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How To Get Back In The Gym After A Break

woman getting back in the gym

For one reason or another, you took time off working out. You might be looking to get back in the gym after lockdown, getting busy with work, recovering from an injury, or any other reason.

First of all, congratulations! It’s great that you’re ready to get your fitness back on track. However, don’t be overzealous. It can be tempting to go really hard to make up for lost time, but this can lead to burnout and injury.

In this post, we have some key pointers for getting your mind and body back into the workout grind safely and sustainably. If you use these tips, you’ll be able to start working out again in a way that’s positive for your long-term plan.

When you get back in the gym, expect a change in ability

No matter if you used to be a weightlifter, a CrossFitter, a cardio lover or whatever else, you should remember that your physical ability will have suffered. Don’t feel bad about this – it’s normal! 

But, it is important to keep in mind when making a new plan. If you jump straight back into the same workouts you used to do, you may overexert yourself and get injured. Or, you might not be able to perform like you used to and get frustrated. Make sure to start working out again in a sustainable way, so you don’t burn out.

Be patient and take it slow

Take some time to think about your old workout plan, and how you can scale it back. It’s important to set yourself up for success. This means thinking about keeping it sustainable.

Think about your previous high intensity workouts. A good rule of thumb is to start working out again at 20 percent of the intensity of your hardest workouts.

If you had to take time off from exercise because of an injury or illness, check in with your doctor before getting started.

Plan your workout with exercises you enjoy

You’ll be far more motivated to get back in the gym if you’ve got a killer workout plan. When you’re getting back into the swing of things, try to keep it simple. Get back to the basics, and focus on your functional movements. There are many great resources online to inspire you.

Create a workout plan with two to four heavy compound lifts at the start. From there, you can be flexible. Work in some isolation lifts, cardio, bodyweight exercises, or anything you want.

Many people like to ease themselves back into exercising with group fitness classes, such as CrossFit. You could also opt for a game of soccer, tennis, basketball or any sport of your choosing with friends. 

Expect to be sore when you get back in the gym

Every fitness junkie has had a bad case of DOMS at some point. DOMS stands for delayed onset muscle soreness. When you do any kind of resistance training, it causes tiny tears in your muscle fibers. This is why you feel sore after a workout, particularly after your first session in a while.

After you get back in the gym, you should expect some muscle soreness. However, you can minimize it by warming up, drinking enough water and applying ice to the affected muscles after the workout.

Don’t let your sore muscles put you off too much. And luckily, the more often you go, the less noticeable your DOMS will be.

Set (healthy) goals

Getting back in the gym can seem a bit daunting. Setting yourself some goals can help you measure your progress and boost your motivation as you smash through them.

When you set goals for yourself, remember the SMART acronym. A goal should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-based. When you reach a goal, reward yourself with some new workout gear, or anything else you like!

At the end of the day, getting back in the gym should be fun. If you take it slow and manage your expectations, this will help you ease back into the lifestyle. Before you know it, you’ll be back where you left things – or better than ever!

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What’s The Hardest Part Of Getting Fit?

the hardest part of getting fit lifting weights

Don’t get us wrong, getting fit is awesome. You feel great and you have lots of energy. You’re healthy – your bones and muscles are strong. Your body looks amazing and you feel confident. Maybe you get a little more attention from the opposite sex than you used to! Going to the gym is satisfying and makes you feel accomplished. Yep, getting fit is a rewarding process with so many benefits.

However, we can acknowledge that you’ll run into some challenges on your fitness journey. In this post, we’re going to acknowledge some of the most common issues you may face. There are definitely things you can do to deal with them.

You may disagree that some of these things are the hardest part of getting fit. For some people, one aspect is a huge challenge, but for others it’s no problem at all! Remember, everyone’s different.

So, what are the hardest parts of getting fit?

Sticking to a healthy diet

Even if you don’t think diet is the hardest part of getting fit, I’m sure you’ll agree it can be tough to manage. If you’re bulking, it can be hard to force yourself to eat enough. If you’re cutting, you’ll have the opposite problem. It can be hard to say no to your favorite snacks. So what can you do? 

