Beaufort Fitness: 9 Benefits of Strength Training

Beaufort Fitness: 9 Benefits of Strength Training

Published by on March 5, 2020 | Leave a response

There used to be a time when very few adults included strength training in their fitness routine. It was thought of as extreme, unnecessary and even dangerous. Strength training is when resistance is used to challenge your muscles in order to gain strength and endurance. It can be performed with traditional weights, exercise bands, medicine balls, cable machines, sandbags, kettle bells or even just using your own body weight. Times have certainly changed as a multitude of strength training benefits were proven by experts, including:

  • Strength and muscle tone
  • Cardiovascular capacity
  • Speed, Agility and Flexibility
  • Resistance to injury and disease

If that’s not enough to convince you to include regular strength training in your fitness routine, then read on for 9 Benefits of Strength Training…

Beaufort Fitness: 9 Benefits of Strength Training

1. Builds Muscles: Don’t worry, ladies. This does NOT mean that you’re going to ‘bulk up’ or look too masculine. What will happen is that your arms, tummy and legs will become tighter, leaner and more defined.

2. Burns Fat: When it comes to losing size, all that you want to see disappear is fat, not muscle. Strength training ensures that you maintain and grow those muscles and only lose fat.

3. Builds Strong Bones: The older we get, the more important our bone density is. A good training program is one of your best defenses against osteoporosis.

4. Alleviates Anxiety, Stress and Depression: Sure, there are plenty of pills out there that claim to give these benefits, but you and I both know that strength training is more wholesome and effective way. And besides, who really wants pharmaceutical side effects?

5. Promotes Better Sleep: Here’s another pill you can stop taking once you start training. Study after study have proven that strength training improves sleep.

6. Can Relieve Chronic Back Pain: If you are one of the millions across the globe who suffer from back pain then you’ll love the benefit of reduced pain.

7. Contributes to Insulin Sensitivity: Today diabetes is a huge threat. Minimize your risk by improving insulin sensitivity through regular, challenging strength training.

8. Improves Good to Bad Cholesterol Ratio: Here is yet another pill that you could potentially stop taking while on a strength training routine. Blood pressure and heart health are of utmost concern, so why not give yourself the advantage of a resistance training routine?

9. Raises Metabolism: This helps to reduce body fat and to keep that body fat off, even on the days that you aren’t able to exercise. Pretty awesome, right? A solid strength training routine will tone your legs, lift your buns, strengthen your core, and will result in inches and pounds lost.

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How to Make the Most of Your Massage/Bodywork Session

How to Make the Most of Your Massage/Bodywork Session

Published by on March 5, 2020 | Leave a response

How to Make the Most of Your Massage/Bodywork Session

Arrive hydrated. This includes taking a bath or shower the day of the session. The additional fluid intake will help keep your muscle and body tissues more subtle, reduce aches, and will amplify the detoxification and healing processes that occur when receiving massage and bodywork.

Arrive 15 min before the start of your session. This will allow you time to relax, drink some tea, tune in and center yourself before the session. If any paperwork and/or payments have not been completed, this will also allow you to take care of them before your session begins.

How to Make the Most of Your Massage/Bodywork Session

Turn off your phone before the session begins. This will help to minimize distractions during the session and will help you be more present to the work.

Come with clear goals that you would like to achieve through the work. After speaking with your therapist, your goals may or may not shift but showing up with intention will help your therapist formulate the right session to get you the results that you seek.

Respect the intake process. Every question that your therapist asks you, gives the therapist a more holistic understanding of the state that you are in, as well ensure that you can achieve your goals in the safest, quickest, and most effective way possible.

How to Make the Most of Your Massage/Bodywork Session

Communicate your needs. If you have any allergies, sensitivities, or specific requests, make sure the therapist knows before beginning the session to ensure that you are taken care of. If you are uncomfortable at any moment, let the therapist know so that proper adjustments can be made for you.

Tune in to your breath. During the session, allow your breath to soften and deepen. Try not to force it but if you find yourself holding your breath, take a deep breath and breathe naturally from there. Allow yourself to relax deeper with each breath, focusing on letting go of any tension in the body with each exhale. 

