Fasten your seatbelt, because today we’re going to highlight a truly amazing nerd in the Rebellion. Meet Megan, a member of Nerd Fitness Coaching who is currently celebrating losing over 200 pounds! (That’s not a typo.) Megan’s journey is so amazing that the Today Show recently spotlighted her! My favorite part of Megan’s story? She decided to stop letting the scale define her! Megan actually went and smashed her scale in one of those rage rooms: Epic. Instead of stressing about the scale, Megan now focuses her goals on athletic performance, like doing chin-ups and running 5Ks. How cool is that!?! So without further ado, let’s dig into Megan’s jaw-dropping transformation.
The 6 Keys to Megan’s Success#1) Megan Found Her “Big Why”When you ask Megan why she began her most recent weight loss attempt, she responds quickly with “my children.” “Being a parent at 350 pounds, there’s so much that I couldn’t do:
I knew I wanted to make changes so I could be a part of their life. When I have days where motivation is tricky, I think of them.” Takeaway: Here in the Rebellion, we often recommended the first step of any fitness journey be “determine your Big Why.” We should ask ourselves, why am I doing this? Knowing the answer will help when our journey gets difficult (and inevitable it will). On these challenging days, we can remind ourselves:
Once we have our Big Why, it’s important to write it down. Then we should try and place it somewhere we’ll see often, like a desk or bathroom mirror. The “Why am I doing this?” reminder can be helpful for the journey ahead. #2) Megan Started Making “Small Changes”This wasn’t Megan’s first attempt to get in shape (“I had tried for YEARS!”). So after many frustrating starts, she decided to switch things up. “I had made the typical New Year’s resolution to lose weight, but this time I knew I had to approach it differently because nothing had worked in the past. So I said, I don’t care how long it’s going to take, I’m going to go slow. I’ll make one small change at a time and not burn myself out. When thinking about what to prioritize, I had read that losing weight is 80% about nutrition, so I made that 100% of my focus. I didn’t try to add exercise right away. I knew that every time I tried to do too many changes at once, it was too much to sustain long-term. But one small change (like switching from orange juice to water in the morning, or eating pasta as a meal to eating pasta as a side dish) led to others. Once I started to see results, I was addicted! Adding small changes over time created a snowball effect. The steady momentum had been missing every other time I attempted to lose weight.” Takeaway: We always advise Rebels who want to get in shape to start small. Time and time again, we’ve found this is the pace that prevents burnout. Plus, once we start to see these small changes produce results, we’ll want to make more! This is how we gain momentum for the long haul. #3) Megan Asked for HelpMegan started her weight loss journey all by herself (which is crazy impressive). But after a while, she knew she needed help to keep progressing. “All the changes I had made over time had led to some very restrictive ways of eating. Eventually, I realized I had eliminated whole food groups from my diet (I was even nervous about eating bananas). I had been dieting for what felt like forever (15 months), and I was burnt out. I was unsure what to do next to transition from a weight loss journey to a maintenance journey. This coupled with everything I read about losing weight very quickly, and the statistics around re-gain, made me realize that it was time to get help. Over a year of dieting left me smaller yes, but also weaker and feeling trapped in a way of eating that no longer felt sustainable to my current life. That’s when I decided to hire a coach.” Takeaway: It’s truly insane that Megan was able to lose over 100 pounds, only using information she found on the internet. But it’s also amazing that Megan understood that she had exhausted her solo journey – that it was time to ask for help. This is okay! Our fitness journeys will change. Sometimes, it takes an expert to explain what we should do next. Occasionally, only an outside pair of eyes can see the path forward. #4) Megan Decided to Get Strong“My coach helped me switch away from a scale-focused mentality. Instead of thinking of body size, I started to think about what my body can do. My coach asked, what do I want to accomplish? So we started planning goals around:
All of these things I never dreamed of when I was 350lbs…I just wanted to walk up a flight of stairs without being out of breath.” Takeaway: I’m so happy that Megan transitioned from “wanting to be small to wanting to be strong.” This really is the secret to long-term weight loss success. Every single client we’ve had who successfully lost significant weight (and kept it off) started some type of strength training. Yep, resistance training can actually help us stay lean! How should we go about it? Any way we can! Sure, we could go to the gym and start playing with barbells. But we could also start a routine right in our living room with no equipment whatsoever. Although a pet sidekick can help. Just remember, when in doubt, attempt to grow strong. #5) Megan Kept Moving (Even After Her Surgery)After losing so much weight, Megan decided to remove some excess skin with surgery. The problem: this would mean Megan would have to stop her weight training while she recovered. However, her doctor said she could walk instead, explaining she could stroll “as far as you can.” “Challenge accepted,” Megan told herself. “My friend Karen comes over and we go for walks together. It’s such a release being out in nature, plus I’m still challenging myself with nearby hills. We hold each other accountable, even on days that neither of us feels so great. Over time, I’ve gone up to 10, 15 miles a day.” Takeaway: Things will happen and our training will have to adapt:
When these cases arise, we should still attempt to move, whatever way our body allows. That’s how we continue to maintain momentum. #6) Megan Joined a Community“When I joined NF Coaching, I knew I was getting a coach. But I didn’t know I was getting a community.” The energy around the Group Challenges is simply contagious and it’s gotten me out of my comfort zone to try things that I may not otherwise have attempted. The support of the community, knowing there’s an amazing group of people going through similar things as I am, has really helped on the days I’m struggling. Takeaway: Well that just warms my heart. Small Changes Can Lead to Incredible FeatsI asked Megan what advice she would give to somebody who had a lot of weight to lose. She replied: Wise and beautiful words. I’m so proud of everything Megan has accomplished and honored that she trusted Nerd Fitness Coaching to propel her journey. As she explained to me, “I can say with absolute certainty that I wouldn’t be in the place I am without the coaching program. I have learned so much about what my body is capable of and how to continue to challenge it through this process.” If you think you’re in a place where NF Coaching can help you too, we’d be thrilled to talk together. You can schedule a call to see if we’re right for each other right here: Not interested? No problem. If you decide not to try coaching, I’ll still be here offering free guides and corny jokes to help you level up your life. Remember, Megan lost over 100 pounds all from material she pulled online! While a coach can be super helpful when you have a lot of weight to lose, don’t let the absence of one prevent you from taking your first step. You just have to start small, like Megan did. -Steve PS: Megan’s “Big Why” started with her children and they’ve leveled up right alongside her! Megan told me: “For me, the biggest change has been a mental one. Transitioning from wanting to be small to wanting to be strong. And it has been such a joy to see my children pick up these habits and want to be strong with me. Sometimes when we’re on a walk together and I’m feeling tired, my 8-year-old daughter will say ‘you can do this mom, we are strong women’ and I just smile because yes, yes we are.” OMG, that’s cool AF! What an amazing family: PPS: If you want to follow along with Megan’s adventures, make sure you check out her Instagram! ### The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness. via https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/how-megan-lost-200-pounds/
0 Comments
So you want to learn about the best core exercises? Well my friend, you’ve arrived at the right place! We help men, women, and intergalactic bounty hunters grow strong as part of our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program, and we always put an emphasis on core muscles when we build client workouts. Here’s what we’ll cover to answer the question, “What are the best core exercises?”
Alright buckeroo, let’s do this thang! Why Is Training Your Core Muscles Important?You use your core muscles for just about everything:
You get the gist. So what exactly do we mean when we say “core”? Contrary to popular belief, your core isn’t just your abs. Some of the muscles found in your core include:
You might also hear your core referred to as your “trunk.” Same thing. The core muscles really are the foundation of the human body. And much like building a house, when it comes to fitness, you need to start with a strong foundation. This is why we focus on building a strong core with each of our coaching clients. What Are the Best Core Exercises for Beginners? How Can I Strengthen My Core at Home?If you’re just starting your fitness journey, we won’t make you jump into the deep end quite yet. Here are the Best Core Exercises for Beginners: #1) Plank Your entire core is engaged in a plank, as you stabilize yourself in a straight line (don’t sink)! If you can’t quite support yourself into a full plank, have no fear, you can start with… #2) Knee Plank Just like a regular plank, but you have your knees for support. Start with these until you can do the real thing. #3) Hip Bridge The hip bridge will activate the glutes and the rest of your core as you bring your body up. #4) The Hollow Body Hold The hollow body is one of the best ways to engage the midsection and stabilize the body. We utilize the hollow body exercise as part of our strategy for getting your first handstand. Once you get comfortable holding the position, try… #5) The Hollow Body Rocking These 5 exercises will go a long way towards developing serious core strength. “Steve, these moves are easy peezy. What are some advanced core exercises?” The 5 Best Core ExercisesNow the real fun starts. Here are The 5 Best Core Exercises: #1) Squats Squats? Yes, squats. Squats train just about every muscle in your core (and lower body). Your core is engaged as you stabilize yourself up and down. If you don’t currently train with squats, start with a simple assisted bodyweight squat: You can also read our full guide on how to perform squats to level up your game. #2) Deadlifts We’re big fans of the deadlift around these parts. Not only is it a core exercise, but it’s really an EVERYTHING exercise (lower body, core, and upper body). Senior Coach Staci credits performing deadlifts to her visible abs: If you want a strong core, start performing deadlifts. #3) Push-ups Just like how a plank forces you to stabilize your core, a push-up will do all that and more as you push yourself up and down. How’s your push-up form? Most people do them incorrectly. Read our full guide on how to do a proper push-up to hone your technique. #4) Pull-ups Yes, pull-ups are an upper-body exercise. But you’ll engage your core as you hoist yourself up. The more you keep your body in control (don’t flail about as you go up and down), the more you’ll train your core. Can’t do a pull-up yet? No problem, read “How to Get Your First Pull-Up in 30 Days.” #5) Knees to Elbow This will challenge your core like you wouldn’t believe. The slower you go, the more intense it will be. Bonus Core Exercise: Toes to Bar This is an advanced move, but a great core exercise that only requires a pull-up bar! Are you doing these moves correctly? A good way to check would be to record a video of yourself and match it against the gifs and videos here. If they look close, you’re doing great! The other option would be to have a trained professional review your form, which we can do in our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program! Our spiffy mobile app lets you send a video of your training directly to your coach, who will provide feedback so you can perfect your technique. They’ll also build a workout program that’s custom to your situation, which can improve your core strength! Why You Shouldn’t Do Sit-UpsYou may have noticed that we haven’t covered sit-ups in our guide on the best core exercises. This is 100% intentional. You don’t need to do sit-ups. In fact, there’s an argument you SHOULDN’T do sit-ups at all. Sit-ups can be hard on your back.[1] They’re also an incomplete exercise, as they don’t work out your entire core (stomach AND lower back). So skip the sit-ups and crunches. If you’re gonna do a crunch for your core exercise, go with a Reverse Crunch: “What Exercise Burns the Most Belly Fat?” (Best Core Exercise for Weight Loss)There’s a common belief that if you simply do enough crunches or sit-ups, you’ll get a flat stomach. I hate to break it to you, but this isn’t true. It’s something I bring up in the article: “Can You Actually Banish Belly Fat?” You cannot spot reduce fat on your body:
This is why the Thighmaster is a joke: Depending on your age, weight, sex, and genetic makeup, your body will lose fat in a certain order, from certain parts of your body, that you can’t control. Here are some things to consider:
So if you want a flat stomach or six-pack abs, we need to create a plan for sustainable weight loss. I know, WAY EASIER SAID THAN DONE. Have no fear, I have a couple of resources for you:
How to Build a Core Workout (Next Steps)Now that we know how to perform the best core exercises, you know what time it is? It’s my favorite time. It’s time to build a workout routine! Woot. I generally recommend beginners strength train two to three times a week with a full-body workout. We’re going to make sure our full-body workout hits the following:
We just went over what you should do for that last segment, “core”. What should you do for the others? For ideas, read our guide: “How To Build Your Own Workout Routine.” That will help you build a practice to grow strong. Don’t get startled by my comment that you should train “two to three times a week.” If you can only do a full-body workout once a week, that’s WAY BETTER than none a week. Once you get the practice going, we can always work to increase the frequency later. The most important thing you can do today is start: Want a little help getting going? The perfect next step on what you should do now? No problemo! Here are 3 options on how to continue with Nerd Fitness: Option #1) If you want step-by-step guidance on how to lose weight, eat better, and get stronger, check out our killer 1-on-1 coaching program: Option #2) If you want an exact roadmap for getting fit, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally). Plus, we have Missions specifically designed to help you achieve a strong core. Try your free trial right here: Option #3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion. Sign-up below and receive our free guide Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. It includes step-by-step instructions for the Best Core Exercises covered in today’s guide.