  • Learn to cook. It’s so much easier and cheaper to eat healthy when you make the meals yourself. Plus, cooking for yourself makes you feel accomplished. Being familiar with spice blends and seasoning makes a huge difference to how your food tastes. Look up some recipes and spend some quality time getting to know your kitchen.
  • Meal prep. After a long day, who wants to spend time cooking up sweet potato and chicken when you could just get fast food on the way home? You can beat this problem by cooking meals in advance and storing them in the fridge. This makes it easy to just grab something healthy at dinner time. There are so many great meal prepping resources to explore online.
  • Eat healthy foods that you like. Try lots of foods, and ditch the ones that you think are gross. Just because everyone at your gym seems to eat oatmeal every day, you don’t necessarily have to jump on that train. There are so many amazing healthy foods, just be open minded and find ones you actually enjoy eating!

Motivation and discipline

Many people find maintaining motivation to be the hardest part of getting fit. Maybe you finish a long day of work and you just can’t face the idea of going to the gym. Living a sedentary lifestyle wasn’t so bad, right? Right? To overcome issues with motivation, try to:

  • Do fun workouts. No one’s going to feel motivated to do something they hate. Ditch the thirty minutes of running on a treadmill. Replace it with fun lifts you love, high intensity and varied cardio workouts, or social sports with your friends.
  • Try group fitness classes. Group fitness classes, such as CrossFit, usually have a fun and motivated atmosphere. The collective vibe will boost your motivation to new heights.
  • Create a workout schedule and stick to it. If you know in advance that you’re going to the gym and know why you’re going and what you’re doing, you’ll feel far more excited to go. Work in your favorite exercises.

Being patient: waiting to see progress

Wake up, eat a thousand eggs, work yourself to the bone at the gym, drink a protein shake, repeat. Sometimes a fitness journey can feel like you’re working so hard, and for what? 

If you don’t see results or feel like you’re meeting your goals, your motivation can really drop. Many people find patience to be the hardest part of getting fit. Here’s how to stay on track:

  • Set small, short term goals. You’ll be waiting a long time to lose 50 pounds. But, if you set a goal for each 5 pounds, you’ll feel much more satisfied with your progress. Reward each 5 pounds with something such as new workout gear or an item of clothing.
  • Stop comparing yourself to others. It’s human nature to look at others, and this can make us feel discouraged. Try to push these thoughts out of your mind. Everyone has their own path.
  • Take photos of yourself. When your body changes just a little each day, you might not notice. Every month or two, take a few pictures of your body to document your progress. When you look at them, you’ll be surprised at the changes you do see.

Fighting the stereotypes that come with getting fit

Before getting shredded, you would probably never consider this to be the hardest part of getting fit. However, many gym buffs really struggle with the stereotypes they face. Big and muscular people, particularly men, are often assumed to be vain, superficial or even stupid. These assumptions can be hurtful!

To overcome this challenge just remember:

  • People at the gym won’t think this way. Try connecting with other fitness junkies. Be kind to those you meet at the gym, and they’ll be kind to you. Of course they know that there’s far more depth to people at the gym than just caring about working out. 
  • Remember you’re doing this for you. There are so many benefits to fitness that go beyond aesthetics. You’ll be the one laughing when you’re well into old age and in great health and amazing shape.
  • It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. At the end of the day, you know there’s more to you than the gym. If someone assumes you’re vain just because you work on yourself, they aren’t someone you want to associate with anyway!
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Competition Motivation Theory

two volleyball athletes using competition motivation theory passing a ball over a net

Competition motivation theory is the idea that we perform better when we compete with others. Put simply, competition drives results.

Working out alone has pros and cons

Over the last 4-ish years, I’ve done the majority of my daily fitness by myself. I sometimes enjoy this because it is just me, and I can use it to plan my day, consider a topic at hand. It lets me think through a problem I have in life, or go into zen mode.

For most people, working out alone is tough. You have to be very self motivated and highly dedicated. There is no one there to peer pressure you into getting up, or pushing yourself in the workout. 

Being alone makes it easy to back off of the intensity. No one is expecting to see you thrive. And while you may get the time to yourself no one is cheering for you or your accomplishments. It can become very lonesome.

One of the biggest issues training alone is that there is no competition. It is just you, you don’t have anyone to help push you and no one to gauge your pace. 