Minimize conversation that is not relevant to the work. There is nothing wrong with casual conversation but speaking about outside matters that have little relevance to the work can become a distraction.

Extend the effects of the work beyond the session. The session may be over but the work continues in life. After the session, you have a window of time where your body is able to create new habits and replace old habitual ways of moving and being. Take some time to observe any shifts that have occurred during the session and spend the remainder of the day engaging in activities that bring you greater relaxation and nourishment.

Book multiple sessions. Lasting change occurs with consistency. Your therapist will recommend a plan of regular sessions based on your unique situation and the goals you wish to achieve. Invest in yourself and take advantage of the monthly session and session package discounts to receive the benefits of this work regularly at a low cost.

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Success Story | “I have more energy, I’m more active. I’m happy; I’m not stressed and I feel better… a lot happier.”

Success Story | “I have more energy, I’m more active. I’m happy; I’m not stressed and I feel better… a lot happier.”

Published by on December 2, 2019 | Leave a response

Hey EF Fam!

Checkout this week’s Success Story…. Push Harder!

“I joined EarthFIT a little over a  year ago. In the past 2 months I have pushed harder, joined the 6 week challenge and did not stop training even when I broke my toe!”

April said “I am the strongest I have ever been in my life! “I have more energy, I’m more active. I’m happy; I’m not stressed and I feel better… a lot happier.”

April is at her lowest weight that she has been in the last 12 years and is 5.8 lbs away from reaching her goal!

When you want it, you make it happen! 

C Curve- muscle mass is low and body fat mass is high. In the C curve you are at a greater risk of heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. Other issues can include fatigue, depression, and brain fog.

Slight C Curve- Headed toward optimal health!

Committed to your success,

Ian

Ian Hart is a Body-Mind Transformation expert, the creator of EarthFIT Training Systems, co-creator of BACK PAIN RELIEF4LIFE, and founder of BEAUFORTPERSONALTRAINING.COM and MYBACKPAINCOACH.COM. Ian and his team help people get into optimal shape in the safest, fastest and most effective way possible, using cutting edge science.

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How To Set Up The Rouge Echo Bike

How To Set Up The Rouge Echo Bike

Published by on December 2, 2019 | Leave a response

How To Set Up The Rouge Echo Bike

Hey EarthFITters! This is Coach Sam. Today I’m going to show you how to set up the new Rogue Echo Bikes we have here at EarthFIT 2.0. I’m going to show you how to get on there so you can have maximum performance while using the bike. First thing we’re going to do is adjust the seat up and down vertical here. So you’re going to pull this lever right here…

How To Set Up The Rouge Echo Bike

Face the bike and then pull it up until it’s hip height there. So you can see my hip height (please see the video). Another way you could check this is when you get on the bike, you can pull out your heel and once it’s completely straight and pedal straight parallel to the ground there, you want no bend and when placed on the heel, there’ll be a slight bend if your toes on a slight flexion there but an easy way just check the heel there.

And then, how far to put the seat forward or backward actually depends on your arm positioning. So you’re gonna bring the handles in here forward and you just want a slight bend at the elbows while your knees are at form. Mine is still a little locked out, so I’m gonna take this lever here at the bottom (please see the video), pull it back, just one or two. Make sure you have a slight bend. Good. So then when using the bike, you want to lean forward slightly. Keep a nice note, a level pelvis there. We don’t want to be going side to side as we’re using it. You do want to pump and pump the arms, push and pull there as you’re using it, but you don’t want to be rocking completely back side to side. A quick tip on how to use this, some people have asked is how do you use it for pacing because it does kind of kick your butt if you get on there and start hauling right away. What you want to do is actually get it up to speed very quickly. So push and pull as fast as you can for about five seconds and then get down to the pace. You could see it there in the top right corner, it will kind of give you your pace that you’re at. That is how you use the rogue echo bike for maximum performance.

