainer, workout with a friend. Just like the trainer holds you accountable and is depending on you to show up, so is your workout buddy.
  • Celebrate the small successes. While it’s impressive to do several one armed push-ups, choosing a piece of fruit as a snack instead of a candy bar is also impressive. Give yourself a pat on the back for the small successes along the way.

For more information, contact us today at Body Sculptors Personal Training

Posted in
How To Find The Right Trainer

How To Find The Right Trainer

Published by on December 15, 2021 | Leave a response

There’s a reason they’re called “personal” trainers. Trainers work specifically to create programs based on you, your needs, goals and present level of fitness. In Louisville, KY, we think we make it easy to find the right trainer by offering a week of free group training or a free personal training consultation. Finding the right trainer can make the difference between being successful and falling short of your goals. There are some things to look for in a trainer.

Personal trainers need to talk to you and ask a lot of questions.

If you want to create a program designed specifically for someone’s needs, goals and fitness level, you have to ask them questions. If a trainer doesn’t spend time learning about you, identifying your fitness level, learning about your dietary needs and even doing a fat analysis, maybe they’re not a personal trainer, but just a trainer who does cookie cutter programs. While everyone has similar needs, to get the best results, you need a program designed specifically for you.

Exercise isn’t enough.

Is weight loss your goal? You also need to change your eating habits. You can’t out-exercise a bad diet. The same is true for building muscles or achieving other fitness goals. You need the raw material for your body to be healthiest, learning to eat healthier is the way to do it. It’s not a diet, but learning how to make smarter choices. Some of those choices can be as easy as choosing fruit over a candy bar, while others may be substituting brown rice for white rice to boost nutrition and save calories.

The workout program shouldn’t be static.

You make progress and get fitter as you workout and your workout program should reflect it. Good trainers not only track your progress, they constantly reevaluate your program to ensure you’re working your hardest. You’ll also get a variety of workouts to avoid plateauing. The body weight plateaus because your body becomes efficient at doing a specific workout and burns fewer calories. With a trainer, you’ll never be bored and always work toward maximum potential.

  • Good trainers spend time ensuring you know how to do each exercise right. Doing it improperly can cause injury or minimize the benefit.
  • Eating healthy is a lifestyle change that never ends. It doesn’t mean you’ll never be able to eat your favorite high calorie food, but will eat it less often, keeping portion control in mind.
  • Trainers ensure you work on all types of fitness, strength, flexibility, endurance and balance. You need all types of fitness to be your healthiest.
  • A good trainer will help you create goals that are realistic and attainable. He or she will help you break them down to ones that can be achieved more quickly, to provide more motivation.

For more information, contact us today at Body Sculptors Personal Training

Posted in
Training Ideas To Get Fit Through The Winter

Training Ideas To Get Fit Through The Winter

Published by on December 10, 2021 | Leave a response

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent est est, semper et mi aliquet, ullamcorper gravida mi. Nullam scelerisque aliquet ullamcorper. Curabitur tincidunt odio urna, a dapibus nunc ultrices eget. Mauris lobortis orci nisi, nec tristique nisi tempor at. Quisque dictum nec felis a tempor. Morbi ac velit a orci ultrices porttitor non vitae diam. Vestibulum a enim tincidunt diam vulputate posuere non non justo. Phasellus commodo sed tortor vitae venenatis. Vestibulum maximus dolor risus, et rutrum urna pellentesque eu. Fusce sed sem mi. Mauris suscipit lacus ut quam sodales, sit amet cursus augue fermentum.

Pellentesque varius velit nec orci condimentum molestie. Sed ornare sapien ac purus pharetra, sit amet vulputate justo dignissim. Donec consectetur nunc nec quam consequat, nec maximus nunc ornare. Aenean quis arcu fringilla, imperdiet sem quis, laoreet libero. Nunc iaculis sed sapien quis lobortis. Sed nec dapibus nunc. Cras eleifend maximus sem, vitae tincidunt purus malesuada quis. In in commodo sem. Integer ultrices vestibulum nulla, ut volutpat erat dignissim sit amet. Quisque aliquam massa non lobortis sagittis. Nunc bibendum turpis eget efficitur mattis. Vestibulum tristique massa lacus, eu molestie dolor congue quis.