CrossFit thrives off competition motivation theory

I don’t know if this is true but it makes for a good story. I remember hearing someone talk about something Greg Glassman (founder of CrossFit) said. Supposedly it was something along the lines of, ‘put two people in a room with a clock and a task to complete and they will kill themselves to beat each other.’

I can’t seem to find if he actually said that or not but it brings up a good point. If you want to get better, you need competition. It is one of the reasons CrossFit allows affiliates to open right across the street from each other. The best ones win. 

Healthy competition is good. It helps produce the best results. Many people struggle to stay motivated, and competition really helps.Without competition, results become stagnant and fall to the lowest point allowed.

Competition also drives innovation and new ideas. Why did the butterfly pull up become a thing? It was the innovation of athletes trying to fit in more work in less time, because they wanted to beat their competition.

Use your competitive nature

I love seeing a competitive nature in people, particularly in the gym. I can watch people work out and tell who has it and who doesn’t.  

Some people just move at their pace. It doesn’t matter if they could beat the person next to them or not, they are steadfast in their own pace. I honestly admire these types, I think they are mentally and emotionally strong in a certain sense. They don’t allow others to persuade them easily. It is a trait I find attractive.

Equally as attractive is that push and fight that others show. I am definitely this type. You might be a new athlete scaling every movement and weight while I am doing Rx, I don’t care, I still want to finish before you. 

Watching these types brings me joy. You see the glances at their competition, and then to the clock. You see them pick the pace up. Their faces usually have a pained expression, and they are gasping for breath but they continue to push. Usually, at this point, their competitor is onto them, and they start pushing harder. It soon becomes an all out sprint to the death. This is competition motivation theory in practice.

Luckily, I have yet to see anyone actually die from this. What actually happens is both athletes win. They used each other to push and finish a WOD they may otherwise have backed off of and just gone through the motions to complete. 

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Workout Motivation: Do It Anyway

young muscular woman with workout motivation working out barefoot in the gym holding a kettlebell

We all have those days. The ones where we could find any excuse to not workout. Sometimes it’s basic excuses: I’m tired, I have to work late, I’m sore. Sometimes there are very unique excuses that can try to derail us. If you’re feeling this way, maybe you need some workout motivation to get in the gym and do it anyway.

We have some highly dedicated members at our box. Today’s post is about one member and one particular incident. This member is not the type to make excuses.  In fact she is just the opposite. She simply does not miss a workout.

Last she showed up to her usual 6 am class time at Buffalo Nickel CrossFit. As she came walking in, I noticed she did not have shoes on.  Not just didn’t have CrossFit shoes on…she had no shoes on!

I looked at her with a confused look and she looked at me with a frown. She told me about how she had woken up and her shoes were not in the normal place she puts them. But, she didn’t want to miss class looking for them so she just came anyway in her socks. She asked if she could still workout.

Let me take a moment to explain to you: I LOVE not wearing shoes. I especially love not wearing shoes during workouts. I think it gives you a much better connection to the ground and it makes you slow down and appreciate the movements you’re doing. For a time, I only trained barefoot, and I highly encouraged others to do so. Not many people want to or like to so I usually now just save my breath and only use it as a cue to help with exercises such as deadlifts, squats, and running.

Anyway, back to this shoeless member. She was afraid I would say she could not workout since she did not have shoes. Well, little did this member know I was a strong supporter of working out without shoes. So I responded, yes of course. I told her how much I loved it, what to be careful of in that day’s WOD since she was not wearing shoes, and so forth.

Usually when most people workout barefoot they are overly cautious in their movements. They almost don’t get a good intense workout because they are too focused on being barefoot. But she was flying!

While she was working out, I was thinking wow, she really does not allow any excuse to get in the way of her daily workout. I just thought it was a great lesson.

Hopefully her story is great workout motivation for you

Excuses will pop up. They might be the regular basic excuses or they might be off the wall wild excuses. The important thing is to do it anyway. Make no excuses and hold onto your workout motivation.

The excuse doesn’t matter. What matters is if you let the excuse stand in your way or not.

So get out of bed when you are tired. Don’t let working late keep you from your health and fitness. Use your circle of support to keep you motivated. And if you forget your shoes, workout anyway.

