Exercise

How Exercising Can Be A Stress Reliever

Published by superadmin on December 25, 2024 | Leave a response

Are you feeling stressed? It’s easy to do in Louisville, KY. Life is busy. People have a lot of tugs on their time. Finding a way to reduce the stress or counteract it is vital. People often look to ways that aren’t healthy. Those ways may bring even more stress, like poor health or physical injury. One stress reliever not only improves your physical health, but it also improves your mental health. It’s exercising.

Stress starts a natural reaction to danger.

Caveman needed survival skills. The body’s reaction to stress is one of those. When early man faced danger, it signaled his brain to trigger hormones that prepared the body to fight or run. The hormones cause blood to go to the extremities. It caused blood pressure and heart rate to rise. All the changes made man more prepared to flee or fight. Burning off stress hormones while creating new hormones makes the person feel better. We don’t have the same dangers today, but the response is the same. It’s not best to fight an angry boss or leave your car and run into a traffic jam. Mimicking both actions through exercise helps overcome stress and provides other benefits.

Some people use exercise as a form of meditation.

Meditation can change your mind’s focus and help you relax. It is one way to reduce stress. Some people use exercise as a form of meditation. They direct their focus to the present and the rhythm of the body. If you’re running outside, it’s all about the sound of your feet hitting the ground and the wind and warmth of the sun on your face, and the warmth of the sun. If you’re lifting, your focus is directly on the muscles. Not only does exercise help divert your attention and bring stress relief, but it also helps you develop laser focus.

Stress can lead to anxiety or depression.

Many studies have revealed that exercise helps both depression and anxiety. Many therapists use it as an adjunct therapy. One study found therapy and exercise had better results than therapy alone or therapy and medication. Another benefit was that it had no side effects except for a healthier, more attractive body.

Exercise improves your posture and makes you look more confident. The more confident you look, the more people treat you as though you are. That treatment makes you feel more confident and less stressed.
Exercise helps promote better sleep. That can enable people to cope with stress better. Lack of sleep alone can be stressful. Add that to the day’s stress, and you have an overwhelming combination.
You’ll improve your gut microbiome when you exercise. Many beneficial microbes in the gut create enzymes that can boost your mood and improve your emotional well-being.
Always check with your healthcare professional first before starting any exercise program. If you have limitations, consider using a personal trainer to guide you safely through a program. Make sure you let the trainer know about any physical problems.

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

Posted in Exercise, Fitness

Do You Need Protein After A Workout?

Published by superadmin on December 15, 2024 | Leave a response

What you eat plays a major role in your health and fitness level. When you eat also plays a role, especially if you workout. You need the nutrients to keep you going and get the most from your workout, but you also need the materials to recover and rebuild muscle tissue. That means you need both carbohydrates and protein pre and post-exercise.

Most people understand a small snack or meal before exercising boosts your energy.

There are a few rules to follow when you eat before working out. The closer you are to exercising, the less you should eat. You also should avoid fatty foods. These rules are logical. They have to do with digestion. If you eat a large meal, make sure it’s 3 or 4 hours out. For smaller snacks, make it a half-hour window. Your body has to digest the food and exercise can interrupt that. Also, fats take longer to digest, so go light on fatty food. Pre-workout food also helps start recovery quicker.

Exercise causes tiny micro tears in the muscle.

When you exercise, especially when you do intense muscle-building, it causes micro tears in the muscles. The magic of muscle-building doesn’t occur when you exercise but during recovery. That’s when the micro-tears heal and form scar tissue to build bulk and strength. It’s one reason you should wait 48 to 72 hours before exercising those muscles again, or the healing doesn’t occur.

Post-workout snacks are for recovery and replenishing glycogen stores.

Eating a snack of protein provides the building blocks for building muscles. Carbohydrates replenish the glycogen stores in the muscles. Both are necessary to maximize your benefits from the workout. Eat it as soon after a workout as possible. It can be a full meal or a snack like apples and a spoonful of peanut butter. If you have a busy day following exercise, you won’t run out of steam midway.