Download our comprehensive guide STRENGTH TRAINING 101!
Alright, enough from me. Your turn: Do you agree with my list of the best core exercises? Do you think I’m missing any? Am I completely off base on my position on sit-ups? Let me know in the comments! -Steve PS: Many of the exercises covered today came from our post “The 42 Best Bodyweight Exercises.” Give it a read if you’d like to start training without a gym! ### GIF Source: kung fu challenge Photo Source: Morning run with the Fitbit, Core muscles, LEGO Ninjas, Sit-Ups, Mario gang, Handstand in Desert, Laughing Buddha,
Footnotes ( returns to text)
The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness. via https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-for-the-best-core-exercises-how-to-strengthen-your-core/ If one thing’s true about parenting it’s this: it’s bloody tiring. Any parent will tell you that as soon as Player 2 or 3 enters the game, the sleep level difficulty instantly shifts from ‘tutorial’ to ‘expert’. But have no fear, we’ll set you up with some tips to help you regain a little energy. Many folks in our Online Coaching Program are parents (as well as the coaches themselves!) so we have all sorts of advice on how to stay energized with kids around. Here’s what we’ll cover today:
Let’s jump right in.
Engage in Multiplayer ModeCHILD used TIRE. It’s SUPER EFFECTIVE! If you and your partner really feel burnt out (or you’re a single parent and you’re struggling), I have one big message for you: Ask for help. Let go of the feeling that asking for help is some epic inconvenience or that you’ll no longer be this self-sufficient superhero. Even Batman needs Robin. Asking partners, family, or friends to take your little one out for a walk or just keep an eye on them while you have a moment’s rest can be the difference between getting through a week with energy and struggling to the end of a week feeling exhausted. If you’re lucky enough to have a partner or someone who can help out, try taking turns settling or feeding overnight, and work with what best fits your sleep type. Couples, talk to each other! So many parents I’ve worked with have been struggling for so long because they simply haven’t spoken with their partners about their needs. Feel like you’re a night person and you’re always exhausted when you feed the baby in the morning? A short conversation could really make a huge impact: “I think I’d be better off putting the baby to bed and feeding at night if you can do the morning feed and let me sleep until 7. What do you think?” Figure out what you both want, try a few things out, and come to an agreement on what works best for both of you. My wife and I found a way to take advantage of my ‘night owl’ tendencies by expressing the milk beforehand (and storing it safely). I stayed up late like normal, allowing my wife to go to bed early, and I covered the 2 am feed. Even if you don’t have kids, this is a great strategy for couples or roommates to divide responsibilities. What responsibilities and chores can you divide to work to your advantage, allowing you to rest when you need it? Do less, be betterAt the end of the day, you can’t do it all. Most days I go about doing everything I can, pretending I’m a Superman… …but in the end, we’re all just Clark Kent. If we’re feeling like we’ve been exposed to Kryptonite, we won’t be able to effectively look after our little ones or get the things done that need doing. Sometimes our expectations of ourselves are simply too high; we make a list of things to do that is unrealistic. As parents especially, but also for anyone who feels like they “just never have time”, making hard choices and prioritizing what’s important can help take the pressure off while improving your overall output. We all like to think that we can play with the kids, get them dressed, go to work, cook an amazing dinner, clean the house, get the ironing done, put the kids to sleep, go to the gym, and play ‘just 15 minutes’ of our favorite video game in between everything else going on in our lives. But as parents and busy people of all varieties, we need to accept that our lives are different now, and we need to let go of certain things that might not be as important anymore. Try picking a few things out of your week to stop doing so you can focus on what’s really important to you. It may feel weird at first, but you’ll be able to focus on the big wins and accept that you’re not going to be able to fit EVERYTHING from your old schedule into your new life. Move More“But I’m already so tired, and you expect me to move more?!” I know it’s a really tough ask. But it’s been shown that physical activity can actually increase your energy levels, make you feel better, and even increase the quality of the little sleep that you do get. As parents, we’re usually short on time, so the easiest way to get moving more is to sneak light exercise into everyday activities. This could be a walk with your child to somewhere nearby that you would usually drive to, rolling around on the floor with them, or some roughhousing. For non-parents and parents alike, try to complete some smaller “move more” quests like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking the long way, or dancing in your house when you’re just hanging out or cooking a meal. Movement really matters. Think of this like a small investment in your day – you pay in a little movement upfront, but you’ll start to notice that these tweaks will pay dividends in your energy and mood. It’s amazing how these small movements add up to not only help you get through the day, but in turn help you sleep better and set you up for success the next day. It’s a cycle of awesome! Steve shared some great tips on “How to Stay Active When You Have a Family” if you’re looking for a more complete guide. Eat well regularly“Wait, so a fitness site is telling me to eat better and move more? Interesting.” Yes, I know you’ve heard it all before, but this isn’t just cliche advice. It’s crucially important, research-backed advice. Eating healthy and moving more isn’t just a physical fitness thing, it’s about keeping your brain working at full capacity and your energy levels up. Once you become a parent, there will be changes in your lifestyle, daily routine, social values, and spending power. This makes the temptation of unhealthy snacks and cheap fast-food that much more appealing: it’s cheap, it’s easy, and But as we all know by now, this is a recipe for a downward spiral of energy, mood, and health. Eating the right amount of calories and the right types of food is the foundation for feeling great every day. Regular healthy snacks can be important as a parent, especially if you’re throwing off your body’s clock by being awake at all hours of the night. A small hit of fat or protein to the system will really help you work up the motivation to take the baby for a walk, wash those bottles, or spend some time on the floor with your little one. Don’t be afraid to keep a jar of almond butter nearby! For more on snacking, check out Steve’s full article here. Rethink your silly sleep scheduleThe sooner you actually think about your sleep and establish a bedtime routine, the better. Your baby will be more relaxed if they know what’s coming next. It’s been shown that with a routine, your kids will be more likely to go to bed easily, fall asleep quicker, and even improve their wakeful state afterward as well! But establishing a sleep routine is great for parents (and other adults) too, as it gives you time to wind down, and makes your day a little more predictable. Studies show understanding sleep routines may help in making choices that will lead to better quality sleep. Once you start to fall into a good routine, you’ll be able to know when you can get things done around your little Rebel’s slumber, and maybe even get some extra shuteye yourself. So, if you don’t have a sleep routine, it’s time to implement one starting now. I suggest working it around when your child naturally sleeps best. Don’t swim upstream if you don’t have to. A good way of going about this is to track your child’s sleep pattern for at least a week so you can really recognize any patterns. I’ve even compiled the official ‘Nerd Fitness Child Sleep Diary’ (or the Tired Parent Syndrome (TPS) Report) for you to print out and keep records in. Just open the document and go to file –> “Make a copy.” Start establishing a routine by giving your child a bath, bedtime story, feed, and a lullaby…maybe using an ocarina! Stick to the same time and order each night and your child will be more settled as time goes on. Once you’ve figured out and established your routine, try to rest around the time your child is resting. I know not everybody has this luxury, but if possible, try to lay down, relax, meditate or even have a power nap during their day sleeps. Level Up Your Sleep GameWhen you become a parent, chances are you’ll be sleeping like a baby for a few years, even if you don’t get a lot of shut-eye. (Whoever coined that phrase obviously never had kids.) You’ll likely be waking up really grumpy every few hours and taking a long time to settle back down. Let’s be realistic here: you’re more than likely not going to get as much sleep as you need, and you’re going to feel tired more often than not. Recognizing this, knowing your limitations, and knowing how to optimize your energy levels is the key to staying on top of your game. Here are a few bonus tips to ensure you’re getting the best rest you can:
Your priorities change once you have children. You want what’s best for them and to be the best parent you can be. This means you must be rested, calm and healthy. An investment in you is an investment in them. Looking after yourself is paramount in caring for your child; they deserve nothing less. So get started. Tonight, have a roll around on the floor with your child. The ironing can wait and the Reddit frontpage will still be full of reposts later on. Start figuring out your routine with our official Tired Parent Syndrome Report (yeah, if you can get those TPS reports done as soon as possible, that would be great). Talk to your partner about your schedules, or set up a time for a loved one to come lend a hand this week so you can get in a power nap or exercise. To parent best, rest. If you want some more help, Nerd Fitness is here for you. We have three options on how to continue with us. Pick the option that best aligns with your goals: Option #1) If you want a professional coach in your pocket, who can do video form checks, provide feedback, and adjust your workouts based on the equipment you have available, check out our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program! As I said earlier, many of our clients are parents, and they find a customized plan for their hectic lives to be a total gamechanger. Option #2) If you want a daily prompt for getting in shape, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally). Try your free trial right here: Option #3) Become part of the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion. Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our Rebel Starter Kit, which includes all of our “work out from home” guides.
Get your Nerd Fitness Starter Kit
Now, it’s your turn. I love hearing from other Rebel parents, I’m always willing to try new ideas:
-Dan ### The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness. via https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/how-to-fight-the-tired-parent-syndrome/ There’s one question we get asked more than any other: “Is diet soda bad for me?” People want to know if Diet Coke will make them fat and make them sick, or if it’s all just a bunch of hoopla about nothing. We help our clients navigate challenges with soda (diet or not) in our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program, and we’re gonna tell you everything you need about diet soda below. Here’s what we’ll cover:
Does Drinking Diet Soda Lead to Weight Gain?Does drinking diet soda make you fat? No, it does not.[1] It would be super evil if it did, what with the whole “diet” thing and all. Diet sodas utilize “high-intensity sweeteners” which is a fancy term for very-low-calorie (or zero-calorie) sugar substitutes:
The FDA has approved these eight high-intensity sweeteners for human consumption.[2] You’ll find them in all sorts of food products, not just diet drinks. Because high-intensity sweeteners are many times sweeter than table sugar, you can make a drink taste “sweet” without including any sugar at all. Most important, without the sugar, you’re skipping out on all the calories that come with it. Weight loss depends on consuming fewer calories than you burn, so drinking Diet Coke compared to regular Coke can help tip the equation in favor of “weight loss.”