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How To Improve Weaknesses

man wearing hardness knows how to improve weaknesses by climbing a big cliff

We all have certain areas of strength! But, we also have certain areas or traits that we feel are our weaknesses. Becoming better at our strengths is easy. Generally people like and enjoy things they learn or can do easily. Therefore it is fun. Most people will unknowingly concentrate on their strengths. It’s important to know how to improve weaknesses. However, many people leave their weak areas by the wayside or work on them with minimal effort. 

I am all for trying to improve every avenue of oneself. I also believe there are certain times where improvement only takes you so far. And while you may never be great at your weakness, you can improve and fight to become better.

Of course most people know that how to improve weaknesses is to work hard at them. The more you practice the better you become. 

But is that it? Does it only come down to going through the motions over and over, and magically you will become better? I think it takes a little more self reflection, open-mindedness, and understanding than physical repetitions. 

So, here are some of the mindset changes that need to take place in order to move something from the ‘weakness’ column to the ‘strength’ column.

Change your mindset about how to improve weaknesses

Call it “focus work” instead of “weakness improvement”.

Simply by changing the way your mind thinks and speaks to itself is a great start. It makes it easier to accomplish the tasks at hand that you might not be thrilled about doing.

The word “weakness” implies that you’re bad at something. If you’re bad at something there is a good chance that you don’t want to do it. By switching to a mindset of opportunity you give yourself the chance for growth. 

Do I want to mow the yard? No. But do I want to get better at weed-eating? Yes. So instead of thinking I ‘have’ to do something, now I ‘get’ to do something.

Change your mind, and you will change yourself.

Expose, experience, and learn

A while back I was reading about kids and why physical playing is an important part of a child’s development. Due to an increase in personal electronic technology recently, researchers believe things like coordination, problem solving, balance, athletic ability, physical strength, and immune health have and will continue to suffer in children.  

It is hypothesized that the more situations and scenarios a young growing mind and body are exposed to, the more understanding and comprehension the mind and body retain. And here is the crazy part, the researchers even believe that this goes for situations and events that the individual has not been exposed to yet.

Basically, when you expose yourself to situations that require you to think through/fix a problem, then you are laying a solid base for when you come up against a new problem or issue.

I like to picture someone standing on the ground looking up at a second story deck that has no stairs. If all they have done the first 15 years of their life is look at a screen and push buttons how able are they to get to that second story? They aren’t! 

But each and every experience they have growing up; no matter how large or small, learning how to ride a bike, reading and doing book reports, playing hide-and-seek with friends, or being taught how to build a fire, act as building blocks that now gives them the knowledge and self confidence to get to that second story deck. They may not know how to build a ladder or stairs, but they know they can learn, or they will problem solve until they reach that second story.

The more you do, the less intimidating new experiences are. 

Understand how to improve weaknesses 

Be clear in your understanding of self.  I, for one, am not great (or even good) at anything musical. I know this and I don’t have a delusional point of view that tells me otherwise. Being able to identify an area you are weak at is important. This is because if you don’t know where to focus your effort you are flying blind.

To get to point B from point A, first you have to know where point B is in relation to point A. If you don’t know you are just guessing, and while you might get lucky there is a much better chance you won’t even get close! 

Find the areas you are not strong at. Have enough of an open mind and enough knowledge of self to realize you aren’t amazing at everything. If you do think that, you are delusional and should go seek professional help. It’s far better to have an understanding of your flaws and how to improve weaknesses.

Keep your goals insight

What are your goals? Do you want to become the best at something? Do you just want to learn for the sake of learning? Do you want to just become better at a subject so you can have an understanding when friends discuss it in front of you? Whatever level you want to reach, try writing down your goals. Writing down your goals can be a great way to remind yourself why you are working so hard.

We discussed how people don’t enjoy working on weaknesses. It is usually a struggle to make yourself do it. By writing down a goal, or goals, that you have can help inspire and reinvigorate you to push towards them. 

Motivation is key, but can quickly fail us, especially if you don’t see much progress. Keeping your written goals in a place you see everyday will remind you to not only work on improving, but why you are doing it.

We want to know your goals.  Who knows maybe we can help you accomplish them!  Feel free to comment and tell us what your goals are. 

By Nate Cordray and David Gionta

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5 Tips for CrossFit Workout Recovery

woman in workout clothes doing tips for crossfit workout recovery in a park

Have you recently gotten started on a journey to health and fitness? Have you just started doing CrossFit for the first time? If so, you probably are surprised at the newfound level of “pain” after your workouts! You’ll be in serious need of tips for CrossFit workout recovery.

