Blog

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,...

Today, let’s talk about running. Running has been glorified in the fitness industry, and to be honest, I think it's over-glorified. I know this is a hot topic, and I don’t mean to offend anyone. I’ll try to meet you runners half-way with this podcast as much as I can. 

Today, I’ll talk about how to incorporate strength into your running routine if you don’t want to give up running, why I prefer walking to running from a mechanical and nervous system standpoint, why running to burn calories isn’t effective, and how running can affect your central nervous system, and potentially delay muscle growth. 

I want to start by saying that I have a certain bias against running. I’m not a huge fan of running. I think there are smarter ways to move your body that are less repetitive, and more beneficial to your cardiovascular system and muscular system. I’ll explain why in this podcast. However, I will say that I totally understand that...

Today we are going to talk about why you won’t see us prioritizing heavy deadlifts and squats every week in Evlo for training the glutes. I know this is going to be a hot topic since deadlifts and squats have been seen as a couple of the “king” exercises for a long long time. But I feel like I have learned a few compelling reasons why to prioritize other exercises to build the glutes over squats and deadlifts. 

In our private FB group and messages that I get from the Evlo members, they talk about how their glutes have developed more than any other program they’ve tried. And it’s not because we are working them MORE, and many of them aren’t even lifting as heavy as they once were with lots of squatting and deadlifts. So how could that be? How could they be working their glutes less, lifting lighter weights, and yet be seeing more muscle development than before? It’s because we are working them SMARTER not HARDER. 

Your glutes, or...

Today I want to give you some ideas of how to exercise when you’re stressed. We know that exercise can be stress-reducing, but it can also contribute to stress, spiraling the issue. I think a lot of people also avoid moving altogether when they’re stressed because they think they need to have an intense session or why bother. 

However, I’m a firm believer that the better you are at dipping and diving through the obstacles of your life instead of staying rigid, the better your life will be. And, dare I say, the better your health will be. Inevitably, we’re going to go through stressful times. It’s about recognizing when you’re in one and adapting accordingly. 

Today I’ll talk about: 

1. Why you’re more likely to get injured when you’re stressed 
2. Neuroendocrine responses to stress 
3. How to recognize when you’re stressed 
4. My suggestion for how to exercise when you’re experiencing a mentally...

This blog is going to be a bit nerdy. We’re talking about 4 cool nervous system “hacks” that can improve the results of your workouts. 

We implement these things in my classes, which is one of the more unseen or unrealized reasons my classes are so effective. I also hear often from the members that this is the first program they look forward to and enjoy, and they may not know why. I think these are some of the reasons why - because we are using their nervous system to create an environment that doesn’t feel like a threat. When your brain thinks something is a threat, it will avoid it. And we know consistency is super important in your workouts, so we have to train our nervous system that our workouts aren’t a threat to our safety. 

Your nervous system is extremely important in driving results from your workouts because it will dictate how easily you will recover and lay down new muscle. Because of this, we have to work WITH our nervous...

Often, the first change someone makes when they want to lose weight is to start exercising. Although exercise can complement weight loss, it isn't the primary factor that influences long-term weight loss. Nutrition is about 80% of the equation for weight loss, as exercise doesn't burn as many calories as we think it does. The phrase "you can't outrun your fork" is very true.

However, exercise can complement clean nutrition when it comes to weight loss or weight maintenance. 

Today, I'll discuss common mistakes with exercise and how to use exercise as a tool for overall fitness and health.

First, health and fitness are not necessarily linear. Many times fitness can be at the sacrifice of our overall health. Workouts that are high-impact or highly repetitive can improve fitness, but at the sacrifice of our joints, hormone balance, etc. So although we may be and look more fit, the health consequences can eventually rear their ugly head and cause adrenal...