How Much Cardio Is Too Much?

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Running, biking and other aerobic exercise help improve your health and fitness. Find out just how much aerobic exercise is right for you and how much cardio is too much.

Hi friends! How’s the morning going?? I hope you’re having a wonderful week. For today’s post, I updated an older *beefy* one with lots of fitness tips. If you’re wondering about how much cardio to do and need help with your routine, join us for Fit Team!

I frequently get variations of the same question. What is my weight loss goal? What cardio exercises should I do? What is a *good* amount of cardio I can do without losing muscle? What’s the bare minimum?

But what the core of each of those questions is ultimately asking is: How much cardio is too much?

Let me dust off my cardio queen badge and tell you a long tale.

How Much Cardio Is Too Much?

The Tale of the Cardio Queen

Back in the day, I thought cardio was the “end all be all” of health, fitness, and (what my goal was at the time) losing weight. I figured that more was better as far as cardio exercises go. Little did I know, I was burning my precious muscle away as I pounded the treadmill and was striding along on the elliptical.

It’s equally tragic and amusing to consider the amount of time I spent doing cardio, thinking I was throwing myself a solid to only later find out that it was overkill. I cardio-ed my little heart out, and there was a time when I was going an hour +, almost every day of the week. I was doing way too much cardio at high intensity. (This is also when I screwed up my me

10 frequently-asked fitness questions and their answers

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Do you have a question about fitness? Sharing a post with some of the questions I commonly receive about fitness with their answers. Please keep in mind that while I’m a certified personal trainer, women’s fitness specialist, Integrative Health Practitioner, and P1 Nutrition Coach, I’m not a doctor or Registered Dietitian. If you have specific health considerations, please reach out to a local health professional for guidance. 

Hi friends! Hope you’re having a wonderful day. For today’s post, I wanted to re-share this updated post with some frequently-asked fitness questions and their answers. These are the types of questions I receive from clients all of the time, and many of these questions I also had myself when I was first getting started in the fitness world.
If you have any burning fitness questions, please leave them in the comments below!

10 frequently-asked fitness questions and their answers

1. How much cardio should I be doing?

The answer to many of the questions on this list, including this one, is “it depends.” I know. It’s frustrating to hear that answer, but I’ll break down WHY and hopefully this will help you determine the best method for your unique body.
With cardio, the amount you’re doing depends on a lot of different factors: your current activity level, your goals, and how hard you’re working. If you’re currently sedentary, general recommendations of around 150 minutes of moderate cardio each week (about 30 minutes most days of the day), would be way too much. In that case, you’d start with shorter rounds: 10-15 minutes each day of easy cardio (like walking) and build on from there.
If your goal is strength and lean muscle gains, you don’t want to do too much cardio. No daily long jogs if you want to build muscle, because after a certain point, your body will begin to use protein (aka muscle) as fuel. Many strength training exercises, especially circuit training, can count as cardio if it elevates your heart rate and sustains it. Circuit training also burns more calories during the workout. Many workouts can hit the strength and cardio box in one session and remember that intensity and purpose > duration.
If you are consistently doing high intensity cardio workouts (like HIIT or sprints), you will need less overall cardio time because you’re working harder. Check out this post on how much cardio you should be doing, and how to modify it for your intensity and fitness level.

2. How often shou

What is oil pulling + how to do it

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How I use oil pulling in my routine.

How are ya going friends? I hope you’re having a great morning! We’re back from a quick tip to Phoenix – Liv’s studio CRUSHED IT at competition this weekend! – and into the weekly grind. I have a ton of appts, getting new Fit Team workouts ready to send out tomorrow, and packing for another trip.

After not writing about anything dental-related in multiple years, here were are with two posts in one month! What/s next? Mouthwash reviews? (jk I’m not thaaaaat desperate for content. And I have a favorite mouthwash… it’s the auromére brand from Thrive Market)

Grab a jar of coconut oil and maybe join me for a lil swish while you read this post. I’m going to talk about oil pulling and tongue scraping and why they’re been staples in my routine for years now. I feel like these two habits are currently surging in popularity, so I thought I’d break it all down for ya.

As always, it’s up to you to use your best judgment when deciding your unique health journey. Consult with a medical professional before making any changes. Just wanted to share my experience with these things since I’ve been doing them for a while and have noticed positive effects. 

What is oil pulling? and how do it

What the heck is oil pulling?

Even though it’s currently seeing a resurgence in popularity, oil pulling is a technique that has been around for thousands of years. This ayurvedic practice involves swishing oil around in your mouth for up to 20 minutes in order to facilitate detoxification, healthy gums and teeth, and aid in digestion. The toxins and plaque are believed to adhere to the oil, and when you spit it out, all of the “ick” goes down the drain with it. It’s also believed to improve mouth muscular strength, balance hormones, improve arthritis symptoms, mood, and assist in preventing dementia.

