Blog

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...

Author: Dr. Payton Busker, PT, DPT

Picture this: You’ve been working out consistently for about 12 weeks. You had been progressively increasing your weight over that time period, feeling stronger as the weeks went on. But now you’re here and you’re feeling muscle aches you haven’t felt or you’re missing that satisfying muscle burn you’ve come to crave in class. 

You feel like you’re hitting a plateau. 

Let’s talk about what you might have done in the past when you’ve reached this point and why we should avoid these tendencies now.

What people mistakenly do when they reach a plateau. 

1. Mix up their routines
2. Increase the volume of their workouts 
3. Add in more cardio or faster movements 

Mixing up your routine.

Oftentimes this feels like the right call. You mix up your lifts or exercises and then experience soreness the next day. However, soreness is not a good indicator of effective muscle activation. More...

By: Dr. Payton Busker, PT, DPT

Today we will answer the frequently asked question: “How can I incorporate (insert running, biking, HIIT, spin, etc) into my Evlo routine??”.

We will take a detailed look at the 6 different tracks we offer, how we coordinate muscle groups, specific suggestions for engaging in other forms of fitness as an Evlo member, and overall ideas to consider when mixing up your Evlo routine. 

Let’s dive in!

Our Programming 

Both the structure of our class tracks as well as our weekly programming is very intentional. Our goal at Evlo is to achieve muscle hypertrophy while avoiding overuse. Members can achieve this goal by following one of 6 track options:

1. 3 days per week without cardio
2. 3 days per week with cardio
3. 4 days per week without cardio
4. 4 days per week with cardio
5. 5 days per week without cardio
6. 5 days per week with cardio

Each track includes AT LEAST two rest days that we do not recommend skipping past! 

The “3 days...

By: Dr. Payton Busker, PT, DPT

Recovery is 50% of the equation for muscle hypertrophy and performance improvements within your workouts.

But how do we know if we are properly recovered?

This week’s blog post will serve as a written guide for why recovery matters, what factors expedite or hinder your recovery, how to objectively measure if you are recovered, and what to do with the results of these measures. For the listeners of Dr. Shannon’s Fit Body, Happy Joints, this information will be familiar. Check out Dr. Shannon’s episode on this topic here if you prefer to listen. For those interested in a visual guide, join me below! 

Why recovery matters: 

Exercise is a catabolic process. 

This means that exercise breaks down muscle tissue leading to temporary damage and weakness. This is a NORMAL process and a key factor in muscle hypertrophy. However, we run into trouble when we layer breakdown on top of breakdown (read: overuse). 

Overuse can...