When I talk about pain, I don’t mean crippling pain. I mean that kind of muscle soreness that comes from an intense workout. When someone is just getting started with their fitness, it’s common to use “pain” as a reason to skip workouts. The problem with that idea comes when one missed workout turns into two. Then that turns into three, and then four, eventually wrecking your fitness goals.

So, you should learn to deal with the soreness. How do you deal with it, stay on track and reach those goals? Here are five tips for CrossFit workout recovery to help you get to those results you want.

1. The best tip for CrossFit workout recovery: go to class  

The absolute best thing you can do when you’re sore is to keep going to class. By continuing to work out, you will keep your muscles moving. This actually prevents stiffness.  

When you get to class, let your coach know how you’re feeling and talk about possibly lowering the intensity of your workout. Choosing to lower the intensity will keep you moving and keep you on track towards those goals while minimizing the risk of injury.

2. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!

It’s super easy to drink a ton of water while you’re dripping in sweat but the real challenge comes when you get home.

There are a lot of formulas out there that can help you figure out exactly how much water you need to drink daily, in order to optimize your workouts. 

However, one of the easiest ways to monitor that hydration is to pay attention to your urine. When you use the restroom, your urine resembles the color of lemonade. If it’s any darker, then it means you may be dehydrated. If it’s too clear, it could mean over-hydration.

3. Eat lots of whole foods and lean protein

As easy as it is to grab a protein shake while you’re on the go, it should not be used in lieu of actual food. You are helping your body to heal itself, and the soreness, when you choose to eat clean, whole foods. 

Consuming the proper ratio of protein, carbohydrates and fat will help you to build lean muscle. You’ll quickly see the results you’re working towards. Your diet is so important to your progress.

4. Zzzzzzzzzz…. 

You may not believe this, but one of the best tips for CrossFit workout recovery is sleeping! Your muscle fibers tear down during your workout. During sleep, they repair themselves.

On top of keeping muscle soreness at bay, a good night’s sleep will also help you train harder the next day!

It’s important to note that not all sleep is created equal. Napping throughout the day, falling asleep to the TV, and alcohol induced sleep will not adequately provide you with the peaceful, natural sleep that you need.

5. Post CrossFit workout recovery products

There are some great and some not so great workout recovery products out there. When choosing, go for a product that helps replenish electrolytes and essential nutrients so that the body can recover and repair itself. 

If you are wondering what a great product option would be, or what nutrients you need and don’t need, have a conversation with your coach the next time you’re at the gym.  

Why workout recovery is key

With all of that being said, you should push yourself at the gym and train hard. But what you do after you leave the gym is also very important.

When you aim for great recovery between workouts, you will see the results you want in a shorter time and help reduce that awful soreness.

So now that you have tips to follow for really great recovery, go hard on that next workout!

By Kari Reed

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Digging Deep For Mental Fortitude

woman working on mental fortitude through exercise in park

Mental fortitude: this is the mental and emotional strength when we’re facing a difficult or adverse situation. It’s a strength of mind that allows a person to encounter danger or bear pain with courage.

Gaining and maintaining mental fortitude is just as important as physical fortitude. For the majority of people, life will require more non-voluntary mental fortitude than it will physical. Most of us are not placed in a dangerous situation that demands us to physically rise to a courageous level.

But I think you could argue just the opposite for mental/emotional situations. In life all of us will deal with experiences where mental fortitude is needed. The death of a loved one, a person teases us and makes us upset, our commute to and from work. These are just some examples. 

Just like we gain physical fortitude with exericse, we can develop our mental fortitude the same way.

Mental fortitude and working out

There are certain workouts (not your typical bro-sesh) that push you to a different realm. This realm isn’t so much a physical place as it is a mental one. It’s known a few different ways: the pain cave, happy place, or sometimes referenced with the comment embrace the suck.  

If you have ever been on an athletic team or had to go through military or first responder training then there is a good chance you have entered this world.  

This happy place is a requirement for these types of people. They are expected to do more than the average human. So, they must be pushed into the pain cave to find out just how strong they are. This is one reason why some people from these careers and lifestyles are so inspirational. It’s as though nothing rattles their cage. That’s a trait we all want. 

