We’re back with another Thursday episode of the Addicted to Fitness podcast, which means another interview with a health & fitness pro. This week’s guest is yoga instructor, wellness blogger and world traveler Lauren Shuster.
Lauren is also a Tampa resident, which means we were able record our conversation face to face outside a local coffee shop. Lauren and I discuss teaching yoga to toddlers, exercises you can do on a plane and her memorable trip to New Zealand.
Make sure you listen to the entire episode to hear the rest of the health & wellness topics Lauren and I explore. If you’re interested in viewing more content from Lauren, subscribe to her newsletter at loelizabeth.com and follow her on Instagram (@loelizabethblog).
Don’t forget that we’re always looking for suggestions on compelling individuals from the field of health & fitness to ask to come on the podcast. Please send your recommendations to TheATFpodcast@gmail.com and don’t forget to rate, review and share the podcast.
We’ve been reaching a bunch of podcast milestones as of late, but today’s episode marks one that I never thought would become a reality. This ATF podcast is our 100th episode and I’m extremely proud & honored that it features an interview with a truly compelling fitness pro.
The guest on this episode of ATF is obstacle course racer and Navy veteran Kyle Alexander. Kyle and I discuss exercise options while on deployment, the benefits of obstacle course racing on mental health and being an Operation Enduring Warrior athlete. I encourage you to learn more about the Operation Enduring Warrior (OEW) charity by visiting their website and donating to their cause if you’re able. You can also follow them (@operationenduringwarrior) and Kyle (@kyle_donald_alexander) on Instagram for updates on OEW races coming to your area.
We’ll keep bringing you interviews with health & fitness pros each week, which means we want to hear your suggestions on who we should have on ATF. Send your recommendations to TheATFpodcast@gmail.com and don’t forget to please share the podcast. We’d also love it if you gave us a rating & review in the iTunes store
We lead off this episode of the ATF podcast with the announcement of an important milestone.
We finally have a website solely dedicated to podcast!
Visit addictedtofitnesspodcast.com and check out all of Shannon’s recent handy work. We’ll still post show notes here until we get all the content transferred to that site, but go ahead and bookmark it now.
Listeners Talk Back
Our listeners are noticing the new changes on the website and Facebook page because we’re getting lots of thumbs up on the new podcast logo and cover photo.
Our recent episode featuring the lactation cookie taste test is also eliciting a response from people. One listener asked me in person about how they tasted and the company that produces them, Stork and Dove, told us how much they enjoyed the episode on twitter. They even shared it on their social media.
New ATF content can now be found on our WEBSITE!
Training Recap
Shannon has not done much more than her daily morning yoga routine and doesn’t feel guilty about it. However, she did get a stand-up desk at work, which has allowed her to incorporate periodic compound & isometric exercises, in addition to standing while she works. These movements are important because recent studies show that standing can be just as bad as sitting. Check out this article to find out ways you can properly use a standing desk.
I’m pretty stoked by the fact that I officially enrolled in the June Stick Mobility certification course. In order to hone my stick skills, I’m leading a Stick class at Tampa Strength every Saturday at 1030 AM (message me if you’d like to attend).
I’m also stoked about the new weekly ATF episodes that dropped last week. I don’t want to give too much away about the episode that will be dropping this week, but I will tell you that it has a lot to do with mindfulness. If you haven’t listened to the first Thursday episode with certified personal trainer & mobility specialist Alexis Rivera, download it today!
Shannon recently discovered an article on Well+Good describing the benefits of a paleo, vegan hybrid diet. This approach to nutrition is championed by Dr. Mark Hyman, author of Eat Fat, Get Thin (which I’ve listened to on audible) and Food: What the Heck Should I Eat.
Dr. Hyman believes that Peganism combines the best practices from both diets. He’s quoted in the article saying “A pegan diet is low-glycemic, high in plant foods, low in sugar, and includes adequate protein for appetite control and muscle synthesis.”
He also adds that each person should tweak it to fit their own particular health conditions, preferences, and needs
“If you’re vegan and don’t want to eat anything with a mother for moral or religious reasons, then that’s perfectly okay. But it’s critical to get omega-3 fatty acids, and not just ALA (or alpha-Linolenic acid) found in plants you need pre-formed DHA, which is what most of your brain is made from. The good news: You can get it from algae.”
I’m a huge fan of the idea of peganism. I feel the majority of our food should come from whole vegetables and fruit. I also know that animal products are high in important nutrients like heme iron, vitamin B12, and the aforementioned DHA. If you want to be fully optimized nutritionally, without having to rely on supplementation, I think the Pegan diet is an attractive approach.
If you already subscribe to the Pegan diet, let us know on the ATF Podcast Facebook page how it’s working for you. While you’re there, please leave us a rating & review, which we’d also appreciate if you could do in iTunes. It only takes a few minutes and really helps us reach more listeners.
We also strongly encourage you visit hempcoffeeexchange.com and read about their delicious & nutritious sustainable super coffee. When you decide to purchase some of their tasty product, don’t forget to use our exclusive promo code “ATF” at checkout to get 20% off your order.