  • Cras ornare ut diam non commodo.
  • Nulla sit amet justo est.
  • Donec rutrum odio nec dapibus placerat.
  • Etiam efficitur mattis feugiat.
  • Cras eget consectetur ante.

Integer dapibus ac mauris fringilla sollicitudin. Nullam neque metus, posuere cursus facilisis at, fringilla eu erat. Aliquam tristique, ligula id dapibus euismod, turpis purus tempor sapien, sit amet tempor orci urna ut ipsum. Quisque in turpis scelerisque, gravida nibh id, egestas lectus. In efficitur congue libero, in consequat ligula faucibus consequat. Nulla ac aliquet erat. Nullam pulvinar arcu non lectus accumsan molestie. Vivamus ullamcorper lorem id condimentum pellentesque.

Sed consectetur sed est id viverra. Cras sit amet augue aliquet, volutpat nibh et, volutpat enim. Donec nec urna nec metus tempor hendrerit consequat quis ante. Nullam scelerisque eu lorem id cursus. Etiam convallis quam eu dui porta, eu malesuada arcu mollis. Praesent ac odio eu augue bibendum iaculis. Phasellus in tellus eget sem egestas bibendum. Pellentesque tincidunt imperdiet enim vel euismod. Pellentesque in massa varius, mollis velit id, hendrerit justo. Duis mi lectus, condimentum molestie neque ac, congue varius quam. Nunc cursus sit amet nisi nec dignissim. Praesent nisl sem, lacinia eu auctor in, iaculis et ligula.

Posted in
32 Secret Workouts To Strengthen Your Core

32 Secret Workouts To Strengthen Your Core

Published by on December 10, 2021 | Leave a response

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent est est, semper et mi aliquet, ullamcorper gravida mi. Nullam scelerisque aliquet ullamcorper. Curabitur tincidunt odio urna, a dapibus nunc ultrices eget. Mauris lobortis orci nisi, nec tristique nisi tempor at. Quisque dictum nec felis a tempor. Morbi ac velit a orci ultrices porttitor non vitae diam. Vestibulum a enim tincidunt diam vulputate posuere non non justo. Phasellus commodo sed tortor vitae venenatis. Vestibulum maximus dolor risus, et rutrum urna pellentesque eu. Fusce sed sem mi. Mauris suscipit lacus ut quam sodales, sit amet cursus augue fermentum.

Pellentesque varius velit nec orci condimentum molestie. Sed ornare sapien ac purus pharetra, sit amet vulputate justo dignissim. Donec consectetur nunc nec quam consequat, nec maximus nunc ornare. Aenean quis arcu fringilla, imperdiet sem quis, laoreet libero. Nunc iaculis sed sapien quis lobortis. Sed nec dapibus nunc. Cras eleifend maximus sem, vitae tincidunt purus malesuada quis. In in commodo sem. Integer ultrices vestibulum nulla, ut volutpat erat dignissim sit amet. Quisque aliquam massa non lobortis sagittis. Nunc bibendum turpis eget efficitur mattis. Vestibulum tristique massa lacus, eu molestie dolor congue quis.

Cras ornare ut diam non commodo. Nulla sit amet justo est. Donec rutrum odio nec dapibus placerat. Etiam efficitur mattis feugiat. Cras eget consectetur ante. Proin sit amet velit lectus. Etiam eu sem felis. Mauris diam arcu, luctus id vulputate ac, porttitor rutrum nisl. Ut vehicula est ut nulla luctus efficitur. Cras gravida tortor quis arcu semper hendrerit. Aenean vel mauris quis est ultrices congue eu eget tellus. Maecenas nec consectetur erat.

Integer dapibus ac mauris fringilla sollicitudin. Nullam neque metus, posuere cursus facilisis at, fringilla eu erat. Aliquam tristique, ligula id dapibus euismod, turpis purus tempor sapien, sit amet tempor orci urna ut ipsum. Quisque in turpis scelerisque, gravida nibh id, egestas lectus. In efficitur congue libero, in consequat ligula faucibus consequat. Nulla ac aliquet erat. Nullam pulvinar arcu non lectus accumsan molestie. Vivamus ullamcorper lorem id condimentum pellentesque.