If you’re trying to lose weight, but love fizzy carbonated and caffeinated beverages, the soda with fewer calories seems like a no-brainer. “Steve, hold the phone here! Are you saying Diet Coke is okay to drink? I thought the sweeteners and chemicals in it were sketchy!?!” The concern of drinking diet soda generally rests on three points:
We’ll hit each of these points with its own section below. Before we continue, I need to make a strong caveat: most studies on diet soda treat all high-intensity sweeteners as one.[3] This is concerning considering there are eight approved high-intensity sweeteners in use. Does your body process all eight the same? Some early studies on various sweeteners do show our bodies process them differently.[4] More studies are being done on individual high-intensity sweeteners as we speak, so expect new information on the subject to unfold. For now… Will Drinking Diet Soda Make Me Crave Actual Sugar?If you eat a bunch of sugary and sweet food regularly, your body can start to crave more of it.[5] In other words, consistently eating sugary foods in the afternoon can result in an urge for sweets after lunch. These cravings can make it difficult to turn down the bowl of M&M’s as you pass Debra’s desk (She’s even got the peanut kind!). The question becomes, do the high-intensity sweeteners found in diet soda make us crave sugary foods? The research on this isn’t clear:
There might be something to the thought that drinking a Diet Coke can help satisfy the sugar craving. As long as you remember: “correlation doesn’t prove causation!” Anecdotally, many of our coaching clients claim that grabbing a diet soda helps them from drinking the regular sugar-filled version. This can be really important, because “cravings” are one of the top issues facing most of our clients. Which is why we work closely to identify possible food addictions in our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program, so we can start to work through them together. Our strategy is to take it slow, to make small changes to alter these cravings. Over time, this is the best way to see real progress. If you’d like to learn how we can help battle sugar cravings, click below: Does My Body Process Artificial Sweeteners Just like Sugar?Another concern of drinking diet soda rests on the idea that your body processes high-intensity sweeteners as it would normal sugar. The argument states that these sweeteners are so sweet that they fool your body into thinking it’s consuming actual sugar. After drinking diet soda, your body responds as it would after consuming normal table sugar: by dumping out insulin. This slows down the fat-burning process. That’s the gist of it, more or less. Is it true? Do high-intensity sweeteners trick our bodies into releasing hormones (insulin)? Again, the studies on this are mixed:
Verdict? This isn’t a HUGE deal. Of all the things to worry about with regards to weight loss or getting healthy, this doesn’t hold the top spot on the list. While hormones do play a role in weight loss, the main determining factor will always be an energy balance (calories in vs. calories out). Since most diet sodas have next to zero calories, I’d say the insulin response of high-intensity sweeteners isn’t that important for your weight loss journey. There are far better targets in the quest to eat healthy, like eating lots of vegetables and eating enough protein at every meal. Can Drinking Diet Soda Cause Cancer? (Is Aspartame or Saccharin Dangerous?)The other concern people have about diet soda is that it will cause cancer and kill them and everyone they know. A little hyperbolic perhaps, but… Should we be worried about the ingredients of diet soda causing us harm? Some history is in order:
Why the reintroduction? Because no cancer link has ever been shown for the human consumption of saccharin. And folks have looked.[11] A lot.[12] Not everything that is cancerous to rats is harmful to people, and vice versa. Plus, you would have to drink 800 cans of diet soda to get to the levels of saccharin given to the rats in the study. Even an all-night binge of Call of Duty would only put a small fraction of a dent in that. How about aspartame or any of these other high-intensity sweeteners… Are they sketchy? Earlier I stated the FDA, the United States’ regulation agency, approved eight high-intensity sweeteners. They aren’t the only agency that has done so. Australia, the EU, Japan, and Canada have all reviewed and approved these sweeteners.[13] They did so after a thorough investigation. So it’s safe to say that high-intensity sweeteners are okay to be used in a reasonable amount. How Many Diet Sodas Can I Have in a Day?While the sweeteners in diet soda have been approved safe for human consumption, there is a limit to this approval.[14] But I won’t make you pore over charts and do the math…I’ll do that for you. What’s the number of 12-ounce diet sodas deemed safe in a day? 18. Which is A LOT of diet soda. However, it should be noted that diet soda is not the only place high-intensity sweeteners are found. Many other food products utilize these sweeteners to cut back on sugar and calories. So keep an eye on protein bars, yogurts, baked goods, etc, for hidden high-intensity sweeteners. The other concern with drinking lots of diet soda would be the caffeine. Caffeine in moderate amounts is fine, but if you go overboard you could increase your anxiety and interfere with your sleep.[15] There’s about half the caffeine in Diet Coke versus a regular cup of coffee, which is still a decent amount. If you have trouble sleeping at night, consider how late in the day you’re having your last can of soda. Perhaps install a 2pm “caffeine cutoff” if you find yourself tossing and turning at night. Another problem with diet soda: most of them contain exactly zero nutrients. It’s water, some kind of sweetener (sugar or not), flavoring, coloring, and carbonation. Drinks like coffee and tea actually have some antioxidants present, so you might be getting some benefits with these caffeinated drinks.[16] If you find yourself drinking lots of diet soda, consider mixing in some coffee or tea as a partial replacement. Sparkling water might help with the switch too, if you love those fizzy bubbles. At this point, we should note that stopping diet soda consumption might be easier said than done. Can You Be Addicted to Diet Soda?Anecdotally, it does appear that drinking diet soda can be “habit forming” for some people. CNN explored the issue and found numerous people who consumed more than a six-pack daily, “easy.”[17] “Addiction” is a word that gets thrown around too much these days, so I’ll stop short of making a medical classification on these folks. Plus, I searched the scientific literature and couldn’t find any studies on diet soda addiction. However, if you stockpile Diet Coke like it’ll be currency in the post-zombie world, you’re not alone. This “addiction” makes sense considering the beverage was designed to hijack your brain’s reward system. The Coca-Cola Company hires folks to find the perfect combination of:
How do you know if you have an addiction? If you find yourself approaching our 18 can a day safety limit, that’s definitely a sign. Another would be if you find diet soda interfering with your life (not sleeping after drinking Diet Coke all evening). You don’t have to go cold turkey on this one:
This is the exact strategy we follow with our 1-on-1 Online Coaching clients, and it’s the most likely to succeed. Small changes over time are the ticket to permanent success. Is Diet Coke Worse for You Than Regular Coke?Before you use this article as justification to start drinking a six-pack of Diet Coke a day, let’s talk about some other possible concerns. We’ve talked about all the mechanisms in diet soda that can make it unhealthy (high-intensity sweeteners, caffeine, etc). My conclusion is that these factors are likely overblown. However, we should acknowledge that drinking diet soda can often be linked to health issues:
There’s an important point here: drinking regular soda is also linked to kidney disease, teeth erosion, and obesity. Even more so those last two points (because of all the sugar and calories).[22] So the concerns of drinking diet soda would also be found in drinking regular soda…even more so. Drinking Diet Coke may be the lesser of two evils here. Is Drinking Diet Soda Bad for Weight Loss? (Next Steps)If you’re starting your weight loss journey and wondering where diet soda fits into the picture, I want you to know I’m proud of you. You’re starting to ask questions and you’re looking for answers. This is a great first step. If you’re trying to lose weight and currently drinking regular soda, the switch to diet would be a good move. You’re gonna consume fewer calories that way, critical for weight loss. This is why one of our top recommendations to our coaching clients is to cut back on sugary drinks. However, if you currently drink diet soda and are trying to lose weight, there might be some better targets to shoot for:
These are far more important than an occasional Diet Coke here and there. If you find yourself firing on all cylinders (you eat well, you strength train, you get lots of sleep), then maybe consider replacing diet soda with tea, coffee, or carbonated water. There are enough unanswered questions on consuming diet soda to warrant the switch. The most important thing you can do now? Commit to a change:
Pick something you can track. Something with a clear “yes or no” that you can reflect on at the end of the day. This will help you start your weight loss journey. Want some help getting going? A little nudge out the door? Okay, but only because you’ve been nice this whole time: #1) Our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program: a coaching program for busy people to help them make better food choices, stay accountable, and get healthier, permanently. You can schedule a free call with our team so we can get to know you and see if our coaching program is right for you. Just click on the image below for more details: #2) If you want an exact blueprint leveling up your nutrition, check out Nerd Fitness Journey! Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally). It’ll also provide a step-by-step plan from moving away from regular sodar, perhaps to a diet version or even tea. Try your free trial right here: #3) Join The Rebellion! We have a free email newsletter that we send out twice per week, full of tips and tricks to help you get healthy, get strong, and have fun doing so. I’ll also send you tons of free guides that you can use to start leveling up your life too:
Download our free weight loss guide
THE NERD FITNESS DIET: 10 Levels to Change Your Life
Alright, I think that just about does it for me. Now, your turn! What are your experiences with diet soda? Did you use them as a tool to help you lose weight? Or did you struggle with weight loss until finally dropping diet soda out of your daily consumption as well? Share your story in the comments! -Steve PS – Check out the rest of our sustainable weight loss content: PSS: I want to give a hat-tip to Precision Nutrition, whose fascinating article served as the inspiration for this post. ### Photo source: Corrie Miracle: Diet Coke, Zeyus Media: Sugar Spoon, Stavos: Scientist, Emmi: Gollum, Sarah Korf: nutritional information, Ryan Hyde: Water, Mike Mozart: Diet Coke, Laura Lewis: mirror, Mike Mozart: Diet Coke
Footnotes ( returns to text)
The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness. via https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/is-diet-coke-bad-for-you-what-about-artificial-sweeteners/ Meet Sarah, a member of Nerd Fitness Coaching who has one of the hardest jobs you can have today: a nurse in a hospital! Want to know what’s incredible about Sarah? During the toughest year and a half of her career, Sarah also managed to get healthy and build a body she’s proud of! If your first thought is “that’s totally bonkers,” welp, you’re not alone my friend. That was my initial response too! I’m sure you’re excited to find out how Sarah achieved her incredible results, all while fighting the pandemic. Let’s jump right in!
How Sarah Found Success: 6 Lessons Learned
#1) It’s Okay to “Respawn” as Many Times as You NeedNF Coaching was not Sarah’s first rodeo. In the past, Sarah had tried:
Oh, and that’s not to mention all the diets Sarah has tried! “I’ve tried many different fad diets, tracking all my food intake, meal delivery services, etc. But I had an all-or-nothing mentality with anything nutrition-related. A single slip made me feel like a complete failure. I’d then give up and go right back to my old eating habits. I knew I wanted to change, but after years of stagnating I just wasn’t sure if I could do it alone.” Takeaway: Sarah (like many in our Online Coaching Program), tried to get in shape time and time again. But she never saw any lasting progress. While this can be incredibly frustrating (I’ve gone through this myself), if you find yourself relating, I want you to know: it’s okay. It’s totally normal and common for us to take a few attempts (or more) until something finally clicks:
The important thing is to keep trying and to try differently. As long as we haven’t thrown in the towel completely, progress can still be made. #2) Sarah Decided to Put Her Oxygen Mask on FirstSarah is a nurse, so it’s not too surprising that she usually put others’ needs before herself. “Prior to NF Coaching, I prioritized work above everything else – it led to long hours, lots of stress, and poor eating habits (I’d eat every meal at the hospital I worked at, which meant takeout or cafeteria food). When I wasn’t at the hospital I was so burnt out from work that I felt like I didn’t have the energy or time to do anything else. So I would just spend the time playing video games to try and relax. Work was my excuse for everything – why I couldn’t get healthy, why I was miserable, why I couldn’t spend time with friends, etc. Since I work in healthcare, I tried to justify it as the greater good, because I was helping people. However, I’ve now learned that making the effort to change my habits and adopt a healthier lifestyle actually is still helping others. That’s because today I have way more energy and resilience (both from a physical and mental standpoint). This lets me do a better job in all aspects of my work and life. Takeaway: Airlines always remind us that in an emergency, we need to put our oxygen masks on first, before we start helping others. Even if we want to, we’re not going to help anyone else if we’re busy suffocating! Sarah learned this herself after years in the healthcare field. She spent so much time helping others, she forgot to look after herself! So remember: put your oxygen mask on first. It isn’t being selfish. As Sarah learned, it’s actually one of the best ways to help others. #3) Sarah Still Allows Herself Some TreatsWorking in a hospital can be stressful. So Sarah drinks a cup of coffee with a little hot chocolate every time she goes to work. I think this is great! It gives Sarah something to look forward to on a stressful day. Sarah explains: “Ah yes, my morning coffee with hot chocolate in it…hmmmm, so tasty. That’s been my treat throughout the pandemic. It brings a little happiness and self-care to a hectic day. At first, I was worried it was something I’d need to eliminate to follow a healthy diet, but my coach helped me realize little treats can still have their place It’s an intentional decision and something I look forward to on my workdays.” Takeaway: Healthy eating doesn’t mean we eliminate every single treat from our lives. And no, we don’t have to wait for “cheat day” or whatever either. The term “cheat day” implies we’re doing something wrong. Life is too dang short. If drinking a little hot chocolate makes us happy, we should do it! As long as we have the big pieces in place (protein with most meals, lots of veggies, etc.) a daily treat can be fine. Beneficial even. Speaking of getting the big pieces in place… #4) Sarah Practices Meal Prep Sunday“At the beginning of NF Coaching, we focused on meal planning and prepping. This has been really successful. A little bit of time on Sunday means that it’s actually faster and easier for me to eat healthy during the week, as opposed to grabbing take-out. I’ll put on a podcast and spend a bit of time pre-chopping everything and prepping containers that are easy to grab. Some of my go-to meals include:
I’m glad I started the practice of Meal Prep Sunday, because it saves me so much time. Takeaway: Planning our next meal can be super helpful when trying to eat healthily. A good way to go about this is cooking in bulk. That way breakfast or lunch just takes a microwave to “cook.” It works for Sarah and it works for me as well. Here are some tips for meal prepping for the week. #5) Sarah Decided It Was Time to Try Something New (by Changing Less)When you ask Sarah what surprised her about NF Coaching, she responds with “How easy it was!” Sarah continues: “I always assumed it would be difficult to lose weight. That it would mean giving up all good food and sacrificing my free time. That I’d just have to suffer through it. But Coach Kerry really focused on working together to implement small changes slowly over time, so it never felt like I was drastically changing anything. She helped show me how to make the good things easier, and the less desired things harder.
