Blog

By Dr. Payton Busker, PT, DPT 

Today’s post is all about the Prenatal/Postpartum Program here at Evlo! This program was curated by Doctors of Physical Therapy to support and guide expecting and new moms on their fitness journeys. Although many of our general classes at Evlo are prenatal/postpartum-friendly, we sought to close the knowledge gap of what can be safely performed at different stages of a woman's journey! 

General Recommendations 

First and foremost, we highly recommend that an expecting mother see a pelvic floor physical therapist at some point during her pregnancy. These providers are experts on evaluating your individual body as a whole and in relation to the changes that will occur during and after pregnancy. Our program can work in tandem with your providers’ recommendations and is not meant to replace pelvic floor physical therapy! 

There are very general recommendations that are accepted when it comes to prenatal fitness:

1. In...

By Dr. Payton Busker, PT, DPT 

Over the last couple of weeks, we have been diving into how to achieve 3 different goals using Evlo:

Goal 1: Feel Better, Get Stronger

Goal 2: Increase Muscle Definition 

Goal 3: Cross Training with Evlo 

Last week, we explored all things “Increase Muscle Definition”. Click here to review that post!

Next up: CROSS TRAINING WITH EVLO.

What is cross training?

The term “cross training” is most commonly used to describe incorporating a form of exercise other than an athlete’s primary sport. But this idea can be applied far beyond “an athlete”! 

There is consistent evidence to support cross training for individuals whose primary form of activity is endurance training, especially running. Typically in said studies, researchers seek to understand the effect of strength training on elements like running economy (think running efficiency), time trials, sprint performance, and body...

By Dr. Payton Busker, PT, DPT 

Over the last couple of weeks, we have been diving into how to achieve 3 different goals using Evlo:

Goal 1: Feel Better, Get Stronger

Goal 2: Increase Muscle Definition 

Goal 3: Cross Training with Evlo 

Last week, we explored all things “Feel Better, Get Stronger”. Click here to review that post!

Next up: INCREASE MUSCLE DEFINITION. 

If you’ve been an Evlo member for some time now and have noticed a decrease in joint pain and overall stress levels, you might be ready to tackle goal number 2. 

We believe that developing significant muscle definition primarily occurs in the absence of significant stress response and pain within the body. This is because building (and maintaining) muscle tissue is metabolically expensive. If your body and brain do not feel safe and protected, they will have a hard time allocating energy for muscle growth and maintenance. 

This is one of the reasons we emphasize sticking...

By Dr. Payton Busker, PT, DPT 

Over the next few weeks, we will dive into how to achieve 3 different goals using Evlo:

Goal 1: Feel Better, Get Stronger

Goal 2: Increase Muscle Definition 

Goal 3: Cross Training with Evlo 

First up: FEEL BETTER, GET STRONGER. 

If you are coming to Evlo from a program or lifestyle that has left you feeling worn down and depleted, this is the goal for you!! Joints achy from years of grinding your body into the ground with the “no pain, no gain” mentality? You’re in the right place! Overwhelmed by excess stress in your life and struggling to juggle work, family, fitness, etc.? Keep on reading, friend!! 

Our number one priority for you will be to create space for your body and nervous system to heal and recover while initiating the muscle building process. Continue reading to learn how we recommend doing so! 

Schedule Options 

We begin to create this space of healing with our weekly schedule in the...

Podcast Summary by Dr. Payton Busker, PT, DPT 

Dr. Ben Bikman (who prefers to go by Ben) was on this week’s episode of Fit Body, Happy Joints! Ben is a metabolic scientist. He describes himself as “a scientist and a professor. [He teaches] Pathophysiology, which is the sick body, and Endocrinology, which is the study of hormones. [He is] the director of the Diabetes research lab and that reflects [his] professional research interests which is to understand metabolic disorders”. 

Shannon and Ben dive into all things insulin sensitivity and metabolism in this episode. Ben breaks down why we should all improve our insulin sensitivity and his educated opinions on how to do it. He also breaks down some myths about metabolism and talks about burning calories. 

This blog post will serve as a summary of some of the highlights from this episode! 

What is considered optimal metabolic health?