THE DAY HAS FINALLY COME! The inaugural Thursday edition of the Addicted to Fitness podcast has arrived. These episodes will be dedicated to conversations with professionals, experts and compelling individuals from the world of health and fitness.
The first individual I have the pleasure of speaking with is personal trainer, certified Precision Nutrition coach and Stick Mobility & FRC specialist Alexis Rivera. Alexis and I chat about his past struggles with body image, the benefits mobility training can have for all fitness levels and how “small victories” can be the key to a successful nutrition plan.
Listen to the entire episode for more useful health info from Alexis and check out his awesome Instagram feed @the_holistic_hipster (love that handle). If you’re interested in utilizing his online personal training services, click here to contact him directly.
We’ll be bringing you interviews with health & fitness pros each week, which means we’d love to hear your suggestions on who we should have on ATF. Send your recommendations to TheATFpodcast@gmail.com and don’t forget to rate, review and share the podcast.
What’s up peeps! We’ve got another exciting and informative episode of Addicted to Fitness this week. Before we jump into all our intriguing health topics, we lead off the podcast by telling you all about our awesome sponsors.
The Hemp & Coffee Exchange is dedicated to providing “high-quality consumables” like their super coffee, which combines the nutritional benefits of hemp hearts/seeds with single origin green coffee beans that they roast themselves. Do yourself a favor and visit hempcoffeeexchange.com and get 20% off your order by using our exclusive “ATF” promo code.
After giving our sponsors the love they so rightly deserve, we dive into the helpful fitness info with our training recaps.
My training recap consists of two BIG announcements. First off, starting Saturday, March 24th, I’ll be leading a group Stick Mobility (pictured above) class at Tampa Strength. If you live in the Tampa Bay Area, contact me at nick@elementaltampa.com to learn all the details about this innovative training modality.
The second big announcement has to do with this very podcast. I want to let all the dedicated listeners know that you’ll no longer get one ATF episode a week……you’ll be getting TWO! That’s right, starting this Thursday (March 22nd), we’ll be posting two episodes a week filled with useful health & fitness info.
Shannon’s week of training includes daily yoga practice, periodic HIIT workouts and dancing her socks off at our friends’ wedding. She danced so hard that she had to ice her knee for several days after the wedding. My lady goes hard on the dance floor!
After our training recaps, we do a quick overview of the effectiveness of generic multivitamins. A 2013 editorial from the Annals of Internal Medicine claimed that multivitamins purchased over the counter provide no significant benefit to preventing chronic diseases. However, several rebuttals, including one from my platonic woman crush Dr. Rhonda Patrick, claim that the scientific research used by the editorial did not tell the whole story.
The bottom line is that multivitamins can benefit certain individuals, but they are not a miracle cure. You are probably better off finding out which vitamins & minerals you actually need opposed to taking a daily dose of multiple ones and hoping it helps. Which is a perfect segue to the “unboxing” of Shannon’s personalized vitamins from Care/of.
Shannon took the quiz on the Care/of website and based on her lifestyle & health goals, she was prescribed a month’s worth of customized daily vitamin packs that included substantial info about the effectiveness of each vitamin along with links to all the research associated with them.
She spent around $50 for her monthly subscription but was able to get half off her first month thanks to a promo code from another podcast. If you want to see the entire unboxing video, head to the ATF podcast Facebook page and make sure you follow Care/of on Instagram (@careofvitamins) to learn more about their products.
Last, but certainly not least, we taste test a very unique health food. Since bringing Ella home from the hospital, Shannon has had the challenging endeavor of providing her with her exclusive source of nutrition. Yes folks, I’m talking about breastfeeding.
Shannon and I are super stoked that she has been able to feed Ella only breast milk for the first 5 months of her life. We’re introducing new sources of nutrition, but Shannon and I still want breast milk to be a large part of Ella’s diet. Which is why Shannon is willing to try anything that claims to increase breast milk production, like Booby Boons – Lactation Cookies from Stork and Dove.
These cookies are made with ingredients (nutritional yeast, oats and flax) that research suggest can help stimulate breast milk production. We both gave them a try (yes both of us) and found that they were quite tasty. You’ll have to keep listening to find out if they were effective or not.
In the meantime, please visit the ATF podcast Facebook page and leave us a comment, which we’ll feature in a future Listeners Talk Back segment. We’d also appreciate you giving us a rating & review on iTunes. May not seem like a big deal but it’s a quick, easy task that can really help us reach more people.
Chances are that you or someone you know were affected by the flu in recent months. The 2017-2018 flu season was so devastating that Shannon and I decided to share any helpful information we could find on combating it on this week’s Addicted to Fitness podcast.
Before doling out our natural flu prevention remedies, we share what are listeners have been saying on the ATF Facebook page.
We recently celebrated getting 100 likes on our Facebook page by completing a 100 push up challenge on Facebook Live. We had several people cheer us on from the comment section including my first martial arts instructor and past ATF guest Master Amir Ardebily. Master Amir has a tremendous story and I encourage you to go back and listen to ourinterview with him.