Protein contains amino acids that are the building blocks for muscle tissue. Carbohydrates provide the energy for your body to function. The combination for a post-workout snack should be 40% protein and 60% carbohydrates.
If it’s close to breakfast, lunch, or dinner, wait until your next meal to eat. Make sure you replenish liquids throughout the workout and afterward, regardless of intensity.
You don’t have to make it elaborate. There are simple, inexpensive snacks you can make. Greek yogurt with bananas and berries is one option. Fruit and nuts are another. Keep the carbohydrates healthy and avoid food with added sugar.
If your workout is intense, you may need to replenish electrolytes. For potassium, eat a side of sweet potatoes, grapes, or green, leafy vegetables. You’ll also get magnesium from the green, leafy vegetables. Chicken soup can provide sodium.

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

Posted in Exercise, Fitness

Are Avocados Good For Diabetes?

Published by superadmin on December 5, 2024 | Leave a response

If you have diabetes, your diet plays a vital role in your health. Some foods are off-limits, like those packed with added sugar or other simple carbs. Food high in trans-fat should also be avoided. Most people try to avoid foods high in fat or calories and may cut avocados out of their diet. They think eating it can interfere with weight loss. That could be a mistake. Avocados provide many health benefits, especially for people with diabetes.

Eating avocados provides healthy fat and nutrients.

Avocados are high in nutrients that everyone needs, especially diabetics. They are an excellent source of vitamin K. Vitamin K helps boost insulin sensitivity and improves sugar metabolism. According to one study, eating a medium avocado daily lowered the risk of metabolic disease by 50%. A different study showed that people who ate the most avocados had a lower risk of developing diabetes.

If you’re worried about losing weight, avocados can help.

Often, people with diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes, need to lose weight. Keeping calorie counts lower is important. They’re high in fat, which means they’re higher in calories. That usually stops people from eating them. Don’t let that stop you. It doesn’t mean you should eat several a day, but it does mean you can eat them. Avocados contain fiber that fills you up and helps maintain blood sugar levels. The more fiber in your diet, the lower your fasting blood sugar and A1C levels are.

Metabolic syndrome is reduced when you eat avocados.

What is metabolic syndrome? It includes having three of five medical conditions. These include abdominal obesity, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, low serum high-density lipoproteins, and high serum triglycerides. It increases your risk for stroke, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Scientists believe the problem may come from increased visceral fat—belly fat. Visceral fat causes inflammation. It plays a central role in weight gain and insulin resistance. One 12-week study found that when two groups ate the same calories but one group included avocados in their diet, the body converted visceral fat to subcutaneous fat that was not associated with metabolic syndrome.

Avocados contain oleic and monounsaturated fatty acids. Using oils high in oleic fatty acids instead of polyunsaturated fat, such as flaxseed oil, can reduce abdominal fat. Monounsaturated fatty acids also reduce belly fat.
It is high in vitamins E, C, B3, K, B6, B5, and B2. It contains folate, copper, potassium, magnesium, and manganese. The high potassium content can help lower blood pressure.
The high-fat content of avocados can help you lose weight. It keeps you feeling full longer. It lowers the bad LDL cholesterol and improves the body’s ability to absorb fat-soluble vitamins.
Always check with your healthcare professional before including avocados in your diet if you have diabetes. Every person is different and requires a personalized diet.

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

Posted in Exercise, Fitness

Natural Remedies For Sleeping Better

Published by superadmin 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

Posted in Exercise, Fitness & Wellness

How To Lose Body Fat And Preserve Muscle Mass

Published by superadmin 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

Posted in Exercise, Fitness & Wellness

How Many Calories Are Burned During Each Workout?

Published by superadmin 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

Posted in Exercise, Fitness & Wellness

How To Get Started With Strength Training

Published by superadmin 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

Posted in Exercise, Fitness & Wellness

Why It Is Important To Have A Regular Exercising Schedule?

Published by superadmin on September 5, 2023 | Leave a response

Do you want to be a better pianist? Practice every day. If you want to be a better writer, write every day. The same is true of exercise. It’s even easier if you do it at the same time each day to form a habit. A regular exercising schedule carves out the same time every day to increase your chance for success. Consistency is the key to success and scheduling a workout helps maintain that consistency.

If you have an appointment, you don’t take other appointments in that time slot.