But did you know that going through an intense workout does the exact same thing for all of us normal people too? Going to that pain cave and forcing yourself to push past those limits you are uncomfortable with helps to build your mental fortitude.

How does it help me – the average person?

For that question let’s use one of my favorite benchmark WODs: Karen. For those who don’t know, Karen is 150 wall balls for time. 

This means that 150 times, you take a medicine ball that weighs between 14 and 20 pounds, hold it in front of you, squat down and up. As you come up, you throw it to a 9 or 10 foot target. The goal is to catch it on the way back down. This feeds you into your next rep.

If you have never done it, just looking at it on paper is enough to make you sweat. But after you do it you realize, sure, it was awful – but you survived. The more you do it, the faster your times get and the easier it becomes. So let’s break that down.

You gain a successful view of yourself

You go from thinking wow, that’s a lot of reps, I don’t know if I can finish to wow that’s a lot of reps, I can’t believe I finished that.  Eventually, you get to ok 150, here is my game plan for doing that. You start to see that you are successful at completing it and that starts to build a positive self image.

You start setting goals

Maybe you do it on purpose, or maybe you don’t even notice. The first time I did Karen my goal was just be able to finish. After that it was to get a faster time than I did last time. My next goal was to take as few breaks as possible. I was shooting for a break after 50 unbroken reps. Then it was to try to get 75 unbroken reps. Now I try to get 100 unbroken reps. I’m still trying to get there.  

Maybe your goals are less formal. They might be more on the spot while you are mid rep. You might decide to do 5 more before taking a break or to go for another 30 seconds. But, you are mentally setting goals for you to achieve which is great.

Visualization

When you do a wall ball, you have to visually picture where you want that ball to go before releasing it. You are visualizing the perfect rep before you even do it. This technique is used by everyone from life coaches, military, CEOs, Olympic athletes and more. They visualize the outcome they want, over and over.

This makes them believe what they want is possible, and then it allows them to reinforce themselves that they can do it. It sounds cheesy but being able to see your target, even if it doesn’t exist yet, allows you to know what direction you need to take your shot. This massively increases your chances of success.

Practice and simulations

Visualizing what you want is awesome because you can do it any time and any place. But eventually you have to put the rubber to the road. 

If you want to get better at a sport you don’t just go scrimmage, you practice specific drills. You use a simulated drill to act out a situation that may come up during the real life thing to help you practice what the proper reaction is.

A good coach won’t allow Karen to be the first wall ball WOD you do. They will give you smaller rep counts and allow you to practice and build up to 150 reps as fast as you can. Maybe your first time you are scaled to 75 reps instead of 150, but a good coach knows this will be enough and it simulates the real deal. It helps prepare you for when you do 100, or 150. And it does so in a way without crushing you, it builds you up, it doesn’t break you down.

We want to know what your pain cave workout is! And tell us how you mentally decide you are going to push through a tough workout.

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CrossFit Classes For Teens

two teenagers at crossfit classes for teens training together in gym

Introducing TeenFit! At Buffalo Nickel CrossFit, we have recently had quite a bit of interest in offering CrossFit classes for teens in Broken Arrow.

Since many sports have been put on hold or entirely cancelled due to COVID-19, there are lots of active teenagers at a loose end. Fitness is an important part of the lives of many teenagers.

So, thank you to all who helped us decide to finally give this a trial run!

What is it?

A CrossFit group class dedicated to teens. Teenagers usually have different training demands and goals than adults. As we put together the program, we will be keeping that in mind. 

But, like many CrossFit classes, the programming will be functional fitness with an emphasis on speed and strength.

This won’t be sport specific (i.e. it won’t teach how to hit, catch, throw or kick a ball better). All athletes benefit from speed/strength training and functional fitness.

When are the classes for teens?

The CrossFit classes for teens will start on July 6th and will be on each Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday morning from 8:15-9:15.

Please understand this is a one month trial run(July 6th to July 31st). If it goes well enough to keep, we will keep it. Granted, there will be things we need to adjust or change as we go, but this is just to see if we have enough demand for this new service.  

Where are the classes?

At Buffalo Nickel CrossFit: 701 S 11th St, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

Additional information about our new CrossFit classes for teens:

Cost: $115/month.

Age level: The classes are aimed at teens aged between 14 and 17.

