The obesity rates in our  country get scarier and scarier every single year. 46% of adults in America are obese and 20% are our children are obese. The list risks, diseases and pain that come with obesity is quite lengthy and honestly heart breaking. Heart disease, diabetes, joint pain,  high blood pressure, stroke, quality of life, poor mobility...the list goes on and on and it is downright scary. 

The national average for weight gained October through December is 10 pounds. We all know how hard it is and how much dedication and commitment it takes to lose 10 pounds. Pair that 10 pounds with the COVID pounds many gained and we are looking at an increase in that national obesity percentage as the years go on. 

Many of you reading this train with us, many of you don't. Regardless, I encourage you to keep reading...

Let's talk about how strength training affects fat loss first. Those of you training with us or consistently partaking in a periodized strength training program are on the right track. YOU are burning calories at rest, because yes in order to rebuild the muscle fibers  you are tapping into each training day it takes energy (aka calories) as your body internally works hard to repair those fibers. Strength training and moving your body is a great place to start, but it is not the complete solution. How you move your body will positively impact your quality of life, your fight with aging, your mobility, your independence, your ability in all aspects of your life, your mental health. It will also compliment your fat loss, but there is more...

And that  is the part that makes us want to X out of the screen. Don't. How we are fueling our body has EVERYTHING to do with the number we are seeing on the scale. It has everything to do with obesity rates. We need to stop blaming life for how we are feeding ourselves. Here are the top 5 excuses we hear when it is time to face the music...

• I don't have time.
• I don't like cooking (or vegetables) 
• It is so expensive
• My kids eat it (I'm sorry did you see that 20% number??)
• My spouse eats it

Look, this isn't a judge fest. I 100% understand every single one of those things, but when it comes right down to our health we have to call it what those are and those are excuses. ​

Excuse #1: There are many ways we can find time. Here are three ways

• Stop scrolling social media and checking your email 400 times a day
• Shut the TV off and stop binging on Netflix shows
• Use the same hour you typically use for training on a Wednesday or weekend day to prep and plan

Excuse #2:  I hate cooking. Hate it. But me and you both have a life time of eating ahead of us and a laundry list of things we don't like to do that we have to do...so tough tooties! Here are three ways to make cooking less of a chore. 

• Crockpot. 
• Instapot 
• Meal plan and work in the left overs

Excuse #3: Expensive? Maybe the first round as you stock up on things that you have never had in your pantry or fridge. Here are two ways to cut the cost.

• Stop buying organic everything​​​​
• Buy in bulk and freeze
• Make a meal plan and stop throwing food away!
• Bonus reminder: Take out is expensive.  

Excuse # 4&5: Someone else in your household eats it. Yes, I get this believe me. Here is what I have found to help..

• Put their snacks in cabinet you don't have to open or a section of the fridge with something in front of it
• HAVE THE CONVERSATION WITH YOUR PEOPLE AND ASK FOR HELP! Decent human beings want you to be healthy. Tell them WHY this is important to you and let them help you!
• Keep posts it around or notes around with your goals in front of you

I know this is hard. I am not saying anyone is this super hero that doesn't want to live the life of donuts and reeses. That sounds pretty great and no one says you cannot have those things 1-2 times per week. Obesity is hard. Heart disease is hard. Diabetes is hard. High blood pressure is hard. Mental health struggles are hard. Being in pain all the time is hard. Lack of independence is hard. Lack of confidence is hard.

YOU MATTER! You cannot put a number on your investment in yourself, your body and your health.

Make it happen, 

Coach Meagan  

White tissue vs. red tissue

What's the difference and why does one take longer to heal than the other?

If you ever hear the phrases “white tissue” or “red tissue” all it's referring to is a very basic classification of things like muscle (red tissue) and things like tendons, ligaments, and cartilage (white tissue).  Red tissue is red for the most obvious reason you can imagine...increased blood flow, whereas white tissue has less blood flow.

Now you may be thinking “why is this important to know?” there isn't a ton that is applicable as much to you guys as clients.  However the main reason I wanted to bring this up is just some understanding from an injury standpoint.  More serious injuries often occur at the white tissue (ACL tears, MCL tears, meniscus tears, ect.) and take longer to heal.  This happens for a few reasons;

1. White tissue is often taking all the force for muscle activity. 

1. Think about it, how often to you hear “torn quad muscle” or “torn calf muscle”, you don't, you always hear “patella tendon injury” or “torn achilles” things along those line.  Thats because, in the calf for example, that large muscle attaches to a tendon that at its narrowest point probably has about the same diameter as a quarter.  That is most often the case for most of the similar connections in the body.  