When you put something in your calendar, like a doctor’s or dentist’s appointment, you don’t accept another commitment at that time since it’s already filled. The same happens when you consider your workout an appointment with the gym. People who use a personal trainer have found meeting with the trainer at a specific time is far more motivating than going to the gym and working out alone. The gym takes second place to anything that interrupts the day when you don’t schedule it.

You have to make it important to you.

You should value your time at the gym. Exercise helps keep blood pressure regulated, reduces the risk of insulin resistance, helps shed extra pounds, reduces stress, and improves your immune system. You should value the benefits it provides and appreciate the time it saves at the doctor’s office later. Creating a regular workout time increases its importance and helps you develop a habit. Habits are hard to break.

Scheduling helps put structure into your workout.

You know you’ll exercise at a specific time every day and understand it doesn’t have to be at the gym. Scheduling your workout gives you the liberty to switch things up. You can work out in the gym three days a week and use the other days for different types of exercise. You could ride a bike, walk, or do something different, such as take dance lessons. You can schedule cardio, strength-building, and flexibility training on different days or include them every day, dividing up your strength-building to different areas of the body.

If you schedule your workout at the same time each day, you’ll miss it when you don’t do it. It becomes a habit to devote that time to improving your fitness.
Going to the gym at the same time every day can increase your social circle. You start to see the same people each time and interact. That makes working out more fun and improves your chances of continuing.
Just considering the best time to schedule your workout can be a benefit. If you know you get busy during the day and it wrecks your schedule, the logical choice is to make your appointment the first thing in the day.
It takes more than exercise to be your fittest. It takes a healthy diet, too. We provide nutritional coaching that can help you create new dietary habits.

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

Posted in Exercise, Fitness & Wellness

The Role Of Gut Health In Weight Loss

Published by superadmin on August 5, 2023 | Leave a response

If you want to lose weight, we’ll help you at Body Sculptors in Louisville, KY. We address all aspects of weight loss, including diet and exercise. A healthy diet and regular exercise both affect your entire body. The combination improves endurance, metabolism, mood, and gut health. That’s right, gut health is vitally important to your body. There’s a link between gut health and losing weight. It takes more than just cutting back on calories. It takes a healthy diet to create a more efficient digestive system to lose those extra pounds.

Your gut microbiome makes a difference.

Your body has trillions of microbes. There are more microbes than cells. Estimates say that for every cell you have, you have three microbes. These include fungi, bacteria, archaea, and viruses with an estimate of between 300 to 500 species. The beneficial microbes perform several tasks for the body, including maintaining gut health and protecting the body from harmful microbes. If the microbes are out of balance with too many harmful ones, it can create many problems, including sugar cravings.

Besides the microbes, the gut produces vital hormones.

Hormones play a role in all bodily functions. They’re messengers. They regulate metabolism, control appetite, and send a wide variety of critical information to the brain. There are approximately 20 different hormones created in the gut that vary based on diet, stress, overall health, and the substances produced by microbes. The hormones can help or hinder weight loss. If your calorie intake is too low, hormones increase appetite or reduce metabolism. An unhealthy gut causes digestive issues like gas, bloating, and constipation. It can cause unintentional weight changes, autoimmune disturbances, and mood changes.

You can improve your gut health

Studies show that a healthy diet with probiotic and prebiotic foods can help improve gut health. Prebiotic foods include food high in soluble fiber. Soluble fiber feeds the beneficial bacteria. A diet low in sugar also discourages harmful microbes, while a diet high in sugar harms beneficial ones. Getting adequate sleep also helps gut health, and so does good hydration. Studies found that starting or continuing a program of regular exercise can improve your gut health by improving the microbes in the gut.

You can help your digestive system and improve gut health by chewing your food longer. That allows more digestion to take place in your mouth, rather than your gut, making it more efficient.
Scientists have identified certain strains of microbes that are associated with obesity. They found the byproducts of certain microbes in obese people or those overweight.
Eating food high in fiber is good for gut health. So is consuming fermented food that is rich in probiotics. Garlic, chickpeas, onions, and bananas are excellent prebiotics that feed beneficial bacteria.
One study showed that after exercising for six weeks, the beneficial bacteria in the gut increased. Other studies show that chronic stress can reduce healthy bacteria.

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

Posted in Exercise, Fitness & Wellness