Waivers: Teens and parents/guardians will need to sign a waiver prior to starting.

How to sign up: Message us, or schedule a free intro with you and your teen.

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The 7 Most Functional Movements

woman doing one of the most functional movements

There are 7 movements that known as the most functional movements. These are the movements that the human body moves through (or at least should move through) on a daily basis. This is why they’re the ones we should do in the gym most often as well.

The conventional/commercial approach to fitness is machine based (often seated and with some resistance that usually focuses on one muscle group). There is a focus on aerobic over strength/function, and multiple “helpers”. These might be handles to hold onto and brace while doing hamstring curls, or a pull up machine with a platform that helps you lift yourself.

If you are a bodybuilder or physique competitor, this can be very helpful and important. But what if you are a human who just wants or needs to be stronger/healthier to live a longer and happier life? That is where functional movements come into play. 

So, what are the 7 most functional movements?

Squat

If you have ever sat down and stood up, you have done a squat. This movement can range in difficulty. Easiest is a supported squat, using something to hold onto as you sit/stand all the way. The hardest is an overhead squat or a pistol (single leg squat). These are many variations in between.

Hinge

Ever bent down and picked something up off the ground? Congratulations, you have done a deadlift. There are also countless variations of the deadlift. You can also adjust the load and range of motion for any level of ability.

Lunge

Lunges are quickly becoming one of my favorite movements. They have good transfer to walking/carrying and can be easier for beginners than a full on squat. You can easily adjust the load, and do these using each plane of the body. That is to say, they can be done forward, backward, sideways, and up/down.

Push

Yes, of course pushing a sled looks cool and is what everyone pictures first. But presses also fall into this movement. Bench press is probably one of the most well known, but strict presses, jerks, seated presses and others are all part of this movement pattern.

Pull

Pull ups, rows, rope climbs, and band-pull aparts. The pull is such a simple and underestimated movement. I can promise the pull is used much more in daily life than we realize. It is definitely one of the most functional movements. Pull movements help us to develop nice strong back and shoulder muscles.

Rotate/Core

Everyone knows doing 1000s of sit ups a day will give you a strong core right? No, definitely not! Planks, side planks, weighted holds, crawls, and rocks are all great ways to build a stable core. The core is one area where, if you increase its stability and its strength, you will get stronger in every other movement. Core movements are not to be overlooked.

Walk/Carry

I would say general locomotion falls under this. Can you move yourself through time and space effectively? Can you do that with weight, and can you do it for short fast distances, can you do it with weight, or over varying terrain? Walking, crawling, running, or jumping? All of these seem and sound easy, but when you start adding weight or reliving a movement we have forgotten (the crawl), you start to increase the difficulty. 

Why to focus on these movements

The nice thing about the most functional movements is that they can be combined in an unlimited amount of ways and variety. On top of that, they are actual movements you will use in life – unlike some machines found at a commercial gym (pec-deck)!

Interested in starting functional fitness? We would love to guide you, contact us today to get started.

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8 Magic Fat Loss Pills

woman standing with hula hoop for weight loss

Everyone wants to lose weight. They want to believe in magic fat loss pills, teas, workouts, body wraps, surgerys, anything. Let’s be honest. We all wish it was that way. If you could do one workout, or drink one beverage and have the body of your dreams, who wouldn’t do that?!

The truth is that doesn’t exist as of now. I hate to burst your bubble. So, get it out of your mind that there is one magic pill for fat loss. There are actually 8 magic fat loss pills…

Yep, 8 magic pills and I promise you will shed some fat. I will go over these 8 pills in more detail tomorrow (part 2) but here is the list.

  • Calorie deficit
  • High quality sleep
  • Hydration
  • Sufficient protein
  • Nutrition dense foods
  • Strength train regularly
  • Increased heart rate
  • Consistency

There it is. The secret to getting those stubborn pounds off. Trainers will tell you losing weight can be complicated, it’s not. It is simple. It may not be easy, but it is definitely simple.  

Want to shed fat? Let’s start today. First, drink 2-3 bottles of water in the time between you reading this and when you go to bed. Second, go to bed on time. Turn your phone on silent and don’t use it in bed.  With those two little things, you’re already off to a good start.

We will go over these tomorrow. Until then, drink water and get sleep!

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