2. White tissue has less blood flow.

1. We said above that red tissue is red more so because of the increased blood flow, this is a large reason a pulled muscle will recover relatively quickly.  Whereas a sprain often takes weeks to heal based on severity. 

So if you have a sprain, are dealing with a meniscus tear, ect.  Give it some time, it will heal, it just takes a little longer. 

Coach Adam

With that being said, it is unethical to continue pushing recovery week out due to convenience. We are going to go through with our October 26- October 30th recovery week with a plan to return to our current location until the end of November. When you return from recovery week the gym with be as bare as possible as we will utilize that time to take as much as we can. We do not plan to close for any additional time when it is time to move locations. 

Thank you for your patience as we roll with the punches of COVID, the weather, the move, and all of the other things life throws at us. 2020 is a year to remember and a wonderful reminder that you are so very capable! 

Back “injury/irritation” vs. “stiffness”

defining some of the differences

This is always an important distinction to discuss when it comes to lifting weights.  Many people often think that back stiffness is inherently “bad” and that it means you did something wrong.  When in fact it often can be a symbol that you challenged yourself adequately.  This is a generalization of course, not everyone is the same.  So let's go through some differences to help define them. 

• On a scale of 1-10 (10 being so painful it's hard to move or breathe) 

• 1-5: Most likely stiffness, nothing to be concerned with.

• 6-10: Irritation/possible injury (8-10) that should be addressed.

• Tightness that can be relieved through heat and gentle rolling. 

• Stiffness

• Tightness continues to return DESPITE significant efforts to mobilize (rolling, stretching, heat)

• Irritation or slight injury possible 

• Tightness that resolves after a day or two on its own.

• Stiffness

• Referral pain when moving (a sharp **zing** when moving).

• Irritation or injury possible 

What causes stiffness? 

• Lets use the deadlift as an example because this often tends to be the one that causes tightness that people are concerned about.  When you deadlift your leg muscles do the majority of the work (Glutes, Hamstrings, quads).  HOWEVER in order to keep your pelvis in the right position (what helps keep your back flat) smaller spinal stabilizers have to work harder also.  “Stiffness” is the result of a muscle having to work harder than its used to, which is why stiffness is so bad when you first start out difficult exercise, or lift heavier but starts to become less and less prevalent over time.  These little muscles work the same way.  You can have perfect form but if you work these guys a little above what they are used to they will get a little stiff.  That will go away with continuing to challenge yourself safely!  Don't fret from some tightness, use the above couple guidelines and if you want some more I’d be happy to offer some others!  Keep strong!

Coach Adam

I know most of you have heard this before, probably many times. But it’s importance cannot be overstated. Nutrition is a big deal! It plays an integral role in your health as well as your fitness goals. Regardless of what those goals are. Whether it’s to lose weight and burn fat. Or gain weight and build muscle. It all comes back to nutrition. 

Don’t get me wrong, exercise is very important in helping you get those desired results. But it's often what happens in the kitchen that determines whether or not you really go the extra mile. It all comes back to that old saying, you can’t out-train a poor diet. So let's take a quick crash course again. 

If your goal is to lose weight, you must be in a calorie deficit. Which means, you must burn more calories than you consume on a day to day, week to week basis. By doing this your body will turn to your fat stores for those needed calories to maintain its energy balance. But here’s where it gets interesting. While you will start to burn fat and lose weight in a calorie deficit over time. If you are not careful, you can actually work against yourself. By staying in that calorie deficit for an extended period, your body will actually start to lower your metabolism. Making it harder to burn those calories. Which is why you want to make sure you don’t stay in a calorie deficit too long. 

On the other side of the spectrum if your goal is to gain weight and put on muscle, you want to be in a caloric surplus. Meaning you actually consume more calories than your body burns. You also want to make sure you are getting enough protein to help build muscle during the weight gain process. Close to 1 gram of protein for 1 lb of lean body mass. Over time you will start to see yourself gain some muscle provided you are following a strength training program. So whether you are trying to lose or gain weight in terms of fat or muscle remember, it all starts with nutrition. 

Coach Dylan

How many of you know someone who has fallen in their later years who never fully recovered?