How do you oil pull?

You take about a teaspoon of vegetable-based oil (sesame, coconut and olive all work well) and swish it in your mouth with the goal of 15-20 minutes. The first time I tried this, I only lasted six, but now it’s easy for me to get in 15 minutes while I get dressed and ready for the day. After swishing around, spit and rinse. A little tip: don’t spit the oil down the sink as it will solidify and could cause plumbing problems. Spit it into the trash can or flush it down the toilet. Also be sure not to swallow the oil after swishing… it’s pretty liquid-y and gross by the end.

Benefits of oil pulling:

There are only a handful of studies regarding oil pulling, but it has been shown to reduce plaque, gingivitis and the total count of aerobic microorganisms in the plaque of study participants. It can also reduce halitosis, and I definitely notice that my breath smells fresh after oil pulling, especially when I wake up the next morning.

It feels great. My teeth always feel shiny and clean after oil pulling, and recently a friend asked why my teeth were so white. Even though the coffee and wine I drink stains them, I think it helps reduce the stains. (Baking soda helps, too!

An Overview on Taking Creatine

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This post is sponsored by my friends at NOW Foods and they have so many amazing products, including my fave creatine, on their site. Use FITNESSISTA for 20% off. Also this is a friendly reminder that this post is not medical information and not intended to prevent, treat, cure, or diagnose any illness. Always talk with your doctor before adding new supplements into your rotation. 

Hi friends! How’s the day treating you so far? I hope you’re having a wonderful morning. For today’s post, I’m chatting about a huge reader’s request topic and one of my favorite supplements: creatine!

Creatine is often taken by athletes and bodybuilders to improve their performance, but it is also consumed by older adults and vegetarians for health purposes. Not everyone knows the right way to take creatine, how it works, or what needs to be considered before adding it into a supplement routine.

In today’s post, I’m sharing a guide that can provide some education and help with informed choices when it comes to taking creatine, depending on the purpose that it’s intended to be used. Friendly reminder that your doctor will help you decide if adding creatine is a good choice.

An Overview on Taking Creatine

Creatine is a supplement that can be taken as powder or liquid, before or after a workout. I prefer to take it as a post-workout, but the thing with creatine is that you need to take it consistently to see and feel a difference. 

What Is Creatine

Creatine is an amino acid that is stored predominantly in muscle cells, with a small percentage in our brain, kidneys, and liver. You can get creatine in your diet from animal-based products, such as seafood and meat. This is why vegetarians and vegans will likely have lower creatine stores than omnivores and can often benefit from supplementation. Since creatine can be used for energy production for heavy lifting workouts and high-intensity training, it’s often used for performance enhancement.* Your body naturally produces 1-2g of creatine per day in the liver and pancreas.

Creatine is widely studied, easy to find, and inexpensive. My favorite creatine can be found here!

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How to Make and Flavor Kombucha at Home

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Sharing tips on how to make and flavor your own kombucha at home!

Hi friends! Hope you’re having a lovely morning! This week is a bit bonkers and we’re enjoying time with some friends who are here from Florida! I’ll be back on Friday with some faves, but in the meantime, here’s a post from the archives. If you’re curious about making your own kombucha at home, here’s the full how-to!

So, it FINALLY HAPPENED.

homemade kombucha

After about a year (maybe a little longer?) of inconsistently making kombucha at home, I finally made some that tastes even better than store-bought stuff.

Orange Cranberry Ginger Homemade Kombucha

Orange Cranberry Ginger Homemade Kombucha

It was getting really close, and I was happy with the flavor combos I’d tried, but it was always a little too tangy, too sweet, not fizzy enough, etc.

After quite a bit of experimentation, I got the result I’d been searching for; it was a glorious moment indeed. A warm embrace was shared with the kombucha jar before holding the scoby in the air like a baby Simba while singing a celebratory chant.

(Ok, just in my mind.)

Tips on How to Make Kombucha at Home

-I followed the steps in this post, but will outline them again, updated with the current techniques.

1) The quality of the scoby (the starter bacteria that looks like a flat, opaque gummy disk) makes all the difference in the world. I got an awesome scoby from Amazon, but I’ve also ordered a dud that ended up molding. (A little tidbit about mold: a lot of people are rightfully fearful about making moldy or bad kombucha. If the batch is bad, it’s an obvious thing. You will know it’s bad just by looking at it. The scoby will have blue or greenish patches on it, and well, it will look like mold. Don’t drink it; throw it away to start over.) The scoby I picked up from the farmer’s market in Ocean Beach is a BEAST.

(I got a bottle from the farmer’s market, filled with scoby strands and starter tea. To say I was skeptical would be an understatement. Shame on me.)

I’ve made multiple batches with said amazing scoby and also gave one to Whitney; she now has a full-up scoby hotel.

I like ‘em thick.

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