Ben purports that optimal metabolic health occurs when the body...

In today’s podcast, Dr. Shannon dives into all things foam rolling, massage gunning, *insert recovery tool of choice here*. She breaks down what these tools are and are not doing for your body. Dr. Shannon highlights the all too common practice of utilizing these tools as a bandaid for overuse and how to assess if you might be doing this as well! 

What these tools ARE doing for you:

Foam rollers and massage guns modulate your nervous system. They activate mechanoreceptors within the muscles, providing helpful inputs to send back to the brain. Mechanoreceptors are receptors within the muscle that respond to external stimuli. These stimuli can include touch/pressure implemented from the apparatus of your choice. 

When these mechanoreceptors are stimulated, they send a signal back to your brain. This signal is an input that gives your brain a sense of where that muscle is in space. When our brain has this helpful information, it often feels “safer”. It...

By: Dr. Payton Busker, PT, DPT 

WELCOME TO EVLO!! We are so happy you are here! This is your guide to all things Evlo- where to start and where to go. Let’s dive in! 

Recommended Equipment 

Before starting your Evlo journey, we recommend having a few pieces of equipment on hand! Recommended equipment for each individual class can be found in the description below the class video. 

Example of class description with recommended equipment

Dumbbells 

We use a variety of dumbbells throughout the week of classes including light, medium, and heavy weights. When you first begin Evlo, we recommend starting with the following weight selections: 

Heavy: 8 lbs or less

Moderate: 5 lbs or less

Light: 1-3 lbs 

Resistance bands 

Click here to see an option from Amazon! These types of packs allow you to try out different levels of resistance to fit your individual needs. 

Gliders

Click here for an amazon option! Gliders can easily be...

By: Dr. Payton Busker, PT, DPT 

Raise your hand if you’ve been in this scenario: 

You have recently become super motivated to “get in shape”. You begin working out constantly and restrict your eating severely. You try to stick with this intense, restrictive schedule for *insert 30, 45, 60 days here*. You tell yourself “I can do anything for 30 days”. However, when that magical day comes at the end of this time period, you not only feel burnt out, but you do not see a tangible change in muscle growth. So you give up until the next bout of motivation kicks in (and the aches and pains calm down)! 

Cut to me raising my hand!! I don’t think I can count the number of times I have gone through this cycle. Enter, Evlo!! 

In this post, I will break down the 4 reasons you might not be seeing the results/muscle growth you desire and ways that Evlo addresses each and every one

1. Time 

It is human nature to want FAST results. Like,...

By Dr. Payton Busker, PT, DPT 

Ah, meditation. We all know we “should” do it, but I would venture to say that many of us don’t know how to easily incorporate it into our routines. At least that’s the boat I was in just 5 years ago!! 

Picture me in physical therapy school: I was learning an incredible amount of information in a relatively short amount of time (3 years flies by when you’re cramming information in your brain!!). I bopped around to different fitness studios with my best friends/classmates, incorporating Yoga about once a week. 

Although there was so much good happening, I felt lost. 

This came to a head during my final 12-week clinical just before graduating. I found myself back in Austin, Texas (my college town). I almost immediately took myself to my favorite Yoga studio here that I called home in college. More than the physical practice of Yoga, this is when and where my consistent meditation practice truly...

By: Dr. Payton Busker, PT, DPT

It is one thing to intellectually understand the benefits of building muscle. It is another to act upon it! In today’s post, we will discuss WHY we should care about muscle growth (especially us millennial women!!), the dichotomies of muscle building, what genetic factors are at play, and what to do IF you are truly ready to maintain your muscle mass as opposed to continuing to build it.

Why you should care about muscle growth.

Building muscle is crucial for healthy aging, especially for women! As we age, sarcopenic changes begin to occur. Sarcopenia can be defined as age-related loss of skeletal muscle tissue. 

In his invited review on aging and sarcopenia, Timothy Doherty analyzes the current data. Doherty highlights literature findings that reveal the following: 

1. Losses in strength that occur due to aging are directly correlated with a decrease in muscle mass
2. Decrease in strength is mainly affected by loss of muscle mass, NOT an...