My husband's grandmother fell off of the couch while she was sleeping about a year ago and fractured her pelvis. She is in her early 80's, she was living alone, cooked, cleaned...she was pretty independent with the exception of driving. Fast forward to today and she is not able to do any of those things. Like most stubborn folks in their 80s she absolutely refuses to go into a nursing home so between her 7 children she is never alone and all of those chores are handled amongst them (and not without some spat!) Since her fall her Parkinson's has taken over. She has gone from the minor, yet noticeable shakes to a complete brain fog and delusional by 3pm. Since her big fall she has take several other falls that have resulted in minor cuts, bruises and sprains...

All that to say....falling is no big deal in your youthful years, but as you mature those falls are more threatening than you may think. I fell down the stairs....like the whole flight of stairs....this week and it took me a few minutes to get up. Luckily, I came out of it with a bruised backside, but I still have a little youth on my side and my strength!

But let's not use the 31 year old as an example of someone who has recovered from a big fall. Let me tell you about what happens every single winter...

Every winter we have multiple clients who thank us, because they slip and fall on the ice and they get back up with little to no injury at all. It is NOT a coincidence. When you train your body to get up and down off the ground, it knows what to do when you need it the most. When you put your muscles and bones under controlled stress by strength training they have the ability to recover from the fall. Bone density is not given as we mature, it is earned. You have to put the work in to keep your bones healthy and strong and able withstand a fall. Going for a walk is not enough and does not compare to the benefits of strength training in the slightest.

Our demographic is primarily 50-70 years old with a few handfuls of the spring chickesn thrown into the mix :-). It is not too late to start. You are not too far gone, too out of shape or too overweight to get started on your journey toward aging with grace so you can continue to do the things you love to do and the things you need to do as you mature!

Get started on your two week free trial

Our big announcement was revealed this morning! We are SO excited to share this. You all know surprises are not my strong suit. Check out the recorded Zoom call for the official announcement or just scroll through the pictures and see if you can figure it out before I type it way at the bottom!

Here is the recording 

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/Z7Arw3khNeBA0V5xSSxQDHvCpuSGXV1nJFxutWTOGZDyrjJ0cXql_q9jMSBolvIQ.Qg8L5_Gkl88MGsBQ Passcode: xf10y2W.

Did you guess?

We are moving! As you can imagine COVID-19 and the restrictions in place have severely impacted how we run our business. While this is understandable it is not sustainable. As most of you have figured out we are operating at 50% capacity indoors and come snow fall that just doesn't work. We are committed to your safety and your comfort. We are not comfortable stretching any limits of the regulations in place. When we put our heads together we understood that social distancing is not going anywhere for the foreseeable future and the best option to continue to stay afloat and grow is to move out of our 4000 sf training space and into a 9,600 sf training space! This will allow us to have our regular full training occupancy while maintaining 12-15 feet between clients! This space also features 2 overhead doors for air flow and an exhaust fan. We can't think of a better solution to keep pushing forward. There is plenty of parking behind the building and there is a conveniently an entrance behind the building as well. . 

Oh and did you want the other good news?

They're building us showers! Yep, two of them. 

Oh, you want more good news?

We are going to have a physical therapist and a massage therapist in house by 2021! Just a reminder 2021 is only 3.5 months away, can I get an amen? 

Oh my goodness, you want more cool news?

We are going to build one these medball brick wall in 2021. This is relevant info as you will see below in a moment....

So that is the news! But don't X out yet...

Making this move was in our 10 year plan. It was more of a goal to buy a building, but we are no where near being ready for that. It does remain in the 10 year plan. This is very expensive decision. We are sucking up our pride and asking for help with a twist if you feel so compelled. If you would like to donate to this move then we are welcoming that and have set up a few tiers as a token of appreciation. If we got 200 people to donate $20 that would cover 1/5 of the cost to move and it would help tremendously. 

Donation tiers​

Tier 1: $10 + We will put your name into a drawing to win a gift card to Tuckers

Tier 2: $25+ We will put your name into a drawing to win a gift certificate to Intuitive Touch for a one hour massage

Tier 3: 50+ We will put your name in both raffles and we will engrave your name in a brick when we build our med ball brick wall 

If you wish to donate to this new, exciting adventure then you can do so here. Your generosity is always appreciated <3 Thank you for your continued support! 

DONATE HERE​

Our goal is to be operating out of the new space by Monday, November 2, 2020. This location is located at 41 Terrill Park Drive in Concord which is 2 miles from our current location.

Committed to making it happen,

Meagan