Fitness & Wellness

Is It Possible To Stay Healthy During The Holidays?

Is It Possible To Stay Healthy During The Holidays?

Published by on December 5, 2023 | Leave a response

The holidays in Louisville, KY, can be quite hectic, making it difficult to stay healthy. What are the keys to maintaining good health? A good diet, regular exercise, plenty of sleep, and adequate hydration are a start. Keeping your stress level lower is also important. That seems so simple to do on paper, but difficult to do in real life. The best way is to develop a plan of action and leave wiggle room for unexpected events.

Start by prioritizing your day.

You may have five hours of things to do and only four hours available. That’s when you have to start prioritizing and delegating tasks. At the top of the list is your and your family’s well-being, which includes your job to pay your bills. Start meal planning so you have food ready in the refrigerator to heat and eat it. It’s faster than waiting in the drive-through line for carryout and healthier than having delivery food. Start early and build up a few extra meals in your freezer for those packed weekends when you don’t have any time to cook.

Get adequate sleep.

Even if your day is packed, don’t burn the candle at both ends. You need sleep to function at your best. Adequate sleep can help boost your immune system. Sleep is when your body does repairs. Lack of sleep can make you eat more and gain weight. It causes your body to produce more ghrelin, the hunger hormone, and less leptin, the hormone that tells your brain your stomach is full.

Plan to exercise every day.

Daily exercise can be as simple as walking or as demanding as an hour in the gym. If you don’t have an entire hour or half hour, break up your exercise into manageable ten to fifteen-minute sessions you do throughout the day. Exercise helps relieve stress and can be your saving grace during hectic times. It can burn off stress hormones and leave you feeling good again. It also stimulates circulation, so more oxygen and nutrient-laden blood goes throughout the body, including the brain.

  • Take time out for yourself. Carve out fifteen minutes to a half hour each day just for yourself. Find a quiet time, like in the morning before everyone else gets up. Develop an attitude of gratitude.
  • Hydrate regularly. It’s harder to remember to hydrate during the winter months. Carry a bottle of water with you and sip on it throughout the day. If you’re trying to lose weight, drink a glass of water before your meal and you’ll eat less.
  • Permit yourself to indulge in your favorite foods occasionally. Just keep portion control in mind and don’t do it often. If you only get to have Aunt Dolly’s special bundt cake once a year, enjoy a slice with the family—but not half the cake.
  • Turn tasks into family time. Start a tradition of making cookies, decorating the tree, or making gifts for others together. Delegate some of your responsibilities to other family members and skip some tasks that aren’t high on the priority list.

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

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Is Diet Soda Better Than Regular Soda?

Is Diet Soda Better Than Regular Soda?

Published by on November 25, 2023 | Leave a response

If you switched to diet soda from regular soda to save calories and protect your health, you may have only done one of the two. Diet soda is lower in calories, but as for being healthier, it has its issues. It doesn’t have any sugar, which is a plus, but it offers artificial sweeteners that might make you gain even more weight. The weight doesn’t come from calories, since many of these soft drinks contain no calories. It comes from the trick the sweeteners play on the brain.

You’ll have a bigger waistline and gain more weight with diet soda.

When you drink soda sweetened with artificial sweeteners, it tricks your brain into thinking you consumed sugar, but the body disagrees. That leads to more cravings for a natural source of sugar. It leaves your body unsatisfied, so you may eat or drink even more. Artificial sweeteners can also disrupt the gut microbiome, which can cause weight gain and other problems. One large long-term study also found that people who drank diet soda had a large waist circumference compared to those who never or seldom drank it.

You already know the sugar in soda is bad for you.

Soda may not contain a huge amount of calories compared to a Krispy Kreme Mocha Dream Chiller or a Starbucks Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino Blended Beverage, but it doesn’t mean it won’t pack on the pounds. Many people think that drinking soda, instead of no-calorie alternatives like water or black coffee, is part of the cause of the obesity epidemic. One can of cola a day for a year can pack on almost 15 pounds.

Both diet sodas and regular sodas increase the risk for health issues.

One study of 2,465 people lasted nine years. It found that people consuming diet sodas were 48% more likely to have a stroke or heart attack when compared to those who didn’t drink it. That doesn’t mean you should switch back to regular soda. Various studies have found it affected other parts of the body. In a 2002 study, it was associated with diets high in sugar, which reduced the production of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) that improves learning and memory. Another study found it increased the risk of heart attack by 20% which increases the more a person drinks.