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Health and Fitness Beaufort: Quick Postural Reset

Health and Fitness Beaufort: Quick Postural Reset

Published by on December 2, 2019 | Leave a response

Health and Fitness Beaufort: Quick Postural Reset

“Hey EarthFITters! This is Coach Sam here. Today I’m going to go over a postural reset that is great for the upper back and neck area. So if you have tightness in either one of those areas, this exercise I’m going to show you is going to help you out there and this tightness may lead to things like a tension headache or maybe you’re just really tight and stiff in that area you could feel it at work, this results from a lot of times the way we drive, just life in general set up with, we’re either on our cell phones, we’re driving more hunched over when they flexion position. So this movement I’m going to show you, it’s going to really open up your anterior chain, which is the front of your body. It’s going to help you get some relaxation, stretch out those tight muscles, helping you feel better. 

Health and Fitness Beaufort: Quick Postural Reset

This mobility movement is called Bruegger’s. So you’re going to start by sticking your hands out and you could do this seated as well as standing. Either way, you’re going to stick your hands out and you’re gonna widen those fingers out as wide as you can get them. I don’t want you to corkscrew around bringing those hands down. Now when you get those hands corkscrewed all the way down, you’re going to bring that middle finger; you’re going to try and pull it up back towards your shoulder blades there towards your chest. I want you in that position. You’re really going to squeeze for a second and then slowly bring your hands out back and down towards your side. I’m going to turn around so you could see what my back is doing here. As I pull back and down. We’re tracking my shoulder blades back, which we point you in the back, bringing them down slightly making sure you try to bring your shoulder blade into the front pocket of your pants. I mean, as you do this…”

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Success Story | "I really credit EarthFIT with helping me on this journey to try and stay healthy and making it a great ageing process"

Success Story | “I really credit EarthFIT with helping me on this journey to try and stay healthy and making it a great ageing process”

Published by on December 2, 2019 | Leave a response

Check this out! 

If you didn’t already know, diet and exercise REALLY do work for preventing disease and reversing diagnosis!

“I really credit EarthFIT with helping me on this journey to try and stay healthy and making it a great ageing process…

I went from being diagnosed with Prediabetes to having the diagnosis removed from my medical records. When I came to EarthFIT (2013) I was diagnosed with prediabetes. Even though I was active the Doctor said that there is a history of diabetes and cancer in my family and activity would be good for me. The goal was to keep me out of the diabetic diagnosis as long as possible. Prediabetes has a progression. I was looking at 5 years… however long I could forestall that sort of progression, but it would be a progression!  In 2014 my A1c level was a 6.0 [A1c hemoglobin level- indicates normal range between 4% and 5.6%. A1c levels between 5.7% and 6.4% mean you have a higher chance of getting diabetes].  At 6.0 A1c I was not quite at medication level but the next round I would probably need to be medicated to control this as opposed to diet and exercise.

Success Story | "I really credit EarthFIT with helping me on this journey to try and stay healthy and making it a great ageing process"

So I stepped up what I was doing here at EarthFIT and got a little more serious about the nutrition side of things. The next test started to see the A1c levels come down and they steadily came down. The last three test which is 18 months of A1c testing I am at a 5.5! Which that no longer has a prediabetic diagnosis! The doctor actual took it out of my medical records and said “Now you are disease free!“

Success Story | "I really credit EarthFIT with helping me on this journey to try and stay healthy and making it a great ageing process"

Being here at EarthFIT and building the muscle is what has helped my body fight these things that are related to blood sugars and inflammation and things like that.EarthFIT is a wonderful community!” Connie’s success story proves that diet and exercise can change your medical diagnosis.  How much is your health worth to you?  Prediabetes is a serious health condition where blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. Approximately 84 million American adults—more than 1 out of 3—have prediabetes. Of those with prediabetes, 90% don’t know they have it. Prediabetes puts you at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.                                                                                 

Content source:  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Health and Fitness Beaufort: Perfect Your Push Up

Health and Fitness Beaufort: Perfect Your Push Up

Published by on November 6, 2019 | Leave a response

Health and Fitness Beaufort: Perfect Your Push Up

“Hey EarthFIT fam, This is Coach Sam here. Today I’m going to show you a quick way to get into the perfect push up position so you’re doing those push ups with proper form each and every time. The reason you want to do these push ups with proper form is so you don’t make yourself susceptible to injuries. The two most common errors I see are improper hand placement and raising of the glutes too quickly. If your hands are in the improper placement, that could lead to shoulder injuries. And if you’re raising your glutes up, you could really put your lower back at risk. So I’m going to show you today a quick way to get in and out of a push up, which makes sure that you have great form. So we’re going to start by going to our knees and you’re bringing your hands on to your side. 