After the Listeners Talk Back segment we dive into our training recaps for the week. I’ve been busy building new workout programs including one for an ETTampa group workout in Shannon and I’s neighborhood of Seminole Heights. The owner of Essential Balance Tampa Hayden Sutherland, who you may remember from a past ATF episode, asked if I’d be interested in offering a group class to members of my community and of course I jumped at the opportunity.
If you live in the Tampa Bay Area and are interested in attending this class, visit Essential Balance Tampa’s website and reserve your spot.
Shannon has also been busy finishing up the required teaching she needs to perform to receive her “diploma” for her yoga teacher training. She led her mom through a 45 minute yoga session that was cut short by the same person you’ll hear when you listen to this week’s episode.
We wrap up our training recaps and jump right into our flu discussion. Ella, Shannon and I have all avoided the flu so far, but the following statistics show that we are very fortunate:
Doctor visits for flu related symptoms at his highest rate since 2009 swine flu & this flu season lasting much longer than normal (New York Post article Feb 2018)
CDC reported 36% effectiveness for this year’s vaccine (Fortune Feb 2016)
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We want to make sure you make it through this and following flu & cold seasons healthy, which is why we shared several common practices from a 2018 Well and Good on how to stay healthy during this time of the year:
Drink lots of water
Diligently wash hands
Don’t touch your face
Eat right and workout
Carry antiviral cleaning supplies
We also discussed several lesser known flu prevention methods including:
Far-UVC light has ability to kill airborne viruses like influenza & tuberculosis in indoor public locations like subways and airports
Unlike conventional UVC light sources, which can be carcinogenic & cataractogenic, far-UVC light’s wavelength is so small that it can’t penetrate human skin or eyes
Whole food micronutrient flu treatments
Quercetin – contained in foods like apples, plums, red grapes, green tea, elder flower and onions. Inhibits the virus’ ability to infect cells, inhibits replication of already infected cells and reduces infected cells’ resistance to treatment with antiviral medication (Mercola Feb 2018)
Allicin – contained in garlic, onions, shallots, Chinese chives and leeks. Studies show that regularly eating allicin containing whole foods may help prevent the common cold or the flu. If you do get sick, eating these items can reduce the severity of your symptoms and help you recover faster
Probiotics and zinc supplements also recommended
We really hope that you and your loved ones made it through this flu season as healthy as possible. If you’re looking for another nutritious whole food item that could help give your immune system a boost, grab some sustainable super coffee from the Hemp & Coffe Exchange. Visit their website, hempcoffeeexchange.com, and when you place your order, make sure you use the promo code “ATF” at checkout to get 20% off your order.
We’d also really appreciate it if you leave us a rating & review on our Facebook page and in iTunes. It only takes a few minutes and really helps us reach more listeners.
It’s that time again. We’ve got another Girl Scout cookie challenge on this week’s Addicted to Fitness podcast. We’re on our third year of this fun fitness challenge and this time Shannon is going to give it a go.
For all those new to this challenge, the ultimate goal is to burn off the calories contained in 3 Girl Scout cookies as quickly as possible.
Just like in previous years, we chose the peanut butter & chocolate Girl Scout cookie known as the Tagalong. We were primarily concerned with the calorie content for 3 of these cookies, but the other nutritional facts are: 14 g fat, 20 g carbs (12 g sugar), 3 g of protein.
Shannon downed three of these bad boys, performed a 5 minute warm-up, then jumped on our beloved Peloton cycle to burn off the 210 calories worth of cookies.
While Shannon was doing most of the heavy lifting, or in this case riding, I gave our training recaps for the week.
In addition to doing several sessions on the Peloton, Shannon did yoga almost every single day and got to a yoga class at her home studio, Bella Prana. She also performed a couple HIIT workouts to round out her fitness for the week.
I had my personal training sessions at Title and Tampa Strength, including a session with a new ETTampa client. I’ve also been working hard on creating new content for you ATF listeners. We’ll be making an exciting announcement about our new weekly show real soon!
While Shannon was chugging away on the bike, I shared several interesting factoids about Girl Scout cookies like:
Since 1999, Girl Scout Cookies bring in about $700 million in annual revenue
Thin Mints are the most popular
All the girls on the boxes are Girl Scouts
In 1985, a 13-year-old girl sold $25,000 worth of cookies
Thanks to Shannon’s Apple Watch, we were able to count down the final seconds before she reached the 210 calorie goal. Make sure you listen to this week’s episode to find out how long it took her to complete this year’s challenge. Then you can go back and listen to the previous years episodes to find out who completed the challenge faster.
Let us know what you think of this fitness challenge 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 do in iTunes. It only takes a few minutes and really helps us reach more listeners.
All you ATF coffee lovers should definitely check out our sponsors The Hemp & Coffee Exchange. Visit hempcoffeeexchange.com and read about their delicious & nutritious sustainable super coffee and when you place your order, make sure you use the promo code “ATF” at checkout to get 20% off your order.
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!
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:
Reduces stress
Controls anxiety
Promotes emotional health
Enhances self-awareness
Lengthens attention span
May reduce age-related memory loss
Can generate kindness
May help fight addictions
Improves sleep
Helps control pain
Can decrease blood pressure
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.
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.
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.
Elemental Training Tampa 