  • Which one is better for you? Neither. Consider switching to water or infused water if you want more flavor. It has no calories and can help relieve joint pain and hydrate your skin to make you look younger.
  • The study that found diet soda increased people’s waistline found those who drank no diet soda increased their waist by 0.8 inches. The occasional drinkers’ waists increased by 1.83 inches, while the daily drinkers increased their waist by 3.16 inches.
  • Drinking diet soda may not prevent weight gain or serious conditions, but it doesn’t contribute to tooth decay. Bacteria need sugar to grow. However, the acid in both diet and regular soda compromised the enamel.
  • Even though regular soft drinks are higher in sugar, they aren’t as high in sugar as most fruit juices. An 8-ox serving of apple juice contains 125 calories, while 8 ounces of cola contains only 90.

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

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Machines Vs Free Weights

Machines Vs Free Weights

Published by on November 16, 2023 | Leave a response

You get the benefits of using both machines and free weights at Body Sculptors. Both provide the benefits of building strength that benefits your body in many ways, including building stronger bones and attaining a healthy weight. If you’re choosing just one, here are some pros and cons for each. For most people, using both to achieve your goals is beneficial. A lot depends on your goals and your fitness level. For beginners, machines make it easier to have proper form. That reduces the potential for injury. For those more advanced, free weights provide more variety and allow you to work muscles on several planes.

You work some more muscle groups with free weights.

You can target a specific muscle group with both machines and free weights. However, because you use them differently, with free weights, you’ll work additional muscle groups. For instance, both free weights and a shoulder press machine do the trick to build shoulder muscles. However, free weights also work the triceps, core, and trapezoids to help keep the body stabilized.

Free weights provide the same type of benefits.

You have to go lighter and slower initially when you use free weights to ensure you have the proper form. With the machines, the correct form is almost built into it and difficult not to achieve. The machine is fixed, so you don’t have to stabilize your body. That allows you to lift more weight using the machine. Free weights turn your workout into a full-body workout. You’ll work some muscles you wouldn’t on a machine.

Use both free weights and machines.

You can pinpoint muscles with laser accuracy when you use machines. Every ounce of effort goes into building a specific muscle group. It’s easy to do so beginners can start to lift heavier weights quicker. Machines can also help you move more easily to free weights. You’ll learn the body’s correct position and form, making the transition a breeze.

  • Using machines and free weights together makes the most sense. Since you work several muscle groups with free weights, you can isolate a specific muscle without overworking it when you use machines.
  • Machines are helpful as a supplement for those who are more advanced. On the other hand, free weights can be a good supplement for beginners who primarily use machines.
  • To be effective, you have to make sure you adjust the machine to fit you properly. Not everyone is the same height, has the same grip width, or requires the same amount of weight. Take the time to adjust the machine for your needs.
  • One big difference between free weights and machines is the need to be more careful about how much weight you lift with free weights. The machine has a backup if you go too heavy, which free weights don’t offer.

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

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Are Carbs Bad For Your Health?

Are Carbs Bad For Your Health?

Published by on November 5, 2023 | Leave a response

There is a lot of buzz in Louisville, KY, about giving up carbs to lose weight and be healthier. The truth is that carbs are necessary for your health. They provide many nutrients and help fuel the body. It’s not about whether you should eat carbs, but the type of carbs you should eat. Just like fire, some carbs help the body and some destroy it. Beneficial carbohydrates play a vital role in overall health. They’re the source of fiber your body requires. It’s one of the categories of carbohydrates, with the others being sugar and starch.

Good carbs take longer to enter the bloodstream.

One group of carbs, simple sugars, enter the bloodstream with a rush. They spike blood sugar levels, which triggers the release of insulin that immediately drops blood sugar to levels that are often too low. That can start a chain reaction that triggers insulin resistance, weight gain, and serious health issues. Another type of carb, fiber, can slow the rise of glucose. Limiting food with simple sugar, like highly processed food, sweets, food with added sugar, or white rice and white bread, can make you healthier.

Carbohydrates include vegetables and fruit.

Fruits and vegetables are good carbohydrates. They contain fiber, vitamins, phytonutrients, and minerals. The fiber not only slows the entrance of glucose into the bloodstream, but it also feeds the beneficial bacteria in the gut and fills you up so you don’t eat as much. For your digestive tract to work properly, you need fiber. Whole grains, legumes, fruit, and vegetables fit that description. Many are lower in calories, but higher in nutrition.

It’s all about choosing the right type of carbohydrates.