And then I want you to raise your hands in, now when your hands are out to your side and you’re bringing them in, they should be at chest level. You don’t want them up here, don’t want them down here. Just hit chest level. And then once they get to by your shoulder width apart your hands are just going to go straight up and then you can lower yourself down to the ground. Now you want your hands to be directly under your shoulders. Keep your legs back and lower yourself down. Okay, this is the starting position. Now before we actually do a push up, we’re going to do a quick hand release so you could feel your back, how it should be feeling while doing a push up. So you want to keep your head facing straight down and raise those arms straight above the ground, holding for a second and then lowering them back down… 

Health and Fitness Beaufort: Perfect Your Push Up

Now if you feel your back activating, that’s perfectly normal. That’s what you should be feeling. Your shoulder blades kind of coming together as you lift those hands up. So now we’re going to do another hand release, but this time we’re going to squeeze the glutes and activate our core. So our lower back stay stable. What we’re going to do this is we’re going to really squeeze the glutes and then push your belly button into the floor. Raise your hands off the ground and relax. So you should be creating a lot of tension throughout your core and your upper back there just doing those two simple movements. Now we’re going to put it all together and do a full push up. So again, you’re looking at the floor. Your hands are directly below your shoulders and this time we’re going to squeeze the glutes, push the heads into the floor and push yourself up off the floor nice straight back, and then nice and controlled on the way down and backup still squeezing that core and those glutes there. So that is how you can get into the proper push up position every single time. Keep you safe while you’re doing push ups. I’m going to demonstrate in one more time this time from the knees for those that do push ups on the knees, bring your hands out in above to chest level. Palms are up. We’ll just lower yourself down. Now you’re going to need to bring your knees back slightly here. Keep in, don’t cross them, keep them open like that and your hands or your shoulders directly under your wrist there. You’re just going to lower yourself now. And then same thing that we did from the floor you’re going to push your belly button into the floor, squeeze the glutes and release and relax, and we’re going to put it all together – squeeze the glutes, push the belly button through the floor, and press yourself up and then lower yourself back down nice and controlled and back up. So to recap, if you do this you’d be in the proper push up position, we really want to focus on squeezing the glutes and the core and making sure those hands are directly under the shoulders. I can’t emphasize that enough. A lot of the errors I see in a push up are direct result of the hands being too far.”

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Beaufort Fitness: Baby Weight Workout

Beaufort Fitness: Baby Weight Workout

Published by on November 6, 2019 | Leave a response

Baby Weight Workout

“Hey EarthFITters, this is Coach Sam here today I have my special co-coach with me, a little baby Henley. She’s my wonderful little daughter. Today we’re going to go over an exercise routine you could do with your little one at home. I don’t have much time before she probably gets a little rambunctious, so we’re going to get right into it. Let’s exercise routine we’re going to do five exercises. You’ll do five sets of those as precise as back to back to back, just like in a circuit fashion. So we’re going to start by doing baby squats to chest press or squatting down and we’re pressing out and seeing those big smiles there each time and then standing up. So two presses, one, two and then back up. We’re going to do five to 10 repetitions whatever your child will allow you to do on those.

Then we’re going to do squat to shoulder press. Same thing, squatting down and up one, two… And then back down and one, two. Again, you’re going to continue for about five repetitions there. Then we’re going to get down to the floor. We’re going to do pushups and Henley really likes this one. We’re going to do a push up down to the belly and then back up again, you want to get about 10 reps in there and then the second to the last exercise will be over here on the couch. We’re going to do some squats. We’re going to do pulsing squats though here. So down and up going halfway; they really like this one as well. Again, you want to get 10 to 20 reps on that one and we’re going to finish up some more legs. We’re going to do a walking lunge.

