How To Make Your Thanksgiving Dinner Work For You, Not Against You....

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  It's full of family, friends, reflecting and gratitude, and of course delicious food.  A lot of us enjoy it, but there's also that lingering feeling of "guilt" in the background that we eventually shut off, go crazy, and then let it creep back in full force later on.  

So... Here are a few easy and enjoyable ways to make the most out of your Thanksgiving day.

1.  No Guilt!  It's a holiday, and a special day.  The number one rule of food is it must be enjoyable.  Food should support you and make you feel good.  Good food also will create the appropriate hormones to boost your metabolism and decrease your stress.  Stress hormones will actually slow down your digestion and metabolism.  If you feel guilty about eating, you're increasing your stress hormones and slowing down your digestion and metabolism, confounding the problem.  

Shift your mindset:  It's a day of celebration, relaxation, and enjoyment.  No one meal has ever "ruined" a person's health.  Enjoy the meal and the day, knowing you'll take the necessary steps the next day to get back on track.  You've worked hard to improve your health both in the gym and with your diet, and you'll continue.  Enjoy the rewards of your hard work!

2.  Eat Dessert!  That's right, your trainers are telling you to eat dessert.  There's a very specific biochemical reaction that happens when we consume a combination of healthy protein, some fat, and a delicious dessert.  This reaction boosts metabolic hormones and will actually help you avoid the post dinner "food coma," decrease the body's stress response, and will also give you the satisfaction of a complete and tasty dinner.  (minimizing the "unhealthy fats" will also make this work better- cook with olive oil, butter, or coconut oil instead of vegetable and/or seed oils)

Shift your mindset:  Most of us, in an effort to minimize our dessert craving and consumption, over-indulge in the main course and (more "dangerous") all of the fixings.  Though at the end of the meal, we're craving something sweet, give in anyways, and stuff ourselves to the brim to squeeze that tasty dessert in that we're craving.  

The brain produces cravings for a reason (it's not just because you're "the one person who isn't disciplined enough to say no").  Plan on eating dessert to make your meal work for you, and actually save room for it!  Fewer and smaller portions of sides is a great way to save space and avoid some of the more unhealthy fats and grains that slow the digestive and metabolic process down.   

Our number one rule is to enjoy yourself!  A great quote you'll probably hear often around our gym is "Life is too short to do things that we hate or make us miserable just so we can live longer." Thanksgiving is a day of relaxation, celebration, and reflection on how fortunate we are.  We're so thankful for this special Fitness Evolved community that we get to be a part of.  We're honored that you've allowed us to be a part of your journey and incredibly blessed and thankful that you allow us to do what we love as our "job."

Happy Thanksgiving!  

Black Friday Burn Off!

It's that time of year again!  Thanksgiving is just around the corner...  Just over 2 weeks away, in fact!  Along with the Thanksgiving holiday comes the not as fun (now) "holiday" Black Friday.  

Before you head out on your shopping expeditions, join us for a fun event that's not only good for you, but a benefit to others, as well!

This year, Fitness Evolved is proud to partner with One Warm Coat  to collect coats, scarves, hats, gloves, and sweaters for those in need as the weather changes.  We will be delivering the donations to Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency (BOSS) in Berkeley.  BOSS is a great organization whose mission is to help homeless, poor, and disabled people achieve health and self-sufficiency as well as fight against the root causes of homelessness.   For more information on BOSS, click here.

Join us on Friday, November 23rd at 10:30 AM for a great Metabolic Circuit Training Group Class to get rid of the post Thanksgiving malaise and help us kick off our coat drive!  

Admission to the class is free with a donation!

 Let's do some "Turkey Burning" and help out members of our community in need!

  

 ** If you're unable to make it to the class but would still like to donate, not to worry!  This is just the kick off.  The drive will start on the 23rd and go until Friday, December 28th.**

Yes, Women CAN do Pull-Ups!

It was indeed a slap in the face. Last week, the New York times published an article called "Why Women Can't Do Pull Ups". Before I even read the article, I was shocked, upset, and for a moment felt like I was being sent in a time machine to the 50's where women were supposed to stay at home and cook, clean, and wear pretty skirts. Are you kidding me with this title? As a female, lover of fitness and an avid athlete, I feel the exact opposite of this title should have been used. How about: "How to Master the Pull-Up" or "Why are Pull-Ups So Darn Challenging?"Once we throw the word "women" in there, we are simply doing what society and the fitness world of years past has done before: reminding women of what they CAN'T do, versus encouraging them to go out there and just do it!

If you read the article, it states that a study was done at the

University of Dayton where 17 " normal-weight" women (which isn't specified in the article--what is normal weight by the way?) who couldn't do a single overhand pull-up were chosen to participate. They were taken through a strengthening program 3 days per week for 3 months. Strengthening exercises included the lat-pulldown and bicep curls, which are muscles needed when performing a pull-up. The women also did a modified (I repeat, modified) version of a pull-up where they would pull themselves up and over an inclined bar in hopes of strengthening the muscles required to do the real thing. At the end of the study, only 4 of the 17 women could do one pull-up. Here's the problem: the women never actually practiced hanging from an actual pull-up bar. One thing we practice at Fitness Evolved is the SAID principle: Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand. This means that your body always adapts to exactly what it does. If you practice something regularly, you will get better at it due to your body's ability to adapt, and eventually, it will get easier for you. At that point, a new stimulus is needed, or the exercise needs to be progressed in order for a new adaptation to occur. In the case of the pull-ups, we would suggest the training program have the women hanging from an actual pull-up bar, and also trying some "negative" pull-ups. If you've never done a negative pull-up, come in and give it a try sometime! We'd have you step on a platform, jump up and pull your head over the pull-up bar, then SLOWLY lower your body weight down towards the floor. This particular movement helps strengthen the "eccentric" contraction of the muscles involved, which in simpler terms means the muscles you're working are lengthening while they're under load. It's a great way to gain size and strength in your muscles. 

The bottom line is pull-ups are challenging. Both men and women struggle with them, but here's the good news: They can be improved with the proper training, as well as the right mindset! After reading the NYTimes article, Carmela and Mary used it as motivation to knock out a few pull-ups of their own, and Kay Hutchison did her first chin up ever. 

Carmela Pull Ups

 

 

Kay Hutchison Doing Her FIRST Chin Up... and a Half for good measure!

Mary Chin Ups w/ an 8 kg Kettlebell on her Foot!

 

Finally, to all of our female members, don't ever let anyone tell you an exercise is impossible because you're a woman. You can absolutely do anything you set your mind to and you're certainly not losing anything by trying. I wonder if the writer of the NYTimes article ever even tried one....Hmmmm....