Carbs provide quick energy, but to be your healthiest, be selective. If it’s in its natural form with no additives and little processing, it’s likely a healthy carb. Fresh vegetables are good carbs, while fruit in a thick sugary syrup doesn’t fit that description. Minimally processed fruits and vegetables, like those frozen or canned, can be healthy. Whole grains are healthy, while their highly processed counterparts aren’t. It’s all about the added extras and the nutrition removed.

  • The risk of serious conditions such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease increase when you consume sugar and unhealthy carbs. Many obese individuals are also malnourished.
  • Keeping your gut microbiome healthy is vital. The microbes in your gut affect all parts of the body, including your brain. They also affect your mood. Fiber, a type of carb, helps increase the population of beneficial microbes.
  • Instead of quitting all carbs, just quit carbs with added sugar. It will be hard at first, but you’ll notice your sense of taste improving the longer you do it. Eventually, besides getting healthier, you’ll appreciate how sweet fruit is.
  • The body needs all three macronutrients: protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Eat a healthy diet that consists primarily of whole food.

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

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Natural Remedies For Sleeping Better

Natural Remedies For Sleeping Better

Published by on October 25, 2023 | Leave a response

If you listen to pharmaceutical commercials, you probably think there’s a pill for everything. At the end of every commercial, the announcer speaks rapidly in a soft, unemotional voice about all the side effects of the drug, many of which are far worse than the ailment it’s supposed to cure. Many people in Louisville, KY, look for natural remedies to help them sleep that don’t require disclosures. Lack of quality sleep causes many physical issues, yet millions of Americans suffer from it. Many people may be in bed for 8 hours but still don’t go through all stages of sleep to be healthy.

Should you eat before bedtime or not eat?

Almost everyone has heard you shouldn’t eat before bed, but that isn’t always true. The type of food you eat and the amount you eat is the key. Don’t overload your stomach with fatty foods, food high in sugar, or junk. It can cause digestive issues if you do or if you eat too much. However, if you can’t sleep, the problem may be hunger. Man is hardwired to stay awake and hunt for food if he’s hungry for survival. If you can’t fall asleep, try eating a small amount of protein with tryptophan, like beef, poultry, or seafood, combined with a healthy carb.

Get plenty of exercise.

A consistent program of exercise can help you sleep better. It doesn’t matter what type of exercise, walking, running, calisthenics, or just dancing. If you have a chronic problem with sleep, getting 30 minutes of exercise daily can help. Don’t overdo it, especially at first. It can cause aching muscles that will keep you awake all night. Not only will exercising regularly help you fall asleep, but it will also improve your quality of sleep, too.

Avoid alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine before bedtime.

People drink coffee to stay awake, so it seems like a no-brainer. However, most people don’t consider the caffeine in colas, chocolate, and energy drinks. Drinking or consuming caffeine-containing substances late in the day can keep you awake. Alcohol may help relax you, but if you drink it before bed, you won’t get the quality of sleep. You’ll wake up throughout the night or miss several stages of quality sleep.

  • Get out in the sun and eat food higher in omega-3. Both vitamin D and omega-3 are necessary to produce serotonin which plays a vital role in how quickly you fall asleep and the quality of your sleep.
  • Eating almonds or almond butter on toast can also help. Almonds contain magnesium that can calm your mind and help you sleep. A magnesium deficiency can cause insomnia.
  • Make sure you turn off all electrical appliances that emit light, such as the computer or TV. Sleep in a dark room that’s a bit on the cool side. You may think the TV helps you fall asleep, but it interferes with the quality of sleep.
  • Make a sleep schedule and stick with it, even on the weekends. Falling asleep at a specific time becomes a habit and helps you go to sleep quickly.

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

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How To Lose Body Fat And Preserve Muscle Mass

How To Lose Body Fat And Preserve Muscle Mass

Published by on October 15, 2023 | Leave a response

It’s possible to lose body fat and preserve muscle mass. To lose weight, you have to eat fewer calories than you burn. The body doesn’t differentiate where it gets those calories, whether it’s from burning fat or muscle for them. Bodybuilders tend to focus most on this since getting ripped requires reducing fat, allowing muscles to show. To achieve body recomposition, reducing body fat and maintaining or increasing muscle tissue, focus on the best diet and exercise program.

It starts with your diet.

There’s a reason we include nutrition in our fitness programs, especially when you want to focus on losing fat and not muscle. Reducing your caloric intake too much can result in losing muscle mass. While many weight loss diets reduce calories by more than 500 a day, it can cause a loss of muscle mass. Rather than lowering calories, increasing activity levels is the way bodybuilders achieve that goal. They maintain the calorie intake for their weight and exercise more, increasing intensity and activity.