Looking back, those small things have added up to a complete lifestyle change that I never would have thought possible. Yet it felt natural and easy.” Takeaway: When we start a new habit, in a way we’re rewiring our brains. We’re setting up new actions and rewards, like feeling good after a brief workout. These sorts of things take time. That’s why we go slow in NF Coaching. We know if we change everything at once, it’s going to take a while for our brains to adapt to all the new habits. That’s why people often burn out when doing Whole30 or attempting some intense bootcamp. But if we change one thing at a time – like Sarah eventually did – we allow the habit to form properly. Then we can jump into a new one and allow the process to repeat. You’d be surprised just how effective this “one habit at a time” pace can be. It helped Sarah feel like a new person…during a freaking pandemic! So if you’ve had trouble getting in shape in the past, maybe try something different. Maybe try less. #6) We Can All Use Some Help Now and AgainSarah needed help prioritizing herself. Luckily, a coach was able to show her how. Sarah explains: “I heard someone once say that the best investment you can make is in yourself. I really think that’s true after seeing the change coaching has made in my life over the past year. We’ve made gradual but permanent changes that will last a lifetime, and that would not have happened by myself. To have that support, and know that there was someone who genuinely wanted to see me succeed and would cheer me on when I was tired – was invaluable. It’s also sparked a real desire to keep changing and pushing myself, and that has extended into many other aspects of my life.” Oh, and despite Sarah prioritizing herself more, she’s actually able to do a better job at work too. Critical considering the times we live in. “One of the most mind-blowing things to me is that this all happened as a healthcare worker during a pandemic. The work was harder than before, and yet life felt easier. Learning to take care of myself and put my health first actually helped me recover from burnout at a time it should have been at its worst, and gave me the energy to be there for others when they most needed it.” Takeaway: We can all use some help now and again. Unless we’re some type of self-sufficient hermit in the mountains, we’re going to need help from others. If you have abandoned society, I’m impressed with your ability to stay up to date on Nerd Fitness. There’s no shame in this. Like Sarah, we might learn that it actually allows us to help others better. Want to Be Our Next Success Story? Put Yourself First!If you’re interested in learning if our Online Coaching Program can help you today, you can speak with a member of our team. They’ll explain the ins and outs of NF Coaching without being all pushy and salesy (I hate all that). It’ll just be an honest discussion on how our program works and what to expect when you become a member. Ready? If you want to see if you’re a good fit for Nerd Fitness Coaching, you can schedule a call right here: With that my friend, I’m out. For the Rebellion! -Steve PS: I want to give a big kudos to all our Rebels in the healthcare industry. You’ve had a tough 18 months and many of us wouldn’t be here without your hard work. Thank you. ### The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness. via https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/a-nurse-a-pandemic-and-a-success-story/ I’d like to introduce you to Brian, a fellow Rebel in our Online Coaching Program who is currently celebrating losing over 75 pounds! Incredible. Brian’s achievements are truly amazing, considering all he’s gone through:
But then Brian decided enough is enough. This time, things would be different. This time, Brian would ask for help. I’m honored that he decided to trust us in this most recent attempt. So let’s explore the plan that Brian and his coach created to make this time different!
The 4 Keys to Brian’s Amazing Transformation#1) Don’t Underestimate the Power of Eating Your GreensWhen you ask Brian about the most important change he’s made as part of NF Coaching, he’s quick to answer: “Eating more vegetables.” Brian explains: “Filling up on veggies instead of chips has made me feel a lot better. I don’t get as hungry between meals anymore, and I’ve even noticed more energy into the afternoon. For someone who lived on processed food, I never imagined I’d eat vegetables daily. I almost feel like my coach tricked me to get here. We started by adding a small portion of vegetables here and there, like a salad with my dinner. Now, most of my meals include a vegetable. It’s wild.” Takeaway: it’s no surprise that Brian feels better when he eats vegetables instead of chips. What you might find surprising is that Brian learned to like vegetables. How’d he do it? Brian went slow, introducing one new vegetable dish at a time. You can do the same thing. Maybe you order a vegetable at a restaurant you haven’t tried before. Or maybe you try and prepare some greens differently. If you don’t like the new dish, nbd. Just don’t order or prepare it again. But if you do like it…boom! We can add it to the menu. Once we find a vegetable we like, our taste buds will start to adapt. We might find that we start to like greens we didn’t like before. This can help expand our vegetable selection when planning meals. Here’s a step-by-step plan on eating more vegetables to help you get started. #2) When It Comes to Strength Training, Start SlowHere’s another thing we shouldn’t rush through: weight training. Unfortunately, Brian had to find this out the hard way. “I’d tried to get in shape before joining NF Coaching a couple of times. During one such occasion, I hurt myself. I did too much too quickly and injured my back. I have since learned that proper form is EVERYTHING and it’s best to go slow until you’re comfortable. Also, my coach has taught me that dynamic stretches BEFORE and static stretches AFTER go a long way towards safety. Takeaway: when we first start strength training, we need to go slow. We must learn the movement correctly before we start adding weight to the equation. When we begin resistance training, our body is not only building strength but also creating internal connections to allow our central nervous system to coordinate properly. In a way, when we start exercising we’re teaching our body how to talk to itself. If we go too fast, before this improved communication occurs, injuries can happen. That’s why bodyweight exercises are a great place for beginners to start strength training. #3) It Can Still Be Possible to Train With an InjuryDespite Brian’s back problems, a coach was able to build a workout routine that allowed him to keep progressing. “Considering my past with injuries, I’m doing mostly bodyweight training stuff. But I’m surprised how strong I’ve gotten with just these! For example, the crow pose is really challenging: Practicing it consistently has allowed me to build a lot of strength. Plus, I’ve been doing a little bit of yoga to help my back…which allowed me to make a nerdy purchase: Steve note: Feel free to send this to me! I’ve even started a regular running practice! I’m grateful that my coach has helped me continue to grow strong while working around my back issues.” Takeaway: getting injured STINKS! But if you are hurt, all is not lost. There are likely still plenty of ways to stay active.
A coach (with a doctor’s blessing) can likely create a workout routine around a preexisting injury. Here are our recommendations for training with an injury. #4) You Might Be Going Too FastBrian had tried to get in shape twice before. Why was he successful this time? Because Brian started slow with Nerd Fitness Coaching. “My coach helped me set small, reasonable goals over time that grew into significant changes. Through this, I learned that consistency is key. Even when my life would get crazy or an injury would flare up, my coach helped me do ‘something’ rather than ‘nothing.’ Maybe I’d just go on a walk after work if I was stressed out.” Brian continues: Takeaway: throughout this email, we’ve touched on “going slow.” For example, Brian did this by:
It’s okay if the actions seem super small (one vegetable a day). The important thing is to make a little bit of progress towards our goal, every single day. Even if it’s not exactly part of our plan (“If I miss a workout I’ll go on a walk”), doing “something” rather than “nothing” can be critical for getting in shape. Let’s explore that a little more. A little Every Day Can Go A Long WayMany clients are surprised at the pace we take in our coaching program. We intentionally go slow. We want to make sure the habits we create together stick. That way we prove to ourselves that we can consistently move forward. Only once that feels sustainable do we add another action or dial up the effort. This is often a big mindset shift for our clients. Many of them, like Brian, expect to change everything at once when they sign-up. They’ll plan on “going Keto” and “lifting weights 4 times a week.” While these might be great goals, the problem is they often can be way too much, way too soon. When life inevitably gets in the way (like a back injury), it’s easy to quit altogether until there’s a better time to start again. Here’s the thing: there’s never a “perfect time.” The stars will never magically align for us to get in shape. Instead, we’re going to have to deal with:
However, when such events happen, it’s okay to scale back our efforts. I call this the “Dial vs. Light Switch” Mentality: When life throws us a curveball, it’s okay to pull back from 100% (or 11, Spinal Tap style) But maybe we hit them at 50% (or a 5):
This “slow and steady” pace really is the secret of our Online Coaching Program, and something that comes up again and again when we chat with our most successful clients. If you want to learn about it yourself, we’d love to sit down with you to see if we’d be a good fit for each other. Because even though you’re unique, we’ve likely seen some of your challenges before:
There’s likely a way to make progress – even if it’s only a little bit – no matter what challenges you face today. You just need someone to show you the way. Ready? If you want to see if Nerd Fitness Coaching can help you, schedule a call right here: No matter what, just remember: If you’re having trouble staying consistent, go slow. A little every day really does go a long way. -Steve PS: Shoutout to Brian and Coach Matt! What they’ve done together is truly incredible. ### The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness. via https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/4-strategies-for-losing-75-pounds/
He has a story I think might help you. You see, Gabe had a stark realization many of us eventually have: we aren’t getting any younger! Sorry Gramma, but I need to use a bad swear in this gif (yes, my 91-year-old gramma reads these emails): As his birthday approached, Gabe decided it was time to finally get in shape. He’d been stagnating for years, and this wasn’t going to get any easier. So he decided to ask for some help. Today, Gabe is crushing life:
These accomplishments have given Gabe TONS of confidence, which is now expanding into areas outside of the gym. Gabe explains, “For the first time in my life I actually feel good about myself physically, mentally, and emotionally. I wouldn’t be here without my coach.” However, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Stagnating with a goal can be mentally taxing and might affect our confidence levels. It’s something most of us have felt from time to time, including Gabe. So let’s find out what changed for Gabe and how he was able to achieve his amazing success. How Gabe Leveled Up His Life: 4 Keys#1) Without a Roadmap, It’s Easy to Get Lost.Gabe had tried to get in shape before NF Coaching. The thing is, he didn’t really know what to do at the gym. So Gabe did what many of us do in such situations: he winged it. But without a plan, Gabe didn’t see any real progress. He would eventually lose motivation and abandon his gym membership. “It never stuck because I was doing it by myself. I’d wander aimlessly around the gym, not really sure what the best path forward was. I’d jump on a machine or two and hope for the best, because I was just too intimidated to use any free weights. Such a “start and stop” pattern continued for years, until one fateful day, Gabe decided he would try something different. He would hire a coach – at least for a month – to see if this could help him stay consistent. It was a successful experiment. Gabe returned to Planet Fitness confident. He quickly did his assigned workout, marked it complete in his coaching app, then went home. He came back two days later and did it again. It wasn’t long before he started seeing results. That’s when things took off. Takeaway: every good goal needs a plan behind it. Without it, it’s so easy to get lost and quit. When you head to the gym, come prepared with a plan! Otherwise, you might stare at the floor the whole time. Here’s how a beginner should get started in the gym. #2) Accountability Can Be Everything“I knew I needed someone in my corner to help me stay motivated. My earlier attempts suffered without it. Coach Justin is constantly checking in with me, making sure I’m comfortable with all the exercises I’m doing. If ever I get bored or maybe I don’t like a particular activity (cough…planks…cough), he never pushes back. Instead, we simply switch gears. Having someone guide me every step of the way has helped me finally stay consistent. Speaking of accountability, I also need to mention the NF private community. I have found inspiration and drive from other Rebels on a similar journey. Between the community and Coach Justin, I feel totally supported.” Takeaway: as Zelda taught us, “It’s dangerous to go alone!” If you can, find someone to come with you (or at least someone to hand you a sword). Your accountability partner could be from a coach, or maybe even someone from an online community. When times get tough (and they will), having someone in your corner rooting for you can make all the difference. #3) Cooking Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated.“I absolutely hate cooking. My motto is, “If it takes longer to cook than to eat, I’m not interested.” I realize that includes basically everything. While that’s still my motto, Coach Justin has helped me work around that with frozen veggies, simple meals, and batch cooking. Here’s my go-to:
Simply brown the meat and simmer the veggies until they’re a consistency you like. I’ll put cheese on it if I’m home. That makes 5 larger portions, or 7-8 smaller portions, typically. It allows for some variation week to week without having to think too much.” Takeaway: cooking can be a real pain. But it doesn’t have to be. With a few simple steps, you can have lunches ready to go for the week! Gabe does his batch cooking on Sundays, alongside many others in the Rebellion. Here’s my personal strategy for simple meals: How to Batch Cook Chicken (for Lazy People). #4) Physical Confidence Can Impact All Areas of Your Life.“For the first time in my life I actually feel good about myself physically, mentally, and emotionally. Growing strong gave me confidence. Confidence helped my self-esteem. I’m now ok with my faults and shortcomings because I’ve also learned to recognize and celebrate my accomplishments and strengths. Nerd Fitness Coaching has been life-changing, to say the least.” Takeaway: there is such a thing as an “upward spiral,” with one new accomplishment springboarding to another. We see this all the time here in the Rebellion. Someone starts working out and seeing progress, which gives them confidence. They then take this new confidence and try something new, like soccer (Gabe recently joined a league!). Crushing this new activity gives them even MORE confidence, and they again try something new. Rinse and repeat. Yes, it can indeed take time. But Gabe has only been in Coaching a little over a year. And today he feels (and looks) like a new person: You just have to get that first win under your belt so you can start to build some momentum. Here’s how we often advise beginners to take their first step. Is It Time to Try Something Different?I’m super proud of what Gabe and Coach Justin accomplished over the last year. And I want you to know I’m proud of you too. You’re still here. You’re still reading. That means you’re still trying, which is a big part of making progress. However, I also want you to ask yourself: is it time you tried something different? Maybe you related to Gabe’s story. Maybe you’ve gone through your own “start and stop” pattern. If so, then let’s take a minute to consider what made Gabe successful: Gabe was able to achieve amazing progress over the last year because he decided not to return to the gym the same way he had before. Instead, he decided to ask for help. This decision changed everything. When Gabe entered Planet Fitness last year, he stopped wandering around aimlessly. Instead, he had a plan right there on his phone. It gave him the confidence to stick with the routine. By sticking with the routine, he started seeing results. The results gave him the confidence to keep going. Now, one year later, he feels like a new person. We see this all the time here at Nerd Fitness, with one small improvement leading to another. You’d be amazed where the mindset of “1% better every day” can lead. If you’re interested in creating your own “upward spiral,” I’d love to see if a NF Coach can help you. You can think of your new coach like your own personal Yoda. Someone who can show you the ways of the force, one day at a time, so you can unlock your hidden Jedi. With Nerd Fitness Coaching, you’ll gain:
Sound good? IF you are ready to jump into battle with your own Yoda in your pocket (through the NF Coaching App, not literally)… Let’s make a plan for you to be the next Nerd Fitness success story: For the Rebellion! -Steve PS: Seriously, Gabe is amazing. Holy moly. PPS: Props to Coach Justin for being Gabe’s personal Yoda. ### The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness. via https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/how-gabe-changed-his-life/ It’s time to learn how to lunge! The lunge is a perfect bodyweight exercise that doesn’t require any equipment, so I’m excited you want to learn more about them. When we design workouts for our coaching clients, we often include lunges so they can train their lower body ANYWHERE. Today, we’ll share with you the goods on how our clients perform their bodyweight lunges. Here’s what we’ll cover:
Let’s jump (lunge?) right in!
