Month: February 2018

Addicted to Fitness Show Notes – A Conversation with the Founders of Movement Upgraded, Dr. Ryan & Jen Hosler

This week’s Addicted to Fitness is a “must listen” for several reasons. First, we are speaking to the founders of Movement Upgraded, Dr. Ryan & Dr. Jen Hosler. Second, we are on location at Kodawari Studios in Tampa, Florida. Finally, Ella makes her first appearance on the podcast!

Ryan & Jen were kind enough to welcome all of us into their office at Kodawari to discuss the services they provide. Movement Upgraded is a chiropractic and physical therapy clinic, but also an online resource for movement and mobility. They target the more active population that have mobility issues preventing them from performing the physical activities they love to do.

Shannon&Ella @ Kodawari

Jen (Doctor of Physical Therapy) was introduced to physical therapy in high school during rehab for two separate knee surgeries. After changing her major to exercise science during her undergrad program at IUPUI, she became obsessed with all aspects of fitness. This obsession led her, and Ryan who was in the same program, to begin reading more books, listening to podcasts, attending seminars and apply what they learned at the gym.

They discovered that proper movement was the foundation of everything they were doing in their respective fields and that principle led to the creation of Movement Upgraded.

Movement and mobility are becoming a more popular aspect of the fitness industry according to Ryan (Doctor of Chiropractic). However, he’s worried that trainers may be becoming so focused on mobility that they maybe neglecting their client’s primary fitness goals. That is one of the reasons why they want Movement Upgraded to a be a resource to trainers who have clients with movement issues.

The majority of Movement Upgraded clientele comes from personal trainer referrals. Jen states that the services they provide lie within the rehab to performance gap. They want to make sure that individuals can return to the gym without fear of being in pain or reaggravating their previous injury.

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In addition to the hands-on services they provide, Ryan & Jen also provide a ton of educational content on their social media. We discussed the importance of their “Daily Movement Practice” video series, which included demonstrations of how you can move each individual joint throughout its full range of motion. This is a necessity nowadays since a large percentage of people have a much more sedentary lifestyle.

These videos are a great resource, but if individuals have a specific injury or mobility issue, Ryan and Jen state that a complete assessment is necessary before they provide any recommendations. The majority of the clientele they see at Movement Upgraded come in for lower back issues, but neck & shoulder problems are also a common ailment.

Movement Upgraded doesn’t rely on referrals from general practitioners because typically those individuals view physical therapy as a requirement before surgery. Ryan and Jen want to connect with personal trainers because they view those individuals as the “front line of healthcare.” They want to provide their patients with the knowledge/exercises they need in order to continue their training.

If you live in the Tampa Bay Area, and are in need of the services Movement Upgraded provides, you can schedule your assessment at movementupgraded.com or call (813) 773-4017. If you aren’t a Tampa resident, you can still benefit from their expertise by following them on Facebook and Instagram.

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After you follow Movement Upgraded, head on over to the Addicted to Fitness Podcast Facebook page and give us a like & follow. Don’t forget that we feature comments from that page on the podcast so make sure you let us know what’s on your mind.

We’d also really appreciate a rating & review in iTunes. All you have to do is click here and take a few minutes of your time letting other iTunes users know what you think about the podcast.

Last, but certainly not least, we encourage you to check out our sponsors, The Hemp & Coffee Exchange. Head to hempcoffeeexchange.com, read about their awesome products, and use the promo code “ATF” at checkout to get 20% off your order. You can thank later.

Links for this week’s episode

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/addicted-to-fitness-podcast/id1121420986?mt=2&i=1000403843692

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/nick-burch-702220833/a-conversation-with-the

Website: http://addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/a-conversation-with-the-founders-of-movement-upgraded-dr-ryan-jen-hosler

 

 

Weekend Workout – Sprinting to a Fitter You

If you think that incorporating speed drills into your exercise routine will only make you run faster, I’ve got news for you.

Speed & agility drills can also help you improve reaction time, build oxygen capacity, develop fast twitch muscles and strengthen ligaments. These comprehensive fitness benefits is why I decided to fill the weekend workout below with these types of exercises.

I recommend performing three to five intervals of this weekend workout. Don’t forget to warm-up and modify the exercises to match your fitness level.

If you complete this or any weekend workout, please let us know in the comment section below OR send us a pic/video of you working out on social media (Facebook, Instagram or Twitter). ENJOY!

ETT Weekend Workout 2-24

What’s On the Menu – Too Good To Let Go To Waste

Let’s be honest. Guacamole is the best “dip” there is. Don’t bring your hummus, spinach & artichoke or salsa in my kitchen. NOT UP IN HERE!

Between the taste, nutrition and ease associated with preparing it, every thing else is playing for second place. Which is why I had to act fast when I had several ripe avocados at the house last week.

Instead of letting them go bad, I decided to make guacamole with whatever ingredients I had available. I ended up using 2 avocados, cherry tomatoes, shallots, fresh lime juice and salt. The heart healthy monounsaturated fat contained in the avocados was too good to let go to waste. ⠀

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Addicted to Fitness Show Notes – Valentine’s Day Taste Test & Macros Game

Happy belated Valentine’s Day Addicted to Fitness listeners!

