Okay, let’s talk about bedtime stretches and moving your body!

When I was cleared to work out after Liv’s birth, I couldn’t wait to get back into sweaty interval training. Finding my personal max and soaked in sweat sounded like a dream to me. After P’s birth, I couldn’t wait to Orangetheory and Spin again. (Hopefully, I’ll be back at OTF in the next few weeks as my hand gets stronger!)

After my most recent hiatus, I had one thing on my mind: yoga.

Yogaaaaaaa.

I was craving a fiercely heated room, finding my way into familiar poses, and soaking it all in during savasana. I still haven’t been able to take a class -push-up and plank feel great but I’m not quite ready for a full practice- but I’ve been incorporating bits of yoga into my daily life. Maybe it’s a reminder to stay in the present moment (instead of rushing through the “what-ifs” in my brain), or a few deep breaths to center myself. It might be a quick flow with Liv (she’s a big yoga fan), or a simple stretching routine before bed.

This is the perfect way to wind down after a long day. It only takes a few minutes to stretch your muscles, become mindful of your breath, and ease your way into sleep. I find that setting a timer for 5 minutes to stretch and breathe helps me fall asleep faster, and as an added bonus, I’ll tack on 5-10 minutes of meditation. Afterwards I feel peaceful, centered, and ready to crash out. Works literally every. single. time.

5-Minute Bedtime Stretches  for Relaxation

1) Seated Cat/Cow

Start in a comfortable seat with your legs crossed and hands on your knees. As you inhale, fill your belly, and arch your back, bringing your chest forward. As you exhale, draw your belly in and round your spine. Repeat 5 times, taking long, e

Hey hey hey! How’s your day going?? It’s been a wild week over here but all is well.

For today’s post, I wanted to talk about cardio dilemmas, and what type of cardio to do after weight training sessions. I feel like there’s a lot of confusion about this, and one of the things that hinders people from doing solo cardio is the fact that they don’t know what to do. It’s SO MUCH EASIER to get it done if you have a plan in place.

What Types Of Cardio Strength Training To Do After Strength Training

Why do we need cardio? How much cardio should we get in each week??

Cardio (also known as cardiovascular exercise) is not only an effective method to burn fat, build endurance, and increase speed, but it’s also obviously important for heart health and helps build muscle mass. Cardio consists of anything that keeps our heart rate elevated for a sustained amount of time. From this website: “Building cardiorespiratory endurance through regular physical activity allows your heart and lungs to work more efficiently, thereby improving your physical capacity to deal with stress and lowering your risk factors for several chronic diseases. Regular physical activity helps control obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol — with a net result of cutting your heart disease risk almost in half, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. By providing weight control, regular exercise also cuts your risk factors for developing Type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. Additionally, building cardiorespiratory endurance benefits mental health by providing a buffer against anxiety and depression.”

There are so many cardio methods in the fitness ocean, but I like to break them down into 5 main categories:

-Steady-state

-Tempo work

-Hill/resistance work

-HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training)

-Active recovery or NEAT (Non-exercise Activity Thermogenesis, or what I refer to as “unintentional exercise,” like gardening, vacuuming, walking the dogs, cleaning, etc.)

According to NASM, we need at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardiorespiratory exercise, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity, or a combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity exercise per week. The weekly recommendation for resistance training is 2 or more times a week with exercises for all the major muscle groups (minimum of 1 set of 8-12 repetitions for each muscle group). Flexibility and neuromotor exercises (balance, agility, coordination) are also recommended at least twice per week.

Why we should alternate cardio intensities:

It is SO important to not only vary the mode of exercise you do but the intensity of the workload.

The body is a smart machine and gets used to the same demands over time. For example, if you hike a strenuous trail for the first time, chances are that your heart rate will be elevated, your legs will be sore, and you’ll burn a ton of calories. If you begin to hike that same trail, every day, for weeks on end, you may find that it starts to feel easy. Your heart rate isn’t as elevated, it doesn’t feel challenging to you, and you burn fewer calories. Also, maybe you begin to feel a nagging pain in the outer part of your knees from the slight tilt of the trail to one side.

When we

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

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. 

10 frequently-asked fitness questions and their answers

1. How much cardio should I be doing?

2. How often shou

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!