What Muscles Does the Lunge Train? (Why Do Lunges?)If you’re doing bodyweight exercises, lunges are a great addition. With a lunge, you work your:
Lunges are what we call a “compound exercise,” which means they recruit more than one muscle group as you perform the movement. We’re big fans of compound exercises around these parts, because they more closely resemble how your body evolved to move. If you’ve ever heard the term “functional fitness,” it’s the same idea here. A “functional” exercise is something that will help you in day-to-day life. For example, when leaning down to tie your shoe, you’re probably doing some sort of lunge variation. Since you have to hold yourself upright throughout the movement, performing lunges will help you achieve better balance. This is going to help in all sorts of ways as you go about your day. Outside of a squat, there’s no better bodyweight exercise to train your lower body. Plus, with a dumbbell or a kettlebell, you can easily add some weight to make them more difficult: So let’s show you how it’s done! How Do You Perform a Lunge?In the video above (from Nerd Fitness Prime), Coach Jim and Staci demonstrate how to perform a bodyweight lunge. To perform a forward lunge:
It’ll look something like this: If a normal lunge is too much for you right now, no problem. You can still get started doing assisted lunges, like so: The only real difference with the assisted lunge will be your hands. You’ll need to grab something to support yourself. It could be a weight lifting rack (like shown in the video), a doorway in your home, or even just a sturdy chair. A park bench could also work well here: Another option to get you going would be a split squat (assisted variation shown below): This exercise keeps your feet in place the entire time and can be easier to balance and manage when starting off. The split squats may also be a better option for those of you with knee concerns – as it can often be easier to control the depth of the movement and keep you moving pain-free. Now, let’s talk about lots of different lunge forms you can try. The most popular variation would be the reverse lunge, which we’ll devote an entire section to next. What Is the Difference Between Front Lunges and Reverse Lunges?The difference between a front and reverse lunge is all about the direction your leading foot is moving. The front lunge has you stepping forward. So with a reverse lunge, you’re stepping…wait for it…backward! To do a reverse lunge:
Much like the assisted front lunge we discussed above, a sturdy chair or doorway can help as you grow strength in this movement. Why do a reverse lunge over a forward lunge? The reverse lunge might be easier for a beginner than the forward lunge.
The difference in shifting weight may make balancing with a forward lunge more challenging. Plus, for those of you with knee concerns, the reverse lunge may also feel kinder on the joint. The forward lunge requires the knee and leg to decelerate the body in a certain manner (think of slowing yourself as you walk down a hill), which may cause discomfort. The different movements and mechanics of the reverse lunge may be a better option for you! So feel free to start performing reverse lunges before you start lunging forward. Now, the fun doesn’t stop once you get the hang of the forward and reverse lunges. Let’s discuss some more variations you can try out. 15 Lunge Variations to Try (How to Scale Lunges)Depending on your current experience level, try some of these lunge variations on for size. #1) One Leg Balance We mentioned earlier that lunges will challenge your balance. If this is tricky for you, start by just balancing on one leg until you get a little more comfortable. #2) Assisted Forward Lunge When you’re just starting out, go with the assisted forward lunge to help you build some strength. #3) Forward Lunge When people say “do a lunge,” they probably mean the forward lunge, as shown above. #4) Reverse Lunge Once a forward lunge ain’t no thang, turn it around and try going backward (for funsies). #5) Lateral Lunge Forward and backward aren’t the only directions for our lunges! To perform a lateral lunge:
#6) Split Squat The difference here from a normal lunge: you step one foot forward and the other back, keeping them in place for the duration of the rep. That means your center of gravity is “split” between both legs. #7) Step Up Just when you thought we couldn’t add any more directions, we’re mixing things up with a whole new dimension: up! You can increase or decrease the height of the box to make the exercise harder or easier. Max box/bench height should put your thigh at parallel with the ground at the start. #8) Bulgarian Split Squat This squat/lunge variation is really going to challenge your quads and mobility in your hips. To perform a Bulgarian Split Squat:
#9) Split Squat Jumps To perform split squat jumps:
#10) Walking Lunge If you have a little room to maneuver, you can do walking lunges: To perform a walking lunge:
#11) Pendulum Lunge We’re going to really challenge your balance here. To perform a pendulum lunge:
#12) Goblet Lunge It’s now time to add a little weight into the equation: This exercise is just like a normal bodyweight lunge, but you hold a dumbbell between your hands as if it were a goblet (keep it upright so it won’t spill). If you can’t maintain good form, decrease the dumbbell weight. #13) Overhead Lunge This is much like the goblet lunge, but you hold the weight over your head. This will provide a full-body workout as you maintain the weight above you. #14) Barbell Lunge Once you get accustomed to performing lunges with a barbell, there’s practically no limit to how intense this exercise can get: To perform a barbell lunge:
#15) Split Squat, Front Foot Elevated. This will be a more challenging variation for your hip and ankle mobility – since your foot is elevated they’ll be required to move a bit more as you sink deeper into the exercise. As with other lunge variations – this can be done assisted, unassisted, or with weights! How to Include Lunges in Your Workout (Next Steps)The only question left to answer is when to do your lunges. For that, it’s time to build a workout routine. We generally recommend our coaching clients complete a full-body strength training workout 2-3 times per week. Such a full-body routine would include your:
Lunges would cover your entire lower body. So would bodyweight squats. If you went with a Monday-Wednesday-Friday workout schedule, you could do:
All you’ll need are some pull, push, and core exercises and you’ll have a full-body program. For suggestions on these, make sure you read our guide on building a full-body workout routine. Want a little more help getting going? You seem like a nice person, so I’ll share with you our top suggestions for next steps: Option #1) If you want a professional coach in your pocket, who can do video form checks, provide feedback, and adjust your workouts based on the equipment you have available, check out our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program! For example, let’s say you find yourself stuck indoors during a pandemic, and you want somebody to custom-build you a workout program based on the equipment and furniture you have. That’s where an online coach is a game-changer! Personally, I’ve been working with the same online coach since 2015 and it’s changed my life. You can learn more by clicking on the box below: Option #2) If you want a daily prompt for a functional fitness workout, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally). You’ll learn how to do awesome bodyweight exercises like lunges, all while earning XP! Sa-weet! Try your free trial right here: Option #3) Become part of the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion. Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our Rebel Starter Kit, which includes all of our “work out from home” guides.
Get your Nerd Fitness Starter Kit
Alright, now I want to hear from you and your experience with lunges! Do you include lunges in your bodyweight training? Any lunge variation I’m missing? What are your questions on how to get started with lunges? Let me know in the comments! -Steve PS: If you’re interested in more no-equipment workouts, check out The 42 Best Bodyweight Exercises. ### Photo Source: Fencing, A good Sunday to you, Yoga Sunset.
The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness. via https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/how-to-do-a-lunge/ It’s time to learn some yoga poses! Whether you’re comfortable on a yoga mat or you think a downward dog is just something your puppy does, you’re in the right place. We teach yoga in our Online Coaching Program where some of our clients have used it to improve their back pain…like Brain here: He also switched up his diet and lost 75 pounds! I can’t wait to help you get started. Today’s yoga poses will be broken out into three levels, for you to progress in difficulty. What can I say, we love leveling up here at Nerd Fitness. Most of our poses are basic, Level One, in case you are completely new to yoga. However, we’ll include a few more advanced poses for further advancement. We’ll start by discussing a little Yoga 101, in case you are totally lost right now and don’t know yoga from yogurt. If you wanna skip to your desired video or pose, just click on it. Super Sweet Sequence Covering Basic Yoga PosesBasic Yoga Poses (Level 1)
Beginner Yoga Poses (Level 2)Intermediate Yoga Poses (Level 3)Yoga Stretches for Desk WorkersRoll out the matt! Let’s do some yoga.