Some exercises are better for body recomposition.

Maintaining your caloric intake while boosting your exercise regimen is the key if you just want to burn fat and build or maintain muscle tissue. If you have a particularly intense workout, like intense strength training or HIIT—high intensity interval training—-you can even minimally increase your caloric intake to provide the energy you need. On days away from the gym or doing moderate to mild exercise, you can cut your calories by a small amount, such as 200 to 300.

Full-body workouts, interval training, and HIIT workouts are a few options.

A personal trainer can develop the perfect plan to help you, but if you don’t have a trainer, aim for full-body workouts, such as kettlebells that burn the most calories. Constant aerobic workouts won’t give you the results you want. They burn both fat and muscle. Strength-building workouts build or maintain muscle tissue and burn mostly body fat. Make your workouts shorter but work at a more intense pace, taking fewer breaks between sets or exercises. When you’re doing strength training, increase the weight you lift. You can also set a time and focus on increasing the number of lifts you do in the allotted time.

  • Increasing protein intake can help protect your muscles is important. Protein is necessary for building muscle tissue and can help burn fat. Cutting out processed food and food with added sugar is also necessary.
  • If weight loss and maintaining muscle mass is your goal, you have to adjust your diet slightly. Maintaining the same or slightly lower calorie intake on your days working out and cutting it by 300-400 calories on your days off works well.
  • Never underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep. Getting adequate sleep can boost your energy so you burn more calories. It also keeps your appetite in check.
  • Drink more water and stay hydrated. Water makes you feel full, so you don’t overeat. It also boosts your energy level. Don’t forget to include protein and carbs after working out. It helps with recovery by providing the necessary raw materials.

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

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How Many Calories Are Burned During Each Workout?

How Many Calories Are Burned During Each Workout?

Published by on October 5, 2023 | Leave a response

Predicting the number of calories burned during a workout isn’t easy. Each person is different. The calories they burn doing the same exercises as someone else will vary by age, weight, gender, percentage of muscle tissue, length and intensity of the workout, and other factors. Even though you may be doing the same workout, the calories you burn at each will also vary. You can approximate the calories you burn, which for most people is adequate.

Your weight, gender, age, and body composition make a difference.

If you weigh more, moving around takes more energy, and you’ll burn more calories. Gender and body composition are linked. Men tend to have more muscle mass than women. People with more muscle mass burn more calories working out. The older you get, the harder it is to reach the intensity required to burn the maximum calories. You might think that fit people will burn more calories, but that’s not necessarily true. Their body is more efficient, so they burn fewer calories.

The area temperature, the amount of sleep, and your intensity affect the calories burned.

It makes sense that someone running at peak speed will burn more calories than someone walking slower, so intensity counts. If the room is warm, your body temperature will be higher, burning more calories. Getting adequate sleep the night before makes a difference. It can cause fatigue so you won’t work as hard. It also slows your metabolism.

Sometimes, just estimating the number of calories is enough.

Many charts will show the number of calories burned. Some even add weight to the mix. For instance, a 125-pound person will burn 165 calories doing 30 minutes of low-impact aerobic exercise, while a 155-pound person will burn 108. High-impact exercises burn more. That same 125-pound person will burn 210 calories, while the 155-pound person will burn 252. Knowing approximately how many calories you’ll burn based on the activity is often enough. Staying more focused on consistency and being active is more important.

  • While lifting weights doesn’t necessarily burn the most calories, they do create afterburn that increases your metabolism for hours. They also build muscle tissue that boosts metabolism.
  • Eating a small snack before you exercise can help keep you working your hardest, burning more calories in the process. The snack should contain a carb and some protein.
  • HIIT—high intensity interval training—torches calories. It’s not a type of exercise but a way of modifying any workout, alternating between peak intensity and a recovery pace.
  • A personal trainer will create a program designed to help you maximize the calories you burn, while also focusing on all types of fitness, strength, endurance, balance, and flexibility.

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

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The Importance Of Stretching

The Importance Of Stretching

Published by on September 25, 2023 | Leave a response

If you don’t realize the importance of stretching and do a short session during your warm-up, you’ll probably find yourself injured or have a less productive workout. When you exercise at Body Sculptors in Louisville, KY, we include stretching in every workout. It helps improve flexibility and circulates the blood to the extremities to warm them for the upcoming workout. You can do stretching—flexibility exercises after a workout, while the muscles are warmed up and more flexible to improve your range of motion.