Sed consectetur sed est id viverra. Cras sit amet augue aliquet, volutpat nibh et, volutpat enim. Donec nec urna nec metus tempor hendrerit consequat quis ante. Nullam scelerisque eu lorem id cursus. Etiam convallis quam eu dui porta, eu malesuada arcu mollis. Praesent ac odio eu augue bibendum iaculis. Phasellus in tellus eget sem egestas bibendum. Pellentesque tincidunt imperdiet enim vel euismod. Pellentesque in massa varius, mollis velit id, hendrerit justo. Duis mi lectus, condimentum molestie neque ac, congue varius quam. Nunc cursus sit amet nisi nec dignissim. Praesent nisl sem, lacinia eu auctor in, iaculis et ligula.

Posted in
Healthy Meals That Are Great For The Whole Family

Healthy Meals That Are Great For The Whole Family

Published by on December 10, 2021 | Leave a response

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent est est, semper et mi aliquet, ullamcorper gravida mi. Nullam scelerisque aliquet ullamcorper. Curabitur tincidunt odio urna, a dapibus nunc ultrices eget. Mauris lobortis orci nisi, nec tristique nisi tempor at. Quisque dictum nec felis a tempor. Morbi ac velit a orci ultrices porttitor non vitae diam. Vestibulum a enim tincidunt diam vulputate posuere non non justo. Phasellus commodo sed tortor vitae venenatis. Vestibulum maximus dolor risus, et rutrum urna pellentesque eu. Fusce sed sem mi. Mauris suscipit lacus ut quam sodales, sit amet cursus augue fermentum.

Pellentesque varius velit nec orci condimentum molestie. Sed ornare sapien ac purus pharetra, sit amet vulputate justo dignissim. Donec consectetur nunc nec quam consequat, nec maximus nunc ornare. Aenean quis arcu fringilla, imperdiet sem quis, laoreet libero. Nunc iaculis sed sapien quis lobortis. Sed nec dapibus nunc. Cras eleifend maximus sem, vitae tincidunt purus malesuada quis. In in commodo sem. Integer ultrices vestibulum nulla, ut volutpat erat dignissim sit amet. Quisque aliquam massa non lobortis sagittis. Nunc bibendum turpis eget efficitur mattis. Vestibulum tristique massa lacus, eu molestie dolor congue quis.

Cras ornare ut diam non commodo. Nulla sit amet justo est. Donec rutrum odio nec dapibus placerat. Etiam efficitur mattis feugiat. Cras eget consectetur ante. Proin sit amet velit lectus. Etiam eu sem felis. Mauris diam arcu, luctus id vulputate ac, porttitor rutrum nisl. Ut vehicula est ut nulla luctus efficitur. Cras gravida tortor quis arcu semper hendrerit. Aenean vel mauris quis est ultrices congue eu eget tellus. Maecenas nec consectetur erat.

Integer dapibus ac mauris fringilla sollicitudin. Nullam neque metus, posuere cursus facilisis at, fringilla eu erat. Aliquam tristique, ligula id dapibus euismod, turpis purus tempor sapien, sit amet tempor orci urna ut ipsum. Quisque in turpis scelerisque, gravida nibh id, egestas lectus. In efficitur congue libero, in consequat ligula faucibus consequat. Nulla ac aliquet erat. Nullam pulvinar arcu non lectus accumsan molestie. Vivamus ullamcorper lorem id condimentum pellentesque.

Sed consectetur sed est id viverra. Cras sit amet augue aliquet, volutpat nibh et, volutpat enim. Donec nec urna nec metus tempor hendrerit consequat quis ante. Nullam scelerisque eu lorem id cursus. Etiam convallis quam eu dui porta, eu malesuada arcu mollis. Praesent ac odio eu augue bibendum iaculis. Phasellus in tellus eget sem egestas bibendum. Pellentesque tincidunt imperdiet enim vel euismod. Pellentesque in massa varius, mollis velit id, hendrerit justo. Duis mi lectus, condimentum molestie neque ac, congue varius quam. Nunc cursus sit amet nisi nec dignissim. Praesent nisl sem, lacinia eu auctor in, iaculis et ligula.

Posted in