I’ll flip Henley over. So yeah, watching you can see her stepping out for forward lunge switching leg each and every time you want to get about 10 each leg. If you’re more advanced and you have a couch, you could do a split squat with your rear foot elevated there, getting a nice, good leg workout. And again, you’re going to do five exercises, about five to 10 reps on each of those, on pulsing squats your going to want to do 10 to 20 reps. You can get a pretty good workout in with the little one. I enjoy doing this. I think it’s a good bonding experience for me and my daughter. That’s all for today. “Henley, can you say bye?” Thank you for tuning in.”

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Fixing the Knee Pop While Squatting

Fixing the Knee Pop While Squatting

Published by on November 6, 2019 | Leave a response

Fixing the Knee Pop While Squatting

“Hey EarthFIT fam, this is Coach Sam. Today I’m going to discuss what to do if you’re experiencing some popping or cracking in your knees while performing squats. Before I get into the routine I’m going to show you, it’s important to know that if you are experiencing some popping and cracking in your knees without any swelling or pain, it is perfectly normal. That is a result of those muscles being inactive the majority of the day. So they’ll stiffen up and then when you squat and go to use them, they’re tights when they slide the muscle tissue slide over one another, they’re sticky which results in popping and cracking. So I’m going to go over routine today to show you how to loosen those muscles up before you squat or workout which will alleviate that popping and cracking. As always, before you begin this routine, I’m going to show you it’s important to get a proper warm up, so proper warm up would consists of 5 to 10 minutes of jogging or running outside. Or you could use a piece of cardio equipment for 5 to 10 minutes in here. We have the bike, the elliptical and rower. After you do that, you can get into this routine that I’m going to show you.

Fixing the Knee Pop While Squatting

So the first thing that you would do in this routine is grab a foam roller and you’re going to roll on the lateral part of the quadricep and the front part of the quadricep here to alleviate some of that tension that you may be experiencing. So just put the foam roller on the floor here. You can get down and it’s important while you’re doing this not to foam roll directly on the knee, you wanna foam roll the quadricep area around the knee, about an inch or two above the knees… So then you get down, you’re resting your elbow, there’s working that quadricep muscle nicely controlled. You’re only moving them on an inch or two at a time. You can go forward or backward. And then you want to do this for about one to two minutes on each leg to work out those stiff spots.

Next thing you’re going to do is stretch out the muscle. If you’re new to stretching, new to exercising, I’d recommend you performing standing quadricep stretch, grab a rack or wall for balance. You’re just gonna lean forward slightly feeling a nice deep stretch from that quadriceps area. If you’re more advanced and haven’t stretching, I would recommend doing the couch stretch. So you’re going to just put your back foot up on the bench drop down. You can also put it up on the bench from when you’re on the ground. 

You can also use any wall and proper foot up on there if you don’t have a bench or if you’re at home, you can use a couch and just lean in the couch stretch. So you’re gonna push your hips forward, lean back slightly, and you feel a nice deep stretch in front… Front part of the quadricep there. If you’re not feeling when you lean back, really push those hips forward. You can lean forward slightly and you may feel up there. So pick one, one of those stretches. Do that three times on each leg for about 30 seconds. No more than 30 seconds each leg.

Next thing I have you do is get in against the wall for a wall sit, you want to get your top of your thighs close to parallel to the floor, maybe a little difficult, especially at first, but you need a parallel. I’m going to sit there for about 40 seconds. This is going to really warm up to a quadriceps area to get some blood flowing in there.

And the last thing I’ll have you do is mobilization exercise. So grabbing a weight so you can get a nice deep range of motion or you can grab a plate or a kettlebell and then you’d squat down with it and you’re just going to feel that new deeper range of motion. The weight is going to allow you to go a little deeper than you typically would… hang out here you can go side to side kind of feeling any tight areas. Do that for about 30 seconds and then take your deep rest and you do that about three times. So combining those four exercises and stretches, should alleviate any knee popping or cracking you may be experiencing, especially while squatting. It’s important to know if you are experiencing knee pain and or knee cracking or popping and it’s accompanied with pain or a lot of swelling, your knee gets really swollen, that can be a sign of something more serious, such as a tear. So if this is happening frequently, I would suggest you seek medical consult on that. That’s all for today. This is Coach Sam. Again we went over what to do if you’re experiencing popping or cracking.”