WHAT IS YOGA EXACTLY?Yoga means lots of different things to different people… like Windfarm Yoga apparently, to the woman in the photo above. As one commenter from Cracked pointed out: “The only thing I know for sure about yoga is that whatever you’re doing when you practice it, you’ll be assured by someone that it isn’t “real yoga.”[1] I’m not interested in that particular aspect of the yoga debate: people need things to argue about and get offended over…because Internet. What’s important to me is getting more people interested in trying yoga out because it’s damn fun and can really improve your life. After all, as Vox explains:
Science is essentially telling us: Yoga can help you become more flexible like Black Widow, improve your strength like the Hulk, extend your life like the elves of Rivendell, and give you mental awareness like Yoda. The jury is still out as to whether or not it grants us telekinetic powers. Please email me if a yoga practice helps you levitate rocks. When I approached yoga years ago as an attempt to improve my flexibility and to combat poor posture, I was initially worried about looking foolish or finding some aspect of the exercise that didn’t sit right with me. Instead, I found a complimentary, enjoyable activity that helped improve my flexibility and mobility, alleviated my lower back pain, opened up my hips to combat a lifetime of sitting, and even helped me quiet my overactive mind! Plus, it was like a power-up for my strength workouts. It’s now an activity I do with regularity throughout my week, incorporating yoga stretches during the day in between desk sessions, after working out, and attending the occasional class to level up. WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT YOGA?If you read Nerd Fitness, you’re probably a skeptic. After all, one of the Rules of the Rebellion is to question everything! So you might be thinking: “Steve, you’re not going to ask me to start speaking in mantras, chanting OMMMMMM, and work on improving my spiritual chi.” As somebody who started yoga with the exact same reservations, I sit before you a changed man. For starters, if you decide the spiritual aspects of the practice aren’t for you, you’re not alone: research into yoga’s history can lead down an internet rabbit hole of controversy that is bottomless.[3] So we’re not going to jump in that fight. Instead, what you will find when it comes to yoga is study after study showing that this form of exercise is incredibly beneficial: 1) A body prepared to handle anything: at Nerd Fitness, we are huge fans of strength training, and yoga is its perfect compliment. It elongates your muscles, improves your flexibility, can release tension in your neck and shoulders, and helps you do things like touch your toes![4] It can help you build stronger muscles, improve balance and stability (especially for our older rebels[5]), and make you more “antifragile” (one of my favorite terms). As one study points out:[6]
2) Yoga is great for lower back pain: If you’re one of the 31+ million people like myself who struggle with lower back pain, yoga can help.[7] Yoga really helps those of us stuck at a computer all day long as well.[8] 3) Yoga can help meet weight loss goals when combined with a healthy diet. Look, we all know our diet is responsible for 80-90% of our success when it comes to weight loss. The other 10-20% of the equation is participating in physical activities that push your body outside its comfort zone. Yoga is a great way to burn a few extra calories and keep your brain focused on “I am doing healthy things and thus I should be eating healthy foods!” It can help improve our fight against cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and obesity.[9] It’s also a great rest day activity to keep you on track when you’re not doing your other workouts. 4) Speaking of which…yoga can be done every single day, and can be done anywhere. No gym required, no equipment required – no excuses! On top of that, because it’s a low-impact activity and doesn’t overly tax your muscles like a powerlifting session, you can do yoga every single day, anywhere you can find a soft place to sit down: your living room, a park, a beach, your bedroom, on the moon, etc. 5) Yoga can quiet an overactive mind: We live in a world with a distraction around every corner; we read Facebook or our favorite blog while checking email and texts… while trying to work a day job. If you’re anything like me, your mind races a million miles an hour, and trying to develop a sense of control and calm over your mind is like herding cats. We’ve already explained the benefits of Meditation for Nerds; yoga can be tremendously helpful with becoming more aware of our bodies and help with reducing stress and anxiety.[10] Lastly, if yoga is good enough for badass Dhalsim from Street Fighter II, it’s good enough for me: Alright, I’m going to assume at this point you are on board with yoga. If being able to completely demolish a car with your bare hands doesn’t convince you, nothing will.[11] So let’s go over some yoga poses and routines. A YOGA ROUTINE FOR BEGINNERS YOU CAN DO AT HOMEWe’ll start out our explanation of different yoga poses by showing you what the end result can look like. Here’s a complete routine covering some basic yoga poses: The above video (Water Series – A) is taken from our course, Nerd Fitness Yoga (a part of Nerd Fitness Prime). If you like it, I’d encourage you to go browse the page and check it out. Nerd Fitness Yoga is a course you can follow along within the comfort of your own home, and it’s built specifically for members of the Rebellion: easy to follow instructions, an inviting attitude, and as you can tell… some corny jokes from yours truly. This course will work for men and women of all shapes, ages, and sizes, giving anybody the confidence to get started IMMEDIATELY. Follow it regularly and you can expect the benefits of the dozens of studies I linked above when it comes to yoga practice. In addition to a HUGE pose library and step-by-step instructions, it also contains all of the following full-length yoga sessions filmed in HD:
All of these videos can be streamed or downloaded to any device as many times as you’d like so you can practice yoga wherever, whenever. 10 BEGINNER YOGA POSES (LEVEL 1)Seated Cross LeggedOne of the most popular yoga poses is simply Seated Cross Legged. A seated position helps relax, reset, and open your hips up a bit. Bring yourself down to a seat on the floor, whatever is most comfortable. Cross one ankle of the other in front of you and sit cross-legged. Take a big breath in and straighten your spine as if there was a string pulling your head and neck up to the ceiling. Breathe out, but keep that upright posture. Hands can rest on your knees, but shouldn’t push out or pressure your legs. Table Top Cat-CowThis is actually a series of a few poses (Table Top, Cat, & Cow) that is used in almost every yoga session to help reset your spines and warm up your back. Start in Table Top, with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Your spine should be parallel with the floor to start. Exhale and slowly press into your hands as you abs up towards your spine. Round your spine to the ceiling as you bring your chin towards your chest. Gently push out your shoulders. Inhale and relax your abs while you bring your hips back down. Lengthen your torso as your head comes up and looks towards the ceiling. Your chest should come forward slightly and your lower back should push into your pelvis. Relax and return back to a neutral Table Top position. Child’s PoseChild’s Pose is considered a resting position. This means that any time you feel overwhelmed, overheated, or stressed about a particular pose or variation while doing yoga, STOP what you are doing and come slowly into a Child’s Pose to rest. This pose helps lower stress, refocus your mind, and lightly stretch primarily your lower back, hips, and thighs. Start by kneeling on the floor with your toes touching behind you. Widen your knees so they are just a little wider than your hips. Gently lower your body between your knees and hips. Your arms will stretch out lightly in front of you and you can drop your shoulders to the sides and down. A variation you can use (which may be easier or harder for you) is to tuck your toes under your feet, instead of having the tops or side of your feet against the ground. Do whichever variation is most comfortable and natural for your body. Forward FoldForward Fold is another one of our most popular yoga poses. It’s primarily focused on stretching the lower back, hips, hamstrings, and calves. Start standing and gently bend forward as you lengthen your torso and spine. As you fold towards the ground, keep your knees straight (but not locked out). If you can, grab the back of your calves and gently pull yourself deeper into the fold. As you breathe in, you can lift slightly and extend your torso and spine forwards. As you exhale, you can fold forward again into the stretch. To scale this down, you may use blocks to help raise the floor. Keep your knees straight and your spine long, and fold as far as you can comfortably go. StandingStanding pose is a resting and centering pose in yoga, but don’t take it for granted. Even when we are standing in between poses, be sure to stay strong, active, and rooted through your feet. Your feet should also be flat and not rolled in or bowed out. Activate your hips to prevent locking out your knees and keep your posture and spine tall and elevated. Finally, your shoulder should be open and your chest broad. Neck in line with your spine (not hunched forward). Stretch tall from your hips through your head. Standing MountainStanding Mountain is a great pose to warm up our shoulders and spine. Start by staying strong and rooted through your feet (which are flat on the ground). Legs active, but not locked out. Shoulders open and neck in line with spine. As you take a deep breath, bring both arms straight out in front of you and up overhead towards the ceiling. Make sure your shoulders aren’t hunched and close to your ears, but rather relaxed and released down. Rooting through your shoulder blades, pull your spine and arms towards the ceiling. CobraCobra is a popular pose that almost always follows Plank as a transitional sequence in many yoga sessions. This pose primarily stretches the shoulders, chest, spine, and stomach. Start by laying flat on the ground on your belly, with the tops of your feet on the floor. Your hands should be positioned under your shoulders (much like you would imagine starting a pushup). Slowly push down through your hands and straighten your arms to lift your chest up off the floor, but unlike a push-up, keep your hips, thighs, and tops of feet rooted and pushing down towards the ground. Move your shoulder blades back, lift your chest, and look forward and slightly up. Hold for several seconds and then slowly release down. To scale this pose down, only raise your chest and head to where you are comfortable. Be sure to keep your hips and thighs pushing down to the floor, even if that means you can only raise your chest a little. Low LungeLow Lunge is a variation of Lunge that is a building block for several more advanced poses. It’s most commonly thought of a Lunge with your knee on the ground. This pose will primarily stretch and strengthen the groin, hamstrings, and hips. Often, you’ll get into a lunge by starting in a Forward Fold and slowly stepping one of your legs back behind you. If you need to, you can scoot your foot back several times until you are able to have your front knee directly over your front ankle. As you bring your leg back, drop your back knee to rest on the ground. This will help support some of your weight, but the majority of your weight should stay pushing forward through your front knee and hips. Bend your torso over your front knee and lengthen your spine forward. Your weight should be pressing down through your heels. To scale down, you can use blocks on each side to balance yourself more without having to reach all the way down to the floor. Knee HugThis pose is used to compress and tighten your body. It’s often used right before Corpse Pose at the end of sessions to reset. Start this pose by lying on your back with your arms and legs straight out. Take a deep breath and slowly bring your legs together and your knees lifted toward your chest. As your knee comes up, wrap your arms around them and clasp your hands together. If you can’t quite wrap your arms you can reach down each hand and gently pull in your kneecaps. Gently squeeze your knees into your chest, keeping your back flat on the ground and dropping your shoulders down. You can focus your eyes down the center of your body. If for any reason you have trouble doing this, simply raise your knees towards your chest as far as they will go. Hold for a few seconds and release back down. Corpse PoseEveryone’s favorite yoga pose, and often a way to end a complete session! And while at first, it can seem like just lying on the ground, there’s more to it than that. This poses is fantastic for calming the mind, relieving stress, and relaxing the body back into a neutral position. You’ll have a desire towards the end of a session to skip over Corpse Pose and move on. Don’t! Spend a few minutes coming back down and resetting your body in each session. Start by laying on your back. Your arms should stretch down comfortably to each side, slightly away from your body. Both your legs stretched out and with a little space, as well. Do your best to “release” your shoulders and neck and let them fall neutral as well (even when on our backs we tend to engage our necks). Focus on your breathing and on relaxing any tight or sore areas of your body. If you need to, turn onto your side and bend your knees (laying on your side completely). Wiggle your toes, ankles, hands, or wrists as needed. 