This may be a lesser, borderline manufactured holiday, but it’s still a great opportunity to give you all a holiday themed episode. You’ll be hearing this after Valentine’s Day but the topics discussed are applicable throughout the year.

We start off this week’s episode with the Listeners Talk Back segment. We asked the listeners which 100 rep challenge we should Facebook Live to celebrate getting 100 likes on the Addicted to Fitness Podcast Facebook page. The results are in and you all chose……

Push-ups

We will have already completed this challenge by the time you’re reading this but you can head to the ATF Facebook page and watch the video. Feel free to leave us a comment while you’re there.

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We keep our Training Recaps short and sweet this week. Shannon successfully completed a week’s worth of workouts that included a trip to her home yoga studio Bella Prana. She has to complete her workouts before Ella wakes up at 7am, which means she a has to wake up around 5am in order to get a 20-30 min HIIT, spinning or yoga workout in, and still have time to get ready for work. This is quite an accomplishment because Shannon does not enjoy getting out of bed

I on the other hand, am still knocking out personal training sessions at Tampa Strength, Title Boxing and client’s homes. The only other workout related info I have to share is that I inherited Shannon’s Fit Bit Charge 2, which we reviewed in a past episode. This particular fitness tracker is great if you want to track & log health data like heart rate, steps and calorie burn.

After a quick training recap, we jump into our holiday themed taste test. During a recent grocery shopping trip we saw that the diet & weight loss brand Atkins makes a peanut M&M knockoff. Being that peanut M&M’s are one of our favorite candies, we decided to do a blind taste test of the Atkins peanut M&M’s and the real thing.

atkins m&ms

I had already sampled the goods, which is why Shannon participated in the blind taste test to see if she could taste the difference between the two versions of the peanut M&M. You’ll have to listen to find out if Shannon could tell the difference between the real thing and the knock-off, but here’s the nutritional info for both candies if you’re curious

Real Peanut M&M’s

  • 1.75 oz bag contains 13 g fat, 30 g carbs (25 g sugar) and 5 g of protein

Atkins Chocolate Peanut Candies

  • 1.2 oz bag contains 11 g fat, 18 g carbs* (1 g of sugar & 15 g of sugar alcohols) 4 g of protein *also contains a small amount of artificial sweeteners

If you want to learn more about the effect sugar alcohols have on our body, go back and listen to our interview with the CEO of the sugar alcohol producing company, Swerve.

As if a blind taste test of candies you may have given your sweetie wasn’t enough, we also have a holiday edition of the Macros Game on this week’s episode.

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Oysters are often thought of as aphrodisiacs

For anyone who is unfamiliar with the Macros Game, it is a nutritional trivia game that requires the contestants to guess the macronutrient (fat, protein or carbohydrate) when given its amount in a serving of a certain food.

This time around we test each other’s nutritional knowledge on foods that are often consider aphrodisiacs, which are foods that claim to increase libido when consumed. We tested each other’s knowledge on oysters, dark chocolate, sweet potatoes,  asparagus and other foods from Organic Authority‘s Top 22 aphrodisiac foods.

Make sure you listen to the podcast to find out if Shannon was able to maintain her winning streak. We also encourage you all to play along and send us your scores. If you get a perfect score we’ll share it on our social channels (Facebook, Instagram or Twitter) with a special shout out post.

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You can definitely find that shout out on the Addicted to Fitness Podcast Facebook page. While you’re there, please leave us a rating & review, which we’d also appreciate if you could also do in iTunes. It only takes a few minutes and really helps us reach more listeners.

If you forgot to get a Valentine’s Day gift for your sweetie, get them a bag of sustainable super coffee from The Hemp & Coffee Exchange. Head to hempcoffeeexchange.com and use the promo code “ATF” at checkout to get 20% off your order.

Links to this week’s episode:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/addicted-to-fitness-podcast/id1121420986?mt=2&i=1000402930556

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/nick-burch-702220833/valentines-day-taste-test

Website: http://addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/valentines-day-taste-test-macros-game

Weekend Workout – Push Yourself

Regular readers of the blog will know that I’m a big fan of compound exercises (multi-joint movements that require the use of various muscle groups) because they give you more “bang for your buck” when it comes to working out. One compound exercise in particular, the push-up, requires you to utilize muscle groups in your upper body, core and lower body which is why this weekend workout is full of them.

The bodyweight workout below includes a variety of push-up variations that will strengthen numerous muscle groups in your body.  I recommend performing 10 reps of each push-up variation followed by 90 seconds of rest for four circuits. Don’t forget to warmup and modify the workout to match your fitness level.

Connect with us on social media and share pics/videos of you performing this or any weekend workout (Facebook, Instagram or Twitter). ENJOY!

ETT Weekend Workout 2-17

What’s on the Menu – The Best Breakfast Option Out There

I’m a gigantic breakfast fan. The options you have at breakfast far surpass anything lunch or dinner has to offer, and I believe it’s all thanks to one magical food.

Eggs.

Whole eggs, yes yolks and all, are at the top of my “Whole Foods” power ranking list. Right below eggs on that list is its frequent companion on a many diner menus. Steak.

