What are some thoughts that come to mind when you think of the holidays? Festive, merry, and joyous? Some other ones that may come to mind are busy, stressful, and exhausting…
Yes, the holiday season can be a wonderful and nostalgic time of year, but for some it can also be difficult and feel stressful. One of the best things you can do to manage your stress and energy during the upcoming holiday season is exercise. Maintaining consistency during the holidays can help you feel better physically and mentally, as well as set a positive tone going into the new year.
The holiday season comes on hard and fast; by November 2 Starbucks already has their red cups out and we are hearing Mariah Carey everywhere! It can feel overwhelming on top of the increase of social obligations and financial strain. When you get busy and you feel overwhelmed, your routine is the first thing to go.
However, a big part of feeling overwhelmed comes from NOT having a routine. Your brain works on a loop, it likes repetition and order. Maintaining a workout routine during the holiday season can actually help you feel in control! It provides structure to your day and gives your brain and body a break. The release of endorphins from your workout can help boost your energy and mood for the rest of the day, so you can actually feel joyous during the holiday season. Do you want to be consistent in your training, but feel like you don’t have the time to commit to it? Try this 14-day workout program; the workouts are 30 minutes long and are designed to be done anywhere! Get a kickstartin your workout routine!
Maintaining your training schedule becomes even more crucial when your social calendar starts filling up. This is when you need to consider prioritizing the thing that gives you energy, boosts your mood, and controls your mental wellbeing. Are you using your time wisely during the day? How much of it is spent checking emails, on social media, or watching tv? Finding 3 hours in your week to maintain a workout routine is only 2.6% of your waking hours, that seems pretty reasonable doesn’t it? Working out at the same time, on the same day, every week creates that repetition that your brain loves. It makes it easier to maintain your routine and provides structure for the rest of your life. You won’t run out of time to workout when it is built into your day-to-day.
It is common to increase negative self-talk when you fall out of routine. The holiday’s can be emotional for some people and bring up insecurities, or guilt around over indulging. Coach Sarah has debunked 3 common nutrition myths to help you decrease guilt around food. Feeling strong during the holidays can positively impact your self-image, which can be particularly important for maintaining a positive mindset. Your workouts should not be about how you look before or after, but how they make you feel. Staying committed to your fitness routine can boost your self-esteem and body confidence. Learn more about positive body dialogue here.
The Strong Academy Holiday program allows you to commit to 8 or 12 sessions between December 18th ad January 12th, with the flexibility of booking the day and time that work best for you! This holiday season give yourself the gift of consistency, so you can feel confident, energized, and stronger going into the New Year. Buy your session now!
In a world where you spend the majority of your day in a static position, whether it is hours in front of a computer or extended periods of standing, it is important to train for function and longevity. This is where the deadlift comes in. The deadlift is a compound movement that activates the posterior chain, which is the group of muscles and connective tissue along the back of your body. The posterior chain plays a vital role in all lifting, carrying, bending and jumping movements. The best thing you can do for the longevity of your body is to ensure your posterior chain is STRONG.
TRAIN FOR LONGEVITY, TRAIN THE DEADLIFT
As you age, you experience something called spine degeneration. The pressure of gravity begins to compress the spine, which can limit your flexibility and movement over time. Static positions, like long periods of sitting and standing, can accelerate this process. Developing the muscles in your back and along your spine is crucial to combat sitting posture and protect your spine as you age. A deadlift targets almost all back muscles, including the muscles along the spine, the hamstrings, and the glutes – another muscle that plays a big role in training for longevity. Although the glutes are the biggest muscle in the body, they tend to be the most underdeveloped for the same reason of prolonged sitting. Yes, I am sure you like training your glutes and you are always striving for that instagram booty, but training for functionality is different from training for appearance. When you train for function, your goal is to train the action of the muscle – mimicking what your muscles do in everyday life. The deadlift is amazing for glutes, because it trains the action of hip extension through a functional movement pattern. Here is a visual of this from Coach Sarah.
Your glutes are working every time you extend your hip, every time you sit and stand, walk, jump, step, bend over and pick something up – movement patterns that you are doing continuously throughout your day and most likely want to keep doing for the rest of your life. Longevity means having a strong back and strong glutes. Longevity means heavy deadlifts in your training. Are you curious about what weight to choose for your deadlift? This post from Coach Jacq can help!
NO MORE LOW BACK PAIN
Now what about low back pain? The coaches at All Day Fit commonly hear people experiencing low back pain during their deadlifts. Is this you?
It is not just enough to know how to pick the appropriate weight for your deadlift. If you want to progress and continuously get stronger, you need to ensure you are performing your deadlift properly. The right cues can help you build that mind-body connection and help you activate the appropriate muscles for the exercise you are doing. You can learn founder Cassie Day’s favorite cues to help eliminate back pain in your deadlifts right now!
When you deadlift with the proper load and technique, it can actually help reduce back pain in the future. If you haven’t picked up on this yet, deadlifts help combat the negative impacts of prolonged sitting. After a long day at the office, do you typically have tight hips, tense shoulders, and low back pain? Deadlifts help strengthen the muscles that are most affected by your sitting posture. When you have strong back muscles, they will be more resistant to rounded shoulders. When you train your glutes for their action, they will be working in your everyday movement and help to reduce low back pain and tight hips. It almost sounds too good to be true, but the deadlift might just change your life!
Do you want to learn more about strengthening your deadlift? Join our upcoming workshop, where an ADF Coach will assess your deadlift form and teach you the appropriate warm up and activation your muscles need. You will also go through a series of deadlifts with a Coach to help you learn the proper technique and determine the appropriate load! Will we see you there?!