8 BASIC YOGA POSES (LEVEL 2)Downward DogThis pose primarily focuses on stretching the shoulders, hamstrings, and calves. The first few times you get into Downward Dog, you’ll want to start on your hands and knees (what we call Table Top), but with your arms a little bit forward of your head. Pushing into your hands and toes, slowly lift your knees off the ground. If you can, slowly straighten your knees (don’t lock them) as you gently stretch your heels down to the ground. Once comfortable, you can work your shoulders back toward your tailbone. To scale this down, you can lift your heels further off the ground and/or bend your knees for easy modification. You can also use blocks to elevate your arms as another alternative. Crescent MoonCrescent Moon is a variation of Low Lunge where we stretch upright towards the ceiling. This pose primarily stretches and strengthens the groin, hips, chest, spine, and shoulders. To start this pose, you’ll want to get into a comfortable Low Lunge. Usually, this means stepping one leg forward from Downward Dog or stepping one leg back from Forward Fold, and then dropping your back knee down rooted on the ground. As you take a deep breath, bring your torso up from lunge to upright and stretch both hands straight up toward the ceiling. Instead of arching your back, draw your hips down and forward and lean your shoulder back (keeping it straight and engaged). To scale this pose down, you can just stay in Low Lunge and work on stretching without extending upward. BridgeBridge is a backbend pose that primarily stretches and strengthens the back and spine, but also the chest, shoulders, and neck. Start by laying flat on your back. Bring your feet flat on the ground as close to your butt as they comfortably sit. Arms should be flat and down to your sides. Pushing down through your feet and arms, slowly lift your butt off the floor and into Low Bridge (around when your spine is straight with your legs). If you are comfortable, you can bring your hands together under yourself. Continue to slowly push your hips and butt towards the ceiling, making sure to keep your knees over top of your ankles. Work towards parallel with the ground for the full Bridge pose. To scale this down, stop in Low Bridge if going further is uncomfortable. If Low Bridge is difficult, just practice moving your hips slightly off the ground from the starting position. As you gain more flexibility, you’ll work to hold in Low Bridge. Half SplitsThis pose primarily stretches your hamstrings, hips, and lower back. To start this pose, get into a Low Lunge. Your back knee should be firmly rooted on the ground. Slowly shift your weight as you move your hips and torso over your back knee. As you do this your front leg will go from bent at the knee to fully extended straight in a line. If you need them, you can use blocks or a supporting prop on each side now to support your weight (if you can’t reach the ground here). Slowly fold forward over the top of your extended front leg, with your hips staying rooted back and over top of your knee that’s on the floor. To scale this down, use blocks on each side as suggested above. You can also stay upright (instead of folding towards the end). Stop in the progression whenever you lose comfort. LungeThe Lunge is a major building block for all sorts of yoga poses. Many poses are variations of or come in and out of the Lunge. This pose will primarily stretch and strengthen the groin, hamstrings, hips, and knees. Often you will get into lunges starting in a Forward Fold and slowly stepping one of your legs back behind you. If you need to, you can scoot your foot back several times until you are able to have your knee directly over your front ankle. Bend your torso over your front knee and lengthen your spine forward. Your weight should be pressing down through your heels and your back knee should be active with your knee straight throughout. To scale down, you can use blocks on each side to balance yourself more without having to reach all the way down to the floor. At any time, you can also drop the back knee down to the ground coming into Low Lunge instead. NinjaOne of the most fun poses to make sound effects while doing, Ninja is actually a series of movements rather than a single pose. You might also have heard it called a Side Lunge, but this is Nerd Fitness, so we’re going with Ninja. This pose helps strengthen the entire lower body and stretch out the hamstrings. Start by lowering yourself into a half squat (Frog Prep). Choose a foot and turn your toes out a little wider. Walk your hands over to your foot. Bend deep into that side’s knee as you lift up onto the heel of your opposite foot. Point or flex that foot up towards the ceiling. Bring your hands to prayer in front of your chest. Extend both arms out in an upward-facing arc and look towards your extended leg. Hold the pose and keep your leg muscles engaged. Slowly come back up to Frog Prep (body in the middle) and slide over to the other side repeating the steps above. Seated Side FoldSeated Side Fold is a good, simple combination of a fold and a side stretch in one pose. Sometimes referred to this as “Half Dragonfly” as a nickname. This pose primarily stretches your spine, lower back, hamstrings, and groin. Start in a seated position, with your legs outspread wide in a V shape in front of you. About a 90-degree angle between your legs. Bring one of your feet over to your other thigh, so that the bottom of your foot rests tucked in and touching your thing just above the knee. Keeping your hips rooted down and your spine extended tall and towards the ceiling, you can gently fold over and use your arms to walk down your chest towards the ground next to the thigh and knee of your fully extended leg. You should be slightly off-center, in line with your straightened leg (rather than a traditional fold which would come straight to the center). To scale down this pose, you can stay in the original seated position with both legs out in front of you in a V. Gently fold forward a little to each side and you warm up. 3 INTERMEDIATE YOGA POSES (LEVEL 3)Chair PoseChair pose is the basis for many of the more advanced moves found in yoga. It primarily stretches the chest and shoulders, while helping to strengthen your core and legs. Start in Standing with your arms out in front of you. Slowly bend your knees, moving them gradually more forward away from your toes. At the same time, drop your hips and butt back as you try to achieve a 90-degree angle with your thighs and calves. As you sit down, your arms will come straight above your head (next to your ears), pointing up with palms facing in. To scale this down, you’ll find it a little easier to keep your arms out in front of you – or coming towards your chest forming a “ball of energy.” Like in Dragonball. Drop your hips only as low as you can comfortably maintain for a stable hold. Warrior 2This pose primarily strengthens your shoulders, arm, thighs and opens up your chest and shoulders. Starting in Standing, exhale as you step one foot back. Align your back heel behind the other heel and then turn your back foot out 90 degrees. Turn your hips out and align your forward thigh with your forward knee. Slowly raise your arm, one forward and one back, both parallel to the ground. As you exhale, bend the right knee forward until it lines up straight over your right heel. Press your heels into the floor. To scale this pose down, you can bring your legs slightly in closer together. You also have the option to bend forward a little less or bring your hands back down onto your hips. Extended Side AngleExtended Side Angle is one of our broader Warrior-sequence poses, often done together in pairs or sets with other poses from the same group. This primarily stretches your groin, back, and torso. It also strengthens your thighs, hips, and legs. Starting in Standing, spread your legs slightly apart with hips facing forward. Choose one side and rotate that foot outward about 45 degrees. Bend the knee over the rotated foot and shift your weight to that side. Keep your stretched-out back leg in place and keep pushing down through that foot. Bring your elbow (same chosen side as the bent knee), down to rest on your bent knee. Your hand and arm coming out in front of you. Your opposite arm now extends high into the air straight overhead. To scale this pose down, you can narrow your stance a little bit more and bring your hips a little higher in the air. Move deeper down as you get more comfortable. If you are comfortable enough here to scale up, you can switch your eyes to look at your arm overhead and gently stretch that arm to the side (so it falls in line with your torso and spine). This will deepen the stretch even further. Rebel WarriorRebel Warrior is another pose in our Warrior-sequences that are often used in pairs or sets as transitions to one another. You’ll sometimes hear it referred to as “Peaceful Warrior,” but, you know… This pose primarily stretches the groin, hips, and shoulders. Start in Warrior 2. Bring the rear hand down to the back leg, palm facing down. Turn the front palm facing upwards towards the sky. On an inhale, extend the front arm up towards the sky, palm facing towards the back of the room. Keep your hips open, but reach your heart up towards the sky. Keep the back of your neck long and your eye gaze pointing in the same direction as your heart. Keep bending deeply into your front knee; try to keep the weight evenly distributed on your front foot. To scale this pose, bring your legs in a little closer together to shorten the depth of the stretch. As you get comfortable you can ease back down into the full pose. YOGA STRETCHES FOR DESK WORKERSWork a desk job? Consider these two additional videos: Wrist MobilityWrists are an often overlooked area of stiffness and soreness for many people. Whether you type on a keyboard daily or are looking to improve front squats and handstands you’ll benefit from this 6-minute yoga session: Proper PostureHours hunched over a computer, stuffed into a car, or playing various games can cause some pretty awkward posture habits. This 6-minute yoga session will help you reset and improve your posture as you go through your day: When you’re able to escape from your desk for a few, these short sequences are perfect to help stretch out your body and help prevent injury. If you do find yourself stuck at a computer for most of the day, with seemingly no time to work out, we can help! We offer a 1-on-1 private coaching program to help busy people just like you level up their lives. We will get to know you, your goals, and your lifestyle, and develop a workout plan that’s specific to not only your body, but also to your schedule and life. We can design workouts for at your desk, or a quick session before dinnertime. If you want to learn more about the program, click on the big image below: TRY A YOGA POSE TODAYIf this kid can do Yoga, so can you! I don’t care if you’re at home, in a cubicle, or an office, I want you to use 3 minutes of courage to hold a few of the poses above! Which ones? Find a quiet place and go through: Even if you’re not interested in checking out NF Yoga and never attend a yoga class, try these four movements right now. Like, this very moment. A big reason Nerd Fitness and the Rebellion are successful in getting people healthy is that we encourage people to take action immediately. Not tomorrow, not after breakfast, RIGHT NOW! Try to hold each of the following positions for 30 seconds. Yes, even if you’ve never done yoga before and have no intention of doing it again… I’m challenging you to give this a shot right now! I personally get up every 15-20 minutes and go through a few movements (Downward Dog is my favorite) to stay limber. Crushed those four poses? Take it to the next level and run through our full sequence from the Water Series. It’ll take you a little over 20 minutes. Want a little more help getting going? You got it! I have three great options on how you can continue your journey with us: Option #1) Liked the yoga videos contained in today’s guide? Want to follow them in an app that also allows you to build your own superhero? Then check out Nerd Fitness Journey! Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally). Plus, you can join our Yoga Adventure so you can learn poses and grow strong while battling wiley supervillians! Try your free trial right here: Option #2) If you want a professional coach in your pocket, who can do video form checks, provide feedback, and adjust your workouts based on your experience level, check out our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program! For example, let’s say you have an old injury and couldn’t perform one of our flexibility exercises. A Nerd Fitness Coach can work with you to create a customized routine for your exact situation. Personally, I’ve been working with the same online coach since 2015 and it’s changed my life. You can learn more by clicking on the box below: Option #3) Become part of the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion. Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our Rebel Starter Kit, which includes all of our “work out from home” guides.
Get your Nerd Fitness Starter Kit
Alright, your turn: I’d love to hear from you: did you REALLY complete the 4-movement yoga routine above? And where did you do it? An office? In your cubicle? Remember, who cares if your coworkers think you’re weird – getting judged for doing something healthy is a badge of honor you should be proud of! …and Downward Dog! -Steve PS: If you want some tips on how to increase your mobility, check out The Ultimate Guide for Improving Flexibility. ### All photo sources can be found right here.[12]
Footnotes ( returns to text)
The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness. via https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/a-nerds-guide-to-yoga-4-movements-to-try-today/ So you’ve decided it’s time to start running? Perfect! You’ve arrived at the right place. We’ve helped thousands of people run injury-free and train for their first 5k or marathon, and we’ve put together everything you need to know below too! Here’s what we’ll cover in our guide to running:
If you’re interested in starting a proper running practice (which you are, ’cause you’re here), you may want to try our new app! It contains a fun adventure that will take you from sitting on your couch to running a full 5k – with plenty of benchmarks in between for you to find your groove. No guesswork needed, just tie your shows and follow along with the app. You can sign-up for a free trial right here:
How to Run Properly Stage 1: Initial ConditioningBefore you even THINK about strapping on a new pair of Nike shoes and going for a run around your neighborhood, we need to get a few things straight: Your body needs to have a base level of fitness before running becomes a viable option. Here’s why running too early can be harmful:
Your initial conditioning for running will center on three points: #1) Focus on your nutrition. This will allow you to lose weight which will reduce the impact of running on your tendons and joints. #2) Strength Train. We have coaching clients who repeatedly injured themselves running until they started a strength training practice. After lifting some weights their ligaments grew strong and allowed them to run injury-free. If you have no idea how to start a strength training practice, give our Beginner Bodyweight Workout a try: Many a Rebel have used the workout to springboard their strength training journey. #3) Finally let’s add in some activity that’s low-impact:
Check out 40 Ways to Exercise Without Realizing It for fun activities to keep your body moving! To Recap: strength train, reduce your calorie consumption, and begin a low impact activity – build up your foundation to prep your body for running. The less weight your body has to carry around, the less work your legs and joints have to do, the less likely you’ll be to damage your joints and/or injure yourself. Now that you have a solid foundation and you’re ready to start running, you can move on to the next step. If you don’t know where to start on changing your diet, or have had trouble with it in the past, I got you. We created the Nerd Fitness Diet cheat sheet to help you get going. It’s a level-up system designed for you to adopt new healthy habits, that will stick, by slowly progressing you from a newbie to an expert. If you’ve had trouble previously, perhaps it’s because you changed too much too quickly. Want to check it out? You can grab it for free when you join the Rebellion in the box below!
Download our free weight loss guide
THE NERD FITNESS DIET: 10 Levels to Change Your Life
How to Run Properly Stage 2: Warm-Ups for RunningBefore you take your first stride as a runner, you need to be properly warmed up. When most people think of warming up, they probably think of standing there and doing some static stretching for 10 minutes…you know, to make sure you don’t get injured! Wrong! Fail! Stretching before running can actually increase your risk of injury.[3] Instead, try a dynamic warm-up – get your body properly warmed up and prepared for the rigors of running. Let’s set you up with a few different options: #1) A running specific warm-up video from my friend Jason over at Strength Running, who you’ll see in more videos below: #2) Coach Staci providing you with a quick sequence to try out: #3) You can also check out our post “How to Warm Up Properly” for more moves and tips. Just like with strength training, if you don’t have time to warm up, you don’t have time to run. Cut the run short if you need to, but not the warm-up! How to Run Properly Stage 3: Correct Running TechniqueIf you don’t learn how to run correctly, you’re doomed to develop an overuse injury and that’s going to negate the whole reason you started running in the first place! This is why your running form is so damn crucial: when you run, you’re putting hundreds of pounds of pressure on your joints and ligaments with each bounding step down the road. This is then repeated thousands of times over the course of training and a race. No wonder nearly every runner has tons of stories of injuries they’ve had to deal with. It can be a brutal activity that can wreak havoc even with good running mechanics. With poor running mechanics, the results are compounded.