Stretching is the body’s natural reaction.

If you’ve ever stretched in the morning or after a tense day at the computer, you don’t think about it, you just do it. It’s a natural reaction to help loosen the muscles. When you wake up with a yawn and a stretch, it’s your body’s way of preparing for the day. Yawning increases oxygen intake. Stretching increases circulation. If you’ve ever watched a cat after a nap, you’ll notice animals automatically stretch. It’s instinctive in them, just as it is in humans.

Exercise, including stretching, can improve posture.

Bad posture can cause health issues and make you look defeated. It can cause headaches, breathing difficulties, incontinence, constipation, and heartburn. Even less known issues like TMJ can be from bad posture. Exercise is the best way to improve posture with strength-building at the lead, followed closely by stretching. It increases the range of motion, loosens muscles, and can help you return to good posture. It loosens muscles that are tight from years of bad habits and weakness.

Stretching before a workout can reduce the build-up of lactic acid.

When you increase your circulation, you’ll also be increasing the oxygen that travels through your body. If your muscles don’t get enough oxygen lactic acid can build. If you’re fit and the workout isn’t hard, it clears relatively quickly. If you’re unfit or perform a grueling workout, it can build up too quickly for the body to remove. Stretching helps shorten the process of removing lactic acid. If it remains it causes lactic acidosis. Lactic acidosis interferes with the body’s pH levels, makes each workout more difficult, and can cause pain.

  • A pulled or torn muscle can put you out of commission for weeks or months. It can happen anywhere, not just at the gym. Stretching improves your range of motion to help prevent it.
  • When you stretch, it prepares your body to become more active. It helps acclimate the heart for more effort and prevents a sudden
  • You’ll build muscle faster if you stretch before doing strength training. Stretching increases your range of motion and prepares your muscles to work muscles on all planes.
  • Stretching relaxes tight muscles and gets you in the mood for exercise by changing your focus. It can help increase oxygen in your blood to clear your brain if you stretch during mental activities.

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

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How To Get Started With Strength Training

How To Get Started With Strength Training

Published by on September 15, 2023 | Leave a response

All types of exercise are necessary to be your fittest, cardio, flexibility, balance, and strength training. Each type of fitness requires different training. Some are easier to start than others. If you want to build cardio strength, ride a bike, run, or walk. Those activities don’t focus on building strength or improving balance or flexibility. Other exercises provide those benefits. While running may help build lower-body muscles, it doesn’t build upper-body strength. Here are some tips to help you start on the path to improved strength.

Don’t believe the myth that you need special equipment.

People often fail to do strength training because they believe they need expensive equipment, like barbells, dumbbells, or kettlebells. The truth is you don’t need any of those things. People have been doing strength training without any of those things. They use bodyweight exercises to provide resistance. Lifting your body against the force of gravity helps build muscles. If you want equipment but are short on cash, use resistance bands. They allow you to work muscles on all planes.

The most important factor in strength training is form.

To build strength, lift something heavy, push something heavy, or pull something heavy. It’s that simple. What isn’t that simple is maintaining the proper form when you do it. If your form isn’t correct, you face the potential of an injury or not getting the full benefit of your efforts. When you first begin, either have a friend to help or do the exercise in front of a mirror to check your form. Doing it right is far more important than the number of reps or the amount of weight you lift.

Don’t train the same muscle groups two days in a row.

When you’re building muscles, you stress them and cause microtears in the muscles. It takes time for those muscles to heal. The healing process is what makes them stronger. If you do strength-building every day, it doesn’t allow muscle tissue to heal. The muscles dwindle and get weaker. Get adequate sleep, eat quality protein, and if you do strength training two days in a row, work different parts of the body.

  • Track your progress. Make your workout tough, but one you can do without compromising your form. Start with exercises like push-ups, walking lunges, and planks. As they become easier, increase your repetitions and sets.
  • Kettlebell workouts or HIIT—high intensity interval training—workouts can speed your progress, while also boosting your cardiovascular health. Circuit training can also build muscle tissue with less time exercising.
  • Besides increasing repetitions and sets, you can modify exercises. You can make them easier or more difficult. You can alter them to focus on working other muscle groups. If you place your hands wider when doing a push-up, works other muscles.
  • Having a snack of carbs and protein 30 to 60 minutes before a workout can improve your workout. Consuming a high-protein, high-carb snack afterward can help with recovery.

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

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