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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...

Hormones are incredibly complex, and it's difficult to talk about one hormone without talking about other cascading hormones. Today, I want to break down what cortisol is, what can happen if you have too much of it and how to tell, and my recommendations on how to keep it in check. 

Before we begin, remember that this is not medical advice, and to seek advice from your doctor or functional medicine practitioner if you are having severe issues. This post is for informational purposes only. 

If you feel like you're doing everything right - putting in work at the gym, you're trying to eat less, and still not seeing results - it could be because of cortisol imbalance. Often, too much exercise and too little eating can have the reverse effects that you're hoping for because they can mess with your cortisol and hormonal balance. 

One of my goals, which I hope is evident by my content, is to encourage people to get away from the damaging "grind yourself into the ground if...

Now that we've covered both HIIT and steady-state cardio, let's go over the main differences between the two.

The difference between steady-state and HIIT is that a HIIT workout is where the individual exerts their max effort , which can't be sustained for a long time. Whereas steady-state cardio is a low-to-moderate effort that can be maintained for a longer period of time.

During HIIT, your heart rate is close to its max, maybe around 160 bpm, depending on who you are, and sustained for a brief amount of time, maybe 15-30 seconds. 

After that brief, intense bout, you recover for a short period of time and repeat. HIIT is pretty brutal, but the good part is, it's brief and time-effective. It has benefits, as I talked about in the last podcast. But it's not for everyone. If you are new to exercise, have cranky joints, hormone imbalances, etc., HIIT might not be your exercise of choice until you get those things under control. 

Additionally, if you HATE that type of...

How do we create an exercise routine that is linearly improving our fitness levels AND our health, without trading one for the other? 

That statement might make you scratch your head because we are so conditioned to believe that a fit person is a healthy person. We believe that as physical fitness rises, so does overall health. Unfortunately, the two are often not synonymous. 

Let's define the terms "health" and "fitness."

Health could be defined as the absence of disease. 

Fitness could be defined as the ability to handle physical challenges. 

A seemingly "fit" person can have loads of orthopedic issues, therefore not fall under the "healthy" category. In fact, many "fit" people have trouble handling everyday challenges like climbing stairs and sitting on a hard chair. They may look "fit," but by definition, they can't handle all the physical challenges in their lives, so they aren't classified as "fit" by this...