You know, painful stuff… We don’t want that. Make sure you follow the below five steps: 1) LEAN FROM YOUR ANKLES: Lean from your ankles, and keep a straight line from your ankle, through your butt, and up to your head. If you’re standing still with this slight forward lean, you should feel like you’re about to fall forward. Just don’t actually fall forward. When you start running, gravity will help keep you progressing forward. A proper lean from the ankles keeps your body in alignment and loads your muscles properly and efficiently. 2) INCREASE YOUR CADENCE: Cadence is your stride rate, or the number of steps you take per minute. It will probably seem weird at first, but you’re putting less stress on your legs with shorter foot strikes. Your cadence should be at least 170-190 steps per minute when you’re running at an easy, conversational pace. It will probably increase once you start running faster—that’s normal. “Steve, what the hell do I do with “170-190 steps per minute?” Great question. Go to Spotify and look for 170-190BPM playlists, like these which I found here: Not on Spotify? Cool. (But like, why?) To get a cadence, try running to Outkast’s “Hey Ya” and time your strides to match the beat. That’s the cadence you’re looking for: Research has shown[4] that increasing your cadence and taking more steps (around 180 per minute) provides many of the same benefits of barefoot running:
You’ll feel like you’re taking way more steps than normal – that means you probably had poor form before and now you’re fixing it! If your legs get to the point where they’re going this fast, let me know: 3) FOOT STRIKE AT THE RIGHT TIME: When your foot comes down and makes contact with the ground, it should be underneath your body, not in front of it. Combined with a quick cadence and a slight forward lean from your ankles, you’ll be distributing impact shock evenly—and efficiently. This aspect of running form is often skipped over by beginning runners. Instead of focusing on where the foot is landing in relation to the rest of the body, they focus too much on running on their forefoot. If you don’t land in the right place first, a midfoot or forefoot strike will only do more damage. As you’re running, a good mental cue is to think that you’re just “putting your foot down” in a straight line underneath your body. There’s no reaching or stretching your leg out in front of you. Practicing this mental cue will have your leg touching down almost exactly underneath your center of mass, distributing your weight evenly and safely. 4) LAND ON YOUR MIDFOOT: While not as important as landing underneath your center of mass, becoming a mid-foot striker has a host of benefits. It can help you avoid a lot of injuries by absorbing impact shock and preventing a severe heel striking running stride. Heel-striking can’t be entirely blamed for injuries and labeled “bad.” Even elite athletes heel strike when they run races! It’s not entirely bad— especially if you’re putting weight down on your foot just after you heel strike, instead of directly on the heel.[5] What you should focus on is having a higher cadence, landing underneath your body, and not aggressively heel striking. Try to land with your foot flat on the ground, instead of with your toes angled upwards.[6] 5) SYMMETRICAL ARM SWINGS: Nobody wants to look at you running if you’re flailing your arms wildly all over the place like Elaine dancing from Seinfeld. An ideal arm swing has your arm bent at about 90 degrees and a front-to-back swing (not side-to-side). Imagine a pretend line that goes down your mid-line or center of your body. When you run, your hands should not cross over this imaginary line. Cup your hands loosely together (no clenched fists!) and if you want to use your arms for momentum, pump your elbows, not your hands. Once you incorporate these changes into your running form, you’ll feel a lot more comfortable and your injury risk is going to plummet. For extra credit, learn to run softly and quietly. Foot stomping isn’t allowed and gets increasingly more difficult as you approach 180 steps per minute. A few other things you want to keep in mind:
Both are easy cues to keep an athletic posture and good running form. Go back through and read this section a few more times. We know it’s a LOT to think about while running, but it is incredibly important. If you get a chance, have somebody film you running, and then watch your tape back to see how you’re doing. I should note that we provide form checks to our coaching clients. Through our awesome app, you can record a video of your running form or exercise technique and send it right to your coach! That way you can know your running and training safely and correctly! How to Run Properly Stage 4: Walk Before You RunStarting a running practice can be daunting. That’s why I actually recommend walking first. I mentioned earlier that walking can help build the foundation of a great running practice. Once you’re comfortable moving a little bit, an ideal way to actually start running is to alternate between a brisk walk and a jog. This can help you build up some strength so you can run at a more constant pace. Try the following five steps to start your running practice:
Alright, we’ve talked about technique, plus some tips for getting up and running.[8] However, I know you’re gonna ask, so let’s talk about what kicks you should rock. Which Shoes Are Best for Running?There are four components to look for in any shoe. If the shoe doesn’t meet these four criteria, then your foot is going to be compromised. A good shoe has:
Let’s look at each in a bit more detail: 1. Minimal heel-toe height difference (aka “drop”). When your shoe raises your heel higher than your forefoot (aka “heel lift”), your ankle and lower leg are being positioned in a slightly shortened position for the duration that you’re wearing the shoes. When your leg muscles are thrown into a slightly unnatural position, it means the mobility of your ankle will suffer… and this will limit all sorts of things including your running gait.[9] This doesn’t just mean high-heels either…although running in heels is ridiculous. This includes most regular shoes that have a bulky heel and lower toe. In many shoes, you’ll see this difference between heel and forefoot referred to as a “drop,” so “zero-drop” shoes are shoes where heel and forefoot are at the same height. Check to see what your current shoes weigh, and each time you buy a new pair of shoes, work your way towards more and more minimal shoes – down to 10 oz or so (which would qualify them as “minimalist shoe” in our book). Our advice would be to not go too far below 7-8 ounces. The big question: “Should I be doing barefoot running?” – Occasionally, and with proper form, SURE. But don’t just put on a pair of Vibram 5 Finger toe shoes and go run a 5k on concrete tomorrow. That’s a recipe for disaster. 2. A wide toe box that allows your foot to spread as it lands on the ground with each step. With each step you take, your foot actually spreads wider upon landing. This is impossible for your foot to do when it’s in a shoe that is too narrow. If the toe box is not at least as wide as your foot when you’re standing on your foot, while it’s bearing your weight, that’s a problem for your foot. Know that as your foot becomes more ‘natural’ it’s possible it will it may widen further, as the muscles and bones reposition themselves. Feet crammed into a shoe is like putting a leash on Sonic the Hedgehog: they want to be free! 3. A pliable bottom that allows your toes to bend fully as you step. Your great toe is meant to flex to ninety degrees as you move through the gait cycle. See below: If your shoe does not allow this due to a hard sole, your feet won’t be able to move as well, and the soft tissues of your foot will get weaker from not being used fully. PLUS, when you aren’t flexing your big toe regularly, your body will start to lose the ability to use that joint fully. This can lead to all sorts of problems. Doh! 4. It’s strapped to your foot. If the shoe isn’t strapped around your ankle, your toes are going to grab at the shoe to keep it on with every step you take. This makes some of your foot bones push down and some of your foot bones lift up. That shift means you change the amount of forces on each bone. Over time, this can lead to stress fractures and tissue injuries. Check out the video below from movement specialist Kelly Starrett: For each point above, this isn’t an “all or nothing” scenario. Similar to your nutrition, do the best you can when you can, and work your way into running with a minimalist shoe. If you want to learn more about proper footwear, make sure you check out “A Nerd’s Guide to Healthy Feet,” written by Kate Galliett of FitForRealLife.com. Lastly, if you want to learn more about the benefits of ditching your shoes altogether, you can check out our article “Is Barefoot Running Really Better for You?” Where can I go for a run? What’s the best surface to run on?For the most part, it doesn’t really matter what surface you run on if your form is good and you’re resting enough to recover between your workouts. But each surface does affect your body in different ways, so you should know the pros and cons of each one. #1) Asphalt (road): People have been running on the roads since they were first paved over 100 years ago. Most people run exclusively on the roads since they’re the most common surface that’s available for running. There’s nothing inherently wrong with road running. It’s stable and has a relatively predictable surface so you probably won’t twist an ankle.[10] As long as you’re avoiding cars and running AGAINST the flow of traffic (so you can see approaching cars) you’ll be safe. The danger of roads comes when you run on the same side of the road all the time. The problem lies with the road’s slope. For drainage reasons, every road has a slight slope toward the curb. If you’re always running against the flow of traffic your left leg is going to be slightly lower than your right. The solution is to switch sides of the road, but only if traffic conditions allow. #2) Concrete (most sidewalks): Most sidewalks are made of concrete, not asphalt, and are actually a lot harder than the road itself. This isn’t necessarily a drawback, but you will be experiencing more impact forces on concrete than the road. If you do a lot of running on the sidewalk, make sure your form is as good as it can be![11] #3) Grass (fields): Unless the grass is very hard-packed and smooth, I don’t recommend running on it for a long period of time. Grass is very soft so you won’t be sending jarring impact forces up through your legs like concrete, but the uneven surface is going to break up your stride and you could tweak your ankle or a muscle in your foot. Some grass is great to run on, though. The harder and smoother it is, the better it is for running…like a golf course.[12] #4) Dirt or crushed gravel trails: Smooth dirt or crushed gravel (very fine— not big chunks of gravel you find in some driveways!) are some of the best running surfaces. Like the hard grass surface of a golf course, dirt and crushed gravel trails offer the same impact-dissipating qualities while still retaining firm footing. It’s the best of both worlds. You’ll find these types of trails at larger parks with walking paths or in national/state parks with well-maintained trails. #5) Single-track trails: Think sharp turns, rocks, roots, stream crossings, hills, and anything else Mother Nature can throw at you. In a word: FUN. These trails are usually narrow and filled with obstacles. The hills, direction changes, and irregular surfaces will force you to use a lot of stabilizing muscles in your lower legs. This could be good for building strength. #6) Track: Found at most local high schools and colleges, a 400-meter outdoor track provides a great training place for workouts.[13] But that’s what they’re for: workouts. Not every day running! The surface is forgiving like hard-packed dirt or a very firm golf course. But while the surface is great, the turns are what makes a track not ideal for everyday training. By doing all of your running on a track, you’re constantly turning left and setting yourself up for muscle imbalances. You’re better off running somewhere where the turns are varied so you expose yourself to different stresses instead of the same thing over and over again. That’s how overuse injuries happen. Tracks are for faster workouts, not easy distance runs. WHAT SURFACE SHOULD YOU RUN ON? Your training would ideally be a combination of all of the surfaces that are available to you. Exposing your body to as much variety as possible will give you a better chance at preventing injury since you’re not doing the same thing over and over again. The few types of running surfaces that lend themselves to more frequent training are:
The footing is sure and the surface isn’t too soft or firm. Limit your running on concrete and technical trails because of the injury risk. Most sidewalks are made from concrete and are incredibly hard. Throw a tennis ball on one to see for yourself—it’ll shoot right up into the air because of the returned energy. Those same forces are being returned into your legs when you run on them. Technical trails present a different challenge: roots, streams, rocks, and uneven terrain. Run sparingly! A good strategy to use when deciding where to run is to figure out how your body feels. If you’re sore or have a tender muscle, run on a softer surface. A dirt trail or well-manicured field will help you recover better than the roads. But if you’re doing a workout, you want to avoid technical trails or a concrete sidewalk. Pick the track, a clear dirt trail, or a road without a severe camber. Will Running Help Me Lose Weight? (Make Sure You Like Running!)When people tell me they’re going to start a running routine, I always ask: “Great! Do you enjoy running?” If the answer is “No, not really” then I’d say, “Interesting. Then….why running?” Most people think running = weight loss. If you’re brand new to health and fitness, and you’re trying to lose weight, you’re most likely overwhelmed at what you should start with and how you should train. So let’s answer the question “will running help me lose weight?” Maybe! Running will help you lose weight if you do two things:
Running won’t help you lose weight if you do two things:
As sexy as it is to think that just going for a run will help you lose weight, the data doesn’t back it up. Time Magazine rightly pointed this out years ago, and got yelled at for telling the truth, that exercise alone won’t make you lose weight.[2] I believe that to be especially true when exercise is only steady-speed cardio. In fact, many people gain weight after starting an exercise routine and get completely demoralized. What gives? As we say here at Nerd Fitness, you can’t outrun your fork, and nutrition is 90% of the battle. If you go for a mile run and then stuff your face with extra calories “because you earned it,” you’re going to gain weight. It’s not because you have a slow metabolism, I promise. It’s because you’re consuming too many calories. This is a common mistake: not fixing your nutrition if you’re running for weight loss! If this were a movie, nutrition would be Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible and exercise is that funny sidekick who helps Tom. Let’s be real here, Tom is doing all of the heavy lifting to make that movie what it is. While exercise is important for health, it doesn’t have to be running. It can come from activities you DO enjoy:
Whatever… Now, if you answer the question “do you even like running?” with something like:
…then we can continue the conversation! The perfect place to continue the conversation? Our new app! We have an adventure that takes all the information in this guide and provides it with actionable steps (hehe) for you to get up and running. No more “am I doing it right?” just follow the app and know you’re training correctly. You can sign-up for a free trial right here: How Do I Start Running? (Next Steps)Once you get comfortable running around your neighborhood or park, you can start thinking about taking it to the next level. Have you ever thought about running a race? They can be a lot of fun! Here’s a clip from a race years ago where I dressed up like a Caveman with 20 of my friends and raised thousands of dollars for kids with cancer to go to summer camp! If you want to learn how to get started, make sure you check out our article “Couch to 5K.” We cover the popular program and give our take on running your first race. Just make sure you don’t make these 5k mistakes: If you want even more guidance on long-distance running, I’ll point you again to my buddy Jason Fitzgerald’s wonderful site Strength Running. I reach out to Jason whenever I need advice on proper running (including the tips found in this post). You can also check out this interview I did with Jason, where we discuss running, proper diet, and Star Wars. There’s some overlap… Alright, I think you’re ready to lace up and head out the door! Want a little more help getting going? A slight nudge to get you out of the door? Here are my top recommendations for next steps: #1) We have a bunch of NF Coaching clients that love to get outside and run! If you want step-by-step guidance on how to lose weight, eat better, and learn to run properly, check out our killer 1-on-1 coaching program: #2) If you need a trigger to “get up and run” check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally). Try your free trial right here: #3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion. Sign up in the box below to enlist and get the Nerd Fitness Starter Kit, including the 15 fitness mistakes you don’t want to make and our guide to the most effective diet and why it works
Get Your FREE Nerd Fitness Resource Kit
Now, your turn! Are you an avid runner? Do you have any tips for Rebels just lacing up? Or are you like me, and only run when something is chasing you? Let us know in the comments! -Steve PS: don’t forget to check out the rest of our running content!
### Photo Source: Man on Dirt Road, Asphalt, Sidewalk, Grass Field, Gravel Trail, Hiking Trail, Track, Flash, Delivery, Decathlon, Fireman, Sonic, My Slowest Friend, Kristina Alexanderson: Lego in Shoe, Runner GIF Source: Liam “Why”, Homer running, Mission Impossible, Parks and Rec, Homer Hospital, Eric Hospital, Elaine, Dog Golf Course, Trail Running, Walking Man.
Footnotes ( returns to text)
The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness. via https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/running-properly/ |
About UsFitness News For All is dedicated to share latest fitness news and tips. ArchivesNo Archives Categories |