Steak & eggs is high in protein & fat and contains a ton of important micronutrients like iron, vitamin B, choline and omega fatty acids. I had the meal below and swear I wasn’t hungry for the rest of the day. I believe based on the nutrition research I’ve gathered & personal experience, that this is a much healthier option than the meals filled with processed carbs that seem to dominate breakfast foods (cereal, bagels, etc.).

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Addicted to Fitness Show Notes – A Review of the Headspace Meditation App

Another week and another awesome episode of the Addicted to Fitness podcast!

This week, Shannon and I investigate the scientific-based benefits of mediation and give a review of the Headspace smartphone mediation app. But before we jump into those topics, we give our training recaps.

I’ve been trying to do a better job of shooting videos for the @ettampa Instagram feed, especially boxing/kickboxing videos. Striking instruction is my bread & butter and I want to share that with my online audience.

I’ve also been adding more steel mace (see pic below) exercises into client workouts. I love using the steel mace because its highly uneven weight distribution can make any common exercise, like a lunge, much more challenging. Plus, they make you look BADASS!

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Shannon has been slowly, but surely, adding workouts back into her routine. She’s been able to do a small amount of yoga and HIIT sessions, but a reoccurring vertigo condition has somewhat slowed her progress. We asked if listeners have any suggestions on herbal supplements that can help with vertigo, maybe even an essential oil, which we plan on investigating more in a future episode.

After we wrap up our respective training recaps, we dive into the topic of mediation. Thanks to one of our favorite sources of evidence supported health information, healthline.com, we list the 12 science-based benefits of mediation:

  1. Reduces stress
  2. Controls anxiety
  3. Promotes emotional health
  4. Enhances self-awareness
  5. Lengthens attention span
  6. May reduce age-related memory loss
  7. Can generate kindness
  8. May help fight addictions
  9. Improves sleep
  10. Helps control pain
  11. Can decrease blood pressure
  12. You can meditate anywhere

The last benefit from that list was really made a possibility thanks to smartphone apps like Headspace.  I learned about Headspace while listening to the Tim Ferriss podcast. I took advantage of their free 10 day subscription several times. Then I finally upgraded to the full subscription version, which cost about $95 annually.

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The app was created/founded in 2010 by marketing & brand developer Rich Pierson and Andy Puddicombe. Andy is a former Buddhist monk and the voice of the guided meditations. Rich and Andy’s mission is to remove the mysticism attached to meditation and make it more attractive to a broader audience.

Once I upgraded to the full version, I had to complete 90 foundational sessions in order to unlock any of the other packages contained in the app. Those foundation sessions walk you through the best methods to achieve a meditative state – focus on breathing, be present, acknowledge outside distractions (sounds, smells, etc) but always return to the breath.

One of the first packages I used after my foundation sessions was the “pregnancy” package. As you can imagine, I listened to it while Shannon was pregnant with Ella, and it help teach me how my character/mood could affect the development of the baby. The app is full of packages that introduce an intention for a subject area that you want to improve on (e.g. anxiety, motivation, sleep, etc.).

Headspace also has guided mediations that you can listen to while performing a specific task (e.g. cooking, walking, commuting, etc.), mini 1-3 minute mediations you can use if you need to refresh or focus and animations that help explain the different aspects of mediation.

I’m a big fan of the new “everyday headspace” feature which provides a new intentions daily and allows you to change the length of time you want to mediate. Shannon has been a fan of mediation for a long time due to her years in yoga. After she started using the app, she realized how many of the same methods she’s already been using. She believes headspace is great for introducing people to the foundations of mediation, but from what she’s seen so far, it may be more geared towards beginners than experienced mediators.

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If you’re a user of the Headspace app, please let us know what you think of it by leaving us a comment/message on the Addicted to Fitness Podcast Facebook page. As you heard in this episode, if you leave us a comment or message, we will read it in a new segment Shannon dubbed Listeners Talk Back.

Don’t forget to take advantage of the awesome 20% off promo code (“ATF”) from our sponsors, The Hemp Coffee Exchange, so you can stock up on some tasty, and nutritious, coffee – the perfect follow-up to a good mediation session.

Links to this week’s episode

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/addicted-to-fitness-podcast/id1121420986?mt=2&i=1000402046714

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/nick-burch-702220833/a-review-of-the-headspace

Website: http://addictedtofitness.libsyn.com/a-review-of-the-headspace-mediation-app

Weekend Workout – Strengthening Your Core Should Be A Primary Concern

The primary mover is the muscle or muscles generating the majority of the “force” during a particular exercise. For example, during a bench press, the pectorals are the primary movers. During a curl, the biceps are the primary movers and in the weekend workout below, the muscle groups that make up your core are the primary movers.

Performing five, 10 rep supersets of this workout will help strengthen all the muscles in your core, not just your 6-pack (rectus abdominis). Don’t forget to warmup and modify the workout to match your fitness level.

If you complete this or any weekend workout, please let us know in the comment section below OR you can send us a pic/video of you doing the workout on social media (Facebook, Instagram or Twitter). ENJOY!

ETT Weekend Workout 2-9