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Breaking Through a Weight Loss Plateau

Breaking Through a Weight Loss Plateau

Published by on November 5, 2019 | Leave a response

Has the scale suddenly stopped moving downward despite your best efforts towards your weight loss goal? Seeing the same number on the scale week after week is frustrating and disheartening, but also fairly common. In today’s  blog I will cover five things to consider if you have plateaued in your weight loss journey. 

Breaking Through a Weight Loss Plateau

First things first, it is important to remember weight loss is a  journey with ups and downs. Losing weight is not always going to follow a downward linear progression. There will be days your weight goes up and days it goes down, as long as the long term trajectory is on the correct path, success can be obtained. With that being said, here are five things to consider if your journey has hit a roadblock.

Breaking Through a Weight Loss Plateau
  1. Review your goals and where you currently are.

Your short term goal may need to be adjusted for the betterment of your long term weight-loss goal. If you have recently dropped some pounds and are now stuck,  it may be time to focus on something else in the short term. Focusing on things like strength and muscle gain may be just what you need. Building strength and muscle boosts your metabolic rate.  Countless scientific studies have shown muscle gain is an effective fat burner. 

The scale not moving may also be a sign that you have been packing on muscle. Not only is muscle an effective fat burner, it is also more dense than fat, which will in turn make you look smaller and tighter. Checking your body fat and skeletal muscle percentage on an In Body machine will give you a more complete picture of your fitness. 

Breaking Through a Weight Loss Plateau
  1. Check your stress.

Stress is a common cause of overeating, but stress itself can also make you gain weight. Cortisol is a stress hormone released by your adrenal glands in stressful situations. Cortisol suppresses bodily functions such as your digestive system and muscle growth processes. A scientific study conducted by Stanford Medicine in 2018 shows a link between chronic stress and increased number of fat cells/weight gain. It may be time to take time to work on balancing yourself out and distress rather than pushing harder or creating more stress by worrying about the scale.

Breaking Through a Weight Loss Plateau
  1. Track all the calories you consume 

Tracking everything you consume may surprise you. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed people underestimate the amount of calories they are consuming by an average of about 47 percent. Do not forgot to calculate snacks and beverages in. Fitness apps such as My Fitness Pal and MyPlate make tracking fairly easy. If your weight loss is stalled and you are consuming well over 1200 calories a day try cutting down 300-500 calories a day for a week or two then recheck your weight. It is important not to cut your calories to extreme lows when trying to lose weight as this can damage your metabolism. If you are already under 1200 do not cut any more out.

Breaking Through a Weight Loss Plateau
  1. Avoid alcohol 

If you have looked into nutrition at all I am sure you have read or been told that alcohol contains many calories that provide no nutritional value and alcohol consumption lowers inhibition which tends to lead to poor nutritional choices. Those points are true and should be taken into account. However, let’s say you track your calories and left room for a few drinks and promise yourself you won’t eat anything with it.  Then that is okay right? 

No. Here’s why: 

Alcohol turns off your body’s fat burning process. There have been multiple scientific studies showing that alcohol directly prevents muscle gains, fat loss, and muscle recovery due to it inhibiting muscle protein synthesis. A study conducted in 2014 by an Australian Exercise and Nutrition Group states “We conclude that alcohol ingestion suppresses the anabolic response”.  If you are at a weight loss plateau and have been drinking, put down the hooch for a few weeks and watch the scale drop. 

Breaking Through a Weight Loss Plateau
  1. Increase your Non-Exercise Thermogenesis (NEAT)

NEAT is all the calories your body burns from movements you do without the intent of exercising. Moving like a snail outside the gym may be stalling your weight loss. Putting an emphasis on more frequent basic movement outside the gym such as walking or household chores can burn hundreds of extra calories a day.I previously wrote a blog on strategies to increase your Non-Exercise Thermogenesis which can be found here. http://beaufortpersonaltraining.com/non-exercise-activity-thermogenesis 

Remember, weight loss plateaus are very common and plague even the most seasoned fitness enthusiasts. If the scale won’t budge don’t beat yourself up, go through this list, try implementing one change at a time, give it 3-4 weeks, and see how it works.

-EarthFIT Coach Sam

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